I set my fork down and settle back in my chair with a satisfied sigh.  I feel like I just ate my weight in sushi.  I really didn’t, because that would be gross, but I’m very full and it feels good.

Justin’s hand travels up my thigh, warmth spreading up my body at his touch.  We’re seated in the back of Teru Sushi, a little place that Sadie and I found one day while killing time between interviews the other day.  I love seafood.

 Justin leans toward me, half burying his face in my neck as he whispers something into my ear and then kisses the curve of my jaw.  I giggle a little.  His breath tickles.

“You two are disgusting.”  Rachel’s comment brings us back to the table.  She’s stabbing at her plate with her chopsticks and I can’t help but laugh at the look on her face.

“I thought you were the one pushing to get Justin and me together in the first place?”  Justin’s arm settles comfortably over the back of my chair and I lean into his warmth.  Normally I’m not a supporter of PDA, but we’re mostly alone in the back room and there are no widows near us so I’m not too worried.  Plus, it’s getting to Rachel and that’s a bonus.

“And I thought you two were adamant that nothing was going on.”  She quips back.  She’s been giving us crap for the past couple of weeks, ever since she saw me in Justin’s bed.  I understand some of it, I mean, she did push pretty hard to get us to admit feelings.  I just wish she’d let it go already, I get it, she was right and we were wrong.  She seems a little bitter about it all, but I think that comes from the fact that Justin like to goad her along.  He refuses to admit that she was right about it all.

“Nothing was going on, and now it is.”  I feel his hand rubbing my shoulder and I let out a little sigh.  Having his attention on me like this is not a bad thing.

I never imagined that I would be in this position.  Here, with Justin, thinking slightly dirty thoughts and enjoying it.  I’d always watched him with his girlfriends and noted how attentive he seemed to be with all of them, but really had no idea how much charm this boy actually possesses.  It only takes him a look and I’m putty in his hands.  It’s a strange feeling for me, but I’m trying to not question it and just go with the butterflies.

I’ve always been a sucker for those butterflies.

There’s a commotion at the front of the restaurant, lots of noise and chattering.  I’m assuming that someone huge just walked it and I’m hoping for Kobe or Brad Pitt or someone equally as famous.  I don’t care how long I’m in this business, I love meeting famous people.

I can see flashes of camera lights from around the corner and my curiosity has been peaked.  I don’t have to wait too long, though, because whoever just walked in is being seated in the same section that we are.

To my dismay, a familiar looking brunette steps around to the back and I can feel Justin’s fingers tense on my shoulders.

Jill struts toward a table in the back, chatting and laughing at the woman behind her.  I’m not that shocked when she spots us and gives me a once over before smirking in my direction.  What shocks me is the man that enters the room moments after she does.

John Woods, my not-so-wonderful ex, is trailing along with Jill’s little entourage and I’m waiting for someone to wake me up from this crazy, only-in-Hollywood nightmare.

“Holy shit.”  It’s Trace that speaks first.  I think I’ve lost my voice, actually.  I cannot believe what I’m seeing.

“What the fuck is going on?”  Justin’s voice is quite in my ear but I can certainly hear the intensity.  I know he’s not a fan of John, and I can only imagine how awkward it is to see John cavorting with Jill.  I’m not sure I can fully comprehend what I’m seeing.  John and Jill?  This is like something out of a cheesy teen movie or something.

John’s eyes glance around the room and widen in surprise when they land on me.  If possible, they get even bigger when they spot the man attached to the arm around my shoulders.  A knowing sneer falls across John’s face and I can almost imagine the thoughts running through his mind at the moment.  He’s probably praising himself for being right, the asshole.

I push my plate away, suddenly wishing I hadn’t eaten so much because I’m afraid I might throw it back up.  “Can we get out of here?”  I lean into Justin a little more, searching for his warmth after the chill of seeing John.

“Yeah, Jude, we can go.”  Justin grabs his wallet and hands Trace his credit card.  “Can you take care of this?  We’ll meet you in the car.”

Justin’s fingers intertwine with mine as he stands, leading us away from the table.  Unfortunately, we have to pass John and Jill’s table in order to leave.  I can feel the tension in Justin’s body as we walk and I’m just waiting for something to happen and John to cause a scene.  He would.  Asshole.  (Don’t tell me I’m repeating myself, I’m well aware).

“Justin!”  Jill’s voice floats over to us and she stands, beckoning Justin over for a hug.  He lets go of me momentarily to give Jill a small hug and when he takes my hand again I make sure to pull him in closer so there’s no question about who he’s with.  That’s right, I’m getting territorial.

“Hey Jill, you look good.”  She beams at him, ignoring me completely.  Probably for the better, though, because I have nothing nice to say to this girl.  I’m pretty sure she only became famous because she dated Justin and then they broke up.  Her last movie bombed, so I hear.

“What are you doing here?”  Wow, Captain Obvious over here.

“We were eating, now we’re leaving.  Have a nice night.”  He tugs on my arm, pulling me with him as he heads toward the exit.  I let out a breath, sure that we’ve avoided disaster when I hear John mumble something under his breath.

“Always knew you were a whore, Abbey.”  It’s not loud, but I heard it very clearly and I know Justin did because he’s stopped dead in his tracks.

“Justin.”  I warn.  He doesn’t need to end up in the headlines because he was defending my honor, no matter how much I’d love to see John get his ass kicked.  “He’s not worth it.”

He seems to think this over for a moment before continuing through the restaurant and toward the door.  He stops at the maître’d booth and whispers something I can’t hear, tugging on my hand again as we make our way outside.

It feels as if thousands of flash bulbs are going off in my face and I stumble for a second, glad to have Justin’s hand for support.  This is insane.  There must be twenty guys yelling at us and snapping our picture, trying to get some sort of reaction.  Justin pulls me closer, ducking his head down and giving my hand a squeeze.  I focus on the ground in front of me because it lessens some of the flashing lights, but it’s still extremely hard to move in this crowd.

“Is it true that you and Justin were having an affair while he was still dating Jill Hawkins?”

It’s hard to tell what direction the screams are coming from, but I know that all of the questions are hitting me at once and I now know why so many celebrities are constantly flipping off the paps.  I can’t take much more of this, really.  Luckily, I spot the black SUV that we all came in, and Mick just showed up with some of the restaurant security to help ward off the photographers.  Trace and Rachel are already in the car when we hop inside.

It’s not until a few moments later when I’m sitting in the back of the SUV with Justin that it all really starts to sink in.  My hands are shaking slightly and I still have remnants of lights flashing in my eyes.

“You OK, Jude?”  Justin’s breath is warm on the skin of my ear and I try my best to answer him, nodding my head lamely.  “I don’t believe you.”

“I’m just a little shaken up, that’s all.  I wasn’t really expecting that.”  I take a few deep, calming breaths, reminding myself that I’m OK.

“I’m sorry.  I should’ve called Mick sooner.”  He kisses my temple, wrapping his arm around my shoulders and pulling me into his chest.  “I’m sorry. Those fuckers.”

I don’t say anything else.  I’ve never actually had to deal with something like that before, and I’m not sure it’s an experience I’d like to repeat any time soon.  First of all, I can’t believe some of the questions and comments they were throwing at us.  Really, Justin is pretending to date me so I can further my career?  Who the hell fed them that bullshit line?

“You alright back there, guys?”  Trace’s face looms over the seat in front of us, his eyes filled with concern.  Rachel is busy typing away at her blackberry.  I can only imagine the damage control she’s trying to do right now.

“Yeah,” I speak up, finding my voice is shakier than I would like it to be.  “I’m fine.”

“What the fuck was up with Jill and that douche bag, anyway?”  He attempts a little chuckle but it’s obvious to everyone else in the car that neither Justin nor myself find it very funny.  I’m pretty sure that Justin’s pissed because John called me a whore, which doesn’t make me very happy either.  And I’m still in shock over the last ten minutes of the evening.  I just wanted some sushi, damnit.

“Apparently word was out that you and Abbey were at that restaurant tonight, and when Jill showed up some of the paps were asking her about you two.  It was John that told them all the bullshit about an affair and all that.”  Rachel talks while she stares at her phone.  I have no idea how it’s possible for someone to talk and type at the same time, but she’s doing it.  That’s amazing.

“I knew it.  Piece of shit.”  Justin’s fists clench in his lap and I look up at his tense jaw.  I plant a small kiss just under his ear.

“Thanks for keeping you cool back there, Boss man.  I don’t think I would’ve been able to handle that without you.” 

This seems to relax him a little and he glances down at me, giving me a small smile.  “Anything for you, Jude.”

“So wait, Jill started all this shit?”  Trace has always been a little slow on the uptake.  He looks back and fourth between me, Justin and Rachel, waiting for an answer.

“Yeah.  She did.”  Rachel puts her phone down for a second to give him a look.  “The paps told her that Justin was in the restaurant and John started mouthing off about Abbey and how much of a whore she is.”  She gives me a glance, “Sorry, Abs.”

I shrug.  “I don’t expect much more from him, although, I thought he was supposed to be a creative guy.  Whore is pretty run-of-the-mill, if you ask me.”

This gets the other in the car chuckling a bit and it feels nice to break the tension.  I hate tension.  It makes me all…tense.

“Well I’ve just sent a heads up to the higher-ups and to your Mom, too.  If anything comes out they’ll at least be aware.  Oh, I sent a message to Sadie.  I thought she might like to know in case anyone calls her asking for a statement or something.”

There’s a lull in the conversation and I desperately want to forget about what just happened.  It was bad enough having to see John with Jill.  The crazy photogs just made it worse.  I think it’s time to move on and just let it all go.

“I want ice cream.”  Seems like a good enough way to finish this evening off right.

Justin’s head turns down to look at me.  “Ice cream?”

“You know, that frozen stuff with chocolaty bits in it? Ice cream.”  I get a pinch to the side for that one.

“I could totally go for some Chunky Monkey right about now.”  Rachel pipes up, giving me a grin.

“Oh, I’m all about the ‘Everything but the…’ that stuff is the shit.”  Trace and Justin are looking at us like we’ve got two heads, but the crazy events of the night have seemed to be forgotten and that’s all I really wanted in the first place.  Jill and John really aren’t worth the energy it takes to think about them, anyway.

“All right, we can stop somewhere and get some ice cream.”  I feel Justin’s smile against my forehead as he kisses me on my hairline. 

This night might actually be salvageable after all.

~*~

“Oh, I am so stuffed.”  I plop down onto Justin’s soft comforter, rolling over onto my back to stare at the ceiling.

“I’m not surprised.  You ate a whole pint of Ben and Jerry’s.”  His face comes into view over my body and I take a second to appreciate the view of his naked chest.  My boyfriend is a god.

“You had some too.  I didn’t eat the whole thing.”  I defend, attempting so sit up but failing miserably. 

“Yeah, like two bites.  You put away food better than some of my guy friends, Jude.”  His hands find my wrists and he helps my sit up, taking a second to catch my lips in a kiss.  “If I didn’t know you so well it might be a little gross.”

“Thanks, Jus, I’ll keep that in mind the next time you want to kill off an entire case of beer.”

He chuckles, sliding up onto the bed and clicking on the bedside table.  I muster up the rest of my energy and head into the bathroom, brushing my teeth and slipping out of my jeans.  When I come back into the room, Justin’s sitting up against the headboard typing something on his laptop.

“What’s up?”  I climb onto the bed next to him.  This has to be the most comfortable bed I have ever had the pleasure of sleeping in.  It’s heaven, really.

“Just doing a little damage control.  I guess some late night gossip shows have already aired the pictures and video from tonight.”

“Oh.”  I watch as he types up a couple more e-mails before clicking his computer shut and setting it off to the side.

“Abbey, this is just the beginning, you know that, right?”  I take my position in the crook of his shoulder and settle my hand across his chest.

“Yeah, I guess.”

“I’m serious.  There’s going to be a lot of gossip going around about us and especially about you.  You just have to trust me, OK?  Don’t listen to a word they say and soon enough they’ll move onto something else.”

An uneasy feeling settles in my stomach and, again, I wish I hadn’t eaten so much tonight.

“Maybe you should call up Brad and Angie and ask them to adopt another kid.”  I have always found humor to be my coping mechanism.

“I promise, Jude.  It’ll be over before you know it.”  I let him kiss me goodnight before he reaches up and turns off the lamp.

I hope he’s right.