Michelle made her way through the lobby of MDC, waving to a few staff members who were at the registration desk. 

She still couldn't believe she accidently answered Wade's call. Never again would she let that happen. She knew she would at some point need to talk to him, but she definetly wasn't ready to do it today.

As she walked back towards the office to find out exactly which of the studios Wade had them using, Steph walked out of the lounge and saw her. 

"Michelle, wait up."

Michelle turned around and saw Steph heading towards her with a look she knew all too well. It was the same look she saw on Marty's face after he realized that Wade had been the one hitting her.

Sighing heavily, she stopped and waited for her to approach.

"Hey, you busy?"

"Uh....kinda. What's up?" Michelle asked, adjusting her purse as it hung on her shoulder.

"Ok, I'm not going to beat around the bush....because...well...I'm just not going to do it. I'm not sure if Marty told you or not, but I know what's been going on with you and Wade. We both actually figured it out that one night at the club."

"Steph, I really don't wanna talk about this." Michelle said, glancing towards the office. "I have alot of stuff I need to do."

"Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you tell anyone for that matter. Did you think we wouldn't believe you or help you?"

"No, that wasn't it. I'm just not the kind of person who lays their problems out there for everyone to get involved in. I've just always kept to myself."

"Do you think that was a good idea? I mean, I didn't get all the deatils from Marty, but what I did find out leads me to believe that you've been to hell and back."

"Look Steph, I'm not trying to be ignorant or anything, but this isn't really something I wanna discuss with you. The one thing I will tell you though, is that me and Wade are finished. You don't have to worry about it any more."

With that said, Michelle turned away and headed down the hall towards the office. 

Great, how many other people here knew what was going on in her life. This place truly was gossip central and if the whole staff didn't know by now, she'd be surprised. 

As she walked into the office, she saw Justin standing there with Marty going over paperwork for the studio rental and instantly felt a knot in her stomach.

"Hey girl. You here checking on things too?" Marty asked, as he handed a few papers to Justin for him to sign.

"Uh...yeah. I just wanted to stop by and see which studio we were using."

"It appears that Wade booked the dome. I was just going over the papers with J."

"Why are you doing it?" she asked Marty, still not making eye contact with Justin.

"Well, I saw Justin out in the parking lot and we were just bullshitting. He said he was here to do the paperwork on the studio so I told him I'd take care of it. Why, is there a problem?" he joked, as he walked around and playfully bumped into her. 

"No, I was just curious that's all. I mean paperwork isn't your thing here."

"Girl, I'm multi-talented. There isn't a thing I can't do in this place." he said flipping a pen up in the air and catching it.

"Dude, I'm impressed." Justin laughed, as he glanced toward Michelle and smiled.

Not wanting the situation to be any more awkward than it already was, Michelle simply smiled back at him.

"Well, I just wanted to stop down and find out what studio we had. I have a few other things I need to take care of, so I'll talk to you guys later."

"You just stopped down for that? Your not even gonna hang out for awhile?" Marty asked.

"I can't. I have too many things I need to take care of."

"Then why didn't you just call down here. We could have told you what studio was booked over the phone."

"I don't know." Michelle said, shrugging her shoulders.

Justin glanced up from the paperwork he was filling out and looked over at her. It was becoming obvious to him that she was a little uneasy around him. Hell, he'd be lying if he didn't admit that it was weird seeing her again after what went down between them. After all, he still had so many unanswered questions that...well....he wanted answers to.

"You alright?" Marty asked, quietly leaning in towards her.

"Yeah, I'm fine." she said, shifting positions and glancing over at Justin.

Immeadiately, Marty turned back towards Justin and then looked back at her. Raising an eyebrow, he gave her a questioning look.

"I'm heading out. I'll catch you later." she said, almost scolding Marty for his all too keen perceptions concerning Justin.

"What? No goodbye for me?" Justin asked, as he grabbed the papers off the desk and handed them to Marty.

"Oh...sorry. Bye Justin." she said half-heartedly and then walked out the door.

The two stood there and watched her walk out, not saying a single word, but both thinking their fair share of questions they wanted to ask each other.

Knowing he obviously knew more than Justin, Marty decided that he was going to say something. He wasn't sure if he was reading things correctly, but he had a pretty good idea that something was up between the two.

"Hey man, can I ask you a question?" 

"Sure." Justin said, walking back over to the desk to grab his keys and cell phone. He knew what he was going to ask the second he looked back and forth between them. For him, it was just going to be a matter of playing it off. He didn't need any more snags in his plan.

"Is there something going on between you and Michelle? Like outside of work?"

"Man, you just cut right to it , don't you." Justin laughed.

"J, I'm serious. What's going on with you and Michelle? I've come to be able to read her like a book and I can tell there is something going on or something that went on between you two."

"Like what? What exactly are you asking?"

Instantly, the tone of Justin's voice lead him to believe that maybe he had been wrong. He certainly couldn't acuse Justin of going after Michelle. He had no concrete evidence that would lead him to believe that, other than their obvious discomfort around each other, which honestly coud be for a number of reasons.

"Nothing. Never mind."

"No man, what do you mean?" Justin asked, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"Seriously, it's nothing. I guess I have just been a little protective over her lately, that's all." 

"Protective of her? Why?" 

Without even thinking, Marty opened up a topic he shouldn't have and quickly tried to cover his ass.

"Well with Wade out of town, I just kinda took on the responsibility of looking after her."

"Oh. Well, I'm sure she'll be fine. She seems like she can take care of herself."

Marty knew that wasn't the case at all. Sure Michelle seemed to have this tough exterior but deep down, he knew that she was fragile. Wade knew it too, that's obviously why he exploited it, that fuckin prick.

God he hated Wade. He still couldn't believe he did that shit to Michelle. Plus, he was convinced there was alot more he didn't know of and that bothered him even more. 

He couldn't help but partialy blame himself for everything that she went through. He thought that if he had only tried harder, he could have found out who she was dating and put an end to this a long time ago. Unfortunelty though, he didn't and it killed him to think that his one time friend was the one who hurt her. To make things worse, it was basically done right under his nose.

"Yo, Marty, I said I'm taking off. I'm meeting up with Trace for lunch."

"Oh, ok. Sorry, just kinda wrapped up in thought here."

"Yeah so I noticed. I'll catch ya later man." Justin said, shaking Marty's hand.

"Alright, take it easy."

Justin nodded his head and proceeded to head out to the lobby. He could understand where Marty was coming from to a point concerning Michelle, but he still couldn't shake the feeling that there was more behind him asking the question than he was revealing. Possibly adding a little bit of confirmation to the idea that indeed the fights that happened between Wade and Marty were because of his physical involvement with Michelle.

Shaking his head, Justin headed out to the parking lot and spotted Michelle sitting in her car a few spaces down from his. 

"Some rush." he said to himself, pulling his baseball cap down to block the sun from his eyes as he walked over to her car. He figured now was as good a time as any to try to get some answers to the questions that plagued his mind since their encounter.

As soon as he was a few feet away from her car, she noticed someone walking towards her and looked up. Surprised that it was Justin, she quickly wiped the tears from her eyes and put on her sunglasses.

When Justin approached her car, he tapped on the glass. Trying her best to pull herself together, she took a deep breath and lowered the window

"Hey, I thought you were in a big rush. Didn't you have things to do?" he asked, as he bent down next to her car.

"Yeah, I just had to make a make a few calls first, that's all" she said softly and immeadiately Justin picked up on the fact that she wasn't alright.

Turning his cap backwards, Justin leaned into her car window and pulled off her sunglasses.

Seeing the the redness and tears in her eyes, he backed up and pulled her car door open. He wasn't sure why he felt this sudden urge to try and console her, but he did. 

"Hey. What's wrong?" he said, as he moved in closer to crouch down in the space between the door and her seat.

"Nothing. I'm fine." 

"Girl, no your not and you must be a fool to think I'd buy that for even one second."

Leaning back against the headrest, she sighed heavily. Why did it seem like everything in her life was in complete turmoil. First her love life with Wade and now her career with Justin. Why did she have to let things happen between the two of them.

"Does this have anything to do with what happened between us?"

As Michelle turned to face him, she spotted a group of girls a few cars back pointing at him.

"Uh...you might wanna get out of here. You have a few fans that look about ready to pounce." 

Glancing over his shoulder, Justin spotted the a small group of girls only a few feet from his truck.

"Shit. I'll never make it. Move over."

"Excuse me?" she asked, looking at him like he had lost his mind.

"Move over. As in get in the passenger side and let me drive."

She couldn't help but laugh at him. He was being completely absurd. I mean, was he that worried about having to sign a few autographs for some fans.

"I'm glad you think it's funny. Now move over." he said, pushing her over to the passenger side.

"Oh my god! Are you kidding me?!" she laughed out loud.

"Do I look like I'm kidding." he said, sitting down in the drivers seat the second she moved over.

"I guess not."

Starting up her car, he backed out of the parking lot and pulled out onto the road.

"Ok, so where the hell are we going?" she asked, more amused now than annoyed. Again, he just seemed to bring out something in her that she didn't know existed and she hated to admit it, but it felt good.

"Well, seeing as how I am driving. Anywhere I want."

Shaking her head at him, she looked over and saw a smile spread across his face.

Winking at her, he turned up the stereo and continued to drive, not exactly sure where he was heading and at this point not really caring either.

CHAPTER 62

As Wade sat on the bed of his hotel room, he wondered if he would ever have Michelle back in his life. He couldn't believe he finally got her on the phone and didn't tell her everything that had been going on with him. That he realized what he was doing and that he was going to get help. He didn't get the chance to tell her.

Falling back onto the bed, Wade stared up at the ceiling and knew he couldn't go through this alone. If he was going to get his life back on track, he needed support. He needed the support of his sister. She was the one person who always stood beside him...no matter what. 

Sighing heavily, Wade flipped his cell phone open and dialed Chantal's cell phone. After a few rings, she picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Hey sis. You busy?"

"Not really. Why? What is it now?" Chantal asked, coldly. 

Shutting his eyes, Wade realized that smoothing things over with Chantal wasn't going to be as easy as he expected.

"Is this how it's gonna be between us now? If so, I'll make a note of it and not call back anymore."

"How do you want me to act Wade? I mean, I don't even know who the fuck you are anymore. Seriously! You know, after I got off the phone with you last time, I literally felt sick to my stomach. This shit is just too much for me."

Laying his arm across his forehead, Wade tried to keep himself together. The last thing he needed right now was a recap or lecture from Chantal on what he had done wrong concerning Michelle.

"Look, the reason I called you was because I knew you are the one person I could count on if I was in trouble. I don't think I could possibly get myself in any more trouble than this. I'm asking for your help."

"Help with what? Getting Michelle back? Psh, don't count on it. Her leaving you is the best thing she could have done, and I'm sorry to say that, but it's true."

"Honestly, I don't think that's a possibility. Not to say that I'm giving up though." he said, feeling his heart break at the mere idea of having to live his life without her.

"Well.....what then?"

"I want to get my life on track. All of it. I want to stop the drinking, I wanna get all this work shit back on track.....and yeah....I want her back."

"I already said I'm not helping you get her back." she said, matter of factly.

"Jesus christ! Never mind. Forget that I even called." 

Feeling like he was losing everything and everyone around him, he flipped the phone shut and fired it across the room, breaking it against the wall.

"Fuck this shit." Wade said, as he got off the bed and headed over to the dresser to grab his room key. Shoving it into his pocket, he bent down and picked up the remains of his cell phone and slammed them in the trash.

Fustrated, Wade headed out of his room and down to the elevator at the end of the hall. Frantically he pressed the down button, hoping that the more he pushed it the faster it would come. He just needed to get out of there. 

Once the elevator doors opened, he pressed the button to the lobby and leaned against the side. He just felt like his life was trapped inside this box and slowly the walls were closing in around him.

After a few seconds, the elevator stopped and the doors opened. Stepping out, Wade started to walk towards the entrance of the hotel, but stopped a few feet short when something caught his eye. Turning to his left, he spotted the hotel's lounge and instantly knew where he was going to go. Taking a deep breath, he ran his hand through his hair and walked inside.

Deep in thought, Wade walked over and took a seat at the bar. Not once, did the fact run through his mind that he shouldn't be in there. He just waved the bartender down and ordered a drink without giving it a second thought.

Once the bartender sat the drink down, Wade stared at it for a few seconds before picking it up. Looking down at the caramel colored liquor as he swirled his glass, he knew that he literally held his own life in his hands. His next decision, whether right or wrong, would set the course of his future.

"Well well well. Here's a sight I shouldn't be seeing" came a familiar voice from behind him.

Quickly, he turned around and saw Chantal standing there with her bag draped over her shoulder.

"It's gonna be pretty damn hard for me to help you when you can't even help yourself."

"What are you doing here?" he asked, as he sat the drink back down on the bar.

"No, question is...what are YOU doing HERE?" she asked, sitting her bag down on the floor so that she could sit down in the empty seat next to him.

Wade was speechless. He didn't have any good reason to be at the bar. Sure, he knew what his intentions were when he sat down and ordered his drink, but he knew it wasn't truly the way he wanted to go. It just happened that way.

Seeing Chantal join Wade, the bartender walked down to their end of the bar.

"What can I get you?"

"I'm good, but you can take this and get rid of it for me." she said, grabbing Wade's glass from in front of him and handing it to the bartender.

Confused, the bartender glanced over at Wade.

Not saying a word, Wade nodded his head in agreement that the drink should go.

Shrugging his shoulders, the bartender took the glass and dumped it out.

"So, you call me and say you want me to help you get back on track, but the second I get out the cab and walk in here I find you at the bar. Please explain that to me, because in no way, shape or form is THIS going to help." she said, waving her hand around the lounge.

Again, Wade was speechless. He didn't have the answer to that. It was simply of matter of habit for him. When problems arised or if he felt overwhelmed with stress, he turned to alcohol. It never judged him, it just gave him what he was in search of. A release. A means of escape.

"Before I can even try to help you, you have to help yourself. I mean, I'm sure you don't want to hear this but if you can completely control another human being, you can control yourself. There shouldn't be any reason why you can't divert that effort into something positive."

"Yeah, your right. I don't wanna hear anything about Michelle right now. I'm completely aware of what went wrong between us and what I did to her. I can't go back and change the past. I just want to try and fix this so that maybe...just maybe...there could be a future for us." 

"Have you even talked to her?" Chantal asked, getting off of the barstool.

"Technically...yeah. Did we actually carry on any resemblance of a conversation...no. I got about two sentences out and she hung up on me."

"I guess I can understand where she is coming from though. I mean, if someone I loved did that to me, I don't know what I'd do. It's got to be hard on her."

"Thanks. I really needed to hear that." Wade said, bending over to grab Chantal's bag off the floor so that they could head back to his room..

"Oh shit. I'm sorry. You didn't need to hear that."

"Don't worry about it. I mean, I can't possibly stand here and try to convince myself that she's fine. Especially when I know she's not. That's what I'm having a hard time dealing with. I know she's hurting. It's funny how differently you see things when your system isn't flooded with alcohol."

"You really do love her, don't you?" Chantal asked, as she followed him over the the elevator.

"Yeah....I do. More than anything."

Standing there waiting for the elevator, Chantal knew she had her work cut out for her. At this point, there was very little, if anything, that was stable in her brother's life. The one thing that could keep him grounded, was the very same thing he pushed away. Michelle.

"Do you want me to call her?"

"No, I think what she needs right now is just time. I mean, I got the feeling that she wanted to talk to me, I just don't think emotionally she's ready."

"So, she still doesn't know everything that's been going on with you?"

"No. I don't want to add to her stress. It's bad enough that she got forced into starting the damn tour rehearsals by herself. I'm sure that right there has her on edge. I know how much shit is involved with getting it all started. I still can't believe I just threw that at her and left to come here."

"Yeah but you know Justin. I'm sure she's fine. He knows this is her first time doing something like this, right?"

"Yeah."

"Well then don't worry about it. When I get back to LA, I'll stop over and see how things are going. I need to appologize to her anyway."

Just then, the elevator doors opened and they stepped inside.

"What floor are you on?" 

"Same one as you. Just a few rooms down from yours. I have to make sure I keep my eye on you." she said, playfully nudging Wade in his side.

Shaking his head, Wade hit the button for the 18th floor and wrapped his arm around his sisters shoulder.

"Thanks for coming."

CHAPTER 63

As Justin drove down the road, he glanced over at Michelle. The expression that was on her face when he first got to her car was gone. Now in it's place was a look of contentment and he smiled.

Leaning forward, Michelle pressed a few buttons on the radio in an attempt to find something to her liking. After the fourth try, she stopped.

"Here we go. This is one of my favorites" she said, turning up the radio.

Instantly Justin cringed when he realized that the voice he was hearing was his own. 

"Girl, I'm not gonna sit here and listen to myself sing. Pick another one."

"Nope. My car....my choice." she said, turning to look and him so that he could see her best "I'm the boss" face.

"I don't think so." he said, quickly pressing another button to change stations.

"Oh no you didn't! You did not just change that!" she gasped, turning the station back and quickly covering the buttons with her hand so that he couldn't change it again. She really did want to hear the song, but at the same time the power struggle that was developing for control of the radio was becoming quite amusing.

"OK, so no radio it is then." Justin laughed, turning the radio off and in the process quickly moving out of the way of her hand as she attempted to smack him.

"Damn girl, your slow."

"And you don't play fair!" Michelle snapped back, giving him her best evil eye.

Just as Justin was about to continue their banter, his cell phone started to ring. Laughing, he leaned to his side and pulled his cell phone from his pocket. Glancing down at the caller ID he realized who was calling.

"Shit!"

"What?" Michelle asked, concerned by his sudden seriousness.

"You hungry?"

"Why?" Michelle laughed.

"Cause I was susposed to meet Trace for lunch."

"Oh. Guess you forgot huh? Understandable with the car jacking and all."

Rolling his eyes, Justin pressed the button on his phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey man. Where the hell are you at?" Trace asked, slightly annoyed on the other end.

"I'm driving."

"Driving where? You were susposed to be here like fifteen minutes ago. How long until you get here. I'm hungry dude."

"Your always hungry. Look, there's been a slight change of plans. You wanna grab some take out and meet me back at the house?"

"Meet you at the house? Why? Where the fuck are you at?"

"I'm atleast a good twenty minutes from you."

"Whatever. Care to tell me why the change of plans?"

"Yeah when I get there. Make sure you get enough though, I'm bringing company." Justin said, turning to smile at her.

"Company? Who?" 

"See ya in an hour." Justin said laughing.

"Dude. Who the hell you bringing?" 

Ending the call, Justin shoved the phone back into his pocket and turned towards Michelle.

"So.....Trace is going to bring food back to the house. You wanna join us?"

"Do I have a choice?"

"Yeah, you can come back to my place with me or we can drive back up to Millennium and I'll grab my truck."

Michelle glanced down at her watch and knew that she would still have plenty of time to finish up what she needed for the day if she went with Justin. Plus, he was fun to be around and she really didn't want to go wrap up work then sit and home and think of Wade. Which would be exactly what she would end up doing. Especially after his call earlier. 

Going back and forth in her mind, she finally decided to go back to Justin's house. The fact that Trace was gonna be there was the last piece of info the sealed the deal. Nothing was going to happen with him around. She was sure of it.

"Ok, count me in."

About 10 minutes later, Justin pulled into the driveway of his house. 

Heading up the two steps to the front door, he handed over her keys and proceeded to remove his own set from his pocket. 

"So, we got some time to kill. What do you wanna do?" 

Instantly Michelle froze. This was not what she had in mind when she agreed to come back to his house with him. Especially since the one thing on her mind at that very moment was the fact that they almost had sex.

"Girl, relax. That's not what I meant." he laughed, walking over to the entertainment center. It was like he had read her mind. Well, either that or he was thinking it too.

Opening one of the cabinet doors, he reached in and pulled out two playstation controllers and turned on the TV.

"You ever play before?" he asked, opening another door to reveal case after case of games.

"Not recently. I mean, video games aren't really my thing. Too confusing now. What ever happened to the simple jump and attack two button system?" she said, slightly dumbfounded.

Justin couldn't help but laugh at her comment. To be intimidated by a game controller's numerous buttons was too much for him.

"And what is so damn funny?" she asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"Here. Take it. This should be quite interesting." Justin said, handing over the controller so he could get the system set up. "It's not as hard as it seems. I'll walk you through it."

Plopping down on the sofa, Michelle studied the contraption. Rapidly pressing the buttons, Michelle tried to get a feel for it and the proper placement of her fingers.

Once Justin had the game set up, he walked back over and sat down on the sofa next to her.

"So, you ready for me to teach ya a thing or two?"

"Sure." Michelle laughed, leaning back against the sofa so she could get comfortable. After a quick run down on the various functions of the buttons for that particular game, Justin reset the game and the two were underway.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After about twenty minutes, Trace came waltzing through the door. Hearing the commotion down the hall, Trace sat the bags down on the kitchen island and headed into the media room. 

"Ok, so I guess I see who the compnay is." Trace yelled , trying to get his voice to carry over the two as they tanted each other loudly. 

After a minute with no response, Trace grabbed a pillow from another sofa and smacked Justin in the back of his head.

"What the....oh, hey man. When did you get here?" Justin asked, grabbing the pillow from Trace and tucking it behind his back.

"A few minutes ago. Didn't you hear me walk in?" 

"No. Sorry. Ms. thang here tried to pull a fast one on me. Telling me she didn't play video games. Dude, if we would have bet money on this game like she wanted to.....I'd be broke." Justin said, looking over at Michelle who simply batted her eyes at him in an attempt to act all innocent.

"Yeah, she seems like the shady type." Trace laughed.

"I am not! I'm just a fast learner, that's all. Either that or Justin completely sucks at this game." she teased.

Pulling the pillow out from behind his back, Justin smacked Michelle in the arm with it and reset the game.

"Aw damn. Now we'll never know who would have won."

Shaking her head, Michelle sat the controller on the table and grabbed a pillow of her own.

"Ya know, two can play this game." Michelle said, smacking Justin in his ribs with her pillow.

"Girl....game on!" Justin said, getting off of the couch and grabbing as many pillows as he could.

Laughing, Michelle immeadiately ran over to the other sofa and attempted to grab her own fair share.

"Well, I think I've waited long enough. I'm heading in the kitchen to grab something to eat. You can either follow me or you can run around and play. I just feel that it is my duty to inform you that if you do decide to wait...there might not be anything left." Trace said, watching Justin launch pillows across the room at Michelle.

"We'll be out in a second." Justin yelled, ducking out of the way of a pillow.

"Whatever."

Walking towards the kitchen, Trace knew that Justin's plan for revenge with Michelle was the last thing on his mind as he threw pillows at her across the room. He knew Justin and that look in his eyes as he looked at her was unmistakeable. He was falling for her.

Grabbing a few plates from the cabinet, Trace knew that once Michelle had left, he needed to have a serious talk with Justin. It was becoming obvious that things had changed in the short time they had spent together. Knowing this, he prayed that Justin wasn't getting in over his head. If he was really falling for her, undoubtedly there was going to be trouble. Trouble that he sensed was going to be more than anyone could handle.

CHAPTER 64

After about five minutes of tossing pillows back and forth in the livingroom, Justin made a mad dash for the kitchen.

"Do you have to do this in here?  Can't you see I'm trying to eat?"  Trace asked, looking over his shoulder at Justin who had taken cover behind him. 

Within seconds Michelle ran into the kitchen to join them, freshly stocked with all the pillows she could get tucked under her arms.

"You didn't think this was over did you?  Cause by my count...I owe you atleast three good hits."  she said, laughing.

"Then come get me."  Justin teased, dodging back and forth behind Trace.

Laughing, Michelle lowered her pillow.  She knew that there wasn't any way to hit Justin where he was standing.  Trace was the only thing she would hit if she threw it. 

Shaking his head, Trace continued to eat, ignoring the two's antics at they shot evil glances at each other across the room

"Ok, well then I guess that means I win.  If your going to hide behind Trace, it's an automatic disqualification."

"Oh, then in that case....let's go."  Justin said, quickly stepping from behind his best friend to launch a pillow directly at her.  Caught off guard, the pillow smacked her right in the face.

"Oh, your dead!"  Michelle yelled, and instinctively threw one of her pillows back at him.  Unfortunetly, by the time she realized what she was doing...it was too late.  Her pillow knocked right into Trace's water bottle causing it to spill all over the counter and onto his shorts.

"Oh my god!  Trace, I'm so sorry."  she said, walking toward the bottle to stand it back up.

As Trace stood up to grab a towel, Justin started to laugh hysterically.  "Dude, it looks like you pissed your pants!"

"Yeah, I'm glad your amused.  You know I have somewhere I needed to go after this.  Now I'm going to have to change."

Mortified, Michelle stood there and watched as Trace attempted to temporarily dry himself off.  She couldn't believe she had just done that. Completely embarrassed, Michelle excused herself so that she could gather the rest of the pillows and take them back into the livingroom.

Still laughing, Justin watched Michelle as she walked away, watching every little move she made with sheer delight.

"J...what the hell are you doing?  And don't feed me no bullshit plan about you wanting to get back at Wade either.  That's not going to fly.  That may have been your intentions at one point....but clearly it isn't anymore.  What the hell are you thinking."

Noticing the look of seriousness on Trace's face, Justin leaned forward to see what Michelle was doing.  Seeing that she was sitting on the sofa on the opposite end of the room , Justin walked over to Trace.

"Man, what's with the interragation?  You know damn well what my intentions are.  They haven't changed.  I just have to approach things with her differently.  I mean, I thought for sure I was going to have her the other night, but it didn't happen.  Maybe I'm losing my touch." 

"Maybe she has some self respect.  Maybe....she refuses to cheat on her boyfriend.  I mean...if ya want I could go on and on."

"I think I'll pass"  Justin said, leaning against the counter.

"All I know is that your pursuit of her isn't what you think.  I think your starting to fall for her.  Which would be suicide to do, considering she is Wade's girlfriend."

"Why is it that you are so damn obsessed about Wade?  Huh?  That fuckin prick slept with Britney behind my back. You remember her.  Blond, overly friendly .  Vaguely recall any of this?"  Justin asked, crossing his arms over his chest.  Of all people he would have assumed Trace would understand the need to get back at Wade, but he didn't.  Everytime they got into conversation about Wade or Michelle, things between them became less than cordial. 

Pushing himself away from the counter, Justin walked over to the window.  "I mean, he even had the nerve to act like he was doing me a favor by telling me what happened.  Saying he felt guilty.  That fucker was gloating.  I knew it the second he opened his damn mouth."

"Then why in the hell are you having him do the tour if you still have that many ill feelings toward him?  I mean c'mon Justin.  It's not like you don't have any other options."  Trace said, shifting positions so he could make sure Michelle was still seated on the sofa.

"If you think about it, I'm sure you know the answer to that.  It's been how long and people still dwell on the "speculation" that Wade was the reason me and Brit broke up.  It's getting old and I just want to put it to rest.  I figured working together would help to dismiss any hard feelings they allege are between us.  Although, we both know they are dead on about what happened."

"Is it really worth it though?  To work with him when you basically still hate the guy?"

"I don't hate him.  I mean at one point I did, but I've grown from the experience..both personally and professionally.  I just think they way things went down...he has it coming.  It's not like I had this planned when I discussed the job offer with him.  I mean, Michelle wasn't even in the picture.  So why should I feel guilty?"

"Because the one who is going to end up getting hurt the most in this..... is her."  Trace said, pointing towards the livingroom.

Justin sighed.  He hadn't really given the thought much merit after specualting about the reason for Wade's problems with Marty.  He knew that there was something going on between the three of them and logic would say that it involved her being unfaithful.  However, getting to know her more he was starting to doubt if he was correct.

"Look, it's not like she is falling for me or anything so I really don't think doing this will crush her heart."

"Man your cold.  I would have expected better from you."  Trace said, before shaking his head at Justin and walking into the livingroom.

Justin stared out the window for a second and gave Trace's comments some time to sink in.  He wasn't falling for her.  He barely knew her.  Granted he was attracted to her and had been thoroughly enjoying her company, but feeling something for her.  No.

After a few minutes, Michelle walked back towards the kitchen but stopped when she saw the serious look on Justin's face as he gazed out the window.  She could tell whatever it was he was thinking about had his full attention and she didn't want to break his train of thought. 

Just as she was about to head back into the livingroom, Justin stepped away from the window and turned around.

"Hey, I didn't hear you walk in."  Justin said, tucking his hands in his pockets and walking towards her.

"Yeah, you looked deep in thought and I didn't want to disturb you."

"Well, it's wasn't important."  Justin said.  "Is Trace still pouting?" 

"No, he actually just left.  He said he had somewhere to go."

"Yeah, I forgot.  So what do you want to do?"  Justin asked, walking into the livingroom.

"Umm...I actually have a few things I need to take care of so maybe I should be heading out."

"Already?  Girl, the day is young.  You'll have plenty of time to do whatever it is you need to do later.  Let's go have some fun."

"Fun being......hanging out with you?"  she asked, sarcastically.

"You know it!"  Justin said, playfully bumping her with his hip.

"You just don't know when to stop do you." 

"Oh I know when to stop, but I think we both know that this battle has not concluded."

"You do not wanna get me started again"

"Oh really?  Why is that?"

"Because this time I won't play fair.  Something that is obviously right up your alley."  she laughed, shoving him into the side of the sofa.

"Are you saying I don't play fair?!"  Justin asked, trying his best to act shocked.

"Yeah!  That's exactly what I'm saying.  I was kickin your ass and you took off into the kitchen to hide behind Trace.  That's not fair."

Justin couldn't help but laugh at her.  She was trying her best to come off as serious but it was clear to him that she was fully ready to resume their antics.  This was simply her way for issuing him a challenge.  A challenge he was whole-heartedly ready to accept

"Yeah, and neither is this."  Justin said, quickly pushing her down onto the sofa and sprinting down the hall.

"Your finished!"  Michelle yelled, laughing as she jumping back off the sofa and ran after him.  She hadn't felt this alive in a long time and she was savoring every minute of it.  This is who she was.  Playful and full of life.  Not the withdrawn and timid person she had become with Wade.

Running down the hall, Michelle could hear Justin laughing and it was driving her crazy.  There were so many rooms that adjoined downstairs that it was hard to keep track of where he was or where he was headed next.  Something that amused her but at the same time drove her insane.  She hated the fact that Justin was "winning" this so called game.

Finally after becoming familiar with the layout of his house, Michelle knew she had him beat.  Hearing him head back towards the foyer, Michelle cut through the diningroom and attempted to head him off.  Unfortunetly, he changed directions and she ran right into him knocking them both to the floor.

Crashing down onto the hardwood floors, Justin looked up at her as she laid on top of him and laughed.

"Guess I was wrong on which way you were headed."  she said, placing her hands on the floor so that she could push herself up.

Instead of a response from him like she expected, he wrapped  his hands around her waist and held her in place.  Instantly the giggling stopped and the only thing she could hear was the sound of her heart pounding in her chest. 

 After what seemed like an eternity, although it was only a matter of seconds, Justin brought his hand up from her waist and slid it behind her neck.  Gazing into her eyes, he searched for any sign that he had her permission to do the one thing he had been thinking about all day. 

Feeling her relax against him, Justin knew he had her permission.  Sliding his hand along the side of her neck, he brushed his thumb along her jaw and felt the need to have her growing inside him. Without waiting another second, Justin pulled her towards him and passionately kissed her.

Feeding off of the desire to have her, Justin slid his hands up her back and began to unfasten her bra.  He wasn't sure if she would object or not, but at this point he had to try.  She was causing every part of his body to become consumed with her and he needed a release.

As Justin kissed her, Michelle realized that she had been fighting something that deep down she truly wanted.  Justin.  Finally letting go of all the fear and anxiety she developed because of Wade, Michelle allowed herself to feel the desires that she had all but forgotten existed.

Pulling away from the kiss, Justin carefully rolled her onto her back so that he was now on top of her.  Once again Justin devoured her lips, this time his hands joining in on the mission as they worked their way over every inch of her body.

"Justin...make love to me."  Michelle whispered, gazing deep into his eyes as she slid her hands up his back. 

Hearing those words, Justin leaned back and gazed down at her.  This is what he wanted from the beginning.  And if this time she wanted it as well, why was he feeling the sudden need to stop. 

"Justin...please"  she said, practically begging him.  "I want you to make love to me."

Just then, the problem hit him. 

"I can't do this."  Justin said, pushing himself away from her and sitting on the floor beside her.  He wouldn't be making love  to her.  He would merely be satisifying a need and although he was pretty sure she understood that fact, something told him to stop.  Something deep inside him that wasn't a result of Trace's comments or the fact that she was involved with Wade.  This was something deeper.

"I don't understand.  I thought you wanted this too?"  Michelle asked, fixing her shirt as Justin stood up.

"I did...I mean I do.  It's just...I just can't.  I'm sorry."  Justin said,  extending his hand to her so that he could help her up.

"Look, I better go.  I have a ton of things to do anyway.  Umm....I guess I'll talk to you later."  Michelle said, the look of hurt clearly evident on her face.

"Wait."  Justin said, grabbing her hand as she started to walk away.  "This isn't because of you.  This is because of me.  I don't want you to think that I don't want this...because I do.  I REALLY do."  he snickered.  "But this just isn't right...for many reasons.  You understand that don't you?"  he asked, looking into her eyes.

Simply nodding her head in agreement, Michelle walked back into the livingroom, grabbed her purse off the sofa and headed towards the front door.

"Do you need me to take you back to get your truck?"  she asked, playing with her keys as they dangled from her fingers.

"Shit!  I forgot.  Umm....fuck.  Yeah I do.  If it's a problem though don't worry about it.  I'll call someone."

"No, it's fine.  It's on my way anyway."  she said, still keeping her focus on the keys.

"Ok.  Thanks.  Just let me grab my wallet and keys and I'm ready."

"I'll meet you in the car."  Michelle yelled towards the kitchen and opened the front door.  Walking to her car, she prayed that the conversation didn't continue about the what "didn't" happen and why.  All she wanted to do was forget it ever happened.

CHAPTER 65

As the two drove back to Millennium, they were able to make some casual conversation, but they avoided the one thing that was on both their minds.  Even though Michelle wanted to know why Justin had been so willing to be with her one moment and then completely opposite the next, embarrassment from the rejection kept her from asking.

Justin's reason for avoiding the subject however were different.  Looking down at her as she told him to make love to her, triggered something inside him.  Something deep inside that revealed feelings he was aware that existed until that point.  It was if somewhere in his subconscious he started to feel something for her but blocked it out so that he could carry on with his mission.  Now however, the thought of making love to her simply for revenge against Wade bothered him.

He hated the fact that Trace may have been right about him...for more reason than one. Not only did he hate being wrong, but the idea that he could be falling for someone who was already taken would certainly mean disaster or heartbreak.  Neither of which he wanted to deal with.

As Justin tried to make sense of the feelings flooding his mind, Michelle's cell phone started to ring.  Instinctively Justin glanced down at it sitting betweeen them in the console.  Recogonizing the number as Wade's cell phone, Justin took it as a sign to forget whatever possibilities there could have been between them.  One thing remained the same.  She belonged to Wade.

Picking up the phone, Michelle glanced at the caller ID and saw that it was Wade.  Letting out a sigh, Michelle placed the phone back down and tried her best to keep it together.  The last thing she expected him to do was call her back.  Especially after she had hung up on him only a few hours ago.

Thinking he may have misread the number, Justin again glanced back down at the phone.

"Isn't that Wade's cell?"

Nervously tapping her fingers on the steering wheel, Michelle ignored Justin's question and quickly reached down to turn the phone off.

After a few minutes of awkward silence, Justin heard a muffled ring coming from his pocket.  Leaning to his side, he looked over at her and then reached down to pulled out his phone.  After looking at the caller ID, he flipped his phone open.

"Hello?"

"Hey J, It's Wade.

"Hey man.  What's up?  How are things going in NY?"

"It's NY, what more can I say.  Anyway,  I just wanted to check in and see if everything was set for the start of practices.  Make sure you didn't run into any problems."

"Everything is set. We actually did the last of the paperwork at Millennium earlier this afternoon."

"We?  You mean you and Michelle?"  Wade asked, as an unsettling feeling came over him.

"Yeah, well when I was there wrapping things up with Marty, she stopped in."

Hearing Marty's name snapped Michelle out of her train of thought and she glanced over at Justin.  She had heard his part of the conversation but it hadn't fully registered who he was speaking to until now.  It was Wade.

Instantly, Michelle began to panic. Would Wade assume that she stopped by Millennium to see Marty?  What if Wade asked about her.  Would Justin tell Wade that he was with her right now?  Not that she owed him an explanation, but she didn't want him thinking that he was right about her all along if she was hanging around Marty with him out of town.

Almost as soon as the thoughts crossed her mind, Justin looked over at her.  He was about to ask her a question, but the distressed look on her face was all he needed to see to know the answer.

"Did she stay there with Marty and hang out?"

Placing his hand over hers as it clutched the steering wheel, he whispered for her to relax and slowly pulled her hand away.  Now more than ever Justin was convinced that something was going on between her and Marty.  Something that Wade obviously was aware of and was not happy with.  Getting some enjoyment out of the fact that atleast someone was giving Wade a dose of his own medicine, Justin didn't reveal any information concerning Michelle's whereabouts.

"No.  She just stopped by to see which studio was booked.  She was there maybe 10 minutes and then she left."

"Oh, ok.  I just tried to call her a few minutes ago, but she didn't answer her phone.  I thought maybe if she stopped there, she was still at Millennium.  I know the reception in that place isn't the best."

"No, she left.  I'm sure everything is fine though. She was just probably rushing around and left her cell in her car or something.  I know she said she had a lot of stuff to do today.  If I see her, I'll tell her you were trying to get in touch with her."

"No, don't worry about bro.  I'll just try her later."

"Are you sure?  I mean...is everything alright?  You sound kinda on edge."

"Yeah, everything is fine.  It's just with both of us handling business shit, I haven't got the chance to speak to her much since I left LA." 

"Oh.  Sorry man.  I know the traveling shit can really take it's toll.  Why didn't you just postpone the practices and take her with you to NY?"  Justin asked, trying to drag any info from Wade that would help him put all the pieces of the puzzle together.

"That wouldn't have worked, plus you should know that when it comes to business...I get just wanna get shit done and not piss around."

"Yeah, I can see where your coming from. Having her around would definetly be a distraction." he chuckled.

Wade knew what Justin's comment meant and although he was pretty sure it was made as a general comment about her, something wasn't sitting right with him.  He wasn't exactly sure what was causing him to get an uneasy feeling, but something was.

"So, have you had any contact with her other than today?"  Wade asked.

Thinking there wasn't any harm in telling him that he had, Justin told him the one piece of information that would immeadiately get under his skin.

"Yeah actually, Trace and I went to a club __________ with a few of the dancers for the tour and I invited her to join us.  She really knows what she's doing on the dance floor.  You definetly chose wisely with this one."

Although solely meant as a comment on her talent, Wade immeadiately picked up on what was causing the unsettling feeling.  Justin was appreciating more than her talent while he was away.  Of course he couldn't say for sure that anything had happened yet between them, but it was obvious that the thought had atleast crossed Justin's mind.

Finally pulling into the parking lot of MC, Michelle put the car in park and got out to get some fresh air.  Unknowingly, Justin was feeding Wade information that he did not need to know.  Information that could potentially be harmful to her when he returned to LA.

Looking up, she saw Marty walk out of MC and wave to her.

"Please tell me this is a nightmare and I'm going to wake up....please!"  Michelle said, practically on the verge of tears as she leaned against the car for support.

Completely confused by what was going on, Justin reached over and turned off the car.  Opening the door, he got out and walked around to the other side where she was standing.

"Are you alright?"  Justin softly asked her, covering the phone with his hand so that Wade couldn't hear him.

Instantly the color started to drain from her face when she realized Marty was on his way over.  All Wade needed to do was hear Marty's voice and it was over.  Everything that Wade had thought about her, in his mind, would be confirmed.  Now completely in a panic, Michelle began to have trouble breathing.

Noticing the rapid deteriation of her condition, Justin quickly tried to end the call with Wade.  Just as he was about to say goodbye, Michelle's legs buckled out from underneath her and in the process of reaching out to grab her, he dropped his phone. 

"Jesus christ, what the hell happened!"  Marty yelled, running up towards them.

"I don't know.  Just grab my phone real quick."  Justin said, shifting positions so that he could pick Michelle up.

"Your phone?  What about Michelle?"  Marty asked, confused.

"I have her, just get the fuckin phone and flip it shut!"  Justin growled.

Giving Justin an odd look, Marty grabbed the phone of the ground and flipped it shut.  Unfortunetly though, Wade had already heard Marty say her name and he knew that Justin hadn't been truthful. 

He though about calling Justin back, but realized more than likely he wouldn't answer the phone.  Now more than ever he was certain something was going on and he wanted to know what.

"Care to tell me what the big fucking deal was with grabbing your phone was if you were just going to shut it anyway?"  Marty asked. 

"Wade was on the other end and he didn't know Michelle was with me." 

Just hearing Wade's name was all he needed.  Although he wasn't sure what Justin knew about their situation, he had to have a good reason for doing what he did.  Now he just had to find out what.