After another round of sharing to Justin’s bodyguards and Trace, whom Justin called up from the car, Cierra was emotionally drained. AJ returned home during the repeat of the story and added in the elements that Cierra either didn’t remember or forced herself to forget. Now everyone was sitting in the living room, minus Cierra, talking about her. That much she was sure of.
She didn’t know how long she had been lying in her bed. AJ had given her a sleeping pill but it wasn’t working. Her mind was racing and every time she closed her eyes, she’d just open them right back up. “Ugh!” She groaned, throwing her feet over the side of the bed and sitting up. The clock read 1:30 am and she made her way to her bathroom. Flipping the light on, she examined herself. Her brown eyes were tired and red, bags forming underneath. Her caramel skin was just as red and even blotchier on her cheeks. “I look like pure hell,” She commented.
She heard the door to her room open and poked her head out. Upon seeing AJ she made her way back into the room to lie back down. AJ walked over and climb to the head of the bed, lying beside her, “I’m sorry, honey. Maybe you should call your parents tomorrow and see what they have to say.”
Rolling onto her back, Cierra rolled her eyes, “None of this is your fault, you’re the one who saved my life remember? I plan on calling them eventually. I’m not sure I’m prepared enough to hear what they have to say. One thing I do know is that I can’t hide and being with Justin really means hiding is out of the question. We’ve taken self defense classes. I dare him to fuck with me.”
AJ propped herself upon her elbow and poked Cierra in the cheek, “You’re sounding a lot more confident than you were. What changed?”
Cierra turned to look at her best friend, “I don’t know. I realized that my life can’t be me running from him or looking over my shoulder because maybe, just maybe he finally found me. I mean, the dumbass could screw up severely and be thrown back in jail without anyone knowing. His family may be filthy rich but he’ll get his one day. I’m passed being scare and hurt, now I’m just pissed off. He killed my daughter and now he gets to walk free while she’s dead? I’ll kill the bastard myself.”
AJ groaned, “Do not go looking for him yourself, do you hear me? We’ll figure something out but for now please let the gang know you’re okay. Justin’s been pacing and I think Trace has torn up an entire box of tissues. Brandi feels even more horrible for not telling you sooner. I told them I’d come check on you because they are truly afraid for you.”
The two of them stood up from the bed and headed back out into the living room. AJ said good night before retreating to her own room. Once her door was shut, Cierra continued down the hall. It was dark, only the light from the television lighting her way. She stood at the entry way and laughed quietly. Andre and Tony were sitting on the couch, both their heads thrown back and snoring. Trace was asleep on his stomach, lying on the floor. Brandi’s head was on his back, her body vertical to his. Her eyes finally landed on the loveseat and the masculine body lying across it.
She walked close and a soft smile played on her hips. He was lying slightly on his side, his face into the back of the couch. His right hand was laid softly on his stomach, the other behind his head. She could hear him snoring and she felt bad for wanting to wake him. After about ten seconds, she didn’t feel bad anymore. She straddled his lap, sitting gently to not startle him. He stirred a little before shifting so that he was completely on his back. Intertwining their fingers, she kissed his nose then his eye lid and finally his lips. Justin opened his eyes slowly, a grin breaking out across his face before commenting softly, “I thought you were sleeping.”
She shook her head, “The sleeping pill wasn’t working so I gave up.” She was finally able to get a good look at his face when an Oxy-Clean infomercial came on, lighting the room up. His eyes were still bloodshot, his light cheeks still very pink. She cocked her head to the side, “have you been crying?”
He nodded, “Kinda. More out of being angry that someone would do that to you and then out of frustration that being with me could ultimately get hurt or worst…”
She put a finger over his lips, “Hush. It’s not your fault and I’m not going to change a thing. If we pursue this, we’re going to be seen together, that’s a given. I don’t really care if he finds me, Justin. I’ll go to the police station and let them know as well as the security in the apartment building. I’m not going to let him win again. Like I told AJ, he may not even care that much anymore. He’s had a week to get over it.”
He stretched their still intertwined hands over his head to stretch, bringing her down in the process. He waited until their foreheads were touching before releasing her hands, wrapping his around her waist. She rolled her eyes, “Let me up. I don’t want to crush you, silly goose.”
Justin gave his crooked grin, “You’re not crushing me so shut up.” He leaned up a little to capture her lips with his own. She pulled back after, “So, what time should I be ready by on Sunday?”
Justin’s blue eyes widened. Grabbing a hold of her tighter, he swung his legs around the couch to sit up properly never releasing his hold on her, “No. Forget I even asked, Cierra. You’re not going. I can take my mom or something, end of discussion.”
Cierra closed her eyes for a few seconds before opening them and speaking, “You asked me and now you’re taking it back? Justin, seriously. I can handle myself and I feel like we’re all jumping the gun right now considering I haven’t even heard from him yet! I want to be with you and that means giving shit up!” She looked away.
He grabbed a hold of her chin, turning her face to look at him, “Yet, Cierra! What happens if we go to this thing and he sees you, figures out your in LA and comes looking for you, huh?”
She jerked her chin out of his grasp, trying to move but his grip only tightened, “How about we cross that bridge IF we get to it? You can let me go now.”
He shook his head, “No. If I let you go, do you promise to let Andre or Tony stay with you for a couple days?”
Cierra looked at him outrageously, “I don’t need a bodyguard!” But the look on Justin’s face let her know he wasn’t going to budge otherwise, “Fine” She caved.
He smiled and cocked his head to the side, “So you want to be with me, huh?” He laughed as the blush crept into her cheeks, “Bedtime?”
He finally released his hold on her. Standing up, she grabbed his hand, leading him down the hallway, “If you promise not to leave me this time.” They entered her room and she locked the door behind them. She went into the bathroom to brush her teeth while Justin stripped down to his t-shirt and boxers. Walking back into the room she noticed Justin staring at her.
Looking behind her then back at him, she shivered. In the couple months they’d know each other, he never looked at her quite like this. This much desire, “What?”
It took him all of two strides to reach her and she noticed how much darker his eyes had gotten. He put his hand on her cheek, pulling her closer to him before kissing her. His tongue ran across her bottom lip, asking permission. She wrapped her arms around his neck before granting him access. After a couple minutes, Justin mumbled against her mouth, “Say you’re mine.”
At least that’s what she thought he said. Moaning softly she pulled back, “What did you say?”
He pressed their foreheads together, “Say you’ll be mine.”
She cocked her head to the side, mocking him from earlier, “You wanna be with me?”
He kissed her quickly, “Yes.”
The Next Day
Pulling the locked door to Sampson, Morris & Greene shut, Cierra made her way to the car. She finally fell asleep sometime after four and managed to still get up at six-thirty to get ready for work. She was exhausted and hungry, not a good combination. It was nearly four o’clock in the afternoon and she was heading him. Coming to a red light, her cell phone started ringing. She smiled at the caller ID, “Hey boy hey.”
His voice was soft and he seemed slightly out of breath, “Hey girlfriend.”
That brought a smile to her face, “Hey boyfriend. How are the rehearsals going?”
Justin held up a finger to tell the stage director hold on and walked to the side of the stage, “Long. Boring. I miss you.”
Cierra giggled, “It’s been less than a day you silly boy but none the less, I miss you, too. How much longer do you have?”
Justin leaned on one foot and thought for a minute, “I think we are running through the song one more time and then I am doing a quick interview with Entertainment Tonight. You… should come over later.”
“I will surly think about it.” She was teasing him; he knew she would, “You’ll never guess what I am going to do.” She parked her car in the complex’s parking garage and made her way up the stairs to her apartment.
He shrugged, “What are you going to do?”
“Order Chinese and watch Mama Mia with the girls!” She was very proud of that fact. It’d been a while since she watched a good musical.
“Mmm, sounds nice. Well, baby, they are calling me to hurry up. I’ll see you in a bit?”
Saying their goodbyes, Cierra opened the door to the apartment. AJ and Brandi were sitting on the couch and she immediately knew something was up. AJ was never home before 7. “What are ya’ll up to?”
AJ stated giggling, “Oh nothing. We were hoping you’d want to go shopping with us. We know you’re going Sunday and probably need to works!”
She sat her briefcase down by the TV and eyed her two friends carefully, “You’re both up to something and I’m not sure I like it.”
Thirty minutes later, the three of them were in AJ’s silver Dodge Neon headed towards the shopping strip. Brandi, who was sitting in the backseat, decided now was the time to enlighten Cierra, “Just so you know, this shopping trip is all on Justin. Please don’t shoot the messenger.”
Cierra turned as far as her seatbelt would let her to look at Brandi, “No! Why didn’t you tell me this before we left?”
AJ answered this time, giggling, “We knew you wouldn’t go if we did.” Twenty minutes later they made a left hand turn and pulled into Saks Fifth Avenue. Cierra leaned her head back and groaned. Once they parked, she got out of the car and pulled her phone out to send Justin a text, you pick the most expensive place ever.
Walking into the building they were greeted by an overly excited, super skinny and ridiculously blonde employee whose name tagged read Trixie. Only in California, Cierra thought before introducing herself. They followed Trixie to the back of the store where they had a private dressing room for “special guests” as she put it. Once inside the waiting area, Trixie spoke, “I’ve gone ahead and pulled a few of our dresses for you to try on. Justin said you’ll need two, one for the show and the other for the after party. So, go on in. Ladies, there are refreshments on the table over there and if you need anything else or a different size, I will be standing over there,” she pointed to the area that was set up with mirrors. Walking in, Cierra looked at the four dresses already hanging up. Really? Who buys a dress for one grand? It’s cheaper to make it yourself! She thought. Unzipping her pants, she began the night she knew would be long.
Forty five minutes later and Cierra was still trying on dresses. Nothing really made her feel special and everything Trixie was picking out screamed for someone without breasts. She was having trouble getting her D’s into most of the dresses. Finally, she told Trixie who nodded and set out to find more dresses. She heard his voice before he even entered the area, talking to fans probably. She then heard AJ giggle at something he said and a knock on her dressing room door. Opening it, she poked her head out, “What are you doing here?”
He kissed her quickly, “Finished early and I was hoping you would model the dresses for us. Plus, this isn’t the most expensive store; it’s the store your friends and I compromised on.
“The girls have already seen the dresses so far,” She responded ignoring his last comment.
“Yeah, but my mom and I haven’t!”
She grabbed his hand, forgetting that she was in nothing but a bra and underwear, pulling him into the dressing room and shutting the door, “Your mother is here?!” Putting her hand on her hips, she was suddenly aware of how naked she was.
“She knows we’re together, so quit worrying. She’s helping Trixie pick out some more dresses for you try…on…” His voice trailed off when he, too, realized she was in nothing but her underwear. “You…are hot.”
She rolled her eyes and giggled, “Stop gawking, I’ll put my clothes on.” She leaned forward to grab her shirt but he beat her to it,
“Don’t you dare” He drank in the sight before him. The curve of her hips, her stomach. His eyes traveled down her thighs and back up. He licked his lips as he eyed her breasts before landing back on her face, “This is not fair.”
“Neither is life. Does she know about…?” Justin shook his head and moved towards her. She backed up until her back hit the cold wall and gasped. He dipped his mouth to capture her lips with his own, one hand coming down to rub her hip. She moaned into his mouth, her arm reaching behind him to pull him closer. Justin turned his head, making the kiss deeper. A loud bang on the door made him pull back, “Mother fucker!”
Brandi laughed from the other side, “Nope, just me. You two better not be doing the nasty because your mom, Justin, is on her way back over with Trixie.”
He stepped away from her, reaching the knob to the door and adjusting himself quickly. Her snicker made him look up, “We’ll finish this later.”
Another forty five minutes later and Cierra stepped into the last dress. She was growing restless and all she wanted to do was sleep. It was going on 8 o’clock. Looking in the mirror she smiled, “Finally.” Justin was no help. No matter what she stepped out in he claimed it his favorite until his mother told him to shut up. Opening the door, she walked out for what she hoped would be the last time. Everyone’s heads turned and Lynn was the first to break out into a smile, “Gorgeous!” She was wearing a cream colored, strapless Badgley Mischka Platinum Label Brocade and Taffeta Gown. It came down to the floor, but not quite touching it. It had a brocade bodice with boning for fit and a wide shirred taffeta sash with bow. Justin’s jaw dropped and stood with her in front of the mirrors. AJ was clapping and Brandi was smiling.
“You look fantastic, Cierra.” She said in awe.
Justin stood behind her while she looked at herself in the mirror. Pulling her hair to one side she looked at him through them, “What do you think?”
“Amazing. Do you like it?” He commented, kissing her neck lightly.
“I feel like a princess.”
He grinned and looked over at Trixie, “We’ll take it.”
Cierra glanced down at the price tag and grabbed Justin’s arm, “Honey, I can find another dress. This one is … a lot.”
Justin looked at the tag and didn’t even flinch, “It’s not that bad, actually. I thought you would do a lot worst. Baby, you look amazing and you just said you feel like a princess. I’m going to get it.”
She leaned towards him and whispered, “Its eight hundred and ninety-five dollars!”
He kissed her forehead, “We’re getting it.”
