A couple days later, Sophie found herself sitting in the middle of the local Best Buy, signing autographs and greeting fans.  She was surprised to find quite a large crowd waiting for her and had been eager to greet the people.  Two hours later, however, her hand was cramping and her mind was becoming mushy from having the same conversation with person after person.  With a small sigh, she looked up at the next person in line.

“Hi, Sophie, it’s so cool to meet you.  I heard your music before you got signed and I was so excited when I found out you were coming out with a major album,” the young man commented as he approached Sophie.  She smiled up at him, pleased to hear something new.

“Oh, wow, thank you.  I’m glad you’ve been following my music from the beginning.  That’s really cool.  You like the album?” she asked.

“Oh yeah!  It’s amazing.  Seriously, awesome,” he responded eagerly, grinning at her widely.

“Glad to hear that.”

“I’ll probably be your fan forever.  Can you sign this for me?” he asked, pushing the CD sleeve of her album in front of her.

            “Sure.  What’s your name?” she asked, expectantly.

            “Alex,” he stated, his voice smooth.  She scribbled a short message and her name before handing the CD sleeve back to him.  He took it from her, but his gaze never left hers.  She raised her eyebrows questioningly and he snapped out of whatever daze he seemed to be in.  He looked down at what she’d signed and his grin widened across his face.

            “To Alex, a fan from the beginning.  Thanks for the support!  Sophie,” he read aloud.  Meeting her gaze, he stared her.  “Thank you.”

            “You’re welcome, Alex.  It was nice to meet you,” she responded, becoming a little nervous by his intense, unwavering stare.  When he hadn’t moved after a few awkward moments, she glanced over at Donny with a slightly worried expression on her face.  Silently, Donny moved closer and touched Alex’s shoulder with one of his large, beefy hands.

            “You’ll have to move on,” he stated, his voice hard with authority.  Alex looked at Sophie once more before scowling at Donny and walking away.  Sophie smiled a thank you to Donny as he retreated once again to the sidelines. 

            Sophie continued on, signing her name dozens of times and having the same conversations over and over again.  Another hour later, it was time for Sophie to head to the venue for sound check.  As the manager made the announcement, she felt a bit guilty that she had to turn away some fans still waiting in line.  But, Deana—anal as ever—wouldn’t allow Sophie to be late to the venue for the next item on the agenda. 

Turning to the crowds, she thanked her fans for their support and waved.  In the midst of scanning the faces, she started when her gaze landed on Alex, the fan from earlier.  He was standing off to the side, a wide grin on his face as he waved enthusiastically at her.  Why was he still here?  She hated to admit it, but he creeped her out.  She smiled tightly and turned to be led out of the store.

On the way to the venue, Deana ticked off the items on her schedule for the rest of the day.  Sophie sat quietly and watched the city move by in a blur, only half-listening to her assistant.  Honestly, what was there to hear?  Sound check, show, club or bed.  The end.

“Did you guys think that one guy was creepy?” Sophie asked as they headed into the venue.

“Uh, yeah, that guy was all starin’ at you.  It was creepy,” Joe, another security guard, stated.

“I know!  He said he’d been following my music since before I was signed, which was really cool but then he just stood there.  Donny, I’m so glad you understood my silent message,” she laughed. “He was really creeping me out.”

“Who was creeping you out?” Justin asked as he rounded the corner.  Sophie grinned up at him, loving the way her stomach fluttered when he looked at her.  She moved closer to him and he rested a hand on the small of her back.

            “This guy at the Best Buy signing,” Sophie commented lightly, ready to let it go and laugh it off.

            “What was wrong?  Did something happen?” Justin asked, becoming alarmed. 

            “No, he was just lingering.  Donny had to tell him to get a move on.  And, I forgot to tell you guys, but I saw him when we left, too.  He was still freaking there,” Sophie laughed, trying to ignore the uncomfortable flutter of her nerves.

            “Well, I’m sure you won’t see him again.  We’ll keep an eye out, just in case, obviously,” Joe stated and Sophie nodded.

            “What have you been up to?” Sophie asked as she turned to Justin, wanting to move on to a new topic of conversation.

            “Nothing, really.  I’ve just been hanging around.”

            “He’s been moping around, wondering when you were gonna be back,” Mike, Justin’s bodyguard and personal tormentor, hollered as he joined the group.  Sophie laughed as Justin scowled at his burly bodyguard.  She had to admit, Mike never failed to liven up a conversation with his jokes, which were usually making fun of Justin.

            “Oh, shut the fuck up,” Justin grumbled playfully.  Slinging an arm around her neck, Justin led Sophie away from the group and towards their dressing rooms.

            “So Best Buy was crowded?” he asked, shutting the door behind him and.

            “Yeah.  There were a lot more people there than I was expecting, that’s for sure.  My hand still feels numb,” Sophie joked, examining one of the photos Justin was expected to sign for giveaways.

            “Eh, you’ll get used to that after awhile.  That guy really freaked you out, huh?”

            “Yeah, I guess.  There was just something about the way he looked at me.  It was so intense.  I dunno, I’m probably just imagining things,” she stated, trying to lighten things up.

            “Nah.  You get freaked, you get freaked.  Just make sure you keep your security informed of everything so they can keep you safe and you shouldn’t have a problem,” he reasoned.

            “Yeah,” she responded, setting the picture back on the counter. “So where are we heading after the show?  I need to get my mind off of this busy schedule that’s slowly killing me.”

            “Don’t you think you should stay in and get some rest?” Justin asked, noticing the dark circles under her eyes that were masked a little by make-up. 

            “Ok, I need you to stop.”

            “Stop what?” he asked, an innocent expression on his face.  Sophie knew better, however.

            “Stop trying to get me to sleep all the time, J.  I can’t sleep after a show as much as you can’t.  I’m too keyed up.  If I want to go out, I’ll go out, ok?” Sophie stated, her tone firm.

            “I don’t mean to piss you off, Sophie.  I’m just worried, all right?  I don’t wanna see you get sick or something,” he stated.

            “I know, Justin, I get it.  But let me take care of myself,” she responded, her voice softening.  She didn’t want to be mad at him for caring. 

“Okay, okay,” he responded, holding his hands in front of him in surrender.

“I can’t have you trying to be my daddy or something and giving me a curfew,” Sophie joked, laughing a bit as she said it.  She saw the smug grin on Justin’s face and knew exactly where his mind had gone with that comment.

            “God, Justin, you’re such a perv,” she stated, laughing and swatting at his chest lightly.  He broke out into a grin at her response and situated his body closer to her, placing his hands on her hips.

            “I’m not a perv.  I’m your daddy, remember?” he teased before leaning down and pressing his lips to hers.  Sophie grinned against his mouth before allowing him to deepen the pressure.

            He traced the seam of her lips with his tongue and Sophie gladly granted him access into the recesses of her mouth.  He swept in and stroked her tongue with his.  She felt a shiver of pleasure go through her body at his kiss.  God, what he could do with that mouth!  She loved the feel of his lips on hers.

            She felt his hands run over her sides, roaming every so often to cup her breasts as his lower half pressed intimately against her center.  He was setting her nerve endings on fire with his touch and Sophie wanted more.  But certainly they couldn’t do that here.

            “Justin,” she murmured, pushing on his shoulders lightly.  Moving his lips away from her neck, he leaned back and looked at her, his mouth red and a bit swollen from their kisses.  She was sure she looked similar.

            “What?”

            “We can’t—not here,” she stated.

            “Sure we can.  We just have to be quick and quiet,” he grinned, beginning to lean his head down again.

            “But what if someone comes in,” she prompted, pushing at his shoulders again.

            “I locked the door.  Don’t worry,” he whispered before moving his mouth back to her neck.  Sophie moaned lightly at the contact, her hands moving to cup the back of his head.

            Allowing herself to become lost in the sensations he was creating within her, she didn’t realize what he was doing until she felt his fingers sliding along the inside of her thigh.  Her skirt was now bunched up around her hips and she laid her head back against the wall behind her when she felt his long fingers begin to rub her through her panties.

            “Shit, Soph, you’re already wet,” he whispered, his voice husky.  She merely sighed with pleasure, small noises being drawn from her throat.  She whimpered in protest when he pulled his hand away.  Taking over, she reached down and took control, unbuttoning his pants and sliding them down his hips.  He grinned at her as she slipped her hands into his boxer briefs and slid those down as well.

            “Anxious?” he asked, positioning himself at her entrance and teasing her folds.

            “C’mon, J,” she whined and he kissed her as he slid in, silencing her moan with his mouth.  Justin pulled nearly all the way out before pushing back in, her sounds of pleasure music to his ears. 

            “You want it?” he spoke low in her ear.  She whimpered in the back of her throat, loving the way her nerves coiled in pleasure.

            “God, Justin!  More,” she pleaded, her desire urging her on, closer and closer to release.  Justin growled and sped up the pace of his thrusts.

            “God, your shit feels so good,” he panted, pressing her harder against the wall.  Grabbing her hands, he laced their fingers and pressed them into the wall.

            “Shit, J…fuck me,” she whispered, her eyes squeezed tight in pleasure. 

Set off by her words, he fell into a frenzied pace, each thrust slamming her against the wall.  He quieted her with his mouth, his lips claiming hers over and over again.  Within minutes, he felt her walls squeeze around him and watched as she fell over the edge, her mouth open but silent.  Feeling her squeeze him brought him to his own release and he released into her with a grunt.  It was quick and just what he needed.  God, the things this woman did to his body.

“Shit,” she stated quietly a few moments later, her breathing calming down a little.  He laughed quietly and nodded his head at her, in agreement with her statement.

“Yeah,” he replied, laughing a little as he situated his pants back onto his hips.

“Well, I gotta hand it to you, J.  You certainly know how to take my mind off of things,” she grinned at him and he smiled back at her, wrapping her in his arms and laughing as he kissed the top of her head.

“Anytime, Soph, anytime,” he stated.  “C’mon, time for sound check.”

Sophie allowed herself to be led from the dressing room, hoping they both didn’t look like they’d just done what they had.  Pushing everything from her mind, she made her way to the stage for sound check.