“Mom, you know we could host, you wouldn’t have to do anything…” Mikayla sighed.

“You may cook for your family, but Thanksgiving is different.  We always host, I always cook.”

“You could cook here, Mom.  Bigger kitchen, bigger dining room to fit us all…”

“He’s going to be there, isn’t he?” Carolina sighed.

“You mean the father of my twins?  Yes, Josh will be there.  We made up, why are you still upset with him?”

“I’m not sure who I’m upset with.  He should have known he was going to be a dad, he would have done the right thing, Kayla.”

“I know. I tried telling him, Mom.  We’ve gone over this over and over.”

“I’m thankful and yet upset at Justin for giving you a family, but taking you away from creating one with JC.”

“We’ve become one big family, Josh is practically my second husband,” Mikayla said, curious how her mom would react.

“If only he could,” she replied. “You two were so good together. Justin is great, but you and JC were perfection.  Just look at the twins, perfect miniatures of each of you. Silas is a mix of you and Justin, I see it. Though maybe that’s how it should be.”

“Getting back on track, you should let us host. We’d love to have you over, it’s been a while since the whole family got together.”

“Why is the other Justin coming?”

“I think he’d get along with our nanny.”

“You’re playing matchmaker…”

“Hopefully, yes,” Mikayla smiled. 

“How will we tell them apart, as far speaking to them at the table and such?”

“We’ll figure that out. We’ve just called them both Justin before when they’ve been together. It’s only been a couple of times but it wasn’t confusing then.  Mom, please let us host…”

“Thanksgiving is tomorrow, Mikayla…”

“Do you want us to grab everything tonight?”

“We’ll be there early in the morning. You won’t give up until I say yes.  My stubborn daughter.”

“But you love me.  Thanks, Mom. See you tomorrow. Love you.”

Justin looked up at Mikayla. “You got them to come here tomorrow?”

“Yup. And she took the bait.  Hopefully Dad is as ok with this as mom seems she might be. Though the tough nut to crack will be Miranda.”

“She just might surprise you. Did she know you were sleeping with JC?”

“Yeah. She didn’t seem to judge me for the sex in his office after we broke up. But being with two guys? That might be a bigger stretch.”

“I guess we’ll find out tomorrow,” Justin sighed. 

“You really think that’s a good idea?”

“Maybe not at the table during dinner, but in quiet conversations.  Those closest to us have been supportive of it once they found out. So maybe they’ll surprise you.”

…

“Thank you for helping me make breakfast, Jackie.”

“Is everyone coming this early?  You’re wanting enough food to feed an army…”

“Just my parents.  I mean, JC will be here, too.  That’s 8 people already.  My sister, her husband and kids, then Justin…”

“I’ll definitely need to change before he comes over, I’m a mess right now.  I’m the nanny, it’s not my job to look good, but today there’s pressure…”

“If it helps, he’s excited to meet you.  He kept asking for a picture, but I said he needed to meet you first.”

“That and you don’t have pictures of me, do you?” Jackie laughed.

“I do.  Plenty of you with the twins.”

“But none dressed up.  You know we look different once we’re in a decent outfit and makeup on.”

“The fact that either of these guys fell for me after seeing non-makeup-faced me is a miracle…” Mikayla laughed.

“Hey, got you 3 kids, didn't it?” Justin smiled as he walked into the kitchen.  “Wow, tons of food and it’s only breakfast…”  He kissed her cheek as she continued to cook.  “Going all out.”

“There’ll be 8 of us in the morning alone, including 3 men and two preschoolers.  I need all the food I can get.  Between watching the parade and then moving into football, we’ll be eating all day in some shape or form.”

“What time are the rest of them coming over?”

“Around 2, we’ll have dinner at 4.  Gives Jackie a little time to get ready…”

‘Right, you’re meeting Justin today.  We’ve confirmed he’s not sick this time?”

“Healthy as can be, checked in with my sister this morning.”

“It’s only 8:00, Kay, how much more morning could you get?”

“An hour ago.  She got back to me 15 minutes ago though, to answer your question.”

“Are you nervous?” Justin asked Jackie. 

“Should I be? I mean, a little I guess. Feeling pressure from my bosses that this go well…”

“No pressure. We just want you to find someone,” Mikayla replied. 

“Still a little weird, I’ll be honest.  I’m willing to give it a shot, online dating is terrible.”

“Yeah, I’m glad my life turned out to be a cheesy movie. After Lawrence, any guy that messaged me just wanted in my pants, right off the bat,” Mikayla commiserated. 

“You realize that IS the basic male MO, right? The ultimate goal.”

“But you talk a little, get to know each other.  If you’ve been drinking at a bar then sure, I get things heating up right away. But to have the first thing a guy say is ‘you’re hot, wanna fuck?’ isn’t the best way to go about things. Especially if your profile says you want a relationship, not just a hookup.”

“Just saying, JC probably wanted to fuck you in that tiny office the first day you met…” Justin chuckled. 

“You’re not wrong,” JC said, entering the kitchen.  “You know the twins will be awake and out here any minute, but talking so openly about stuff like this you don’t want them hearing…”

“I knew you were coming over earlier, but I wasn’t expecting THIS early,” Mikayla said. “He makes a good point though.”

“What was I walking into?” JC asked. 

“How guys on dating apps don’t want a relationship, they just want hookups,” Justin answered. 

“Funny, you weren’t the one having this conversation,” Mikayla said dryly. “If memory serves, before you even knew who I was, you kissed me.  So you weren’t afraid to go after what you wanted, barely even say hello…”

“Do I want to know what he said?” Jackie laughed. 

“Something about being too pretty to be in a corner.  He didn’t see my face, just kissed me when I looked up at him.”

“C, care to tell Kayla what you thought when you met her that first day?”

“I was impressed by how she played piano,” JC shrugged. 

“What did you tell me about being in that closet with her?”

“Oh, that. Well, I knew how beautiful you were, I was definitely turned on, more than I would have been for someone working for me.”

“Seriously? You said more than that!” Justin half shouted. “Told me you would have loved to…”

They were interrupted by the sound of the twins running down the hall. “Mommy, it smells so GOOD!”

“We have a lot for breakfast. Cinnamon rolls, I’m making cranberry bread… We’ll make egg cups a little closer to when Grandma and Grandpa get here…”

Her phone buzzed, Mikayla smiling. “That would be Grandma now. They’ll be here in half an hour. Just enough time to get breakfast stuff in the oven and finished before the parade.”

“Parade?” the twins asked. 

“Only the biggest Thanksgiving Day Parade. Your dads and uncles were on it once way back when, on a float with M&Ms.”

“Like the candy?!” Joshy gasped. 

“Yup,” Justin smiled. “That was such a long day, but it was so much fun.”

“We’d already done the Disney special, so we were on this crazy busy schedule. We were everywhere. Even crazier to think the following year we had no idea if we’d even get to continue,” JC added. 

“What happened?” Barb asked. 

“Well,” JC sighed, “the man that we thought was helping our career was only using us to get money.  We had worked very hard for over 2 years, touring across Europe and North America and getting very little money for it.  We didn't realize how bad it was because he paid for everything, we even got an allowance each week kinda thing, but we hadn’t gotten real money like we should have.  When we finally got our first checks, it was nowhere what it should have been.  He stole our money, using our money to pay for everything, taking a big piece for himself.  Then we wanted to leave, get away from him, and he tried very hard to make sure we couldn’t keep going as our group, even taking our name, the one your Nana came up with.”

“That isn’t very nice,” Barb said.

“He did this to other people too, and then he stole money from other people to try and pay people back.  He ran away, but he got caught and is thankfully in jail now.  So he can never hurt anyone again.”

“C, you know he died, right?” Justin asked quietly.

“I do.”

“Then he REALLY can’t hurt anyone else,” Joshy added.

“I guess I’m still processing it.  It’s been 3 months, but with everything he did to us, was allowed to do with other groups AFTER us, then those poor unsuspecting people…  We all trusted him.”

“I get it.  I try not to think about it too much.  We got lucky, I won’t lie.  It led us here, so it can’t be that bad.  We have each other, we have Mikayla, the kids.  Without him, I don’t think that would have happened.”

Silas’s cries came over the monitor in the kitchen.  “Justin, can you help get the egg cups going?  Cook the stuff in the bowls and put it in the baking cups, then pour the egg mix over to mostly fill them.  Not too much egg.”

“I’ll help him, Mikayla,” Jackie assured her.

“Do you need to nurse, or can one of us feed him?” JC asked.

“Can we feed him?” Barb asked.

“Sure.  I’ll let you guys figure that out. I’ll pump and get a shower in before Mom and Dad get here, though likely not.  Never mind, I’ll just pump…”

“It’s your parents, we’ve got this.  Come down once you’re ready,” Justin said softly, following her down the hall to Silas’s room.   

She went up to their bedroom, getting everything prepped to pump instead of feeding Silas herself.  She was glad for the relative silence, just her and the soft rhythm of the pump, giving her time to think.  She thought to JC telling about what had happened, how they almost weren’t *NSYNC anymore.  She was sure they’d have kept their fanbase even with changing their name, but was glad things had worked out the way they had.  

A thought occurred to her.  It had been almost 8 weeks since Silas had been born, she knew she’d be cleared for all normal activity, including sex, at her appointment the following week. She was curious what would happen.  Would she get to finish what they had started before Silas was born?  Would she have individual first times with them?  Where would this all happen?  So many questions that left her curious and feeling in need of a release.

She’d finished pumping, getting the shower ready.  She washed her hair, running the conditioner through her hair before leaving it in for a bit.  Now was her chance, taking advantage of the water and a soundproof room.  Not that she was loud if she was by herself.  It felt good, not as good as if she had someone with her, but enough to get the job done.

“Am I interrupting?” Justin asked, the bathroom door left slightly open, Justin hearing her soft gasps.

“I was just…” Mikayla blushed.

“Oh, I’m aware of what you were doing.  I’m curious as to why you were taking care of it by yourself.”

“Well, no one was here, just me and my thoughts.”

“I’m willing to lend a hand, fingers, whatever you need, baby,” Justin smiled.

“It’s better when you do it anyway,” Mikayla smiled back.

Justin quickly undressed, joining her in the shower.  He had to remind himself this was for her, not himself, trying to keep things at bay.  “What were you thinking about that got you all hot and bothered?”

“It’s been almost 8 weeks.  You know what that means…”

“Winter Solstice?” Justin teased.  “Trust me, I’m aware.”

“So I was curious what was going to happen, and when.”

“I see.  Well, I could tell you, but it would spoil the surprise.”

His hands caressed her body before settling between her legs, Mikayla pulling herself as close to his touch as she could. Resistance was futile for Justin as he became more aroused. He groaned in her ear, his breathing shallow in being so close to what he desperately wanted.  He could easily let this turn into something mutual, but knew that would take too long and arouse suspicion, at least from JC.  

“Justin, yes… yes… oh god…” she moaned, holding onto him for dear life as release washed over her. 

She stood under the spray, panting and gasping for breath. 

“Expect some of that soon,” he growled, kissing her back. “And then some.”

“Do you need…?” 

He cut her off with a quick nod of his head. “No.  I’ll… manage somehow.  I’ll get dried off and dressed, give you time to finish getting ready.  I’ll take what you pumped downstairs.”

“Thank you.  I’ll finish up here and be down soon.”

Justin gave her a quick kiss before stepping back out of the shower. He threw on a tighter pair of boxer briefs to help hide a bit of his current dilemma, relying on looser joggers and a loose tee to hopefully cover the rest.  

It’s only morning and it’s already awkward. Here’s hoping the day can’t get much worse…