My judgment is absolutely horrible when I’m half asleep. When I’m still half dreaming I don’t know which way is up. I smell Cassie and there’s all this warmth around me and I moan a bit as I cuddle closer to her.

“Mm, did you leave the blinds open, Babe? The sun’s killing me,” I mumble. I get no response so I try again. “What time is it?”

She’s got to be awake but she’s still not answering anything I say. I try a new approach and move my leg to rub against hers. When I find the lower half of her body missing, my eyes snap open and I realize I’ve been spooning with a decorative pillow that was laying on the bed. Feeling like an idiot, I toss it off the side of the bed. A frown settles on my face as I prop myself up on one elbow and look around the room to find myself alone.

Cassie always gets out of bed before I’m awake. I don’t think I’ve ever woken up and found her laying beside me. Not to say that she shouldn’t move until I’m awake but it would be nice once in a while to share that just waking up feeling with her. I like girls when they first wake up and they’re all warm and natural laying beside you. I’m convinced there’s no better way to start off a day than that.

Sleeping is no longer an option at this point so I kick away the covers around me and get out of bed. I don’t bother with a shower but instead simply splash some water on my face and brush my teeth. I grab a change of clothes I had here and quickly put them on and then went in search of Cassie. Halfway down the stairs, I could hear her voice along with another. Rounding the corner of the kitchen I find her and Isabelle Reyna sitting at the table.

“Justin.” Cassie sounds relieved. “Do you want some coffee?”

“Sure. Good morning, Isabelle.”

Isabelle’s eyes move to me and some unease goes through me as she gives me a once over. I’m getting the distinct impression that I’ve done something very wrong.

“Hello.”

There is a major air of cold coming from this woman. She seemed less than impressed with me from dinner last night but this seems to be taking it to a whole new level. She’s looking at me like I’m a bug she wishes she could just step on.

“Mom, do you want more coffee?”

“I still have half a cup, Cassandra,” Isabelle says and then directs her attention back to me. “You don’t need to be at work this morning, Justin?”

I take a seat across the table from her. “I’m planning on going in later this afternoon. Bridget, the girl I’m producing for, has some press this morning so we can’t do anything until after she’s done that.” I stop talking when I see the disinterested look on Isabelle’s face. Wow. I hate to say it, but this woman’s a bit of a bitch.

“Here, Justin.”

I smile gratefully up at Cassie and take the cup of coffee she offers me. “Thank you.” It’s a relief when she sits down in the chair beside me and I’m not left facing this woman alone.

“Did you sleep okay?” she asks, pulling her feet onto the edge of her chair and wrapping her arms around her knees.

“Yeah, I did.” I consider telling how I had thought that pillow was her this morning but quickly decided against it. Something tells me Isabelle wouldn’t be amused. “You?”

She nods and takes a sip of her coffee. It’s quiet for a minute before she speaks again. “Mom and I were going to go to the store in a little bit. Did you want to come?”

Normally I would jump at the chance to spend any time with Cassie but I don’t think I can handle much more of these looks from Isabelle. I have got to find a way to figure out a way to get this lady to like me. “I need to go home and let my dogs out. They’ve been there alone all night.”

Isabelle clears her throat and I glance over at her but she’s looking out the window. Stifling a sigh, I take one last drink of coffee and push back my chair. “I should go.”

Cassie looks up at me as I stand. “Are you going to be recording late?”

“Probably pretty late. I’ll call you.” I lean down and kiss her quickly and then straighten. “Isabelle, I’d love to take you and Grant out for dinner or lunch before you go back to San Francisco.”

Isabelle gives a short nod. “Well I’ll have to check with Grant to see if he has some free time in between meetings.”

“Of course. Well whenever you have time.” I take my cup to counter and place it in the sink. “I’ll call you later, Cassie.”

I’m only halfway to the front door when I hear light footsteps behind me. I turn and stop so Cassie can reach me. She smiles at me and pulls me towards the front door. Once we’re outside and standing on the top step she puts her arms around my neck and goes on her toes.

“She’s being a bitch cause you slept over,” she says into my ear. A giggle escapes her. “I don’t think she approves.”

I can’t help but roll my eyes a bit. “You’re a grown woman.”

Her lips connect with the corner of my jaw. “I know. She’ll get over it.” She leans back and pats my cheek. “Go home and shave. The stubble’s sexy but you’re scratching me.”

I smile at her and lean down to kiss her once and then pull away. “Call me if you need a break from the family.”

“I will.” I grab her arm before she can go back into the house and pull her back to me. “And next time we have a sleep over, you really need to chill in bed in the morning. This morning I missed you so bad I had to cuddle with one of your pillows.”

Laughing, she rubs her hand over my back. “Next time we have a sleep over I will definitely try.”

Smiling, I kiss her once more and then give her butt a light tap. “Go before I take you with me.”

She laughs again and opens the door. “I’ll call you,” she says and I nod. She throws one last look over her shoulder and then disappears into the house. I wait until the door is closed before making my way to my car. Once I’m inside, I pull my cell phone from my pocket and dial Rachel’s number. Her voicemail picks up after four rings.

“Hey, it’s me. I’m going to be at the studio until late. Cassie’s mom’s in town and she’s a real piece of work. Cassie might need some rescuing later on in the day so give her a call this afternoon. Talk to you later.”

* * *

“And to top it all off she decided that she absolutely loves Kyle and spent half an hour telling my why I should be with a guy like him rather than Justin.”

Rachel looks away from the road to glance at me. “Don’t tell Justin that.”

I undo my seatbelt as she parks the car in front of the recording studio. “Why?”

She stares at me for a moment before shaking her head. “Just don’t. He’ll get weird about it.”

I shrug and open the car door. “Okay. Are you coming in?”

“I have to go home. You’re sure you don’t want to go back to the store and get your car?”

“Justin can take me over there later.” I get out of the car. “Thanks for hanging out with me. I really needed it after today.”

She smiles at me. “Anytime.”

“Bye,” I say and then shut the car door and step onto the sidewalk. I wait until she’s pulled away before going into the building. I’m proud to say I’ve gotten better at maneuvering my way around recording studios and it doesn’t take me long to find Studio 4 where Justin is recording.

The atmosphere is different that what I’m used to when I push open the door. Justin is sitting at the sound board and looking tired while Bridget is curled up in the corner of the couch, a miserable expression on her face. When the door creaks slightly, they both look towards me.

“Hey,” Justin says slowly. He pushes his chair back and stands up. “I thought you were going to come later.”

“I was with Rachel and she had to go home so I thought I’d come now. I glance back and forth between him and Bridget. “Is everything okay?”

He glances at the younger girl and sighs. His voice low, he simply says, “Homesick.” He runs his hands over the top of his head. “Did your mom like the store?”

I shrug. “As much as I thought she would. She offered to redecorate it though. For a discounted price of course.”

His lips turn up a bit. “Gonna take her up on that?”

I scoff. “Yeah right.”

“Have you eaten?”

“Not since lunch.”

“I’m starving. I’m going to go get some McDonalds. Want to come?”

My eyes go back to Bridget. “Can you get me something and bring it back here?”

His eyes follow my gaze and he nods. “Sure. Bridge, you want anything?”

She shakes her head and he shrugs. He leans down and kisses me briefly. “I’ll be back.”

“Bye.” I watch him leave and once the door is shut behind him, I turn to Bridget. “So,” I say, walking over to the couch. “You’re missing home, huh?”

She doesn’t look at me but I can see her chin tremble slightly.

“I’m right there with you,” I say, sitting down beside her. “I miss my home too.”

Her eyes turn to me. “Your home?”

“Seattle. I moved out here a few months ago because of my store.”

Her eyes return to her knees. “Oh.”

“I know it’s hard to be away from your family but at least you’re out here doing what you want to do with your life. Soon you’ll be rolling in so much dough you can fly your family wherever you are.”

That makes her smile a bit and she shifts on the couch so she’s facing me more. “I don’t know anyone in LA except my uncle,” she says softly. “I miss my friends.”

My heart goes out to this girl. I can’t imagine moving across the country at the age of sixteen. “Can you call them?”

She shrugs. “They’re always busy with school.” She sighs. “I just want to tell them about everything.”

“School will be over soon,” I offer, inwardly cringing at how lame the words sound. I’ve never been the best at cheering people up when they’re down. I never know what to say.

She nods and it’s quiet for a minute before she moves so she’s actually facing me. “I have a date on Saturday.”

I smile at the excitement I can hear bubbling in her. “Ooh, with who?”

“My uncle’s neighbor. He’s seventeen.”

“Better watch out for those older boys,” I tease.

She giggles. “You sound like my uncle.” Her fingers begin to twirl her hair. “He’s taking me to his school dance.”

I can’t help but smile at what a cute date it sounds like. “Are you excited?”

Her nod comes quick and her eyes light up. “It’s my first date.”

That’s cute. “Your first date is a very important day.”

She nods but then her face falls slightly. “Except I don’t have anything to wear. None of my clothes are like what other people wear. I don’t want people to laugh at me.”

She looks a little crushed at the thought of people making fun of her and all I want to do at this point is help. “Well we can’t have that. You’re going to have to come to my store and I’m going to hook you up with a new dress.”

“Really?” Her voice is surprised. “But I can’t afford any of your clothes.”

“You don’t have to pay for it,” I say. “But when you’re all famous, I want a signed cd, okay?”

She gives me a huge grin and unexpectedly leans across the couch to give me a hug. Suddenly the sad, timid girl is gone. “Thank you so much, Cassie!”

I laugh and hug her back. “Don’t even worry about it.”

She pulls back and bounces a bit on the couch as she begins to tell me about the guy she’s going on her date with. I lean back and listen contently, feeling as though the past five minutes just made up for any of the crap that happened with my mother during the day.