IMAGINES: Celebrity Encounters Starring You (73 page)

“Okay! Don’t beg. I’ll pick you up. What time does your flight land?”

“Eleven thirty a.m.”

“I got’chu. I can’t wait to see.”

“Yeaaaaah, I know you miss me.” Twirling your hair around your finger, you decided to provoke him.

“Shut up!” he ordered in a goofy voice, and hung up on you.

The next day, just when you’d finally fallen asleep on the plane, the pilot came over the intercom announcing you would land in fifteen minutes. Most of the time, people returned home to feel comfort, but your nerves were all out of whack. As your consciousness may have guessed, this was because Justin was picking you up. You couldn’t help but envision the hectic scene you would face leaving the airport.

When Justin was by himself, he could shut down anything. When you were around, the crowds got even more aggressive. You were just Justin’s friend, but people always insinuated that you were together. People were always trying to get a story when you hung out. You hated it. The attention was his. God knows, you wanted no part of it.

Finally, after collecting your luggage, you pulled it along to trail you. Seeing families and loved ones reuniting with hugs and laughs is always adorable. This was no different. How was your reunion with Justin going to play out?

Taking your headphones off your head, you rested them around your neck and gave Justin a ring. Just as you placed the phone to your ear, you spotted a hooded fellow with light-brown hair. And then you felt the butterflies.

Justin wasn’t sitting in a chair like a normal person. He’d decided to sit on top of one. That’s one way to stand out. Justin was checking his phone, but you had already hung up. Beside him, his bodyguard, Kenny, nudged him and nodded in your direction. As Justin’s eyes followed, his face lit up, recognizing you. In return, yours did the same. Tucking his phone away, he stepped off the chair and came to you.

“Heeey!” you rejoiced.

Once you got to him, you dropped your bags and wrapped your arms around his neck. He wrapped his around your waist, holding you tight and lifting you up. His cologne was hypnotizing and familiar, making your nerves dissipate.

“About time you got here.” He placed you down and created space between you. His chocolate eyes were warm and happy. His hand remained on your back, softly massaging it.

“My bad.” You smiled through your apology. “I missed you.” You poked his cheek.

“Really?” He rested his forehead against yours and chuckled at the poke.

“Yea—”

But your words were interrupted by the seal of his supple lips. You were caught off guard, but that didn’t last long. You relaxed in his arms as your lips moved together with his. Your hand shifted to his neck, allowing you to kiss him the way you really wanted.

He pulled away, clearly shocked by your boldness, but happy as all hell. “Damn, I missed you,” he said, holding your face, bringing it to his lips and planting a kiss on your forehead.

“It feels good to be home.”

Home sweet home.

SO YOUR NEXT STOP
was the airport, and you were hoping you didn’t have to fly anywhere on no notice. Like, seriously, Justin?

Arriving at the airport, you weren’t sure what your next move was supposed to be. Were you looking for someone? Were you just searching for a paper heart in the parking lot? Should you go inside? Reviewing your clue again, you couldn’t find a direct instruction. Your husband was going to have you out here wandering around, looking stupid.

Pushing all your thoughts to the side, you parked and headed inside the terminal. Just as you reached an entryway, you heard a familiar voice. It was one of Justin’s bodyguards, Dave; he usually accompanied you, but you hadn’t felt like you needed his protection today.

Ooooo, are you in trouble?
“Hey, what’s up?” you say when you see him. “What am I doing here?”

You blocked the sun from your face with your collection of hearts and looked up at him.

To your surprise, he handed you a green paper heart. “Your clue, my dear.”

Yes!
“Thank you.” You took it and, turning your back to the sun, examined the eighth clue in peace:
I hope you have your passport. I’m joking, but you do have a flight to catch.

That’s all the heart had for you. You bit your lip, confused.

“Time for us to go.” Dave waltzed into the terminal.

Not knowing what else to do, you followed him.

APPARENTLY, SITTING ON
a helicopter, not knowing where your husband is, can make you anxious. With each clue, you were gaining ground, but you’d gotten to the point where you were going to start whining if you didn’t find him soon.

It was a fairly short flight. Upon landing, you realized you knew where you were. Malibu! You tried to repress your cheeky thoughts of one magical night.

Hopping out of one vehicle, you headed to the next. Dave opened the door to your car for the day. On the seat was a burgundy heart. You gathered it in your grip and buckled up.

Your clue read:
Playing in the sand. Doing a little dance. Sleeping in the same bed. I’m sure your father would have killed me, if he had the chance. Your friend seemed to be cool, but you were no fool.

IT HAD BEEN ANNOYING
that your best friend knew about your crush on Justin but still had the nerve to flirt with him all evening. What kind of friend does that?

You’d told her almost everything about Justin and you—not
everything
everything—but enough for her to know better. So it hurt your feelings to see her practically throw herself at him.

Justin was polite about it. He would scoot away from her when she got too close. He would walk away from her if she came into the kitchen while he was there. She knew you well enough to know you weren’t feeling her that night. She hadn’t said good-night or anything when you excused yourself from the rest of your friends.

Through your room’s window, the skies held a hue of deep blue. Along the horizon where the sun was more than half-set, an orange tint etched into its beauty. The vision was so alluring,
you wanted to be more in the presence of it. Scrambling over the fresh, white-blanketed bed, your bare feet tracked all the way out the balcony doors.

The gentle, sea-misted breeze enclosed you. Leaning on the balcony railing, you looked over the volleyball net to the open sea. Beach balls shifted in their dented sand.

Hearing a squeak from your bedroom’s door, your attention was drawn behind you. Thankfully, it was Justin and not your flirtatious friend.

“Hi,” you acknowledged over your spaghetti-strapped shoulder. Coming out to the balcony, Justin was just as barefoot as you and leaned over the balcony rails as well. After first looking out to the ocean, his eyes scanned to the left and over the beach.

“Hey,” he finally said, looking at you. “What’s up?” He bumped his hip into yours.

You returned the plunk. “Just chilling. I’ve been around everyone all day. I just wanted some alone time.” Your fingers traced over his bare, inked arm. More specifically, his BELiEVE tattoo.

“Can I chill with you?” he asked.

“What are we doing now?”

He shrugged. “You’re right.”

You look at him, eyes wide. “I’m sorry about how my friend was acting. I don’t understand why she was acting like that.”

He dismisses this with a shake of his head. “I know you weren’t feeling it. I know that’s why you came up here. Her actions don’t reflect on you.”

“Thanks.”

“At least my friends like your friends.”

“They’re getting along well.” You looked over his shoulder. “They’re loud though.”

“I may have to sleep in here tonight.” He smirked at you.

You laughed. “You can sleep on the floor. There’s plenty of room for you.”

“
You
can sleep on the floor,” he teased. “I’ll get blankets and everything for you. Maybe even a night-light, if you need it.”

You laughed. “No way. This is
my
room. I’m not sleeping on the floor.”

“I heard it’s comfortable. . . .”

“Be quiet or else I’ll lock you in a closet,” you teased, knowing about his claustrophobia.

“That would be evil of you.”

“Don’t test me.” Your hand went up to his damp hair. He went to pinch you, but you knocked his hand away. Lifting yourself from the rails, you went into your room and crawled into bed. Justin, on the other hand, threw himself onto the bed, landing on his stomach.

On the soft sheets, he lay there, soon closing his eyes. You rested your head on his back. Shutting your eyes and becoming as comfortable as your friend, you wondered about his near departure.

“You’re going on tour soon, right?”

“Yeah. You know I’ve been doing appearances, rehearsing, and promoting. I’m looking forward to touring. I miss the stage.”

It made you sad to think of his going far away, but you said, “That’s dope. I can’t wait to go to a show.”

“You’re going to quite a few of them.”

“I was hoping you would say that because you’re going to be gone forever. I need to see you every once in a while.”

“You hate being away from me?” He reached and grabbed your thigh.

You knocked his hand away. “Stop playing. You’re my homey. Of course I hate not seeing you.”

“You know you can see me whenever you want.”

“Tell college that,” you scoffed. “It was good that you didn’t have anything for this week.”

“I did. I just canceled them to hang with you and our friends.”

“Justin! You didn’t have to do that.” You sat up, glaring at him. You didn’t want him to push his responsibilities aside for you.

“I wanted to.” He sat up, supporting his upper weight on his forearms. “You’re not on spring break for long. Before you know it, you’ll be heading back to school. I wanted to spend time with you.” A grin took over your face at this, and he smiled at your pleasure.

You pinched his cheek. “You’re so sweet.”

He knocked your hand away and lay back down. You moved up the bed and rested next to him. Your friends were pretty rowdy from wherever they were. “I like your friends, they’re cool.”

“Don’t get too close to them,” he said with his eyes closed.

“Well, don’t get too close to my best friend. I don’t want to hurt her or you.”

“Why would you hurt us?”

“Because I don’t want her throwing herself at you. I’m not cool with the flirting crap.”

“I don’t want my friends flirting with you, and I told them that. I know how shy you can be. I don’t want them making you uncomfortable.” He slightly opened his tired, red eyes to meet yours. “I really think I’m going to sleep in here.”

He closed his eyes again, and reaching over his body, you tapped off the light.

“Sleep in here with me.” You rolled over and off the mattress to close the door. You were getting tired yourself and you didn’t want the party animals’ voices ringing in your ears. You weren’t going to kill their fun. What would you look like going down there and telling them to be quiet? It’s spring break; drink until you pass out. It’s
your
liver.

Returning to bed, you lay down. While you were getting comfortable, Justin wrapped his arm across your stomach and pulled you closer to him.

Should you thank Jesus now?

Thank you, Jesus.

“Is this okay?” he asked.

“It’s fine.” You relaxed into him and closed your eyes. You can’t deny it, you love being close to Justin.

Turning to face him, you buried your face in his warm chest and cuddled him.

YOUR NEXT STOP
was the beach house you’d stayed at. After that special night, it became the getaway spot where the two of you would go to chill. You’d spend nights playing in the ocean there together. You’d pushed him in plenty of times, and he’d picked you up and thrown you in. You’d write in the sand and play volleyball. It was a fun place to come and filled with cool memories.

Dave claimed he had to leave and do something real quick and to give him a call if need be. You were hoping this was where you were
finally
going to meet up with your husband. Walking up to the house, you dug in your pocket and flipped through the clanging keys, until you found the right one. Unlocking the door, you simmered in the memories between these walls. You saw a heart shadowed against the glass of the beautiful long, in-wall fish tank. Closing the front door, you locked it and grabbed the tenth heart from where it was taped to the tank.

It read,
No one will ever love you the way I do. No one will ever love you as much as I do. I knew he didn’t. Your eleventh clue can be found where this went down.

JUSTIN WAS DRIVING
to the beach house with you curled up in the passenger seat, tired from having eaten too much at lunch. With the music from your phone playing in the car, you dozed in and out to the melodies.

You were in Malibu trying to unwind from the busy week. You’d recently transferred back home for school. Being away from your family for months and months, you weren’t feeling it anymore. Your mom and dad hadn’t been too keen on your going away for college in the first place. You wanted that freedom, but you began to miss them too much. Besides, some of your friends had already transferred back home. LA is one of a kind.

And, yes, Justin might have had something to do with your coming back home. Maybe a small amount. No regrets.

“Aye.” You felt a hand on your thigh. Justin tapped it. “Wake up.”

“What?” You pulled the hood of your hoodie over your eyes. “What do you want?” you mumbled beneath the fabric.

“Who’s texting you saying they miss you?”

Oh, hell. It was your ex-boyfriend. He’d gotten back in contact with you recently, and you wanted nothing to do with him. You didn’t understand why he was texting you. He knew you were with Justin.

Hell, the whole world knew you were with Justin.

You removed the hoodie. “It’s my ex. Don’t worry about it.”

“Why is he texting you?” Justin scolded you with a disapproving mug.

You stated the obvious: “He still has my number.”

“Why?”

“
Because I didn’t get it changed
, Justin,” you said with some attitude.