They woke up early the next morning, packed all their stuff they needed for the rest of the tour, and went to the airport to catch their flight.  Justin needed to be in Kansas City and at the arena by noon, just to be safe for sound check and things.  Deana had started the poncho for Lynn, doing the light green one first so it would be ready in time for summer.  “Even though she’s paying me for it, it’ll be my Mother’s Day present for her, making sure it’s done by then.  Once I have some samples for her, can you send her pictures of them for her input?  I’m wanting to try something a little different with the darker one.”

“I gave her your number this week, I can just have you text her or whatever.  She’ll want to talk to you about it, and other stuff, so don’t be afraid to reach out to her or have her contact you for things.”

He grabbed her phone, putting his mom in as a new contact. “There, now you have it. She’s really paying you for them?”

“Yeah. I tried to tell her no, she’s your mom, I wouldn’t feel right charging my boyfriend’s mom for something, but she insisted. I see where you get your persistence from,” she smiled. 

“Me, persistent? I don’t know WHAT you’re talking about…” he laughed. “You sought after ME, if memory serves…”

“Umm, I remember it very differently…”

“We both planned on getting the other’s number by the end of the night, it was a mutual thing.”

“I’m aware. Especially once I saw you in that costume.”

“Umm, YOU had the sexy costume… the low cut top, that short skirt and those fishnets…”

“The handcuffs that have come in handy… I can pull it out of the closet when we get home, a little role play…”

“Damn I can’t wait to get back to NYC, can we start now?”

“On the plane?”

“Baby, welcome to the mile high club,” he growled, nibbling at her neck. 

…

The next few weeks flew by, Justin’s tour schedule having a show every other day or so.  

Their arrangement of Deana sitting at the bar was working out well, restricting who has access to her. Only those with the bar access could approach her directly. Other VIP people near the bar would wave and say hi if they recognized her, but she was still given a surprising amount of privacy. 

They arrived in Philadelphia, Deana having arranged to meet her friends since they had a couple days off. They checked into their hotel, Justin getting a rental car to drive out to their place in New Jersey. 

Deana gave him the address, following the directions on the GPS. It took them into a new housing development, houses still under construction. 

Deana knocked on the front door, Justin staying out of view for a minute. 

“Hi Deana, I’m glad you were able to make it out here!  What brings you out here, you never really said…”

“I’m here for stuff with my boyfriend, he’s actually here. You wanna meet him?”

“Sure.”

She pulled Justin into view. Renee’s eyes went wide, her jaw dropping.

“Wow… We have a LOT to talk about… Come on in.”

They entered the house, Deana admiring the vaulted ceiling of their living room. She went to hug Renee before she noticed Renee’s news.

“Oh my gosh, you’re pregnant!” Deana squeaked. 

“Twins…”

“Shut the front door!  That’s amazing!”

“John’s a little overwhelmed, but we’re excited. A boy and a girl.”

“That’s great, Renee.  I know you wanted to be a mom for so long. They were a real life Ross and Rachel, together off and on for almost 20 years, right?”

“Since high school, yeah.  Let me call him out here. John, come out, I have a surprise for you!”

She looked at Justin. “Hide around that corner, he’s coming up from the basement.”

John bounded up the stairs, his eyes lighting up seeing Deana. “Deana-na-na!!  What the heck are you doing here?!”

“I’m here with my boyfriend.”

“Dude, I’m going to see JT in a couple days.  If you’re still here you should come with!!” he said excitedly. 

“Funny you should mention that…” Deana laughed. “I was thinking you should join ME…”

Justin stepped from around the corner. John’s jaw dropped, shock all over his face. 

“What… wait…what? Is this some kind of joke?!”

“He’s my boyfriend…” she said softly. 

“Holy crap, Deana!  Man, this is crazy! Just… wow!  Come sit, let’s talk!”

They sat down in the living room. “So, like, how did you guys even meet?” John asked. 

Deana told them the story, Justin peppering pieces in here and there. It really was his favorite story to tell or hear Deana tell. 

“She was such a big fan in high school, we even had this inside joke at Christmas off playing ‘Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays’ whenever she’d walk into a room.  But man, what a story… Almost better than ours.”

John was average height, dark hair, tan complexion, fairly muscular. Renee was barely 5 feet, possibly just under. She had blonde hair that stopped around her shoulders. “We met in high school, dated all through college. We broke up, started seeing other people, then found ourselves single at the same time and tried again. We still had feelings for each other after that time apart. We saw each other a ton during the time in between, and never really got over each other. I moved to Jersey for work, realized I needed her in my life forever, proposed, and we got married 6 months later. Last September, and now we’re gonna be parents! Life is catching up with us, but it’s so great,” John beamed. 

“I’m serious, John, you’re welcome to join me for the concert, much closer, I’m sure. Though Renee, if you wanna come, we can get a suite, that way you can sit. I doubt there are 3 open stools at the bar area…”

“How do you guys know Deana?”

“Turns out we went to school together from elementary on up, but I’m a couple years ahead of her. We both are.  But I didn’t really meet her until college at our church,” John said. 

“Deana and my sister are the same age, but went to different high schools. We knew each other from church, my dad’s the music pastor, choir director, all of that.”

“No shit, my dad did that in the church I grew up at in Memphis,” Justin said. 

They gave a tour of the house, everything was brand new as the house had just been finished. She was excited to see the nursery starting to be set up. “I’m due at the end of August, so we still have some time. The baby shower is coming up, I’ll be going home for that. You’re going to that, right Deana?”

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world…”

They talked for a long time, Justin getting to know her friends. They had been shocked at first, but the longer they talked, the more comfortable everything felt. Justin took Deana’s hand in his, smiling at her. 

“I still can’t believe it.  You’re living your dream, Deana…” Renee said. 

“I can’t believe it myself some days.  I’m glad we came over, got to catch up with each other. I’m clearly in town for the next few days.  I really do want you guys to come to the show if you’re able.”

“I saw you earlier in the tour and it was amazing, man. I sent pictures to Deana teasing that I was with her man. Now it’s true…” 

“Some days it’s a big deal, other days it’s totally normal. Now that there’s about a week left in the tour, I’m used to sleeping on the tour bus and being on the road.”

“We’ll be home in NYC soon, though there will be stuff in LA. But it’ll all feel like home with you there, babe.”

Renee smiled wide yet soft. “I’m glad you’re so happy, Deana. The fact that it’s Justin is the cherry on top.”

“We know how lucky and blessed we are to have each other,” Justin said. “I’m reminded every morning when I wake up and see her face lying next to me.”

“I never thought I’d have so much in common with Justin Timberlake,” John said. “I feel that same way with Renee.”

“Congratulations, on everything. I hope we’re where you are sooner rather than later,” Justin sighed, squeezing Deana’s hand. 

“Oh, are you guys…?”

“Not engaged, not pregnant, just so that’s out there,” Deana clarified. “We’ve been talking about both a lot though lately, we’re almost 6 months in.”

“I mean, you gotta do what’s right for you.  I’d had a ring for Renee since I was 19 years old, but kept talking myself out of it.  Almost another 19 years later, here we are.  Do I wish I’d done it back then?  Yeah, but we were very different people than we are now.  So in a way it was like it was meant to happen this way.  But if you know, you know.  When things feel right, go for it.”

“Deana, you’ve opened yourself up a LOT over the years.  When I first met you in high school, you were this super shy kid.  You loved *NSYNC, but that wasn’t exactly what everyone else at church was into, so you kinda had to hide that so you'd be liked.  Now, you’re out there being who you are, more confident…” Renee said.

“I don’t know about the confident part,” Deana sighed.

“How does that work, given who you’re dating?”

“Things have definitely changed between us already,” Justin interjected.  “At first, I fell in love with her voice.  It was calling to me.  I saw the person she was on stage, and it resonated with me a lot.  I think because she’d been in that mode, I saw a different, more confident side of herself.  Now that she’s been taken away from that, she’s going back to that shy personality.  I love her nonetheless, but it’s been a shift for both of us.  Her getting used to my lifestyle, and me adjusting to her being more shy, almost scared at times.”

“You really feel I’m scared?”

“Kinda, yeah.  You’re not getting a chance for that bit of the spotlight, not in the same way.  I treat you like a queen, let’s be honest, but it’s different because I love you.  You’re so afraid no one else will like you that you shrink back when you used to stand out.  You have a front row seat every night, and even that’s different because then you go into fan mode, but I’m learning about all the different sides of you.  Some of them I wish I could change, only to help you be more confident all the time, like you were when we were first together.  I’m sure once we get back to NYC, and you’re around your normal stuff again, it’ll come back.  For now, I’m trying to help you feel more confident in these new situations.  You adjust better now to meeting my famous friends, so I know at some point this will become more of a moot point.  Sorry we did this in front of your friends.”

“It’s fine.  It is what it is.  Better this way than bottling it up and not telling me.  I’m sure you’ve been doing some of that at least.”

“We should probably get going, you don’t need to hear all this…” Justin apologized.

“We get it.  Believe it or not, we do.  Even with that out there, I can see it’s from a place of love and acceptance.  You don’t really want to change her into someone else, just a more confident version of herself,” Renee said.  

“Exactly.  The woman I fell in love with is somewhere under there still, I’m just trying to bring her back out.  OK, we really should get going now, but I do hope you guys can come to the show, give her some normalcy in the midst of all this.  Renee, I’ll talk with my team on what we can do, see if we can add some stools at the bar for you so you can sit, be comfortable, but still be close.  Would that be ok?”

“Wow, you’re serious?” Renee asked.

“Yeah, he’s like that…” Deana smiled, looking up at him as she hugged him.  

“I mean, keep in touch with us on things.  If we can, that’s great.  You really do have yourself a great woman, Justin.  Deana, I hope you know that.  I know Morgan really took your confidence down after the breakup.  I haven’t seen you like this in a long time, and I hope it stays that way.  I can tell you’re happy, and that’s what we all have wanted for you for so long.”

“Thanks.  I’ll let you know what our options are, wanting to make sure you’re comfortable.  We wouldn’t offer if we didn’t mean it.  We’ll figure out something, for sure.  So we’ll see you in a couple days then?”

“Yeah, we’ll see you at the arena,” John replied.

They hugged goodbye, walking back to the car.  “We need to talk…” Deana sighed.