Time got carried away and before Justin could think twice about anything he had stayed for dinner.  He felt like he was only half himself.  Partly he was just in awe most of the time, amazed at how incredible his little boy was.   He found himself just simply watching—enjoying every second.

He probably looked glazed over the majority of the time.  He’d never felt so misty-eyed in his entire life.  He was completely enamored, and totally in love.  He had a child and Justin couldn’t wait for the day when he and his little boy could be introduced as father and son.

After they ate their “gourmet” meal of chicken strips, mac ‘n’ cheese and green beans—Cody’s choice—they congregated back into the family room where the little boy played with toy dinosaurs and the two adults continued with their conversation.  They were getting to know each other quite a bit better, but mostly they talked about Cody.

Justin enjoyed hearing everything about his little boy.  He wanted all the details—when he walked, when he talked, when he got his first tooth, how often he'd been sick and his entire medical history, you name it!  He was trying to catch up on four years in one day!

His cell phone rang several times over the course of his visit.  He hadn’t answered it once.  In fact, he’d finally gone as far as to shut it off.  He was going to get an earful for that later, especially considering his mother had been one of the people calling.  He’d never been the type of son to ignore his mom, but he just didn’t feel like talking to anyone right now.  They’d all have questions he wasn’t ready to answer.

When Cody was deep in play and completely out of earshot—marching his T-Rex up mountains he’d made out of spare sofa pillows—Justin took the opportunity to ask a few things that had been weighing a bit heavily on his mind.  He realized it was probably a sore subject, but there was one thing in particular that he had to know.  “So he was good to him?” he asked, nodding his head towards his son.

“Jason?” she asked, knowing who the "he" was that justin was referring to, just as he thought she would.  “Yeah.  He was a jerk to me, but great with Cody.”

He felt a huge amount of relief upon hearing that.  “Yeah,” he continued.  “I was kind of surprised when I heard.  I mean, from the times I’ve met him he’s always been kind of a huge… asshole.”  He whispered the last part to be extra sure that Cody didn’t hear.

“Wish you would’ve told me that before I married him,” she smirked, obviously joking. 

“Um, maybe if you would have called me like I wanted you to,” he joked back.

Her eyes rolled, a grin playing at her full, natural lips.  “I know I will never hear the end of that for the rest of my life.  Especially now that I know I’m going to have to talk to you for the rest of my life.”  She reached out and gave his shoulder a playful shove.  It excited him just a little, a tiny buzz of excitement fluttering in his chest.  Their mood toward each other had taken a complete one-eighty since he’d first arrived, when things had been so nervous and somber.  Now the mood was light and playful and he was enjoying her company very much.  Part of him thought it was only because she was the mother of his child and of course he would be drawn to her.  But the other more sex-driven part of him couldn’t help but remember all that had happened between them in Atlanta some five years ago.  And the fact that he’d never found anyone else sexually who could compare.

He pushed the thoughts out of his head.  It definitely wasn’t the right time to be thinking about all that.

“Justin, there’s something I need to tell you,” she said, her tone turning more serious all the sudden.

Concern sprang to his face.  “Okay.”

“My family.  I told them that the guy was someone who I had a very short relationship with and that he wanted nothing to do with me.”

“Greaaat…” he sounded it out.  “So now I’m a big… jerk.”  He wanted to say “big fucking jerk” but he caught himself before dropping the ever-popular f-bomb.  It was going to be a tough habit to break.

“I’m sorry.  There was just no way I could tell them what really happened.”

“Yeah, I guess that would’ve been pretty traumatic.  So what are you going to tell them now?”

She sighed loudly.  “I’m trying to figure that out.  My dad obviously figured it out yesterday at the game even though he didn’t say anything about it.   Well, he asked and I didn’t answer which was all the answer he needed and then it was dropped.  Anyway, I’m sure he is busy thinking very horrible thoughts about you and all that you did to me.”

Justin rubbed a hand to his forehead.  “Um, your dad looked a little scary.  Does he live here?”

She giggled and he felt that ball of excitement in his chest again.  “My parents live about 45 minutes away and don’t worry.   I will at least tell them that you had no idea about—you know.”

“Uh yeah, no need for details.  I’m guessing your dad would probably want to beat me up for that too.”   He was referring to the now infamous limo ride, of course.

She giggled again and he was cursing himself out inside his head.  “My father is slightly over-protective.  Yes.  God forbid he ever gets a hold of Jason.”  Then she tilted her head a bit and looked upwards.  “Well, maybe not,” she smirked, grinning devilishly.

“Should I be feeling the same way?  About getting a hold of him, that is?”

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“I mean, should I want to kill him too?” 

A look of surprise fell across her face as she blew a tiny smirk through her nose.  “That’s sweet, considering you haven’t seen me in almost five years and now you want to beat up my ex-husband.  But do you think you could take him?”

He wasn’t expecting her to throw that at him.  He realized now that she was keeping things very playful—on purpose.  She didn’t want to say too much, but that was fine.  He wasn’t about to push her to talk.  “He’s a quarterback, not a freakin’ Guard or DT.”

There was that giggle again—damn it.  Apparently his innate sense to defend her was funny.  “Justin, he’s 220 pounds of solid muscle.  Come on.  You’re what?  A buck-fifty?”

He shot her the most incredulous look.  He wasn’t that fucking skinny.  But why was he surprised?  Five years and she was still perfect at crushing his ego like it was an empty soda can.  “So he’s got a few pounds on me.  I’ve got a good six hundred in my back pocket.”  He was referring to his security of course.

At that she outright laughed.  “Why are we talking about this anyway?”

He shrugged.  “I have no clue.”

“I have to tell you, though.  I haven’t laughed this much in a really long time.”

“Well, I may be a skinny bastard, but at least I know how to make you laugh.”  His eyes drifted away from her then, over to Cody.  The boy had collapsed against the pillows, still holding onto T-Rex as he watched the cartoon that was playing quietly on the TV.

“He’s getting tired,” Cassidy announced.  “He’s usually out by nine.”

Justin looked at his watch.  It was just after eight.  “Should I go?”  But he answered it for her before she had the chance.  “I probably should.  I’ve shut myself off from everyone that’s been overly-concerned about me lately and they’re probably really starting to freak out.”

“What did your mom say?” she asked, out of the blue.

“She didn’t.  I haven’t told her yet.”

“Oh.”

“She knows something is up, but not exactly.”  He paused for just a brief moment.  “Yeah, that’s going to be a fun conversation.  Guess what, mom!  You’re a grandma!”  She smirked softly, her eyes darting to Cody for just a second probably to see if he was paying attention.   He wasn’t.  “Sorry, I shouldn’t have said that, huh?”

Her head shook.  “It’s fine.  I don’t think he’ll catch on from the mention of a grandma.  He’s too into SpongeBob right now anyway.”

Justin nodded and started scooting to the edge of the cushion, even though he didn’t really want to leave.  But he knew he should.  “So, I’m going to find out for sure what needs to be done for this test and I’ll give you a call.  I want to get it taken care of right away.  I hope that’s okay with you?”

“Of course.  I don’t see why we’d need to put it off.  I’m sure you’re anxious for him to know.”

Justin nodded.  “How do you think he’ll react?”

Cassidy shrugged.  “I have no idea.”

Justin found himself nodding again.  “Well, I guess I need to have a long talk with my mom when I get home.”  He was almost stating it to himself more than her.

“Yeah, we’re going to visit my parents in the morning so I can let them know.  I think once they get over the initial shock they’ll be happy.”

“Well, just let your dad know that I’m pretty good at sports.  In case he’s worried.”

Cassidy chuckled and said, “Okay, I will.”

“I just don’t want him to be disappointed that I’m an entertainer and not an athlete.”

Her hand reached out and patted his knee softly.  His eyes dropped instantly to the spot, as he was trying to shoo away the notion that he liked it when she touched him.  Memories were haunting him again.  Memories of bare skin—how it looked, how it felt and, best of all, how it tasted.   “Don’t worry.  He won’t be.”

“I’ll call you tomorrow?”  He asked.  “Maybe when you get back from your parents you guys can come by my place.  I’ve got lots of fun stuff.  Does he like video games or is he too little for that?”

“He has his own, more kid friendly ones.  I try not to let him play too much.”

Justin nodded, a tight grin at his lips.  “I think I’m going to have go shopping tomorrow.”

“Remember what I said about the gifts.”

He smirked, not having it.  There was no way she could stop him from at least spoiling his son a little bit—okay, a lot!  “He needs stuff for my house so he doesn’t get bored,” he justified.  Then he stood up, because if he didn’t he might never leave.

“Cody, come tell Justin goodbye,” Cassidy called out.

The little boy huffed as he hoisted his body up, pushing off with his hands.  “Bye Justin,” he said, marching towards where the bigger man stood.

Justin kneeled down to Cody’s eye level.  “See ya later, little man.”  And with that he found himself reaching out to ruffle those blonde curls for himself.  Apparently it was a contagious move.  The boy’s hair was silky soft and Justin had to fully resist the urge to scoop Cody’s little body up and squeeze the air right out of it. 

Standing back up, he watched as Cody trotted back to the open space between the coffee table and the TV, and plopped back down against the pile of pillows.  Justin sighed, not realizing he had done it so obviously.

“Don’t worry.  He’s a pretty loving little boy.  It won’t be long.” 

Justin wondered if she had just totally read his mind, but he didn’t question it.  “Okay, well, I’ll get out of here now before you decide to kick me out.”  He started walking before she could answer.  He looked back to see if she was following.  She was.  “So I’ll call you tomorrow?”

“Yeah.  Let me give you my cell number and you never did give me yours, either.”

She walked him to the front door, where they both exchanged all of their phone numbers, and then promised to talk the next day.  Justin assuring he’d have more information about the paternity test.  Then he was out the door, in his car, driving down the road with a mountain full of thoughts going through his mind.

He had a son.

And it was the best gift he could have gotten in the whole entire world.

Lynn Harless paced the kitchen floor for the fiftieth time in the past hour.   She was going to kill her son when he got home.  He never ignored her calls to such a degree.  She was furious.  

Of course she was worried, too, which was mainly why she was so furious.   What if something had happened to him?  What if he’d been in an accident?  What if he was lying in some hospital bed and she had absolutely no idea?

For some reason she didn’t think that was the case.  When she’d called earlier his phone had ringed a good four times before going to his voicemail.  Then later in the evening when she’d tried again, it went straight to voicemail.  He’d turned it off.

He better hope he was hurt, because she was going to kill him!

Trace had told her not to worry.  That Justin had some things he had to deal with and that he was sure Justin would fill her in soon.  Well, he goddamn better.  That’s all she had to say about it!

Her motherly instincts told her it had something to do with the woman she’d seen him talking to at the game the day before.  The woman with the little boy that was the spitting image of Justin at age 4 or 5.  There was no way her son could have hidden something like a child from her for that long of a time, was there?  She had always thought they had the best relationship.  He was always very open with her—sometimes too open! 

Still, she couldn’t shake away how much that little boy looked just like her son.  And of course there was the way that Justin had wanted to leave the game right after.  Sure, he’d been going through one of the roughest times in his life, but he’d been doing just fine before he’d ran into that woman and that little boy.

The past few months had been hell.  She’d practically moved to L.A., away from her husband in Tennessee, so she could be with her son.  Of course she spent a lot of time away from Paul anyway, and he was the best man imaginable to be so understanding about it for all this time—years and years.  But Justin was her only son and she was also his manager—one of them anyway.  He kept a lot of her attention, not that she’d wish it were different, and Paul was always very understanding.

Finally she heard Justin’s car pull up the drive.  A wave of relief washed over her as she was reassured that he was still alive.  Once she got through with him, that could be a different story though.

Rushing to the front door, she threw it open and stood, aggravated, her hands placed stiffly at her hips as she watched him stride up the walk casually.  He smiled goofily, kissing her butt before he’d even said a word.  “Hi momma,” he spoke just as sappily as the expression on his face appeared.

“Son, I have been worried sick about you.”

“I know.  I’m sorry.  I should have called.”  He moseyed up to her and slipped his hands through her arms and around her waist.  She instantly felt her anger crumbling.  His charm even worked on his own mother.  It was pitiful!  And all his father’s fault.

“You should have,” she agreed sternly.  “You shouldn’t have turned your phone off, either.”

“I don’t think I was getting a very good signal,” he said, still hugging on to her frame.

She pulled back enough to look down at him, his posture slumped so he could hide his face into the crook of her neck.  “Now, I don’t believe that for one second and you know it.”

He pulled back and straightened his tall frame.  “Damn,” he sighed.  “I was hoping you’d buy that one.”

She just shook her head no.

He let go of her.  “Well, come inside.  I’ve got some things I need to tell you.”

“I was expecting so.”

Thirty minutes later Justin had come clean with the whole ordeal.  He had a four year old son, Cody, from a woman that he’d spent one night with almost five years ago.  He left out the limo detail for his mother’s sake.  She could very well be mortified upon hearing all that. 

She’d heard the song he’d written, of course.  But with things like that they had a strict “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.  She didn’t want to know and he didn’t want to tell her.  If she figured it out on her own then that was her problem.

Not surprisingly she handled the news fairly well.  Of course, she’d asked the same thing about Cody as everyone else—the lawyers, Trace.  “Are you sure?”

He explained that he was sure and Cassidy said she was sure, but that they were still taking the necessary steps to make everything legal, mainly a paternity test.

Then she took in a deep breath, perched at the small round table in his kitchen, and said it very slowly.  “So, I’m a grandma.”  It wasn’t a question, it was a statement.  She was letting it soak in.  He could tell.  Then she grinned.   “I think I like that idea.”

Justin grinned too—wide and proud.  “Momma, I have a little boy.”  He felt himself getting choked up and he realized if he could let it show with anyone it was her.  He said it again, softer and quieter.  “I have a little boy.”

“It looks that way, baby.”  She reached across the table and held onto his hand.  “Try not to get too excited about it until the test results come back.  I’d hate for it to be a mistake.  You’d be devastated.”

“I know he’s mine, momma.  I knew it the second I saw him before she even said a word about it.  I just felt it deep inside—that’s my child.”

She was smiling again.  “I know, baby.  I just don’t want you to get hurt.”

He nodded.  He understood and the thought of what she was saying scared him to death.  He was already attached, already connected and concerned.  But he knew there was no mistake.  He’d never felt so right about anything in his whole life.  “I think their gonna come over tomorrow.  Did you want to meet him?”

Nodding, she let out a deep breath.  “Of course, I do.  So tell me more about this Cassidy.  Is she a good woman?  Didn’t you say she was going through a divorce too?

“She, um, was married to be the biggest asshole football player in the league,” he explained.  “But don’t worry, I asked and she said he was only a jerk to her, not Cody.  But yeah, she’s a good woman.  I tried so hard to get in touch with her after we met, but I couldn’t find her and she never called.   Of course now I know why…”

“Justin, tell me the truth, is this the girl that you wrote that song about?”

He groaned, looking at her from the tops of his lids.  “Don’t ask me questions like that,” he huffed.

“Just tell me the truth.   I can handle it.  Besides, you’ve pretty much answered the question already.”

“Well, then… Yes.”

A look of horror washed over her face for a very brief second.  “Okay.”   Then she repeated it.  “Okay…”

“Hey, you asked!”

She put a hand to her chest.   “I know.  I know.  Okay, I’m over it now.  I am.  Really.”

“Look, that stuff doesn’t matter now.  And you can’t judge her because of what we did back then, either.  She is a part of my life now.  She is the mother of my child.”

“I understand that, son.   I do.  Why do you think I asked about her?”

“I know.  I just—this is going to be a little awkward at first and I want to make things as smooth as possible.”

Cassidy and Cody left their Beverly Hills mansion at nine a.m. to make it with plenty of time to talk before her mom and dad left to tee off at noon.  Depending on traffic, it could take anywhere from thirty minutes to an hour to make it to Northridge, where her parents owned a modest four bedroom home in a very nice, upscale neighborhood. 

Both of her parents were retired and she had offered to move them closer to her, into an even bigger home.  But they refused.  They had lived in that home for several years and the area was nice.  They had their own little network of friends that they played Bridge or golfed with.  They enjoyed their life.

She was about to throw them a huge curve.  It might even ruin their plans for the day, but she understood that it was something she needed to tell them right away.  It could have been worse.  There always could have been something worse.

Honestly, she felt that once she got it all out in the open, things would actually be better all around.  Although she might get a lecture from her mother for keeping such a secret for so long.

She wondered if her father had mentioned anything to her mom when he’d got home from the game.  It was hard to say.  He was pretty good at letting Cassidy do things in her own way and this was definitely one of those things.

Traffic didn’t turn out to be too extremely heavy.  It was ten minutes till ten when she pulled her Mercedes SUV into their driveway.  She hopped out, opened the back door for Cody and unbuckled him from his booster seat.  “You think grandpa will wanna play catch with me?”  the little boy asked.

“Um, remember what mommy said about needing to have a private talk with grandma and grandpa?”

“Yes,” the little boy answered, as she helped him down from the car and took his hand.

“So you can go play in your room for a little while and then maybe grandpa will play catch with you, okay?  If we have time.”

“Okay,” he agreed.   They walked up the neatly landscaped, stone pathway hand in hand and just as they were almost to the door, Cody asked, “Mommy? Do you think Justin likes to play catch?”

She found herself smiling uncontrollably.  “Yes, sweetheart.  I’m sure he that he does.  Maybe if we see him later you could ask him.”

His little head nodded up and down.  “Okay.”

Her stomach turned into a nervous pit of emptiness as she rose a fist and knocked on the door.  They were expecting her and they were expecting that she had something to talk about, but other than what her dad had figured out, they didn’t know much.

She only hoped they would be accepting toward Justin being Cody’s father and of him wanting to be an active part of Cody’s life.  In her heart she felt they would, once she explained to them she’d sort of lied about the whole situation in the first place.

Her mother opened the door, her shoulder length, chestnut colored hair tucked partially under a white visor hat.   Connie Nickel was decked out in pleated yellow golf shorts and a white polo shirt.  Her feet were bare and her olive skin held an extra bronze glow thanks to the amount of time she and her husband spent on their outdoor activities.  Overall she was a 59 year old version of her daughter.  Cassidy only hoped that she would age as well and as gracefully as her mom.

The woman smiled widely at the sight of her two favorite people standing on the front porch.  “Well, hello there.”  Instantly she kneeled down and opened her arms, waiting for Cody’s embrace.   “Doesn’t grandma get a big hug?” she finally asked.

The little boy bum rushed her then, throwing his arms around her.  “Hi grandma,” he spoke cheerily.

“Hi sweetheart.  I missed you.” 

It had only been a few days since they’d seen each other.

“I missed you, too, grandma.”

Brian Nickel popped up behind his wife with a wide yet curious grin.  “Good morning,” he spoke jovially.

“Morning Daddy,” Cassidy pushed forward a grin.  She was still nervous.

“Hey there kiddo.”   Her dad brushed a hand over Cody’s head.   “I’ve got something I need to show you.  Come with me.”   He took the little boy’s hand and gave Cassidy an all-knowing stare.  She understood the cue.  She was to go with her mom.

And she did.  Into the kitchen, where family discussions had always taken place.  “So Daddy tells me you have some news about Cody’s father?”  Her mother started, pouring a fresh cup of coffee from the half-full carafe.

Cassidy nodded as her mother poured a second mug for her and then slid it across the counter. 

“Well?”

“He’s, um—”   She started and then she stopped, realizing the best place to start would be with the lie she’d originally told.  “Remember when I said he wanted nothing to do with me?  When I first told you?”

Her mother nodded. “Yes.”

“Mom, I never told him.   He didn’t know.”

“I see,” she stated simply.

“I didn’t know him very well,” Cassidy found herself explaining.  “We met briefly and obvious things happened and,” she paused for a breath, “he wanted me to call him and I never did.”

“And he is Justin Timberlake, right?  The singer?”

Cassidy nodded.  “Daddy told you?”

Her father stepped into the room just at that moment.  “I couldn’t keep it from her Cassie.  You know that.”

“I know.”  Her eyes fell.  Suddenly she felt very ashamed.

“So can you fill me in on the parts I missed?” he asked.

The last thing Cassidy wanted to do was repeat what she’d just told her mom.  “She lied to us, dear.  They didn’t know each other very well and she never told him.”

Cassidy’s eyes rose up to meet her fathers.  His eyes were closed as he stood there quiet, breathing slowly.  He was absorbing it all.  Cassidy understood how her father worked.  There’d been a time where he might have flown off the handle over such news, but not now.  He’d calmed down so much since he’d retired.  And even more since her recent shaky divorce.  “Obviously he knows now,” the man finally spoke up.

“Yes and he very much wants to be a part of Cody’s life.”

“Well, that’s not a bad thing.  Is it?  The boy needs a father.  We all know that.”  Her dad was having a hard time keeping his cool, but he was managing.

“Yes, I think we can all agree on that, dear,” her mother stated.  She was overly calm—as usual. 

“Look, I am very sorry that I lied to you.  But it was not the easiest truth to come out with and I just don’t want you to think that any of this is Justin’s fault because it’s not.  It was all me.”

“Sweetheart, last time I remember, getting pregnant takes more than one person,” her mother remarked.

Cassidy just shook her head.   “Mom, please.  That may have been an argument when I was pregnant, but it’s a little late for that now.”

“I’m just saying, obviously it wasn’t all just you.”

Her head shook again, a disgusted grimace across her face.  This was the last thing she wanted to be talking about with them.

“I think we all know that, Con,” Her dad perked up.  Obviously it was the last thing he wanted to be discussing, as well.   “So what happens next?”

“Um, a paternity test just to be sure.  Then we tell Cody.”

Her mother grimaced this time.    “You are sure, right?”

“Yes mother.  God!”

“Well, you said paternity test, so…”

“I’m sure he wants to be sure,” Brian figured.  “He is a celebrity and even though we know you’re not that kind of person, he probably doesn’t… considering you just said yourself that the two of you don’t know each other very well.”  He was rubbing that part in her face—subtly, no doubt.  But definitely rubbing it in.

“It’s not so much him as his attorneys.  And I just want to see the proof before we say anything to Cody.” She stuck a flattened palm to the air.  “Don’t take that the wrong way.  I am 100 percent positive.  I just want to do everything the right way.  That’s all.”

© BrandyRae 2005