A phone was ringing, she could tell that much. Opening her eyes, she allowed them to adjust to the darkness before sitting up. Where was the ringing coming from? She looked at the clock on the nightstand, 3am. She looked down at her cell phone then over to where Justin’s pants were lying on the bathroom floor. She heard the beep of a missed call and walked over, digging in the pockets for the phone. After retrieving the phone, she made her way back to the bed as it started ringing again. Looking at the I.D, her face twisted up. Jess was on the screen. She glanced over at a sleeping Justin and sighed. If she’s calling more than once, maybe it’s important. She shook him lightly but when he didn’t budge she pushed a little harder. She laughed when he opened his eyes, clearly confused and pissed off from being woken up, “What?”
“Your phone keeps ringing. It could be important.” She handed him the phone and watched the reaction as he flipped the phone open, “Yeah?”
Cierra hated one sided conversations. Especially since it was dealing with the man she was falling for and his ex girlfriend who still had a powerful hold over him. After about five minutes of watching him nod and agree with whatever she was saying he closed his phone and looked over at her, guilt written across his face, “Um…she, uh, she needs my help with something.” He stood up heading towards the bathroom and picking up his clothes, “I am really sorry, C.”
She followed behind him, taking his clothes from him, “She calls at 3 in the morning and you drop everything to run to her side? Can’t it wait until a normal hour of the day?” No one ever said she was good at hiding her jealousy.
Justin looked at her, hand out to take his clothes back, “Can I please have my shirt back? Hell, keep the shirt just give me my pants. I’ll come back when I’m finished, I promise.”
“You’re just going to leave for a girl who broke your heart when I am standing right here? Everything you said, was it even fucking true? You’d drop that to go running back to her? That’s fucking great, Justin.”
She sat back down on the bed, the shirt under her crossed arms and the pants under her legs. Justin walked towards Cierra, kneeling down in front of her, “I am not trying to hurt you right now and I meant every damn word I said to you last night, but you do not understand the situation she is going through like I do. She and I may not be together anymore but she is still someone dear to my heart and she needs me.”
“Stay.” She stared down at him, the look that flashed in his eyes and he hung his head down, “Please do not do this right now. Please do not sit there and try and make me choose.”
“You know what? Forget it. Take the damn shirt and your fucking pants and get the hell out.” She handed him the shirt and pants and crawled back under her covers, laying her head on her pillow, “Lock the door on your way out, please.” She rolled over so her back was to Justin and closed her eyes.
Justin stayed kneeling down on the floor, staring at her back. “Please, Cierra.” He stood up and headed towards the door. She opened her eyes when she heard the door click and wiped the angry tear that made its way down her cheek.
She didn’t remember falling back asleep but she stirred when she felt the weight on her bed being shifted. Groaning, she rolled over and opened her eyes, seeing Justin sitting on the end of her bed, his back to her and he was looking at his hands. “AJ let me in. She was on her way out to work.”
“I’m going to have to talk to her about that,” Sitting up, she threw the covers back and stood up from the bed. The clock read 10:30. Stretching as she walked to the bathroom, she closed the door behind her. A few minutes later she emerged then leaned against the door frame. Justin was still sitting on the end of her bed but was staring at her, “You obviously came back for a reason. Are you going to get to the point or are we going to play charades?”
Justin sucked in a breath and sighed, “I told you I would come back when I finished. Look, Jess is going through some … personal stuff and she needed a friend. You have to leave it at that and trust me.”
She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned her head against the frame, “Easier said then done.”
Justin lifted his head and smiled, “You’re jealous, aren’t you? You have nothing to be jealous of, baby. We’re going to make this work. It’ll take time for us to both get to that ready for a relationship stage but she’s the least of your worries, I swear.”
She looked down at her feet, “Of course I’m jealous, Justin! You left at 3 in the morning to help your ex girlfriend, who you are still in love with and refused to tell me what was going on. What was I supposed think, that you helping her bake fucking cookies?”
She jumped a little when she felt his finger under her chin, lifting it so she was looking at him, “I know what I want and she’s not it. That ship sailed about two hours after she packed her shit, not to mention she’s not exactly Betty fucking Crocker. But, you’re right. I do still love her and to open my heart up to someone else … the way I am opening up to you … is scaring me but she’s comfortable. She’s what I know. I’m not running off to be with her, to sleep with her. I am just trying to help a friend through a tough time, you have to believe that.”
Leaning down, he captured her lips with his own gently, “Go on a date with me.”
She smiled against his lips, “Ask me again in a couple of months. You need to let her go first and I am in no way ready to compete with her and this hold she has on you. I’m not going anywhere, but we’re going to do this right.”
He pulled back and nodded, “Fair enough. I should probably go then. Can I still call you? Hang out? You can’t cut me out completely.”
Cierra laughed, “I’m not cutting you out at all, silly goose. Yes, you can still call and we can still hang out and be friends but until we’re both ready and I can stop being a jealous bitch, then we shouldn’t hang out as much.”
Justin poked his bottom lip out into a pout, “Does that mean I can’t kiss you anymore?”
She pushed his chest lightly and stepped away from the door frame, “Yes, goober. We’ll do our best to fight it.
A knock at the door made Cierra look up from her book. Justin left over an hour ago, so she had no idea who could be at the door. She looked out the peephole and a grin started to spread across her face. Opening the door, she squealed, “You’re here!”
She held the door open for her friends to step into the apartment. The five of them stepped into a group hug and Jess was the first to speak, “Nice place you got here!”
Cierra giggled, “Thanks. AJ is still at work. She usually doesn’t get home until after 6 but I think she’s going to her man’s tonight.”
Whitney, Melissa and Jess were all flying home the next evening; Brandi was the only one staying for a couple of days. “Where’s your superstar?” Melissa asked, sitting her bag down beside the couch then taking a seat. Whitney, Jess and Brandi all looked at Cierra, waiting for her answer.
“He went home. We had … an eventful night and decided it was best to put some distance between us until he can get over his ex.” She answered. After giving the girls a brief tour of the apartment, they all piled into the living room. Cierra and Brandi sat on the loveseat while Whitney, Jess and Melissa took up the couch. Whitney, the redhead of the group, smiled, “So, how eventful was last night?”
Cierra laughed, “Not that eventful. He left around 3 to go help her with some situation and we had a disagreement about it. He came back afterwards and we talked and then he left. End of story.”
Melissa pulled Cierra’s cell phone from behind her back, “So is it bad then that I texted him and told him to come over and meet your favorite friends?” Melissa had a habit of that. Stealing people’s phones and sending random, usually, dirty text messages to people. Cierra’s eyes widened as she stood up and snatched the phone from Melissa.
“I am going to seriously hurt you one of these days.” Her phone beeped, letting her know she had a new text message and she opened it.
Just bring them here. I need to tell you something anyways. See you in a bit?
She looked over at Melissa and narrowed her eyes, “Looks like you’re going to finally see where your crush lives.” Melissa was a huge Justin Timberlake fan. “Grab your shoes, ladies; we’re going for a car ride.”
They pulled through the gate to Justin’s house about 20 minutes later. Cierra laughed at the noises the girls were making when his house came into view. “Holy shit, C. He lives here alone?” Brandi asked as Cierra put the car in park. They all got out of the car and made their way to the front door.
Cierra nodded, “Yep. I think it’s kind of overkill for someone who lives alone but his mom visits a lot and Trace usually gets drunk and crashes here.” She raised her fist to knock on the door but it opened before she could. Justin stood in the door way wearing grey sweatpants and a wife-beater. She looked over at Melissa and couldn’t help but snicker. He stepped out of the doorway to allow the women to enter. After doing the usually introductions, Justin led the girls into the kitchen and told them to help themselves. He’d made lunch. Cierra leaned against the wall and let her friends make their plates first. Justin came up beside her, nudging her with his shoulder, “I leave tomorrow.”
Looking up at him, she nodded, “Where to?”
“Germany then off to Italy and finally stopping in London. I should be gone about a month an a half. It’s just a bunch of promotional shit.” He tucked a piece of her long hair behind her ear, “Miss me?”
She snorted and rolled her eyes, “Not at all; you’re a bit too much for me. This is supposed to be good for us, remember? You’ll have fun – won’t even know I’m not around.” She smirked at him before grabbing a plate and putting spaghetti on it. Justin followed suit and soon everyone was sitting at the dining room table, getting to know each other. After lunch, Justin showed everyone around, making the game room the last stop. Cierra watched as her four best friends go giddy over the games he had and soon she was sitting on the couch, laughing at Brandi and Melissa’s Guitar Hero competition.
Justin sat down beside her, putting his arm around the back of the couch, “Your friends are quite the characters.”
She looked over at him, grinning, “Yeah, tell me about it. Thanks for lunch. Is your trip to Europe what you needed to tell me?” She looked over at him and realized he was staring at her. She ducked her head, “Stop looking at me like that.”
“Mmm…I can’t help it. Yes, that was what I wanted to tell you and that when I get back you’re going to go on a date with me, young lady.” He winked at her then leaned down and kissed her forehead, “And I won’t take no for an answer.”
She tucked her bottom lip under her teeth, “We’ll see about that.”
