That afternoon Justin and James sat in the toy room and talked. They were completely honest with each other, and they just let it all out.  Expectations were discussed, needs and wants, and even past relationships were touched upon too.  The couple would have gone on the rest of the evening if it weren't for Chris and Luke poking their heads into the room to see if the two were still alive.  

“We have a sound check in two minutes, and we should get going. James, are you going to watch?” He caught Justin in a headlock and struggled as the young man tried his best to slip out of Chris’ grasp. After a few moments of wiggling, Chris let Justin’s arm go and stared at him in mock anger. “All right boy, now we’re gonna throw down.” He shoved Justin to the floor and Jamie and Luke watch in amazement as the two went at it. Both were worried that it would get serious, but Mac, Justin’s body guard stepped in at that moment and pulled Justin off of Chris.

           “All right Girls; let’s stop bickering before someone gets hurt. Chris, you know how psycho Justin is about his curls, I would hate to see what would happen if you managed to mess them up. And I guarantee I wouldn’t be the one to peel your ass off the floor if you pissed the boy off again. You remember what happened last time.” Chris straightened out his clothes and threw a dirty look at Justin.

          “Technicalities.” Justin laughed at Chris’ words and headed for the door. He stopped when he realized that Jamie wasn’t with him, and he turned around.

        “Are you coming with us James?” He watched and waited and his heart started to sink as she shook her head no. “Why?” Jamie looked up at him and realized that she was pulling away from him again, and she didn’t want to do that. So instead, she covered up with a smile and a smart-ass comment.

           “Because, I don’t want to be seen with you and Chris, it might ruin my image.” Everyone laughed and Luke pulled her into a hug. Justin relaxed visibly and headed out the door when Mac started pulling him. Jamie followed behind them, her fingers wrapped in Luke’s hand. She needed his comfort and his best friend word’s of wisdom. She was so scared and confused right now, that the only thing she was positive about was Luke, and that was a big comfort at the moment.

Jamie sat back and tried to keep her jaw from hitting the floor. This was her first time ever hearing NSYNC. As crazy as it sounded, Jamie hadn’t heard very many of their songs. Living in a trailer with a broken tape player and an eight track don’t help much in keeping you in tune with the time. Luke came over and sat next to her. He watched her for a second; a smile perched on his face. He leaned over and handed her a tissue, also managing to startle her from her daze.    

     “Huh? What’s this for?” She picked up the tissue and looked at it.

          “Oh…just the drool that was making its way down your face.” He chuckled slightly and Jamie punched him hard in the arm.

           “You’re a jackass.” She mumbled at his laughing form. He sobered up and gave her a small pout.

          “That’s no way to talk to the best friend that just hooked you up with the man of your dreams.” Jamie shook her head and tried to ignore him as best she could, but he was breathing on her neck and making it very difficult.

         “WHAT?” She screamed loud enough to gain the attention of all five men on the stage, and a few assistants and crew members around the arena. 

        “Oh nothing…I’m just waiting for that sigh of adoration that I know is coming.” When she roller her eyes at him he tapped her shoulder lightly. “Oh come on, don’t tell me that you’re not completely in love with their harmonies. I mean, even I might get all dreamy eyed here.”   

    “Oh, what’d you know?” She crossed her arms over her chest and pretended to be pissed off at him, when it reality that was very hard to do. Luke had a way of making you smile.     

      “Plenty, I have a stunning IQ.” She laughed at his come back and leaned her head on his shoulder, letting out that sigh that he had been waiting for.

Justin’s attention had been riveted on Jamie during the whole sound check, and it was now to the point where he was pissing off his band mates. It hadn’t been too bad until Luke sat down, and it was then that the ugly green monster reared its head.

He knew that Luke and Jamie were best friends, and that they shared a deep connection and past, but it still bothered him. She looked so comfortable with Luke, and yet, when she was with him…she was a basket case. He knew that he shouldn’t read into anything, because it would all come and bite him in the ass in the end, but he couldn’t help it. He wanted Jamie to need him like she needed Luke. He wanted that look of adoration to be aimed at him, instead of the man next to her. 

He was being selfish, and he knew it too. But it couldn’t be helped. He was so unsure of where things would go with Jamie, and he knew what they shared was fragile at best. Shaking his head he turned his focus back to the song he was supposed to be singing. He decided to let things run their course, and see what came of it in the end.

 <p><hr><p>

The next few days went by too quickly for everyone involved. All the guys had been happy to see James, and spend some quality time with her. Especially Justin.

Justin and Jamie had spent as much time together as possible, getting to know each other, and exploring this thing they had found. They took it very slowly, in every aspect. There was a lot of flirting going on, but it was innocent. They had decided that they wanted to do this right. It was going to be hard for them if they started something heavy right now, and then Justin would leave for another two weeks, come home for a month, and then leave again for the second leg of the tour.

So their plan was lots of phone calls and some quality conversations.

“…It went really well, though. Other then missing those few dance steps.” Jamie heard Justin yawn for about the fifth time, and she felt bad for keeping him up. 

         “That’s great. Why don’t I let you go? You sound really tired.” Justin shook his head in protest but realized that she couldn’t see him.              

        “No…no, I’m fine. I haven’t talked to you in a while; I want to know how you are.” He let out a contended sigh when he heard her giggle slightly, that sound was music to his ears.   

       “Justin…I talked to you this morning.”    

       “I know, but it was only a five minute conversation. I miss having our hour long conversations…I miss you James.” She smiled at this, reminding herself why she had fallen for him in the first place.    

      “Where are you headed to next?”     

      “New Orleans, We should be there in about two more hours, and we’re there for two days. Than two more stops and were done for a month. Hey…I wanted to ask you something.”  

           “Hmm?” She yawned herself. It was closing in on midnight, and she had been up since five o’clock that morning.     

      “What do you think about coming down to Orlando?”     

      “What? What do you mean? I though you were going to spend some time in Tennessee?”      

      “Well, I am…but I want you to come back to Orlando with me. We hardly get to see each other as it is, but if you’re with me, than it won’t be as bad. And Johnny is getting married when we get back; I really want you at the wedding. You could stay with me, but if that’s too uncomfortable, you could stay at WEG, Johnny won’t mind.”      

      “Whoa, whoa…slow down there boy. I need to think about this, OK? Why don’t we just take this one day at a time? I’ll think it over, and we can discuss it when you come over.” She yawned again and Justin realized that it was getting very late.      

      “OK. I’m gonna let you go now, sweetie. I’ll call you tomorrow…what time do you get off work?”     

      “I should be home around three. I’ll talk to you later Justin.”     

       “Bye James.” He hung up the phone and threw himself back on his bunk. This long distance thing wasn’t all it was cracked up to be…and he was counting down the days until he could hold her again.

Jamie wiped her hands on her apron and checked the clock again. She was dismayed to see that it was about two minutes later than the last time she had looked. Pushing the hair that had fallen from her pony tail out of her face, she grabbed her tray and got back to work.

She smiled and went through the motions, filling coffee cups that didn’t need to be filled, anything to make time go faster. Justin was supposed to be coming in today, around four, and she wanted to meet him at that air port. She wasn’t expecting it, but she had missed him, more than she thought she would.    

         “Jamie, there’s a customer waiting at table 7, you might want to take him sometime tonight.” Lorain’s voice had a bite, but Jamie just wasn’t in the mood tonight.

             “Lo, table 7 isn’t mine, and you know it. Where’s Chloe?” Her hands were on her hips in defiance and Lorain had to admire her spunk.   

        “Chloe is out on break…and the guy specifically asked for you.” She emphasized her point by tapping her finger on Jamie’s shoulder. Lorain looked around cautiously, and then leaned in to whisper. “You might want to be careful though…he looks a little shady if you ask me.” Then she turned and walked away. Jamie rolled her eyes and took a deep breath.

She grabbed a menu and headed over to table 7. The man was sitting all the way in the corner of the booth, a hat covering his face. She placed the menu down and cleared her throat. Gaining control over her wariness, she spoke.   

         “Good afternoon, welcome to Momma’s…would you like anything to drink?” She waited for a few minutes but there was no answer. She was starting to get worried. “Sir? Excuse me.” She bent down to see if she could get a look at him, but he made a sudden movement and before she knew what had hit her, this man’s lips were on her own.

 Jamie struggled backward and was ready to slap him but he pulled away and started to chuckle. Jamie knew that laugh.   

        “You bastard.” She said sitting down and slapping him on the shoulder. “You sick bastard.” The man laughed harder and then removed his hat, unleashing a mass of curls and revealing beautiful blue eyes.    

    “I missed you James.” He leaned in and gave her another kiss. This one was gentler, and he took his time working at her mouth. When he pulled away he smiled a licked his lips. “Strawberry.” Jamie blushed and leaned her head on his shoulder.     

   “I thought your flight didn’t come until later?” He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close to him.

         “I got an earlier flight so I could surprise you…did it work?” Jamie looked up at his devilish smile and laughed. 

       “You’re a jackass.” He laughed too and sighed with contentment. He had wanted to do this since the day he had left.

This whole feeling was strange to Justin. He had been involved with girls before, but never had he missed someone as much as he had missed James. It was as if in their short few days together, they had created a bond, or a link that could only be stretched so far before they needed to come back to each other. Two weeks had been bad enough; he had no idea what he would do for the second leg of the tour.      

     “What?” He asked, noting her stare.     

“Nothing...just thinking. Anyway, I need to get back to work. I get off in an hour, so I could meet you at your grandmother’s if you want?” She asked but became puzzled when Justin shook his head ‘no.’ 

       “Nope, you’re coming with me.” Her heart swelled at his soft voice and pleading eyes, but she knew that Lorain would ream her a new one if she left them with only two girls at the busiest time in the afternoon.   

    “James, you get the rest of the afternoon off, Tammy just called and she’s going to come in, she could use the extra hours.” Before she left she winked at Justin and patted Jamie on the shoulder. 

     “What was that all about?” Jamie asked turning to see a mischievous gleam in Justin’s eyes   

     “You heard the woman, Tammy needed the extra hours.” Jamie shook her head.   

     “What do you bribe her with? Tammy is the queen of ‘I can’t come in today…I’m too tired to work…’ ” He laughed and lightly pushed her out of the booth.   

      “I have no idea what you’re talking about…Let’s go James, I want to get going while the night is young.” Jamie threw another baffled glance at Justin before grabbing his outstretched hand and following him to his car. She was amazed but it wasn’t going keep her from loving the attention and enjoying every minute of this.

Jamie was surprised when he pulled into her drive way. She didn’t know what she was expecting, but this wasn’t it.          

     “What are you doing?” She asked as he exited the car and came around to her side to help her out.    

    “What? You don’t want to spend the night in those clothes, do you? Although I do think you look really cute in that uniform.” He winked at her and she blushed. Looking down at her worn work clothes she realized that he was right, she didn’t want to spend a night with Justin Timberlake in her uniform, no matter how cute she looked.

 He led her inside and they went straight to her bed room. She was about to ask what she should wear when he spoke.  

      “Wear something comfortable. Jeans, t-shirt, even your favorite sweatshirt…and if I remember correctly, that’s actually mine.” She smiled shyly when he said this and shrugged.   

      “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” He laughed, realizing that she was using his words against him, and he reached over and hit her lightly with the pillow. Jamie stumbled backward and laughed before grabbing the pillow from him and beating him repeatedly.

         “OK, OK, that’s enough…hurry up will ya? Oh, and you might want to put some extra clothes in a bag…You’re staying the night at my grandmother’s.” She looked up at him but said nothing. He leaned over and kissed her forehead before walking to her closet to help her.

A few minutes later Jamie shooed Justin out of her room and she changed into a pair of jeans and her…Justin’s… favorite sweatshirt. She then grabbed the bad of clothes and necessities she had packed and then headed down the hallway. Justin was in the living room looking at pictures and he smiled when he spotter her.

     “Ready?” She nodded and took his hand.   

    “Oh wait, I should leave a note for my dad.” She started to pull away but he stopped her.              

     “I already called him and asked if it was OK that you stayed with me tonight. He knows you’re going to be with me.” She looked up at him, amazed, but said nothing and followed him out the door.

Justin Timberlake was something else.

They arrived at Justin’s Grandma Sadie’s a few minutes later. She could see the excitement on his face, and she wondered if it was because of tonight, or because he was getting to see his grandmother. He helped her out of the car and grabbed the bag of her shoulder, carrying it into the house. Jamie smiled when she stepped inside, it smelled like warm apples and peaches, and it cast a homey feel over her. It was the warm, country home that she had always dreamed of.

Justin smiled at the look of comfort and contentment that crossed Jamie’s face. He placed his hand on the small of her back and urged her into the kitchen.

A petit old woman was putting around in a flowery old apron. Her hair was snowy white and her hands were aged with time and the wear of many years and many children. She looked up when the two kids entered the kitchen and she smiled. It was a smile that only grandmother’s know how to give.

        “Hi, Grandma.” Justin’s voice seemed childish and he stood with his head slightly bowed, but his eyes fixed on this woman. She smiled sweetly and put her hands on her hips.  

       “I haven’t seen my boy in months, where’s my hug?” The grin on his face grew and he crossed the kitchen to give his grandmother a huge hug. “You’re getting so big.” She said as he stood up straight. He stood almost a foot and a half taller than she, and the sight was almost comical.

Her attention was shifted from Justin when she spotted Jamie still standing in the door way.   

       “Don’t just stand there child…come in and say hello to Grandma Sadie.” The woman out stretched her arms and Jamie didn’t hesitate before stepping into her warm embrace. “You must be Jamie, the young lady that has stolen my Grandson’s heart. I haven’t heard him babble about a girl for a very long time.” She smiled again and then dropper her voice to a low whisper. “I think I should warm you though…Justin can be-“

          “Grandma that’s enough. We just got here you don’t want to be filling Jamie’s head with bad thoughts about me.”  

      “Don’t sass me boy, and I’ll tell the child whatever I want. Like the time you stayed over here and thought you had gremlins under your bed.” She turned to Jamie and continued. “The boy was so frightened that he leaped into bed but he missed and landed on the floor with a thud, and right in front of the bed too. He got up screamin’ and a hollerin’ ‘cause he swore that he saw the little green creature under his bed and it tried to grab him. By this time he had wet his pants.”

Justin’s face had turned about fifty shades of red and he looked ready to crawl into a hole and die. Jamie had to put her hand up to her mouth to stop the laughter, but a slight giggle managed to escape.

         “Ah….Grandma, is that ah, peach cobbler I smell?” It was a very bad conversation changer, but it seemed to do the trick.  

      “Why yes, I made you a peach cobbler to take back with you, and an apple pie for here…but I want my casserole dish back, you hear?” Justin nodded and she smiled at him. “Oh…well, It’s time for me to leave for my bingo game, you two behave, and I’ll be back later tonight.” Justin let out a sigh of relief. He figured he would be saved from humiliation for a while.

Sadie bustled around the house getting her things together. She put on her coat and then kissed both Justin and Jamie on the cheek. Before she left she turned around and looked straight at Jamie.

         “Oh sweetheart, don’t let me forget to tell you about the time that Justin got his foot stuck in the toilet.” She winked and was gone.

Jamie shot a look at Justin and he groaned. “Don’t ask.” He said, steering her into the living room.

         “Oh I’ll ask…and I’m sure she’d be more than happy to tell me.” She watched with amusement as his face grew red, and he realized that she was thoroughly enjoying this.  

      “Who invited you anyway?” He asked grumpily, crossing his arms over his chest and pushing out his bottom lip.   

    “You did, Stud Muffin, and you love the attention.” She walked over to him and stood in front of him. She rose up on her tip toes and kissed him softly. He kissed her back and then she felt him smile under her lips. “What?” She asked as she pulled away.   

    “Nothing…it’s just…that was the first time you kissed me. I’m usually the one to initiate any sort of physical contact.” She smiled up at him and then kissed him again.     

   “You like that?” She whispered and he closed his eyes and nodded. “Well too bad!” His eyes popped open and she laughed at his shocked expression. After the shock wore off, he proceeded in chasing her around the house until they were both doubled over in laughter.

“All right, I’m going to start dinner, you go sit and relax. No peeking now…this is going to be a surprise.” She looked up at him and he noticed an evil gleam in her eyes.  

      “Should I order take out now? Or do you want me to wait until you actually do burn down the kitchen; either way will work for me.” He threw her a dirty look and started to walk away.   

      “Ha ha…very funny. I’m a good cook, you just wait.” He stormed into the kitchen and Jamie laughed and plopped herself down on the couch. She looked around, trying to figure out what to do. She spotted an old photo album on the shelf and she picked it up, deciding to take a trip down Justin’s memory lane.

About an hour later, Justin came into the living room to find Jamie perched on the couch, legs crossed, and she was flipping through his Grandmother’s photo album. He walked over quietly and leaned over her shoulder to see what picture she was looking at. He smiled when he noticed what it was.    

     “That was from my sixteenth birthday. I celebrated my birth, and our first gold album.” Jamie looked up at him and grinned.   

      “You were such a ham as a little boy…and you had the biggest hair.” He stuck his tongue out at her and she giggled. “I’m just teasing you Boy, calm down.”   

     “Well…if you’re done teasing me, dinner’s ready.” Jamie closed the book and set it on the end table. She pushed herself up from the sofa and followed Justin into the kitchen.

She drew a sharp intake of breath when she saw what he had done. The table was set with a pair of tall, white candles, and a glass vase filled with lilies.      

    “Hungry?” She jumped slightly when Justin’s voice was suddenly present in her ear, but she recovered quickly.     

    “Famished.” He placed his hand on the small of her back and led her to the chair. He pulled the chair out and helped her sit down before sitting in his own. He uncovered a dish of garlic roasted chicken and rice. Jamie was amazed at how good it looked and even more amazed at how great it tasted.

 “I didn’t know you were a cook Justin.” He smiled shyly and dipped his head, shrugging.

          “EH, what can I say? I can do it all.” Jamie hit him lightly with her napkin and laughed at his antics.   

     “No really…thank you for this Justin, this is great.” He leaned over and kissed her lightly and then winked.    

    “Well, save room. If you think this is good, just wait until you taste my grandmother’s cooking.” Jamie’s eyes sparkled with amusement and admiration. Justin was the only other person, besides Luke, that made her feel so comfortable. Even when they were fighting and avoiding each other in Orlando, she still felt comfortable, it just happened to be hidden underneath all the other feelings Justin managed to make her feel.

He was the first person to make Jamie feel the way he did. She couldn’t describe just what it was, but it was magical all the same. And even though Jamie didn’t know it, she was the first to make Justin feel this way too. He had assumed what he had before was it…that was as good as it got, but he had been wrong. It wasn’t until Jamie came along and set off so many things inside of him. She had made him realize that there was so much more out there that he hadn’t experienced, and now he had found the person he wanted to experience it with.