Justin pulled into the long smooth driveway and slowly made his way toward the mansion that he'd missed so much. In all reality, he actually hadn't missed the mansion at all, but the people in it. He was finally home, and he was finally going to be with the people that he loved.
Natalie squirmed uncomfortably in the passenger seat and continued to gaze out the side window. Justin noticed the way her body seemed tense and he reached over, squeezing her shoulder affectionately. "Don't worry. I have the best family."
She smiled, turning toward him. "I have no doubts that they'll be nothing but kind to me. I just kind of feel out of place. You're going to be seeing me everyday that you're on tour, but you won't see them at all.. I just feel like I'm taking time away from you that you should be using spending time with your brothers, and your parents."
Justin's hand moved from her shoulder, down to take her small hand in his. "You aren't, Natalie. They love when I bring friends with me. My mother will love you, I'm sure. And besides, I like spending time with you."
Natalie couldn't help but feel shivers when his fingers began tickling the top of her hand. "Okay."
He chuckled, turning so that he could park. "You're really something, you know that?"
"What do you mean by that?"
He shook his head, before allowing his tongue to slide out of his mouth and glide over his lips. "Nothing. Let's go."
Justin reached for the doorknob but Natalie pulled on his hand, causing him to look back at her. "Wait a second.." She was hesitant at first, but she maneuvered her body so that she was on her knees and she leaned over to place a soft, gentle kiss on Justin's lips. It didn't last long, nor was it supposed to have any meaning except a thanks behind it. "Thank you for allowing me to come with you."
Licking his lips again, Justin nodded his head, because at the moment, he was unable to speak. Sometimes, Natalie just amazed him by the little things she did.
Natalie moved so she was sitting again, and pulled her purse from the floor before opening the door and climbing out. Justin followed suite and did the same on his side, grabbing his bag from the back, and then popped the trunk so Natalie could get the rest of her bags.
“JUSTIN!” A squeal erupted from the doorway of the house, before his mother appeared and ran toward him, wrapping her arms tightly around her son.
He laughed, wrapping his arms around the woman who he'd missed for weeks. "Hey momma."
She pulled away and put a hand on either side of his face. "You look so good. I can't believe what a good-looking man my baby has become."
He blushed. "Mom..."
"No, Justin, you have. I've missed you so much."
"I missed you too, Mom."
Natalie pulled the last of her bags from the trunk, and closed it. She leaned down and attempted to handle all the bags at once, but failed miserably, dropping them all.
Justin heard her loud groan and shook his head, smiling. "Mom, I brought a friend with me today." He wrapped an arm around his mom's waist and pulled her over to where Natalie was struggling with the bags. He leaned down and grabbed most of them with one hand. "This is Natalie."
Natalie looked up at him in astonishment. "How do you do that?"
He shrugged. "I'm the man. What can I say?"
Lynn shook her head, lending her hand out for Natalie to shake. "I'm Justin's mother, Lynn."
Natalie smiled one of her warm, inviting smiles, taking her hand and shaking it. "It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Harless. Justin has told me so much about you. You're a lucky woman."
Lynn nodded her head. For some weird reason, she already had a good feeling about Natalie. She just had a nice glow about her, which seemed so sweet and caring. Justin needed someone like to her to have around the tour, and she was glad that he'd found that so soon.
"Thank you. How did you and Justy poo meet?"
Natalie swung the last bag over her shoulder. "Actually, I'm the hairdresser for the tour, and your son is such a sweetheart. He was nice to me right from the start, and I guess we just clicked. We became friends pretty quickly."
"I take it you're going to be staying the night?"
"Um..." Natalie looked up at Justin, unsure of whether they were staying the night or not. She brought her bags just incase, because she figured they would be.
"Yeah, of course, Mom. I wouldn't have brought her otherwise."
"Um.. I can leave if there isn't enough room. I just assumed--"
Lynn laughed heartily, grabbing one of Natalie's bags from her. "You actually think we run out of room in this place? Come on, and I'll show you to the guestroom."
Natalie shrugged, looking at Justin, before following the woman who was already being more than sweet to her. Natalie had to smile at the similarities between Justin and his mother. There was no doubt that they looked alike, but they both had that southern hospitality that was so welcoming.
Justin followed behind Natalie, already deep in thought. It was amazing how his mother had so quickly warmed up to her and taken her in, practically no questions asked. His mother didn't normally trust women in his life, but for some reason, Natalie was different, and his mother hadn't assumed a single thing.
But then again, he'd immediately taken Natalie in. He didn't need to know her to know that she wasn't like the rest of them. Natalie was special; he knew it right away. He learned new things about her each day, and every little thing he learned made him want to know more and more, and that's what he planned on doing.
He entered the large house, and noticed the quietness. "Hey Mom, where are the boys?"
"Oh, you noticed how quiet it is too? They're on a fishing trip with Paul. They should be back anytime."
Natalie looked around at the statues, and pictures that were strewn throughout the house. She noticed the large fireplace that was blazing with a hot, orange fire and she immediately just wanted to grab a book and sit by the fire for the rest of the night, but she knew that was pretty much impossible.
When she noticed they were near the stairs, she held on tighter to her bags and moved uneasily up the wooden staircase the lead to a large hallway of doors. Lynn stopped and nodded her head before opening one of the doors.
"This is my favorite guestroom. I sometimes come in here when I'm by myself and just sit around and think. I think you'll like it, and it's right across from Justin's room incase you need anything."
Natalie smiled graciously. "Thank you so much, Mrs. Harless."
"Call me Lynn, sweetheart. I got to stay young some how." She winked at her, before turning to Justin. "You need some help unpacking?"
He could always use help, and he could tell by the look in her eyes that his mother wanted to talk to him. "Sure." He disposed of Natalie's bags inside of her room and turned to look at her. "Let me know if you need anything, okay?"
Natalie smirked. "I'm a big girl, Justin. I think I can take care of myself. Go have fun with your mom and don't worry about me."
Lynn nodded her head at Natalie thankfully before following Justin into his large, decorated room.
Justin sighed, glad to be back in his own room. He smiled at his Janet Jackson picture, which still remained, over his bed, and he threw his suitcase on his bed. "This is great. I love coming home."
Lynn unzipped his bag to reveal several pieces of clothing which were obviously shoved in, giving no attention to folding. She shook her head, picking up a shirt, which she began folding. "Natalie seems really nice."
Justin nodded his head, pulling a shirt from the suitcase. He gave it his best attempt at folding, but it ended up looking like a ball anyways, so he put it back. "She is, Mom. She's one of the nicest females I've ever met."
"Are you two like...um...?"
"If you're asking if I like her, yeah, I do, a lot in fact."
"So, you aren't dating?"
Justin shook his head in agreement. "Yeah, we aren't."
Lynn placed another shirt in the pile she'd started, before picking up a dark green one. "Does she like you back?"
Justin sat on the bed, shrugging his shoulders. "I'm not really sure. I don't know if she even wants to be in a relationship, Mom. I don't want to do anything wrong, because she's really special and I don't want to lose our friendship."
Lynn knew her son had it harder than most men did when it came to relationships and she felt sympathetic toward him. "Just don't hurt her, sweetie. She seems like she's probably been hurt before. It's okay to show her how you feel, but don't get in too deep."
"I won't hurt her, Mom. Don't worry."
Justin needed to talk to Natalie soon. About the kiss, about what was going to happen. About everything, and he needed to do it soon.
"You cheated!"
Wade sat back, clicking his tongue. "I didn't cheat, Laura."
"Yes you did! You cheated, and I caught you!"
"Laura, I'm telling you. I did not cheat."
"I saw you!"
"Well, then maybe your eyes need checked, because I didn't cheat."
Laura grabbed all the dice and placed them in her palm before holding it over the cup and allowing them to slide into it. She looked up at Wade. "I watched you cheat, Wade. You're just mad because you got caught!"
Shaking his head, Wade pushed away from the table a bit. "You're just being a sore loser, Laura. I didn't cheat, and you know I didn't cheat."
"Oh my god!" Laura slammed the red yahtzee cup down on the table causing the dice to hit against the sides, and crossed her arms.
"You're being irrational, Laura. You're blaming me for something I didn't do, and to be quite honest, it's hurting my feelings!"
"Ugh, Wade, I watched you roll four sixes and a four! I WATCHED you hit that four and roll it to a six! I watched you, Wade!"
"Whatever you say."
Laura stood from her chair and pushed it in. "I know what I saw, and I'm not going to fight with you about this!"
Wade chuckled quietly. "I can't believe you're getting so worked about something as stupid as a game!"
"You know I like to win fair and square and you cheated, Wade. You CHEATED! I hate cheaters! You know people that cheat in games are most likely to cheat on their women!" Laura lifted an eyebrow and placed her hands on her hips. "What do you think about that? Huh, huh?"
Wade shook his head as he watched her turn around and he stood from his seat and walked over to her, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind. "Laura....."
She squirmed in his arms, slapping at them. "Wade, let me go."
He laughed at her struggle, wrapping his arms tighter around her. "I cheated, Laura."
She finally pulled out of his grasp and turned, pushing him so hard he fell to the floor. She plopped down on top of him, and put a leg on either side of his waist, crossing her arms. "You are such a jerk, Wade. Do you know that?"
He nodded his head, afraid of what she'd do if he disagreed. "I am such a jerk, Laura."
"And?"
"And, um, I deserve to die for cheating while I was playing that game with you. It was uncalled for and just down right rude. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised or hold it against you if you didn't talk to me for days because that was just completely stupid of me."
Laura nodded her head in satisfaction. "Yep, that's good. Now, to make it up to me, you're going to order room service, and I am going to get whatever I want. Is that understood?"
He nodded his head when she placed her palms flat on his chest. "Yep. Totally understood."
"AND you are paying. Is that also understood?"
"Yes, madam."
"AND you are going to have to do a lot of sucking up for me to forgive you because I was going to win that game."
"No, you were---" Wade screeched when Laura's hands moved from his chest to his hair and she tugged on it slightly.
"Who was going to win the game, Wade?"
He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. "You, Laura, you."
She smiled, standing up from her position on top of him, and she walked confidently to the phone, calling the main office to order room service. After she ordered what she figured could fill both her and Wade up, she walked back over to where Wade was still sitting on the floor.
"What are you doing?"
He shrugged, raising his hands over his head to stretch. "I don't know. I just felt like lying on the floor."
She sat beside him and laid her head on his stomach. "You aren't getting tired, are you?"
"Me, tired? NOOOOOOOO."
"You better not get tired. I have plans for us tonight!"
Wade wiggled his eyebrows up and down and groaned. "Mmm, mmmmmmmm."
"Ugh! You perv, I'm not talking about THOSE kind of plans. I'm talking about MOVIES allllllll niiiiiiiiight looooooooooonggggggg."
"I'm so excited."
“Yep, and we’re going to eat until we can’t breathe in our clothes--”
"And then we're going to take them all off!" Wade interrupted.
"Or not. We're going to change into our pajamas and jump on the beds!"
"Will you wear what you got from Victoria's secret?"
Laura blushed and lifted her hand beside where her head was resting and punched his stomach. "You're such a bad ass, Wade."
"Oh, I know I am."
"So..." Laura began to speak but was interrupted by a knock at the door. She jumped to her feet, smiling happily. "That must be our food." She opened the door and wasn't surprised to find two bus boys with two carts totally filled with food.
Wade walked over to meet up with them and his eyes widened. "Laura, are you really that hungry?"
She nodded her head to let him know she was definitely starved and not kidding about all the food the men had wheeled up to their room. He shrugged, motioning for them both to bring the food in. He handed them both tips before closing the door behind them.
Laura was already rubbing her hands, greedily eyeing the food. "I am going to eat this all."
Wade grabbed a piece of chicken from the tray and bit into it. "Well, then you best start cracking because I'm pretty hungry myself."
Laura put a hand on each side of the car and licked her lips impatiently. "What to eat first...." Her eyes widened when she noticed all the desserts on the other cart and she jumped, moving to the other cart where she picked up a piece of blueberry cheesecake.
"Jesus, Laura."
She began picking at the blueberries and placing them in her mouth, licking her fingers loudly after each bite. "Mmmmmmmmmmmm."
The two continued to eat for another half an hour before they were both entirely full and about to be sick. Laura walked over to the bed where she collapsed. "I am stuffed."
Wade licked his lips, before sitting beside her. "Me too. I don't think I could eat anything else if I tried."
"Ready for movies?" Laura asked, sitting up to grab the remote control.
"Depends... What are we watching first?"
Laura giggled, pressing play on the VCR. The theme song for Milo and Otis began playing and Wade grinned, sitting up to wrap his arms around Laura's in a tight hug. "You have our movie! This is so exciting! I haven't scene it in forever."
Happy that she'd made a wise choice, she smiled, hugging him back, before pushing him away from her. "Shhh! It's starting."
They both moved into positions they were comfortable in before they began watching the movie. Wade placed his hand on Laura's lower back and sighed. "I'm really glad that you came on this tour with me, Laur. I don't know what I'd do with my time if it weren't for you."
"I'm glad I came too, Wade. I could be in stinky old college right now, but I'm really glad I've been given this extra time to spend with you."
Wade was silent for a minute, before he hesitantly turned toward Laura. "What did you mean when you said that you don't think we'd work out?"
She looked over at him to see if he was seriously bringing this topic up now, and the sullen look on his face secured her thoughts. "Wade... I don't want to talk about this right now.."
"Why not, Laura? Every time I bring up the question of you and I being something other than friends you run from it! Why can't you just tell me the truth? Tell me what you feel?"
"Wade..."
"No, Laura, don't 'Wade' me. I just want some answers. I'm not asking you to pick your brain for any because you've obviously already done enough thinking. I just want to know why you don't want to be with me?"
Laura stood from her spot on the bed and crossed her arms against her chest in annoyance. "You want to know how I'm feeling right now? I'm feeling bitchy, and now violated because my best friend can't just take things as is for a while. He can't understand that I'm confused, and lost, and upset, and the fact that I don't even know what to do. He can't leave it alone like I asked him too, but instead has to push and push until he gets me upset."
Wade cringed when he saw a tear fall down her cheek. "Lo--"
"No, I don't want to talk to you right now. I thought that we'd have a quiet evening and hang out like old times. I thought I'd be cute and buy a couple movies that we used to watch as children and we'd just chill and forget about everything that's been going on with us, but I guess I was wrong, huh Wade? You couldn't just let everything disappear for a night. No! You had to bring up the subject of us. Well, guess what, Wade. There ISN'T an us, okay? We're friends. FRIENDS. Okay? That's all we'll ever be because I can't even get two seconds to think about being anything else without you trying to dig into my thoughts and guess what I'm thinking and analyze everything!"
Wade should have known better than to bring this upon Laura, especially this late at night. He knew she'd probably be against talking about it, but he knew he had to bring it up because of his own curiosity. "Come on--"
"I don't want to talk right now, Wade. I thought I just made that clear, but maybe I should repeat everything I just said."
"No, that's okay."
She grabbed pieces of hair on either end of her hair and pulled, closing her eyes. "I need to get out of here. I need to be alone... and I need to find somewhere to collect myself..."
"I'm sorry, Laura."
She looked up at him and shook her head. "If you claim to know me as well as you do, then you wouldn't talk to me right now, but no, instead, you see that I'm upset and you have to keep nagging and nagging." She stopped herself from saying anything else and squeezed her eyes shut. "God, I'm being a bitch. I don't know what's happening to me."
Wade stood from the bed and walked over to where she was standing, lost in her thoughts again. He wasn't exactly sure whether to embrace her or not, but instead of thinking, his brotherly instincts told him that she needed a hug. That protectiveness that had always been there for her took over him and he pulled her to him, not caring whether she wanted it or not. He knew she NEEDED it.
She didn't know whether she should allow herself to relax in Wade's comforting arms, or whether she should pull away, but her body went limp and she knew she just needed to feel that security that Wade always brought to her.
"What are we doing, sweetie?" He whispered quietly, his hands running repeatedly through her long, wavy, dark hair.
She sniffled, cuddling her face into his neck. "I don't know."
"I'm sorry that I'm being so pushy about all of this. I'm just as confused, as you are, Laura. I promise that I wasn't trying to hurt you in any way."
"I know you weren't..." She pulled him closer to her, needing to feel him surrounding her. She felt like a lost child that just wanted to find some kind of comfort, and that was what Wade had always given her, and she knew he'd always be able to provide. She just wasn't sure if she'd be able to accept the fact that it was only a matter of time before she'd break and have to tell him everything she'd been thinking since they shared that first kiss.
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