Part One - Get Over It
Justin Timberlake peered out the window of his New York apartment, wondering when the current torrential downpour would stop. It figured that on his one day off in a long while it would be raining. No, not just raining. Storming like there was no tomorrow. He sighed to himself as another bolt of lightning lit up the sky and returned to where he'd previously been settled on his long leather couch. He switched on the television, figuring it might be nice to just veg out for a little while. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been able to do that.
He had to leave in about an hour anyway, storm of the century or not. His mother had taken the liberty of setting him up on yet another blind date, this was probably number fifteen so far, this time with the daughter of some friend of hers. She seemed to be setting him up a lot lately, apparently quite concerned with the fact that Justin hadn't had a steady girlfriend for about three years now. He didn't see what the big deal was. He'd been on numerous dates, sometimes even three or four with the same girl, and had a one night stand or two (or five or ten, but who was counting?) so it wasn't like he had completely cut himself off from the world of romance for the past three years. Could he help it if he hadn't found any of those girls interesting enough to pursue a long term relationship with them? No, he couldn't.
So Lynn had decided if he couldn't find a decent girl, she would have to take the job upon herself. He was 27-years-old and not getting any younger; she wanted some grandchildren one day. She also seemed to think he was in some ex-girlfriend induced stupor that he needed to get out of. "You need to get over Cassie," she would say, shaking her head sadly and referring to the last girlfriend he'd had. She was wrong. He didn't need to get over Cassie, he'd gotten over Cassie a long time ago. In fact, he'd gotten over Cassie before she'd even broken up with him. He may have even been over her before he'd started dating her. Cassie was not the problem.
Justin's breath caught in his throat as his channel surfing stopped on MTV. TRL was on and when he saw the smiling blonde being interviewed he froze, losing any ability he may have had to change the channel. She was the problem. Lara Robertson.
"All these kids are standing out in the rain just to get a chance to see you," the VJ, whose name was Dan, was saying to her with a laugh and gesturing to the kids standing in Times Square as the rain poured down on them relentlessly. Lara turned and waved to them as he continued. "That's gotta be a pretty great feeling."
"Oh, it's crazy!" she exclaimed, laughing as she shook her head. She'd cut her hair since the last time Justin had seen her, and while it had always been wavy, it seemed to curl up more with the shorter length, resulting in a head of loose honey blonde curls. She looked perfect to him. She always had. "I am so appreciative of my fans but I'll never understand why anyone would want to brave the elements to come stare at my ass from two stories down."
"Well, it is a pretty good-lookin' ass," Dan informed her cheekily and Justin rolled his eyes. He didn't like this guy and he could tell Lara didn't either by the forced laugh she gave in response to what he'd said.
"Um, thanks," she replied uncertainly.
They continued to talk, but Justin found himself ignoring what was being said and focusing on good Lara looked. How old was she now? She'd just had a birthday, he was sure of it. Her twenty-first, was it? The older she got, the more beautiful she became. She was dressed pretty casually - dark form fitting jeans, loose hair, and a navy blue tank top with a slanted neckline, one thick strap and one spaghetti strap. A tiny bit of skin poked out between where her shirt ended and her jeans began and Justin remembered how blissful it had been to touch that skin. It was so soft and smooth and he used to love just passing his hand back and forth over her stomach and back when they kissed. God, how he missed kissing her. He knew he should be over it - she hadn't even been his girlfriend and morally speaking their relationship should never have gone as far as it did - but he wasn't over it and he didn't foresee himself being over it at any point in the near future.
He sat in his daze, listening to the thunder outside and thinking about the times he'd had with this girl he should never had been with in the first place as they went to commercial. He couldn't bring himself to change the channel. He knew it was sad, but anytime she came on television, he had to watch her. He literally couldn't not watch her. It was impossible. Soon the commercials were over and the number 7 video was played before they returned to Lara and Dave.
"So, you just had your twenty-first birthday," Dan commented. "How does it feel to be twenty-one?"
"The same as it felt to be twenty," Lara replied, shrugging her shoulders. "I don't know. The only real difference is that now when I drink, it's actually legal!" The audience laughed. "Not that I condone underage drinking, of course. Don't drink, kids!" More laughter.
"Of course," Dan agreed, laughing and nodding. "So, you don't feel older or wiser? No big revelations come with the twenty-first birthday?"
"Not really." She shrugged again and tilted her head to the side thoughtfully. "I mean, obviously I feel older than I did at this time last year. I think every year you learn a lot and it contributes to the type of person you are, but I wouldn't say this year is any different than any other in that respect. It's not like I turned twenty-one and suddenly knew the meaning of life or something. Sorry to disappoint you." There was another break to play the number 6 video and then it was back to Lara.
"Okay, let's switch gears here a little bit and talk about some rumors."
"Oh, good. Rumors," Lara replied dryly and Dan laughed. Justin was actually surprised about how many jokes she was cracking. She never used to do that with anyone but him. He'd watched her grow up and open up to people during the past three years, but she was still pretty guarded. Was it wrong that he wished he was still the only one she let her guard down to?
"First one, you and Justin Timberlake are having a big feud. True or false?" Justin saw the way she flinched the minute his name was spoken. So, that hadn't changed since the last time he had seen her interviewed. It was barely noticeable and most people wouldn't have seen it at all. But he saw it. He always saw it.
"False." There was the fake smile she forced onto her face everytime so no one would know she hated him. "Justin and I are friends. I honestly don't know where that one came from."
"Well, when you first came out, he worked on your first album so much and you were out there saying how he was such a huge influence on you and that you couldn't have done it without him. So I guess people find it suspicious that he never showed up on any more of your work and you started talking about him less and less," Dan observed slowly. Lara's smile faltered slightly as she shrugged.
"I don't see what's so odd about that. Everyone likes to use different producers and writers on each album, otherwise everything ends up being the same. And I didn't realize I started talking about him less after that. I guess because we weren't working together as much," she explained coolly. Justin couldn't help but notice how easily she could lie about him. She hardly even blinked. Dan nodded, seeming to accept this answer easily.
"Okay, rumor number two: you and Justin Timberlake are romantically involved. True or false?"
"What is this, the Justin Timberlake hour?" Lara inquired, only half joking. "No, we're not romantically involved, we're just friends. Seriously, rumors are crazy. First I'm feuding with him, now I'm dating him? People need to make up their minds." She laughed it off, but Justin knew she was really irritated that she was being asked about him. It killed him to know that she didn't even like talking about him, but he still couldn't change the channel. He still couldn't take his eyes off her.
"Is there any truth to the rumors that the both of you got wasted and went back to his place together after JC Chasez's birthday party last year?"
Yes, Justin thought. There was a lot of truth to those rumors. And if the rumors had bothered to go into detail about what they'd done there, they probably would have been right on target. It was the first time they'd been together since the end of their fling, and even though he'd been drunk, he still remembered it pretty clearly. It had been one of the best nights of his life. Two years after everything between them went to the dogs and he had finally had the chance to touch her and kiss her and make love to her again. If it weren't for the fact that they were both completely smashed and Lara had left in the middle of the night while he was asleep, it would have been entirely wonderful.
"Nope." Lara shook her head. "Justin and I never have been and never will be anything more than friends."
Liar.
"Can we talk about something else now?"
***
"I swear to God, if I get asked one more fucking question about Justin Timberlake, I'm going to start cussing people out," Lara complained as she slid into the car that was waiting for her in the back of the TRL studios. "He worked on my album three years ago, and they're still obsessed with the fact that I don't talk about him that much anymore. There's nothing to talk about. We didn't date, we didn't feud. Get over it already." She folded her arms and huffed as her personal assistant, Lisa, patted her arm sympathetically. Lara didn't vent very often, so when she did Lisa knew she had to be pretty upset.
"You handled it well," she assured her as they pulled away and into the buckets of rain continuing to assault the city.
"Thank you." Lara gave her a grateful smile. She hadn't felt like she handled it well at all. She was always sure her disdain for the subject of Justin showed on her face, no matter how much she tried to hide it. She hated talking and lying about him, she always had. She hated thinking about him and she hated how much it still hurt to think about him, even after all this time. "Where to now?"
"We're taking you home," Lisa informed her, glancing at the planner that sat in her lap. "You were supposed to record this evening, but Andy called and canceled this morning, so you have the night off." Andy Myers was one of the most popular producers in the business, and Lara had been incredibly excited to begin recording with him. She was more than a little disappointed to hear she wouldn't get the chance tonight, but as was typical of her, she didn't let her disappointment show. Instead she just smiled.
"A night off? Sweet." She hardly ever got nights off. In fact, she couldn't remember the last time she hadn't either been performing, recording or doing some other type of work late into the night. Of course, now that she had a night off she was wishing she didn't. After an interview like that one, all she wanted to do was throw herself into work so she didn't have to think about Justin. They always had to make her think about Justin, didn't they? They always had to remind her of how much she'd liked him, and how used he'd made her feel and make her wonder where he was and what he was doing now. She hadn't spoken to him since that night after JC's party. Oh yes, the rumors were true. She wished they weren't, but they were. It was just another night she'd given in to her weakness for Justin Timberlake and wished she hadn't. Lisa smiled at her.
"You deserve it, Lara." Lisa was technically her employee, but in the past few years, the two women had formed a bond that resembled friendship much more than employer and employee. Lisa made her hectic life a lot easier and was one of the few friends Lara felt she had in the world. She'd never had many friends and growing up, she had always thought that once she got out of her small town and made it big, she'd be surrounded by people who loved her. That hadn't turned out how she'd planned, though. She hadn't had a serious boyfriend since she was 16 and she had maybe two or three close friends, one of which was paid to spend time with her.
"Thanks, Lisa. I really wanted to work with Andy, but I have to admit a night off sounds great." Lara grabbed the long-sleeved white t-shirt she'd left in the car when they arrived and pulled it on over her tank top. The rain was still coming down mercilessly and just looking at it was making her cold. "Wow, it's really coming down out there."
"I know," Lisa replied with a nod as she glanced outside the window. A flash of lightning lit up the sky and was almost immediately followed by a loud crash of thunder. Both Lara and Lisa jumped and Ron, the bodyguard sitting in the front seat next to the driver, chuckled.
"Oh, hush." Lara poked her tongue out at him as she tucked a foot under herself and leaned her head on the window. They drove in silence for a few minutes and Lara tried to focus her thoughts on the new album she was working on instead of the man who kept trying to fight his way back into her head. Why couldn't he just leave her alone? After three years, why did he keep showing up in her mind?
Glancing out the window, Lara realized they were only a few blocks away from the aparment she'd purchased two years earlier and sat up in her seat. "Can you drop me off here?" she asked the driver. They were approaching the coffee shop she walked to every morning when she was in New York. It was right down the street from where she lived and was one of the few places in the city she could usually go without getting mobbed. Today was especially safe, as the weather seemed to have discouraged any paparrazzi that would normally be following her. Ron turned around to look at her as the driver nodded and pulled into the parking lot.
"I don't know, Lara. I'm not sure I want you wandering around without security," he told her with a frown. Lara sighed. This was one thing she really didn't like about her life: the fact that she couldn't seem to do anything anywhere without Ron tagging along and looking over her shoulder.
"It'll be fine, Ronnie. Everyone's inside today because of the storm and besides, they know me here. I come here all the time when I'm at home. Please?" Why did she always have to beg to do things like this anyway? Wasn't he supposed to be working for her?
"Why don't I come in with you and-"
"I'll be fine, Ron!" Lara insisted, cutting him off and leaning her head back against the window, though this time it was more out of frustration than as a way to rest her head.
"I think you should let her, " Lisa interjected calmly. "I'm sure Lara wouldn't purposely put herself in a dangerous situation. She knows how to take care of herself." Lara shot her assitant a grateful smile and received an encouraging squeeze on the leg. Lisa was her savior in so many ways.
"Okay, okay. But keep your cell phone on and give me a call if you have any trouble," Ron ordered. Lara nodded as she gathered her things and opened the car door.
"Will do. Thank you, Ronnie. Thank you, Lisa. Thank you, driver." She didn't know his name. "I'll see you tomorrow." She waved off Lisa's silent offer of an umbrella and stepped out into the rain unprotected. She didn't want to have to carry an umbrella with her and figured she wouldn't be outside that long anyway. They drove away as she dashed inside the shop, already soaking by the time she got in there. Maybe she should have taken the umbrella.
The shop was almost entirely empty, aside from a brunette sitting on the corner, looking as though she was waiting for someone. Her eyes fell on Lara and the latter saw them widen in recognition. Lara just smiled at her before walking up to the counter.
"Hey, if it isn't our resident superstar!" Carl, the owner of the shop, greeted her with a grin. "Looking quite a lot like a drowned rat, too."
"Thanks, Carl," Lara replied with a laugh. "Can I get my usual?"
"Course you can, babe. Here or to go?"
"To go." She didn't even think about the answer, as she was usually in a hurry when she came here. Well, she was usually in a hurry no matter where she was. It hadn't even occurred to her that she could easily have it 'for here' and avoid going back out into the rain immediately. She leaned against the counter as Carl set to work making her usual double grande white mocha and her gaze drifted back to the brunette in the corner. Lara decided she was probably waiting for a date - maybe a blind date - because she looked extremely nervous for someone just sitting my her own, sipping a cup of coffee. Whenever she had a chance to observe "normal" people, Lara wondered what her life would be like if she was still one of them. What would it be like to be that girl sitting there and waiting for someone rather than Lara Robertson, who had just gotten back from a horrific interview and was about to sit at home alone and probably wallow in self-pity on her first night off in forever?
"Here you go, love. Double grande white mocha to go," Carl's voice interrupted her ponderings and Lara smiled at him gratefully as she handed him a twenty.
"Keep the change," she ordered and walked away before he could protest about the fact that she'd just given him fifteen extra dollars. "Bye, Carl!"
Walking out the door, Lara saw the girl in the corner get up and head for the restroom, looking suspiciously like she wanted to throw up from nervousness. As she stepped into the rain, she decided to run all the way to her apartment to avoid getting too wet. The water was still falling down in buckets and the lightning still flashed across the dark sky every few minutes. No, it had definitely not been a good idea to refuse that umbrella.
If it weren't for the fact that Lara had let her mind wander back to what it would be like to switch lives with that girl in the coffee shop, she probably would have seen the man walking down the street before she ran into him. But she had and she didn't, and her coffee dumped itself all over him as she rammed straight into his chest, causing him to drop his umbrella.
"Oh shit, I'm sorry!" she exclaimed as soon as she realized what she'd done and began rummaging around in her purse for the napkins she'd stuck in there. "I should have looked where I was going, I'm so sorry." She found what she was looking for and reached out to wipe the coffee off of his shirt as the person in question glanced over to where his umbrella had landed.
"No, it's fine, I-" he grabbed her hand to pull it away from him and their eyes met, both sets widening in shock as they recognized the other.
"Justin." Lara choked on the word as her brain registered who he was.
"Lara," he replied, seeming just as shocked to see her as she was to see him. She hated the way he said her name. Or actually, she hated that she loved the way he said her name. He put a lot of emphasis on the "Lah" sound and the way he articulated it, it came out sounding so elegant and beautiful. Neither of those were words she would have used to describe her name, but the way he said it...she needed to stop thinking about that and say something. She pulled her hand out of his grasp to avoid the shivers his touch was sending through her body.
"I-I'm sorry," she said again, redirecting her attention to the ingredients of her drink dripping down his front and mixing with the rain. "I wasn't looking where I was going and-"
"It's okay," he interrupted her. His eyes hadn't left her face and the way they were fixated on her was making Lara very self-conscious. She was suddenly far too aware of the way her wet hair was sticking to her face and neck and the way her shirt was clinging to her body. The white t-shirt was completely transparent now and she was feeling very grateful for the dark top she wore underneath it.
"Um...well, I guess...do you need..." she stammered, trying to think of something to say to him. Normally when she saw him it was at an event like an awards show, so she would be expecting to see him and have time to prepare herself for it. But seeing him unexpectedly like this and being forced to notice the way the rain was making his own t-shirt cling to his chest and rippling biceps was making it very difficult for her to think, let alone come up with something intelligent to say. The fact that she'd gone out of her way to avoid any sort of friendly contact with him throughout the last few years wasn't making it any easier.
"How've you been?" Justin asked her suddenly. Neither of them seemed to be giving any notice to the fact that standing outside in a storm like this one where they were getting wetter by the second was probably not the best idea. In fact, neither seemed to even remember that it was raining at all.
"Good," Lara lied with a nod. "Really good. You?"
"Fine." Justin shrugged and shoved his hands into his pockets. He had been on his way to meet that girl his mother had set him up with for coffee, but now he was quickly forgetting he was even supposed to be anywhere. His mind didn't seem able to comprehend anything other than the presence of the woman standing in front of him. "You look good." He silently scolded himself for the stupidity of that statement. She would undoubtedly think that he was only saying it to be nice, and most people probably would have. After all, the girl was standing in the middle of a storm, soaking wet; he probably should have been thinking that she resembled some sort of drowned rodent. He most definitely should not have been thinking that she looked incredibly sexy with water cascading down her face and her clothes hugging her body closer than they would have if they'd been dry. That was not normal.
"Thanks," she replied slowly. "You do too."
"Thanks." They stood awkwardly for a moment, each avoiding eye contact with the other and trying to think of a way to walk away from the situation without being rude.
"So what brings you to this part of this city?" Lara finally inquired and Justin shrugged as he shoved his hands into his pockets to keep them from fidgeting.
"Meeting some chick for coffee. My mom set me up with her." Lara immediately wondered if he was talking about that girl she'd seen in the coffee shop, and as soon as she realized he probably was, she started comparing herself to her. Was that girl prettier than her? Was she smarter than her? Was she more fun than her? Probably. She wasn't that pretty, she wasn't that smart, and she wasn't that funny.
"Oh." Why did she care whether this girl was better than her? It wasn't as though she wanted him. He had hurt her. He'd made her feel used and dirty and she wanted nothing to do with him. So why was she feeling like she wanted to fall into his arms right about now? And why was she noticing the way the drops of water were sliding off his lips and thinking that she wanted to kiss them? This wasn't the sort of reaction she'd been expecting to have the next time she saw him.
"Yeah." Justin scratched the back of his neck self-consciously. He always seemed to get really itchy at moments like this and it was rather inconvenient. He noticed Lara shifting her weight between her feet and knew she was uncomfortable. She'd always done that when she was uncomfortable.
"Well, I'll let you get going then." Lara tore her gaze away from him and focused it back on the ground.
"Okay. Should be fun showing up for my date like this," Justin joked and Lara actually laughed. He tried not to think about how much he missed hearing that laugh. He should be over that by now.
"Oh, yeah. I'm sure she'll be really impressed." She made the mistake of looking back up at him and felt butterflies in her stomach as she saw him smiling down at her. "Well, I'll see you later."
"Yeah, see you."
Lara gave him a small wave as she continued on her way down the street, forcing herself not to look back. Justin fought the urge to grab her arm and ask her to stay with him. He knew it would be pointless. She didn't want him anymore; she hadn't for a long time. That night last year had just been a big mistake and as far as she was concerned, everything that had ever happened between them was a big mistake. He wished with everything in him that he could change her mind, but he couldn't. And he was sure it was his imagination and wishful thinking that made him hear her mutter, "God, Lara, get over it," as she walked past.
Number of reviews: 23
Print:
Chapter or Story