“Justin, Bruce will be here any second, what are you doing?”

Justin looked into her eyes. “There is no Bruce. He doesn’t exist.”

“He sure as hell does, I’ve been seeing him since October.”

“Nope. Try again.”

“What…?”

“Deana, I love you…”

“What did you call me?”

“Deana. That is your name, right?”

“Not that you’ve ever called me…”

“I’m pretty sure I have. Ok, maybe not in the throes of passion, but I have.”

“The throes of WHAT…”

“What else would I call you?”

“Like you don’t know. Every time you got your tea, you’d thank me by name…”

“Wait, now I’M confused…”

“You’ve only ever called me Michele, like everyone else at my store… Where did you get Deana from… oh my god…” she gasped, things slowly coming together. 

“Let me make this clearer.”  He put on the orange beanie and scarf she made him. 

“No, no, no…” she moaned. 

“Usually you say ‘yes, yes, yes’...”

“It’s been you the whole time?!”

“Yes. I had no idea YOU were Michele until just now. A slight change in looks and attitude does a lot, it seems. You said you’d interacted with me, but I had no clue where or how.  I tried to drop hints without completely blowing my cover.”

“So you telling me about yourself, your mom nagging you about kids and settling down is Mama Lynn, your best friend is Trace. No wonder you knew which *NSYNC songs to put on the playlist… Oh God, you told me about losing Laura. Shit, you told me about exes and I straight up said their names to you… Is this some kind of joke?”

“No. I was walking around the night I got put on vocal rest, and walked past the bar as you were singing. I sent you that drink, danced with you dressed as Batman, got your number.  Then we got to know each other, and I fell in love with you.”

Deana just stood there in disbelief. “So I didn’t sleep with Bruce…”

“That would be me, yeah. I meant every word I said, you are beautiful inside and out…”

“I...I… didn’t see THIS coming. So I’m really dating YOU, not a crew member?”

“Bruce was just something I made up with my Halloween costume. I wanted to tell you so many times, but I needed to know you liked me for me, not my name and celebrity status. I can’t wait to take you out all dressed up, but I’ve loved the nights of take out or cooking with you, holding you on your couch.”

“So after I go on tour with you, in April I’ll be…”

“Moving in with me. If that’s still what you want.”

“So tonight, we’re…”

“If you want. I can at least take you to my place so you can see it.”

“I’m still processing all of this. Justin Timberlake thinks I’m beautiful, is in LOVE with me?!”

“I am,” he smiled.  “I hope you still feel the same way, that this doesn’t change anything between us…”

“I… don’t know. Suddenly the idea of what we were planning is exciting and terrifying. On the one hand, YES, but on the other hand, the idea of Justin Timberlake seeing me naked…”

“You realize I already HAVE, right…? Last I remember we were pretty damn good at it, too…”

“Kiss me again.”

He pulled her close, looking into her eyes. “Those eyes. Definitely the same eyes…”. He kissed her, slowly, gently, like the first time they kissed.

“It still feels the same…”

“Does that mean you’ll come home with me, at least to see it, maybe have me hold you…”

“That sounds nice…”

“Can I hold your hand? Trying to ease into things here…”

She nodded. He laced his fingers between hers, walking towards where his driver was waiting for them. 

“My place,” Justin said as they approached the car, the driver holding the door open.

“Besides my big reveal, was tonight a good show for you?” he asked her. 

“It all makes sense now, I’ll say that. Yes, it was amazing, I could swear you were looking at me a LOT, then the selfie bit where you touched my hand… Definitely the best night of my life.”

“Hopefully that will change over time, as far as being the best night of your life; hopefully those other moments will be with me, too.”

“I still am in shock that out of ALL the women in New York City, and beyond, I’M who you want to be with… I’m not like ANYONE you’ve ever dated before…”

“Exactly.”

“I just worry at some point you’ll realize you want someone else, that pencil thin A list celeb to be entertainment’s power couple…”

“Who says we can’t be a power couple? Me at the top of my field, you at the top of yours?  As for the pencil thin part, I’ve always tended more towards curves, but I see what you mean…”

“That you’ll lose credibility or something because of how I look…”

“You look beautiful, and the fact that I see that in you is no one else’s business. If WE’RE happy, everyone else can fuck off.”

“I know I’m all dressed up tonight, but I don’t know that I feel beautiful all the time…”

They pulled into a driveway, going down into what looked like a parking garage.  She realized this was his building, security by the door. They got out of the car, Justin nodding at the security guard. 

“Have a good night, sir,” he nodded at Justin. 

“This is Deana. Get used to seeing her around, hopefully…” Justin replied. 

“Good evening, miss…” he said as Justin led her into the lobby. They waited for the elevator. Once inside the elevator, Justin pushed a button at the top of the panel. 

“You ready to see my place?” he asked. 

“I guess. This is all so surreal. It’s still hard to take in that it’s YOU… with ME…”

The elevator doors opened to reveal a short entryway, maybe 10 feet before a single door. They stepped out of the elevator, towards the door. Key in hand, Justin unlocked the door.

“You wanna open the door, see what’s inside?”

She nodded apprehensively. She slowly turned the knob and opened the door. 

“Wow…” she gasped. 

“Welcome home,” he whispered in her ear. 

She looked around, in awe of the furniture and setup. She could fit her whole apartment in just the front portion, she was sure of it. 

“I thought you said you had next to nothing in here…”

“There’s definitely still room for a woman’s touch. Make this into a HOME.  None of it means anything without you here. I hated being here, by myself for all that time. It’s like something was missing compared to how I felt at your place. All that was missing was you. Now this will feel like home…”

“Justin… I guess that hasn’t changed either, this romantic poet side of you I saw with Bruce.”

“He was me in every way, just without having to be seen everywhere. I actually liked that, not having to be at the newest club or restaurant. I could go to a little Chinese place and get great food to take to your place. Our first date, I’ve never gone there with anyone before. I haven’t even gone where I’m taking you on Saturday, but I’m excited because it will be with YOU. You had no expectation of going certain places, you were content being on your couch watching Friends. It’s how I know this is different, we have something REAL.”

He showed her a fireplace in one of the rooms, electric obviously, but still cozy. The outer walls were floor to ceiling windows, offering a great view of the city. 

“Do you still want the night I promised you before? Or we can just lay in front of the fire and talk.”

“Yes to both. Closest bathroom so I can freshen up, give myself a little pep talk?”  He showed her a door down the hall. 

She closed the bathroom door, gripping the counter, looking at herself in the mirror. “This feels like a dream, but it’s reality. When I opened that door I pinched myself and felt it. He likes you, Deana. He wants you. Nothing has changed except that you can really call him Justin. You’d wanted to call him all kinds of things in the throes of passion, to use his words, but Justin felt so odd.  Now, there’s no reason why you can’t.  Justin Timberlake thinks you are the most beautiful woman in his world. Let that sink in. Everything he’s ever said to you is everything you ever WISHED he’d say to you. He’s made love to you, twice, and isn’t running away. Tonight can be the culmination of everything you’ve ever dreamed of, and more. You’re ready, Deana. You’re ready.”