Christina’s head rested gently on his chest as they laid on the couch and watched a movie.  Justin wasn’t paying much attention because he couldn’t stop thinking about Rylee and what had happened earlier that day. 

Trace had told him to call Christina and take her somewhere so Rylee could go back to the apartment and not have to face her best friend.  Justin thought that this was a pretty good idea, so he invited Tina to spend the night and just hang out.

He felt her shift on top of him, so he took his eyes off of the ceiling and brought them down to look into her brown orbs.

“Can I tell you something?”  The usually up-front girl seemed timid, and Justin was really curious about what this something could be.

“Sure, you can tell me anything.”  He brushed a hand through her hair and smiled when she gave him a nervous look.

“You make me really happy, Justin.”  She licked her lips and avoided his eyes.  “I usually try and keep guys at an arms length because I’m so afraid of getting hurt, but you’re so different from any other guy I’ve been with.  I just…you…you have this way of making me feel like it’s all going to be OK.  I don’t know…”  She trailed off, burying her face into his shoulder.

Well, fuck.  Here she was spilling her guts about how great she thought he was, and he had to go and kiss her best friend. 

Justin decided in that moment that he was going to devote all of his attention to Christina and exert some self-control when it came to Rylee.  Why the hell should he ruin a good thing because he was attracted to someone else?

“Hey…”  He spoke softly, his hand going to her chin so he could tilt her head to look at him.  “You make me happy, too.”  He smiled down at her and chuckled when she blushed.  “I’m glad you wanted to tell me this, you shouldn’t be embarrassed about it.”  He leaned forward so he could kiss her forehead and then settled back into his pillow.

Justin started to list off all of the reasons why he was with Christina in his head.  He didn’t want to be the asshole that used a girl and didn’t really care about her.  And he did care for Christina, he really did.  She was an amazing person with a great heart and she made him laugh.  He needed to stop thinking so much with his dick and start focusing on what he had right in front of him.

~*~

Rylee sat back in her chair and nodded her head along to the music that played from the speakers.  However, music was the farthest thing from her mind at the moment.

Currently, she was trying to figure out what the hell had happened to Justin since their last session in the studio that hadn’t ended so well.  He wasn’t acting strange, he wasn’t avoiding her…he was…normal.

Rylee wasn’t sure if she should be thankful or upset.  She was glad that it wasn’t awkward, but at the same time, she didn’t feel as if there were any closure on what had happened between them and she hated when people avoided things.  Rylee was not a passive aggressive person, and she didn’t like for other people to be that way either.

She had come into the studio this morning and there was her usual hot chocolate sitting with the other coffees on the table.  Justin had greeted her with his usual smile and wave, and Brett had given her his customary high-five as she seated herself at the desk.  Everything seemed normal, and yet, to Rylee there was this huge elephant in the room called “I-kissed-my-boss-slash-best-friend’s-boyfriend.”  She was having a hard time pretending that everything was OK with her.

“Hey, Brett, does that sound off to you?”  Justin played a section of the music they were working on and both men listened.

“Uh…play it again.  I can’t tell.”  Justin re-played the track a few times and both men seemed stumped.

“It’s off by half a step.  The guitar isn’t tuned correctly, and it should be playing an E but instead we’re hearing a D#.”  The look that she earned from both men sent her backwards in her rolling chair.

“What?”  Justin was the one to speak first.

“I said…”

“I know what you said.  You have perfect pitch!”  He exclaimed, jumping from his chair and slapping Brett on the back.  “Did you hear that?  Check it, I’ll bet you she’s spot on.”

Brett went through and tweaked the necessary buttons, bringing the notes up to the right pitch.  They listened through the measures again and sure enough, it sounded perfect.

“Holy fucking shit, you have perfect pitch.”  Now Brett was in on the action and Rylee was starting to feel like a circus freak with the way they were staring at her.

“So?  It’s not that big of a deal…”  She shrugged her shoulders and cringed when they both yelled at her.  It was a talent to be able to have perfect pitch.  Rylee was capable of hearing a note and being able to name it on the spot, or, if someone asked her to sing a certain note, she could without any thought or help.  Perfect pitch was a great gift to have and not many people were able to do what she just did.

“Seriously, Brett, I thought you had the best ear I’d ever heard, but that shit was amazing.”  Justin’s intense gaze landed on her again and she could feel her face getting hot.  It was unnerving to have him stare like that, and it was even worse when she kept thinking about that kiss.

“I think I need some air, you two are freaking me out.”  Rylee stood and left the room quickly.  It was damn difficult for her to be in that room with Justin and not think about what had gone on.  Trace had said that he liked her, and then he kissed her…did this mean that she had a chance?  She was a fool for thinking it, but it couldn’t be helped.  Especially when they worked so closely together and despite her fighting it, she was incredibly attracted to him.

She sat outside in the sunshine for a few moments, collecting her thoughts.  She didn’t know what to do.  She was thinking that it might be best to just take Justin’s lead and pretend that nothing had happened.  It would save her friendship with Christina and it would probably make her working relationship with Justin easier.  At the same time, that wasn’t the type of person that Rylee wanted to be.  She had learned to confront problems because they only got worse when you let them fester.

A noise behind her caused her to turn and catch Brett running out the front doors.

“Where’s the fire?”  She yelled after him as he ran.  He stopped for just a moment to turn and yell back.

“I just got the call, my wife is in labor!”  Before she could respond, he was in his car and speeding out of the parking lot.

“So much for that buffer.”  Deciding it was probably time to get back to work, she took a deep breath and headed back inside.  Justin was still at the deck fiddling with a few sounds and finishing off a track.

“Brett’s mother called, his wife is in labor.”  He didn’t turn to look at her when he spoke.

“I know, he told me as he was running out.  Good for him…or, good luck to him.”  She chuckled at her own joke.  Justin didn’t laugh with her.  He glanced up and watched her for a moment before turning back to the sound board.

“Do you want to start putting together those tracks for the artist coming in tomorrow?  I told his label that I’d have some things ready when Dylan comes is.  I think that’s his name.”  So, it was going to be business as usual then?  Rylee was hoping that since Brett had left they’d be able to talk about things, but apparently she was wrong.

“Sure.  I’ve got those lyrics, too.  I’ll start on the slow track, I’ve got a guitar riff in my head anyway.”

“OK.”

She spent the next hour trying to figure out the song and ignore Justin at the same time.  She felt as if everything he did was magnified by 100.  She could hear him breathing, she could feel his movements, she was completely in tune to everything he was doing and it was starting to drive her crazy.

“All right, I can’t take this anymore.”  She put down the guitar and threw the pen in her hand.  “Something needs to happen here.”

“Huh?”  That’s right, play dumb.

“Seriously, Justin.  Is this how it’s going to be?  You get to play with my emotions and kiss me, and now you’re going to act like everything is normal and fine?  What, you decide that your girlfriend really is the best choice and I wasn’t up to your standards?”

She was yelling and getting a little irrational, but she felt it was justified.

“No…”

“Then what the fuck is this?  Do you expect me to just forget everything like it was nothing?  News flash, Justin, I can’t turn off my emotions and pretend like that.  What happened affected me more than I’d like to admit and I want to figure this shit out before I go crazy.”

Justin sat back and watched as she paced the room.  This scene felt eerily familiar, but he refrained from kissing her this time.  She had every right to be mad at him, but he was really hoping that she would just forget about it all and let it go.  It would’ve made his life that much easier.

“I’m sorry about kissing you.”  He flinched at the glare she sent in his direction.  “I shouldn’t have done it, especially because of Christina.  I…I don’t know how to explain why I did it, I guess…”  Justin took a deep breath and collected his thoughts.

“I think you’re a cool chick, Ry.  You’re one of the best people I’ve had in this studio, and I love hanging around you.  Not to mention, you’re gorgeous.  It’s just…I wasn’t thinking when I let myself act on that attraction.  It’s not fair to you, and it’s certainly not fair to Christina.  I’ve got a good thing with her, Rylee.  I don’t want to fuck up two relationships because what I might feel for you.”

Rylee closed her eyes and prayed that the stinging tears would hold off for a few more minutes.  She felt as if she’d been stabbed in the chest.  He was being honest, but it hurt like hell to hear that, again, Christina had been chosen over her.

“Ok.”  She took a few deep breaths to calm herself before opening her eyes and looking right at Justin.  “I respect your choice; I hope it all works out for you.  I think, though, that I’m going to go home now.  I’m a little tired and I’m starting to get a headache.  I’ll come in early and finish these tracks.”  She didn’t give him any time to respond before she was out the door and headed toward the parking lot.

Justin’s head lolled to the side and he let out a sigh of frustration.  He knew he was doing the right thing, so why did it feel like he’d just made the wrong choice?

~*~

“All right, we’ve got pizza, beer, and I even bought some ice cream for afterwards.  Oh, and I picked every comedy I could find in the store.”  Trace plopped unceremoniously onto the couch next to Rylee and grinned.

“Thanks, T.  I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“For starters, you wouldn’t have anyone to bitch to about JT.”  She groaned and let her head settle on his shoulder.

“Let’s not speak that name for the rest of the night, OK?”  She felt him shake his head in affirmation before leaning forward and grabbing a couple of slices of pizza from the box.

“Here, eat, and then we’ll get drunk.”

“That sounds like the best idea I’ve heard all day.”  She took a bite of pizza and then set it down on the table.  Picking up the beer Trace had brought out to her; Rylee tilted her head back and guzzled half of it down.  She let out a deafening belch and giggled at the look on Trace’s face.

“Damn girl.”

“That was nothing…just wait until I’ve finished off a couple.”  She then proceeded to down the rest of that beer and popped the top to another.

“You are officially the coolest chick I know.”  Rylee blushed at the comment but she wasn’t sure if it were because of the words or the alcohol that was now coursing through her system.  At this point, she didn’t really care.