I guess it was '99 when we met. It was early May and my hair was stuck to the side of my face from the sweat. I was just about to grab my shirt off the table after a long swim in the lake but just as my hand reached down to grab it, Earl shot out the back door and out into the street. Now, let's just get one thing straight. In this neighborhood it's okay to run around with just your swimming top on. And knowing Earl, I didn't have time to slip on my shirt. It was a now or never type of thing. And Earl wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed either so outside our yard, he wasn't all that safe.

My heart almost stopped when I heard the loud screech of a car. I ran around the corner and I let out a loud sigh of relief. I ran over to Earl who stood in front of the large vehicle. The driver stepped out and walked towards me and apologized for not seeing the dog. I said it was okay...even though it wasn't. Being me, I wasn't a huge fan of visitors. I didn't like cell phones and I didn't like expensive cars with no real use except to look pretty. But he looked lost so I thought I might be nice. Just this one time though.

"Ma'am?" he asked as I walked off back towards my house with Earl held tight by the collar.

I turned slowly and smiled. "Yes sir?"

"Do you know where I can find a Henry Walker?"

I scrunched my eyebrows up a bit and ran my tongue against my teeth. "Yes sir. He's my father. Does he know you?"

"No ma'am, he doesn't. I'm coming from New York. I have to talk with him about a few things. Could you show me where exactly you live?"

I tried my best not to roll my eyes but in my opinion, all New Yorkers were the same. Stuck up and self centered. I pulled Earl up close to my leg and waved for the young man to follow me back to my house. He climbed back into his car/truck/big thing on wheels. I gestured towards a field for him to assumingly park in, which he did with caution. Apparently fields weren't used for parking where he came from. He climbed out and we made our way to my house. It only took about two minutes to get there but already he looked about ready to fall over from the Texas summer heat. My eyes rolled back into my head and I groaned. I don't think he heard me though. Probably too busy trying not to step in mud.

"Daddy!" I called through the house. The man following close behind held his ears and stepped back a foot or two. I turned backwards and eyed him for a bit, obviously making him a bit nervous. After a good three minute stare I spoke up.

"I don't think he's here. Hey what did you say your name was?"

"Justin."

"You from New York?"

"No. I'm just coming from there. I live...lived in California." He rolled his tongue across his top lip, slowly growing impatient.

"Yah, well maybe he's in the back. And where do you live now?" I led him towards the back as I asked him a few more questions.

"I live...here...I guess. Now. Well, I'm looking."

When he said that, I didn't like it. Just one of those bad vibes. "Mmm. Anywhere specific?"

"Mr. Walker?" He ignored my question and walked over to my father, who had grease on his hands and dirt on his legs, assumingly from Earl climbing up on him. I turned around and looked at Earl. I almost swore he rolled his eyes. If I were a dog, I would too. But me being human, I had to respect him. Bad vibes or no bad vibes.

When I stepped up closer to hear their conversation my father arched an eyebrow and directed towards the house with his eyes. I took Earl and sat on the couch, my legs tucked under me. Earl sat on my lap and huffed. About twenty minutes later the two of us fell asleep. I, personally, slept like crap under a rock. I think I heard him dreaming through the silence of my own thoughts.

I woke up, sweat running down my back and face, and climbed off the couch. Earl apparently had woken up earlier and went out back with my dad. I walked into the bathroom and wiped my face and changed into some fresh clothes. I looked over at the clock on the microwave and read the time. 8:30.

When I walked out the back door, the crickets chirped loudly and the smell of barbeque filled my lungs. I walked over towards the grill and poked my head around and kissed my father on the cheek. "Hi daddy."

"Hey boose. Could you hand me that towel over there, sweetie?"

I grabbed the towel off the fence and threw it at him and after asking if he needed anything else, made my way towards the front porch. I took a seat on the old porch swing and sang quietly to myself as I listened to the sound of nature around me.

My thoughts were interrupted when I heard a car pull into the gravel.

"ADI!" My best friend, Jamie, ran over to me and pulled me into a tight hug. "I missed you! How has it been? How's your daddy? Is Earl feeling any better since last time I saw him? And who's truck is that in the driveway? I couldn't get in."

I laughed at her continues ranting. "I missed you, too. And Earl is 100% better. And daddy missed you. Told me to ask you how the trip to the city was. And that TRUCK belongs to some guy named Justin. He's here for my dad. I actually don't know where he is right now. I didn't see him when I went out back." I looked around curiously, now wondering where he was.

"Well let me see your daddy. And what...you don't like Justin?" Her face fell dramatically.

I looked at her and scrunched up my face. "I...well he's...I dunno, James. I just...I don't know him. Why?" I was now anxious to know why she was so touchy about the man.

Justin walked out the front door, Earl following closely behind him, like he had known the man his whole life. My jaw dropped when he walked over to Jamie, my best friend of 9 years, and embraced her in a tight hug and placed a hard kiss on her lips.

My heart fell to the ground and shattered into a million pieces.

"You...but I...Jamie?!"

She looked over me and smiled meekly. "I was gonna call! But I wanted it to be a surprise. And he..."

"You said you didn't know who's car it was!" Yah. I brought out the stupidest point to spot but I was upset. I wanted to know everything. Now.

"I didn't know how to tell you, okay? And I knew you'd figure it out by yourself. And anyways, I didn't know that was his car...okay I knew it was his car. But I thought he brought the other one."

"The other one?! And...when...how....what is going ON?!"

"You're supposed to be happy for me Adrienne!"

"I...well...what? You're getting...married?"

The two of them let out a laugh but all I could do was stare. I don't exactly know why I was so upset but I was. Maybe because I didn't like the man. Maybe because he was taking my best friend away from me. Or maybe it was because I didn't like him and he was taking my best friend, and he did it all with style.

Jamie rolled her eyes at me and I swore that if she did anything else to piss me off, I would slap her.

"I want you to be my maid of honor." Her voice was soft. I didn't know what to say. I was happy, yeah. But she couldn't possibly have known him that long. She had only been in New York for 4 months. You couldn't meet someone, date them, fall in love with them AND get engaged to them in only 4 months.

"I..." Jamie looked at me pathetically.

I let out a loud sigh. "Hell YES I'll be your maid of honor." I gave her the tightest hug I'd ever given and laughed. I would have cried, too, but it seemed as though she was doing enough of that for the both of us.

When she finally let me go, I walked slowly up to Justin and scrunched up my face. "So you're the one who's gonna steal my best friend away from me, huh?"

Jamie gasped.

Justin smiled brightly. "Yes ma'am."

"Touch her and I kick your ass. Never underestimate the power of an angry woman. This woman is my life. I don't let a lot of people in my life. Watch it. And welcome to the family. Now, what will my best buds new last name be?"

Jamie tried her best not to laugh at Justin's blank face.

"Justin! Sweetie. Answer Adrienne."

"Timberlake. Yah. Jamie Timberlake." He licked his top lip and laughed. "Sorry." He shook his head in embarrassment.

Jamie smiled. "Well, I'm going to let you two get to know one another while I go home and unpack." After hugging the both of them good bye, she hopped into her truck and drove off down the street.

Justin blinked. I turned.

"Aw shit! Adrienne would you get this damn dog away from me?! Get Earl! Get! Go inside! Dammit Earl! Go!"

I rolled my eyes and walked into the backyard. I finally got Earl away from the barbeque and dragged him inside and locked him inside my room.

When I walked back downstairs Justin looked up at me quickly from his seat on the couch.

"This you?" He held up a picture that he had gotten from the coffee table.

"My mom. You hungry?" I quickly changed the subject and walked into the kitchen and grabbed a few things from the fridge.

Justin looked up at me and smiled. "So where is your mom? I haven't met her yet, have I?"

"She's uh...New York actually." I pulled the bread from on top of the microwave and opened it, hoping that he'd change the conversation soon.

"Mmm. Business?" He put the picture frame back on top of the table and looked back up at me.

"Um....dead...actually."

His face dropped. "Oh....I'm...sorry. I didn't know. James never mentioned it to me, sorry."

"Well it's not your everyday conversation. So what about your family?"

"How'd she die?"

Some people just didn't give up. "Uh...I don't really know. She left to New York to get away from the quiet life and two years later I was on a plane to her funeral."

"Miss her?" He got up from the couch and walked over, making himself a sandwich beside me.

"I...didn't really know her all too well. So I guess not. Mayonnaise?" I slid the jar over towards him and smiled.

Justin laughed as he grabbed the knife and slid it through the white paste. "Sorry for all the questions. It's just that James talked about you so much. I actually wouldn't think you two were the same people. She talked about you like you were a goddess."

"And I'm not?"

"You...are more down to earth than I expected. I expected you to be a 'all me' kind of girl. But you're not."

"An 'all me' kind of girl?" My eyebrows slid towards my nose as I looked at him, anxious to hear more.

"More...girly. As of what I've seen you're more grounded. More...um...not...so...girly."

I could almost see him slapping himself continuously on the forehead. "Sorry if I disappointed you. I can't say that I'm all that grounded, though. But thanks for the compliment."

"I'm not disappointed, no. I'm actually glad you're not. I'd probably have already hung myself if you were."

"Well thank you. Hey you like basketball?"

"I love basketball."

"Well the game is on and you're welcome to watch it with me if you'd like. Or you could go and help Amanda unpack."

Justin cringed. "I think I'll watch the game."

As we walked back to the living room, Justin looked around the house in awe. "This is a really nice house you have here."

"Cost us a fortune...but after my mom left, my dad wanted to move to a nicer place. A bigger place. I don't know why exactly. We probably should have moved somewhere smaller since it came to just the two of us, but he fell in love with this one. I don't mind though. It's home. Can't really imagine living somewhere else."

Justin looked at me and nodded. "Hey um...me and Jamie. We're looking for a place. Can't live with her parents forever, you know? And from what I've heard, you know this place like the back of your hand, but after the kitchen conversation I'm not sure I can take Jamie's word about you anymore."

"You want me to help you two find a place to live?"

"Well me...for her. She doesn't exactly...know. Ya know?"

"Huh?"

Justin shook his head and laughed. "Forget it. I just need you to help me find a place to live without actually telling her about it. It's a um..."

"Surprise?"

"Not exactly."

"Uh oh."

"Just try and keep it um....quiet. Please? I know ya'll are best friends and all but...it ruins the surprise."

"James hates surprises. But sure. I'll help I guess. You just tell me what you want and I'll go out and find-" Justin stopped me midway by holding up his hand as to say 'stop right there'. "What? I thought you-" Again he stopped me before opening his mouth and speaking. "I want you to take me with you. I want to help with finding it. When you moved...did you help your dad find this place?" He went on after a short nod from me. "And while ya'll were looking, when you walked into all the houses, you had a certain feeling about this one right? It may have not been the best looking or anything or had the best yard but when you walked in...you felt home. Am I right?" He flashed a short smile at me before taking my silence as a 'yes, you're right you Las Angeles son of a Smithville wannabe.' Hopefully he didn't catch the last part.

We both sat in silence staring at the television screen for about 10 minutes before the Mavericks scored and I stood up and cheered. Justin shot a glare and booed but when the Lakers shot ahead by 7 points, he too jumped out of his seat and cheered. I laughed and rolled my eyes. He was almost as bad as I was.

When the game ended (Mavericks lost, 105/94 in which I screamed and threw a pillow in frustration and Justin held back a smile), he and I walked outside to see if my dad was done with the barbeque. About 5 minutes later, Jamie came to join us and we all took a seat at the table outside by the lake and ate, all talking like old friends. Even Justin seemed quite comfortable being around me and my dad.

---

The next day when I awoke, I climbed out of bed with a smile on my face. I glanced at the clock after slipping on a pair of sweat pants and a tank top and read that it was 6:00am. Knowing Justin was asleep downstairs, (even though Jamie and him were engaged, her parents didn't tolerate him sleeping there, especially with no spare room) I crept downstairs and walked past his unconscious body that was sprawled across the tiny couch. After making sure he was still asleep, I finished on my journey towards food. Being as quiet as possible, I pulled out a couple eggs and a plate of leftover pancakes. I had just finished scrambling my eggs when Justin groaned and dragged himself into the kitchen, taking a tired seat at the table.

"Are you making me breakfast?"

"Uh...not quite. Actually, I think in a couple hours you can go over to James's house and they'll be awake. That way you can eat with...your fiancé. Wow, that's weird."

Justin smiled and yawned. "Well, I'm not normally up this early. Why are you awake?"

"I'm always up this early. I'm a morning person."

"I'm seeing that. A couple hours, huh? Well, maybe you could share your eggs until then."

I looked over at him and frowned. I felt a little sorry for him, considering I was probably the one who woke him up. "I suppose I could. Want anything else?" I scraped some scrambled eggs out of the pan onto a plate and handed it to him.

"If you don't mind. I'll eat anything, thanks."

"You know...hm." I stared at him for a while as he ate his eggs. He was slightly...attractive in the morning. Can you say that kind of thing about your best friends future husband? I didn't mean it in any way that wasn't completely innocent but, then again, maybe that's where it started. That morning when we saw each other in the morning. Mornings can be the most intimate time in a persons life. You look terrible and everyone knows what you sleep in and you're in a completely different mood than you normally are. Are they cranky, hyper, happy, angry? I think it's the most vulnerable time you can catch someone. He reminded me of a sleepy four year old who woke up and immediately expected his mother to pour him cereal. He was quieter and had this slight smile across his face. It was cute, yes, but also irritating.

I'm sure now. That's when it all started.