The next morning, Deana woke up early and quietly started packing. She stole glances of Justin sleeping, smiling to herself. 

This is all real, she thought.  If I looked like Dani I could see how this was a real relationship, but not with ME.  Last night was hands down the best sex of my life, and somehow I think he could say the same. I don’t even know where all this is coming from, I was never like this with HIM. The things I did last night, at least the confidence I did them with, is it all because of Justin?

She padded into the kitchen, heated up more of the breakfast leftovers and ate standing at the edge of the hallway so she could see if he woke up. 

She came back into the bedroom to continue packing. The gentle sound of her slowly closing the zipper on her suitcase stirred him awake. 

“Good morning,” he practically hummed, a smile spreading across his face. “How are you able to even MOVE right now? Can you bring me a Gatorade, since clearly you’re still young and spry…” he laughed. 

“I’m only 2 years, 3 months, and 9 days younger than you.  Wow, that fact came out of my head like I’m 18 again…” she said, her eyes wide at what she had just said.

“I mean, I knew your birthday was in May, but now I have an actual date…”

“You could’ve looked at my drivers license or passport for that…”

“That’s too easy.  I wasn’t expecting it to come out that way, but as a fan for that long, I can see it. You really figured out the exact age difference?”

“For you and Lance. Lance is easier, 4 years and 5 days.  My senior prom was on his birthday, I felt so special about it somehow.”

“I mean, I go to fancy parties and stuff all the time, but what’s prom like?”

“Mine consisted of every guy I knew turning me down, even as friends, until a friend from church agreed 2 weeks before prom. He’s a music nerd, you’d get well with him, he can pick up any instrument and play it like he’s practiced for years. Anyway, being in the music program at his school, he already owned a tux. I bought a baby blue dress, because of COURSE I did, it was strapless and poofy at the bottom. We missed the boat on getting into a limo with anyone, so my dad drove us around in the family van. Going to dinner downtown was fine, but pulling up to the actual dance as limos pulled up was mortifying. None of my friends were there yet, they were checking into their hotel rooms first. My date had a girlfriend, so not like that was happening. We just stood around and waited for my friends to show up until they played a slow song, then we decided to dance.”

“What was the song?” Justin wondered. 

“This I Promise You, it couldn’t have been a more perfect moment at that point. Eventually my friends came, but being at the prom, bringing a cute guy as my date, dancing to one of my favorite songs, it was amazing. I just wish my 10 year reunion was as memorable. I mean it WAS, but for different reasons…”

“What happened?”

“Well, even in a graduation class of over 600, it seemed like everyone knew about Morgan and my breakup. I brought HIM to the reunion, and I was apparently the talk of the night to have such a good looking, charming date. That’s according to one of the popular girls that would actually talk to me.  I wish that’s the only reason that weekend was memorable. I almost didn’t go to my reunion.”

“Why not?”

“It was the weekend before Gammy died. We got the call from the hospital the morning of my reunion, that she’d basically gone into organ failure and was on life support. I didn’t want to go in case she passed. She died that Monday, but the reunion was an attempt to distract me for a bit.”

“Babe, I’m so sorry.”

“It couldn’t be helped. Danielle was great about helping while HE, I can’t even say his name, hustled and cheated at blackjack and drank all night. His distraction came that night, if you catch my drift.”

Justin nodded in understanding. He moved to wrap his arm around her shoulders, letting her rest on him. “I wish I’d met you sooner, so you’d have avoided all of that with him.”

“You already met me, but I was just a girl at a coffee shop. As nervous as I was about things with you, you being interested in me, and you being my first, well, that would’ve been…”

“Perfect,” he said, cutting her off.

“Intimidating,” she interjected. “It was scary enough to get so close to you as Bruce, and these last few weeks have been a big change. I was watching you sleep as I packed, still in disbelief that this is all real. You’re only the second guy I’ve ever slept with, that’s still slightly terrifying to me that it’s YOU, of everyone in the world...”

“Well, here’s hoping I’m the last guy you ever sleep with. I know my reputation precedes me, but if I could have saved you from all that wasted time with him, and we could’ve been together longer, I really wish that.”

“Things happened when and how they were meant to. We were different people then. It might not have worked then like it is now.  I don’t think I would have been able to do anything like last night back then. I still have no idea where that came from, I’ve never been even semi aggressive and in control like that.  You’re definitely making me more confident and comfortable in my own skin.”

“That confidence has been there the whole time, you just didn’t know how to bring it out. Let me pack my stuff and we can head to the arena so you have a decent block of study time.”

“I’m actually pretty caught up on school stuff for the week, it shouldn’t take me long to finish the rest of it.”

“Well, that gives us time to just relax in the dressing room, make out, whatever…” he laughed. 

“I’m not complaining,” she laughed in reply. 

They finished packing, putting their baggage in the backseat of the car to take onto his bus. They drove to the arena, and Deana settled in at the table to finish her schoolwork. 

True to her word, she was finished after a short amount of time. “Well, now what?” she asked. 

“Wanna get some of your stuff situated on the bus?” Justin suggested. She nodded, and they grabbed their luggage to take in. Justin carried her stuff in for her, allowing her to look around without having to worry about her bags. 

She saw a TV, a nice couch and little dining table setup, almost like they were on an RV rather than a bus. There was a closet since the bus was just for him, with room for Deana to put things in later. 

The bedroom had a bed taking up most of the space, having little cubbies for things like cell phones and such instead of a nightstand on each side. The lights dimmed, and had a stereo system.

“Is this where the magic happens?” Deana asked jokingly. 

He chuckled. “I mean, I won’t lie and say no… Rule #1 is not while the bus is moving. If you’re not careful, there’s a bump in the road, it’s a recipe for disaster.”

“I sense a story here…”

“I don’t wanna talk about it, but yes, I know from firsthand experience.  Let’s leave everything else unsaid.”

“Well, it’s not moving now…” Deana teased. 

“I’m still recovering from last night. We do anything even remotely like that now and I’ll have to cancel the show. I’ll be lucky if I don’t pull anything doing the show tonight.”

“How much of the tour are you on the bus?”

“If it’s not long between stops, I’ll be on the bus. If there’s a few days in between, or I have something I need to travel elsewhere for, I’ll take my plane. I have a chunk of time between Sacramento and Phoenix for a project I’m working on, so we’ll fly out of Sacramento and fly into Phoenix the day before our the day of the show. My assistant has all that info. So it depends on what the schedule is like whether I’m on the bus or flying.”

“So I should be ready to pack a small bag for a flight and leave other stuff on the bus?”

“I guess, yeah. Sorry, it’s just second nature to me at this point. I do it without even thinking that it’s hard to describe to someone else. I honestly have multiple sets of things so I have essentials at my different homes.”

“How many do you have?” she asked. 

“NYC, LA, Montana, Tennessee, a place in the Bahamas for vacations…”

“Jesus. Definitely a big adjustment, having to have all those places looked after while you’re touring.”

“Again, I’m used to it, so I don’t think about it much. You’ll get used to it, I’ll be here to help with what to pack, and we can always buy something if it gets left somewhere. Our place in New York will be my main home now, so I’m not ripping you from everything. We will be at my place in California for part of the tour, it’s easier that way, so you’ll get used to that one. The others aren’t my home base, I’m mainly back and forth between LA and NYC; but I got a place of my own near Memphis so I’m not just crashing at my mom’s, as much as she’d LOVE that…”

“Yeah, and easier than getting a hotel any time you’re in the area.  It just seems like a lot to keep track of.”

“You’ll catch on. If nothing else, this means a lot of shopping for clothes and stuff like makeup so you don’t have to pack much. We can even have each place stocked with other things, if you catch my drift…”

“Gatorade?” she teased. 

“Among other things that we’d need the Gatorade after…”

“I smile, but I am still surprised every day that this is my reality. I don’t know that I’ll ever get used to you wanting me over anyone else. Last night, I… the fact that you, we…”

“I’ve been in love with you since we met. Every day I love you more and more. You are so beautiful, inside and out, and I am always going to find you sexy. Whether it’s a night like last night, wild and passionate, or sweet and slow like the night before that. I’m… words can’t even express what I feel when we’re together like that. Whether it’s a straight up wild fuck or truly making love, there is NO ONE else I want that to be with.”

He pulled her close, her head on his chest, hearing his heartbeat. He kissed the top of her head, saying nothing more, just holding her. It was exactly what she needed in that moment, a sense of comfort and reassurance. 

“Thank you,” she said softly. “I’d been overlooked, ignored romantically for so long, the pain I’ve dealt with, to have it all culminate into dating my teenage celebrity crush, it’s hard to imagine. I’d probably feel the same way if I had ended up with the teenage crush I had for a good 5 years, that went nowhere.”

Justin pulled her gently to sit on the bed. “What happened there?”

“We met on a youth group trip. We went and saw Phantom and the more we talked on the subway, I felt a connection to him. I liked him, turned out he liked me, but we were both two scared to say or do anything about it. Our friend that brought him kept trying to push us together, but it never happened. He dated one of the other girls in the youth group, and for YEARS I carried a torch for him. He was a theater guy, so I’d see his plays; after high school I followed band after band he was in, hanging out with them after shows. In high school he was my tutor for geometry. We’d spend hours alone in his bedroom and NOTHING beyond actual studying.”

“He’s an idiot…”

“I was set up with Morgan cuz I worked with his sister, the only guy that actually hit on me was HIM.  Then you come along and everything is intense, unbelievable, a dream come true. I’m so afraid it’s all a dream and I’m going to wake up any second now and be alone again.”

“If this is a dream, I never want to wake up,” Justin whispered in her ear. He pulled her chin up and kissed her gently.