Justin woke up early, making a quick breakfast for them.  He brought the food in on Deana’s tray, gently waking her up. He made scrambled eggs and toast, on plates ready to go. 

Deana sat up, giving Justin a quick kiss before starting to eat. “Thanks, babe,” she smiled. 

“Just wanting a quick bite before we hit the road.”

They ate, both got quick showers in before getting dressed. She put on a white wide strap tank top and Justin’s red flannel, her hair in a low ponytail. She did eyeliner and mascara, but that was it. She wore her glasses again, feeling more comfortable in them. 

They got in the car and headed out. Justin stopped in town to get gas before getting on the highway. 

“Wanna connect your phone and we can listen to your music?” he asked. She got out her phone, connecting to the Bluetooth. She opened her music, seeing it to shuffle through all the music she had on her phone. 

A song came on that she hadn’t heard in a long time. Justin smiled as he listened to the words of the song. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d swear they were singing about you.”

To know her is to love her

I'm going undercover

To catch a glimpse

But not get caught

Later on, the song continued 

Who ever might dare to bask in

The same candlelight

She's almost brighter than the Sun

Seems to me to be unfair

When you consider everyone

Who pales when they compare

When they compare

“Yeah, this is about you, I’m convinced,” he said again.

“I’ve never been to Ohio, and the lead singer used to date Katy Perry, back when she was still a Christian singer.”

“No shit?”

“He wrote a song about her after they broke up called ‘Marilyn Manson ate my girlfriend’.  The band split up a while back, this was one of their last albums.  You should hear the album before this, all kinds of love songs, this one is mostly breakup songs, excluding this one.”

“Now I wanna hear it,” he said. She changed to play the album she mentioned, listening to the first few songs. “Pop punk isn’t normally my thing, but I like it. I definitely feel what they’re talking about. ‘I must’ve done something right’,” he sang, singing a line from one of the songs. 

“It’s been a while since I listened to this one. This album was on repeat when Morgan and I were together. But yeah, I still relate now that I’m in a relationship again.”

She put the music back on shuffling through all of them when one came on that caught Justin’s attention. “Who is THIS?”

“Oh, it’s my friend Renee. Her husband helped her record a Christmas song, and I bought it on iTunes. She’s amazing, I’m nothing compared to her. I’d say be glad you heard me instead of her, but she’s married, so she wouldn’t be available anyway.”

“Why haven’t I heard you mention her until now?”

“They moved to Jersey, just outside of Philly.”

“Invite them to the show, so you have people to hang out with.  One of the perks of being me, I can get anyone I want into my shows and no one can say shit.”

“Can we skip the song seeing as it’s not Christmas?” she asked. Justin nodded and it moved on to another song. 

“Ok, speaking of the perks of being me, who’s your favorite artist you haven’t seen live, ever or in a long time?” Justin asked. 

“Pink.  I’ve only seen her twice. First when she opened for your tour, then for some radio thing with a bunch of other artists. I keep hearing she is AMAZING to see live and I never end up going, it’s just too much money.”

“Next time she’s in town, we’ll go.”

“Justin…”

“We go way back, people come to my shows, I go to theirs. It’s what we do. You heard Gwen when we were in Vegas, how I should’ve told her we were coming. It’s this unspoken thing between musicians.”

They continued to drive, Deana having no clue where they were going. Justin pulled off at an exit, following the GPS in his car. He soon pulled into a driveway. “We’re here!”

Deana looked confused. “Are we house hunting? Where are we? What’s going on, Justin?”

“Get out of the car and follow me.”  She opened her door, following his directions. He held her hand and they walked up to the front door. He rang the doorbell. 

“Justin, you could’ve just come in, you know that,” a woman said, answering the door.  

“I know, I just didn’t want to scare this one more than I already have… Deana, this is Karly.”

“Karly, why does that name sound familiar…?”

“I follow you on Instagram, we haven’t officially met until now. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“Hey Timberfuck, you’re not hitting on my wife, are you?” a voice called down the hall.  It was familiar, but somewhat muddled. 

“Please, I’ve got my own woman now, you know that. You’re lucky you have Nash, otherwise she’d have left you for me ages ago,” Justin laughed. 

“Karly… Nash… that voice sounded familiar…” Deana said quietly to herself. 

“You really have no idea where we are, whose house this is?” Justin asked. Deana shook her head. “Come on out, man, before I have to show her a wedding photo!”

“Don’t do that, your ugly ass is in some of those…” Chris came into view from the hall. “Hi Deana, nice to finally meet you.”  He gave Deana a quick hug. 

“Hey man, how you doing?” Chris asked. Chris seemed to get swallowed by Justin’s arms in a hug, clapping each other on the back. 

“I’m great. We’re great. Is Nash awake?” Justin asked. 

“He should be walking up from his mid morning nap soon,” Karly answered. 

“Let’s sit and catch up a bit while we wait for him to wake up,” Chris said. 

They sat on the couch. “So this will sound weird, but what are you guys watching? On tour there’s not a lot of time to keep up with my DVR…” Deana asked. 

“I’m still bitter that we won’t get new Doctor Who until 2020…” Chris huffed. 

“Shut the front door! You’re a Whovian?!” Deana shrieked. 

“A WHAT?” Justin asked. 

“Clearly, he’s not,” Chris laughed. “Yeah, I remember catching episodes when I was little on PBS, then the reboot happened.”

“No shit, I have a shared fandom with Chris Kirkpatrick, besides *NSYNC. Wait, can you be a fan of a group you were in?”

“When did you get sucked in?” Chris asked. 

“Matt Smith. My ex had me watch Eleventh Hour to get the idea of the show, then went back to Eccleston.  I made him a Tom Baker scarf for Christmas or his birthday, I don’t remember which…”

“That’s awesome!” Chris said. “I want one, but the pre-made ones just look cheap…”

“Which ex? Morgan?” Justin asked. Deana shook her head. Justin’s face went a little sad. 

“You ok?” Chris asked. 

“Yeah, just hate thinking about her ex.”

“I haven’t seen much press about it except when you first told us the news broke,” Chris said. 

“We prefer to keep it that way, I know I do. It’s bad enough what he did to her, but the fact that I almost lost her because of him…”

“How? You were the one that said I needed to think things through, even though I already knew I wanted you…”

“There was still that fear hanging over me. The way he talked about you, that you couldn’t resist him, it still sends shivers down my spine…” Justin said, his body giving an automatic shiver. 

“I made mistakes that led to it, but he only brought us closer together. That time made me realize how much I missed you, how deeply I really loved you.”

The video feed on the baby monitor showed that Nash was starting to wake up. He moved before he started to cry. 

“Can I come with you?” Deana asked Karly. Karly nodded, and the two headed to his nursery. 

“She’s crazy about you, you realize that? How you had ANY doubts of losing her…” 

“Well, I did. Watch, I wanna see her with Nash…” Justin said, hushing Chris. 

“Hi Nash, my name is Deana,” she said softly, picking him up from his crib. She held him so carefully, but made it look effortless. 

“You’re watching like that’s YOUR kid she’s holding. Wait, you guys aren’t… are you?”

“No, too soon for that, I’m still on tour, man. She’s such a natural, like she was born for it. I can’t wait til it’s our turn, I gotta say.”

“You’ll both be great, I remember how you were with Nash last year.  We’re hitting the driving range after lunch, right?”

“Yeah, then our fun thing after.  Is Nash coming for that?  I know Deana would love as much time with him as possible.”

“Nah, it’s too loud for him, and too hard to keep him asleep and get back home.  You staying with us tonight, or getting some fancy hotel suite?”

“As much as I know we’re welcome here, I wanna keep things separate.  Not quite ready for middle of the night wakeups from a crying baby.”

“Ahem, he’s a TODDLER now, the little shit,” Chris laughed.  “Getting into EVERYTHING.  I’m honestly glad you’re coming to lunch, maybe he’ll behave for you guys and love the attention from new people…”

“Someone’s dressed, changed, and ready for lunch…” Karly said in a singsong voice.

“I know, but is Nash ready?” Chris joked.  Deana laughed.

“Don't do that, you’ll just encourage him…” Karly sighed, rolling her eyes.  

Karly got Nash in his carseat, Justin taking Nash out to the car.  Chris put Nash in the car, then Chris and Karly got in their car.  Justin and Deana got in their car, following Chris.

They drove into downtown Nashville, parking in a nearby parking garage.  They walked up to a restaurant, Jack’s Bar-B-Que.  It was thankfully quiet, no one seemed to really notice them coming in.  Deana was surprised, especially not being a place Justin seemed to frequent, with a former bandmate.  

They sat; Nash in a high chair at the end of the table, Karly and Deana sitting closest to him.  He was happy playing with his plastic spoon, chewing on either end.  They ordered, and Nash started getting restless.

“I’ll take him,” Justin offered.  Deana helped pick him up, passing him to Justin.  Justin started bouncing Nash on his lap, making faces, playing peekaboo and making voices.  Nash was laughing like Justin was the funniest thing in the world.  Deana smiled.  Nash looked at Deana, trying to grab her braid.  Deana joined playing peekaboo, Nash continuing to laugh.

“Yeah, you two will make great parents,” Karly said.  Deana and Justin looked at each other and smiled.

They all took turns eating and feeding Nash, Nash getting more food on the table or floor than in his mouth.  They finished their food, walking back to the cars.  

“The main reason we took two cars is because Justin and I are gonna hit the driving range.  We should be back in about an hour, hour and a half.  It’s just hitting balls, not a full round of golf.”  Justin kissed Deana goodbye, Chris getting into Justin’s car and driving off.  

“We are going to take Nashy to the park,” Karly said.  “There’s a fun little park around here.  Then we’ll meet the guys back at the house before going out again, just the 4 of us.  Tonight’s gonna be too much for this little guy, especially once he falls asleep.  If he wakes up, that’ll be it.”

They got Nash into the car, Deana taking shotgun.  Karly drove to the park, putting him in the stroller until they got to the playground.  It was bright and colorful, lots of room for Nash to run, climb, and play.  

“Karly, how long did it take you to believe this was your life, being in a relationship with a celebrity?”

“Well, Chris certainly isn’t on the same level as Justin, he’ll admit that.  I’m a fan too, so I get where you’re coming from.  It took a bit, but more from the ‘holy crap, I loved his music back in the day’.  We play their songs for Nash all the time.  He loves coming up to us.  ‘Mama, bye bye bye’.  We just got Alexa, so we’ll ask her to play it for him.  He LOVES it!  He loves the other cool kids songs, but it’s something Chris and Nash kinda bond over.  For me, it wasn’t about the celebrity, I was working for the Orlando Magic, I was familiar and comfortable with the celebrity type.  My hangup was that he was interested in ME.”

“That’s part of it for me.  Justin was the biggest celebrity I’d really had any interaction with at my work. I was starstruck at first, but the more he came in, the more I felt like I got used to it.  I’d still freak out, but on the inside.  You’re beautiful, so it’s no surprise he was interested.  ME, on the other hand, I still have no clue what he sees in me.  I’m glad he does, but I don’t see it.  Compared to who he’s been with in the past, I’m nowhere near any of that.”

“You guys got to know each other really well before anything happened, right?”

“Yeah, he says he fell for me once he heard me sing.  It really can’t be as simple as that, that he thinks I’m beautiful and likes me just from how I sing? I mean, I guess it makes sense with him, though.  He’s dated people that are performers, entertainers, like him.  Either singing, dancing, acting.  I hadn’t thought about it like that until just now.”

‘Well, I know Chris tells me Justin doesn’t shut up about you when they get to talk.  He’s definitely in.  The fact that you’ve met all of the guys now is a huge step.  I never got to meet Jess, not that they were together that long when Chris and I started dating.  Maybe it’s because they didn't have the group chat back then, but I don’t remember hearing about Justin and Jess nearly as much as I hear about you two.  They all got a LOT closer after the VMAs, and even closer after the star ceremony last year.”

“It’s actually been really refreshing, as a fan, to see how often they talk, how often he includes me in calls and stuff.  I’ve been talking with Jen more, Joey says Izzy wants to be available, it’s really becoming like another family.”

“They really are.  I know we were SO thankful all the guys came to our wedding, it meant a lot to both of us.  We weren’t sure about Justin at first, but once he said yes, we were over the moon.  It made my fangirl self freak out, even though I’d met him a bunch of times at that point.”

They talked more as they watched Nash play.  Chris texted Karly that they were heading home, so they packed up Nash and headed for the car.  They barely beat the boys to the house, getting Nash in to play a little before he crashed for his afternoon nap.

“How’d it go today?” Deana asked.

“It’s just a driving range, but I think I did alright.  I think Chris could keep up if we’d done a proper round.”

“Are you kidding, I’d whoop your ass,” Chris laughed.  “It’s all in good fun.  Justin, you want a beer or something?”

“Sure, if you have any cold.”

“You ladies want anything?” Chris asked.

“I’ll just have ice water,” Deana said.

“I’m good for now,” Karly replied.

Chris brought Justin and Deana their drinks. “You’ve got another month left on the tour, yeah?” Chris asked. 

“Yeah, a little less. This is the last big chunk of time off I have before we’re done. I almost wish they’d cut out some of my breaks so I could still do Coachella…”

“I know, Bud, I know,” Chris said. “I mean, it’s not like it’s your typical gig, though. Not exactly the crowd you usually play to.”

“I’ve gone before,” Justin said. 

“Yeah, cuz it’s your type of music to LISTEN to.  I’m honestly not sure how many people there for the festival would be there for you, compared to coming just to see you.”

“Tickets are tickets, the promoters don’t care as long as they sell tickets. Me, I sell tickets.”

“Yeah, yeah.  Someone’s got an ego bigger than his d-“

“That’s enough, Chris,” Karly said firmly. 

“Yeah, well you know how big my-“

“Justin Randall!” Deana interjected. 

“Damn, she dropped the middle name. You in trouble when a woman uses your middle name…”

“Christopher Alan, I said ENOUGH,” Karly said, almost through gritted teeth. 

“You ladies know this is just us busting chops, right?” Justin laughed. 

“We don’t mean any harm, we’ve done this for years…” Chris agreed. 

“Well, it seemed VERY convincing,” Deana said.  Karly nodded in agreement.

“How do you feel about Ariana taking your spot?” Chris asked.

“I think she’ll do a great job.  I like her stuff.”

“You know she sampled one of our songs on her new album, right?” Chris asked.

“I heard about that!” Deana said.  “Dani told me about it, sent me a link to a clip of just that part.  Even though it was her singing it, I still freaked out a bit…”

“Which song?” Justin asked.

“It Makes Me Ill,” Chris answered.

“Going for a deep cut, nice,” Justin smiled.  

“We talked about it in the group chat…”

“You realize I skim over that shit most days?  No offense, but most of it being stupid shit back and forth, I mainly just try to see what JC is saying.”

“Joshtin is real,” Deana said under her breath.

“What?” Justin and Chris asked.

“Look it up on UrbanDictionary…” Deana laughed.

“I’m suddenly afraid…” Justin said, pulling out his phone.

Chris started cackling as they saw a search result on his phone.  “I HAVE to tell the guys about this!”

“Don’t. You. Dare.” Justin said firmly.

“Look at the entry date, 2005.  Lance hadn’t even come out yet!”

“You really believed this?” Justin asked Deana.

“No, but there’s a whole website about times when you guys performed and had little moments on stage where you either looked at each other in a certain way, certain touches.  I’d go back and watch to see and it would be like ‘holy shit…’ Most of us know it’s just out of respect for each other, with  how long you guys have known each other, that friendship you have.  But you two have more of that than any other combo in the group.  There are some people putting Lance and Joey together, but it’s all just out of fun.”

“Well, that one just makes sense,” Chris laughed.  “If any of the 5 of us were to do that, I could see it be them.”

“Can we change the awkward subject, please?” Justin almost begged, getting clearly uncomfortable.

The doorbell rang at that exact moment.  “Saved by the doorbell, Timberlake!” Chris said.  

“That would be the babysitter,” Karly said.  She went to go over things with the babysitter.  

They headed to the cars, again following Chris.  Deana was curious where they were going until they got in the short line to park in a very specific parking lot.  “Justin, was this all your idea?”

“Chris has season tickets, so I figured why the hell not if there was a game while we were here.  You said you don’t get to watch as much hockey as you’d like, so I guess that was my part in all this, yeah.  They’d be going anyway, but I figured we could join in.”

She grabbed his hand gently.  “Thank you.  I know I was feeling nervous about this trip at first, but it’s my first real taste of normalcy since this all started.  Being in the cabin was nice, but it was still out of the normal.  I got a little taste of it in LA, but here, seeing you so relaxed, having nothing to do at a certain time besides eat before something golf related.  You definitely feel at home here, and that’s helped ME feel more normal.”

“I told you you had nothing to worry about,” Justin smiled.  Being one of the first people there, they got to park close to the entrance and get in mostly unnoticed.  

“I feel like I should post on Instagram- just chilling with the boyfriend and one of his besties.  Take a picture of the 4 of us.”

“Maybe for your private account.  I know Karly does that from time to time.  Her account is pretty locked down, Chris is worried about Nash being on social media.  If you really wanna post, maybe make it after we get to the hotel, that way people aren’t trying to find us.”

“Odds are someone will see you and it’ll be everywhere anyway,” Deana shrugged.  

“We’re in a suite, I think we’ll be fine.”

“Cameramen in the arena could end up putting us on TV.  Chris they are probably used to seeing, but you being there?  Especially with me, the new and elusive couple…”

“Now you’re making me nervous…”

“Why?  I thought we had nothing to hide?”

“You’re right,” he sighed.  He straightened up a bit.  “You’re right.  I’d been so worried about your privacy and trying to keep things hidden for a while, this is an adjustment.  I don’t know why I was worried, I’ve been courtside at basketball games, totally visible, and that never bothered me.  Even when I was with a girlfriend.  Let’s go and have fun.  Post what you want, on whichever account you want.”

“I could post pictures of you holding Nash on my private account.  Saying how great a dad you’ll be someday.”

“Even though it’s a private account, let’s not add any fuel to that particular fire right now.”

They followed Chris and Karly to their suite, food was already out, team related media was playing on the TV inside.  

“Get used to stuff like this,” Chris said.  “Either being courtside, or up in a suite for the Grizzlies games.”

“They have a game tomorrow, if you wanna go,” Justin asked.

“I’m not much of a basketball person, to be honest.  I kinda forgot you have all these different ventures.  If you wanna go, we can, it’ll be a game of ‘where are they now?’  Tonight in Nashville, tomorrow, back in Memphis.”

They hung out inside the suite until game time, going back and forth between being out where they could see the game in front of them, and getting food or something to drink inside.  Deana was definitely getting used to his perks, even though this one was technically Chris’s.  They were all out in the arena seating when a clip of them was shown on the TV, part of the national broadcast.

Chris was elated when the Predators won the game.  They waited for the crowd to die down a bit.

“You had a lot of fun tonight, babe,” Justin said.  “You got very into it, even though neither team is YOUR team.  Hopefully you’ll get that way with basketball.  I don’t go all the time, but when there’s downtime I’ll come out here for a bit, catch some games.”

“I’d rather come out here than Montana, unless we really just want to get away from EVERYTHING.  I like the small town feel of where you’re from.  Even Memphis feels small compared to NYC, but the area you grew up in, it feels like a whole other world, yet totally normal.”

“That’s why I have a house out here.  Stay close to friends and family, get away for a bit, but not completely shut out the world.  I do wanna do a trip to Montana with your family for Christmas, the boys can play in the snow.”

“Cuz New York doesn’t get snow…” Deana laughed.

“Not like this.  We’ll have to go out this summer and you’ll see.  The pictures from my album artwork?  That was all at my place in Montana.  Lots of open space to play in the snow, not just a little backyard.”

They headed down to the parking lot, giving hugs and goodbyes, snapping a few more pictures together.  They got in their cars, Chris and Karly heading home, Deana and Justin to their hotel.  They pulled into the parking garage for the Thompson Nashville Hotel, having the executive suite.  

“I figured we could stay here for the night instead of driving all the way back tonight.”

Deana saw the view of the city from the huge floor to ceiling windows.  “It’s breathtaking.”  The suite had an open floor plan, but blackout curtains for privacy.  She hadn’t planned on staying the night, but Justin had planned ahead, packing a small bag for the both of them.  Deana went into the bathroom and saw a huge, clawfoot tub.  “I wish we could stay longer, I have to at least sit in this tub before we go.”

“We have plenty of time to use the other niceties of the room,” he said, pulling her body close to his.  “We can wear the bathrobes once we get up in the morning.”

“Is that a promise of a romantic night?” she purred, running her hand to the back of his head.

“Romantic, passionate, sexy, let’s see where the night takes us…” he pulled her close for a kiss before closing the blackout curtains.