Kerri had quit her job a little over three months ago and found a new home for herself and her crew over at 104.7 FM. Things were going extremely well. Her show’s popularity was booming and it had expanded over onto the internet.

Justin had been away in Europe doing TV appearances along with impromptu performances for the fans to help boost sales, which seemed to be working, because anytime Kerri turned on the TV there was always news about how much the UK loved JT.

She could tell that the performances and constantly traveling from one city to the next night after night was starting to take its toll on him. He would call to talk to her and midway through their routine 'hello and how are you's' he'd dose off.  And even after the tenth  time he'd done it, Kerri would still answer the phone. She knew he'd end up dosing off in the first five minutes, but she didn't care. This was her friend. She wanted to be there for him when he reached out to her. And he did the same. No matter who he was with, or what meeting he was in the middle of, he'd stop to answer her call.

He hadn't been home in months and couldn't wait to get back to the states to take a couple weeks off for some much needed rest. His grandmother's birthday was approaching and wanted to go back home to Tennessee to surprise her on her special day. He asked Kerri to go with him. At first, it was an absolute no, because she didn't want to intrude on his family. But after speaking to his mother on the phone later on that week, she agreed and had Serena and the crew re-play a few of the older shows while she was out of town. She and Mrs. Harless had talked on the phone briefly here and there when Kerri would answer Justin's, and the two of them seemed to have a few laughs, but the two had yet to meet.

"..Why you so nervous?" he looked over at her before giving the driver his mother's address.

"I feel awkward being here, Justin. This is your family. It feels wrong."

"My mom invited you. Not everyone coming to the party's gonna be family, Kerri. Stop trippin' and just relax."

Kerri couldn't help but laugh at how Justin's accent was suddenly more prominent than it had been back home. Kerri looked up at the house as they got out of the car, butterflies forming in her stomach by the second.

His family's home was located in an estate-type subdivision twenty miles outside Memphis. It was brick, of a goodly but not ostentatious size, and had a Tudor feel to it, with a neatly manicured front yard. Justin motioned towards the house with his head, "Come on." Kerri followed closely behind him as he entered the house. "Yo, Momma!"

"In here!" a sweet, southern voice called out. Justin took Kerri's bag from her hand and placed it next to his by the front door and tugged her arm to follow him.

Inside, Lynn had done the place up with statues on tables, comfy couches and a few framed photographs of Justin, which he turned face down as they walked through the hallway. He walked into the kitchen where his mother was dicing up tomatoes to put into a salad. He went over and hugged his mother tightly before kissing her on the cheek and wrapping his arm around her shoulder motioning towards Kerri. "Mom, this is Kerri...Kerri, my momma."

"Hi. How are you?" Kerri smiled putting her hand out to shake Lynn's.

Lynn wiped her hands on a nearby towel and pushed Kerri's hand away before leaning over to hug her. Kerri was surprised by the gesture and hugged back gently. The two women were about the same height. Lynn's bushy hairdo made her just an inch taller than Kerri. She couldn't help but notice that Justin's mom didn't dress like any of her friends' mother's. She seemed more in tune with the latest trends, which was both cool and disturbing at the same time. "It's nice to actually meet the sweet voice that I hear over the phone all the time. How was your trip?"

"It was nice. As soon as we hit our seats, Justin fell right to sleep and snored the entire way here." She laughed.

Justin grabbed a piece of tomato off the salad and plopped it in his mouth before poking Kerri in the side and heading towards the fridge. In the midst of her conversation with Kerri, Lynn looked over and scolded Justin, "Don't touch anything on the third shelf! I'm making that for your Granny's party tomorrow."

Kerri offered her help in the kitchen as Justin made himself comfortable in the other room. About ten minutes later there was a knock at the front door. Kerri could hear Justin and an older female in the hall talking as they made their way towards the kitchen. "Hey, Lynn. I brought over most of the fruit you had on this list. They were all out of seedless watermelons though, along with the kiwi's and apricots."

"We'll just have to rush over to the farmer's market before they close then, Belinda. Did you meet Kerri, yet?"

Kerri turned around and waved at the light haired woman standing in front of her. She looked really familiar, but Kerri couldn't place her face. "This is Belinda. She's Trace's mom."

Kerri's face immediately lit up as she shook the woman's hand. "Oooh! Hi! You looked so familiar."

"Trace says you left quite an impression on him and Justin the first time you met."

Kerri's face turned red and she recalled that fateful night. As the four of them continued to talk, Kerri discovered that Belinda was a puppy breeder. She and Lynn had been best friends since they were fifteen. "Yeah, he and Justin have been brothers since they were embryo's. They even look alike...It's terrible."

Kerri and Justin momentarily left the two women in the kitchen so he could show her the rest of the house. Upstairs on a balcony was his full-size Revenge From Mars pinball machine. In the living room, two TV sets face each other, with two back-to-back easy chairs situated between them; this is where Justin and Trace, played Halo on the Xbox. This is where he felt most normal...At home with mom and childhood friends. As soon as they pulled up in the driveway earlier all the tension in his face disappeared. She’d catch it in glimpses when they were back in LA and was happy to see it again.

Later when they returned back downstairs, they encountered Lynn and Belinda on their way out the door. "Justin, I gotta get to the store before they close or I won't be ready for the party tomorrow. We'll be back soon."

Kerri grabbed her jacket and followed the women out the front door. Justin was locking up the front door when his mother looked at him strangely and asked "Where are you going?"

Kerri chimed in before he could answer, "I promised him I'd take him out to eat when we got into town. I owe him."

Lynn nodded and covertly elbowed her friend as they stood and watched the two hop into Justin's Jeep. He had on a pair of Khakis along with a button down plaid shirt and Kerri had changed into a floral spring dress that came a couple inches above her knee with a pair high-heeled espadrilles. The straps were settled close to the edge of her shoulders, accenting the small charm necklace she wore around her neck that resembled a Treble Clef music symbol.

Belinda sat in the car putting on her seatbelt, watching them pull out of the driveway. "He's actually letting her drive his car?"

"Yep." Lynn responded as she put the car in drive.

"Uh huh...And they're only friends?" Belinda asked with a crooked smile.

"Now I can see where your son gets it." Lynn chuckled lightly as they drove off down the street.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I love this kind of weather."

"Yeah. It's not too hot. Not too cold. Just in between. Perfect for being outside." She smiled, finishing up her slice of chocolate cake and ice cream.

The restaurant was right near the river. They had a back area outside designated for warmer nights when patron’s wanted to dine out in the moonlight. Right near the rivers’ edge stood a stage where a band played most of the evening and couples could literally dance together beneath the stars. Justin leaned back in his chair and pushed his arms out to stretch before rubbing his full gut and trying to cover up his belch with his hand. Kerri looked around to see if anyone heard and looked back glaring at him.

"My bad. So why did you bring me here, anyway?"

"Trace gave me a list of restaurants in town and crossed out all the non-friendly Timberlake establishments and there were only like two left that he knew of where people wouldn't bother you for an autograph and all that jazz."

He looked around. There were a few groups of people who seemed close to his mother's age, but it was generally a senior couples type of crowd. He looked back down in his plate chuckling. "I'll have to hurt him later."

"What'd you say?" she asked turning her attention off of the people dancing and back towards him.

"Nothing. It's nice." He smiled at her.

Kerri caught herself staring at him and shook her head, pushing the thoughts she was having out of her mind. "If you want some attention I'm sure we could stop by a mall on the way back. I could do my best impression of a fainting fan. Attract an entire crowd of people over and let them maul you until the cops show up...It can be arranged."

"Maybe tomorrow..." He smiled coyly, showing his pearly whites. Kerri was instantly reminded of that infamous moment in their "Bye Bye Bye" video when he is about to be chased by dogs and looks at the camera and smiles. She would remind herself later to kill Serena for forcing her to watch the video with her a million times.

"No, seriously. It's nice. That's why I like to come home. Everyone in the neighborhood treats me no different than they did when I was five. I need that sometimes. I guess that's why I hang out with you so much."

"Damn and for a minute there I thought it was because I was so damn sexy." Kerri joked.

The both sat quietly finishing up their wine. Both taking time to stare up at the stars instead of each other. The band had returned from their short break and started to play. Kerri hummed along with the music and Justin tapped his foot to the slow beat. A couple in their late 60's were making their way to the dance floor and spotted Kerri smiling at them. The woman stopped and pulled Justin up to his feet. "Come on and dance you two. Or are you afraid you won't be able to keep up with us ole' timers?"

"We'll just have to try our best." Justin smiled as he placed his hand on the small of Kerri's back to lead her out onto the dance floor. He wrapped his arm around her waist and took her hand in his own and they started to move. Justin couldn't figure out how he knew the melody to the song that seemed older than him. The band was only playing the instrumental at first until finally the woman sitting at the piano leaned in closer to the mic and began to sing:

Time...

I've been passing time watching trains go by,

All of my life...

Lying on the sand, watching seabirds fly

Wishing there would be

Someone waiting home for me...

Something's telling me it might be you

It's telling me it might be you...

All of my life...

Justin sang a word here and there along with Kerri to the chorus. She smiled at his recognition. The two of them intently watched the couple next to them twirl around the floor like pro's. They tried, but failed when Kerri's feet betrayed her and decided to stick with what they knew.

Looking back as lovers go walking past...

All of my life...

Wondering how they met and what makes it last

If I found the place

Would I recognize the face?

Something's telling me it might be you

It's telling me it might be you...

All of my life...

"Where the hell do I know this song from?" He asked himself aloud.

"Tootsie. It’s an old 80’s movie with Dustin Hoffman pretending to be a woman.”

"Oh Yeah! My mom loves that movie. She used to have me sit with her on the couch when I was little to watch it with her. It always seems to make her laugh…Even though she's seen it twenty times."

So many quiet walks to take

So many dreams to wake

And we've so much love to make

I think we're gonna need some time

Maybe all we need is time...

And it's telling me it might be you

All of my life...

Justin moved closer to Kerri and she found herself staring at him again. His lips parted slightly as he placed his fingers on her necklace, adjusting it so that it was straight.

“Thanks.” She smiled at him and he grinned, his hand settling on her back, but this time more firmly against her skin.

Kerri slightly shivered, goose bumps now forming. Justin tilted his head to the side. “You cold?” he asked, fighting his own shiver as his hand smoothed down her warm skin. They were both momentarily unable to speak. Finally, Justin interrupted the awkward silence and said, "So…Hypothetical question.”

Kerri looked at him to continue. He starred down at her, his eyes scanning her face and he wondered how he never noticed the softness in her eyes or the smoothness of her skin before. He’d have to make sure he didn’t have any more to drink tonight. He must have been drunk. This was his friend. She didn’t see him as anything else. "...Let's say I'm just this average guy you don't know and I'm walking past you down the street and we stop. We talk, then exchange numbers. What about me would have attracted you."

Kerri didn't need any time to think about her answer. "Your mouth." she confessed softly, her honesty making his cheeks turn red.

"My mouth?" he questioned, wanting her to elaborate.

His tongue snaked out to lick his lips slowly and Kerri’s eyes studied him as he did it. There were those naughty thoughts from before, creeping back up to the surface. No more wine for her tonight. “Yeah.” She replied finally.

"Not my boyish charms? My confidence? Or hilarious sense of humor?"

"No. There has to be something about you that makes me want to stop. I wouldn't know about those things until I actually talked to you. But your mouth..." Kerri looks towards his lips again. "It says a lot...Like with one smile I can sometimes see how embarrassed and flattered you are at those awkward times when people come up with the strangest comments. Or how when you lick at your bottom lip you're either very worried or very upset about something. I can see all this just be watching your mouth." she said nervously, her eyes flicking around and Justin suddenly realizing that he had been staring and not speaking.

He was impressed. He tried not to think of how warm her skin felt against his palm, but he was perilous to stop his mind from going to dark places where he envisioned her back rubbing up against the back seat of his jeep as he hovers over her. He pushed the thoughts out of his mind, reminding himself that this was his friend. He licked his lips lightly. "What else can you see?"

Kerri looked at his mouth studying it and gazed deep into his eyes with a crooked grin, "I can see how badly you wanna kiss me right now."

"Oh shut the hell up!" he laughed, spinning her out and around and then back again. The bottom of her dress rose up just enough to make him curious to see what she had on underneath. The two laughed lightly and continued to dance.

I've been saving love songs and lullabies

And there’s so much more

No one's ever heard before...

The thought of kissing her had briefly crossed his mind. "Must you be so sarcastic all the time?"

Kerri's smile faded as she looked away from him towards the water, "It's a shield. I use it to keep myself from getting hurt."

Justin grabbed her chin and lightly turned her head back to face him, "You know I'd never hurt you right? You’re my friend. I can only hope that I bring you as much happiness as you bring me."

"Yeah, I know. But I use it so much that even when I'm not trying to be facetious, it comes out that way." Her eyes drifted down to his lips once more.

Justin questioned to himself wondering if she was hinting back to her earlier comment. His eyes drifted down towards her lips as they continued to dance.

Maybe it's you...

Maybe it's you...

I’ve been waiting for all of my life