She walked down the hall, back to Justin’s studio.  She tapped on the door, hoping he could hear her.  She slowly opened the door, peeking through.

“Come on in, babe,” he said softly.  “If the red light out there is on, I’m recording.  Otherwise, feel free to come in.”

“Just hoping this is ok for tonight.”  She opened the door the rest of the way, revealing her outfit.

“Character’s in the way you wear it, it takes your shape while you keep it on,” he sang.  She had on a black tank top, with his black and red flannel shirt on over it, left unbuttoned.  She had her black lo-top Converse on.

“I can change to my ankle boots to dress it up a little if that makes a difference…”

“No, this is perfect.  Once we’re sitting down, you won’t see the shoes anyway.  Just do one thing?”

“What?”

“Wear your glasses.  I think it’ll complete the outfit.  I love when I see you wear something of mine.”

“It’s a bit tight in the arms, but I think it’ll be ok.  I really look ok?”

“I can’t wait to get you home tonight, I’ll say that…” he growled, walking towards her, pulling her close.  She could feel him against her leg.

“Is THAT going to be a problem at dinner?”

“No.”

They got in his car, heading into town.  He pulled into a multi level parking lot, finding a spot.  They walked down an alley, seeing a sign that read “Charlie Vergo’s Rendezvous Charcoal Ribs”.  They saw Paul and Lynn, giving them hugs.  Justin checked in on getting a table.  They were soon seated, getting drinks.

Deana looked at the menu. “Do you want my recommendation?” Justin asked her. 

“Ribs and chicken?” she replied. 

He smiled. “Either I know YOU really well, or you know ME really well…”

“A bit of both?” she smiled. Their foreheads touched, their fingers laced together out of view. 

The server came to take their order.  Everyone made their orders, sipping their drinks.

“So I hear you got some golfing in already?” Paul asked.

“Yeah, I’m out of practice.  Gonna take my stuff with me, find some driving ranges or something.  Trace has never beat me before.  He’s come close, but not like that.”

“But you still had fun.  Golf games with best friends are just for practice anyhow.  You’re playing in Tahoe this summer, right?”

“Yeah, all the more reason to practice.”

“Tahoe, as in, California?  Close to Yosemite?” Deana asked excitedly.

“It’s a few hours away, but yeah,” Justin said.  “Not super close to each other.”

“Oh,” she said, disappointed.

“You’ll like Tahoe.  Obviously there’s the lake, lots of things to do if golf isn’t your thing, I’m not gonna make you come with me.”

“There would be fans there?”

“Oh yeah,” said Lynn.  Lots of fans of the different celebrities are there for these kinds of things.  Either people like Justin that do it for fun, or the professionals.”

“I could be professional,” Justin said.

“That’s what Michael Jordan thought about baseball…” Paul laughed.  “Your heart isn’t in it the same way, Justin.  Deana, how’s school going?”

“It’s going really well, it’s my last semester, which just adds to the surreality of everything.  I took more of the challenging stuff last semester, so this one is more of a breeze.  That helps me enjoy my time on the road instead of stressing out.  We’re doing midterms right now, so it’s projects and short papers.  Thankfully nothing like my practice in writing a thesis from last semester.  I worked on that thing the whole semester…”

“If it’s your last semester, does that mean you’ll be doing a graduation?” Lynn asked.  

“I mean, I guess.  I hadn’t really thought about it,” Deana answered honestly.

“I think you should,” Lynn continued. “You’ve worked so hard for this, for so long, see if you can participate somehow.  Where are you taking courses from?”

“Starbucks has a partnership with Arizona State University online.”

“Just say the word and we’ll start planning a trip out to Arizona.  We want to support you as best we can, darlin’.  I’m sure Justin feels the same.”

“Yeah, absolutely,” he said, blinking.  He honestly hadn’t thought about it, either.  He had other things on his mind throughout the tour.

“OK.  I’ll get dates, talk to my family and see if they can make it.  If not, we do a big party in NYC for my family and friends.”

“Even if they can, we still do a party.  You deserve it, babe,” Justin said, squeezing her tight.  

“Have you been enjoying your stay so far, Deana?”  Lynn asked.

“Yeah.  It’s almost like a movie, the small town feel, everyone knows each other.  It’s been nice getting to see Trace, Samantha, and the girls.  I know how much they all mean to Justin, so I wanted to make sure the girls liked me.”

“I’ve seen you with kids before the girls, you were gonna do fine.  Totally won them over singing Frozen.  There’s a sequel coming out around Thanksgiving, maybe you can go with them to see it.  They would LOVE it, and give Trace and Samantha a break for a couple hours.”

“That sounds fun, actually.  I don’t get to do a lot of girly stuff with my nephews.”

“When will you see them next?”

“They’ll be with Mom and Dad for part of the summer.  She can’t afford to send them to camps and stuff like that, so they go between grandparents during vacations so they both can work.  It lets them get to be with family after being apart for so long, so they enjoy it.”

“You think the boys will like me?” Justin asked.

“Please, you’re BRANCH… They love you already.  Be prepared for our little movie night.  You thought Frozen was crazy…” Deana laughed.

“What exactly am I in for?”

“Lots of singing, quoting the movie, trying to do all the handshake stuff the cloud does.  They had me slow mo it a few different times so they could actually do them.  They love the gear shift and monkey in a zoo…”

Justin smiled.  “That’s what it’s all about.  I knew at some point I’d have kids, I wanted them to have something to watch and listen to that’s appropriate for them.”

Their food came, Deana’s eyes going wide with how much there was.  She was even more surprised when they brought in something that she didn’t remember any of them ordering.  

“I called ahead and ordered this, you have to give 24 hour notice.”  It was 5 pounds of shrimp.  She was glad she dressed very casual, this could get messy.  She’d had this image of Mama Lynn being so proper, a true Southern Belle, so to see his family having a semi messy BBQ dinner was a bit of a mindfuck.  

They ate as much as they could, Justin making sure she saved some room for pecan pie.  “Not as good as my mom’s pie, but it’ll do,” he laughed.

They headed home, Deana ready to fall into a food coma as she rode in the car.  “Let’s get you to bed, you look like you’re just gonna pass out as soon as your head hits the pillow…”

“So much food, it was so good.  I blame you if I gain all that weight back.”

“Hey, I’m just as guilty as you are in all this, probably more so cuz I’ve been picking where and what we eat.  We have a long day tomorrow, so definitely get some good sleep in.”

“What are we doing?” Deana asked sleepily.

“Don’t worry about it.  Just dress casual.  I really hope more of my flannels fit you, I love this look on you, wearing my clothes.  I dunno, it makes me feel some kinda way…”

“What kinda way is that?”

“Like peeling the clothes off of you before I have my way with you.”

“Nothing saying you can’t…” she teased. “Do we have time for a quickie before bed?”

“Baby, I’m already halfway there just looking at you…” he laughed