Chapter 3

Later on - 10:00 p.m.

Justin followed Beyonce out on the parking lot towards their vehicles. "That was delicious." she spoke, turning to face him. "Again, you really didn't have to pay for my half. I had the money." he nodded.

"I know. I just thought...you didn't have a man who treated you in a while so..." her eyebrows raised in questioning. "Did that come out right? I'm sorry." he apologized. "I didn't mean it like that."

"No, I...I think I get what you were trying to say. "Um..."

"Oh..." he handed her the container of leftovers. "I was gonna walk away with it." she smiled, slowly accepting the item from him.

"Thank you." he bit his lip while stuffing his hands in his pockets. For some reason, he began to get nervous. He wasn't for sure if it was the vibe he was getting from her or maybe the fact that he hadn't been out on a date in a while.

"I guess I should go." she broke the silence between them.

"Uh yeah." he nodded in agreement. "See you around." he hesitantly leaned in, placing a kiss on her cheek. "Good night." she watched as he hopped in his car, conveying it to life. Before he could put his car in reverse, he heard a knock on the window. He looked away, gazing at Beyonce who was standing on the passengers side.

He pressed the window button, rolling it down. "Hey um...I was wondering if you were interested in going dancing. There's this hot spot about three miles from here. Free admission after nine o'clock. That's if you weren't...busy and all." why did he feel his heart jump from out of his chest? He hadn't been to a club in years because of the tragedy and he definitely wasn't going to give this opportunity up. Especially after vowing to himself that he would move on.

"Sure. I'll follow you." she smiled massively.

"Cool. See you in a few." he rolled back up his window, slowly pulling out of the lot -- following behind the Benz in front of him. Moments later, they pulled up in front of an animated building with music blasting from it. He parked his car and stepped out, walking over to Beyonce's vehicle. "That wasn't too long, was it?" she asked, locking her doors with the remote attached to her key chain.

"No. Not at all." they ambled towards the building. "Have you ever been here?"

"Yeah. I think twice. Can't really remember." they entered the building, immediately being blown away by the loud music coming from the speakers.

Damnnnn girl, you're so fineeee
The way you let me put it downnn, girl
It blows my mindddd

"What a coincidence." she referred to the song playing. "Now why does that voice sound so familiar?" he rolled his eyes.

"I can tell him to turn it off if you want." he teased.

"Whatever." he spotted a table all the way in the back.

"I found a table." she followed him towards the specific table, quickly taking her seat. "This is a pretty nice place. Not too crowded. Just right."

"That's because it's a weekday. This place is packed on the weekends."

"Hmm and it's funny how you would know, considering you've only been here for what? Two times." she looked away, shaking her head in pity.

"Okay you got me. I come here frequently. But that shouldn't be important, right?" he gazed at her from across the table. "What about you? Have you been anywhere without Aaliyah?" he held his head down, scratching his forehead in thought. When she noticed how quick his mood changed, she felt completely misplaced. "I'm sorry. I didn't...mean to offend you."

"No." he shook his head. "I just...I get absentminded when she's mentioned. I just don't like talking about her. It only brings back memories...if you know what I mean." he finally locked eyes with hers. "I'm trying to move on and the only way I can do that is if she's not spoken of."

"I understand. I didn't mean to bring her up. I was just making conversation." she explained.

"It's okay. You didn't know." she looked away, putting her focus on the moving bodies on the dance floor. "Hey, you wanna dance?" he woke her out of her trance.

"Um, sure. Of coarse." she stood up, following him on the floor. He froze, slowly turning to face her. She moved in closer, gradually moving to the music. With hesitation, he finally decided to build up to the courage to wrap his arms around her waist. She attached her arms to his neck, finally peering in his dark blue eyes. She had never been this close to him and she never thought this would happen. Since the only person he had eyes for was gone.

They both hadn't spoken a word to each other as they stood there moving along to the music playing throughout the speakers. From the expressions on their faces, they both knew that had a few things to talk about. Before the night was over.

...pleaseeee give me another chance
To write you another songggg
And take back those things I've doneee
'Cause I'll give you...my heart
If you would letttt me start all over...again

"It must be Justin Timberlake day tonight." she spoke up. "Either that or they're just in love with your songs." he held his head down, chuckling to himself.

"I don't know." he lifted his head to peer in her eyes.

"This is a pretty nice song. Is it referring to someone in particular?"

"Um...no. Not exactly. Just a bunch of words I came up with...that's all." she giggled faintly. "Can I ask you something?" she nodded, never breaking the eye contact. "What happened with you and Jay-Z? You don't have to answer if you don't want. I'll understand."

"Ahem well...Shawn and I were going through some changes. It was basically about one person doing something that the other person didn't agree on." he nodded.

"Okay. And..." he hesitated. "Were you in love?" she bit her lip, in deep thought.

"I don't think so. I loved him but...I don't think I was in love." he peered deeply in her eyes, nearly getting lost in them.

"You ever heard of falling for someone over a kiss? But not just any kiss. It's how that person uses it...to their knowledge." she held a confused look. "You don't understand what I'm saying, do you?" she shook her head.

"No. Ahaha. I'm sorry."

"It's okay. It's perfectly fine. I was confused too at first, but after I met Aaliyah and we kissed for the first time...I knew what it meant."

"Can you explain to me..."

"Well...it's kinda hard to. I can tell you how it feels. It's like...you get this tingly feeling in your bones. Something you've never felt before. As soon as you meet lips with that person, everything around you is like this shade of black. Everything is discolored because the only thing you can see is her. And all you can pay attention to is the way her lips feel against yours. You don't wanna focus on that tree behind you or the way people are looking at you. All you can see..."

"...is her?" she interrupted. He nodded timidly.

"Yeah. That's it." she looked away, having no idea what to say at that point. It was like she was lost with words. "You okay?"

"Um..." she ran her fingers through her hair. "I don't know. I just...I don't think I've ever felt that feeling before."

"Oh...well it's no big deal. One day you will meet that person. It's kinda funny because before Aaliyah and I got together, we had no interest in each other...at all. And then we kissed and..." he shook his head. "The rest is history."

"I need to know this. Just please try to answer the best you can." he nodded.

"I'll try. I can't...promise anything."

"I don't even know how to say this. Umm, forget it. I'm gonna take my chances." she leaned in, her face inches away from his as she debated on whether to take the next step.

"Are you...going to kiss me?" she met eyes with his.

"Will you hate me afterwards?" he shook his head, slowly gazing in on her full lips.

"No. I might...feel odd around you but..." she locked lips with his, immediately feeling this chill run down her spine. He slightly parted his lips, kissing her intimately. His body begin to warm up, a hint that his hormones were going haywire. He hadn't experienced a real kiss with another woman in a very long time and he never thought it would've been with Beyonce.

She moaned softly, slowly breaking away. He fluttered his eyes open, meeting her gaze. For some reason, he had no idea what to say. It was like his mind had went blank. He wanted to move further, but he also knew that it would have been too soon. This was only their first date. "I'm sorry. I know kissing me was the last thing on your agenda and..."

"Actually...no. Coming to a club was the last thing on my list, but now I'm glad I decided to do it." she flashed him a questioning look.

"And why?" Truthfully, he didn't know how to answer that question. He just knew something inside wasn't disagreeing with everything that was going on.

"I don't know why. I just...I'm glad I did." she smiled warmly, slowly reaching out for his hand.

"You want something to drink?" he nodded while accepting her hand.

"You buying?" he asked in a humorous tone.

"Why not?" his grip on her hand became tighter.

"I was just kidding. The person who should be treating is me." they ambled towards the bar.

"Okay well...you can buy me a drink and while we're drinking, I'll be thinking of a way to pay you back...before the night is over with." she gawked to the side to stare at him.

"Now why does that sound so intimidating?" she laughed in return.