Justin was led into a room with a giant wooden X in the middle with a set of chains running down from the top section of it. A table sat along a wall with a few things Justin recognized but far more that he didn’t. He already knew he was out of his element.

“So, Justin, what is it I can do for you tonight?” Mistress Piper asked as she shut the door. 

“Oh, wow, I don’t know. Is there like a menu or something?” Justin asked, looking around.

Mistress Piper laughed as she made her way closer to him. “No, but I’ll keep that in mind for the future.” She walked to him and kissed him softly, which he allowed. The kiss felt hollow to Justin, however. It wasn’t who he’d wanted to be kissing right now. Mistress Piper pulled back slightly, letting her fingers play through Justin’s hair. “Glad you’re letting this grow out again, I was worried I wouldn’t have anything to tug on.”

“Guess I’m not some anonymous John then, huh?” Justin chuckled, silently thanking JC for insisting on the NDAs.

“It’s kinda hard not to know who you are,” Mistress Piper informed him. “Don’t worry, I’m not some TRL fan girl but I’m not going to pretend I don’t recognize you.”

“Well, then you know I’m kind of going through some shit right now so I don’t really know if I’m in the right headspace for this?”

“Do you want to be?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, if you didn’t have your shit going on, would you be ok with being here?”

Justin gave the room another look around. “It’s not really my scene but I’d give it a go,” he replied honestly.

“Then I suppose the next question is, do you want to be in the right headspace? Put all that shit to the side for a little bit and focus on something else for a while?”

“That does sound nice,” Justin mused.

“Sounds like a good place to start. So Justin, let’s just get the elephant out of the room and identify that you’re currently all fucked up over your break up with Britney Spears, correct?”

Justin looked at the woman, stunned momentarily at her bluntness. “Uh, yeah, I mean that and the fact she cheated on me with a guy I considered one of my best friends so I lost two people in the deal. Is this therapy? Should I go lay down on one of the couches out front?” Justin asked, pointing back out towards the lounge.

Mistress Piper laughed. “You’ll have to forgive me, I’m doing post graduate work in psychology currently. You’d be surprised how often here that knowledge can be useful.”

“How’s that?”

“Psychology focuses a lot on how the brain works so, in this case, if I know what’s taking up the most space in your mind, I can figure out the best ways to distract you from it.”

Justin considered it and realized it actually made a lot of sense. “So what do you want me to do? Just tell you everything that’s going on in my head and you’re magically going to make it go away?”

“For the time we have together, yes, that’s the goal at least,” Mistress Piper told him. “Quick question, have you ever been restrained or wanted to be?”

Mistress Piper stood next to the wooden X as Justin gulped. “Handcuffs on the headboard kinda shit. Nothing that extreme.”

“Now’s your chance to try if you want to,” Mistress Piper told him, giving the wood a quick pat as she raised her eyebrows at him.

Justin debated it for a moment. While he still wasn’t wild about being there, the promise of having some time to not wallow in his misery was too tempting. “Why the hell not, what could be the harm?” Justin declared, walking over to Mistress Piper.

Mistress Piper carefully strapped Justin to the cross, ensuring he was secure yet comfortable. Once he was settled, Mistress Piper stood in front of him and stared into his eyes. She put her hands on each side of his head and drew tiny circles on his temples. “Now, we’re gonna play a game and the better you do, the better you’ll feel. You ready for the rules?”

“Um, I guess,” Justin answered, feeling like this was becoming oddly intimate.

“First, you are going to tell me something that’s bothering you, then I am going to tell you that we aren’t going to think about whatever that subject is tonight and you are going to repeat that back to me followed by “Mistress”. I’ll help you out with the first one. Tell me in one short sentence what’s bothering you about Britney.”

“She cheated on me,” Justin bluntly replied.

“We aren’t going to think about her cheating on you tonight,” Mistress Piper calmly instructed.

“We aren’t going to think about her cheating on me tonight…Mistress,” Justin remembered to add, even though it felt weird. “You really think I’m just going to stop thinking about the things that have been consuming my life for months because you tell me to?”

“Humor me,” Mistress Piper told him. “If you believe you can stop thinking about all these things for a little bit and we are reinforcing that by saying it out loud, not only does that help for tonight but in the future, you’ll know when you get overwhelmed by these feelings that you’ll have the power to set them on the back burner. Give me another one.”

“Fuck Wade for what he did to me!” Justin nearly shouted.

“Shhhh,” Mistress Piper soothed him, letting her fingers run through his hair before returning to massage his temples. “We aren’t going to think about Wade tonight.”

“We aren’t going to think about Wade tonight, Mistress.”

“Good. Every time you say something out loud, you feel better knowing you’ve let it go for now. Keep going.”

“My writing is coming out a jumbled mess.”

“We aren’t going to think about writing tonight.”

“We aren’t going to think about writing tonight, Mistress.”

“You’re doing so good,” Mistress Piper told him, keeping his head in her hands so she could maintain eye contact with him. “It gets easier every time. Each worry you let float away makes you feel lighter, less weighed down by all that burden and stress.”

It did feel better, Justin thought as he let himself relax more into her touch. He hadn’t realized quite how stressed out he was until he slowly started to unwind. “I’m stressed out about the tour.”

“We aren’t going to think about the tour tonight.”

“We aren’t going to think about the tour tonight, Mistress.” Justin felt his body sag a little, realizing how good it felt to get all this off his chest. “I don’t know what happens after the tour.”

“We aren’t going to think about after the tour tonight.”

“We aren’t going to think about after the tour tonight, Mistress.” Justin furrowed his brow, his speech sounded slurred to his ears, almost like he was falling asleep. He blinked a couple times, trying to stay awake. “I want to work on some solo stuff but I don’t know if I should.”

“We aren’t going to think about a solo project tonight.”

“We aren’t going to think about a solo project tonight, Mistress.” Justin was almost glad to be tied up as it kept him on his feet. That and Mistress Piper’s hands on his face, her fingers going round and round….”Did you drug me?” Justin questioned, his eyes starting to lose focus.

“No, I didn’t drug you,” Mistress Piper smiled. “You’re just realizing how good it feels to finally relax. I’m just helping you get there. It does feel good, doesn’t it?”

“Yes Mistress,” Justin found himself saying, his breathing becoming heavier. “I’m worried how good our next album is going to be.”

“We aren’t going to think about the next album tonight.”

“We aren’t going to think about the next album tonight, Mistress,” Justin knew he had said it but he almost didn’t sound like himself anymore. He felt like he was about to take the most overdue nap he ever needed. “Can I just…shut my eyes…Mistress?” Justin asked.

“Soon,” Mistress Piper told him. “Let’s get every last drop of worry out of that pretty brain of yours. No more thoughts to bother you. You can have a nice deep sleep once they are all gone. Give me one more to unburden you from.”

Justin searched his brain, finding it hard to concentrate on anything other than Mistress Piper’s voice and her fingers against his flesh. “I’m scared I’ll never find that kind of love again, Mistress.”

“We aren’t going to think about finding love again tonight.”

“We aren’t going to think about finding love again tonight, Mistress.”

“That’s a good boy,” Mistress Piper praised him. “Shut those pretty blue eyes for me and sleep.” Justin felt his body give way as the most amazing feeling of relaxation overtook him, his chin hitting his chest as Mistress Piper let go of him. He vaguely thought he must ironically look like a marionette in that moment but the idea left him quickly. This was the freest he had felt in months, maybe years.

Justin felt hands on his torso as he heard Mistress Piper telling him, “So relaxed, but still able to stand up. Your legs can support your weight and we’re just going to lean back and let the structure help you stay up.” Justin found himself doing as he was told as he got his feet under him and let his body relax against the wood behind him. “Very good,” Mistress Piper told him. “How are you feeling?”

“Good…Mistress…”

“I know, baby,” Mistress Piper teased, “I took all those bad thoughts out of your brain and now you’ve got a pretty little empty head floating around there. Do you like how that feels, to have no thoughts?”

“Yes…Mistress…”

“Well, as much fun as it might be for me to keep you like that, we need to give you some good thoughts to think about.” Justin barely registered Mistress Piper’s hands lifting up his shirt and running over his chest and stomach. “Tell me, Justin, when’s the last time you got off?”

“Yesterday…Mistress…”

“And what were you thinking about that made you cum?”

“Britney…Mistress…I tried not to but…couldn’t…”

“Shhh, it’s ok,” Mistress Piper reassured him. “It’s totally understandable you’d still think about her. Do you want to keep thinking about her or do you want to think about someone else?”

“Someone else….Mistress…”

“I can certainly arrange that. Open your eyes, Justin.” Justin obeyed and found Mistress Piper smiling at him. “Now, tell me how beautiful I am.”

“You’re so beautiful, Mistress,” Justin breathed, his eyes trying to take as much of her in as possible. “Your eyes…your body…the way you touch me…and talk to me…I’ve never heard…” Justin pulled at his restraints. “I need you, Mistress.”

Mistress Piper pouted and caressed Justin’s cheek, “Oh, I almost wish that I could keep you. I want to pretend I’m this good but I think it’s just that you actually needed this that bad. Isn’t it better when your pesky bad thoughts are gone and someone else can give you better things to focus on?”

“Yes Mistress,” Justin admitted, still absorbing every part of her he gazed upon. The more he looked, the more beautiful she appeared. Justin moaned as his cock stirred. 

“You remember our game from before, right Justin?”

“Yes Mistress,” Justin said eagerly.

“Good boy. Remember, the better you do, the better you’ll feel. This time, however, you are going to tell me things that make you happy and that is what we are going to fill your mind back up with. Do you understand?”

“Yes Mistress,” Justin stated, his lust for her starting to get the better of him as he licked his lips, needing to taste her in some manner.

“That’s very good,” Mistress Piper praised him. “Let’s begin: what is something that makes you happy?”

“I love performing, Mistress,” Justin told her.

“Good. Think about the adrenaline rush that performing gives you. You put all your energy out into the audience and they give theirs right back to you. Even in a crowd of tens of thousands, you are all connected in that moment and it feels so good.”

Justin felt Mistress’s hands on his waist as the button on his jeans was being popped open and the fly slowly let down. He knew the game by heart now and knew the only way to please himself was to please his Mistress and do what she asked. “I love hearing a new beat, Mistress.”

“Think about the excitement you feel when you hear something new for the first time and it clicks with you. You know that feeling when you hear a new song on the radio and you instantly know you will blast it every time it comes on? Now think of that as your song that you created, the ear worm it causes, the way it will intoxicate the masses just like it did to you.”

A hand slid beneath the waistband of Justin’s boxer briefs as fingers teased the base of his cock. He felt a shiver as he let the euphoria of discovering a new sound travel down to his groin as Mistress’s hands began to work on him. “I love getting hit on.”

“Of course you do,” Mistress Piper chuckled. “You love the feeling of turning a woman on. Sometimes you like to tease, sometimes you know instantly you could already have her if you wanted. You love the power it gives you and you love the inverse happening right now.”

“Yes Mistress,” Justin moaned, his eyes starting to glaze over again as Mistress took a firm hold of his cock. She was absolutely right. He loved knowing women wanted him and flirting with them just to torture them further. He’d have women literally begging to suck him off and only lately had he been indulging. To be on the other side of it felt instantly addictive and he now understood their need to show how good they could please him. “Please….”

“Not yet,” she told him, slowly lowering his underwear and letting her hand explore the length of him. “Tell me more.”

“I love the support people having been giving me lately, Mistress.”

“You know the support has always been there but it’s important that you feel it currently. People who help raise you up are vital to your well being. Who has been helping you the most?”

“JC, Mistress.”

“How has JC been helping you?”

“He…he listens. I can…open up to him. I’ve been looking up to him since…I was twelve. Wish I could…be as talented…as him.”

“Have you told JC this?”

“Yes and no….he knows I…appreciate him.”

“If you can open up to him, then you should thank him for all the help he’s been, especially as of late. It’s never a bad thing to thank your friends for loving you. Say that back to me.”

“It’s never a bad thing…to thank your friends…for loving you, Mistress.”

“Good, I want you to always remember that but I especially want you to tell JC how good a friend he’s been lately. Just as you love and need the support, your friends should know that you are grateful for it as well.”

“Yes, Mistress,” Justin said, his eyes closing as his head tipped back. If he could, he’d run and tell JC right now if it meant his Mistress would speed up her hand on his cock. “I love the way you touch me.”

“I know you do,” Mistress Piper laughed low. “No one has ever touched you like this. No one else could ever touch you like this. Others will try and you’ll enjoy them but no one will ever make you feel this way but me. So submissive, so obedient, you know deep inside you that only I could ever make you feel this way.”

“Yes Mistress, I only want to obey you,” Justin said automatically as his Mistress’s hand stroked him. He knew she was right. He knew everything she said was right. He knew no one would ever make him feel this helpless and needy ever again and he loved giving into her completely.

“You would’ve made such a lovely slave but at least I had tonight to play with you,” Mistress Piper sighed as she pressed her body against the side of Justin’s and gripped his cock tightly. Her other hand reached up to pull at Justin’s hair. Her lips grazed his earlobe as she commanded him, “Cum.”

Justin’s eyes nearly popped out of his head and he gasped as he felt his orgasm overtake him suddenly. He had just enough sense to realize he normally wouldn’t have been ready at this point  before his eyes rolled in the back of his head and he gave into the pleasure he was experiencing. Mistress was right; only she could do this to him and it felt incredible to fully give into the feeling and to fully give into her.

“Such a good boy,” Mistress Piper cooed as she milked the last of his orgasm out of him. Justin kept himself upright this time as his head rolled forward, feeling spent. “Our time is sadly almost up but I want you to know how remarkably well you’ve done today. By allowing yourself to rid your mind of your negative thoughts and replace them with positive ones, you’ve shown not only your commitment to wanting to move on and the power of your own mind but learned the beauty of giving yourself over to someone completely. This experience and the lessons learned will stay with you forever.”

“Yes Mistress,” Justin confirmed, knowing he’d never forget this evening and the impact his Mistress had on him for the rest of his life.

Justin’s arms fell down to his sides as Mistress Piper released him. “Come on, baby. We have to get you cleaned up and returned to your friends.”

“I totally fucked her,” Joey bragged the second the door closed once they were all back in the Suburban.

“You did not,” Chris yelled.

“Sure did,” Joey doubled down. “She liked the way I screamed when she hit me so I told her I had something I could whip her with if she liked.”

“You are so full of shit,” Chris laughed. 

“How about you? Did you play lap dog all night?” Joey teased.

“No, but my ass fucking hurts,” Chris said, shifting in his seat.

“Mine too,” Lance chimed in.

“Seriously? You both took it up the ass? I mean, I figured somebody would but…”

“Shut up, Fatone,” Chris leaned over to smack his bandmate. “That’s not what I meant and you know it.” Joey responded by putting Chris in a head lock and turning him so he could reach his butt to smack hard a few times. “Ow! It hurts, it hurts!” Chris protested.

“How are you guys doing?” Lance turned to ask JC and Justin.

“Good…lot to process,” JC answered, clearly lost in thought.

“Well, this was your idea so did you get what you wanted out of it?” Lance questioned.

“I don’t know what I thought I’d get out of it but I certainly got something, that’s for damn sure,” JC stated. “How about you, Justin?” JC asked the younger man to his left. “Did it get your mind off of things for a bit?”

“Yeah, it really did,” Justin gave him a half smile, which was more than he’d given anyone in quite some time. “Actually, can I talk to you when we get back to the hotel?”

“Of course,” JC smiled back at him, patting his knee.

Joey was still trying to smack Chris’s ass as they ran down the hallway toward their rooms. Justin barely heard Lance say goodnight as he followed JC, who had apparently forgotten Justin was even behind him as he entered his room and let the door start to shut behind him. “Um, JC?” Justin asked, catching the door.

“Shit, J, I’m sorry,” JC said, turning back around and holding the door open for his friend to enter. “Guess I’m the one with a lot on my mind this time.”

“It’s cool, it’s, uh, it’s been a night,” Justin stated. “That’s actually why I wanted to talk, I mean, kind of.”

“Everything ok?” JC asked, kicking off his shoes.

“Um, yeah man, actually it, um, it really did help and I…I just wanted to thank you for all the love and support you’ve been giving me.”

“It’s not a problem, that’s what friends do.”

“It’s more than that,” Justin continued. “You’ve always been looking out for me, since we were kids. You just…you’ve always wanted me to be the best me I could be. I don’t know how to thank you enough for not only being my friend but being a man I respect and hope to be half as good as.”

“Geez, Justin, where is all this coming from?” JC said, pulling his friend into a hug. “Anything for you, man, anything.” JC pulled back and looked Justin square in the eye. “What the hell happened in there?”

“A lot of talking, actually. I just realized it’s never a bad thing to thank your friends for loving you.” Justin shut his eyes for a moment, remembering the way he felt when he had last uttered those same words at Mistress’s command. He knew JC loved him and Justin loved him in return. He wanted to show JC how much he truly meant to him.

Justin opened his eyes to find JC peering back at him with concern. “J, are you sure you are ok?” JC asked, his hands raising to cup Justin’s face to get a good look at him, the same way Mistress Piper had done not so long before. 

After the briefest of hesitations, Justin leaned in and kissed the man he’d admired for nearly a decade. He felt JC’s body tense but softly kissed him back. Justin smiled against his lips and guided JC against the wall, trying to intensify the kiss while his hands reached for JC’s belt buckle.

“Justin,” JC mumbled. JC got his hands between his chest and Justin’s and shoved the younger man back. “Justin!” he shouted, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. “What the fuck has gotten into you?!”

Uncomfortable silence filled the room as Justin stared at JC with confusion. He only wanted to show JC how much he cared for him. It’s what Mistress had told him to do…wasn’t it? She said let him know how important he was, all while she had stroked him harder, all while he was thinking about his friend.

His confusion gave way to something just shy of horror at the realization of what he had just done. “Oh my God, JC. I’m so sorry. I don’t know…I don’t know why I did that?”

“It’s ok, Justin,” JC calmly reassured him. “It’s been a pretty intense night for all of us. We’re cool.”

Justin started shaking his head in disbelief. “I’m telling you, C. She did something to me! She like, fucked with my mind or something. I never would have kissed you if she hadn’t…” Justin cut himself off, not only unsure of what to say but suddenly unsure of what had even happened. Now his whole body began to shake.

“Hey, Justin,” JC approached him cautiously. “I promise, it’s not a big deal, ok?” JC put his hand on Justin’s shoulder and he recoiled yet somehow felt dejected all at the same time. He felt tears welling up and bolted out of the room, making a break down the hall to his own. He heard JC call his name after him and footsteps hurrying behind him as he quickly opened the door and slammed it shut, turning the lock and latching the chain.

JC pounded on the door, begging to be let in, saying he just wanted to talk and make sure Justin was ok. Justin ignored him as he locked himself in the bathroom and turned on the shower to drown out JC’s pleading voice. He stripped and climbed in the tub, instantly sinking to sit down and let the water pound on his body. The spell he’d been under had been broken and Justin knew the only thing Mistress Piper had been right about was that this experience was going to stay with him forever. He let his head rest against the shower wall as his tears ran down his cheeks to drop and meet with the water as he watched yet another piece of his life whirl down the drain.

*****