Nothing else but me and you
Nothing that I’d rather do
Than hold you all through the night
Under my tree
Damn song is playing, so I was trying to leave, but then he stopped me dead in my tracks, and I was completely fucking speechless.
I can’t believe it’s him. I just can’t.
“Hey, I’m Justin.”
He’s standing there, sticking his hand out, waiting for me to shake it, like this is some kind of everyday occurrence...me running into Justin Timberlake at a Starbucks, like he’s known me for years.
What are the odds of this? I mean, fuck, I’ve been crying for weeks, lost in the memories of that dream. All I can think right now is, what the hell is he doing here? And, is this another dream?
“I um...were you heading out?” He asks me, his voice soft, as if he’s embarrassed.
I can’t help but gaze into those eyes of his. The ones I remember so vividly from the dream, gazing back into mine like I was the love of his life. I see a little bit of that spark in them now. It’s like...he wants to be here, talking to me, and I have no idea why. It’s freaking me out, and I’m trying so hard not to tremble or say something stupid. “I...I guess I was.”
“Well, aren’t you going to tell me your name first?”
He’s flashing me that smile of his. The one I fell in love with, the one that was so real. I haven’t dreamed about him since that night. Instead I tried to move on with my life as best I could over the last few weeks. He’s stuck with me though, always running through my thoughts, interrupting my day. It’s been taunting me, making me so upset, turned me into a partial basket case behind closed doors, knowing I couldn’t be with him. I mean, he didn’t know who the hell I was and we certainly were never engaged.
But now, here he is. He’s standing in front of me, introducing himself to me...and it all seems so strangely familiar.
“It’s Lauren.”
His smile brightens. “This is going to sound strange, but don’t I know you from somewhere?”
My mouth wants to fall open in utter shock, but I clench my teeth, desperately willing myself not to do it. “I don’t...I don’t think so.”
And stupid ass me, I brush past him, try to get away, because I’m too scared to find out what’s coming next.
“Hey...wait a sec.”
I pause, close my eyes tightly. It has to be a dream. It has to be.
But when I open them again, I’m still here in the cafe and I’m sure he’s still right behind me.
“We’ve never met.” I finally say to him, as I look back over my shoulder.
He shakes his head, steps up to me again, and searches my eyes, that smile returning when he seems to find what he’s looking for. “No...no I swear I know you from somewhere.”
“I...” I have to suck in a breath. Really, I could cry right now. I actually could because I can’t shake the feeling that we belong together, even if it was all just a dream.
Everything inside is screaming at me, telling me that I love this man.
But I can’t say that. He’ll think I’m a stalker or something.
“Maybe you’ve just seen me around. I come here most mornings.”
“Yeah...” He shoves his hands in his pockets. “Maybe.”
I start to walk away again. I have to. It’s the only choice I have, even though it kills me inside.
“Wait, don’t go...” He comes around the front of me, forcing me to stop so I don’t knock him over. “I’m flying home for the Christmas holiday later, but I have a couple of hours to kill. Do you think you’d like to have lunch or something?”
“Lunch?” I croak.
“Well...unless you...you’d rather not.”
I stare back at him. This is my one chance, I know that now. For some crazy reason, he’s interested in me. Actually, he seems desperate to get to know me. It’s almost like...he feels about me just like I do about him. Like I came to him in his dreams, just like he came to me in mine.
Is that even possible?
I have no idea, but if I say no...I’ll lose that chance with him. In the dream, we met in New York, and all I could think about was how I should have taken a different direction in my life, so we could have met. Maybe fate was showing me what I could have had, maybe it was testing me to see how much I could really care about somebody that I didn’t really know at all. Maybe fate approved, and has given us another crack at this thing.
It sounds crazy, but no crazier than anything else that’s happened this month so far.
“Well...I don’t want you to be late for your flight or anything,” I laugh nervously.
He gets serious, looks deep into my eyes, like he’s looking into my soul, and steps up to me. Before I know it, he’s laced his fingers through mine, and I feel my cheeks getting hot. It’s just like the dream, when he held my hands and pulled me close to him. Exactly like the dream.
“I feel like I need to do this, with you,” he says. “I don’t want to miss out, you know? I just have this funny feeling about you, like I can’t let you walk away. Even if we get caught up or something...my family can live with it.”
We don’t have to get into it. I think we both know what he means, even if it’s crazy. “All...all right.”
We leave together, walk a few blocks down to a little restaurant, and lose ourselves for hours in a tiny little restaurant. We laugh, share stories, and genuinely get to know the basics about one another.
It’s like we were never apart, like we were always meant to be, and when the time finally comes, it’s so hard to say goodbye.
“So I’ll call you.” He smiles at me after he walks me to the car. It’s almost ten o’clock. Justin’s flight left hours ago, but he hasn’t said much about it. He’s seemed more content staying here with me, and I know he’s only cutting our date short because he has obligations. “And thanks, you know...for letting me talk to you today.”
“Thanks for not letting me pass you up,” I smirk, shivering slightly when the wind starts to blow.
“Here.” He takes off his windbreaker and drapes it over my shoulders. It smells exactly like how I remember it from the dream. “Hang on to that for me until I get back.”
I pull it tighter around myself, and smile at him. “I can do that.”
“Maybe you can come up to Colorado with me and my friends. I’ll fly back here after Christmas and we can go together. I think it’ll be good..you know...we can bond...”
He trails off and his cheeks get red. Of course I know what he’s insinuating, but I really don’t have a problem with it. “Bonding sounds good.”
He leans down, smiles and presses his lips against mine before I can say anything else. Once I feel his skin connect with mine, I know there’s no turning back. We’ve come full circle, out of a dream and into reality. Even though I have no idea how it’s happened, I’ll go with it. We’ve been given a gift, Justin and I, something very special that I have no intention of ever losing again.
“Merry Christmas, Lauren.”
I caress his face once more as I stare into his eyes. “Merry Christmas.”
The End
Completed
ialwayzbesingin is the author of 25 other stories.
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