*~*~*~Angelia~*~*~* Chapter Ten: Too Far -- Fictional Getdown

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Date Posted: 15:54:04 03/14/03 Fri
Author: Tiffany
Subject: *~*~*~Angelia~*~*~* Chapter Ten: Too Far

Inhaling the sweet southern air and watching the sun set through the thick of the trees, Samantha and Justin sat engulfed in each others arms with their drying legs spilling over the pier. Neither had had the foresight to bring towels, so their only warmth was each other until they made the decision to go home. But, the woods were too magical to leave, especially after the day they had just had. Beyond the invisible walls of the woods lay the realities neither wanted to confront. Here, in the woods was a fantasy that both were perfectly happy with living. Samantha could be the blushing virgin and Justin could be the Prince with indispensable armor.

Tomorrow, Justin would have Sonali drive him to Memphis where he would catch a first class flight to New York to meet with Timberland and The Neptune�s in order to have the hottest producers lay some tracks for his album. The most anticipated album of the fall. And what did he have to show for it so far? A few sheets of chart paper�some melodies�Hardly anything to write home about. Although, what he did have was more than ample�he knew that in order to start production in August, he�d have to light the fire under his ass as far as the writing process went.

Ever so often, he would call JC or Chris for input on the writing process. They would tell him to relax and take a few deep breaths. Not to force anything. Yeah, he�d been doing that for a few months and he still, in his opinion, didn�t have anything concrete that he�d release to the public just yet. However, he did work hard on his album�he didn�t want to make an album full of bullshit. No, he left that to mediocre, already established solo artists who didn�t write their own music anyway. Justin knew that he couldn�t afford to be mediocre.

Venturing into the music industry without his four compadre�s with him was scary. When he first started negotiations for the album, he was scared shitless sitting in a room full of lawyers by himself. Sure, Johnny was with him but in the truest sense, he was alone. At first, he wasn�t even sure he wanted to release a solo album. After all, what he had with *NSYNC was a surety. He was secure with *NSYNC. But he also knew that he could never be himself with his group. Sure, collectively, he was himself�to a lesser degree. He was twenty five percent Justin Timberlake, seventy five percent *NSYNC. He loved the camaraderie, he loved the bond, he loved the musical influences that came to pass when they were *NSYNC. But it left him hungry to feast on other pleasures of music alone.

He sat down with each of the guys alone, asking them their permission. Lance had felt a little betrayed�a little defensive. But eventually, he knew that in order to save *NSYNC, he would have to let Justin go do his thing for a while. JC was ecstatic! Not only was Justin going to be conquering his solo endeavors, so was he. JC had told Justin all about his Drumline project and each of the guys were proud. The same musical world that once called them talentless goofs, were now knocking on their doors, begging for more. Joey was on Broadway�that was the biggest shock of the year. Chris, on the other hand, had no desire to pursue anything during their break.

This worried Justin slightly. Chris was, by nature, hyper and restless. The fact that he was spending lots of time in Clarion with his family and even more time in Miami hitting the clubs with Howie, it wasn�t like Chris. Chris, if he were himself, would be taking on several projects at one time. But, Justin sensed that the loss he suffered with losing FuMan Skeeto had deeply hurt his pride. And Chris had a lot of pride.

�So, what�s this I hear about you not doing anything� Justin asked in a recent conversation with Chris �You aren�t contemplating suicide are you?�

�Get the fuck out of here� Chris ribbed �Yeah, I have a bottle of Valium that I�m getting ready to take. What do you think? I�m thirty years old and tired. I�m taking a break�

�You sure that�s all you�re doing? I heard that things with Michelle fell through�

�Yeah well, that�s what I get for dating a dancer� Chris laughed but sighed deeply �Ali�s back home right?�

�Yeah and all up in my business� Justin said with a laugh �You know�you should come down here for a few weeks. Maybe you might even enjoy yourself�

�Thanks but no thanks. I�m thinking about going to Europe for a few months�

�Okay�that�s it� Justin said taking charge of the conversation �Book a flight to Memphis next week. I come back from New York next Tuesday, your ass better be here when I get back�

�Justin�� Chris started

�I don�t give a shit what you think about what I�m saying.
You�re coming to my house for a while. We need to get you a game plan. You have another year off to do whatever you want. We can�t just have you sitting around doing nothing. Unless you call watching your hairline recede interesting�

�Fuck you�

�That�s what I thought. Go visit Beverly for a while and then get your ass to Tennessee. There�s someone I want you to meet�

And then it was settled. When Justin finished business in
New York, Chris was to come to Tennessee and spend some time with him. Sure, he had this thing with Samantha brewing, but Chris was much more important. He was worried about his friend. When a naturally hyper active person suddenly becomes reclusive, something�s wrong. When JC tried to get Chris to come house hunting in Los Angeles with him, Chris turned him down flat, babbling something about having some �projects� he wanted to finish. Yeah, Chris could be full of shit when he�s depressed.

�You okay?� Samantha asked looking up at Justin �You�re awfully quiet�

�I�m okay. Justin thinking about some friends of mine�

�Oh�� Justin looked down curiously at Samantha

�Why don�t you ever ask about them?�

�Your friends?�

�Yeah. Don�t you want to know anything�

�Of course. I just don�t want to make you uncomfortable by asking too many questions. And the questions I would ask�.you�d probably think that I was crazy for even asking them�

�No. I�ve already come to terms with the fact that you aren�t a fan. Anything beyond that isn�t even worth talking about. It�s irrelevant. If you want, it�s always okay to ask me about my life, even if you think you should already know. You aren�t a fan, so you wouldn�t know a lot of this stuff� Justin kissed her gently �Is there anything you want to know?�

�Yeah�� Samantha admitted bashfully

�Then by all means, ask away�

�Okay�� she held on to Justin a little tighter �Why did JC lick the stage?�

* * * *

Justin was filled with memories that he was unintentionally trying to forget. So many years ago when *NSYNC was touring Europe and building a fan base in bubble gum friendly countries, Lou had thought it would be a great publicity stunt for the guys to visit terminally ill children. At seventeen, going through a selfish phase, a dying child was the last thing he wanted to see but day after day, as they traveled through the picturesque country sides of the Netherlands, Poland and Germany, he was constantly confronted by children who loved him and his music unconditionally but would never live to see it evolve into truly great music.

They would often, through a translator, tell him that the only things that made days, when chemotherapy was making them weaker, better was his music. They would smile and gently recount the fantasies they lived through his songs. How, with his voice, they could be anywhere and anything they wanted to be. Instead of sitting in a hospital bed dying of a disease they couldn�t even begin to comprehend. Walking away from all of that, Justin realized how precious life was. But�he wasn�t a changed man.

However, every time he went to a hospital, he cried for the children. Not because he genuinely cared for them as people, although he did, but it was mainly because he was supposed to. If it weren�t in his contract, Justin wouldn�t look twice at hospitals with terminally ill kids. Depressing as it is, the kids wouldn�t blame him.

As he sat in the kitchen of Nichole�s house, looking over several of Samantha�s pictures, he saw that they reflected what he felt towards those terminally ill children in Europe. They were definitely beautiful and tender�but they were also very technical. Deliberate and unyielding as she had callously taken them. There wasn�t an ounce of passion in these pictures. Justin, who wasn�t a professional could tell that just by looking at them.

It was getting late and the sun was starting to set�with that, their bodies were growing musty and sweaty from being in the same clothes they had sweated and had been swimming in. After going to their respective houses to shower and change clothes, Justin met Samantha back over at her house for chili dogs and barbecue potato chips. After they ate, Justin asked Samantha to show him some of her pictures that she�d taken during the last year�if she had them with her.

After a little persuasion, Samantha went downstairs to the darkroom and brought them back up, shyly explaining that she was still an amateur. He ignored her insecure ramblings and began looking through the large rectangular container of different snap shots. First, he looked over the pictures she�d taken during her drive from Nashville. The snaps themselves were beautiful, reflecting a relaxation he hadn�t seen in the pictures she took of the terminally ill kids. They were leisurely�lazy. Without any kind of hesitation or real purpose. They were simply idle pictures.

He looked carefully at the pictures of the thunderstorm he had met her under, smiling at the memory of their �first� encounter. The way she captured the storm was both haunting and seductive�as if the picture itself could be an aphrodisiac. The way the clouds and humidity mingled together like a splash of grayish pink paint. There were pictures of the rains caressing the hills beyond the field across from Nichole�s house. It was as if the rain poured and poured and poured but the hills refused to flood. There seemed to be more rain in the pictures then there had been that day.

Then finally, he found what he had been unconsciously looking for. The pictures she�d taken the night she ran away from him at the lagoon. As he picked up the first round of pictures taken from her window where he wasn�t visible, he was immediately in awe. There was something very personal and direct about the way she took her pictures. Like the elements bowed to her every whim. She seemed to find every perfect vantage point and exploit it until it was no longer useful to her.

And finally, selfishly, he found the pictures of his shadow. True�from the distance she was taking the pictures from, he couldn�t recognize himself. He looked like some hick fiddling with a guitar. But the light that the picture caught as the dead leaves and branches surrounded him was astounding. He could see her talent shining out as he looked at the pictures of himself. They made him look like some kind of God of the woods�an apparition of an old soul trapped in youth. This, was in no way amateur work. This was work of an underestimated prodigy.

�Are you available in October?� he asked seriously

�Uh�yeah�� Samantha stuttered completely confused �Why?�

�That�s when I have to take pictures for my album. I hadn�t really decided who was going to do them but�looking at these pictures��

�Come on Justin� Samantha laughed �Those pictures coming out that good was a fluke! I doubt if I�ll ever be able to do that again. Besides�you should be having someone like Paolo Vienna taking your pictures. He�s a genius�

�True, he�s an exceptional photographer. But he�s already established. I want someone new to take my pictures�

�Justin, as sweet as it is for you to offer, I�m going to decline. Paolo Vienna should be your choice, indisputably. Now, if me want to consult you�then that�s fine. I�ll help you pick out a few good photographers. But, I will not let you give me that big of a responsibility. The wrong CD cover could rub people the wrong way. That messes with your money Justin. Nope. I�m not taking on that responsibility�

Justin studied Samantha for a few moments as he had studied
the photographs. He looked into her hazel orbs and inwardly smiled. She was breaking down and showing a few of her vulnerabilities.

�That means a lot to you doesn�t it?�

�What?�

�Public perception. You really worry about how people will see you�

�Well�yeah��

�Do you mind if I make an observation?�

�No� Samantha said leisurely, almost kind of amused about what he�d have to say

�You ran away from home because your parents perception of
you was completely jaded and you were tired of trying to live up what they wanted you to be. Now, in your own life where you control everything, you still let what people think of you rule the decisions that you make. When will it end?� he took a few moments to let what he�d just said sink in �Like what happened in the woods this afternoon. I knew how to get you to see through what you were feeling. And on my part, it was a slight manipulation, I�m sorry. But�when I mentioned how I might view you as a whore if we slept together�you immediately backed off. I thought it was kind of sad how vulnerable you got when I mentioned that word��

�That has NOTHING to do with my fear of negative perception� Samantha cut in getting defensive �Now�I don�t know what book you read that would tell you that you suddenly know all about my fucking psyche�but what you�re telling me is psychobabble bullshit. I didn�t want you to see me as a whore because I LIKE YOU. And I don�t appreciate being manipulated on any level. I have a sound mind, I�m not a child and I�m not fucking insane. If I didn�t fuck you today, it wasn�t because of what you told me, it was because something in my head went off and told me��Hey Samantha, you fuck him now and you�ll fuck up any chance you have with a good guy� But right now� she said looking at him with a forlorn look of sadness �I don�t know who you are. I don�t know if you�re a genuinely good guy who cares about me or just some asshole wanting to bag me so he can brag to his friends. I have enough to deal with in my life�enough creeps to deal with in my profession then to be on vacation and STILL have some guy wanting to own me� Samantha got up from her seat and stared at Justin who was so shocked that his usually impassive eyes were wide �I�d like you to leave now�

�Look Samantha�I don�t know why you just went off on a
tangent like that but let me clear something up��

�Don�t clear anything up Justin. We�ve had a fun couple of days. Thank you for your kindness, but I think that you�re full of shit�

She quickly walked to the door with Justin following behind her, trying to explain what he meant. But Samantha was so wrapped up in how violated that she felt, she couldn�t see straight. He had openly manipulated her�admitted it and then tried to get her to not be offended by it. He�d been picking her brain for information and she wasn�t supposed to be offended. Samantha had spent the past week trying to make him feel as normal as possible, not wanting him ever to be uncomfortable around her. And worst of all, he�d referred to her lack of judgement while she was weak�he�d said that she�d be a whore.

Were his kisses another form of his manipulation? Was his admittance to certain things he felt about her part of it to? What was truth and what was bullshit? She�d fell for his sweet talking and despite her better judgement, had allowed herself to like him. To be taken aback and swooned by this so-called southern gentleman. Samantha was so enraged that she thought she could just pack up her stuff and go back to Nashville.

�Look�I don�t know what I did to piss you off!� Justin said with his eyes resembling that of an oblivious little boy �I thought that we were finally being honest with each other. I thought that we were getting to know each other. What happened?�

�I have no desire to discuss this any further Justin� Samantha said simply�but in her heart, she was aching for him already

�What do you want me to say, Samantha? I wanted to get to know you. You�re one of the most standoffish people I�ve ever met in my life. I couldn�t get through to you. You won�t tell me what you do for a living, you won�t go into detail about your family�you won�t even give me your phone number back in Nashville�� Justin sighed and looked directly in her eyes, letting his intensity burn �Why are you so afraid? What are you hiding?�

�Get out. Go�do your fucking job. Just leave me alone� Samantha said through clenched teeth �You have no idea who I am! You have no idea what it�s like to wake up every morning as this person whose sole purpose in life is to entertain. But don�t be a person Samantha. No� Tears were starting to gather in her eyes and it was dawning on Justin that she was no ordinary girl. That she was actually dealing with some heavy shit �Don�t be a person. Get up there, do your job and be nice to people even if they�re shit to you. Make your money! Just don�t show anyone how unhappy you are. It bums the customers out�

�Samantha�You can talk to me about whatever is bothering you� Samantha laughed sarcastically at his blatant sincerity

�Yeah and then I�ll be the girl who you can pity. The girl who has all of these problems and you can pity her when it�s convenient. But as soon as I tell you everything Justin� she got close to him and put her hand up to his heart �You won�t know what to feel�except for disgust�

Watching the fire in her eyes burn him for an unknown reason, Justin saw the life that she�d been hiding from, that she�d been denying, coming back to bite her in the ass. In so many words, she was scared and running from reality. Scared that she�d been open with someone enough for them to dissect her and scared because she was starting to feel. Samantha spent so much time running from things that scared her that she didn�t know when to stop fighting. She was a soldier without a war.

Now as sure as Justin was of himself, he knew that she wouldn�t tell him anything more about herself. They could go on dating, this he was sure of, and she wouldn�t reveal one more detail of substance. He�d blown the chance of being closer. But her feeble attempts to break ties with him�that just wasn�t going to happen. She was already in too deep. And while he would never take advantage of her, he knew that she no longer trusted herself with him.

He didn�t hold her blow up against her. A lot of what she was saying wasn�t in any way directed at him, although she couldn�t see that now. Samantha had been releasing tension that she hadn�t known was there. There had been a wild look in her eyes as she screamed that seemed to be so�tired and scared. Like a child almost.

�Why don�t you leave?� Samantha said finally sick of looking at him �I don�t want you here�

�You sure about that?� Justin asked tenderly

�Go home, Justin. You�ve already done enough damage. Have a nice business trip�

�Okay Samantha� he said walking out of the door �I�ll see you when I get back�

�Yeah�whatever�

And then he was gone but this time, she didn�t stay in the
doorway watching him walk away from her. Samantha was nauseous and feeling light-headed. Nichole was out shopping at Wal-Mart and visiting local garage sales. Samantha was alone in the house, left to stew in her own juice. To simmer in her bullshit.

Samantha knew that when Justin got back she�d have serious apologizing to do. She blew up at him without the slightest idea why. She had felt him prying�trying to get closer and when she couldn�t take anymore, she reacted the only way she knew how. She blew up. She pushed him away�or tried.

Running towards the stairs that would take, tears streaming down her face, Samantha needed to talk to someone. Taking two stairs at a time, she sought to get to her cell phone where she could call one of the only people that could understand what she was going through. Grabbing her cell phone from the vanity in her room, she quickly looked through the phone�s directory until she found the name she wanted.

�Hello?� The voice asked with a chipper tone a hint of aristocracy mixed with a blatant English accent

�Heidi?�

�Yeah? Samantha? Is this you?� she asked concerned �What�s wrong, where are you?�

�I�m at a friends house, out of town� Samantha said calming herself down once she heard the concern in Heidi�s voice �I just�I didn�t know who else to turn to with this�

�What? Is everything okay?�

�No�well�.no� Samantha sat down on her bed �I met this guy and he�s great�

�Well, that�s the best news I�ve heard from you in a while!
What�s he like?�

�He�s great. Beautiful�charming. Understanding and he genuinely cares. But�he�s the kind of person that�I don�t know�wouldn�t understand why I work where I work� Heidi sighed

�You haven�t told him� Samantha stayed silent and Heidi took this as a �no� and proceeded �Okay then�risk getting your heart stomped on and tell him. You�ll never learn shit if you keep hiding the way you do�

�I know! I was going to tell him but we got into this huge fight for no reason. I completely blew up after he made this very�accurate observation about me. It scared the crap out of me and I started yelling at him. What should I do?�

�Samantha Mitchell. You�re twenty-two years old girl. Snap the fuck out of it. You aren�t as na�ve as you would bloody well like to think you are. You know what to do about this mess you�ve gotten yourself into. Just fuckin� tell him and hope he doesn�t wig out. I know that sounds crass, but you need to grow up� Heidi sighed and laughed a little �Such a drama queen. How long have you known him?" Samantha closed her eyes and laughed a little too

�A week�

�And you�re going mad over this man like you�ve known him a few months. Good God, get a grip. It�s probably just a summer fling anyway. Take it as it comes and stop fucking analyzing everything� A child�s laughter rang out in the distance of Heidi�s phone �Hold on Sam, �Jon! I do NOT want to hear Teletubbies for the next four hours! Turn it down!� Okay. Do you see what I have to deal with day in and day out? God, if I could only be so lucky as to have man troubles�

�How is Jon?� Samantha asked fondly �He just got out of�third grade?�

�Second grade, just. And for some reason, he�s in the awful stage where he�ll watch anything as long as it isn�t real. Goodness, I almost fell into watching American Idol�

�You know�you could come down here. You know, to get away from things for a while�

�I don�t run away from my problems. I neutralize them� Heidi said with more bite than she intended �Look. I didn�t mean to sound insensitive, but you have to realize that you can�t hide the fact that you are a stripper. It�s honest work. Sure, society looks at us as if we�re no more worthy of love than an entire episode on Jerry Springer but, grow some balls and tell him, Sam. That way he can�t accuse you of lying to him�

�I don�t think I can�

�Then you really don�t want to know him anymore then you do right now and you�ve wasted a few dollars on this long distance phone call. Sod it then, yeah?� Samantha scoffed
�You make it impossible for me to relish in the fact that I screwed up�

�That�s because you haven�t. You�re scared. That�s all. Talk to him when he comes back from his business trip. Take him out to dinner�the works. Pay for it too. Then take him back to his house, sit him down and just talk to him on common ground. Tell the truth and be patient with it�s outcome. If he�s such a great bloke like you say he is, then he�ll understand. If not, sod him then, yeah? Fuck him. You�re gorgeous and you can find someone better matched for you�

For someone who was self proclaimed ignorant bitch, she was right on the mark, as she always was. Whenever Samantha needed unbiased and honest opinions on things, she went to the one good thing about working at Intimate Performances, Heidi Burlington. And since Samantha had been there over a year and a half, she�d gone to Heidi for advice many, many times. Needing a shoulder to cry on and a venting post. The thirty-five year old mother of a seven year old would listen patiently and then, in her imperious and slightly Cockney English accent, would usually say �Are you finished? Okay good, now that you�ve finished your fucking blubbering, we can fix the bloody problem�

She hailed from Kennington, South London from a slightly poor family as the middle child of six. After leaving secondary school (Europe�s version of high school) she moved to Amsterdam with a then boyfriend who ended up leaving her for a reformed El Salvadorian prostitute from the red light district. Broke and completely humiliated, she used the only thing she had on her side (formal higher education not one of them): her body. Working in a classy brothel in the Red Light District, Heidi (who was known as Geraldine in those days, Heidi was a name she picked up when she came to America) was known as the hostess of Enticement.

For a small town girl who didn�t really get to see many of the downsides as a sheltered child with her parents, her boyfriends abrupt uprooting caused her to see many downsides of life very quickly. She shared the brothel house with seventeen other girls who varied in nationality, age and specialty. Geraldine, unwilling to have sex for a named price, decided that dancing would be a lot better for her. However, since her breasts were uncharacteristically large for an English girl and she kept her hair long and well managed, she was a hit with English business men. After a year in Amsterdam, she was making an astounding seven hundred marks a night which would calculate to well over a thousand dollars a night, American.

In the middle of her eighth year, Heidi met a wealthy music producer who fell madly in love with her and moved her to Nashville, Tennessee to be his mistress. An older man then she, he was married with two children. When she�d been in Nashville for two years and she was a few months shy of turning twenty-eight, she got pregnant. Although the pregnancy was unexpected, it wasn�t a mistake. Heidi�s lover promised that he�d be there for it. She was blissfully happy for the entire duration of the pregnancy.

When Jon turned three his father died of an unexpected heart attack. He�d left a small trust fund for his son and a small sum of money for Heidi. He had tried to leave them a lot more but his wife, whom he was divorcing at the time of his heart attack, wouldn�t allow any more money to be taken. When he died, naturally his entire estate went to his wife, leaving Heidi, who�d been a kept woman, utterly penniless except for the small sum that her lover left her. All of it which went on buying a car (Heidi�s lover�s wife seized the one he�d given her) and paying the remainder of the mortgage.

With bills and Jon�s expensive private school tuition to pay, Heidi did the only thing that she knew how to do to make money. She went back to stripping. At first, she was ashamed with herself, suffering with bouts of depression. But when her mental instability started to affect her son, she had to swallow her pride and toughen up. And that�s what she did. Heidi threw herself into her child�s upbringing, being a mother and a father. She took him to play dates, hosted sleepovers, threw birthday parties and carpooled, all while dancing six hours a night. Although deep down, she knew it wasn�t his fault, she blamed the man who moved her to America to suffer�she hasn�t been with another man since.

�I think I�m going to take a bath and soak in my own stupidity� Samantha groaned

�I think that�s a smart idea. And�� Heidi squealed �Send him flowers. Ask one of his friends for his hotel number, then�

�I already have it�I�flowers?�

�Go on, then. Send him flowers and some ridiculously
American saying like �I�m a horses cunt, forgive me, love, Samantha��

�I�ve never heard an American say that� she said sighing �But, I could send him flowers. Do you think that would be too�obvious?�

�You need obvious. Just�don�t send him roses or a bloody plant. It�ll make him feel like an asshole. Send him something thoughtful like�I dunno. Send him something that has to do with the work he does�

�He has to sing. I could send him eucalyptus�

�Right you are, then! Send him eucalyptus and one of your beautiful pictures with a card. Be creative� A crash sounded �Bloody hell, Jon�s just decided to fly. I�ve got to go�

�Night Heidi, thank you�

�Bug off and get shagged for me, yeah?�

�Sure thing�

* * * *

Justin felt like pacing. He�d been stuck in meetings with Jive for most of the morning and afternoon, trying to scrounge up money for the producers on his album. The most expensive was, by far, Sean P. Diddy Combs and Justin wasn�t even sure he wanted him on his album. It had just been a thought. But, his PR people said it would be good publicity for P. Diddy to be on his album. But Justin wasn�t impressed with most of his work. He didn�t lay beats that Justin liked. P Diddy�s beats were�too friendly and mildly monotonous. Justin was looking for something new and fresh. Something that he could really sink his teeth into. Something that he could feel. Which was why he personally called The Neptune�s, Brian McKnight and Timberland to help him out.

Justin hated this process of making music almost more then he did doing the promotions. He knew, without a doubt that he would have a host of Britney, Janet and Alyssa questions to answer and he wasn�t quite ready for that yet. Luckily, he had a few months to deal. But until then, Justin still had to get through the meetings, paperwork, contracts and legal crap which meant boredom and no music.

Although he knew that he had pressing matters to deal with, his mind kept drifting back to Samantha and their blow up. God, she�d looked so beautiful screaming at him. Fear was so clear in her cloudy hazel orbs that he�d wanted to hug her and shelter her from it all. But�she wasn�t ready. Still, he did feel bad for manipulating information from her. He wouldn�t have done it if he thought that she would open up to him. However lame an excuse that was.

The three hour plane ride from Tennessee had been horrendous and his pep talk from Sonali was actually her way of non-violently slapping his stupid ass on the back of the head for being such a dick to his�his�Samantha. Ali, however, was so undeniably mad at Samantha for yelling at her brother that he was sure that she�d go over there and give Samantha an earful. Yeah, Justin had thought humorously, and she�d would have gotten her head bitten off.

It was apparent by vicarious introduction that Ali didn�t like Samantha one bit. But it didn�t concern Justin too much, Ali didn�t like anyone who attended Vanderbilt University, the school she�d always dreamed of going to but was denied because of her wealth and fame headed, ass kissing older brother. Justin smiled. When the time came for Ali to meet Samantha, he�d like to be inside of his sisters brain just to see what she thought of his�his�friend. Although, he knew that she would be more than happy to give him a play by play in front of Samantha.

On the way back to his hotel, Justin stopped at a few shops to buy a few things. He didn�t know why he was buying them, he just did. He bought a few new bottles of cologne from Saks Fifth Avenue and a few new summer outfits more suitable for Tennessee. He felt oddly at peace in the large city being swallowed by it�s history�he was insignificant. Walking through Rockefeller Center, buying things he didn�t need, indulging himself in retail therapy, he passed by a travel agency. At first he passed it by, looking at it for a few seconds before walking to the food court to get some Mexican food.

The second time he passed it, however, he did stop. He walked right in, gave an attractive older travel agent his information in Tennessee and asked about the packages she had for economy European vacations. But the older woman dressed in her best Lord and Taylor business suit, ignored his pleas for economy. She sized him up the moment he walked into the door. Her eyes, inoffensively, wandered from the top of his hat covered head to the bottom of his Kenneth Cole shoes. His hands were filled with bags from Nike Town, Saks, Bloomingdale�s and even a few heavy hitter designers. Mr. Oops, I Have Money, wasn�t fooling her one bit. So she aggressively went at him with first class packages.

He ignored the woman�s pleas to buy the best and said that all he�d take first class plane tickets, to help her commission but he still wanted to go economy. She had sneered at not getting the big fat commission check she�d been salivating for when he walked into the door, but still, he was going for first class plane tickets and that was enough for her. At least he was buying something.

The Justin that left the travel agency was not the same Justin that had walked in. The Justin that walked into the travel agency with heavy shoulders, knowing that he was twenty-one and hadn�t really enjoyed any of the year. At the beginning of the year, he broke up with Britney and lost one someone that was becoming one of his best friends. He was still trying to recover. But the Justin that walked out of the travel agency was more confident and had a quicker pace to his stride. He held each bag in his hand as if it were filled with the secret to life, the fountain of youth.

Justin ignored the awe filled stares of random women that passed him by on his progression further into the mall. He had no use for women who stared at him like he were some kind of piece of meat instead of a person. �I have a girl� he thought happily as he walked into Ralph Lauren. Sure, she was scared to death of commitment and had basically treated him like shit the last time he saw her, but she was a good person. Justin knew this in his heart.

Roaming the large store for something that would catch his eye, he curiously went to the women�s area. Summer�s fabrics and latest trends filled the expensive wooden racks of the store, giving him the same textures and designs that he�d seen every where else. He wasn�t interested. Besides, he didn�t know what he was looking for in the first place.

But as he was about to leave and go to another store, a light blue object caught his eye. He abruptly turned around on his heel and smiled coyly. There on a discount rack was a dress that screamed �Samantha!� when he looked at it. And it was then that he realized that he was looking for something for her. He went to it as it beckoned him and slid his fingers across the cool fabric. Running his eyes leisurely across the embroidered flowers and carefully stitched hem. He held it up to where she would stand to see where it would fall on her. Justin closed his eyes and could see the wind gently blowing it up around her knees as they danced together in some unknown place.

�Sir?� a sales associate asked him kindly �Can I help you with something?�

�Hmm?� Justin asked merrily as he opened his eyes �What?�

�Can I help you with something?� she asked again adding a smile to her chubby face

�Yes� he put the dress across his arm �Do you accept credit cards?�

* * * *

Tapping quickly on the computer Nichole kept in her library, Samantha growled as pop ups infiltrated her screen. Her patience was running thin. She looked at the clock and sighed. She only had a few hours until he�d be back to his hotel. She needed to hurry.

All of her plans were riding on the hope that he was going with the schedule that he�d mentioned he would be following. Going to meetings until mid evening, hanging out with friends and then going back to the hotel for some much needed rest to get rid of the jet lag. However, when she�d risked and called the room at noon, he wasn�t there. Samantha was praying that she didn�t screw everything up.

First thing in the morning when Samantha had woke up and realized that it was in fact almost noon, she almost burst into tears. She wanted Justin to come back to the hotel from being at meetings all day and find his room full of the sweet and cleansing scent of eucalyptus. All she had to do was find the name and address of his hotel, find a flower shop nearby and hope that everything went to plan. She wanted to kick herself for being so mean to Justin. Now, she was certainly paying for it.

Finally, she found the address to the hotel and saw that they did, in fact have a boutique inside of the hotel. With rapid tapping on the computer and a few clicks of the mouse, she also found that there was a gift shop a few blocks away from Justin�s hotel that made and delivered gift sets. Smiling at her handiwork, Samantha immediately jotted down the number and called.

�Mad Hatters!�
�Hi, I�d like to make an order for delivery�
�Where to doll?�
�The Four Season�s, Manhattan. I need a long stem bushel of Eucalyptus and a few male friendly flowers strewn in there�
�Now�� the woman�s voice became less aggressive and more supportive �What kind of gift set is this going to be? An �Just Thinking About You, I Love You� gift set or an �I�m So Sorry I Screwed Up Please Don�t Think I�m An Insensitive Jerk� gift set?� Samantha smiled
�I�ll take the latter�

After twenty grueling minutes of laboring over the perfect flowers to send with eucalyptus, Samantha and Phyllis (The shop keeper) finally came to a decision and Justin�s flowers were promptly arranged and sent to his hotel room. Although, her work was no where near finished, she relaxed a little. She was starting not to feel like such a jerk.

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WOOOOOOOO HOOOOOO more.....please? Pretty please? -- Reagan, 00:33:09 03/18/03 Tue