Deana’s alarm was quiet the next morning, enough to wake her without bothering Justin. She got dressed and ready for work, giving Justin a kiss on the cheek before leaving. 

The workday went by quickly, mostly in anticipation of the show. She got a text on her lunch that Justin had left to go home to change, and would be at the arena the rest of the day. 

I’ll see you soon, can’t wait for all of your surprises. 

Will I be able to see you at all during the show?  Like, are you on stage?

You’ll have to wait and see. ???? What are you wearing tonight?

You’ll have to wait and see…

The truth was, she had no idea what she was going to wear for the show. Danielle was coming over and they would get ready together. 

She finished her shift and headed home. It was super cold, so she walked as fast as she could to get home, thankful she didn’t live too far. 

She got home and warm, and Danielle came over. They blasted a mix of all Justin’s solo albums. 

“So what do I wear??” Deana asked nervously. 

“Go with your black cutout shirt, wear it like a dress.”

“That’s WAY too short and it’s WAY too cold outside as a dress…”

“Throw on your gray leggings underneath and you’re good.  As for hair, let’s pull a little of it back, like the part that would be bangs, and pin it up on the top of your head. We can almost do like a little bump thing with it, give it a little volume. Like how Penny from Big Bang Theory does her hair a lot.  Then makeup… silver with just a touch of purple to make the green in your eyes pop.”

“Whatever you say.  I’m so excited…”

Her phone buzzed. Hopefully you’re ready in an hour, I’ll have my driver get you so you don’t have to be out in the cold. He’ll drop you off and you can head to a certain entrance. 

Getting dressed and ready didn’t take all that long, she pulled the rest of her hair back so it was out of the way and would keep her cooler with dancing. 

They were ready with time to spare, having a quick snack before the car came. Deana watched for their driver, and they headed downstairs. They had jackets on, but not as thick as if they were walking and taking the subway over.

The girls smiled at their driver as he opened the car door. “Good to see you ladies again,” he said, nodding at them. 

Soon they were near the arena, seeing the line of fans waiting to get in. The driver drove past, pulling up at a different entrance. 

“Leave the jackets, ladies, you’ll be comfortable inside.  Have a great night. Miss Deana, I’ll see you to take you to your next location after the show.”

“So I guess J will be picking me up then,” Danielle said. “Not a problem.”

They walked in and up to a table. “ID please.”  Deana gave her ID. “So YOU’RE the Deana we’ve heard so much about. I’m Justin’s assistant, he wanted to make sure I got you squared away. You’ll need these wristbands, I have lanyards for you as well. You’ll go down this way and there will be people to lead you the rest of the way.  Have a great night, enjoy the show.”

The girls walked down the hallway. His assistant talked into her headset. “They’re heading down now, I’ll head backstage for anything else.”

There were a few other fans there already in the waiting area. “Do you know where we’re going to be?” Danielle asked one of them. 

“I’m pretty sure we’re all up at the bar. People at the bar were told to come at a certain time, followed by other levels of floor areas.”

“Right, I guess I’d forgotten about when we had our standing room tickets back in October…” Deana said. “We’re really going to be at the bar?  Our seats got upgraded, so we had no idea…”

They were led to the bar area. “Deana?” One of the staff called. Deana and Danielle nodded. “Right here, courtesy of Mr. Timberlake…”. They were placed at the edge of the bar, closest to the walkway. 

“Wait, what?!” The other fans were shocked. “Do you know him?”

“I make his drinks at Starbucks… My boyfriend is part of the crew, but I had no clue we’d get all this…”

Deana got her phone and took a selfie with Dani. This is amazing, babe, more than I expected.

Justin smiled. That’s just the start. 

They noticed the others got drink tickets, but they didn’t. She flagged a bartender over. “We didn’t get any drink tickets…” she whispered. 

“You don’t need them. We’ve been instructed to give you ladies whatever you need, water, soda, alcohol, even food. Courtesy of…”

“Mr. Timberlake, yeah…” Deana sighed. 

Ok, I think free unlimited drinks and FOOD is a bit much, but thank Justin for us…

Just wanting to make sure you’re taken care of. I told you, we’re family here…

Is this what it’s gonna be like when I’m on tour with you?

Only if you want. And if there’s open spots. I scooped up those spots before someone else could. 

“I could get used to this, great seats and these perks all while being on tour with my boyfriend…” Deana whispered to Dani. 

“Is it too late to find me a crew member?” Dani joked. “But seriously, this is REALLY generous of Bruce and Justin…”

…. 

Justin was sitting backstage, smiling at the texts Deana was sending. He realized something, took out his phone, and started a text. 

Jonathan, it’s Justin, Deana’s boyfriend. I have a car to take us home, but I admittedly forgot about Danielle. I can arrange something to take her home if you need. 

Thanks, but I can get myself there to take her home. When are you telling my sister who you are?

Tonight after the show. I’m surprised I haven’t ruined things or that she hasn’t figured it out yet. 

Gotta say, you’re great for her self esteem. She never thought she’d stand a chance with someone like you. I’m glad you’ve been so great to and for her. She deserves it, even if she doesn’t think she does.

She’s an amazing woman. I consider myself blessed every day that I went through vocal rest, I’d never have found her otherwise. Amazing how life works out sometimes. 

…

The girls enjoyed listening to Francesco Yates and the DJ, dancing when he played “Bye Bye Bye”. Deana had brought earplugs for them after last time, and they put them in as the lights went out. 

They screamed as the band and dancers came out, Deana curious if she would see Bruce at all. Once Justin came on stage, she forgot about Bruce and went into full fan mode. She had her phone out, taking pictures and videos as he approached the center. She got amazing videos of the dance breaks during “Filthy” and “Suit and Tie”. 

She could almost swear every time he passed through the center, that he made eye contact and would smile or point at them. 

“This is the best night of my life, to be really seen by Justin. This is different than me giving him his coffee these last couple months…” she said, leaning close to Danielle. 

They got to “Mirrors”, and he kept looking at her and smiling as he was singing, pointing to her a couple times. 

“I know we’ve heard him sing this before in October, but I feel like this is like the way Bruce sang it when he surprised me at karaoke. He didn’t sing it the way Justin does, of course, but damn close… It’s like he’s singing right to me…”

He got to “Summer Love”, staying in front of them for his pelvic thrusts to the line “make you wanna say my name, girl”

“I think I just died…” Deana said. “I got it on my phone and everything. You saw how he was looking at me, right?”

“He’s definitely giving you a night to remember, even though it’s HIS birthday…” Danielle replied. 

As they went into “Rock Your Body”, it took Deana back to that night at karaoke that led to their first time together. He smiled at her as he headed to the light up dance floor. 

During “Supplies”, he approached her. She was frozen with excitement. He went to grab her phone for a selfie, his hand grazing hers. What felt like a jolt of electricity shot through her, smiling and dancing as he held her phone. His fingers grazed hers as he handed the phone back to her, Deana blushing what felt like 50 shades of red.

“Ok, NOW I’m dead,” Deana laughed. 

It was time for “Can’t Stop The Feeling”, and Deana danced to the chorus along with what Justin and the dancers did on stage, reminding her of dancing with Bruce that Halloween night that started everything. Justin smiled as he saw her dancing along. 

The show ended, the crowd heading out into the cold. Deana’s phone buzzed. 

J is here waiting for Dani, I helped get him in the building so he wasn’t waiting out in the cold. Head out the same way you came in. Dani and J can head home, if you’ll just wait for me to come out. 

No problem. How long will you be?

Not long. Just gonna take a quick shower and I’ll be out, a lot of hard work tonight but I don’t wanna gross you out smelling like sweat. 

Much appreciated. See you soon. 

They walked to the hallway they entered the floor from, Jonathan waiting for them. 

“Bruce was great in helping security get me in, you got yourself a great guy, sis…”

Deana blushed a little. 

“Well, have a good rest of your night, we’ll see you at the engagement party on Saturday?” Danielle confirmed. 

Deana nodded before they headed home. She stood there, watching as other fans left. Security watched her, but weren’t pushing for her to leave. 

I’m on my way to you. Close your eyes for one last surprise before we head out. 

Deana closed her eyes, waiting and wondering what the last surprise could be. She soon felt a familiar touch on her shoulder, a hand on the small of her back, and lips on hers. She melted into the embrace, a light hum escaping her lips. 

She pulled back and opened her eyes. She did a double take, her eyes widening in surprise. 

“Justin?” she gasped.