Recognition dawned on Riley's face as she realized who the man in front of her was. Her words caught in her throat; of course she'd seen the man before, who on the face of the Earth hadn't? The thing that got to her was the fact that he was even better looking standing here in front of her then on the millions of airbrushed photos she'd seen in the magazines. The perfect skin, the amazing smile, the expressive eyes; they were all right there in front of her and she almost couldn't believe he was real.
"Sweetie? You okay?" Justin asked again, this time placing his hand on her shoulder.
"Huh?" Riley mumbled. "What? Oh yeah, I'm okay," she said, shaking herself out of her Justin Timberlake-esque trance.
"You sure?" he questioned, "you need help getting back to your room or anything?" He was desperately trying to hold in the chuckle. Yes, the girl looked like she'd just seen a ghost, but he got this reaction a lot. It was almost like they'd seen him so many times on paper that to see him in three dimensions threw them for a loop.
"Oh no," Riley replied, shaking her head frantically, "no, no I can get back just fine. Thanks though," she said, turning away from him and heading for the elevator. "I'm sorry I ran into you!"
Justin shook his head with a smile on his face. No matter how many times it happened, it still managed to give him a good laugh.
***
Riley awoke to the sounds of Taylor coming crashing into the hotel room around two that morning.
"Shit!" Taylor exclaimed as she hit her shin on the coffee table.
"Tay?" Riley mumbled, pushing herself into a sitting position and reaching for the bedside lamp.
"Damn Ry, I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to wake you up."
"No, no it's okay. Come sit. Tell me about your adventures," she smiled patting the spot on the bed next to her.
"Oh Ry it sucked. I seriously didn't think it was possible to have a bad time in South Beach, but I guess I was wrong," she said, throwing herself back onto the bed. "I knew the cover charges and the drinks were going to be expensive, but I didn't expect all the guys to be so… so…"
"Ugly?" Riley supplied.
"Yes! Maybe it was just me, I don't know. But it doesn't bode well for our week here. So what did you do all night?" she asked, turning to face her friend.
Riley began to smile; she couldn't help it. After she'd gotten back to her hotel room, she couldn't get the encounter out of her head and every time she thought about it, it brought a smile to her face.
"What? What aren't you telling me?" Taylor questioned, sitting up so she could see Riley better.
"I kinda bumped into someone," she grinned.
"Who? Was it a guy? Was he cute? Do I know him?" Taylor spit out.
"Yes it was a guy, no he wasn't cute, he was gorgeous, and you kind of know him."
"Kind of? What the hell kind of answer is that? Come on Ry! Just tell me who it was!"
Riley just smiled. She loved torturing her best friend like this. Especially with something this good. "Justin Timberlake."
Taylor shook her head. "I'm sorry, I swear you just said Justin Timberlake."
"I did."
"Oh God. Is he as gorgeous in real life as he is in pictures?"
Riley nodded. "He's even better looking in real life," she said. "It was so weird Tay! I went to the bar to get a drink and realized I forgot my room key, so I went to the desk to get a new one and he literally bumped right into me. But he was so sweet. He apologized and offered to walk me back to my room. Of course, I was a complete bumbling idiot. I could barely talk to the man. But Taylor, he was beautiful. I mean, really, really beautiful. He has these eyes and this smile…"
"Hey! Hey! Earth to Riley!" Taylor said, waving her hand in front of Riley's face.
"What? Oh sorry," she said, shaking the vision of the curly haired singer from her head. "I think he's staying here though. He was headed for the front desk."
"I guess we're gonna have to do some star watching, huh?" Taylor said with a glimmer in her eye as she headed for the bathroom.
***
Nichole exhaled a relaxed breath as she looked over to glance at her boyfriend. "I needed this, what about you baby?"
Justin smiled and turned to look at her. "Definitely. Been a long time since we could just lay around together, huh?"
"Mmmhmm. It's nice though," she said, turning her face back toward the sun. A few moments passed before Nichole spoke again. "Hey…"
"Hey what?" Justin replied.
"You got room on that chair for me?" she questioned, turning her perfectly white smile toward the man next to her.
Justin turned and grinned mischievously at his girlfriend. "There's always room for you, baby," he said, extending his arms toward her.
She stood, moving over to his lounge, ducking beneath the cabana and sliding onto the chair next to him. She tossed an arm over his chest, resting her head in the crook of his neck. "Now this? This is perfect," she smiled.
"I second that," he said, absentmindedly running his hand over her back. Both giving in to the relaxed state of the situation, Justin and Nichole were soon lost in sleep, only to be awaken by the shrill ring of Nichole's cell phone. She pulled her arm from around Justin's waist and reached over to her bag to pull out the offensive piece of technology.
"Hello?"
"Nichole? This is Luke."
Nichole internally groaned. Why was her publicist calling her while she was on vacation? "Hey Luke," she said, her tone audibly flat.
Justin turned and eyed his girlfriend. Your publicist calling when you were supposed to be having time off was never a good thing and he could tell by the way Nichole pushed her sunglasses to the top of her head and settled back against the chair that the was going to be a long and unenjoyable conversation.
He motioned at her to get her attention. She turned to face him. "I'm just gonna go get a drink. You want one?" he whispered. She nodded and waved him off.
Pushing himself from the lounge chair and pulling his cap on over his curls, Justin headed for the beachside bar. He slid onto a stool and waited patiently for the bartender.
"What'll it be for you, sir?"
"How about a Tom Collins and a strawberry margarita."
"Just give me a few minutes," the bartender replied as he moved down the bar to get his supplies.
*** "This is definitely the life, isn't it Ry?" Taylor asked, turning over onto her stomach to help even out her tan.
"You can say that again. There's just one thing missing."
"Hmm?"
"Alcoholic type beverages. I'm going to the bar, what do you want?"
"How about…. Ooo what about a Mojito?"
"That sounds really good. Okay, two Mojito's coming up," Riley said, getting up from her chair and heading for the bar. As she approached, she smiled at the attractive bartender before slipping onto a stool.
"Hi there," the blonde haired bartender smiled.
"Hi," she smiled back. "Could I get two Mojito's?"
"For a woman as beautiful as you? Absolutely."
Riley blushed as the man went to mix her drinks. He returned moments later.
"How much do I owe you?" she questioned.
"It's on the house," he smiled at her, handing her the glasses.
Riley smiled back him. "Thank you!" she exclaimed, pulling a five dollar bill from her hand and placing it on the bar. "I'm sure I'll be back," she grinned, turning to head back toward Taylor when she came face to face with the same muscular chest she'd run into the evening before, and managing to spill the entire contents of one of the glasses on his shirtless figure.
"Whoa, girl." Justin said, reaching out to steady Riley. Looking down, he recognized the green eyes and blonde hair of the woman in front of him. "Well, well," he said, smiling down at her.
Not as shocked as the last time she'd run into him, yet surprised at her luck two days in a row, Riley was able to find her voice. "You must have a thing for running into women, Mr. Timberlake," she said, smiling up at him.
Justin chuckled at her. "Only beautiful blondes," he said, "who like to spill their drinks on half naked men," he said, reaching back to the bar and grabbing a handful of napkins to wipe the remaining liquid from his chest.
Suddenly realizing what she'd done, she immediately began to apologize profusely. "Oh my gosh! I'm so, so sorry. Here, let me help," she said, grabbing a handful of napkins herself and helping him clean up. "I really am sorry. Is there something…"
"It's just a little alcohol, no harm done, really. Can I buy you another drink, seeing as I somehow managed to spill that one?" he asked pointing toward her now empty glass.
Riley lifted her head to meet his eyes. "No, you really don't have to do that. It's my own stupid fault. I'm such a klutz."
"Please. It's the least I can do." Realizing she wasn't going to win the argument, she conceded. "What was it?"
"A Mojito."
"I never will understand you women and you're fruity drinks," he said, signaling the bartender. "So tell me…"
"Riley," she supplied.
"Riley," he smiled, liking the way her name sounded, "what brings you to the fun in the sun town of Miami Beach?" he said, striking up conversation while they waited for Riley's drink.
"My best friend and I just graduated college and we decided to treat ourselves to a little sun, sand and alcohol," she said, lifting her glass.
"Sounds like the perfect graduation gift," he smiled. "Where'd you graduate from?"
"Syracuse University, up in New York."
"A Northern girl, huh? That would explain the red tint to the skin," he chuckled, giving her red shoulder a small poke.
Riley giggled. "Definitely not used to the Florida sun yet."
"So what did this Northern, not used to the Florida sun girl study while at Syracuse?"
"Elementary Education," she replied, "I love kids."
Justin's smile brightened. "Kids really are great, aren't they? So carefree and honest. I guess it's something I don't see very much of in my business, so I appreciate their honesty."
"You've obviously never been in a second grade classroom where there's lunch stealing going on."
Justin's laughed filled the bar area, making Riley smile. "Can't say as I have, actually. Though I've spent many hours with four guys who act like lunch stealing second graders."
Now it was Riley's turn to laugh. "You couldn't possibly be speaking of the four other members of the globally popular *NSYNC, could you?"
"Definitely not. Those five guys are way too mature to ever act like eight year olds. Unless of course there's an X-Box and a game of Halo present. Then all bets are off," Justin grinned.
Riley's laugh continued. "I can't imagine men as mature as the five of you could ever act anything less than your respective ages."
"Oh sweetie, you ain't seen nothing until you've seen all five of us act like the idiots we really are. We just put up a good front."
"Sounds that way," she grinned.
"Alright so we've determined you went to Syracuse, majored in Elementary Ed and I'm friends with a bunch of immature idiots. Tell me, you got any siblings to fight with?"
Riley smiled fondly at the thought of her younger sister. "Yeah. A little sister, Brynn. She just turned sixteen, so she's taking over the roads of Upstate New York. I suggest you stay out of the area at all costs."
"If we're handing out warnings, I suggest staying out of the Memphis area in about four years, seeing as my brother will be learning himself. And if he drives anything like his older brother…"
"That good, huh?"
"Better. I'm an excellent driver."
"Baby, don't lie," Nichole said, walking up behind Justin and wrapping her arms around his neck. "I was wondering where you went!"
Justin turned and dropped a quick kiss on Nichole's lips. "Sorry Nic, I got caught in conversation with Riley here. Riley, this is my girlfriend Nichole; Nic, this is Riley."
Riley extended her hand to the beautiful woman attached to Justin's neck. "It's a pleasure to meet you," she said, shaking Nichole's hand. "I didn't mean to steal your boyfriend, we had a slight run in and he insisted on buying me a replacement drink."
"He may look all suave and coordinated on stage, but he's really a complete klutz," Nichole giggled, "he spilled it all over you didn't he?" she questioned, running her hands down Justin's chest.
"Actually," Riley blushed, "I think I'm the one that spilled on him. But his southern hospitality wouldn't let me take the blame."
"He's definitely full of that southern gentleman charm, huh baby?" Nichole commented, pressing a kiss to Justin's temple.
Justin blushed. "The girl is crazy," he said, pointing to his girlfriend.
"Probably not as crazy as you think," Riley smiled, "but I'll let you two go. It was really nice meeting you Nichole and nice chatting with you Justin. Thanks for the drink."
"It was my pleasure. Maybe I'll bump into you again soon," he grinned, standing and taking Nichole's hand into his.
"I sure hope so," Riley muttered under her breath as she headed back to Taylor with yet another Justin Timberlake episode under her belt.
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