Justifer: From the beginning

When Justin met Jen

Wow. Where to start. Well, my name is Justin. Justin Paul Theroux. I'm an actor, director, artist and writer currently living in LA. I'm originally from Washington, DC but I've lived in New York for most of my life and it has always been home to me. I really thought that nothing could ever make me leave my city, my friends, my life. I thought I could never be happy anywhere else. That is, until I met her.

Her name is Jennifer and she is..*sigh*... she's everything [he says with a shrug and a loving look on his face]. From the very beginning she captured a part of me and I didn't even realize it. Jen and I met in late 2006 when I was working on a movie with a friend of mine, Ben, who was dating Christine, one of Jen's girlfriends. At that time we were both involved with other people but still I saw something in her that intrigued me.

First of all, she strutted onto the set like she owned the place. She was wearing these worn jeans, a tank top and flip-flops with her hair falling around her shoulders held back from her face by a pair of aviator shades perched on her head. She was confident and graceful and just full of life and playful energy. There was something about this beautiful, whip-smart blond with the bright blue eyes and unguarded smile made my pulse race and made me feel like all was right with the world. I remember thinking that any guy who got to spend his days and nights with her was one lucky bastard. Those feelings couldn't be right though, could they? I mean, I had [sort of] a girlfriend back in New York. Sure, we were in the 'off-again' stage in our relationship (we had a lot of those), but I still felt that it was wrong for me to be so attracted to Jen. I knew nothing would happen regardless of what I felt. Cheating is not, and never has been, my style and it certainly isn't Jen's so I knew that, if anything, we would become friends and that would be that.

Oh wait. Here's one of my favorite memories from when we first met:

It was a few days after we had met and Jen and Christine were getting ready to head back to LA. They came by the set to visit Ben one last time before they headed out. I wasn't feeling my best that day. I was kind of achy and just .. really lethargic and tense. I had been going non-stop for the entire shoot with re-writes and edits and stuff and I wasn't eating right or sleeping much and my body was feeling it. Ben & Christine decided to take a walk and Jen and I decided to give them some alone time so after they left for their walk I took Jen on a tour of the set, explaining the scenes and everything. Suddenely she puts her hand on my shoulder and looks at me with genuine concern in her eyes and asks "Hey, are you feeling okay? You look a little pale". I try not to think about the tingling in my shoulder where her hand is resting and put on my best fake smile insisting "I'm good. I think I might just need some water or something". Jen wasn't buying it. She said sarcastically "Riiight. Water. That'll put the color back in your face and take away the weariness from your eyes? I don't think so."  With that, she took my hand in hers and led me into the makeshift office on the set. She heated some water and made some tea and grabbed a sandwich from craft service and handed them both to me. I ate and drank without argument because not only was I starving, but I think I would have done just about anything she asked (chuckle).

After I had eaten, Jen sat on the sofa throwing a cushion onto the floor between her legs and said firmly "sit" pointing at the cushion with one perfectly manicured finger. I sat down and she began massaging my neck and shoulders, instantly relieving the tightness and the stress and the aching muscles that had built up with trying to make a movie that was already behind schedule and over budget. Before I knew it I was nodding off. My head fell to one side resting on her inner thigh as I fell deeper into sleep. I remember the clean smell of her skin filling my nostrils before I surrendered to the exhaustion and the magic of her hands. When I awoke about an hour and a half later, Jen was on the floor next to me fast asleep. She was curled against my side, knees drawn up and resting on my legs and her head on my shoulder with my head resting on hers. My cheek was cushioned by a head of thick, unbelievably soft hair that smelled of coconut-scented shampoo. I thought to myself in amazement that this woman, as famous as she is, would rather sit on a hard floor rather than wake a sleeping man she barely knew simply because she knew how much he needed the rest? That's special.

I decided to let her sleep a while, shifting our bodies so that she could lay more comfortably against my side with her head still supported by my shoulder, and as I moved her, her hand came up to rest on my chest, directly over my heart. I felt like I was running out of air! I looked down at her sleeping face and I was overwhelmed by how fiercely protective I felt toward her. I brushed a stray strand of hair from her face and listened to the even sound of her breathing. This was dangerous. I could feel myself being drawn in but I was powerless to do anything about it. I thought about the fact that she would be gone soon. Gone back to the man who had won her heart before I had even met her and I knew I had to reign in my feelings or risk getting hurt myself. I barely knew her and yet I felt like I had known her my entire life. After knowing her only two days I actually felt sadness at the thought of her leaving.

As I lay there trying to think about anything else besides her pending departure, our friends returned from their walk and the three of us sat and chatted in low whispers while she slept until I felt her stir against me and slowly awaken. When her eyes focused and the sleepy haze cleared, she realized that she had been sleeping so soundly against me and her face literally turned a crimson red. She giggled. "Did I drool on you or snore or ..anything else that I should be embarrassed about?" she asked sheepishly. "Well, you did make some pretty unladylike noises but I won't go into any details" I answered, sending a quick wink towards our friends who were clearly enjoying our banter. "Nooo. I didn't" she groaned, hiding her face in her hands. "Did I really?" I would have kept ribbing her had it not been for the mortified expression on her face. I decided to let her off the hook and I said "No sweetheart, you didn't. I was kidding". The term of endearment slipped out so organically that I couldn't have caught it even if I tried. Jen looked up at me with a sweet smile and then looked at her watch and said "Oh my God we've gotta go!" She got up and straightened her hair and her clothing. "Uhm, thanks for the tour Justin .. and the conversation .. and the 'pillow'". "My pleasure" I replied, smiling back at her. "Thanks for the first aid. That was the best sleep I've gotten in a long while and I feel so much better". "Anytime" she said.

As the ladies got into Jen's Range Rover, I thought about the very real possibility that I might never see her again and it made my heart sink. As if she read my mind, Jen looked back from her window, climbed out of the truck and walked over to me with her arms open. I stepped into the warmest, most incredible hug I have ever received and wrapped my arms around her petite frame burying my face in her neck, wanting nothing more than to stay there forever. A moment later, as we broke our embrace, she put her hand on my cheek and looked straight into my eyes, silently saying the things she couldn't say out loud, before turning around and getting back into the car. I watched as she disappeared from sight and thought, if I never see her again, I can still say that my heart has known true happiness. As Ben and I walked back to the office I whispered a silent prayer that some day, when the time was right, I would find her again.

I would....

**This is my first writing on my absolute favorite couple.  I hope you guys enjoyed it**