Rachel sat, her lips curled curiously as she watched the pair. Something was definitely up. Justin was doing an interview with People magazine and he was sitting at a table alone with the reporter, a tape recorder on the table. Rachel was sitting at another table not too far away with Mike and Judy. Judy and Justin had been acting funny all morning, whispering and giggling over nothing.
Like now, Justin kept glancing up at her, and the two would smirk at eachother before Judy would look away shyly. Then a moment or two would pass and they'd repeat the process again. Judy had just looked away from Justin and picked up her fork when Rachel rolled her eyes and put her hands on the table.
"Alright, what is going on?" She asked.
Judy looked up, a shocked expression painted on her face.
"What do you mean?"
Rachel sighed dramatically.
"Don't act innocent with me. We've been here an hour and you've hardly touched your pancakes and we all know that's your favorite food, like, ever. And now you and Justin are acting weird and making googly eyes at each other. You know it's not nice to keep things from others, so give me the scoop. What's going on?"
Judy's shocked face faded into innocence and she batted her eyelashes.
"I don't know what you're talking about," she forked a piece of pancake into her mouth and smiled.
Rachel's lips curled again and she went back to her own food.
"Fine, play games. But just so you know, you and Justin playing the eye-flirt game is a dead give away to that reporter."
Judy looked over at Justin. He must have felt her eyes on his face because a moment later he turned to look back at her, licking his lips slowly as a smile crept onto his face. Judy smiled as well, nervously scratching at her arm. Then the reporter turned to glance as Judy as well. He was a lanky man in cargo pants and a band tee-shirt. His eyebrow rose at them curiously.
Judy's head snapped forward, and there was Rachel with her knowing glare. She was right, the reporter wasn't an idiot.
Judy kept her eyes on her plate for the rest of the meal.
After his interview, they climbed into the white van that would shuttle them from place to place during the day and headed to a nearby warehouse for a photo shoot to go along with the People article. MTV was too meet Justin there for an interview of their own.
While Justin chatted with them, Judy and Rachel headed into his changing room, finding a small television and a table full of refreshments. Not that they needed it, they'd just had a five star breakfast.
"So…," Rachel began, drawing out her word.
"So…?" Judy echoed.
Rachel watched as Judy picked at her yellow nail polish, doing anything she could to avoid her gaze.
"So, are you ready to spill?"
"There's nothing to spill," Judy whined. "You're grilling me over nothing. Justin and I aren't acting any differently than normal. It's all in your mind."
Rachel huffed, folding her arms over her chest.
"In my mind my foot. Something is up and so help me I will figure it out."
Before Judy could respond the door opened and Justin strolled in, carrying a stack of clothes under his arm. She couldn't help the slight jump her heart made, or the smile that crept onto her face. It was just instantaneous. Steve and Matt were behind him, with their ever-present equipment. Rachel looked up, completely prepared to ambush Justin with an onslaught of questions, but she closed her mouth when she saw Beth and Jon follow Steve into the room as well. Judy was grateful Rachel had sense enough to leave their private life somewhat private.
"Hey, I need the room for a minute. Gotta change."
"What's the look for today?" Rachel asked, standing up and taking the clothes from his arms.
"A new variation on the monkey suit," he said.
Rachel unfolded the clothes, revealing a blue plaid suit, white button down, and a black pea coat. It was summer, why were they dressing him like it was the middle of December? Rachel looked over the clothes, frowning at the tag on the button-up shirt.
"This isn't the right size," she stated. "I'll go exchange it while you put the other stuff on."
Rachel headed out the door, and Justin motioned for the camera crews to leave as well. He wasn't about to strip down to his boxers on television, as much as MTV would love to have exclusive rights to that footage. Judy moved to stand, following everyone else out of the room. She was going to be the last one out the door, and she smirked when it closed right in her face before she had the chance to leave. She had been itched for the chance to have a moment alone with him after their interaction that morning.
"And where do you think you're going?" He asked.
Judy grinned, biting on her lip with a shrug.
"Well you said you had to change, so I was going to give you a minute alone."
Justin smirked, his hand leaving the door knob as he took a step towards her. His expression was devilish and she backed away from him slowly, inching deeper and deeper into the room.
"Well I do need time alone," he said. "But I want it with you."
"You don't think that would be a little distracting?"
Just as her words ended a thump sounded as her back hit the wall at the far end of the room. Justin's playful grin brightened as he leaned his arms on the wall on either side of her head. He leaned down slowly, placing a kiss on her lips. Then he sucked his bottom lip into his mouth.
"I've been waiting to do that all morning."
"Really?"
He nodded, leaning down to kiss her again.
"And that… and that."
"Me too."
He leaned down to kiss her again, but Judy ducked under his arm and scurried across the room to put some distance between them.
"What are you doing?"
"Maybe I should go. Rachel will be back any moment, and then you'll have to go do your photo shoot and you're getting yourself worked up more than you're letting yourself relax."
"I'm perfectly calm."
"Yeah, not all of you is."
Justin snorted back a laugh, starting a slow discreet stride in her direction. She was walking backwards, unaware that she was about to trip over the coffee table leg and land on the couch. But Justin saw it, and he was patiently waiting for it to happen.
"Believe it or not, I'm capable to controlling myself. I'm not going to give myself a heart attack by making out with you."
"Are you sure? Cause you look a little crazed right now."
"I look annoyed," he corrected. "You keep running away."
"I'm trying to help you." Judy giggled in her defense.
"You're not."
Finally the back of her leg connected with the oak table and she fell onto her back with a shriek. When Judy landed, she blew her bangs out of her face and started to sit up, trying to see what she'd fallen over. She probably should have looked to see where she was going when she was trying to make her way towards the door.
She never got the chance to find out what it was though. Before she'd completely sat up, she saw a blur rush towards her, and then a great weight landed on top of her, knocking her back down with a 'humph!' She looked up to see Justin staring down at her.
"Why are you smothering me?" She grunted.
Justin laughed, shifting a little so he wasn't crushing her. Then he ran a hand through her hair with a sigh.
"You kept jumping around on me. I had to get you pinned down somehow."
He wasn't too interested in her reply, because this was Judy he was talking too. She could talk in circles all day about nothing just to avoid doing something. So instead he covered her mouth with his, slipping his tongue past her lips. Judy's hands slid around his waist, fisting the tee shirt covering his back. By the time Rachel knocked on the door Judy's face was flushed and her head was dizzy. Justin pulled back, sitting up on his knees.
"Wanna help me change?" He asked, wiggling his eyebrows flirtatiously.
Judy shook her head while she giggled and panted beneath him.
"I better go wait with Rachel. We don't want to tip anyone off, and she's already giving me the third degree."
Justin nodded.
"That sounds like Rach."
Justin lay awake in the bed, looking down at Judy as she slept soundly beside him. She was curled up at his side, her head resting in one of her hands. Her shoulder was left bare, but he knew she was indeed wearing a tank top. The strap must have fallen beneath the covers. It was day two in New York City and they were sharing the King sized bed on the 14th floor. The sun was barely beginning to peek into their room and it casts a golden glow over her skin.
He'd been thinking about it, and finally it all made sense. Before he hadn't been sure of when his feelings for Judy began. At first she was his friend, albeit a girl, but still just a friend. She had her relationships, and he had his. But there wasn't anything special between them, or so he'd thought. But as he looked back on it now there were plenty of signs, their instant connection for one. Who becomes so close with someone without there being some kind of attraction? His want to protect her and take care of her, and to keep away men like Mason and Ben.
It had been because he'd had feelings for her all along. He didn't want those guys with her because they weren't good enough, and because he wanted her for himself. That's why he'd been so sad to leave Central Valley. It wasn't the place itself. He was used to travelling, to being in one area for so long and then having to pack up and go. But before there hadn't been a girl getting left behind. The idea of leaving her had bothered him for weeks before the day actually came.
"Grad-u-ation. Graduation! Graduation. Graduation. Graaaduation."
Justin's head rolled to the side with boredom as he listened to Judy's insane version of hallelujah.
The girl had obviously seen that cheerleading episode of MADE one too many times because her arms were doing high V, low V, high V, low V over and over as she sang. She'd been like this all day, positively bursting with excitement at the thought that tonight was senior sunset and tomorrow was graduation, her last day as part of the Central Valley Unified School district.
"Judy!"
He finally couldn't take it anymore, and grabbed her arms, pinning them to her sides.
"It's graduation. Thank you. Everyone here is grateful for you reminding them, repeatedly, all day, but we got the message. You no longer have to act insane."
While she was excited, he was experiencing some unpredicted anxiety at the thought of having to return home and going back to the old Justin Timberlake-the one who ate Ketchup and lived alone. Now here his partner in crime was a walking, talking, SINGING reminder of the countdown.
"Insane, got no brain," she replied out of habit.
It was the curse of that damn Dickie Roberts: Child Star movie they'd watched so many times.
"Yes, you. Insane, got no brain."
"Fine, I will stop singing Graduation if it makes you happy."
Justin's eyes narrowed on her, "You will?"
"Yeah, sure. Now can you let go? My hands are starting to go numb."
Justin's stare started to waiver a little as he hesitantly released her and stood up straight. She'd never, in the months that he'd known her, just agreed to do something to make him happy. She was always telling him 'your Mom' or 'suck a fat one' or something equally rejective.
"Why are you staring at me like that?"
"Why are you being so weird?"
"I don't know what you're talking about? Can't a girl be happy that her dreams are coming true?"
"Your dreams?"
"Yeah. I'm graduation from high school. Finally. Thank God. And with a boyfriend no less. I, Judy Bucklass, have a boyfriend. It only took 18 years."
Psh, some boyfriend he turned out to be. Maybe he hadn't been all that bad in the beginning, but his intentions had definitely been less than honorable. But that didn't matter now. What mattered was that he was gone, and the effects he had on Judy were fading more and more by the day. The dark heavy makeup had been replaced with bright colors and shimmers. The bags under her eyes had been slept away, and while her occasional potty mouth remained her love affair with alcohol had ended.
Justin glanced up at the clock. It was just before 11am. They'd gotten to sleep in today, but that time was coming to an end. He rubbed his thumb across her cheek, pulling her from her slumber. She shifted against him, nuzzling against his chest before her eyes opened.
"Hey."
"Morning."
"Morning. What time is it?"
"Almost eleven."
"When are we leaving?"
"Noon."
Judy rolled over, stretching her arms towards the headboard.
"Then why did you wake me up? I'm missing out on an extra forty-five minutes of sleeping time."
"Not if you're gonna shower and make it downstairs for breakfast."
Judy sighed.
"I just want food. Do I have to shower?"
Justin lifted her arm, sniffing her skin.
"Nope."
"You just smelled my arm pit. You're weird."
"It smells like watermelon bubblegum."
"It's my deodorant."
"Stick or gel?"
"Stick. Why are we talking about this?"
Justin laughed, rolling onto his back.
"It's just something to talk about."
Judy sat up, adjusting the straps on her tank top so they fit her shoulders correctly, and then she glanced down at Justin. He was on his back, wearing a gray wife beater, his effortlessly toned arms tucked under his head. His eyes were roaming over her figure, studying her. When he noticed her stare he blew her a kiss.
She leaned down, running one of her hands over his biceps as she kissed him. Immediately she felt more awake and more alive than she had in a long time. Something about him made her more relaxed and more at ease, but at the same time more appreciative and observant of the things around her. Ben didn't matter anymore, and the simple patterns on their sheets were prettier. Justin's arms curled around her back, holding her closer when she pulled away.
"That's something else we can talk about," he said.
Judy's brow furrowed as she picked imaginary lint out of his hair.
"What?"
"This."
"Where?"
Justin made a face. He knew she was faking the naivety.
"You know what I'm talking about," he said. "What's going on here? Between us."
Judy laid her head on his chest.
"I don't know."
"I don't either," she heard him rumble. "But something definitely is. I know I like you."
She lifted her head and looked down at him.
"I like you more than I should."
"How much are you supposed to like me?"
He shrugged.
"I told Trace you were like my little sister. But I wouldn't grab my little sister's ass."
Judy outright laughed and sat up on her knees, straddling his waist. She had no idea why, but she just had this urge to touch him. Maybe he could control himself, but at the moment it seemed like she couldn't. If she wasn't careful she'd be climbing all over him in a matter of minutes. If there was anything she'd gained from her relationship with Ben, it was a strong connection to her sexual inner self. And that part of her had been severely neglected as of late. Now that there was a handsome guy sharing her bed and showing some interest, she was considering milking it for all it was worth. Whether anything happened between them or not, Justin was never going to let another guy near until the tour was over and she moved out on her own. That could be months -heaven forbid years-away!
"I kind of like you too, a little, I suppose."
Justin's hands smoothed over her thighs, watching her intently as she towered above him on the bed.
"I hope so. Otherwise I'd have to assume you straddle all of your friends this way."
She pretended to think for a moment, enjoying his hands moving over her hips and settling on her waist.
"Only the cute ones."
"I hope you're not putting me in the same category as Mason."
"Mason was cute-."
"Yeah, for a bulldog maybe."
Judy's eyes rolled. His squeezing her waist was distracting, she really wanted his hands a few inches North of where they currently were.
"Whatever! Mason doesn't matter anyway. So, since we don't know exactly what this is, maybe we should be cautious around the camera crews?"
Justin chuckled, his hands dropping back down to her thighs again.
"Why? MTV would love this story line."
"I'm sure. But, I'd rather we hold onto a little bit of privacy."
Justin nodded.
"Whatever you want, baby."
Inwardly she giggled like a school girl. Baby, huh? She could get used to answering to that word when it fell from his lips. But she wanted to keep her giddiness to herself, so she replied with an insult rather than a squeal.
"Plus, you know, I don't want people to know I'm willing to make out with you."
"Me?"
"Yeah. You're such a dork, and you've got that nose…"
Justin smirked, sitting up under her.
"Funny," he muttered.
He barely got a glimpse of the smile she returned before they were kissing again. They were like teenagers again who'd just discovered what making out felt like and couldn't get enough. He'd kissed his fair share of girls in the past, but none of them had been quite like this. Where no matter how small the peck was you felt the warmth run all the way down to your toes. Judy was the first, and he'd lied when he said he could control himself. She was in his lap, her hips pressing down on his as she sucked his bottom lip into her mouth. He was very quickly losing his ability to control himself with her.
For once, Judy was the first to pull back, and for that he was glad. His fingertips grazed over her thighs again and he looked away towards the bathroom. Anything to distract himself from looking at those lips of hers.
"You gotta move," he said. "I need to go eat, or shower, or run, or something."
Judy giggled, climbing out of his lap and watching as he made his way towards the bathroom. She knew exactly what he meant. He wasn't the only one who noticed how in sync their hips had been during that mini-make out session. Apparently Justin was in tune with his sexual inner self as well.
Trace and Rachel sat on the sofa in Justin's dressing room. Justin was at the vanity, one girl touching up the buzz cut on his head, and another girl powdering his face to soak up some of the sweat he'd produce under the lights on the stage. It was their last night in New York, and tomorrow morning they were boarding the buses for Virginia. Judy was on the other sofa across from them. Her back was to Justin as she flipped through a magazine, and Justin was watching her through the reflection in the mirror.
Rachel looked at Judy, narrowing her eyes on the girl when she didn't look up to meet her stare. The girl was focusing entirely too hard on that magazine. Trace, looked at Justin, who met his eyes in the large vanity mirror and then snapped his gaze forward as if he hadn't been looking at any of them at all.
Trace and Rachel looked at each other. Something had been going on for two days, and they just hated being kept out of the mix! When Justin was done they stood, anticipating Justin kicking them out like he always did when the countdown was on.
Rachel stepped over the threshold, still looking into the room, analyzing their movements as Judy stood from the sofa and Justin headed for the door to close it behind them. She wanted to know what was going on in that room every night when no one was around.
"Rach."
She paused when Justin called out to her.
"Yeah?"
"Can you make sure there's water backstage this time? There wasn't any last night."
Rachel nodded, still craning her neck to peek into the room until the door was completely closed. Justin smiled at his cousin's antics, shaking his head. Then he turned his attention to Judy, who was patiently waiting for him by the sofa. She was taking in his black suit. Usually he wore all white, but this black and white combo looked just as good on him.
"You didn't try to run out this time," he said, turning towards her.
Judy didn't get a chance to reply. The door flung open and Trace and Rachel came running in.
"Surprise inspection!" Trace shouted.
Justin and Judy stood there, still several feet apart, staring at them like they were crazy. Beth and Jon were behind the pair, filming into the dressing room.
"What are you doing?" Justin questioned.
Rachel and Trace slowly began to back out of the room.
"We know something is going on," Trace said.
"Yeah, and we're going to get to the bottom of it."
Mike appeared behind Rachel as she spoke, moving Jon and Beth out of the way and grabbing Trace and Rachel by their collars.
"Don't you two have work to do?" He asked, pulling them out of the room.
"I will figure it out!" Rachel called, stretching her neck to glare at them both as she was drug away. "Secrets don't make friends!!"
Justin stepped forward, closing the door once again, this time flipping the lock. He turned back to Judy, finding that she had moved over to the vanity, most likely to be out of the cameras view.
"Those two…"
"Are lunatics," she supplied.
"Amongst other things, yes."
Justin pushed off from the door, strolling over to her as she toyed with his iPod that he'd left on the counter. He was listening to that damn Miley Cyrus song again. Wasn't he a little too old for that Disney pop?
"But they are going to figure it out eventually," she said. "Rachel is to nosy not too."
Justin shrugged with ease.
"Let them work for it."
"She's not going to rat us out to anyone though, is she?"
Justin shook his head. He wasn't all interested in talking about Rachel anymore. He was going on stage in a matter of minutes, which meant he had a matter of minutes to kiss her enough to tide him over for the next couple hours. Besides, it was Rachel they were talking about. She wasn't going to gossip to anyone besides Trace and Mike.
"No. Rachel can keep a secret. That's why I keep her around."
"And what if-."
Sick of hearing her voice, he cupped her face in his hands and kissed her into silence. She tasted like the strawberry ice cream she'd had after dinner, and she moaned into his mouth as their tongues dueled and snaked around each other. Her hands slid inside his suit jacket, pulling him closer and tugging on him wantonly.
His hands moved down her sides, gripping her thighs and lifting her up onto the counter behind her. Their kissed paused only momentarily while he moved in between her legs, and then his lips attached themselves to her neck, her hands working his jacket off of his shoulders and down his arms until it pooled on the floor under his feet. He licked and sucked on her skin, electing hisses and breathy sighs from her lips.
She untucked his crisp white dress shirt, practically ripping it out from under his pants so she could run her hands along his skin. Her fingers pressed into the warm skin of his back, feeling the muscles stretch and contort with his movements. Justin's lips made their way up the side of her neck, kissing along her jaw, and finally meeting her lips again. They kissed feverishly, hands becoming braver and bolder. He hooked his hands behind her bent knees, pulling her to the edge of the counter. Judy could feel his growing arousal as their hips pressed together, his hand tickling her ribcage dangerously close to her breasts.
"Justin? It's go-time!"
The door knobbed rattled with Mason's voice and the pair pulled apart for the first time in several minutes. Their breathing labored, lips hot pink from the blood rush as they stared at one another. What the hell was going on here? There was another knock, followed by Mason's voice again.
"Justin?"
"Just a sec," he called back, dropping his head.
He realized all most automatically that that was a bad idea. Now his face was swimming in her cleavage, his nose buried in her bosom. That wasn't going to help the sexually charged situation or his growing arousal.
Justin stood up, taking a step back and beginning to put himself back together. He tucked his shirt back into his pants and retrieved his jacket from the floor while Judy hopped off of the counter and re-hooked her bra. When exactly had he done that? Damn, he was smoother than he thought.
He smirked at her bashful gaze.
"You better hurry," she said. "Forty thousand women are waiting on you."
Justin nodded, wordlessly heading towards the door. He stopped short, running a hand over his head and looking back at her.
"See you at the hotel, Juicy."
When he opened the door and headed for the stage, Rachel came barging in. She looked around the room, finally settling on the messy vanity. She took in Judy's flushed appearance and her jaw dropped.
"Oh, my God."
"Close the door before you say anything else," Judy instructed.
Rachel did so, her jaw still dangling.
"What exactly were you two doing in here? And please, don't spare me of the raunchy details."
"We didn't do anything," Judy lied.
"Right, you normally look like you just got done getting laid. Did you just get laid?"
"No!"
"Well…?"
Judy sighed, and Rachel waited patiently, tapping her foot expectantly. Judy waited. Rachel tapped. Judy groaned. Rachel tapped.
"You're not going to let this go, are you?"
"No chance. Either tell me, or risk getting no sleep whatsoever tonight."
Judy picked up one of the empty water bottles, picked at the label absentmindedly.
"We just made out a little."
Rachel let out a shriek, "Oh my God!"
"Shhhh!"
"Sorry," Rachel whispered. "You guys made out? Things got pretty hot and heavy by the looks of it. I know Justin pretty well and he was practically glowing when he left."
"He wasn't glowing."
"Yes, he was. And so are you!"
Judy covered her face as embarrassment crept over her cheeks.
"So, are you guys dating now?"
"Not exactly," Judy answered, peering out between her fingers. "We're not sure what we are."
Rachel chuckled.
"Finally! I've seen this coming for so long."
"What?"
"You and Justin, and this whole situation. You'd have to be blind to not see the chemistry in the air between you two. Private conversations, sharing rooms. Why do you think so many people watched the show? They were waiting for you guys to get together!"
Judy dismissed her with a wave of her hand, walking towards the door.
"Nobody cared if Justin and I liked each other; they just wanted to see him act like a dork."
"I know he's just Justin to you, but to the rest of America he's Justin Timberlake, and all of them care if you and Justin get together."
"Well, we don't plan on letting them in on any of this for awhile. Especially MTV."
"Good luck trying to keep a secret from them. They've got microphones and cameras everywhere."
"Which is why I told you about it, so you can help us hide it, instead of helping them figure it out."
Rachel let out a sigh, following Judy out the door.
"Looks like things just got a whole lot more interesting."
Email: Coffee