4 >> A Good Day
“What are you doing today?” Justin questioned to his best friend as he puttered through the house, searching for something he wasn’t quite sure of. “I’m bored.” Since he had been scheduled to be on his honeymoon for the better part of three weeks, for the first time in four years, he honestly had nothing to do.
“Umm,” Jessica thought through her day for a moment and answered, “I’m headed over near you for a few; I’m going running with a few friends. And then, I’m doing a little shopping with Lindsey. And later tonight, I… have a date.”
“A date?” he questioned in disbelief, cradling the phone between his ear and shoulder. “A real one?”
“Yes, a real one,” she let out a chuckle.
“With whom?”
“With none of your business,” she grinned, proud to have him asking questions about her for once.
“You might as well tell me now; you know I’ll find out.”
“It’s nobody,” she maintained, putting him on speakerphone as she exited her Brentwood home.
“Is it someone I know?”
“It’s nobody, dude. What are you doing today?”
“That’s not a very nice way to refer to your date,” he mocked her, a smile finally adorning his tired face. “Are you outside?”
“Yes,” she drawled, getting into her silver RX Hybrid. “I told you I’m on my way to Runyon.”
“”Who are you going running with?”
“Again, no one you know.”
“Jess, I’m not liking this secret life you have going,” he joked, heading down his staircase. “I’ll meet you.”
“You will?” Jessica was wary of his offer, being that he’d been so out of it the entire week, but she also didn’t want to discourage him from getting out of the house. Every outing was another baby step towards the man he was before Talis left him.
“I could use a good jog,” he rationalized. He entered his kitchen, grabbing a couple of Suntan apples from the fruit bowl near his refrigerator.
“Well all right,” she agreed. “I’ll see you in like twenty minutes?”
“Should I meet you there, or are you gonna come here?”
“I’ll meet you at the Mulholland entrance?”
“All right, twenty minutes,” he finished, pulling a knife onto his island counter. “And Jess?”
“Yeah, Jus?”
“Don’t put me on speakerphone anymore.”
“Bye,” she grinned, ending the call with a shake of her head. She was more than happy to see that he was slowly, but surely, getting there.
Justin continued with his task of cutting his two apples into thick slices, arranging them on a small plate. He grabbed a package of organic banila yogurt from the fridge and took a seat at his kitchen table. He’d always been a relatively healthy eater, but with Talis being the fitness nut that she was “ much like Jess “ his cabinets were always full of fresh, and organic, and soy. He didn’t hate it, but he certainly didn’t love it. He wouldn’t have minded having a pancake that wasn’t whole wheat every now and then.
For a minute, he figured since she was gone for the moment, it wouldn’t hurt if he ditched his apples and banila for just one day. He was about to run it off anyway. But the thought of being free from her diet was more than he wanted to accept, so he went along with his simple breakfast and briefly contemplated what he would do with himself for the rest of the sunny Wednesday.
>>>>>>>>>>
Rie and Jac arrived at Runyon Canyon Park at precisely 10:00 AM, picking a spot for Jacqueline’s Audi just outside the parking lot. Rie was a morning person, but certainly not a runner, so she wasn’t quite sure how or why she agreed to this. The fact that Jess practically invited her made it sound a lot more appealing than it actually was.
“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” Rie announced to her friend, piling out of the car. She pulled her black and purple hair into a high ponytail and watched Jac begin to stretch. “You’re so into this, aren’t you?”
“Listen, Jessica Biel invites me to go running, I’m all over it,” she replied evenly. “I’m sure she knows people in the modeling industry.”
Rie smiled at her limber friend, admiring the way her long limbs effortlessly stretched behind her. Rie wasn’t out of shape by any means, but her definition of working out was walking to Whole Foods instead of taking her beloved Jeep. She embraced her curves “ her thick thighs and round booty were what made her who she was. She never committed to anything “ not a man, not a job, and certainly not a diet “ so she figured as long as her stomach remained flat, she was more than fine.
“I dunno,” she finally sighed, gazing through the gates of the large park. “Maybe I should sit this one out.”
“Oh come on, you love Jessica.”
“I know, I know. But man, have you seen her workout routine? It’s insane.”
“It’s just a run, Rie.”
“Says the chick who eats three pancakes for breakfast and spends the rest of the day working it off!”
“You’ll have fun,” Jac assured her, just as Jessica came running up to the pair.
“Hey, guys,” she cheerfully greeted the friends, donning a pair of spandex running pants and a dark green sports tank “ an outfit that left little to the imagination.
Rie stood behind Jessica, discreetly eyeing her perfect body. Looking up to Jac, she mouthed, “Insaaane.”
“It’s a great morning,” Jess commented, completely oblivious. “I haven’t had a good run in ages.” Of course, to Jessica, that referred to a span of about two weeks.
“I know, I can’t remember the last time I came through here,” Jac piped up, strapping her iPod to her wrist. “You guys ready?”
“Actually, I invited my friend Justin,” Jess informed them, “so I just wanna wait a few minutes to see if he shows.”
Rie gave Jac and expectant look, just before pulling her shades over her face. She’d told Jacqueline all about the awkward encounter she had with Justin the previous Thursday, and both of them decided that they liked him a little less for it. It wasn’t a big deal at all, but they did think it rather odd.
“Cool,” Rie finally submitted with a grin. She clipped her own iPod to the waistband of her shorts and bent over, preparing to stretch her five foot seven frame alongside her friends.
Not long thereafter, Justin was making his way up the steep hill that led to the crowded entrance to the park. He passed through the area daily, so he was used to seeing runners contorted in all sorts of directions just before they commenced their jogs into the park. Even so, he sometimes found himself mesmerized by all the ass begging to be noticed on his treks through the hills, and this time was no different. He was only human, after all.
He smiled when he spotted Jess standing just a few yards away, and then found himself involuntarily licking his lips when he approached their group, greeted by Rie’s behind. He had no recollection of who the ass belonged to, and even worse, he didn’t care, but he did well with appearing unaffected. Luckily, his sunglasses hid the fact that he was pretty much staring.
“Good morning, ladies,” he announced, surprising the three.
Rie popped up from her compromising position at the sound of his voice, and gave him her best fake smile. “Hello there.”
He stopped in his tracks when he realized he had been eyeing someone he’d already met. “Hey.”
“Justin, you’re on time,” Jess marveled. “Glad you made it.”
“I told you I’d be here.”
“Jus, these are my friends “ I think you already met Rie,” Jess introduced as they shook hands for the second time. “And this is Jac.”
“Good to meet you,” he offered, taking her hand as well.
“Same,” Jac replied simply.
“You ready,” Jess asked him, trying to get a gauge on his mood.
“I’m ready if y’all are.”
“We’re ready,” Jac decided for the other three females, turning so that the four of them stood in a straight line.
“So how do you all know each other?” Justin asked as they headed towards the entrance. “I thought I knew all of Jess’s friends.”
Rie chuckled at the ridiculous notion and informed him, “Jess and I worked together on a movie a few months ago.”
“Yeah, this is the girl I told you about,” Jessica began explaining to him. “She’s the one who drove from Columbia to Charlotte just to get this specific fabric they needed in wardrobe. She was amazing.”
“Ohh, this is the perfect PA I’ve been hearing about?” Justin realized.
“Yes!”
“Guilty as charged,” Rie nodded, turning to give Jac a discreet look of shock. She couldn’t believe Jess had actually mentioned her to other people. Or at all, really.
“She used to talk about you all the time.”
“I’m flattered.”
“I was just really impressed,” Jess furthered, leading the other three down the dirt-covered trailhead. “And Jac is Rie’s best friend,” she made sure to add. “She’s a model.”
“Aspiring model,” Jac inserted.
Justin peeked back to Jac and decided she could easily be a model. She certainly had the height and lack of width, as well as a rather androgynous look about her. He didn’t find her especially gorgeous, not that many models actually were, but certainly unique. “You’ll make it,” he finally said encouragingly. “If you really want to be, of course.”
“Thank you,” Jac blushed with a timid smile.
“Okay,” Jess initiated, “I was thinking we could take a run up Indian Rock, head down towards Fuller, and then do a full circle walk back up here.”
Rie watched Justin and Jac nod in agreement, so she decided to do the same, not really knowing what she was getting herself into. She figured she would just take their leads, so when the iPod earbuds came out, she joined in, settling on Madonna’s ‘Hard Candy’ to run to, and took off with the group.
Justin could keep up with Jessica, for the most part, but he knew that when she got in a zone, she was literally gone. She broke out ahead of everyone, though she was conscious not to stray too far ahead, while Jac kept a comfortable pace just behind Justin. Rie was bringing up the rear, as she expected, but there was no shame in her game. Hell, she was just glad to still be able to see the rest of them.
It wasn’t until they nearly reached the top of Indian Rock, a ridiculously steep area of the many highs and lows of the park, that she was willing to admit defeat. She stopped dead in her tracks, thighs burning, completely out of breath, and bent over, holding her knees in fatigue. She considered sitting down altogether, but she didn’t want to cause the rest of the group to stop and search for her, so she began walking.
She had gotten lost in her own world, quite contently in fact, when she spotted Justin’s long green shorts bent over just a few feet ahead. Amused by the sight, she quickly jogged up to him. “That’s what you get for showin’ off,” she joked.
He lifted his head at the sound of her voice and chuckled. “What’s what I get?”
“You having to stop.”
“But what if I stopped just to wait for you?”
“Then that would be very noble of you, sir. But I wouldn’t believe it.”
He stood to his normal six foot two stance and stared down at Rie. “And why wouldn’t you?”
“Well,” she studied him from behind her dark glasses as well. “Seeing how rude you were to me the other night, I kinda don’t trust you, man.”
“What?” his voice went up an octave. “I was not rude,” he defended loudly.
“You were rude,” she maintained, beginning to walk again. “I was mid-sentence and you just vanished!”
He began to walk as well, following not far behind her. “I told you I had to go.”
“Yeah, but it was abrupt as fuck. Who does that?”
“Well…I also told you I was weird.”
She rolled her eyes playfully, already pegging him as the type to never admit he was wrong. “Fine, you’re weird,” she conceded. “I don’t trust weird people.”
“You said you were weird, too.”
Pleasantly surprised that he’d actually paid attention in their previous conversation, she replied with a smirk, “Yeah, but who says I trust myself?”
“Touché,” he granted with a smile.
“So are you gonna tell me why you left, or what?”
“You’re not gonna believe me no matter what I say, so why does it matter?”
“Try me,” she pressed.
“And what makes you think I trust you?”
“I’m about ninety percent sure that you don’t,” she chuckled, “nor should you. I’m just testing you.”
At least she was honest, he figured. “Why don’t you just walk,” he continued smiling, unsubtly avoiding the subject. “I’m not as open as you clearly are.”
“Oh man, if only,” she sighed, walking beside him as they made their way up the steep trail. “So is it because you’re private or because you’re guarded?”
He narrowed his eyes, though she couldn’t quite see it, and pondered the question. “Is there a difference?” he finally decided to ask. “I guess… I think I’m a bit of both, thanks to the business I’m in.”
“That would make sense,” she nodded slowly. “Though I have to say, I found you refreshingly un-guarded the other night.”
“Really?”
“Up until your disappearing act, of course.”
“I assure you, that was a rare moment for me.”
She laughed to herself at the irony of his statement, but played along with him. “I figured.”
“But if it helps my case, you were the first thing to make me laugh all week.”
“See, that’s not fair. You can tell me anything you want now since you know I won’t believe you.”
“Yeah, now who’s guarded,” he shot back teasingly.
“Ah, touché.”
>>>>>>>>>>
At about a quarter to noon, Rie, Jac, and Jessica found themselves sitting in Justin’s kitchen, engaged in animated discussion. At some point during their hike and the subsequent invitation back to his house, Justin decided that Rie was an exceptionally cool person.
People flocked to Justin, no matter where he went, no matter what he did. He was, undeniably, a likable guy, and he definitely embraced that. However, it was rare that he found that trait in someone else, so he was proud to have made the observation about Rie.
“You know what I didn’t understand, though?” Jac announced. The three females in the group sat at the kitchen table, discussing the Sex and the City Movie, while Justin prepared a plateful of sandwiches for his guests. “Why did it take Samantha five years to figure out she wasn’t the monogamous type?”
“I know,” Jessica agreed. “It’s like, yeah, she had cancer and he went through it with her, but why even pretend you’re gonna stay with him? You know?”
“I liked that side of Samantha,” Rie disagreed. “It was completely out of character for her, yes, but I think it’s possible that if your significant other is significant enough, you can change a few things for them.”
“But you don’t completely change who you are,” Jac countered. “Her longest relationship was what? A couple of months with that Richard dude, right?”
“Yeah, I think so.”
“Yeah, and then she goes five years with Smith? Now you know that didn’t make any sense.”
The emphasis on “five years” caused Justin to tune into the conversation, in spite of how much he wanted to avoid paying attention. “I agree with Rie,” he proclaimed, just before washing his hands again.
“You do?” Jess questioned, surprised he even knew what they were talking about.
“Yeah,” he brought the plate of random sandwiches over to the table and sat down with them. “Yeah, I think it was obvious that Samantha wasn’t herself. She was sick, she was out of her element because she was actually not in control of something, she was vulnerable… And he was a good guy, you know? I mean, he didn’t just want the sex, but he wanted her, and he threw her for a loop with that.”
“Wait a minute,” Rie had to keep herself from simultaneously laughing and swooning as she picked from the plate of food. “You watch Sex and the City?”
“I am a proud fan, thank you.”
“Are you really?”
“Well, not really proud “ in fact, this doesn’t leave this room,” he stated with a lowered voice. “Jessica.”
“What did I do?” she played innocently.
“You know what you did.”
“So you’re really a fan?” Jac attempted to clarify.
“Really, yes. Between all the women in my life, it was pretty unavoidable, so yeah.”
“He’s not just a casual fan either. Dude was there opening night when it came out this summer,” Jessica added for him.
“I think that’s awesome,” Rie finished seriously. “And even more awesome because you agree with me.”
“Awesome or not, you’re both wrong,” Jac retorted. “The writers got lazy and copped out with that whole Smith and Samantha storyline.”
“That’s bullshit,” she shook her head. “There’s no reason to think that a woman can’t change for a good man. Or vice versa. “
“Exactly,” Justin continued. “If the other person is worth it, you’re gonna be willing to make a few changes.”
“But there’s a difference between a few changes and then totally rearranging who you are as a person for someone else,” Jess inserted. “And Samantha was not the monogamously long-term type of woman.”
“Yeah, but you have to take into account that she was on the way down,” Rie kicked in for her and Justin’s side. “If something comes along that’s good for you “ it may not be right for you, but if it’s good for you “ you’re not gonna let it go, are you?”
“Rie, for someone that doesn’t have a monogamous bone in their body, I can’t believe you’re saying this,” Jacqueline laughed.
“Har har,” she rolled her eyes. She noticed Justin eyeing her as he took a large bite of his sandwich, and she suddenly felt very exposed. “It’s not about monogamy, though. It’s just as simple as this awesome guy falling into your lap at the precise moment that you need something awesome to counteract all the bullshit you’re going through.”
“Right,” Justin nodded, swallowing his food. “And no one in their right mind thought she would stay with him forever. But he served his purpose for those five years of her life. It may have seemed out of character for the Samantha we saw for most of the show, but in that same vein, Samantha actually was out of character.”
“Exactly. That was the whole point,” Rie agreed. “So it wasn’t a copout.”
“It was exactly what they were trying to convey.”
Rie and Justin glanced at each other awkwardly, both of them a bit awed by the fact that they were so completely on the same page. On the other hand, Jac and Jessica found it rather suspicious. “Are you fucking him?” Jac finally asked, point blank.
“What?” Rie exclaimed. “What the hell, Jac!”
Justin couldn’t help but laugh, as he was so used to this. “See, this is how rumors get started.”
Jessica laughed as well, though not as heartily or definitively as Justin did. “That’s funny,” she added softly.
“Well, I just thought I’d ask. You keep looking at each other oddly; you disappeared during our run; now you’re finishing each other’s sentences…”
“You’re aware that we just met on Thursday?” Rie answered solemnly.
“I know, I know. It was just… weird,” Jac defended looking around nervously. “I didn’t mean to be rude.”
“Well, to answer your question, definitely not,” Justin confirmed with raised eyebrows. “I didn’t even know we were giving off that vibe, did you?” he directed to Rie.
“Vibe?”
“That really awkward and scandalous, ‘Ooh, you know they must be fuckin’ vibe.’”
“Oh yes, that one.” Rie nodded and then shrugged offhandedly. “I don’t think I’ve given off that vibe since high school.” Justin laughed and Jac could only roll her eyes at her friend, while Jessica remained concentrated on the half of a turkey sandwich in front of her. “I dunno, we’ll have to work on that,” she finished.
“Well guys,” Jess finally broke into the conversation, “I hate to break this party up, but I have a shopping date with one of my friends in a few.”
“Oh, that sounds like fun,” Jac answered. “Where are you guys going?”
“I’m not sure; probably Rodeo for a while and see what we can find.”
“I can’t wait until I can afford to buy something on Rodeo,” she chuckled.
“I can’t wait until I can afford to buy something on Rodeo,” Justin chimed in, causing the other three to laugh. “Are you going shopping for your date tonight?” he teased Jess childishly.
“Still none of your business,” Jess smiled back.
“Ooh, you have a date?” Rie questioned. “I can’t remember the last time I had one of those.”
“I know, right? For some reason, Jus is obsessed with mine.”
“Well Jess, I wouldn’t be obsessed if you’d just tell me who you’re going out with.”
“I’m not gonna tell you just so you can find something wrong with him. It’s just a friend,” she replied vaguely, yet again. “If all goes well, I’ll tell you tomorrow.”
“You better,” he narrowed his eyes at her. “What are you ladies doing the rest of the day?” he directed to Rie and Jacqueline.
“I’m not sure,” Rie yawned, rising from the table. “Jac wanted to go see that new movie with Jennifer Aniston and Ben Affleck. What was the name of it?”
“’He’s Just Not That Into You,’” Justin answered for her, getting up from the table with the other two women.
“Yeah, that,” she nodded. “So we’ll probably do dinner and a late showing of that.”
“Sounds like fun,” he offered, showing his guests to the front of his house.
“What do you have planned for the night?” Jessica asked him cautiously.
He shrugged. “Not much of anything really. Maybe some laundry, read a book.”
“You’re too adorable,” she chuckled as she opened the door. “Call me later?”
“I will,” he nodded. “We should do this again sometime.”
Rie inwardly smiled at the thought of doing anything with Justin again. It was all becoming unfathomable to her, but she was willing to take it and run with it. “Hey, do you wanna come with us tonight?”
“Me?” Justin seemed taken aback by her invitation. In fact, everyone did. “Umm.”
“I mean, I know laundry is a pressing matter, but being a lover of chick flicks and all, I thought you might enjoy it.” She flashed her pristine smile and awaited his answer.
“Very funny.” Scratching through his short hair, he fixated on the walkway ahead of them as he answered, “Umm, yeah. I’d like that.”
No one was more surprised than Rie when he accepted. “Really?”
“Wait, were you just fuckin’ with me?”
“No, no,” she quickly refuted, “I’m just surprised you’re accepting. …But then you know I have trust issues with you.”
“Oh, yes. Of course,” he grinned. “But no, I think it’ll be cool. If that’s all right with you, Jac.”
“That’s totally fine with me,” she answered, more amused than anything else. “Where do you wanna eat?”
>>>>>>>>>>
Several hours later, Justin, Rie and Jac had enjoyed a low-key dinner at the famed Lawry’s steakhouse in Beverly Hills. Over steaks and wine, they mostly bonded over stories of living in Los Angeles, but also continued discussing Sex and the City, Justin’s clothing line, the fantastic world of iChat, and Justin’s pride and joy, Memphis, Tennessee. It didn’t take long for any of them to figure out that they could officially be considered friends.
After running up a $350-dollar tab at Lawry’s, the threesome headed for Arclight Cinema on Sunset for a 9:50PM showing of their movie. Now, the movie was over and Rie and Jac were finishing business in the bathroom while Justin retrieved his car.
“So?” Jac asked her friend as they rinsed their hands.
“So?” Rie repeated in confusion. She gave herself a once-over under the fluorescent light of the bathroom, frowning at what she saw in the mirror. “So what?”
“So what do you think of him now?”
“Who? Justin?” The pair moved over to the automatic dryers, and conversation ceased as their hands dried. “I think he’s cool as hell,” she finally announced.
“I think he likes you,” she intimated as they left the bathroom altogether.
“He better like me. I’ve given his ass some of the best conversation of my life.”
“Rie, you know what I mean.”
“Nah,” she finally shook her head, making her way up the extra-long flight of steps that led to the exit. “He’s just out of a relationship, he’s liable to like anything that doesn’t make him cry.”
“Did he tell you that?”
“No,” she frowned. “You do realize that we just met like five days ago, right? And not only that, but he’s Justin Timberlake. I’m surprised we made it this far.”
“Is this your version of denial?”
“Jac, I’m pretty sure he hasn’t even registered that I’m a female,” she chuckled. “He likes our company, hopefully thinks we’re cool, but I highly doubt we’re even a blip on his radar like that.”
“Now you know men are not complicated creatures. If there’s pussy in the vicinity, the dog is gonna chase it,” Jac rationalized. “It’s very simple.”
“Justin’s more complicated than you give him credit for.” They entered the parking lot, seeing Justin’s supersized white Rubicon waiting just ahead. “See, most guys would not be this efficient.”
He watched in amusement as the girls approached his monster of a Jeep and struggled into it for the third time that evening, as most women had to do. “You’ll get the hang of it,” he assured Rie with a smirk as she piled into the passenger seat. “Everyone does.”
“Next time, we take my Jeep,” she exhaled dramatically. “I almost killed myself hopping out of this bitch in these.” She was sarcastically referring to her sequined flats.
Justin looked back to make sure Jac was situated before taking off towards his house. “So what did y’all think of the movie?”
“I dunno,” Rie answered first, beginning to imitate Randy Jackson. “It was a little pitchy. I gotta say, it was just okay for me.”
“It could’ve been better,” Justin agreed. “Especially if you’re gonna make it based on such a popular book.”
“I liked--.”
Jac’s sentence was cut off by Rie. “Wait a minute, there’s a book about that nonsense?”
“Chyeah,” Justin dramatically answered in his signature imitation of a Valley girl. “Like, it’s the most popular book ever?”
Laughing, Jacqueline added, “Yeah, like, where the hell have you, like, been?”
“I clearly was not aware that bitches needed a book to figure out a guy doesn’t like them.”
“You’d be surprised,” Justin nodded with raised eyebrows.
“I know a few bitches that need a book to figure out that a like them, so I’m really not surprised at all,” Jac supplemented. “We’re not always all there.”
“Jac, shut up,” Rie rolled her eyes, annoyed by her implication.
“No, see that’s very interesting to me,” Justin furthered. “Because I was under the impression that women had their shit together, like, ninety-nine percent of the time.” Rie and Jac laughed loudly at the concept, causing him to smile. “No?”
“Hell no,” Jac countered. “Maybe we’re just really good at making it seem like we do? But we’re just as clueless about you as you are about us.”
“There’s not a chance that that’s true.”
Rie laughed tiredly and rested her head against his window. It had been a long day and she was exhausted, but she definitely enjoyed Justin’s company. She wasn’t sure whether she wanted him to know that, but it was impossible to hide from herself, at the least. “So you’ve never been diggin’ on a chick that didn’t quite get the message?”
“Umm, no,” he deadpanned as he turned from Hollywood onto Mulholland. “I’m pretty horrible at being clandestine about my feelings.”
“Now there’s not a chance that that’s true,” she countered. “I thought you were one of those super guarded people that never let anyone in.”
“I never said I never let anyone in. It just takes a long ass time for me to get there.”
“Do you ever wish you weren’t that way?”
“I dunno. Not really,” he yawned. “Because there’s always this thing where… like… Okay,” he reconsidered, “I’m not the type of guy that thinks he can have any woman in the room. But, for whatever reason, people have this idea that, you know, I wanna take a girl home every night. But even if I pass up like fifteen women on any given night, there’s always that one girl that I’ll see in the grocery store or something, and I’ll go up to her with my balls already in her hands, and introduce myself. And she’ll be smug and tell me that I’m just trying to add another notch on my bedpost, or something equally ridiculous, and it’s just the most discouraging thing in the world, because I’m so not like that. It’s always the one girl I’m willing to save every point for, that runs away, and it’s just…frustrating. But it makes me realize that I’m glad I’m guarded.”
Suddenly, Rie was very proud of herself for sucking up her fear and walking up to Justin that night at the Obama fundraiser. Not that she was The Girl he was referring to, but just in case she fit the bill, she was glad to have saved him the trouble. “Such bullshit,” she commented, shaking her head. “Don’t you just hate women?”
“You live and you learn,” he shrugged. “I don’t mind being jaded.”
“Okay, so… be honest,” she shamelessly pried, “is the famous version of you anything like the real you?”
“Well…” he looked at her out of the corner of his eyes, making his way through the steep and winding road up to his house. “What do you think?
“That depends. Have I been getting the real you?”
“This is another one of those cases where you’re not gonna believe me no matter what I say, isn’t it?”
Once again, Justin and Rie were in a zone where Jac didn’t quite exist in their conversation, so she just sat back and watched the show. She didn’t mind so much, being that Rie was the more talkative of the two. She dared to ask him questions that Jac would never even think of, and she liked getting to know Justin through Rie’s eyes.
“Dude, if you were honest, you wouldn’t have to worry about me believing you.”
He sighed loudly and gave a hint of his signature chuckle. “You’re so wonderfully difficult.”
“Stop avoiding the question, homie.”
He quickly pulled into his neighborhood and made his way up the long driveway, pondering her question. “I think it’s been a kind of interesting social study for me, going back and forth between the guy at home, and the guy on the road, and the guy in the studio, and the guy in the interview. I think your environment has a lot to do with your character, and yeah, my character at home changes.”
“How so?” The car was stopped and she was looking at him as he stared at his steering wheel. “And which one is more fun?”
He smiled before he answered. “Umm, I’m definitely very domesticated at home,” he decided with a nod. “I like to cook, I do the laundry, my dogs are like my kids.” He became a bit somber as he mulled over the home version of himself “ formerly known as the Talis version. “I think the famous me is a little bit more charismatic, but a little more irresponsible,” he admitted. “The at home me is smarter than I let on, more thoughtful… I dunno, there’s a lot.”
“I’ll take it,” Rie offered, inhaling his words. “I believe you.”
“You should. I’m only full of shit the first eighteen hours of the day,” he deadpanned. “So since it’s eleven-fifty, we’re good.”
“That’s very reassuring,” she retorted.
After another long glance in her direction, he exited the car, his companions taking the lead. “I had fun,” he told them sincerely.
Jac nodded, but leaned against her own car, situated just a few feet away. She was clearly tired. “I did, too. I’m glad you came.”
“Co-sign,” Rie finished, walking up to him. “I hope we can do this again sometime.”
“We will,” he confirmed. He considered giving her a hug or handshake, or something to cap off the night, but an anxiousness swept over him that caused him not to. “Y’all have a good night, all right?”
Rie nodded and watched him awkwardly escape for his back door. So much for working on that scandalously awkward vibe they were giving off. “Good night, Mister Timberlake!”
It had been a good day, Justin figured. He had no mishaps to report, he made a couple of new friends, he hadn’t thought too much about Talis at all. It was a good day. But then, he came walking back into his room at somewhere close to midnight, and realization struck him once again. For the ninth night in a row, a concept he still had not quite adapted to, slapped him in the face. He was still alone. And suddenly, the day didn’t seem quite as good anymore.
Author's Chapter Notes:
And I'm back with another one! I broke the D and C keys on my laptop, which makes it extra hard to type, so I won't say much lol. I just hope you guys enjoy!
-Ash
-Ash
Story Tags: interracial unrequited boyfriendj love fiancej vulnerablej
