“Wait, is that LANCE?” Deana gasped. 

“As sure as THAT is my JC!” Dani squealed. 

“Ladies and gentlemen, *NSYNC!” Ari announced, and they lost their ever loving minds.  They got their phones out, too excited to speak, which was probably for the best. They screamed as they went into “Tearin’ Up My Heart”, trying hard to keep calm as the guys sang. 

Once they walked offstage, they looked at each other and screamed. “I’ve never been jealous of Ari until now, to dance with JC like that.”  

They danced to a couple more songs before Lisa found them in the crowd. “Come with me, trust me…”. 

They followed Lisa as she led them to an area no one else was. “Are we backstage??” Dani asked excitedly. 

Deana saw a familiar silhouette standing nearby, facing away from them. “Justin?” Deana called out. 

He turned around.  “My woman knows me anywhere,” he smiled. 

“How did you get here? WHEN did you get here? I thought you were still back East…”

“I got a different plane, called in a favor. Are you ready for the last part of your surprise?”

They walked up a set of stairs. 8 sets of eyes looked at them. 

“DEANA!” they yelled, the guys getting up to hug her.

“Oh my god, oh my god…” Danielle gasped. “Punch me, D.”

“You mean PINCH you…”

“No, punch me. I’m gonna need something stronger…”

“I’m guessing this is Dani?” Joey asked. “We’ve heard about you.”

“Hi…” she stammered, physically shaking.

“And you thought I’d be bad when I met them…” Deana whispered. 

JC approached Danielle. “Nice to meet you, Danielle.”

“H… h… hi.  N… ni… nice to meet you.”

“Deana, this is Izzy,” Joey said. 

“Nice to finally meet you, I heard so much about you from Joey when we saw him in Vegas.”

“I’ve heard a lot about you, too.”

They joined the group, sitting backstage, half listening to the rest of Ari’s set. 

“You guys were great, I had no idea this was even happening,” Deana said. 

“We were a little nervous about doing it just the 4 off us, cuz SOMEONE was still on tour…” Chris said. 

“I figured I could make it here, but with no time to practice with you guys, I didn’t want it to look bad.”

“You definitely looked like you could go back out on tour,” Deana said. 

“I need a break for a while. WE need a break if we’re gonna start a family…” Justin said, squeezing Deana close. 

“We’re trying to have a baby, so far it’s been pretty discouraging,” Lance said. 

They talked for a while, before Justin pulled her to where they could see the stage. Ari was singing “Dangerous Woman”, Justin holding her close to him. 

“This song reminds me of you, of us,” he smiled. He ran his fingers along her spine, taking advantage of her exposed skin. She melted into him, feeling him hard against her. 

Deana started to sing along with the lyrics. Somethin' 'bout you, Makes me wanna do things that I shouldn't

Somethin' 'bout, somethin' 'bout, somethin' 'bout

He kissed her deeply, fingers digging into the exposed skin on her back. 

“It was so hard not to tell you I’d see you soon as you sent me one sexy picture after another.  You’re recreating the one shot with this top for me later…” he growled. 

“So you’re staying at the rental with us? How do I tell Dani she’s been downgraded to one of the other bedrooms?”

“She already figured it out once she saw your hunky boyfriend,” Dani whispered, catching both of them off guard. “I can find the bedroom that’s farthest away so you can be as loud or quiet as you wanna be. I certainly don’t want to be the reason you can’t do anything.”

“Are you ok?” Deana asked Dani.

“Yeah, more nervous than I thought I’d be if this ever happened.”

“I get it. Especially meeting them in person where they can shake your hand, hug you.  Trust me, they’re normal people.”

They sat back down and continued talking. “Danielle, I hear you’re getting married? Congrats,” JC said. Danielle fought turning 50 shades of red as he spoke, trying to stay calm. 

“Yeah, we couldn’t just be best friends, she had to go and be my sister in law, too,” Deana teased. 

Ariana finished her set, rushing over to the guys. “You guys were AWESOME! They loved it!  Justin, so good to see you!  Who are these ladies?”

“This is my girlfriend Deana, and her best friend Danielle.”

“I saw you out in the crowd, did you like the show?”

“My assistant pulled them back here once we were done, but I know they liked our part,” Lance said. 

“Lisa’s your assistant? Oh my god, she knew the whole time, didn’t she?” Deana asked. 

“The only one that didn’t know was J. I didn’t want him to just be my secret keeper for everything.”

“There’s a party in a bit if you guys wanna come, you’re more than invited.  This was such a great night, thank you for being so great, you guys.  It was a dream come true,” Ariana said before rushing off. 

“Yeah, they’re good at that kinda thing,” Deana said, looking at Justin.

Deana checked her phone and laughed. “My phone is blowing UP about your performance. Sharing video, pictures, all kinds of stuff to make sure I see it.”

“Are we up for an after party?” Joey asked. 

“Nash is back at the rental, I think we’re gonna crash…” Chris said. 

“We have plans,” Justin said. 

“Someone’s getting laid,” Joey laughed. 

“And I didn’t even go out on stage!” Justin laughed back.  

“Play your cards right and they won’t be the only ones,” Izzy said. Joey started to practically drag her away. 

“Hang out tomorrow?” Lance asked. They all nodded. “We’ll text about details, yeah?”

They all went their separate ways, Danielle staying as far away as she could to give Deana and Justin the privacy they needed once they got to the house. She smiled, hearing sounds every once in a while. 

Get it girl, Danielle thought to herself. 

…

They all agreed to meet at Justin’s house in LA since Chris, Joey, and Danielle all had flights out of LAX. They did a quick bbq with burgers, sausages, and chicken. Justin had his mom’s potato salad recipe, which Deana wanted to learn. 

Danielle was better about being around them, playing with Nash helped take her mind off of things.  “Good practice for me, I haven’t been around kids this little since your nephews,” Dani said to Deana.

“Come February, they’ll be your nephews, too…”

“Shit, do I need to put them in the wedding?  I’ll talk to J, maybe they can be ring bearers or something.”

They drank, talked, and had a fun time before everyone went home. Chris and Karly were nice enough to take Danielle to the airport as their flights were around the same time, and she wanted the extra time with Nash. 

Soon it was just Deana and Justin in the house, the quiet almost haunting after the last few days of being on the go. Justin flopped down on the couch, putting his feet up on a large ottoman. Deana snuggled up next to him, Justin wrapping his arm around her. 

“It feels so weird to just sit, having nothing to do later, nowhere to go,” Deana said. 

“It’s an adjustment period, that’s for sure. I do have one more surprise, but you’ll have to wait until tomorrow for it.”

“As long as you’re with me, I can handle your surprises.”