Baby when I’m wrapped up in your arms it never rains 

And I’m praying for more, more and more each and every day, ah baby

We’re flying high and no one can deny

They can tell by the look in your eyes

We got love, you got me 

If I got you baby, we got more than money, yeah

You are everything a man’s been dreaming of

Oh we got love, baby we got love, oh yeah

Ryan Shaw- We Got Love

“Diana, what are we doing tonight?” I inquire while walking around the hotel room to find her perusing through a magazine.

Her eyes gleam as she looks up, “Well, I was just reading this review on the Bruce Springsteen and E Street Band concert. Apparently it’s totally awesome, think we should check it out?”

“I had no idea you liked the Boss,” I reply back.

“There’s still a lot you don’t know about me, Timb.”

She cooly saunters into the bedroom part of the suite to go through her clothes and as she looks through her luggage searching for something specific, I come up behind her and just hold her close.

“So I guess that means I should make some calls?” I ask.

“Please, Timb, I haven’t seen the Boss since I was like fifteen, and this would be so awesome.”

With that she walks out of my grasp and heads into the bathroom while I go and make a few phone calls to see if I can still get tickets to the concert tonight. 

What’s funny is that I don’t really even like Bruce Springsteen that much. I mean, sure, he’s an excellent performer but there was never a time when I felt like I had to stop everything I was doing and listen to Springsteen. But the odd part is, if she likes it, so do I.

Moments later, she’s out of the shower without makeup and her hair is in a wet bun high above her head and she looks absolutely flawless. I look down to her t-shirt to see an old slogan.

“Tramps like us, baby we were born to run,” I ask.

“Yeah, you know the song ‘Born to Run’?” she asks

“Uh yeah, I think so.”

“It’s totally my favorite song of all time,” she says.

She’s simple in a pair of jeans and her favorite t-shirt, all ready to go and without putting on any of the makeup she brought and letting her hair dry to its natural curls, she’s ready to own the night.

“You ready?” I ask.

“Yup, I’m so excited, thanks baby,” she says.

We make our way out of the hotel room hand in hand and head down to the arena he’s playing at in Philadelphia. When we finally walk through the gates to our seats, she starts to get giddy as though this is going to be the best night of her life.

It’s that giddiness and that smile that she has plastered all over her face that lets me know that she’s feeling the same way I am.

The lights dim and the music starts to play, and already she’s out of her seat. She knows the words to every song and when the encore comes around, she totally goes wild.

There’s a little girl standing next to her in her father’s arms happily clapping her hands and looking over at Diana and I.

With the first few chords of “Badlands”, the little girl is let down by her father and begins to dance.

“Lights out tonight

trouble in the heartland

Got a head-on collision

smashin' in my guts, man

I'm caught in a cross fire

that I don't understand

But there's one thing I know for sure girl

I don't give a damn

For the same old played out scenes

I don't give a damn

For just the in betweens

Honey, I want the heart, I want the soul

I want control right now

talk about a dream

Try to make it real

you wake up in the night

With a fear so real

spend your life waiting

for a moment that just don't come

Well, don't waste your time waiting”

I look around to the mass of people and let the words soak in. I really don’t give a damn for the old played out scenes and I don’t give a damn for the just inbetweens. No, I want her heart, I want her soul, and yeah maybe I want control right now. 

We’ve been talking about a dream, that of course would be her and I, and yeah, we’re trying to make it real. And I wake up sometimes in the middle of night fearing she’ll leave me. 

I won’t spend my life waiting, I’m going after what I want and she’s right there, holding the little girl’s hands, dancing and singing along with the thousands of others in the arena.

It’s then when she turns around, looks me in the eyes and kisses me in front of everyone. She gently pulls away and lets me know how she’s feeling.

“I love you, Timb.”

At that moment, in front of thousands, I wasn’t Justin Timberlake, I wasn’t the lame ass dickface who didn’t know what he wanted a month or so ago, no, I was the boyfriend holding onto the girlfriend that he never wants to lose, singing to words that seemed to mean everything.

“I believe in the love that you gave me

I believe in the faith that could save me

I believe in the hope

and I pray that some day

It may raise me above”

Bruce Springsteen- Badlands