Careless Mistake
by Kelli
Part 48
Mid July 2005.......
"Hey," Britney whispered so she could try to hide her groggy tone.
"Hey....where were you?" Justin asked in his obvious groggy tone.
"Oh I woke you up, I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize, I wanted to hear your voice," he said, sitting up in bed. He looked down next to him and realized Mackenzie was still lying next to him.
"Da da," she mumbled, rubbing her eyes and flipping over so her head rested against his arm.
Britney smiled when she heard her baby.
"Is she there with you?" she asked, trying not to get choked up.
"Yeah, we had a rough night so she slept with me. Did you work late last night or something?" he asked.
"Not really....." she hesitated.
"Brit?"
"I had a few drinks with Matt.....my co-star. But a few drinks turned into a few more. It wasn't pretty."
"You got drunk?"
"I guess you could say that," she said rubbing her temple again.
"With your co-star? That will be good for a few tabloids," he said sarcastically.
"Oh God," she said, trying to keep from running to the bathroom to help relieve her upset stomach. "I didn't even think of that."
"Don't panic, it hasn't happened yet. I'll just make sure not to jump to conclusions when I do see it. I just can't believe you went out.....like that, I guess." She could tell by his tone that he wasn't pleased right now.
"Justin, I'm sorry. It didn't start off this way....."
"Wah wah," Mackenzie mumbled. She was looking up at him, her cheek still resting on his arm.
"Mackenzie's hungry, I have to go get her some juice. Call me later....when your head is more clear. Today is an off day and I'm taking Mac to the zoo."
"I.....oh okay. Give her a big kiss."
"I will....love you, bye."
Click.
"Love you too," she said to no one because he had hung up.
"Shit," she said, throwing herself back on the bed. She hit her head on the headboard as she did this, which didn't help the headache she was developing. "Owww," she almost cried as she rubbed the spot she smacked.
"God, what did I get myself into?"
Her cell phone rang so she picked up the call without looking at her caller id.
"Justin?" she asked.
"No....it's Matt. I was just seeing how you were feeling?" he chuckled.
She rolled over so she was on her side. "I'm doing okay. Why did you let me get like that last night?" she moaned.
"Get like what? You only had a few drinks. I guess they were just heavy hitters, huh?"
"Well, it's been awhile since I've been out drinking like that. My body's not used to the alcohol. I shouldn't have done that on a work night."
"Britney, you're only here for work and you and I were just going out as co-workers. There wasn't any harm done."
"Okay," she sighed. "Look, I need to go take a shower and try to wake up. Will I see you today at the studio?"
"No, not today. I might have to swing by tomorrow."
"Okay then. Tomorrow's my last day.....at least I hope."
"Right, so I'll see you then. Ciao."
"Bye."
She hung up the phone and laid there for a few more minutes before lifting her body up and dragging it to the bathroom. She rested her palms against the counter and looked at herself.
"You are a mess," she said to her reflection. "What kind of mommy are you? Hell, what kind of wife were you last night?"
"Did you ever get to talk to Britney?" Lynn asked as she set up the trays of breakfast foods on the table in their hotel suite in Philadelphia.
"Yeah.....this morning."
Lynn looked up at him. "You're awfully quiet. Something happen?"
He looked down at Mackenzie who was playing with her doll and then up at his mom. "No.....she just went out and got shit faced last night," he whispered so Mackenzie couldn't hear him.
"Drunk?" Lynn chuckled.
"Yes, mom. It's not funny. She was with some guy," he said with a flick of his wrist.
"What do you mean some guy?" she asked as she fixed herself a plate.
"One of her co-stars. They went out after they were done and she drank too much. The tabloids are going to love that one," he said, looking down at the tray of pastries.
"Since when do you worry about the tabloids?"
"I don't worry about them but I don't go and do obvious things to scream for attention to get into them. What she did was stupid," he said, shaking his head.
Mackenzie looked up at her daddy. She could tell by the tone of his voice that he was upset.
"Da da," she said.
He looked down at her and his face softened. "Hey angel."
"What's really bothering you, Justin?"
Lynn was now sitting on the couch, with her plate resting on her lap. Mackenzie slowly pulled herself to stand up and waddled over to Lynn and rested her hand on her leg as she leaned against the couch.
"I don't know," he said. He picked up a bagel and put it on a plate. Then he started to spread cream cheese onto it. "I guess that she actually had the opportunity to do this."
"To do what?" she asked. She broke off a small piece of fruit and handed it to Mackenzie.
"To go out. To go get drunk....I don't know." He poured himself a glass of juice. "I mean when's the last time we went and did anything like that together? But yet she goes and does it with some guy she works with?"
Lynn tried to keep her smile to herself. "So you're jealous?"
"I'm not jealous...."
"Yeah, I think you are."
"I'm not jealous of him," he said, staring at her from across the room.
"I didn't say you were jealous of him. I don't think you have anything to be worried about there. I think you're jealous that she got to go out and be Britney, instead of Mackenzie's mommy and it wasn't with you."
"Mahwmy?" Mackenzie asked, looking around.
Justin walked over to the couch and sat down on the other side of Mackenzie.
"Not yet, angel," he said, quickly petting her head. "Maybe that's it," he mumbled.
Mackenzie turned around and leaned against Justin's leg while he nibbled on his bagel.
"I mean, think about how she would have felt if it were the other way around? What if I had gone out drinking with one of my dancers and woke up the next morning with a hangover? She'd be pis.....really mad," he said, glancing down at Mackenzie who just kept staring at his bagel.
"Honey, you need to talk to Britney about this, not me," Lynn stated.
"I'm making a bigger deal about this than it should be, aren't I?" he asked, looking up at his mom.
Lynn closed her lips and made a gesture with her fingers like she was sealing them. "Talk to Britney. I'm going to go take a shower so we can go to the zoo."
She stood up and left the room, leaving Justin and Mackenzie alone. He glanced down at his daughter again and smiled when he realized how much she was looking like Britney now. Even more so than before. The only thing different was her hair and eyes, those were characteristic of the Timberlake in her.
"You want a piece of bagel?" he asked.
She smiled. "Pease."
"Hi, I'm sorry I'm late," Britney said, running into the studio.
"You're not that late. We'll just stay later tomorrow to finish up," the director said.
Britney stopped in her tracks. "Tomorrow? Why not tonight?"
She dropped her bag to the ground but left her sunglasses on.
"I have a dinner meeting tonight. I can't stay any later," he said before swinging his chair around to face the soundboard.
"Oh....well, how late? My plane leaves at six."
"You might have to change it. We'll see how much we get done today and I'll be able to give you a better idea."
"I see," she said, bowing her head down. She walked into the studio, grabbing a bottle water with her.
"Is your headache better, by the way?" the director asked over the speaker in the recording room.
"Yeah, thanks."
She closed her eyes behind her sunglasses. How could she be so stupid and push back seeing her family?
"Good....let's not waste any more time, then."
"Hey."
"Hi....you feeling any better?" Justin asked later that night on the phone.
"Yeah," she sighed.
"You don't sound it."
"I'm just sorry I was being stupid last night. I went in a little later to work this morning and now I have to stay later tomorrow to finish up. I'm going to miss my six o'clock flight."
He didn't say anything.
"Justin?"
"How much later?"
"I'll have to catch the eight o'clock to Pittsburgh now. It won't make any sense to try to fly into Philadelphia since your show will be over by the time I get there."
He closed his eyes. "So I'll most likely meet up with you at the hotel in Pittsburgh?"
"Yeah," she said softly. "Are you mad?"
"I'm not mad....disappointed, but not mad."
"I mean about what I did last night?"
He rubbed his forehead. "I don't know if I really want to get into it with you over the phone."
She leaned back against the headboard of the bed.
"I see."
They were silent for a few moments.
"How did Mackenzie like the zoo?"
"She loved it. It got too hot though, so we left pretty early. We went and got ice cream....she really liked that."
"Yeah, I bet she did," she said with a smile in her voice. "I can't wait to hold her. I know she'll be asleep when I see her tomorrow night but I'm going to have to deal with the consequences of waking her up because all I can think about is hugging her and kissing her."
"I know....I'd be the same way."
"It's been twelve days since I've seen her..."
"It's been twelve days since we've seen you."
She realized she had been focusing on their daughter and not the fact that she hadn't seen Justin in just as long. Maybe deep down she was kind of used to that from the past, but she wasn't used to being away from Mackenzie that long.
"It's been thirteen since we've made love," she whispered so quietly, he almost didn't hear her.
"You don't have to remind me," he chuckled in a low tone. "I know that all too well."
They talked a little bit more about Mackenzie and about work.
"You keep yawning, I'll let you go," she said. "It's really late there." She looked up at the clock and calculated the time on the East Coast.
"Well, I don't have anything scheduled before going to the venue tomorrow. Oh, did I tell you that mom keep Mackenzie in the VIP section with her the whole show now?" he chuckled. "Wearing earplugs the whole time, of course."
"Really?" She could feel the jealousy rising a little. She wanted to be the one with Mackenzie as they both watched Justin. "So she doesn't get restless or anything?"
Justin hadn't realized that this might hurt her feelings. "No, I don't think so."
"That's good."
But he could tell it bothered her.
"I can tell her to not do it...."
"Why?" she interrupted him.
"Well, it sounds like you're a little upset about it."
"I'm not upset....just wishing it was me with her," she said sadly.
"I know. It will be the day after tomorrow."
She finally smiled. "That's true. I'll concentrate on that."
"Okay....we better go or I'll be no good tomorrow morning and make myself miss the eight o'clock flight too."
"You better not," he teased.
"Don't worry. Nothing will keep me from catching that plane. I love you, Justin."
"I love you, Britney. Have a safe trip."
"I will. Bye."
She hung up the phone and decided to pack as much as she could tonight. She went into the bathroom and gathered up the toiletry items she'd need. Her mind was focused on Justin. Everything was going so well for them, she didn't want to mess it up by doing something as stupid as having cocktails with a co-worker but there was a slight possibility that she had done just that. She shrugged to herself. They'd talk about it and everything would be okay.
She opened up the medicine cabinet and glanced to see if there were any items in there that she needed to pack. She picked up the container of birth control pills and started to slip it into the toiletry bag but stopped. She tapped it against her chin, thought about it and then smiled before putting it back in the cabinet.