Fourteen months later...

Adilyn sighed heavily, taking in for the last time the breathtaking view of Los Angeles from her apartment that she had been leasing for the past five years. The tiny apartment was perfect for her considering she wasn't home long enough to realize how small it really was but having Jaxon and being home more often that she thought she would; they had outgrown the space they had.

                She would miss everything about the apartment. The memories she made. The memories she thought she would make in this place. Sadness overtook her emotions, tears streaming down her face, again. Everything had changed. This was yet another beginning to a life she had chosen some time ago.

"MAMMMA!!!" his voiced echoed through the empty apartment. "I go!" he jumped up and down, dropping his favorite sippy cup on the floor, rushing down the now empty hallway. "I go. I go."

The sweet sound of his voice gave her the strength she needed to pull through anything. The love she had for that little man was greater than even she could have ever imagined. A love she never thought she could give to someone was all she thought about when it came to him. "We're going..." She picked him up, placing him on her hip as she had done countless times before, twisting her fingers through the little wave of curls that lay on top of his head. He didn't get much of her looks, but he got her defining curls. His piercing blue eyes were not hers, but they drew you in with just a glance. Smiling back at her, he placed his head on her shoulder, wrapping his tiny arms around her, melting her heart.

Things she never thought would become second nature were part of her life everyday life now. But she was okay with that. She wouldn't go back and change a single thing. The dream of being on tour now had a bouncing toddler in the road. The dream of a ‘happy family' was shattered, but Jaxon and Trey was all she needed. If anything she did have the happy family, she had the family that loved her unconditionally.

The galore of brown moving boxes filled the entrance area of her new condo. It took her hours making sure each box was label for an easy unpack mode she thought she would be in. But she didn't have the energy to do that. She saw the daunting task that it really was and opted against doing anything.

She tip toed across the wood floor, attempting to be as quiet as she could, walk towards her new view. It wasn't quite the same. She loved having the city lights as she sipped her morning coffee. It was something that was always there for her, something she knew.  Now, now she had the view of a backyard, green grass, and two patio chairs.

Growing up had its changes, this was one of them.

"Well..." Trey's voice spread across the empty space, Adilyn turned to see him standing in her new kitchen. He continued, "I took the liberty of agreeing that you would have dinner with a friend of mine." He said all nonchalant as if it were just a simple conversation.

"Ya... You did what?" She fired back in an almost panic. "I don't date."

"It's dinner. He is a nice guy." He gushed, throwing his smile at her. "I'm volunteering to watch Jaxon!" He made sure he added the only reason she could back out of this.

She rolled her eyes at him as she turned to walk out of the room away from him. The last thing she ever thought about was actually dating. She had been on dinner dates sporadically, but she never let someone close enough to even think about a second date. She had taken away so much from Jaxon, she couldn't take his mother away from the precious time they had together. 

She knew nothing about this guy but the pit in her stomach was telling her it was time to venture out there, actually have adult time and be happy again. She was at that point in her life where she wanted someone... she wanted that feeling of being loved again, and that was what scared her. She wondered if she would make the same mistakes twice. Could she let that piece of her heart out there again?

                Hiding away in her bedroom, she saw him out of the corner of her eye standing in the doorway. "When's the last time you went on a date? When is the last time you did something for you that didn't involve Jaxon?" His arms remained crossed, glaring at her, waiting for a response.

She shook her head, no.

"I don't think so missy..." he spat out, rushing across the room, pointing his finger at her forcefully. "Don't shake your head no at me. You don't even know this guy. Give him a chance. It's just dinner."

She hesitated to respond to him. A part of her wanted to do this, but she had already made enough selfish choices, this couldn't be one of them.  "Trey. I just can't."

"Adi..." he voice got louder, making her take notice of his tone.

"Shhhh..." she hushed him. "Jaxon is sleeping."

He sat down on her bed, "I guess that will be my problem if I wake him, since I will be watching him tonight."

She shook her head no again, "It's our first night in a new place. I can't do that to Jaxon. I will-"

"No. You will go to dinner tonight. Its dinner with Julie and Rob, there will just be someone else there for you to have dinner with."

She pulled clothes out of the box, placing them on the hangers, attempting to avoid him but it wasn't working. He was even more stubborn than she is. There was no way out of this and she knew it.

"Fine. I'll go." She finally admitted, exploding a level of butterflies through her body.

He jumped up off the bed. "Good. Now go shower and get ready, you have to be there at six. I'm going to run out and pick up some dinner for myself and Jaxon... I'll be back." Just like that Trey was out the door and in his car, making sure that she did just as she should do tonight.

She tapped her nude Yves Saint Laurent heels against the table, nervously she sat quiet. She was in this private room, secluded from the entire restaurant, alone. She kept running ideas through her head. Excuses of how she should leave. Excuses of why she was still sitting alone, when there was supposed to be three others having dinner with her.

 "Thank you" She heard a man's voice say to the hostess as the door finally opened behind her.

The mystery guy she was waiting for glided through the doors, the most endearing smile she had ever seen was on his face. She tugged on the hem of her dress as she stood to greet him. She second guessed the eggplant colored ruffle dress that rested a little too short on her long legs. But seeing the look on his face, the way his eyes followed the length of her legs up her stomach and finally to her face, she knew it was the right choice... or the wrong choice, depending on what she decided she wanted from this date.

 "Justin." He extended his arms out to her petite hand, "You must be Adilyn..."

"God, you seem so familiar." She joked. "Have we met before?"

He placed his hand over his chest, placing a grin on his face, "I'm Justin Timberlake. Everyone knows who I am."

"Well aren't you cocky..." she stated as she began to turn away from him. She was joking but he seemed to have serious tone that rubbed her the wrong way. "I see this was a bad decision..."

He reached for her wrist softy turning her body back to be flush with his. "Sorry... sarcasm." He flashed his gorgeous smile at her. "Sorry, I'm nervous."

"Me too." She admitted softly.

"Sorry, you wanna sit?" He pointed to the chair, waiting to push it in for her.

"Could you stop apologizing?" Adilyn asked.

"Sorry." His face turned red. "I don't do blind dates for a reason. I'm a nerd in glasses trying to have a conversation with a gorgeous woman... it's hard to be cool..."

"Stop trying." She smiled for the first time in what felt like forever, "Just be you."

They sat in silence for only moments before Justin coyly says, "Typical for Rob and Julie to be late... they were late for their own wedding."

"I wouldn't know. I wasn't there."

"Such a bad friend you are..." He chuckled, "Why did you miss the wedding?"

"Work." She says with embarrassment, "I had a show that night in Massachusetts. I couldn't even jump on a flight and go then come back. There weren't enough hours in the day."

"I hear that." he laughed, "What kind of show?"

"A concert..." She said with hesitance.

"Are you a dancer?" He asked sipping on his red wine, adoring her long, lean, and toned legs.

"No." She locked eyes with him. "I was the backup singer for Sarah Connor for several years, among others things..." She looked away from him. A piece of her still missed that feeling every night.

 "We have met before..." His face lights up, his hand goes to the air, "at an award show... I remember telling Rob... damn that girl has pipes."

"I remember now. I did speak to you for a split second before your security took you away." She watched the way his eyebrows would raise when he was trying to make a point. She smiled, exploring the man sitting next to her. His slacks fit him like a glove, his dress shirt tailored to fit him. She was surprised how well he looked. She had seen him on the covers of magazines an album covers for years, but this was different. She was seeing a different view of him. She loved his nervous habit of running his hand over his shaved head, leading her attention back to his gorgeous blue eyes that reminded her of the love of her life.

Jaxon.

Missing him tugged the strings of her heart. She wondered what he was doing at this very moment, did he eat his dinner? Was he crying? Did he need his mom?

                She suddenly felt guilty.

"You alright over there?" Justin asked worried because she had drifted off into almost a sad state.

"I'm fine." She adjusted herself back in her seat. She was determined to at least get through dinner. She owed that to Justin, Trey, and herself.

They were in deep conversation about nothing when Rob and Julie around nearly an hour late to dinner. They never touched on past relationships, their families, or even their friends. It was refreshing for both of them to be able to talk to someone about nothing.

Kicking off her heels at the door, she placed her keys on the counter. Trey was asleep on the couch with Jaxon resting his head on his chest. It was the cutest thing she had ever seen. She love to see the relationship that Trey had with Jaxon, he treated him as if he was his own son. Just another reason she loved and respected Trey as much as she did. The condo looked like a tornado had hit the boxes of toys but they both seemed to not be hurt and the condo was still intact.

She leaned down, picking Jaxon off of Trey and into her arms. She walked down the long hallway to his new bedroom, whispering how much she missed him and how much she loved him before she placed him in his bed.

Standing over his crib, she sees the best part of her at peace.

"How was dinner?" Trey asked in a whisper, yawning, stretching his arms in the air.

She ushered him out of the room and into the living room. "Please explain to me how you knew Justin freaking Timberlake? And how he was your ‘friend' and I didn't know that?"

"Well... you don't know everything about me Adi." They both laughed because they both knew everything about each other, even the things they didn't want the other to know. "I didn't really know him..."

Her jaw drops, "So you let me go meet a random freak..."

"He is Justin Timberlake Adi­ far from a random freak."

"Not the point Trey." She spat at him.

"He is friends with Rob... you've spent time with Rob and Julie... I knew it would be fine."

She plopped her elbows down to the tile of the kitchen counter. She had not only let her crazy best friend convince her she needed to do this but now worst of all, she enjoyed spending time with him talking about the most random things in the world.

She enjoyed being in his company.

She knew she was in trouble.

"You avoided my question..." Trey protested.

"It was dinner." She expressed, downplaying all the events that occurred.

"So, when is the second date? When do I need to babysit that little guy again?" Trey asked with an enormous smile on his face.

With a smile on her face she shook her head in disbelief at him. "He is ‘Justin Timberlake', it's not going to work."

"He is just a boy, standing in front of a girl, asking her to love him..." He sniffled as he expressed a line they had heard a million times.

Adilyn laughed, "Remind me not to make you watch Notting Hill again. You get too many crazy ideas."

"When do I need to babysit?" He asked again.

She half smiled at him, "Thursday."