Since Cheyenne was settled back home, even in the middle of the media debacle, Justin had been preparing for a toddler to share his bachelor pad. After spending the day in Target with the girls, buying every type of baby paraphernalia they could think of and with Kiki’s help, he redecorated and baby proofed the entire house from top to bottom. Locks were placed on every cabinet necessary in every room, all electrical sockets were plugged up and edge guards were molded on all table tops. Baby gates were set up at the top and bottom of every staircase, despite Kiki’s warning that they did not work with Cheyenne anymore. She had figured out how to open every gate she had ever brought into the condo. She was too smart and explorative to be contained. For his own peace of mind, Justin went ahead anyway and set those up too.
The V-chips that he didn’t even know his TVs had, were activated in every set when he found out that Cheyenne knew how to work a TV. Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network - at certain hours, and Disney were the only channels accessible without the code. In his kitchen, the bottom shelves of the refrigerator and pantry were lined with her favorite treats and drinks. She could open both and like Kiki, he wanted to nurture her independent streak. So he adopted the same set up she did to allow Cheyenne to get her own snacks after she asked permission.
He had a decorator come in to turn the bedroom crosswise from his into her nursery. The scheme of the room was very light pastel green walls with stencils of some things that represented the little unique person that Cheyenne was: penguins, soccer balls, chocolate cake, and pixies. Like her bedroom at home, she had a “big girl” bed, a vanity for her size, and all the other amenities of a little girl’s room. His bedroom even went through a bit of a change, a set of stairs were placed at the side of his platform bed in case she wanted to climb in with him.
Throughout the whole house Justin had a state of the art baby monitor installed. When it was on it could transmit from her bedroom to other rooms all over the house like down in the basement where his studio was for when he was working while she napped. The den was turned into a family room “ the neutral color scheme with light colored furniture and carpeting was replaced with more stain camouflaging, colorful furniture and bare hard wood flooring to combat any future spills and messes of a toddler. One of the corners of the room was cleared for a little activities table and chair set with coloring supplies, books, and puzzles stored in a nearby storage cart. The entertainment set was stocked with every Disney movie that was out of the vault and other kids’ movies, and some of Cheyenne’s favorite music was also put in the attached CD rack. As with all the bathrooms in the house, the den’s adjoining guest bathroom had all the necessary baby cleansing products stored in the cabinets.
Toys. All kinds were brought and stockpiled in her bedroom, the family room, and down in the game room. Out back, he turned half of the yard into a playground for her. He brought a sandbox, a jungle gym and swing set. Cheyenne was a water baby and loved swimming so he brought arm floaties, a float vest, a lily pad raft and other toys for her to play with in the pool.
In almost every part of his house, he made it compatible for his daughter. It might be considered spoiling, but Justin wanted her to be comfortable and feel like this was her home too.
Kiki’s condo was her primary home, but she spent every weekend at Justin’s unless he was out of town on business. In between that it was kind of a play it by ear situation. If Cheyenne wanted to spend a weeknight at her father’s, either Justin picked her up from daycare or Kiki dropped her off after work. But the truth was that regardless of which house she was in or what time of the week, Cheyenne was with both her parents a majority of the time. The friendship that Justin and Kiki rebuilt allowed all three of them to spend time together. They had naturally adjusted into some what of joint custody “arrangement”. There was nothing formal about it though, it wasn’t necessary. Legally the only measure that had to be made involving guardianship issues was adding Justin to Cheyenne’s birth certificate and that was done literally the day after the news about her became public. Point blank, how they wanted to raise their daughter was a private matter between them, not between lawyers and in front of a judge. Together they’d make the decisions and together they’d carry them out. Go Team Juki! All that mattered was that Cheyenne was getting the best care they could provide and most importantly all the love they could give her.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
It was Friday morning and Kiki was in her office just after leaving the women’s locker room where she changed into her teaching gear. She quickly sent a usage report on the club to the printer so she could go over it when class was over and then left to get the studio prepped. On her way to the entrance staircase by the front desk, she glanced over at the fitness floor and stumbled to a stop. Stationed at a bench press were Justin and Lonnie working out. She smirked at the sight. Justin always said he would come to the club one day, but she never thought he really would. Despite that and what she said in the past, she still gave him a free pass like the rest of her close friends and family. She just never brought it to his attention before.
Without being noticed Kiki made her way over to the duo which proved to be difficult when she couldn’t stay focused on the simple task of walking. The sight of a wife beater clad Justin, with his sweaty biceps flexing with each press up was causing some problems. Snapping out of it before she hurt herself, Kiki stopped at the end of the bench, keeping quiet, only sharing a nod of acknowledgment with Lonnie until Justin was through with his set. On the last count, he was done and he put the bar back on the rack.
“Hey Kik.” Lonnie verbalized his greeting and Justin sat up, already grinning.
“Hiya. What are you two doing here?”
Always the smartass, Justin replied. “What does it look like we're doing? Do you always question your patrons?”
“Do you want to be banned from the club?” She put her hands on her cocked hip. “Don’t you have a gym of your own?”
“Yeah, but we needed a little change in our workout routine. It was getting a little mundane. Right Lon?” Justin said as he stretched out his arms and shoulders.
“Plus the attractions around here are “ Damn.” He exclaimed lowly and discretely pointed out the woman he spotted to Justin.
“Hey! This is not a pick up joint or a peep show.” She playfully swiped at Lonnie.
He laughed. “Alright I’ll be good. I’m gonna go hit the free weights man.”
“Cool.” Justin nodded as Lonnie moved towards the back of the floor where all the free weights and multi gyms were located, leaving the couple alone. “So tell me, when does business attire mean a get-up like this? Cause I might have to tell some of the girls at the office to adopt your dress code.” He swiped the back of his finger across her bare midriff and she popped his hand. “Ey!” He shook the sting out, but it didn’t stop his eyes from licking up and down her body. The midriff tank top and low slung cargo pants was quite a familiar outfit and he grinned lazily as the memories of the frequent heated moments between them during rehearsal, passed through his mind.
Kiki rolled her eyes at his comment and the look he was giving her. She could call him a pig, but it was typical gutter mind Justin. Choosing not to make a comeback remake, she instead answered his underlining question.
“I have class in…” She looked at her watch. “10 minutes.”
“What class?” He reached down to the side of the bench for his water bottle and took a sip.
“Turbokick.”
“What the hell is that? I thought you only taught dance classes.”
“Well I’m a versatile woman. And turbokick is like kickboxing, but it’s not as disciplined. It’s TaeBo-ish. Set to better music though.” She giggled at her explanation. “Come take it, see for yourself.”
“Uh no thanks.” He replied somewhat incredulously.
“Why not? Because, let me guess, it’s a ‘girly’ class.”
“Well yeah. I mean honestly how many dudes take the class?”
She answered reluctantly. “None. But so what?”
“My point exactly. I’ll pass.”
“Forget you then. I gotta go teach now.” He stood up and walking in the same direction as her, moved on to another machine. “Are you taking Pix with you when you leave?”
“Yeah. I’ll come find you before we go.”
“Ok, thanks. I’ll see you later then.”
“Have fun.” He mocked as he straddled the rowing machine seat.
After class, Kiki went to the locker room to take a shower. While in her stale washing her hair, she overheard two girls talking about how they heard that they just missed seeing Justin Timberlake at the club. Thinking about the time of day, Kiki laughed to herself. It was time for the lunch rush which meant a lot of college aged girls were stopping by at this hour. Justin came and went at the perfect time.
Too bad, I could have gotten a good show watching him get mauled.
She finished redressing into her more professional clothing and went back to her desk job. On her way to her office, Mandy stopped her at the front desk to pass along a verbal message from Justin.
Apparently she would be taking a trip into LA after work. Cheyenne had opted to stay in daycare as opposed to being excused early to go with her daddy. Kiki hoped that dedication to learning and enrichment lasted well throughout the rest of her education.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Her work day over, Kiki drove towards Justin’s house with Cheyenne chatting non-stop about her day in the back. Seeing as she and Justin had exchanged keys and codes to their mutual homes awhile ago, for ease and emergencies, Kiki easily made it onto his property and into the house, Cheyenne perched on her hip.
“Justin you here?” She called through the expansive house and set Cheyenne on the floor.
“Kitchen.” He answered back and Cheyenne skipped ahead of her to meet up with him. “Hey Pixie face.” He picked her up when she reached his side and sat her on the breakfast bar he was sitting at. “Want some chips?” She accepted the offer and started munching at the barbecue chips he had left over from lunch. Once Kiki crossed the room, he turned his attention to her with a devious grin planted on his face. “So Ms. Lewis how was class?”
Sensing he was up to no good, but not sure what exactly, she hesitantly answered. “Good.”
“That’s great! The rest of your day was good too I hope.” She nodded still very skeptical. His inquiry about her day may have been genuine, but she knew something was up his sleeve. “That’s nice, but I bet it paled in comparison to you Tuesday mornings and Thursday afternoons.” He smirked at her perplexed look and pulled out his ace “ a copy of Key West’s group fitness schedule that he picked up earlier. “It says here that at 9AM on Tuesdays and 3PM on Thursdays you teach strip aerobics- I mean Aerob-x.” Kiki’s eyes widened before they closed in resignation. Oh shit, he found out! I am never, ever going to hear the end of this. He chuckled devilishly. “And the word is that it’s the most popular class at the club especially when you’re the one teaching.”
Not willing to back down from him, she stood tall and proud. “That’s right.”
With that stupid half grin still on his face, he backed away towards the fridge. “I guess when you said you were versatile you weren’t kidding.” Color him surprised when he found out Kiki’s wild streak went farther than her burlesque days. Since he left the gym with the new bit of information about her, the thought of her sliding down a pole kept floating through his mind, making things a little tense for him.
After turning to retrieve a bottle of water from the fridge, he came back to the bar, took a sip then handed it off to Cheyenne. “Here baby drink some of this.” She had to be thirsty after eating those dry chips. “So how much experience do you have in the field? A substantial amount?” He asked leaning towards her over the bar and she retorted saucily.
“I’m an expertise and just like you were told I’m the headliner and crowd favorite.” His eyebrows rose in intrigue as she moved in closing the gap between them even more and with a deep alluring tone, she chuckled. “But you’ll never get to enjoy the experience.”
He scowled as she pulled back giggling and when she reached for a chip, he yanked the bowl away. “I don’t get a lesson, you don’t get any chips.”
She smacked her lips and bogarted the bowl back, purposely grabbing a handful. “It’s a female class “ no boys allowed. And I don’t do privates. Unless…Do you have Chippendale’s aspirations Justin?”
He scoffed at the notion. “Whatever.” He’d just try another time, but he’d damn sure get a lesson/show.
Finishing her chips, Kiki changed the subject. “So I hope you’re not tired after your day because your daughter has a request.”
“Really?” He looked towards Cheyenne who was bus playing around with the little piggy shaped salt and pepper shakers, and tapped her on the shoulder. “Did you want to ask me something?”
Putting the shakers back in place, she nodded. “I wanna go swing.”
“Okay we can go outside and play.”
“No. The park.”
He repeated, “the park” just to make sure. She did practically have her own park in the backyard. She nodded. “Now?”
“Yes.”
He looked at Kiki for help, but she only stared back expectantly with a small taunting twist on her lips.
“Sure.” He answered almost reluctantly, but that changed when she beamed at him, excited about the trip and he could understand that. Even though she loved having her own, sometimes going to the park was more exciting than an everyday backyard swing set. Tired or not he’d do anything to put that smile on her face and make sure she always had a good time. “How about you go put your bookbag away and then we’ll go.”
“Okay.” He lifted her off the counter, Kiki handed her, her bag that she was carrying and she took off to deposit her things in the den.
With Cheyenne out of ear shot, Justin turned on Kiki. “You’re coming with us.”
She scoffed. “No I’m not. I just got off of work. I’m going home to relax.”
“I worked and went to the gym today. If I can’t relax then neither can you.”
“Oh I don’t think so. This is your time with her.”
“She’s still our daughter.” Kiki gave him a look that said: And your point? Justin’s scowl turned into a smirk though.
“Besides Cheyenne wants you to come to the park with us, don’t you baby girl?”
Kiki turned around as he talked over her shoulder to see their daughter standing in the doorway watching them with a hopeful smile.
“You come with us Mommy?”
Just as much a sucker for making Cheyenne happy, she resigned. “Yeah baby I’m gonna come too if that’s okay.”
“Uh huh.” Her eyes glowed excitedly.
“Okay then go on up to your room so you can change. I have to change too so I’ll be right behind you.”
“Okay Mommy.” She happily skipped pass them to do as she was told.
Glaring at Justin, Kiki said. “Payback Timberlake. One of these days, so watch your back.”
He simply grinned at her. He’d won this battle that’s all that mattered. With one last sneer, Kiki followed Cheyenne who was halfway up the staircase.
Now in her play clothes, she walked ahead of her mother as they came downstairs to the foyer where Justin was waiting. Kiki had on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt that she had left here from the days when she stayed over with Cheyenne until she got used to the house.
“All set ladies.” Justin subtly taunted Kiki.
“Kiss my a-s-s Justin.”
“Maybe later. Right now it time for baby girl to get her swing on.” He bent down to be at her level when she came to his side. As he scooped her up and was tickling her, Kiki caught sight of the keys in his hand. She could tell by the logo tag that they were riding in his Escalade.
“Hmm, a suitable conciliation prize.” She said to herself. His attention elsewhere she swooped in and successfully yanked the keys out of his hand. “Alright let’s go. I’m driving.” She quickly headed through the kitchen towards the back door, grabbing her bag on her way.
“Whoa, whoa. Hold up.” Justin transferred Cheyenne to his side and followed Kiki, protesting the whole way. “You are not driving my car.”
Together they locked up, Justin setting the alarm and Kiki locking the door. “Why not? Don’t you trust me? Me - the ever trustworthy one throughout the course of our many different relationships.” Keeping the keys out of reach, she coyly batted her eyes.
“Ouch.” He winced at the stinging reminder. “Is this my payback then?”
“For today? Yeah.” Payback for the other, his biggest blunder, was still hanging in the background, far from being settled. Not that she felt it even needed to be since they were nothing more than friends. “And last I counted I got 6 more in your garage just waiting for you to screw up.”
“Thanks a lot. And I’ll let you drive this time, but you’re not getting your hands on any of my other cars.”
Walked to the Escalade that was parked outside of the garage, she clicked the unlock button and opened the door, tossing her bag into the back. “We’ll see about that. Now get in.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Driving towards Brentwood, Kiki took them to a quiet park that she and Cheyenne visited occasionally.
Looking out the front window, Justin could see that for a Friday afternoon there, surprisingly, weren’t a lot of people out taking advantage of the great weather. At least not now. Once he was spotted that could change drastically.
“Ugh I hate public parks.” He grumbled under his breath as they parked, but Kiki heard him. “I swear if anyone shows up snapping pictures…”
“Oh I know because God forbid anyone sees you spending quality time with your daughter.” She replied with sarcastic appall. When he glowered at her, she rolled her eyes. “Get real Justin and stop being such a drama queen. It’s not like you’re about to go do something scandalous like smoke crack on the monkey bars.” She climbed out of the car and went to the back to let Cheyenne out. “Now let’s go.”
He got out the truck, turning his cap forward to cover his face a little and he scoped out the area once more. He could feel paranoia seeping in until he heard…
“Daddy come on!”
Turning sharply he saw his little piece of sunshine beaming from the curb ready to have some fun. That anxiety chased away, he smiled and put all his attention on her. “Alright here I come. Daddy’s gonna get you.” Her eyes widen and she took off the second he moved to grab at her.
Laughing as she watched them make a mad dash across the lawn to the jungle gym, Kiki followed them at a much slower pace.
Cheyenne was squealing the whole way, reaching the rubber flooring of the playground before her father and she went straight for the monkey bars that lead to the tunnels and climbing towers.
“Whoa, whoa. Wait a minute Pixie.” Justin called out and catching up to her, he grabbed her just as she started climbing the ladder. “Where do you think you’re going huh? You gotta wait for me or Mommy before you get on the bars monkey girl.” He reminded with a little tickle. “Alright you ready?” Raising her arms, Cheyenne nodded and he lifted her to grab the bar. Holding her so she could do some of the work herself, he helped her swing to the other end. Safety landed, she was off again like a shot through the gym maze. Thankfully it was structured in a way that allowed parents to follow their children’s path on the ground.
At a nearby bench, Kiki sat back watching the two, thinking about how much had changed in the past four months. Things really had done a 180 between the three of them “ she could actually call Justin a friend again and he had really grown into a great father in every sense of the word, one that Cheyenne had become very attached to and he to her. They were like two peas in a pod now-a-days. Watching Justin catch her at the bottom of the slide and the two of them giving each other raspberries on the cheek and giggling, Kiki knew that bond would never be broken.
“Mommy!” Cheyenne called out breaking her from her reverie. “Mommy you turn. Come get me!” She proclaimed and scampered off, starting at the beginning of the maze again.
“Okay here I come.”
Since she was smaller than Justin, Kiki took her turn chasing Cheyenne through the gym. At the end they went down the slide together with Justin waiting at the bottom to catch them. A few more rounds and Cheyenne had her fill of the jungle gym so they moved to the merry go round, then the rocking horses. Kiki was rolling at the sight of six foot tall Justin trying to fit himself on the horse at his daughter’s request. When it was finally swing time, Cheyenne’s original reason for this trip, Kiki stood behind her lightly pushing her while Justin sat in the swing next to her trying to teach her how to pump. She wasn’t able to get the hang of it this time, but it probably wouldn’t be long before she did. Eventually swinging wore off its luster too and Cheyenne moved on to the sandbox. Her parents sat this one out at an adjacent bench and watched her shovel dirt in the pail they brought with them.
They both sat in comfortable silence until Kiki noticed Justin looking around himself and the park more frequently than normal. It didn’t take her long to figure out what or better yet who he was looking for. He’d been so busy focusing on Cheyenne and enjoying himself he forgot to worry about the paparazzi showing up. As far as Kiki was concerned she thought it was a good thing that he’d forgotten about them, but that was fated not to last with his slight paranoia about them.
“It’s okay. No one’s here.”
“Huh?” He answered distractedly after finishing another scan of his surroundings. “What?”
“No one’s here, you can relax.”
Sighing, he said. “Yeah I know. I’m sorry.”
“No don’t be. I’m sorry actually, for making light of something I know really bothers you sometimes.” The paparazzi may have backed off of her significantly, but they were still butting in on Justin’s life. He had recently been in a minor verbal altercation with a paparazzo so naturally he was still on edge about it. “What I really meant was, well, they’re not gonna stop right?” He shook his head. “Then ignore them. They’re like a bunch of annoying bad ass kids who bug the shit out of you just to get a rise out of you. It’s not worth paying them any mine especially when it’s stopping you from living.”
“I know and I’ll be damned if I give in like that, but it just gets so…ugh!” He growled in frustration. “You know?” She nodded. Even though she’d only been familiar with the stalkerazzi for a short time compared to him, she knew how irritating having them around could be. “There are some days that I can let it go and some days when I just want to beat the fuck out of every one of them.”
When she shrugged and said, “I say don’t fight that feeling,” he had to chuckle.
Looking around the park, he saw that there wasn’t a photographer in sight and even those just hanging out in the park, some in the exact age range of his fans, weren’t paying him any mind. He relented then. “Ok so maybe I was being a little dramatic.”
“Mmm, just a little.” Kiki held up her hand with her thumb and pointer finger a half an inch separated. He bounced his shoulder into hers and they shared a laugh.
So over the park, Cheyenne dumped her pail of dirt and joined her parents at the bench. “I’m hungry.” She announced.
“Oh yeah? What do you want to eat?” Justin asked while bouncing her on his leg that she had draped herself over.
Hanging upside down, she shouted, “Cheeseburgers!,” and then busted out laughing when Kiki playfully drummed her butt that was sticking up. “Stop!” She squealed through her laughter and Justin flipped her upright.
“So you want a cheeseburger? Fries too?” Wiping her hair out of her face, she nodded eagerly, her craving shining from her eyes. “From Sonic right?”
Grinning big, she bobbed her head. “Mmhmm.”
“Sonic Mommy?” He asked Kiki.
“Sounds good to me.”
Cheyenne jumped up, “yes,” and quickly grabbed each of her parents’ hand. “We go now.”
Lifting off the bench, the three left the playground holding hands and climbed into the car, in route to get some grub.
Finished with dinner, they returned to Justin’s where Cheyenne was bathed and dressed for bed. Kiki said her goodnights to them, leaving father and daughter to enjoy their weekend with just the two of them. And leaving herself off Mommy duty for the next two days so she could have some fun of her own.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Early the following morning when Justin woke up, he felt something lying across his face. Since she slept with him last night, he knew it was Cheyenne, but with her tendency to sprawl while sleeping there was no telling which part of her he’d find on his face. Opening his eyes, he glanced down to see it was a little pink toenail painted foot resting on the dip between his top lip and nose. He looked to his side and found her diagonally stretched out on her stomach “ her other leg hiked up at her side, one fist tucked under her chin per usual, and the other arm splayed out. He laughed at the crazy picture she made and gently moved her foot so he could get out of bed without waking her. Not like that was likely, she slept like the dead which gave him the perfect chance to take a shower and get ready for the day first.
After freshening up and changing into his typical golfing garbs, Justin walked out of his closet that was attached to the en-suite bathroom, and found the TV on with Cheyenne sitting at the end of the bed watching.
“Morning Pix.”
She turned around long enough to say, “hi Daddy,” and then went back to the TV and with a fist raised in indignation she cried. “Swiper, No swiping!”
He shook his head comically and finished accessorizing. Thankfully Dora was over soon and he took her to her room to get her dressed.
They crossed over to her bathroom first for a change and teeth brushing, then headed to her mini walk in closet, Cheyenne announced. “I pick.”
“I know. And let me guess, you want to wear green?”
“Yup.” She peeped happily “ green was her favoritest color ever!
First the duo agreed on a pair of khakis shorts and Cheyenne choose a green smock tie top. Of course Miss Independent had to do the majority of her dressing herself, a job she was pretty good at, and only gave Justin full clearance to put her sneakers on since she couldn’t tie laces. Yet!
Next, Justin brushed her hair up into a ponytail, a task that Kiki had to teach him and one he would have to brag that he now had mastered. This came after some tangled, lopsided messes, but he did get the hang of it.
Setting her down on the floor all dressed, he said. “Ok give us a turn. Let’s see how pretty you look.” Happily, she twirled around to show off her outfit. “Very nice. You look good girl.” Justin playfully complimented and held a hand out for her to slap. Giggling at her silly Daddy, Cheyenne hopped up and tapped his hand. “Alrighty then let’s get out of here kiddo.” He grabbed a hold of her hand, hooked her pre-packed baby bag on his shoulder, and they made their way downstairs.
They got to the bottom of the steps and Trace walked out of the kitchen.
“When’d you get here?” He let go of Cheyenne’s hand when she landed and she ran over to her jumper that was for some reason in the middle of the foyer. Probably waiting for him to trip over the damn thing and bust his ass like he’d done on all her other toys.
“Just did. I was putting the car seat in my car since you cheap ass doesn’t want to pay for gas.”
“It’s your turn to drive and hey, watch the language.” He nodded towards Cheyenne while double checking the baby bag for everything she would need.
Wincing Trace amended “ well tried to. “Oh shit. I mean damn-“ He covered his mouth with a fist. “I’m just gonna be quiet now.”
Justin snorted. “Cheyenne did you say hi to Uncle Trace.”
Still jumping, she let go of one of the handle bars and waved. “Hi Uncle Trace.”
It was still weird being called “Uncle”, but he liked the title. “Hey Pixie face you ready to go golfing?”
She just shrugged, having no idea what that was. This was her first time going to the golf course with her father, but Justin was already well prepared for this day.
Awhile back he had a miniature light weight golf club set custom made for her “ Kiki freaked out for a good ten minutes over how cute it was “ and today was the day they were going to be broken in. He was raring to find out if he had a mini Tiger waiting to take over the female golfing game. So far in the sports arena, soccer seemed to be Cheyenne’s favorite. Every time they ran across a match on TV they just had to watch all 80 or more minutes worth and God forbid he change the channel. Maybe she was destined to be the next Mia Hamm, maybe both, maybe nothing sports related at all. It didn’t matter really. Either way whatever her interest turned out to be, he’d always be right there to cheer her on.
“Ok all set.” Everything of necessity was packed and ready to go. “Can you grab her? I gotta get our bags from the garage.” Trace scooped Cheyenne off her ride and followed Justin out the back door. They were walking to the garage when Trace started laughing.
“What?” Justin turned around thinking Cheyenne was doing something funny that he was missing.
“Look at you going golfing with a baby bag on your shoulder and shi-“ The weight of Cheyenne in his arms stopped him and he looked at her face and corrected his self. “Stuff.”
“Shut up.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Once they got to the exclusive country club, the trio had breakfast and hit the green right after. Standing in a lounge near the exit to the course, Justin was prepping Cheyenne for being out in the sun, putting sun screen on her and her matching green Nike hat.
“Dude I think I need to borrow her for a day.” Trace said out of the blue.
His focus still on Cheyenne, he replied casually. “What?”
“Did you not notice those chicks watching you? They were- Oh, oh hold up.”
“Um excuse me.” A group of three twenty something girls decked out in khakis and assorted colored polo shirts approached Justin who was squatting down next to Cheyenne.
He looked up at their beaming faces and cute posturing, deciding to mess with them a little, he put on the old Timberlake charm and his trademark smile. “Hi ladies.”
Just as expected they started giggling and blushing until the one in the middle, obviously the leader of the pack, calmed down and spoke up again. “Hi, um this might seem weird, but we just wanted to tell you that we think you’re a really wonderful Dad.”
“It’s made us even bigger fans than we were before.” The one to the left complimented, looking completely star struck.
“Oh thanks. I appreciate that, but honestly with a face like this it makes it impossible to be anything else.” He reached out to affectionately bop Cheyenne’s nose and with a giggle, she bopped him back.
The three women practically swooned at the little father/daughter moment. “She is so cute.” The last one, on the right took her turn to speak.
“Tank you.” Cheyenne answered for herself. She hated when people talking about her like she wasn’t standing right there. Justin smirked, thinking the same thing “ his little girl definitely wasn’t lacking in the assertive department. Giving her a once over and seeing that she was well protected, he stood up.
“Well it’s our tee time so….”
“Oh, oh wait. Can we get a picture with you?” As soon as he agreed they started scrambling for one of their camera phones. Handing the first one they found off to Trace, Justin let them crowd around him and Trace snapped a few photos.
“Okay you ladies have a good round out there.” He pulled away from them and rejoined his party, picking Cheyenne up as Trace returned the phone.
“Thank you so much for the picture.” They all nodded enthusiastically in agreement with the leader. “And you have a good round too.”
“Thanks and take care.” He said in parting and turned with Trace to leave the clubhouse.
“Bye Justin.” They called out one last time in unison and he shift around slightly to throw a wink at them. Hearing them swoon and a “Oh my God did you see that!” Justin chuckled triumphantly at himself. Even with a kid I still got it.
Reading his mind, Trace said. “Don’t get too full of yourself. That was thanks to Cheyenne. Cute babies are chick magnets.” Reaching the cart rental booth, they confirmed their request for a cart and waited for it to be brought forward. “I really think you and me need to hang out more often Cheyenne.” She just smiled back at him, but that changed into curious wonder when the cart pulled up in front of them.
“Cool huh?” Justin asked her and chuckled when she nodded vigorously. He let her sit in the driver’s seat while he and Trace packed the bags in the back and then they were off.
For the first two holes Cheyenne stayed in the cart watching and learning while Justin and Trace teed off. Apparently she was being a good student because when Justin allowed her to take her turn at the third hole, she hopped out of the cart and confidently walked up to the tee armed with the first club she grabbed in her bag and one of her whiffle golf balls. Ignoring Justin’s instructions and even the tee he’d set up for her, she put the ball on the ground and whacked away. It left the ground, her coordination was good, but it didn’t go very far. According to Cheyenne’s cheers of “yay,” that was fine by her. As long as she hit her ball she was happy. Justin thought she was adorable, but he wanted to show her the correct way to play. He gave up during the next shot when she jerked away from him, picked up her ball, moved to a different spot away from him and did her own thing. Cheyenne was very much her own person and lived in her own world. As long as she was being safe and well behaved, it was best to just leave her be. Besides if she was having fun, it really didn’t matter if she was doing it correctly.
In between each hole Cheyenne helped Justin drive the cart by sitting on his lap with her hands over his as he navigated around the course. When it came time for Cheyenne to putt for the first time, Justin positioned a new ball for her at his marker and with Trace, stood by to watch her try to sink it.
“You’re not gonna help her?”
“So she can get mad and yell at me this time?” Justin shook his head. “Nah man. Not until she asked for it.”
Frustrated that she couldn’t get her ball in the hole, Cheyenne decided to improvise. She tucked her putter under her arm and moved the ball until it was a few inches away from the hole and with the club, she raked it the rest of the way into the hole.
“I win!” She jumped up and down, cheering for herself.
Trying not to laugh along side Trace, who had turned his back to her cracking up, Justin clapped. “Good job baby.”
By the time they got to the 6th hole, Cheyenne was done. Golf no longer held her attention, but luckily Justin was prepared for that. He had packed some toys for her, so while he and Trace finished the course, Cheyenne sat in the cart playing or pretending to drive and being their little cheerleader again.
Come afternoon, the guys finished their round and they departed to the house. Parking at the garage, Cheyenne was let out of the car and ran off to play. Justin was switching the car seat back out while talking with Trace about his cars, especially his bike. Trace asked how it was running now that his engine problem was fixed. Justin started it up so he could see for himself.
Consistently he had been looking out into the backyard to check on Cheyenne, and when he caught sight of her this time, she was riding her own scooter bike. “Hey baby girl! Come see my bike.”
At his call, she scooted to the garage, stopping at the threshold between the patio and the driveway, and got off to go see what was up. She was almost there when Justin revived the engine and she jolted in fear, freezing right on spot. There was no way she was going anywhere near that thing so she made a quick u-turn and bolted towards the house. Unfortunately the sudden shift tangled her feet and she fell down on her hands and knees. The pain from scraping herself on the gravel drive plus her fear of the motorcycle left Cheyenne in tears.
Justin and Trace witnessed the whole thing, at first finding her startled reaction amusing, but when it turned to fear and she ran away, they got worried. That only mounted when she fell and started sobbing. Justin took off and was at her side in a flash, lifting her right off the ground. Cheyenne wrapped her arms around his neck and cried into his shoulder.
“Oh baby, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry I scared you.” He held her close, trying to sooth her and his own panic. This was the first time she ever got hurt while she was with him and it was freaking him out.
“Is she okay?” Trace asked with just as much concern etched in his voice.
“I don’t know.” Justin shifted her in his arms so he could see her face. “Baby, are you okay? Did you get hurt?”
She unburied herself from his chest and when she looked up at him, tears staining her face and filling her eyes, it almost broke his heart. “Boo boo.” She sniffled and showed the scraps on her palms.
Remembering how she fell he look at her knees and was relieved to see they were unscathed. “Aww. I’m sorry baby. How about we go clean them up and put on some band-aids?”
“Dora.” She requested.
“Of course.” He kissed her forehead, “let’s go.”
In the house he disinfected her cuts, put some ointment on and then two Dora and Boots band-aid. After a kiss on each palm for good measure and a popsicle, he set her on the couch on the den to rest while she watched Kim Impossible. It was nap time anyway so Justin knew she’d be sleeping any minute. Coming back into the kitchen, he found Trace at the bar drinking a soda.
Swallowing his mouthful, he asked. “She’s all good?”
“Yeah. She-“ The sound of happy giggling interrupted him and he flagged his hand towards the den. “See?” They both chuckled. “I’m still gonna call Kiki though.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know, just to make sure you know.”
Trace’s eyebrows torqued confoundedly. Justin was over dramatizing this a little, but whatever, it was his kid. “Okay.” He paused and coughed, “wimp.”
“Fuck you man. Wait till you have kids.”
“Yeah well until then…” He pushed off the counter he was leaning on and stretched out. “I got some single, baby-less, grown up fun to have.”
“Meeting up with Marty and them?”
“Probably. Unless I find something female and hot.” He grinned devilishly.
“In that case have a good ass time.” Justin grinned back and the two laughed as they clutched hands. He walked Trace out and went to check in on Cheyenne, finding her laid out asleep, clean popsicle stick fallen on the floor. Picking up her trash, he left her to rest and went back into the kitchen to call Kiki.
“Hey, it’s me.”
“Yeah, what’s up?”
“Well we had a little accident today.” He told her nervously.
On alert, Kiki quickly asked. “What happened?”
“Cheyenne fell and scraped up her hands.”
She paused to process the news that her baby was relatively okay. “That’s it?”
“What do you mean 'that’s it'?”
“Justin, she’s a kid, she’s gonna fall. A lot. Did you clean the cuts and bandage them and kiss her boo-boos?”
“Yeah.”
“And she’s fine now right?” He said that she was and Kiki pardoned him. “Then you did great. It’s not the end of the world.”
“I know that. It was just the first time she got hurt around me.”
Hearing the pout in his voice, Kiki comforted him. “I know. The first time she got hurt right in front of my face, I freaked too. But it happens and now it’s over, she’s fine and the next time you’ll be prepared.”
Letting out a puff of unease, Justin went in the den and sat down next to Cheyenne, relaxing into the cushions. “Trace was right “ I am a wimp.”
Kiki laughed. “So how was the golf lesson?”
“Oh man Kik, let me tell you…”
He proceeded to give her the whole story, making her laugh even harder. It was no surprise to her, she was well aware of Cheyenne’s unique individuality when it came to getting things done.
“Well regardless of her form, it sounds like you guys had a good time.”
“We did.” Justin smiled proud and happily.
“And what kind of damage are you going to do to my baby for the rest of the day?”
“Stuff her full of concession junk food probably.”
“Huh?”
“I’m taking her and Cam to the Laker’s game tonight.”
“Ah. I would say have fun cleaning up the puke, but she’s got a cast-iron stomach.”
“That’s right just like her Daddy.”
“Mmhmm. Okay then you guys have fun. I gotta go get ready.”
“Oh yeah, for what?”
Kiki giggled teasingly. “None of your business.”
In the past whenever she said that, to him, it meant she was going to do something he wouldn’t like. “No seriously where are you going?”
“No seriously, none of your business. So goodnight - I’ll see you tomorrow.”
She hung up on him and he looked at the phone with a mix of suspicion, anger and hurt. Yes it was no business of his, but he hated not knowing what she was getting into or better yet who she was getting into whatever with.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“You’re nervous aren’t you?” Justin playfully teased Cameron.
“No.” She refuted firmly.
“Baby this is not the first time you’ve met her or spent time with her.”
“I know, but usually other people are around.”
“You’re not a stranger to her and she’s a baby, not some snarky, territorial teenager who hates her Daddy’s girlfriend. Hell she doesn’t even know what a girlfriend is. She probably won’t even care that you’re here.”
Working up her nerve, he was right this was a toddler, she nodded. “Okay.”
He grabbed her hand and pulled her along with him into the family room. “Hey baby girl. What are you doing?”
She was at her activities table “ Lego side up “ building a bunch of towers. “Nothing.”
He snickered at her gross understatement. “In that case, can you say hi to Cameron? You remember her right?”
On her tip toes, she finished stacking a red large Lego and then faced the adults. “Hi.”
“Hi sweetie.” Cameron smiled.
“Pix, Cameron’s gonna come with us to the game. That sounds like fun huh?”
“Uh huh.” She nodded with a smile and returned to her buildings.
“See she doesn’t even care.” He rubbed Cameron’s back comfortingly. “We’re going to have a great time.”
And they did just that sitting right at courtside. The game was awesome and it was a riot watching Cheyenne with the pom-pom he brought her, copying the Laker girls rather accurately. But then again she’d been to her fair share of Lakers’ games. The press was having a field day with the photo op that they made “ Cheyenne sitting right in the middle of them. Justin could already picture the “perfect family” headlines “ As if! Naturally, Derek was on duty that night and came over during practice at half time to visit briefly. After stuffing herself with a hot dog, nachos, and cotton candy, Cheyenne fell asleep as they left the Staple Center after the victorious game.
Back home, Justin tucked her in bed before rejoining Cameron downstairs. Cuddled up on the couch, they had a few beers and watched a movie. Of course a lot of it wasn’t actually seen when they were too involved in some rather heated foreplay. Things could have gone further very easily, but Justin didn’t feel comfortable with Cameron staying the night while Cheyenne was in the house. Especially with her tendency to get out of her bed in the middle of the night and climb into his or come looking for him if he wasn’t there. She was way too young to stumble in on something like that. So when it got late, Cameron went home and he went to bed “ alone, but weirdly at peace with it.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
The next day, Justin let himself into Kiki’s condo and Cheyenne ran ahead of him.
“Mommy!”
Sitting on the living room floor finishing up some work on her laptop, Kiki looked up just in time to see her ball of energy flying into her arms. “Hi baby.” Cheyenne hugged her and kissed her cheek. “Did you have a good time?”
“Uh huh. I make picture for you.” She handed her the piece of construction paper in her hand.
“Oh isn’t that pretty! Let’s go put it on the fridge.”
They walked to the kitchen where Justin was busy raiding the fridge. He grabbed a bottle of water and some strawberries off the shelf and closed the door. Cheyenne moved him out of her way and put her picture up with one of the alphabet magnets.
“So how was church?” Kiki asked them, a teasing glint in her eyes all for Justin. He glared at her, she was such an annoying ass know-it-all.
So what if she was absolutely right and his mom and dad had shown up at his house bright and too damn early to pick up Cheyenne and him for church. He had no problem going to church, he attended his parents’ occasionally, but that occasion was not this morning. His mother wasn’t hearing that, according to her, it had been too long since he last went and he wouldn’t dare say no to her so he attended regardless of if he wanted to or not.
“Good. Daddy bad, he talk on the phone.” Cheyenne accused.
“He did?” Kiki said with mocking horror and she nodded definitively.
Justin tried to defend himself. “I was texting.”
“Same thing Justin. And in church “ the Lord’s house.” She shook her head pitifully. “I bet Daddy got in trouble with Nonnie huh?”
“He did!” Giggling, she looked at her father, hoping he would explain what she couldn’t describe.
“So I got pinched, big deal.” He stuck his tongue out at her for tattling and she jolted hers back at him with a giggle.
“Yeah but I bet you ended that conversation quick.” She teased.
Cheyenne asked for a juice box and when she got permission she grabbed one from the fridge, Justin opened it for her and she went about making up words with the alphabet magnets.
Disregarding her taunt, Justin moved to sit with her at her breakfast bar and switched over to a more pressing topic that had been plaguing his mind all night. “So… what did you do last night?”
“Had a great time.” She answered vaguely, but with a whimsical smile.
That only piqued his distressing interest and he pressed. “Uh details?”
“Uh no. It’s none. Of. Your. Business.” She reiterated and glancing at the clock, she reminded him. “Don’t we need to be leaving if we want to make the movie?”
Despite being very reluctant to let it go - he knew she had been up to something - she was right about the time so he gave up…for the time being at least. “Yeah. You ready?”
“I’ve been ready, just waiting for you two.”
“Then let’s get a move on it, huh kiddo?” He interrupted Cheyenne and she immediately stopped play when she remembered.
“Yeah, we gonna see Cars!” She exclaimed and after putting her empty juice box in the trash, she led the way out of the kitchen.
Last in line, Kiki had just cleared the doorway when she remembered. “Oh! Let me grab…” She trailed off, dipping back into the room to grab the forgotten item out of the message and note rack. While Cheyenne anxiously kept walking to wait by the door, Justin stopped to wait for her. “Ok I got it.” She came back out and told him, “we gotta make a stop after the movie.”
“Where?”
With a grin she flashed the Victoria’s Secret gift card that Maya had given to her and the girls from her fashion house’s promotion with the company. “It expires like tomorrow so…” A lecherous grin grew on his face until she burst his bubble. “You can stay in the car.” Grabbing her purse, she opened the door and followed Cheyenne out.
Justin snorted with strong objection, “I bet I won’t,” and closed and locked the door behind him.
Author's Chapter Notes:
It's a little more fluffiness, but I think it's cute. Thanks again for all the feedback and support. You all are kick ass! *Throwing up the universal rock and roll hand symbol* Lol I know I'm a corn ball :D
Chapter End Notes:
So should Justin and Kiki's nickname be Juki or Kistin? LoL
Story Tags: daddyj
