Aftershock Britney paced around her apartment with her TV on in the background.  She was trying to get a hold of Justin on his cell phone.  It was September 11, 2001…the day America was attacked.  Both Britney and *Nsync were in New York.  Britney was at her apartment in upper Manhattan when she got a phone call from her mother, telling her to turn the TV on.  That's when she saw the terrible devastation happening around her. Of course, it upset her, not only because it was happening blocks away but also because Justin was out there somewhere.  He and the guys had an early interview on a radio program, but she wasn’t sure where. “God, come on.  Answer your damn phone,” Britney yelled. All she got was a busy signal. She looked over at the TV again and her hand went to her mouth.  There were images of the World Trade Center burning…people were jumping out of the windows.  She sat down on the couch and cried.  What was happening? Life was too precious.  Every day was supposed to mean something.  She started to feel that impact when fellow singer Aaliyah died in a plane crash a few weeks before.  She and Justin tried to spend every waking moment together that they could, but they still hadn’t taken the next step in their relationship.  Even though it was getting more difficult to wait to have sex until she was married…she was still going to try to wait.  Now that she looked at the grand scheme of things…why was that so important to her?  Something could happen to either one of them at any moment and she would regret not making love to the man that she loved so deeply. “God, please let him be okay.  He just has to be.” She continued to watch coverage of the news.  Finally the phone rang. “Hello?  Justin?” “Brit?  Hey, I’m fine…we’re fine.” “Thank God.  Where are you?” “We were about 5 blocks away from the World Trade Center buildings.  When the first plane hit our security got us out but then all hell broke loose.” “I’ve been trying to call you the whole time,” she said, not being able to hold back the tears any longer. “The cell phones keep going in and out.  We’ve all been trying.” “I want you here.  Are you coming back here?” “Yeah, we’re going to drop the guys off at the hotel first and then Mike is taking me there.  Traffic sucks right now so it might be another hour.” “Okay…as long as you get here.  I need you with me, Justin.” “I need to be with you too.  I love you baby.” “I love you too.  Justin…it’s horrible.” Justin closed his eyes.  “I’m sure it is.  We’ve got the radio on and are listening to the news on here.  Have you talked to the building security there?  Is it okay to stay?” “Yeah, I talked to them right away.  They’ll let us know if there’s any danger, but they’re thinking it will be fine to stay.” “Okay, good.  I’ll see you soon.” “Okay, bye.” Britney sat down on the couch.  She started to shake.  She had this need for Justin that she never had before. About an hour later, Justin unlocked the door to her apartment.  When she heard the door unlocking, she ran over to it and jumped in his arms when the door finally opened.  He held her close and kissed the side of her head. “I love you,” she said. “I love you too.” They sat down on the couch so that Justin could see what was happening.  He shook his head and started to rub his temples. “I can’t believe this.  It’s surreal.  It’s like we’re watching a movie.” “I know.  That’s the way I’ve been feeling the whole time.  I was so scared something happened to you,” she said as she looked at him.  She was taking in this beautiful sight before her.  She leaned over and put her head on his shoulder and her hand started to rub his thigh.  Her hand started to get dangerously close to his groin.  He noticed, but he thought that maybe she didn’t realize what she was doing because she was watching TV.  It’s when she started to kiss him and put her hand on his stomach underneath his shirt that he realized she wasn’t even watching the TV. “Brit…what are you doing?” he asked when he turned his head toward her.  She kissed him on the mouth.  Her arms wrapped around his neck and she pulled herself onto his lap.  Her right leg went around the other side of his waist so that both of her legs were wrapped around him.  She took her hands in his hair and slanted his head enough so that she could deepen the kiss.  She slid her tongue in his mouth.  He put his hand on the back of her head and slowed down the kiss.  When he broke away from her, they were both out of breath and he repeated his question.  “Brit…what are you doing?” “I need to be with you,” she said as she tried to kiss him again.  He leaned back and pushed her shoulders. “Brit.  You’re just upset.  You’re not thinking.” “No, Justin.  I am thinking.  Look what is happening around us.  I can’t let something happen to you and not know what it’s like to make love to you.” She could feel him hardening between her legs. “Britney…you’re acting on emotion right now.  I don’t want you waking up tomorrow, when some of this shock has worn off and regret doing this.  You know how badly I want to make love to you…but I’m not going to do it out of panic.” Britney started to cry and laid her chin on his shoulder and pulled him closer to her.  He wrapped his arms around her tightly.  She turned her head so that her lips were at his neck.  He rocked them back and forth, rubbing his hand up and down on her back reassuringly. “Justin…I’ve thought a lot about this.  How many times lately have we almost let our passion take over?  We’ve had to stop ourselves so many times lately.  I just want it to happen.  I love you and you love me and life is too short.” Justin swallowed.  He wanted her so much, but he had to make sure that this is really what she wanted. “I’m already on the pill so we don’t have to worry about birth control.”  Her hand was now on his chest.  She could feel his heart beating fast. He reached for the remote and turned the TV off then he pulled her away from his chest and looked into her eyes.  He had become an expert at reading her feelings through her eyes.  He saw fear and determination. He took a deep breath.  “I’ll never hurt you and I’ll love you always.”  He was reassuring himself just as much as he was reassuring her.  They were married in their hearts. “I know.  I feel the same.” She bit her lower lip and then licked them.  His eyes darted from her lips to her eyes as he pulled her head down so that their lips could meet again.  This time the kiss was slow and deliberate.  They explored each other’s mouths.  Her hands were pulling at the back of his head while his were on her lower back.  He scooted to the edge of the couch and stood up.  Her legs wrapped around his waist tighter.  Their lips never broke apart. When he reached her bed, he sat her on the edge, her legs remained wrapped around his waist.  He lifted the edge of her shirt up and pulled the shirt over her head.  His hands went to her breasts.  He started to massage them through her bra.  She moaned into this mouth and her hands found the bottom of his shirt and she removed it.  They had gotten carried away by their passion before but stopped before it got too intimate.  What Britney loved to feel was her bare skin against Justin’s so when he removed her bra and their chests touched, she moaned again.  Her hands went to the button on his jeans.  Then she unzipped his pants.  She lay back on the bed and he stepped out of his jeans and bent down, kissed her stomach as he unbuttoned her jeans and pulled them off. He looked into her eyes again to make sure that he still didn’t see any regret…he didn’t.  He lowered himself on top of her taking his time kissing every inch of her face.  Her fingers were lightly stroking his back.  When her curiosity got the best of her, she lowered her hand and started to rub Justin through his boxers.  Justin’s eyes shut and he groaned into her mouth.  He started to grind into her but then he stopped.  There were still two thin layers of clothing that was between them.  He kissed her again…they were both out of breath with anticipation and his fingers slid between them and he removed her thong.  Once that was removed, she reached for his boxers and pulled them down over his hips and he pulled them the rest of the way off. Before he entered her, he linked their fingers together and placed them above her head.  He kissed her before he pulled away and looked at her.  She was nervous about the pain, he could tell.  He kissed both of the lids of her eyes and eased his way into her.  When he broke the barrier, she bit her bottom lip and her eyes watered.  He laid still for a couple of minutes, letting her pain subside.  She took one of her hands and started to rub his back.  When he felt this, he pulled his head up and looked at her. “You okay?” he asked. Britney took a deep breath and nodded.  She moved her hips underneath him to test the pain, but all she felt was pleasure.  They moved together like they never had before.  It was a dance only the two of them could perform.  The dance moves became faster and faster and then with one last move, the dance was over.  Justin collapsed on top of Britney.  Neither wanted to move apart.  When Justin realized he was probably smothering Britney he rolled over on his side, bringing her with him.  He kissed her forehead and she smiled. “See…I don’t have any regrets.  That was the best decision I’ve made in my life,” she said before she kissed his lips. When Justin looked into her eyes, he saw truth…he also saw his future. Main Page ~ Back to Short Stories Index