Set the Mood (Prelude)/Until the End of Time
Let me set the mood right
‘Cause I’m gonna make you feel alright
Let me set the mood right
‘Cause I’m gonna make you feel alright
Gotta set the mood right
And let me make you feel alright
‘Cause I’m gonna set the mood right
I promise babe you’ll feel alright
Just let me set the mood right
And let me make you feel alright
‘Cause I’m gonna set the mood right
Then you’ll say my name tonight
If I set the mood right
I promise girl you’ll feel alright
If you let me set the mood right
I’ll make you feel so good tonight
If it feels good to you,
It’ll feel good to me
Let me set the mood right…
* * *
“Momma, I fucked up.”
“Justin! Watch your language young man,” Lynn scolded her son, stopping to take a sip of lemonade. She and Justin sat on Justin’s patio as he miserably told her what had happened.
Most of it, that is.
“Well, how bad did you screw up?”
Justin suddenly became quite fascinated with his drink.
“Justin.” Lynn watched as a blush crept up her son’s neck. “What did you do?”
“IhadphonesexwithCameron.”
Lynn rolled her eyes and sighed. “What were you thinking? Wait “ do I want to know?”
“Mom, I was lonely and in a bad mood and she just sounded so sad . . .”
“Justin, why would you do that? You don’t have an unfaithful bone in your body “ no pun intended.”
Justin chuckled and shook his head. “I don’t know. Honestly.”
“Well you know what you need to do, right?”
Justin looked at her helplessly.
“You need to tell Campbell what happened. You’ve always valued honesty in your relationships. Campbell’s a very understanding girl. That’s no excuse for what you did, but it’s only fair that you at least tell her what went on. And from there you can decide where to go next.”
“But I know where I want to go next. I wanna be with Campbell. I love her.”
“Then why’d you do it, Justin?” If there was one thing Justin hated about his mom, it was her ability to be brutally blunt.
“I don’t know!” He slammed his glass against the table. He rested his head in his hands, rubbing his palms against his eyes and sniffling. “I don’t even know how to get a hold of her.”
Lynn looked at her son sympathetically. “Just give her a few days. She’ll be back.”
“How do you know?”
“Like I said, Campbell’s a very understanding girl. She’ll be back.”
Justin looked up and eyed her suspiciously. “You know where she is.”
“I don’t know a thing,” Lynn said innocently.
“Mom!”
“Justin, quit your whining.”
“Momma, where is she?”
“I’m not going to tell you.”
“So you do know! Momma, tell me! I’ve got to see her!”
“Nope.”
Justin groaned in exasperation.
“I’ll make you a deal though.”
Justin looked up at her expectantly.
“You take some time to think about what you’re going to say to her and I’ll give you a head’s up when she’s coming back.”
Justin sighed. He knew that that was all he was going to get from her. But for now, it was enough.
* * *
Justin was wandering aimlessly around his house, moping after having declined Trace’s offer to go clubbing again, when he decided enough was enough. If what his mom said was true, Campbell would come back on her own and he could apologize then. There was no need to throw himself a pity party in the meantime. Maybe meeting Trace up at the club for a few drinks and a night of dancing wasn’t such a bad idea after all. But first, he decided it was time to shave the grizzly beard he had neglected since Campbell’s absence.
He was nearly done shaving when the phone rang, the shrill noise piercing the silence of the house.
“Fuck!” Justin exclaimed as he nicked himself. The razor fell to the floor with a clatter. Ignoring the phone, he reached down to pick up the razor, which had landed beside the trashcan underneath the counter. And that’s when he saw it.
Stuffed beneath a wad of tissues was a pink cardboard box. He reached for it and when he saw what it was the noise of the phone was drowned out by the sudden rush of blood through his heart to his head.
He immediately dumped the contents of the waste bin onto the floor, not caring that he was making a mess, only intent on finding the contents of the box. But the slender white stick was nowhere to be found.
Shit. But, it couldn’t be. There was no way. They always used protection, unless one of the condoms had broken?
A wave of anger washed over Justin. It was obvious to him that Campbell had panicked and fled because she was the one keeping the secrets, not him. He tossed everything back into the trashcan, picked up his razor and carefully finished shaving. He was going to go out and have fun tonight, everyone else be damned.
As for his recent revelation, well, he’d just have to deal with that later.
Story Tags: friendsturnedlovers cheaterj soloj triangles tabloids friendswithbenefits
