The next few weeks consisted of many awkward encounters with Justin. He and JC were in the studio constantly working on JC's album which meant he was around ALL the time. I did my best to busy myself to avoid any interactions. I did well for awhile until one weekend when Jace was away doing promo in New York.

I was off that weekend and decided to stay in and relax. Working at the hospital had become more and more tiresome and I was exhausted every day. Even on my days off.

I had settled in the living room with a huge bowl of popcorn and a glass of wine, flipping through the channels for a nice chick flick when I heard a knock at the door. "Who is that?" I wondered aloud. It had to be someone with the gate code so I didn't panic.

I looked through the peephole and noticed Justin standing there. My eyes widened and I considered not answering, but realized Justin would know I was here since my car was outside.

I opened the door and was met with those piercing blue eyes and a goofy grin.

"Hey Justin." I greeted still standing in the doorway.

"Hey. Um, I know C's in New York, but I left my guitar in his studio and I was just coming to get it." He stated. How convenient, Timberlake.

"Okay." I moved aside and let him in. I closed the door and returned to my spot on the couch as he headed towards the studio.

Moments later, he appeared in the living room with his guitar in tow. He sat down on a loveseat and pretended to be engrossed in what I was watching.

"Is that all you needed?" I asked causing him to focus his attention on me.

"Oh, just thought you would want some company since Jace is gone." He smiled. Okay, now it was time to address the elephant in the room.

"Okay, Justin. What the hell is going on?" I turned to face his direction.

"What do you mean?" He asked pretending to be dumbfounded by my question.

"You know what I mean. The looks you give me, the kiss in the club on your birthday, you being here right now when conveniently JC is away."

Justin ran his hand over his buzz cut hair and sighed. "I know this is totally wrong, Layla. I do. But, I can't help to feel drawn to you. God, I just can't keep my eyes off of you when you're around."

I was rendered speechless at his confession. I stared at him my mouth agape, trying to formulate words.

"I know you probably think I'm a horrible friend for having feelings for my best friend's girl. I just can't help it. As for my birthday, the kiss was genuine but definitely fueled by some liquid courage." He laughed.

My suspicions had been confirmed, but I had not thought out how I was going to respond if they were true. I searched my brain for the right words to say.

"I don't know what to say." I spoke finally.

"Say that you feel the same way." He said matter-of-factly.

I absolutely can NOT say that. Did I feel the same way? There may be a mild attraction there, but nothing remotely close to how I felt for JC. Nothing that would make me jeopardize everything we had built together. Not to mention, who would want to be that girl who tore up a friendship between two guys who had known each other most of their lives? Not me! That was something I was 100% sure of.

"Justin, I appreciate you being honest with me. I am really flattered. I can't deny that I find you attractive, but I LOVE Josh. We have built a great relationship. This isn't some fling. I care so much about his feelings and I'm sorry, but whatever you feel for me has got to stop. Please." I held my breath as I waited for his response. It pained me to reject him, but I had to be honest.

Justin had a solemn look on his face as he stared down at his sneakered feet. For a minute or two, there was an awkward silence. Finally, he stood up and grabbed his guitar and exited the living room. I hesitated before I followed after him.

"Justin." He turned to look at me and the look on his face made me feel awful. Either he was really hurt, or he was a good actor.

"I'm sorry-" I started but was cut off as his lips crashed onto mine. I froze as I was taken aback. I came to my senses and pulled away aggressively.  "What the hell, Justin!"

"I know I can't have you and I will just have to accept that, Layla. Goodbye." He walked out the door as I stood there stunned.

--

"Honey, I'm home!" JC announced as he entered the home. I ran to him and jumped into his arms, wrapping my legs around his waist. His strong hands supported me easily as he nuzzled his face into my neck.

"I missed you, Jace."  Those two days felt like two months. I didn't know how I was going to survive if he went away any longer than that.

"Mmm I missed you even more, baby." He spoke into my neck, peppering it with little kisses, his stubble tickling me. I put my legs down so that I now stood in front of him, his hands never leaving my waist.

"How was New York?" I asked.

"It was fine. The usual promo stuff. I did a couple of shoots and had some radio interviews. That part was fine, but being without you was not." He planted an affectionate kiss on my forehead.

While JC was gone, I thought about whether or not I would mention the situation with Justin when he returned. After much consideration, I decided it was better left unsaid. For one, I didn't want to cause a riff between them and two, I didn't want to plant any suspicions in his head. I was firm on what I had said with Justin and I meant to stand by that. Part of me felt really guilty that Justin had kissed me, even though I had no part in it. It was nagging at me, but I decided it would be more harm to bring up so I kept it to myself.

"So, anymore thought about quitting so that you can travel with me?" He asked, breaking me from my thoughts. I sighed. I knew he wasn't going to let up on this topic.

"No, I haven't thought about it anymore." I said watching his shoulders slump in disappointment.

Truthfully, I had not given it much more thought lately, but in this moment, it was very tempting. I missed him so much while he was gone. My insecurities had me wondering what he was doing while he was away. Then, I thought how dare I even think that when his best friend decided to show up over here and KISS me.

"Promise me you'll think about it some more." He stared deep into my eyes searching for some sort of hope.

"I promise. I'll think about it."

--

Justin's visits had become more infrequent lately and I was thankful for that. JC's upcoming album was coming together and nearly finished and he was getting really excited about it. He was spending more and more time away doing promotion and photoshoots, and I was working so we had not spent a lot of time together. I was really happy for him, because he was doing something that he loved. But I was also a little worried about what that meant for us long term. I was feeling neglected already and he hadn't even dropped this new album yet or toured.

Valentine's Day was approaching so we had both cleared our schedules to spend some quality time together. JC had planned a nice date night for us. I was really excited and decided to go shopping for some new lingerie, dragging Bianca along with me. I didn't tell her about the Justin fiasco, because quite frankly, I wanted to forget about it. Plus, I was scared of what she would think.

I picked up a black lace teddy and held it up to my body. "What do you think about this one, B?"

Bianca scrunched up her face, clearly disapproving. "Ehh, no. For your first Valentine's Day together, you need something a bit more... revealing."

"Isn't all lingerie revealing?" I laughed putting the set back and continuing to browse around the store.

"True, but you need something like this." She held up a lingerie set with a pair of crotchless panties. "You don't even have to take this one off to have sex."

"Seriously? Crotchless panties? What's the point?" I scoffed.

Bianca rolled her eyes. "I told you. The point is you don't have to take them off."

"While that's convenient, I want something that JC will rip off of me. I want him to tear it off of my body and ravage me." I said biting my bottom lip just thinking about it.

"So, we are shopping for something that he is going to destroy? What a waste of money! And you know JC likes to save his money." She argued. She wasn't wrong about that fact, but I was purchasing this on my own. It was going to be a complete surprise.

"Are you calling my man a cheapskate?" I joked. We looked at each other and burst into laughter. We sobered up from our laughing fit and continued to browse the store. I finally saw something that caught my eye.

I held up the light pink sheer mesh bra and panty set in awe. It was girly, yet romantic and still sexy. This was the one.

"Bianca, this is it. I think this is perfect." Bianca agreed and I went to the cashier to check out. I walked out the boutique ecstatic about what was to come.

--

I woke up the morning of Valentine's Day and rolled over reaching for JC's warm body, but he was gone. I squinted to read the clock on our nightstand. 9:36 AM. I decided to venture downstairs in search of JC. I found him in our kitchen, fully dressed and ready for the day, and setting the table with a spread of breakfast food.

He greeted me with a kiss on the lips. "Good morning, honey. Happy Valentine's Day."

"Happy Valentine's Day, babe. You're up and at 'em unusually early this morning." I was pleasantly surprised that he woke up early to do this for me.

"I am. I went out and got us breakfast and coffee. You woke up at the perfect time. Are you hungry?" He asked eagerly.

"Starving." I took a seat at the table. "So, Mr. Romantic, what do you have planned for us tonight?"

"You'll find out soon, Ms. Impatient." He took a seat across from me and began to dig in.

"Well, I might have some surprises for you too." I winked at him and he raised a curious eyebrow at me.

We continued to eat our meal and drink our coffee, making small talk along the way. He mentioned that his album would be done by the end of next month, and that his manager, Eric, was already formulating a plan for touring that would start in June.

"So, is tour life really how its portrayed? Groupies, alcohol and sex?" I inquired. I needed to know more about life on the road before sending my boyfriend across the world without me.

JC chuckled and took a sip of his coffee before looking up at me. "Truthfully, yes. It was before." He grinned knowing this would get a rise out of me.

My mouth dropped open in surprise. "And what about now?"

"Now, I'm not interested in either of those things.. unless its booze and sex with you."

"Nice save. I know there are groupies though. You can't deny that."

"There is, but I never really fed into that much." He answered truthfully, putting my worries at ease. I needed to put more faith and trust into my relationship with JC. Especially if he was going to be around women throwing themselves at him any chance they got.