I’ve had a lot of time to think or maybe daydream. It’s more like I’m thinking, reflecting on what an eventful year it’s been. It’s hard to believe it’s been a year since I met Justin. Tomorrow is Brady’s sixth birthday. He’s SIX! Where has the time gone? I can’t even begin to explain how much he’s grown up over the past year. Everyone always says there’s a huge difference between kindergarten and first grade but I didn’t think it would be that big. Some days I think Brady is really twelve. I’m able to have real conversations with him and he’s become such a wonderful, smart and funny little boy. I’m really proud of him, not that I wasn’t before. But he’s not my little baby anymore. He’s all grown up.

         It’s summer now and Brady is officially out of kindergarten. He’s been spending his days at a paleontologist summer camp we found. He absolutely loves it there and he looks so adorable going off every morning in his little uniform. If there was any doubt in my mind before, I am now convinced he has found his calling. I wish I were lucky enough to know what I wanted to do when I was five years old.

         Brady is in camp during the week while I’m here, working like a normal human being. I get up every morning and head in to an actual office where I spend my days answering phones and writing emails, and then go home every night when it’s still light out, instead of getting home from work when the sun is just starting to rise. I will be the first to admit that I like this job a lot more and it’s definitely not as boring as I thought it would be. More importantly, I can stay fully clothed.

         “Mommy!” I heard Brady’s voice before I could see him running down the hall, “Hi Mommy! Justin said I hadda leave camp early cause we was going on a special trip!”

         “And he’s so right, we’re going on a very special trip,” I smiled as I came out from behind the desk and bent down to hug him. I can’t pick him up anymore and that breaks my heart more than anything else. “Did you have a good day?”

         “Yeah, uh huh, I had a great day!” He’s so happy now. He’s back to his normal self, maybe even better, if that’s possible.

         “Jeez Tek, I told you not to run ahead,” Justin came around the corner with a smile. I love that damn smile and I love that I’ve been seeing it so much more recently now that we got all our shit figured out. “Hey Chloe.” He smiled again and leaned down to kiss me gently.

         “Hey, thanks for picking him up.”

         “Yeah, no problem. I’m ready to get our special trip going. I’m just going to run in and say hi then we can get going.” My new job happens to be at Justin’s record label. He pulled some strings to get it for me but I really think they like having me working for them. I’m a hard worker and at the very least they say they get to see Justin a lot more now that I’m working there. He used to stay away from this building as much as possible and now he’s here just about every day. I guess it works out for everyone.

         “Where are we going Mama?” Brady goes back and forth between calling me Mommy and Mama. Justin’s mother was here the other day so he tries his hardest to be just like Justin and call me Mama but he forgets most of the time.

         “I can’t tell you that Monkey, it’s a surprise.” He took a deep breath while I grabbed my bag, “Where do you think we’re going?”

         “Disneyland?”

         I laughed as Justin came out of the office, “Disneyland? No, not Disneyland.” We took him to Disneyland for the first time a couple weeks ago and now he thinks we’re always going to go back. Justin couldn’t believe Brady’s lived in Los Angeles his whole life and has never been to see the Mouse. He especially couldn’t believe I’ve never been there either.

         We made our way to Justin’s car and drove deep into the woods. Justin got Brady a new pair of binoculars so he could look for dinosaurs even though he now knows they’re all extinct. The look on his face when he told me he learned that at camp just broke my heart. It’s not that I’ve been lying to him about it. I told him a long time ago that dinosaurs were extinct but he never believed me. When the real paleontologists told him he had to believe it, and I know it killed him.

         As Justin pulled up to the campsite I turned around to see Brady’s reaction. His face lit up and I’m pretty sure I even heard a squeal. “We’re gonna sleep in there?” he shouted, pointing at the tent that was already set up.

         “We sure are,” I answered almost as stunned as Brady was. This was all Justin’s idea. He spent the day getting everything set up and he’s been planning this for months. God, I’m lucky.

         “It’s so cool Mommy! Thank you!”

         “I think you need to thank Justin Monkey. This was all his idea.”

         “Thank you Justin!” Brady shouted as he ran to give Justin a hug.

         “No problem Tek, it’s your birthday, we have to celebrate. There’s a stream a little ways down so we can catch some dinner.”

         Brady’s face lit up once again, “Like fishing? We did that before, memba that time we caught a fish and then we cooked it and ate it?”

         “I remember. That was so good. I hope you guys catch another one just like that.”

         “I think Mommy should help us go fishing. Don’t you think Tek?” Justin asked with a crooked smile.

         “Yeah! Mommy should help us go fishing,” Brady giggled.

         “No, I think you two would have more fun if it were just the two of you. I can get the rest of the food ready. We have some corn on the cob that needs to be cooked and I have to peel it first and…”

         “But Mommy,” Brady began walking towards me slowly, “It’s my birthday and I really want you to come.”

         I look back when I hear Justin laughing. Sure, he’s been teaching my son lot of good things like how to fish and how to play basketball but he’s also teaching him how to use charm to get his way. I took a deep breath, “You’re going to pay for this Justin.”

         “Oh I am huh?” Justin asks with that damn smile again. I just nod my head and grab onto Brady’s hand as we follow Justin to the stream.

         I sit on a rock by the stream watching Justin help Brady with the fishing pole. I could watch the two of them all day, the two people I love the most in this world. Now that we have everything figured out I don’t know how I ever made it when we weren’t together. I can’t remember a time without Justin in my life. The scary part is we only met a little over a year ago and come to think of it there was a lot of that time that I hated him, or at least I thought I did. It’s amazing how much things can change.

         Once again, Brady caught a huge fish and we brought it back to camp to cook it. I’m really glad Justin talked me into this. At first I wasn’t so sure this was a good idea but the campsite is so nice. He got a pretty big tent and it’s really cute out here with the nice campfire. Brady’s having the most fun he’s ever had in his life. He’s wanted to try camping ever since Justin told him about how he goes camping back in Tennessee. That was one of the first times they met, back when I was trying on dresses for the awards show and they had their first bonding experience.  It was then that Brady fell for Justin, and as much as I didn’t want to admit it, that’s when I fell for him too.

         After dinner we sat around the campfire telling ghost stories and singing camp songs. It’s so fun to watch Justin Timberlake, a man that sells out stadiums singing and dancing in front of thousands of screaming girls, singing Koom-By-Ya and We’re Going on a Bear Hunt.  My life is like something out of a fairy tale. I never thought it would be possible to find my Prince Charming but now I know that there is no possible way to live without him.

         Brady was having a hard time keeping his eyes open so I brought him in the tent and tucked him in. It’s been a really long day for all of us, but especially for the little one. He fell asleep before his head even hit the pillow. I went back to the campfire, sitting closer to Justin than I had before. “This is amazing.”

         “Ah, you like it, huh? Didn’t I tell you that you’d like it?”

         “Yes, you told me that a couple times. I do think I would have liked a blowup mattress though.”

         “You can’t have a blowup mattress,” he tells me for the tenth time, “That’s not camping Chloe.”

         “I think it’s camping as long as we’re in the woods and sleeping in a tent. I doubt a little mattress would make the difference.”

         “You’re right a little mattress does nothing. It’s more comfortable to sleep on the actual ground. I cleaned out all the rocks and pebbles, you’ll be comfortable Chloe, I promise.” He puts his arm around me and I lean against him. When he promises me something there’s no doubt in my mind that he’s right. “City girl’s getting all country,” he finished with a chuckle.

         “I’m getting there. I’m surprised at your knowledge of camp songs.”

         He laughed and pulled me closer, “Come on now Chloe. I was raised around campfires.”

         “Yeah, I guess you’re right. You should throw some on your next album. Everybody would love a nice Koom-By-Ya remix.”

         “It’s never been done before, I can tell you that,” he answered with a smile. “But I’m taking some time off before I start all that again.”

         “I thought you were a workaholic when it comes to that stuff?” he’s told me that a hundred times and I do know that he would always sneak down to his studio any time he would get hit with a little inspiration. Come to think of it, he hasn’t been sneaking away all that much.

         “Yeah, well, there’s some more important things going on in my life right now. I have more important things to worry about.” I smile as a response; he sure does have a way with words. “Besides,” he continues, “If I record another album I’ll have to go touring. I can’t be away from you guys for that long and Brady can’t miss school. It’s no fun living out of a suitcase for too long.”

         “But you shouldn’t stop doing what you love to do because of us.”

         “What I love to do is spend my time with you guys. I’m not stopping doing anything; I’m just taking a break. Maybe I’ll work on something later in the year. Get an album out there and do a quick tour next summer so you guys can come. We’ll figure something out, we have time. Now I just want to spend every possible second with you.”

         “Well you don’t have anything to worry about, because we’ll follow you wherever you take us.”

         It’s really hard to believe that over a year ago I didn’t even know who Justin was. My first night at the strip club he showed up, my first private, and also my last. Now the only lap dances I’ll ever do are real privates, with just the two of us in our actual bedroom. He saved us, both figuratively and literally. I didn’t think I’d ever be able to survive without my mother and I definitely wasn’t starting off on the right foot. But then Justin came into my life and now I don’t know how I made it without him. I do know how lucky I am and I thank God every day for the gifts he’s given me. I know my mother is looking down on us with a smile the size of the ocean. She knew I’d find my Prince someday; she always had faith even when I just wanted to crawl under a rock and die. I can tell you one thing, I’ve never been this happy in my life.

         “I love you,” I whispered after sitting with Justin in silence, “So much.”

         “I know,” he answered before attaching his lips to my forehead, “But I love you more.”

         I laughed and moved to look into his eyes, “Why do you have to be so competitive?”

         “I’m not,” he chuckled, “I’m just stating the facts.”

         “It’s not a fact, it’s an opinion. Can’t we just love each other equally?”

         “Umm… I don’t think that’s possible.”

         “Why not?”

         “Because there’s not enough love in the world. There won’t be any love left for anyone else.”

         I laughed and kissed him passionately, “There’s always enough love. You just have to find it.”

         “And once you find it,” Justin continued, “You never let it go.”

         “Never.” I agreed.

         “Never, ever.” he added with a chuckle and pulled me so close I almost felt my ribs crashing in.

         “It’s a figure of speech,” I giggled, “You don’t have to literally never let me go.”

         “You said never. I’m never, ever going to let you go.”

         “Great. You’re going to have fun going to work with me.”

         “You’re going to have fun going to work with me,” he laughed as he stood up and pulled me up with him, still not letting go, “You better learn how to dance,” he said as released one hand to slap my ass before putting it right back.

         “I already know how to dance.”

         “That’s right, you sure do.” He smiled and wrapped his arms around my waist more comfortably so we could slow dance under the moon with no music.

         “Let’s stay here forever.”

         “Alright country girl,” Justin chuckled, “You’re easy to convince. I thought it’d take a little longer to get you to move out to the woods.”

         “I’ll move to the moon as long as I’m with you.”

         “I’ll remember that. I might take you up on it someday.”