Twenty minutes later, Justin hopped into a black SUV on the curb outside and shoved the napkin with Sophie’s address on it, into the driver’s hand.  Pulling his phone out of his back pocket, Justin looked up Sophie’s number and hit send, hoping she was still open to him dropping by.

“Hello?” Justin nearly melted at her soft voice through the phone.

“Hey, it’s me,” he replied. “You still up for company?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m on my way.  Be there in a bit,” he stated before snapping his phone closed.

Justin closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the seat.  He felt fairly drunk.  Trace had insisted that they toss back a couple shots before he left and Justin had relented.  He should have said no.  He didn’t want to be sloppy with Sophie.  Sophie.  His body hummed at the possibilities.  Grabbing the bottle of water on the seat next to him, he chugged a good third of it.

Sophie jumped a bit at the knock on her door.  She hadn’t expected him so soon.  Moving to the door, she opened it and smiled at the sight of Justin.  Flashing a wide grin at her, he rubbed a hand over his head, almost shyly.  This was definitely a new side of him.  Not that she’d seen that many sides of him.  But she liked this one.

“Hi,” he spoke up.

“Hey.  Come on in,” she gestured for him to enter and moved out of the way to allow him to do so.  Justin walked by and studied her as she closed the door behind him.  She had changed.  Her legs were barely covered in a pair of small, pink cotton shorts and her top half was covered in a simple white tank.  Justin took in her bare feet and smiled.  She looked comfortable.  He liked her like this.

“You want something to drink?” she asked, turning to face him.

“Nah.  I think I’ve had enough for the night.  Trace forced me into a couple more rounds before I left,” Justin replied.

“I’m sure he really had to twist your arm,” Sophie commented sarcastically as she laughed lightly and moved further into her home.  Justin reached for her as she moved by him.  Pressing her up against the wall next to him, Justin placed his hands on the wall on either side of her head.  Grinning lazily at her, he brushed a lock of hair out of her face and leaned down to claim her mouth.

Sophie moaned lightly at the contact.  Tracing the seam of her lips with his tongue, Justin sought entrance to her mouth.  She didn’t deny him.  Losing himself in her kiss, Justin found his hips moving restlessly into hers, trying to alleviate the ache in his groin.  He slowed his movement when her small hands moved to his sides and searched for his skin.  Pulling his shirt from the waist of his pants, her hands glided over him.  He moaned his approval into her mouth.

Justin’s skin was soft under her fingers and Sophie pressed onward, seeking more.  Moving her hands to the front of his shirt, she began pushing each button out of its hole.  Justin, meanwhile, was stroking any patch of her skin he could find, reveling in the sensation of her mouth working skillfully against his.

“Maybe we should move this to the other room,” Sophie suggested when Justin’s mouth broke from hers to kiss and nibble the length of her neck.  He smiled in satisfaction when the moist kiss he placed on the sensitive skin below her ear elicited a desire-filled moan.  Pulling herself away from him, she smiled.  Grabbing his hand, she led him through the living room and down the hall to her room.  Dropping his hand in the doorway, Sophie moved further into the room to her dresser and reached to remove her earrings.

Justin took in the rich colors and clean lines of Sophie’s room.  The room wasn’t as big or glamorous as his, but it was comfortable.  Moving further into the private space, Justin approached Sophie who watched him through the mirror, a small smile on her face.  He could get lost in her.  That thought both terrified and excited him.

“Do you even know what you’re doing to me?” he asked as he stood behind her.  She smirked at that.

“I felt exactly what when we were dancing earlier,” she smiled and laughed lightly, but not in an insulting manner.  She was confident in herself as a woman and Justin found that undeniably appealing.

“It’s high time we do somethin’ about that,” Justin growled into her ear as he smacked her butt lightly and spun her around to face him.  He was tired of playing this cat and mouse game.  He wanted her.  Now.  Gripping her butt, he pulled her up until she wrapped her legs around his waist.  Moving towards the bed, he sat on the edge of the soft mattress.

“Oh, we will.  No worries there,” Sophie giggled, pushing him to lie back on her bed, her legs straddling his waist.  He smiled up at her, loving that she was taking control.  Lacing her fingers with his, she leaned down over him and brought her mouth to his.  Justin groaned in the back of his throat at the contact.  Thrusting his hips up lightly against her, he felt her breath catch in her chest as her breasts pushed against his chest.

Pushing up, he raised himself to sit.  Sophie pushed his shirt off his shoulders and let her hands run over his smooth skin, grazing lightly over his sensitive nipples with her nails.  Sighing at her delicate touch, he reached for the hem of her tank, smiling as she raised her arms to help him remove it.  Justin tossed the tank to the floor and picked Sophie up as he stood, smiling at the giggles she emitted from suddenly being lifted from his lap.

Laying her back down on the bed, Justin pulled a condom from his wallet before shucking off his jeans and crawling over her body, stopping every few inches to place moist kisses along her body.  Face to face once again, Justin braced himself over her, taking the sight of her in.  She was a beautiful woman, all soft skin and curves in the right places.

Wondering why he hadn’t moved, Sophie leaned up and captured his mouth with hers in an attempt to engage him once again.  Justin allowed her access to his mouth and moved to rest on his elbows, his lower half starting a delicious grind against her center.  Sophie’s body went into overdrive at the sensations he was causing.  Small moans were leaving her, involuntarily.  It was too much.  And not enough.

“Off, off,” she sighed as she tried to pull her own shorts off.  She wanted to feel him.  Justin pulled himself away from her and pulled off her shorts and underwear, taking a moment to just look at her.

“What?  Why did you stop?” Sophie asked, wanting to feel his skin against hers.

“You’re beautiful,” he replied.  Sophie blushed and looked away for a moment, unable to hide her smile.  He certainly knew how to flatter a girl.

“C’mere,” she smirked, crooking her finger at him.  Removing his boxer briefs, Justin quickly laid himself over her, claiming her mouth and slowly grinding against her once again.  Sophie sighed into his mouth, loving the feeling of lying with him like this.  After a few moments, she felt she would burst from desire for him.  Thrusting her hips up in encouragement, she nearly growled in frustration as he evaded entering her.

“Now, Justin,” she whispered.

“Are we in a hurry?” he asked, his voice husky and teasing as he reached down and touched her where she wanted to be touched—how she needed to be touched.

“Yes,” she hissed as he found her sensitive place.  Groaning at the feeling, her body involuntarily thrust against his hand as his fingers stroked her.

“God, you are so wet,” he moaned into her neck, his breath coming out in ragged puffs of air.

“Justin, please,” she sighed, feeling herself approaching the edge.

Her soft plea did him in.  Pulling his hand from her center, he looked in her eyes and slowly slid into her wet heat.

“Fuck,” he cursed as he felt her walls squeeze against him.  Pulling out just a bit, he smiled at the pleasure-filled moan that escaped Sophie’s mouth.  His eyes closed as he slowly slid back in, loving the way she gripped him.

“Faster,” Sophie whispered as she lifted her hips to meet his thrusts.

After hearing her request, Justin wasted no time.  Finding a rhythm, he took Sophie with him to a point of toe-curling orgasm.  Sophie’s body tense tightly and she cried out when she finally peaked, lying her head back on the pillow and letting the waves of pleasure wash over her.  Spent, Justin rolled to the side and lay down, trying to catch his breath.  This was just what he needed tonight, fast and satisfying.

“Are you okay?” Justin asked after a few moments of silence.  Turning her head to meet his gaze, she started giggling.

“Am I okay?” Sophie repeated.  Justin wished she would stop laughing.  It was beginning to cause paranoia.  Did she think he was bad?  Certainly he hadn’t misread her body’s signs that much.

“You can quit laughing,” he muttered as he sat up and threw his legs over the side of the bed, preparing to rise and get dressed.

“I’m sorry.  I’m not laughing at you,” she stated.  He threw a glance over his shoulder and scowled at her wide grin ready to burst into giggles.  Thoroughly annoyed, he began reaching for his pants.

“Aww, Justin.  I’m really not.  I’m just happy.  It was incredible,” she started as she rose to press herself against his back.

“Yeah, yeah,” he said, his ego clearly wounded.

“You’re just going to storm out after making my toes curl like that?” Sophie questioned softly as she kissed along his neck and ran her hands over his chest and stomach.  He stopped at that statement.

“I made your toes curl?” he asked and Sophie giggled at his surprised tone.

“Yep,” she whispered as she licked along the shell of his ear.  Justin grinned widely and moved to face her.

“I bet I could make them curl again,” he smirked, his attitude becoming that of a cocky 24-year-old.

“Maybe,” she smiled before he claimed her mouth, his tongue sweeping in to stroke hers.  She sighed into his mouth and allowed herself to be pushed back down on the bed.

“I’m not nervous.  I think I’m ready,” Sophie spoke candidly and confidently.  It was nearing sunrise and the pair had yet to fall asleep. 

“I’m sure you are.  The single is great and the routines are good.  And the album comes out next week right?  Right before we leave?” Justin questioned, watching her gather the necessities for cereal.

“Yeah.  That’s probably what I’m nervous about,” she admitted. “Apple Jacks or Raisin Bran Crunch?”

“Apple Jacks.  And I’m sure the album is great.  Your vocals are on,” he reassured.

“Yeah, but didn’t you freak out when the first album came out?  You just don’t know how people are going to react.”

“Yeah, I know.  I think I threw up every day the week before the first N Sync album came out stateside,” Justin laughed lightly at the memory and poured milk over the bowl of cereal in front of him.  Sophie giggled at the thought of a much younger Justin being so nervous.  He seemed so confident, so put-together.  Sophie sighed loudly and poured milk over her own bowl.  Reaching for her spoon, she felt Justin’s hand cover her own.  She looked up and met his steady gaze.

“Don’t worry, Sophie.  Worry is interest paid on a problem before it occurs,” he advised.  Sophie’s eyes widened a bit at his insight, but she realized he was right.  She could be worrying over nothing.  The album could be received very well and she would have freaked out for nothing.  She felt a little better about the situation.

“You’re right.  Thanks, Justin.”  He smiled, nodded his head and promptly returned to his cereal.

“That was awfully insightful,” she commented a moment later.

“I read it in a book,” he admitted sheepishly. Sophie let out a big laugh before leaning over and placing a big kiss on his cheek

“Sophie, it’s on the fourth beat!  C’mon, girl!” Darren yelled after Sophie’s mess-up.  She had been flubbing steps all day and was, quite frankly, pissed at herself.  Sophie had no way to acknowledge that she knew her mistake and heard Darren’s words, so she picked up her intensity and kept singing the hell out of the song.  When she struck the final pose she was exhausted and breathing heavily.

It had been one hell of a day.  For one, she hadn’t danced since Friday, before the New Year’s party.  For two, she was beyond anxious for the album release tomorrow.  And finally, she hadn’t heard from Justin since he had kissed her senseless in her doorway Saturday morning before he left.  She didn’t expect some huge relationship out of this, but every girl expects at least a quick phone call from a person she sleeps with!

“Sophie, girl, remember the fo—“

“I know, Darren, I’m sorry.  I don’t know why I’m messing up today.  It must be my nerves,” she replied.  The album came out tomorrow.  Each day she had gotten progressively more tense and nervous.

“Yeah, I figured as much.  You’ve gotta learn to block everything out but the steps.  Don’t worry about anything else, ok?  Just focus on one task at a time,” he stated and she sighed and nodded.

“All right.  I’d say we’re done here.  I’ll see you all on Wednesday morning at the arena for a full run-through of the show!”

Sophie and the rest of the group started to walk towards their bags, utterly exhausted.  Darren’s words stopped Sophie in her tracks.

“Hey Sophie?” she turned to face her choreographer. “You’re going to be great.  The album is amazing and the single has been doing so well.  You’re in.”

She smiled at his reassuring words and nodded, silently thanking him before moving to her bag and gathering her things together.  She desperately needed a shower.

“What are you doing tonight?” Dan asked as he walked with her out the studio door.  Sophie switched her phone off of silent and replied.

“I dunno.  I think I’m going to go home, take a hot bath and drink a glass of wine.  I need to relax,” she sighed as they moved down the hall.  Dan threw his arm around her, laughing.

“I think you should go to dinner with us,” Dan proposed as they exited the building.

“Oh, Dan, I—“ Sophie started but was interrupted by her cell phone.  Reaching into her bag, she glanced at the ID screen and dropped her jaw in surprise.  Dan leaned over to look at the screen, too, smiling once he recognized the name.

“Actually, I think you should go to dinner with him.  Then I want details.  Later, girl!” Dan called as he sprinted towards his car.  Sophie chuckled at her friend.  He had been all over her yesterday for details about what happened between she and Justin on New Year’s.  She hadn’t told him the intimate details of the evening, but she thought he got the picture.  Sophie sighed before she flipped the phone open.

“Hello?”

“Sophie?  It’s Justin.” Did he sound nervous?

“Hi, Justin,” Sophie replied politely.  She wasn’t going to gush over him.  Unlocking her car, she threw her bag into the backseat before climbing in and starting the ignition.

“Hey, what are you doing tonight?” he asked.

“Oh, I was just going to relax tonight.  It’s been a long day of rehearsals and I’m tired,” she replied.  She felt kind of bad for giving him the brush off but she wasn’t about to become some woman he could call whenever he wanted a little female company.  She was better than that.  And besides, it was much easier to refuse him over the phone without his sexy body in front of her.

“Oh.  Well, have you eaten dinner?” he sounded so hopeful.

“Uh, no, I haven’t eaten yet.”  She couldn’t lie to him.

“Well, how about dinner?”

“Listen, Justin, I appreciate the offer but I was just going to head home, take a bath and relax,” she replied, pulling out of the parking lot and heading home.

“We don’t have to go out.  We can get take-out or whatever and lounge around.  That’s relaxing right?”

“Thanks, but not tonight,” she replied. “I gotta go.  Thanks for calling, Justin.  Bye.”

Sophie felt kind of bad for basically hanging up on him, but he was getting to her.  If he would have asked her to hang out one more time she had no doubt in her mind that she would have caved.  And she wasn’t going to let him back into her home just so he could completely turn her on and get into her pants.  She’d be damned if she was booty call.

When she got home, she locked the door behind her and leaned against it with a heavy sigh.  What a day.  What a life!  She was so tired!  Pulling herself to stand up straight, she marched straight into her bedroom and dropped her stuff on the floor.  Quickly changing out of her dance clothes, she pulled her hair up and donned her robe before making her way to the bathroom.

Turning the hot water on, she stopped up the drain, poured a little scented oil into the steaming water and headed towards the kitchen.  Sophie pushed herself onto her toes to pull one of her wine glasses down from the top shelf of the cabinet and moved to the refrigerator to pull out a bottle of white zinfandel.  Quickly uncorking it, she poured the liquid into her glass and took a small sip.

“Relaxation, here I come,” she mumbled as she turned back towards the bathroom.

Moments later, Sophie sank into the steaming tub and nearly moaned aloud it felt so good.  Quickly working through washing the sweat off her face and body, she leaned back against the side of the tub and sighed.  After a hard day of dancing and pushing her tired muscles to work even harder, this was absolutely heavenly.  A few more sips of wine and she could see herself falling asleep in the bathtub.  Closing her eyes, she let herself sink deeper into the steaming water.

“What the hell?” Sophie questioned as she sat straight up minutes later.  A knock on her door interrupted her tranquil time.  Rising, she pulled herself out of the bath and wrapped herself in her robe.  The knocking sounded again, a bit louder this time and she moved quickly through her house.

“I’m coming, I’m coming,” she mumbled quietly as she reached the door.  Flipping the lock, she turned the knob and pulled the door open.

Justin’s smile grew a bit tighter when she came into view.  He felt his groin stir at the sight of her.  Her silky robe barely reached mid-thigh and was falling open a bit at the top, revealing a tantalizing view of her glorious chest.  Her body was wet and he realized she must have been taking that bath she had mentioned earlier on the phone.

“Hey,” he greeted, realizing he probably looked like an idiot standing there staring at her.

“Justin, hi.  What are you doing here?” she asked, pulling her robe closed more tightly around her.  Damn.

“I know you said you wanted to relax or whatever, but you still have to eat.  And I come bearing food,” he held up the bags of Chinese take-out as a hopeful offering.  He smiled as he watched Sophie regard him cautiously.  What had he done to make her so weary of him in such a short amount of time?

“Do you have any chicken and broccoli?” she asked, finally.

“You bet,” he replied and his grin widened as she moved to allow him to pass.  Entering her home, he made his way to the kitchen to set the bags of food on the counter.

“I pretty much ordered a little of everything since I didn’t know what you’d like,” he stated as he started pulling cartons from the plastic bags.

“I’m going to go change.  I’ll be right out,” she stated and darted out of the kitchen before Justin could say anything.  Searching the drawers for silverware, he finally pulled a fork from a drawer and moved to the table.  Opening the container of Hunan Chicken he forked a huge piece and stuffed it into his mouth.

“No chopsticks?  Cheater,” Sophie joked as she entered the kitchen, this time in a tiny tank and equally tiny shorts.  Justin wasn’t sure if he preferred the robe or her small ensembles.

“Nah, I don’t do chopsticks,” he smiled before stuffing a huge piece of Hunan Chicken into his mouth.

“Do you want a glass of wine?  I was having some earlier.  I also have juice, water, beer, Diet Coke.  What’s your fancy?” she questioned.

“Uh, a beer sounds good,” he replied.  Sophie pulled 2 bottles of Miller Lite from the fridge and popped the tops off both of them.  Settling herself at the table next to Justin, she slid a beer towards him and took a swig of the other one.

“I’m surprised you drink beer,” Justin commented.  Sophie raised an eyebrow at that and grabbed a set of chopsticks.

“Why?”

“Because you’re a girl,” he shrugged and was rewarded with her chuckle.

“I’m bad ass, what can I say?” she joked and took a bite of her chicken and broccoli.

“I’ll say,” he stated and the pair was silent for a few moments.  Sophie wondered what the heck Justin was expecting out of tonight.  Justin wondered why she was so guarded.  She seemed so chill the other night but now she was stiff and uptight around him.

“Sophie, can I ask you a question?” he decided to just come out with it.  She met his gaze and nodded. “Is there something wrong?  I mean, the other night we were fine and it was…great, but I’m getting this cold-ass vibe from you now.  I don’t understand what’s going on.”

Sophie’s eyes dropped to her dinner and she contemplated how to answer his question.

“Justin, I don’t know what to say to you.  I mean, yeah, the other night was fun and it felt good.  Maybe some other women you know are okay with it, but I refuse to be your booty call,” she stated adamantly and was surprised to see Justin’s jaw drop.

“Booty call?  Is that what you think you are?”

“What else am I supposed to think, Justin?  We sleep together and then I don’t hear from you for three days—not comforting to a girl.  Next thing I know, you’re calling me up to see what I’m doing tonight.  What am I supposed to think?” she retorted sharply.

“What?  Sophie, you are not booty call to me.  I don’t do that,” Justin stated emphatically.  He was appalled she would even suggest something like that.  Sophie sighed, clearly frustrated.

“Maybe you should just go,” she stated softly.  Quite frankly she was exhausted and not in the mood to argue with anyone.

“Sophie you do realize that you’re acting completely weird, right?  I mean, I show up tonight and try to be nice.  All I wanted was to hang out and help you relax because I know you’re probably freaking out about the album release.  I’m trying to be nice and you freak out on me.  I don’t get it.”

“Justin, listen, I’m really not in the mood to argue with you,” Sophie stated as she stood up from her place at the table.  Rising to stand next to her, Justin was determined to get to the bottom of this.

“Sophie,” he started softly.  She refused to meet his gaze so he lifted her chin with his finger.

“Sophie, I’m really sorry about hurting your feelings.  Truly, I am.  But honestly, tonight was really the first time I could hang out.  Things have been really hectic.  Sophie you need to know—“

Justin cut himself off and ran a hand through his short curls in embarrassment.  He really wasn’t prepared to blurt out his emerging feelings for her, but he was desperate and didn’t want her to be mad at him anymore.

“Listen, Sophie, I don’t know what’s going on between us, but the other night was fantastic.  Maybe we shouldn’t have rushed things like that because now things are awkward.  I don’t know, okay?  What I do know is that I—I like you, Sophie.  So if it’s okay with you, I want to get to know you,” Justin surprised himself by laying it all out like that.  He just hoped she wasn’t pissed at him anymore.

“I don’t want things to be awkward anymore either,” she replied softly, almost shyly.

“Good.  Now that that’s settled, let’s get back to dinner.  I’m starving,” he joked, trying to relieve the tension. It must have worked because she chuckled as they sat back down and dug into their dinners once again.

“I’m sorry I accused you of trying to make me booty call,” Sophie apologized quietly a few moments later.  Justin met her gaze and smiled crookedly.

“No worries.  So you called me a man-whore?  I forgive you,” he razzed her and her jaw dropped in surprise.

“I did not call you a man-whore!” she protested.

“Uh, yeah, basically,” he retaliated with a wide grin.  Sophie covered her face with one hand, as she thought back on her words in embarrassment.  She had definitely made the insinuation.

“Ok, so I basically did,” she replied, trying to laugh off her embarrassment.  Justin’s hand covered one of hers that lay on the table.

“It’s okay.  I forgive you,” he stated before stuffing his mouth with more chicken.  Sophie shook her head before turning her attention back to her own dinner.

“So you’re having a party tomorrow right?” Justin questioned later after dinner.  The pair had retreated to the living room with fresh beers and the intent to pop in a movie.  The movie had been put in but they had hardly paid any attention to it. Justin was lying on his back and Sophie had snuggled up to his side with her head on his chest.  After cuddling up on the couch together, Justin had started asking her questions about the big album release tomorrow. She had spent the last fifteen minutes unloading her anxiety onto his willing ear. 

“Oh yeah.  My manager actually has this beautiful compound and he’s hosting.  It’s no club on New Year’s,” she teased and he poked her playfully in retaliation, “but you should stop by if you have time.”

“Do you want me to go?” he asked, pulling back to look into her eyes.  Sophie looked up at him strangely.

“I..don’t know.  I—“

“Sophie either you do or you don’t,” he stated matter-of-factly.  He wanted to hear her say it.  He needed to hear her admit that she needed him, even if it was just for a party date.

“Are you always this difficult?” she questioned as she moved to lift herself slightly over him, her face now even with his grinning one.  He nodded in answer to her question and she shook her head, laughing lightly as she moved her head down to his for a kiss.  After a few pleasurable moments, she pulled back and met his gaze.

“I want you to come to my party tomorrow, Justin,” she stated clearly.  She was rewarded with his wide grin and his strong hands moving to grip her butt and guide her over him.

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” he replied and she laughed at him.

“Good.  Now stop talking,” she grinned and bent down to meet his eager mouth.