Since the arrival of the paternity results, Justin’s life had been turned upside down. If he was honest with himself, his world had been starting to tip ever since he met Adah James, but he blamed the paternity results for the craziness of the past few weeks.
Gina would no longer talk to him and he was fairly sure that their relationship was over. He couldn’t blame her, but it still stung. He had wanted to tell her, but they hadn’t spent much time together since she’d been filming in Europe and he was afraid that sharing this bit of information would ruin everything. He was right. He knew that there wasn’t anyone to blame but himself, he did, but it was easier to put some of that blame on Adah.
His lawyers had been throwing shit fits ever since they’d read the document. All sorts of contracts and agreements had been drawn up for he and Adah to sign, and he was being pressured to get in touch with her so plans could be made. So far, Adah wasn’t returning his calls, but he knew that she’d spoken with Trace a few times since she’d sent the results. It was starting to frustrate Justin, but he could understand Adah’s hesitance to bring herself into the madness of his life.
The worst part, though, was by-far, his mother. Lynn had been nagging Justin constantly for Adah to join them on tour so she could meet her and get to know the mother of her grandchild. She constantly expressed her disappointment in his decisions and would settle for his “I don’t know” when she asked him questions. Justin also had the strong suspicion that while his mother wasn’t so old fashioned that she expected Justin and Adah to get married, she at least thought that they should be in a relationship.
“Being a single mother isn’t easy, Justin. Adah’s going to need you to be there for her,” seemed to be her constant mantra.
The one time that Justin countered back with “you managed it,” he got a very dirty look.
“So this is something you’d wish upon you’re child? And I had your Dad to help.” After that she gave him the silent treatment for the rest of the day.
She, of course, was referring to Paul, who also took every opportunity to question Justin on his intentions with Adah and this baby. It was starting to get to be too much to handle. There was still over a month left of his tour and he couldn’t wait for it to be over. This upset him just as much as the hounding did. He loved performing and he loved his fans. The two hours that he was on stage each night was euphoric and helped him forget about this whole mess, but it was starting to not be enough anymore. He was stressed and felt that he had no where to turn. Even Rachel, who didn’t want to believe Adah at first, was giving Justin the evil eye and telling him to step up and be a man.
He wanted to get away and just have some time to think it all through. He barely knew this girl and didn’t know what he wanted to happen. Of course he was going to help her with the baby, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t scared shitless. He had no idea what to do, and he felt helpless while he was out on tour. He could call and ask Adah to come join them, but that would just throw her into more madness than he wanted to subject her to. It was crazy to think that they could get to know each other while he was busy with performing, meetings, promotions, and everything else that came with a tour.
As far as Justin could figure, he was screwed. Which was ironic, considering that it was screwing that got him here in the first place.
~*~
“No, not like that. Try it this way.” Adah took the leash from Brennan’s hands and led Ranger around in a small circle, making the dog heel as they walked.
“I really don’t get the difference.” Brennan commented, smiling as he watched the two make their way back toward him.
“It’s how you hold the leash. If you get them used to being next to you with the leash, you’ll eventually be able to take them off of it and they’ll stick with you.” She handed him back the leash, rubbing Ranger behind the ears.
“I’m not sure I believe you, but I just saw you do it, so…” He grinned at her.
Adah and Brennan had been spending a lot of time together since the party at Adah’s apartment. They had a lot of fun hanging out together and they were starting to build a strong friendship. Nothing had been said about anything further than friendship, but Adah’s growing belly seemed to stop any of those conversations. Things weren’t awkward, but neither of them felt comfortable moving past friendship. At least not yet.
“Are you hungry?” He asked, moving them over to the blanket he’d set up.
“Oh, definitely. I know the doctor’s told me that I’m not really supposed to eat like I’m eating for two, but I swear this baby gets hungrier than I ever did.” She rubbed her swelling bump, feeling the baby kick as she did. She was now six and a half months along and she mostly felt like a beached whale. Of course it had to be late summer, so it was sweltering outside all the time and Adah felt like she never stopped sweating.
It didn’t help that she had a furnace attached to her stomach.
“Here you go,” Brennan’s voice broke her out of her reverie, a sandwich in his hand.
“Thanks.” She gladly took the sandwich, savoring the taste. Cheese. This whole pregnancy she’d been craving cheese. So she was eating a ham and cheese, heavy on the cheese. To most, it was probably gross, but Adah couldn’t get enough.
“So, any more thoughts on names or anything?” The past few weeks talk about the baby had been focused around names. Adah felt slightly guilty that she hadn’t included Justin in this thought process, but that soon faded when she’d been bombarded with calls from his lawyers and only two from Justin himself.
“I don’t know. I can’t seem to narrow it down. Just when I think I’ve picked one, I change my mind.”
“It might help if you knew if it was going to be a boy or a girl.” He chided.
“Yeah, yeah. So I’ve been told.” Adah had decided that she wanted the sex of the baby to be a surprise, so she didn’t let the technician tell her. Call her old fashioned, but she liked the idea of not knowing. Everyone told her that it would be so much easier if she knew now, but she wanted to be surprised. It was an exciting thing to guess about.
“So,” Brennan cleared his throat, indicating an awkward or uncomfortable question about to happen. “What about the father? Does he have anything to say about the name?”
Adah set down her sandwich, wiping at her mouth before taking a sip of iced tea. “Uhm, well…” she trailed off. How to answer this question. “To be honest, I don’t really know the father all that well. It was a one night stand and he’s a pretty busy guy, so I don’t see him very often.”
“But he knows about the baby?” Brennan couldn’t look at Adah, if only because he felt like he was being too nosey, but he couldn’t help it. He really wanted to know.
“Yeah, he knows. It’s a pretty complicated situation and I think both of us are just trying to get used to the idea that we’re even having a baby.” Adah wasn’t sure why she was defending Justin and his absenteeism, but she was.
“What keeps him so busy that he can’t be around to help? I mean, I’ve seen you struggle with just about everything at this point and Sam and Brett are the only two that I know that help you.” It was probably out of line, but Brennan felt protective over Adah and he was really upset that whoever knocked her up couldn’t be man enough to take care of her.
“He’s…” Adah hesitated, not wanting to reveal the paternity of her baby. “He’s got a job that has him traveling a lot. I’m sure he’d be here if he could, but right now he’s not even in L.A.” Adah was starting to get really uncomfortable with this conversation. “I’m sorry, it’s kind of a sore subject right now, can we change the subject?” Her eyes pleaded with his and he instantly felt like a jackass.
“Of course, I didn’t mean to pry. I’m sorry.”
“It’s OK, I think I’m just hormonal.” The meager joke seemed enough to break the tension between the two and the subject instantly changed to lighter topics. Brennan enjoyed getting to know this girl and he really liked her company. She was funny and sincere and she made him comfortable. He was well aware that circumstances were anything but normal, but he was OK with that for right now. He just wanted to take his time in getting to know her.
“So Brennan, I don’t even know what you do for a living.” Adah stated, surprised that she really didn’t know what his job was.
“Oh, I’m a photographer. Mostly I do ad campaigns that involve landscapes or things like that, but occasionally I’ll shoot a celebrity or two. Most girls are pretty excited to learn that I’ve even worked with Justin Timberlake before.” He chuckled, noting the widening of Adah’s eyes at the mention of the singer’s name. Most people reacted that way.
She started coughing, choking on the sip of tea she just took. Brennan patted her on the back, hoping to help her breathe normally again. “I’m sorry, you just caught me off guard with that one.” She held a hand to her chest only to feel her heart beating erratically. Of course he had to mention Justin’s name just as Adah had started to forget about the man. And of course Justin had to be one of the few celebrities that Brennan had worked with.
“It’s Ok, I get a reaction like that a lot. That man is immensely popular.”
“Yeah, well…I can probably think of a few reasons why but I don’t really want to.” She left it at that, quickly changing the subject by asking him questions about the other pictures he’d taken and if she’d seen any of his work anywhere.
Adah really liked Brennan and she was happy to have found someone that she got along with so well. It seemed effortless when they were together and she liked that. There was so much going on in her life at the moment that it was really nice to have someone that was so relaxed and easy-going. He made her laugh and took her mind off of everything for a bit. Obviously she knew that she was going to have to face reality sooner or later and discuss things with Justin and his lawyers, but she wasn’t ready for that circus yet. It was overwhelming enough to deal with being pregnant; fully acknowledging that it was Justin Timberlake’s baby was a whole other level. It wasn’t going to be a simple discussion of weekends or weeknights, and she was fully aware of that. It was going to be contracts and agreements and wavers that essentially made her a slave to Justin’s wishes. If he didn’t want her to be known to the public, she wasn’t going to be.
Adah didn’t want any of that, though. She wasn’t looking to become a celebrity, especially not for this. She could only imagine the scrutiny she’d be under if it got out that she was the mother to Justin’s offspring. No thanks.
What worried Adah the most had nothing to do with Justin’s fame, though. She didn’t know what kind of father he wanted to be. For all she knew he was going to settle for handing her a chunk of cash and call it good. And while it might be easier if she pretended he didn’t exist, she didn’t want her baby to grow up without knowing his or her father. She hoped that she and Justin could come to some sort of an arrangement that allowing them to both parent and have time with the baby without all of the crazy legal mess of custody or anything of the sort. It probably wasn’t going to be that easy, she knew, but she could still hope.
“Adah? Are you with me? You spaced.” Brennan’s hand waved past her eyes and Adah jumped, realizing that she had spaced out on him.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to ignore you.” She blushed.
“It’s fine. I just asked if you were ready to get out of here.”
“Oh, yeah. I think I need a nap.” She rubbed her belly, letting Brennan give her a hand out of the lawn chair she’d been sitting in. “This pregnancy thing really makes me tired.”
“I don’t doubt it. You probably created a lung today or something.” Adah couldn’t help the laughter that bubbled from her mouth at that comment.
“You’re might be right!” She giggled, “I’m definitely going to take a nap now. I deserve one.” She helped him pack the food and blanket into the bags and they started to walk back to his car.
“Yeah, I just wonder what Ranger did to think he’s so deserving of a nap.” He’d stopped walking to stare at the Labrador that was still passed out on the grass. “He wouldn’t even bring back the ball we threw. Lazy ass.”
“Not lazy, just smart. He knew if he brought it back you’d throw it for him again.” She quipped, calling Ranger over to them. It took a minute, but the dog responded and trotted over to their sides.
“Right. Lazy.”
“Maybe it’s like sympathy sleepiness. You know, like husbands will gain sympathy weight. Maybe Ranger is just tired because he’s sympathizing with my condition.”
Brennan gave Adah a long look before letting out a low chuckle. “Maybe. But I think he’s just lazy.”
She shrugged, enjoying the laughter sparkling in his eyes. Whatever happened with this whole mess, Adah was certain that she wanted Brennan in her life as much as possible.
