This story is completely fictional and I am not in anyway implying that Lance Bass or any members of Nsync are gay. The usual warnings apply...If you shouldn't be here, then don't be here.
DISCLAIMER: The character of Ben Corbyn is mentioned in this chapter with the permission of "Studio in the Country" author, Michael Ellis. For more information on Nsync's visit to the "Studio"...keep your eyes open this summer for the "Studio in the Country"/ Lance and Michael crossover! While you're at it, check out "Studio", it's a great story!!!!
Big thanks go out this time to my good friend Rob. He actually co-wrote a good portion of this chapter. Thanks Rob for being the jumper cables. I hope one day that I can return the favor. I hope that you all enjoy this chapter, and I would appreciate any comments and criticisms. You can email me at mccall0470@hotmail.com.
Lance and Michael: Lance's Love Chapter Eight "I Need To Know"
February 24, 2000, 2:00 am. The Universal Hilton
The elevator door slid open with a chime filling the silent hallway with the laughter of Michael McCall and Britney Spears as they stepped out of the elevator.
"Did you see the looks on those people's faces?!" Michael said, still not able to believe the events that took place earlier that evening.
"I know! What can I say, I know how to draw a crowd!" Britney responded as they neared the door to hotel room.
"I'll say! I just hope when it gets out, two certain someone's don't get the wrong idea!"
Britney reached into her purse for her room key. "Well, I'll deal with Justin and you deal with Lance."
"We should probably tell them before they find out the hard way!"
"Good idea, we'll tell them as soon as we see them. Right now though, I just wanna get a quick change so we can go out to eat! I'm starved!"
"All that dancin got you hungry huh?"
"Oh yeah!" The singer nodded opening the door to her hotel room.
"Me too!"
As the two friends walked into the room laughing, they were met by two men, sitting on the foot of Britney's bed. One of which, didn't look very happy at all.
"Justin? Lance? What are you two doing here?" Britney asked shocked to see them.
"Hi Britney!" Lance said getting up from the bed, grabbing Michael by the arm and dragging him towards the door. "Bye Britney!" He said as he pulled a surprised Michael out of the room with him.
"What was that all about?" Britney asked as the door closed, tossing her purse onto the bed.
"Sit!" Justin said in a more than obvious pissed off tone.
Britney's head whirled around to face her boyfriend. "Excuse me? I am NOT your dog so don't talk to me like one!"
"Well how do you expect me to treat you, when you're acting like a bitch!?"
"What did you call me?!" she asked in disbelief.
"You heard me!" Justin stated defiantly, folding his arms over his chest.
"I think you should leave!"
"What're you gonna do if I don't? Call Michael!?"
"Michael? Oh no . . . you saw us . . ." Britney sat down on the edge of the bed. "You thought that . . . Oh boy!"
"That all you have to say? Oh boy?!"
"Justin . . . it's NOT what you think?"
"You mean, you didn't kiss Michael?"
"Well . . . I did, but . . ."
"Well then it's exactly what I think!"
"I mean, I didn't cheat on you!"
"You didn't? So, if I went up to . . . hmmmm Christina and kissed her, it wouldn't be cheating!?"
"Good point . . ." Britney sighed, running a hand through her hair.
"So . . . I'm waiting . . ."
"For?"
"How bout an explanation, an apology?"
"Which do you want first?"
"Surprise me!" Justin threw his arms into the air with exasperation.
"Well, I'm sorry you had to see what you saw. I kissed Michael so I could put on a show for the media, and that's all it was . . . well, also cause I was kind of pissed at you, and I wanted to make you a little jealous, but I didn't want you to get this upset!"
"UGH!" Justin screamed in frustration. "Woman! I don't get you!"
-*-
"Ok, what was that all about?" Michael asked in confusion as he was being pulled out of Britney's room.
"They need to talk! Justin's PISSED!" Lance said as they got into the hallway.
"Um . . . why?"
"How would you like it if Josh kissed me?!"
"OH shit! He saw!?"
"How could we not?!"
"You did too?! Oh, Lance, I'm SOOOO sorry! It's not my fault, she just pulled me into a kiss while we were dancing!"
"It's ok, it's ok! I'm not mad! I understand why she did it! It's all a part of you being her 'boyfriend', I know nothing was meant by it. Justin on the other hand . . ."
-*-
"Me?! You don't get ME!?" Britney stood toe to toe with Justin. "I SOOO don't get you! First of all, you're the one who said you wanted to keep this a secret! I had NO problem with admitting it, but you had to go around denying it!
"Then, I find someone who can pose as my boyfriend, who's GAY mind you, and who is a great guy and friend to both of us, and you're jealous?!"
Britney took a few steps away from her boyfriend, then turned back with fire in her eyes. "Then, to top it ALL off, you treat me like I'm some sort of possession!
"Now, I can understand you being pissed about the kiss...that was my fault! But this has to stop! You have to get it through your thick head that I'm NOT some sort of thing that's there when you want it! It's either you want me, or you don't! I'm sick and tired of these games!"
After a few moments of silence, Justin ran his hands through his curls with a sigh. "So . . . what are we gonna do then?"
-*-
JC sat on the terrace to his hotel room. Confused. He had a million thoughts running through his mind. Lost in his mental battle, he didn't hear the knock at his door.
Rob stood outside in the hallway; he was hoping Josh would open the door, cause he needed to talk to him. He needed to know what exactly was going on between the two of them. He needed to know how JC felt about him. The sex was great, but he was hoping for something more.
The fact that JC called out Michael's name during a moment of passion, sent a huge blow to Rob's heart. He wanted to be with JC. But he wanted their relationship to be something more than just a quick fuck whenever they were in the same city.
As he knocked on the door, he was beginning to think that Josh wasn't in his room. About to give up and walk away, he sighed, rested his head on the door, and placed his hand on the doorknob. As his hand fell on the knob, he could feel it move; indicating it wasn't locked. He turned the knob and the door cracked open.
"Should I just go in?" He thought to himself. "Fuck it! If he's not there, I can wait!"
He slowly opened the door and stepped in. The lights were off and the bed was made. Rob looked around the room and saw the door to the terrace open.
He slowly made his way towards the balcony and saw JC leaning on the rail with his head in his hands.
"JC?" Rob said softly, trying not to startle him.
"Huh?" JC said turning around. "Rob! Oh . . . hi."
"Did I disturb you?"
"No, no . . . I was just thinking." JC gave a weak smile.
"Well do you want me to leave you alone?"
"No, no . . . actually, I think we need to talk." JC pulled out a chair for Rob.
"Yeah, we do." Rob agreed, sitting down with a heavy sigh.
JC sat in the chair opposite Rob and looked out into the night sky. From the terrace, they could see the lights of Los Angeles glittering in the darkness. After a few moments of silence, JC returned his gaze to the man across from him. "So, you wanna go first, or should I?"
"I think you should." Rob nodded, leaning his elbows on the table. "What happened tonight?"
"I . . . I dunno!" JC stammered. "I mean, it just slipped out!"
"You called out Michael's name!" Rob stated, the pain very clear in his voice.
"I have NO idea where it came from!"
"You have feelings for Michael don't you?" Rob said quietly.
"No! I . . . I mean . . . I dunno . . . I'm really, REALLY sorry about tonight Rob!" JC pleaded, reaching over to table for Rob's hands. "I didn't mean to hurt you in any way! You know I would never do that!"
"You want Michael." Rob's voice was barely audible.
"What?" JC couldn't believe what Rob had just said.
"You want Michael."
"I...I..." JC tried to form the words. Had the feelings he had been developing for Michael been that obvious?
Rob watched the internal emotional struggle roll over JC's face. He could see the tears forming in his eyes.
"No! He's Lance's boyfriend! They're together!" JC said forcefully. Then he continued more softly. "I just want what they have, I guess . . ."
"You want what Lance has?" Rob questioned, leaning back in his seat.
"Yeah . . .I guess."
Rob raised an eyebrow. "You want Michael."
"Yeah . . ." JC said finally admitting it aloud and to himself. "I . . . I just don't know what to do!"
JC stood and looked out over the terrace, tears flowing down his face. "I mean, Lance and Michael are together! Lance is one of my best friends...if I tried to take Michael away from him... it'd just screw everything up! And I care so much about Michael. I don't ever want to hurt either of them."
An uneasy silence fell over the terrace. JC returned his gaze to Rob.
"Then there's you . . ."
"What about me?" Rob asked, folding his arms over his chest.
"I don't know . . ."
"Well how do you feel about us?"
"That's just it! I don't know!" JC threw his arms into the air. "I'm just so confused right now! I mean...what I have with you is something more than a one-night stand. Which is something I'm not used to. But it's like all we do is have sex whenever we DO see each other. I mean, it's great, but I don't know..."
JC slammed his fist into the railing. "Then there's Michael...and how he makes me feel! He enjoys spending time with me. He likes to listen to me.
There is so much compassion in his eyes..." the singer's voice trailed of into the distance. "I . . . I . . . I don't know what to do...or what I want... or anything!"
"Well, you should talk to someone." Rob replied. "I mean...I'm here for you, but it's obvious that you need someone with a nonbiased opinion."
There was a short pause, JC turned his head and continued to look out at the view from his balcony, while Rob sat forward in his chair and put his head down.
"Well . . . how do you feel about us?" JC asked after a few minutes.
"The truth?"
"Yeah."
"Well, to tell you the truth, I want this to turn into something more than just fuck buddies. But, due to the circumstances, I don't know now. I guess, well, it's up to you where this is going. But, I think until it's been decided, no more sex. It's safer that way on both of our emotions."
"It's funny, I used to be able to have sex with no problems from my emotions. Now . . ."
"Well, like I said, I'm here if you need me to listen, but I think for now, it's best that I go."
"No, wait . . . don't go."
-*-
Lance and Michael silently entered their darkened hotel room. Michael tossed his coat onto the nearest chair and turned to look at Lance. His lover had walked into the bathroom and was returning with a small bag and a towel that he tossed on the floor. Michael took two quick steps and pulled Lance into a frantic kiss.
Lance closed his eyes and melted into the kiss. His mouth opening allowing access to Michael's tongue. Their mouths melded, and tongues danced, as the two lovers tried to pull each other closer.
Lance opened his eyes as the kiss broke and looked at Michael. "Wow," was all he could say. "Where did that come from?"
Michael smiled. "Had to make sure that you kissed better than Brit."
Lance playfully slugged Michael in the arm and motioned him towards the towel on the floor. "It's time for your surprise. Take off your clothes and lie down on your stomach."
"Why?" Michael questioned, unbuttoning his shirt.
"'Cause I'm gonna give you a mind melting massage."
A smile grew on Michael's face as he quickly got out of his clothes.
Michael lay down on the towel, being careful to tuck his burgeoning erection under his tired body.
Lance opened up the bottle of strawberry scented massage oil up and poured some into his hand. Lance rubbed the oil into Michael's shoulders, trying his best to release the tension that had built up. Gradually, he worked over Michael's entire back, coating every bit of skin with the oil. Michael moaned and groaned occasionally, bringing a smile to Lance's face.
Lance moved down to Michael's legs and slowly worked on his left leg and then his right. He caressed his butt, gently kneading each cheek. The singer didn't think there'd be a whole lot of tension in his butt, but he figured that it couldn't hurt.
Lance moved up to Michael's head and whispered in his ear to roll over.
Michael rolled over onto his back, and Lance wasn't surprised when his erection popped up.
"Well now." Lance grinned. "What is this?"
"It's my favorite toy," Michael quickly replied with a coy smile.
"It's one of my favorite toys too." Lance chuckled. "Do you mind if I play with it for a bit?"
"Be my guest," Michael said, looking into Lance's eyes. "Can I play with your toy?"
"Mmmmm, not yet. This is your special moment."
Lance poured some more oil into his hand and began stroking Michael's firm erection, squeezing it and letting it slide through his fingers. Michael thrust his hips upward, trying to encourage Lance to speed up the pace.
Lance kept up the same slow deliberate pace, eliciting a moan from his love.
"Faster...faster," Michael grunted as he writhed on the floor.
Lance released Michael's leaking cock and poured more oil into his hand. He rubbed his hands together and began rubbing his lover's pectoral muscles.
"Uhhh, uhhh, please, please."
Lance ignored Michael's pleas and continued rubbing his chest. Michael groaned and moved to release the pressure himself. Lance slapped his wrist before his hand got to his cock and pulled it away. "Oh, no. Don't touch."
Michael's body twitched and he looked up at Lance and begged him with his eyes to let him cum. Lance kissed his lover's nose and moved his hand so that it was behind his head.
Michael closed his eyes as Lance went back to work, releasing the tension from all his muscles, with one notable exception. His erection throbbed as the blood pulsed through his veins. Lance worked on Michael's firm little nipples, squeezing them gently, then rolling them between his fingers.
Michael groaned and thrust his hips instinctively.
Lance smiled knowing that the exquisite torture that he was putting Michael through had to feel absolutely marvelous. He took Michael's left arm into his hands and began squeezing and rubbing his biceps. Lance kept working on his muscles, glancing down every so often at his bobbing and throbbing manhood.
You could see the thin streams of precum as they ran down the shaft. It was like his mighty prick was the source for a river of his tasty juices. Lance was tempted to drive him over the edge and suck his juices down, but instead the singer took his right arm and began massaging the muscles.
Lance could see the beads of sweat begin to appear on his lover's face.
Michael's facial expression was one of pure bliss and desire. Lance knew exactly what he wanted, but he wasn't going to give it to him until the pressure was so high he might explode.
After Lance finished with his lover's arm, he moved down between his legs and poured a generous dollop of oil into his hand. Carefully Lance rubbed it into his balls and inner thighs. Lance knew that too much stimulation would cause Michael to cum prematurely and he didn't want that. He caressed his thighs, gently rubbing the soft, dark hair that covered them.
Michael's legs twitched as Lance's fingertips glided across the skin. His nerve endings were firing madly. Lance slid further down the towel to Michael's calves when he thought Michael's thighs were as relaxed as they were going to get and began to massage them. Lance placed Michael's left foot into his crotch and worked on both the foot and the calf. He took his time, trying to drive Michael mad with lust.
When Lance finished the left foot he leaned forward and blew on the glistening head of Michael's cock. Michael bucked and moaned, but didn't cum. Lance looked up at Michael and smiled. His eyes were still closed.
Lance began working on his right foot when he heard Michael beg him to let him cum. Lance ignored his request once again and kept working on his foot.
When he had worked all the tension that he was going to be able to work out of him, Lance moved between his legs once more and leaned in to his cock.
Lance knelt there for several minutes just looking and playing with Michael's genitals. Michael kept bucking and writhing on the towel. Lance grinned and alternated between blowing on the head of his cock and rubbing his testicles with one finger. Just idly playing with him, teasing him and driving him mad with erotic sensations.
Michael looked like he was in agony. His body was straining against itself.
It didn't know what was happening. It was receiving so much stimulation from so many places, and all the pressure, all the desire could be released with one simple act.
Lance leaned forward and began licking up the excess massage oil and precum that had leaked out. Michael began bucking furiously and gasped loudly. His hands clutched the towel and held on tightly. Lance opened his mouth and wrapped his lips around the shaking organ. Michael let out a series of little moan-grunts and blew his load into Lance's waiting mouth. Lance kept up his assault on his lover's cock, licking around the corona and trying to drive his tongue into the piss slit.
Michael kept thrusting his hips and his body shook once more, delivering a second load into his lover's waiting mouth. Lance let Michael's softening cock slide out of his mouth and lay down with his head on Michael's stomach.
Michael stayed on his back, not moving at all. His chest continued rising and falling as his ragged breath was drawn in.
Lance looked up at Michael's face, looking for signs of life. Michael's eyes were still closed and he had a big smile on his face. Lance was reminded of those bad movies were the characters say, 'At least he went with a smile on his face' after dying in the throes of passion. Lance couldn't help but laugh aloud.
Michael cracked open an eye and looked at the blond singer. "Something funny?"
"Not anymore." Lance smiled as he traced his hand from Michael's abs to his face. "I was just thinking that if you were dead, that at least you went with a smile on your face."
"That was so phenomenal. I don't know if I can walk anymore."
"Hmmm, would you like a lift?"
"Nah, but you can give me a hand." Lance stood up and offered his hand to Michael.
Michael took hold of the singer's hand and began to stand. He had just lifted his weight off the towel when his hand slipped out of Lance's due to the massage oil. Michael landed hard on the towel with a loud thump. Lance also went down with a thump, but ended up flat on his back. Lance started laughing while Michael rubbed his rump.
"Shall we try that again?" Lance asked, trying to control his laughter.
"Yeah, but wipe your hands first."
Lance squatted down and wiped off his hands on the towels. Michael wiped the excess massage oil off his chest, arms and legs while Lance wiped off his back. Lance gave him a hand once more and they both helped each other up.
Michael wrapped his arms around Lance's waist and gave him a tender kiss. "I don't have any idea what I can do for you to repay you for that."
"You don't owe me anything baby. You deserved that massage," Lance replied giving him a kiss. "You worked hard this week. You did a good job."
"Really?" Michael asked. "The way you were looking over my shoulder the entire time..."
Lance looked deeply into his lover's dark green eyes. "Michael, I never doubted you or your ability to handle Nsync business." He placed a quick kiss on Michael's nose. "I was so proud of you this week. I enjoyed watching you work."
Michael gently ran a hand through Lance's hair and smiled. "Thanks. It's good to hear that every now and then."
"Mmmm, well let's go to bed now." Lance yawned. "I'm kinda sleepy."
"Your wish is my command, baby." Michael wrapped his arm around Lance's back and let him lead the way to the bed.
Lance eased himself onto the bed and under the covers. He let out an exaggerated yawn and smiled up to his lover. Michael rolled his eyes and slipped under the covers. Michael rolled closer and snuggled up with his exhausted boyfriend. Lance pulled him closer and rested his head on Michael's arm, his face buried in his chest. "I love you, Michael. Good night."
"I love you too. Sleep tight." Michael's eyes closed and his breathing slowed. He felt Lance's body relax in his arms, and he couldn't help but smile.
-*-
February 24, 10:00am.
JC Chasez emerged from the bathroom wearing a pair of boxers and drying his hair with a towel. "Hey Rob!" He said from underneath the towel. "Thanks for staying with me last night. I really appreciate it."
After a moment of silence, JC lifted the towel off of his head. "Rob?"
"Rob left."
JC turned to his right to see Michael McCall sitting in a chair near the terrace. "Michael?" the singer said with surprise. "When did you get here?"
"Rob called me this morning." Michael answered.
"Oh."
"He told me that you needed to talk to someone."
JC felt the blood rush from his face, as dread quickly took over his body.
"Why don't you finish getting dressed and we can talk." Michael smiled.
"I ordered breakfast."
"What all did Rob tell you?" JC asked as he returned to the bathroom to get his clothes.
"He told me that in a moment of passion, you called out someone else's name."
Michael heard JC's fist hit the bathroom counter, and the singer's curse.
"Josh?" Michael called out, leaning forward slightly. "You know that you can talk to me. I consider both you and Rob to be my close friends...I'll do anything I can to help you guys through this."
After a couple of minutes, JC returned from the bathroom fully clothed. "I don't think there's anything you can do, Michael."
"What happened?"
JC let out a long sigh. "I did call out someone's name when Rob was blowing me last night."
"Wow." Michael whistled. "It was so good you forgot who was giving it to you?" He chuckled.
"Not exactly."
Michael sat back in his chair and shrugged. "Then tell me what happened.
It can't be all that bad."
Michael could see the tears start to form in the singer's eyes as he attempted to form the words to explain.
"I called out someone's name..." he began. "Because I was thinking of someone else while Rob was blowing me."
"Who?" Michael asked.
JC looked Michael directly in the eyes and answered. "You."
"Excuse me?"
The first tears began to stream down JC's face. "You...I called out your name."
"Why would you call out my name?" Michael stammered, shifting in his chair.
"Because I wanted you to be blowing me at that moment." JC exhaled.
"Because I'm in love with you."
Michael's mouth fell open in shock. He tried to speak, but couldn't manage any words.
The awkward silence was broken by the ringing of Michael's cel phone. The phone rang three times before Michael answered. "Hello?"
"Hey Baby!" Lance Bass spoke into the phone as he looked out his kitchen window. "I just wanted to let you know that I checked out of the hotel and I'm back at the house."
--Cool.-Michael answered quietly.
"I woke up this morning and you had already left." Lance playfully pouted.
"Where'd you go?"
Michael shifted uncomfortably in his chair, trying to avoid JC's eyes.
"I'm just taking care of some business before I head back to Orlando tomorrow."
There was a knock at the hotel room door, and JC went to answer it.
Michael let out a sigh of relief. "I should be home in a couple of hours."
Lance tooled around the kitchen as he spoke into the phone. "Good!" he smiled. "Justin is here. Joey and Chris are on their way over. We thought we'd to a barbecue or something this afternoon."
--Uh huh.-
"You okay?" Lance asked. "You sound troubled."
--I'm fine. Just a lot on my mind.-
Lance stepped out onto the patio and watched Justin as he swam laps in the pool. "Okay." He nodded. "I'll let you get back to your errands. That way you can get back here faster."
--Cool.-
"I love you, pookie." Lance smiled broadly, allowing his accent to take over his voice.
There was a pause before Michael quietly added. -You too.-
"What was that?" Lance questioned, with mock hurt in his voice. "No I love you too?"
Another long pause. -You know I do.-
Lance sat down in the nearest patio chair, his smile broadening. "You must be somewhere interesting."
--What?- "Maybe the song is right." Lance chuckled. "If no one's around, you should be able to say it."
--What song?-Lance could tell by his lover's voice that he was not comfortable wherever he was.
"Say my name, say my name..." Lance playfully sang into the phone.
There was a second of silence, then Lance could hear that Michael was moving. Possibly to a "safer" location. The singer fought back his amusement.
--I love you too, Lance.-Michael managed to say. -I'll be home as soon as I can.- "Bye babe." Lance laughed as he hung up the phone and set it on the table next to him. "Now that was odd. I wonder where he is."
Michael turned off his cel phone and replaced it on his belt. He looked up to see that room service had delivered breakfast and JC was setting it up near the terrace. Eating was the last thing on Michael's mind at the moment. His mind was still reeling from JC's confession that he was in love with him.
"How's Lance?" JC asked.
"Fine."
JC sat down in the chair across from Michael. "Why didn't you tell him where you were."
Michael shrugged his shoulders and let out a sigh. "I don't even know where I am right now, Josh. I still can't process what you just told me."
"I'm sorry." JC said, dropping his head into his hands.
"You can't be in love with me." Michael finally said.
"What?"
"You're not in love with me." He repeated firmly.
JC stood and shook his head. "How do you know who I can be in love with?"
"It's...it's...it's not possible."
"How can you say that?" JC turned back to the man sitting in the chair.
Michael shook his head. "You just can't be in love with me."
In two quick steps, JC was on his knees in front of Michael. He placed his hands on either side of his friend and looked him deeply in the eyes. "You don't know what I'm feeling. You have know idea what is going on in my head!" He spoke, his voice getting louder as he continued. "I know what I'm feeling is love. I've only felt like this one other time in my life."
"Josh..." Michael tried to interrupt.
"No!" JC stopped him. "There's only been one other time that I've had these feelings. I know its love! It's exactly how I felt when Lance and I were together!"
"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!" Michael pushed JC out of the way and ran out to the terrace.
-*-
Lance hung up the phone and watched as Justin climbed out of the pool.
Justin walked over towards Lance, dripping wet and Lance tossed him a towel.
"So how's Michael?" Justin asked as he began to dry his body.
"I dunno . . ." Lance set his phone on the table and adjusted his sunglasses. "He seemed kinda strange on the phone just now."
"How so?" The younger blonde asked, sitting next to his friend and fellow bandmate.
"Well, it's stupid really . . . it's just that . . . I guess he was somewhere where he couldn't tell me that he loved me."
"Huh?" Justin took a drink of his coke.
"I said that I loved him, and he said 'You too', so that kinda caught me off guard, you know?" Lance ran his hands through his hair. "So I made some joke about it, and I heard him moving. Then he said it."
"Do you think he's seeing someone else?" Justin asked pointedly.
"No! Never!"
"You sure?"
Lance looked at his friend and took off his sunglasses. His green eyes were bright and full of confidence. "Yeah! I'm positive! There is absolutely NO doubt in my mind whatsoever!"
"Ok, if you're sure." Justin shrugged.
"I am!"
"Well . . . " A sly smile appeared on Justin's face. "What makes you so sure then?"
"For one thing, I know that he loves me, and he would NEVER do anything like that to me."
"Oh ?" Justin pushed with a slight chuckle.
"And I guess..." Lance placed his sunglasses on his head. "I guess that after everything we've been through, I could just tell if something was wrong, and if he was cheating on me."
"Yeah." Justin nodded. "You two have been through a lot!"
"Yes we have. But all of the trials have made our love stronger."
Justin looked over at his friend. He could see the joy in Lance's face.
The way his eyes lit up when he talked about his boyfriend. It was plain to the young man that Lance shared a true love with Michael. "You really love him, don't you?"
"With all my heart!" Lance smiled broadly.
"No doubts?"
"Not a one!" he nodded.
"I wish I could say the same!" Justin sighed, sitting back in his chair.
Lance took a quick drink of his coke and smiled. "How did that talk go with you and Britney?"
"Oh boy!" Justin closed his eyes and ran his hands over his smooth torso.
"That bad huh?" Lance chuckled.
"Well, we were arguing for most of the night!"
"Well, you did have a right to be pissed," Lance pointed out. "I mean, even if it was only a publicity stunt!"
"Damn right!" Justin raised his fist into the air.
"But it WAS only a publicity stunt!" Lance repeated.
"I know..." Justin lowered his hand with a pout. "But still...I guess I just got so pissed cause of everything that's been going on between us lately!"
"Well, did you guys make up?"
"Yeah, I guess." Justin sighed.
"You guess?" Lance sat up and punched his friend in the arm.
"Well, we came to an agreement..." Justin smiled. "And that's always good!"
"The agreement being?"
"Well..." Justin began. "Brit's gonna start being seen with a few different guys now. This way it won't make me start to hate Michael and it won't look like she's exclusive with anyone. I can't say that I'm not gonna get jealous, but it's a start."
"Why don't you two just come out . . ." Lance started.
"Like you should talk?" Justin shot a look at his friend.
"Well, you know what I mean!" Lance said as they both laughed.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah . . . I know . . . It's sort of the same reason why you don't." Justin took another drink of his coke. "I mean, it's to protect our careers. You know, the teenies are harsh. Her fans would wanna kill me, and our fans would wanna kill her."
"Well, sorta the same reason . . ." Lance chuckled. "But not exactly."
After a moment of silence, Lance took a quick drink of his coke. "It seems to be working for Jessica and Nick."
"It's different for Jessica and Nick." Justin explained. "Not to sound conceited or anything, but they aren't as popular as we are. It's just . . .
more complicated for us!"
"I understand!" Lance nodded absentmindedly.
"Good, cause I don't!" Justin sighed, throwing his towel over his head.
"Dumb ass!" Lance said as they both laughed.
-*-
"Michael? Oh, my God." JC apologized, stepping out onto the terrace. "I thought you knew. I would never have..."
Michael McCall swallowed back his shock but kept his back to the singer.
He looked out over the terrace, and tried to force a smile. "It's okay, Josh." He lied. "I always figured that you and Lance had been together."
JC moved to stand beside his friend. "We weren't together for very long."
He began to explain. "Lance wasn't ready to deal with being gay. And even if he would have been ready, he told me that he couldn't trust me to be faithful to him."
Michael turned towards the singer with a raised eyebrow.
JC nodded and decided to answer the question before it was asked. "I was pretty much sleeping with any warm body that I could get." Then he added with a chuckle. "Not much has changed, huh?"
The two men stared out over the terrace in silence for a couple of minutes.
Michael let out another sigh and placed a hand over his friend's.
"You know you aren't in love with me." Michael smiled gently. "I'm flattered that you think so."
JC turned to Michael and started to reply. "But..."
Michael raised his hand to pause his friend. "Let me finish. I don't think you know what you're feeling right now." Michael looked deeply into his friend's eyes. "You guys have just gotten through some tough and emotional times. And just before that, we had my rape and recovery to deal with.
"You and I have grown very close over the past few months." Michael cleared his throat. "To top it off, you're really confused about your relationship with Rob. So it's only natural that you cross your wires and get more confused."
"I don't know..." JC shook his head. "I just don't want to hurt you or Lance."
Michael chuckled softly. "That won't happen, Josh. Lance and I both care about you and we'll see you through this."
"I don't want to lose any of you..." The tears began to flow down the singer's cheeks. "You...Lance...Rob...I couldn't stand it if you all left my life."
Michael pulled his friend into a hug and held him tightly. "It's okay, Josh." He spoke softly. "We're all here for you and we'll help you through this. You just need some time to chill and sort out your feelings."
Michael pulled back and looked into the singer's eyes. The pain was still there, but there was a glimmer of hope beginning to glow. Michael opened his mouth to speak, but was distracted by a reflection down below. Michael turned his head to see a man standing near the pool with his camera focused on him and JC. Michael stared at the man for a moment, studying his features and appearance.
"We should go inside, JC." Michael whispered, ushering the singer back into the hotel room. Michael took a final glance down at the man with the camera. The man grinned up at him and gave a small salute as he walked away.
-*-
Santa Monica, 4pm.:
Lance looked up from his book to see that Justin was still asleep on the raft floating in the pool. He glanced at his watch and sighed. Justin had been alseep for almost an hour. Lance could see that his friend was already starting to get red under the sun. He leaned over the side of his chair to pick up the volleyball that was next to his feet. Lance gently tossed the ball into the air and it landed on Justin's stomach.
"Huh? What?" Justin sat up quickly, causing the raft to tip over on its side sending him into the water.
"HA!" Lance laughed as Justin's head shot out of the water gasping for air.
"What did you do that for?"
"You were starting to burn." Lance answered as Justin got out of the pool.
"How long was I asleep?"
"'Bout an hour."
The two friends continued to talk for a few minutes, before they heard the doorbell ring. Lance got up to go answer it, as Justin continued to dry off.
Lance came back out onto the patio with Chris and Joey. They were laughing at some joke Chris had made about Joey.
"Well at least I SOUND like I went through puberty!" Joey said as they exited out to the patio.
"Oh, that's it! You're getting thrown in now!" Chris said as he started to wrestle around with Joey.
They stopped only for two seconds, in which they took off their shirts and shoes. As soon as the duo had started wrestling again, Lance and Justin looked at each other, smiled. The two blondes walked towards their friends, who were now closer to poolside. While the two older members were still fighting, the two younger members pushed them into the pool, causing a giant splash. As soon as Chris and Joey surfaced, they saw the blonde boys laughing.
"Get them!" Chris yelled to Joey. Within seconds they were out of the pool, pulling Justin and Lance in with them.
Between dunks in the water, Lance called out the immortal words of Daffy Duck, "Of course you know...this means war!" And with that battle cry, an all out pool war broke out between the four friends.
After about ten minutes of crazed water play, Lance got out of the pool to dry off and start the barbeque.
"I'll get the grill set up if you guys get the food from the kitchen." He called to his friends as he dried himself off.
The prospect of food was enough to get the other three out of the pool and set to work on dinner.
Lance smiled as he watched his three friends dry off and race for the kitchen to grab the food. As they left, he walked over to the grill and turned on the gas. While he was working, he heard Chris come back onto the patio with some cooking utensils and plates.
"Hi honey...I'm home!" Michael McCall smiled as he came out onto the patio.
Lance looked up with surprise as his boyfriend appeared before him. He opened his mouth to greet him, but was interrupted by Chris.
"It's about time you get home...dear!" Chris mocked Michael with a smile.
"I've been slaving away in this house all day and you never appreciate me."
Not missing a beat, Michael came up behind Chris and planted a large kiss on his cheek. "I'm sorry, baby." Michael giggled as Chris tried to squirm away from him. "I had a rough day at the office."
"Ewwww!" Chris finally got away from Michael, wiping his cheek. "Cooties! Cooties!"
Michael laughed and turned his attention to Lance. "Hey you." He smiled.
Lance gave Michael a quick hug and kiss. "Hey yourself. Where've you been all day?"
Michael shrugged his shoulders. "Nowhere special."
"Mikey!" Joey called as he and Justin joined their friends on the patio.
"Hey Joe!" Michael said with a smile that quickly disappeared when he saw Justin's stare. "Justin." He nodded.
"We should talk." Justin motioned his head towards the house before heading back inside.
Michael looked at Lance and gave him a weak smile before following the singer inside the house.
"What's up with them?" Chris asked.
Lance started to place burgers on the grill and shrugged his shoulders.
"Don't know...Justin saw Michael kiss Britney last night."
"What?" Chris and Joey exclaimed at the same time.
Michael followed Justin into the living room. "What's up?"
Justin let out a heavy sigh. "I need to apologize to you." He said softly.
"What?" A grin began to form on Michael's face.
"You heard me." Justin shook his head with a laugh. "I've been an asshole to you lately and that isn't fair."
"This is true."
Justin ran his hands through his hair and began to pace. "Brit and I talked things out last night. It was good to just talk. We were able to see what each of us were doing wrong in our relationship."
"And...?" Michael asked pointedly.
Justin stopped pacing and looked his friend in the eyes. "Michael, I want you to know that I value our friendship. Hell, you make one of my best friends so happy he can hardly see straight at times. What I'm trying to say is that I'm sorry for being an ass. I was never really mad at you, and it was wrong for me to take it out on you."
Michael sat on the arm of the couch with his arms folded over his chest.
It took all the willpower he had not to smile at the young man in front of him. In the nine months that he had known Justin, Michael had watched him grow and mature. He was proud of his friend.
After a few moments of silence, Justin gave up waiting for an answer. "We cool?"
"Yeah." Michael finally smiled. "We're cool."
Justin pulled Michael into a quick hug. "Good. Let's get back outside."
As the duo headed back out onto the patio, Michael leaned over to Justin.
"She is a great kisser, you know."
Justin quickly grabbed Michael by the waist and tossed him over his shoulder. "Asshole!" He laughed as he ran outside and threw Michael into the pool.
Later that evening:
Michael stood on the patio watching Lance interact with his friends. He had long since stopped paying attention to what they were talking about.
After his conversation earlier with JC, Michael just couldn't stop wondering about the revelation that Lance and JC were an item at one time. At first, he was upset that Lance had not told him about this already. Michael knew that Lance was never comfortable talking about his first gay relationship, and now he knew why.
Of course any anger Michael had towards Lance disappeared whenever he looked at him. Now was a perfect example of this. Michael's eyes ran their way up and down Lance's lean form. He was wearing a pair of board shorts that hung loosely on his hips. The white shirt on his torso laid comfortably over his form. The front of the shirt waved open in the gentle breeze revealing the singer's tanned and toned chest. He face was bright...lit up by his broad smile and accentuated by the sparkle in his inescapable green eyes.
"Those eyes..." Michael sighed to himself.
Lance felt the weight of his boyfriend's stare on him and locked eyes with a smile. "What?"
Michael blushed slightly as he was caught in the act and shook his head.
He set his glass down on the patio table, walked over to Lance and whispered in his ear. "I want you."
Lance felt his cheeks flush as his smile grew wider. "We have guests."
Michael leaned forward and kissed Lance powerfully on the mouth. His tongue forced the singer's mouth open as the kiss grew deeper. Lance moaned softly and returned the kiss, his hands moving up around Michael's neck.
"Get a room!" Joey laughed.
Michael broke the kiss and smiled at the other members of Nsync as he began to escort Lance towards the house. "I'm sorry, gentlemen...but I need to borrow your host for five minutes."
"Only five?" Justin laughed aloud. "And Britney though you had staying power."
Michael and Lance walked from the patio into the living room. Michael moved over to the couch and lowered himself down pulling Lance down on top of him. The two men began to kiss. At first it was just small pecks but they became longer and more desperate, and finally, Lance slipped his tongue into Michael's waiting mouth. The flavor of their saliva mingled in each of their mouths as the sucked on each other's tongues.
Michel ran his hands under Lance's shirt. He slipped Lance's shirt off his shoulders and threw it onto the floor. Michael gently rolled Lance's nipples between his fingers as they kissed. The sensation overtook Lance and he drove his mouth into Michael's even harder than before. Lance peeled Michael's polo shirt from his body and broke their kiss to give Michael's chest some oral attention. Lance flicked his tongue at each one of Michael's nipples, making both of them erect and making Michael moan in ecstasy.
Michael pulled Lance's face back to his and kissed him deeply. Then in one fluid motion, he rolled to his right taking Lance with him. Michael pulled away from the kiss when he was laying on top of Lance. He flashed a wicked smile to his lover before placing small kisses down his neck. Michael continued down onto Lance's belly button. Once he had given that proper attention, Michael unbuttoned Lance's shorts.
"Um....Michael?" Lance moaned softly.
"Yes, Lance." Michael chuckled.
"Not that I'm complaining or anything..." Lance attempted to catch his breath. "But the guys are right outside."
Michael moved up and kissed each of Lance's cheeks. "And they know what we are doing in here, so they'll stay outside or go around the house to their cars and go home."
Lance looked in the direction of the patio and nodded.
"May I continue?"
Lance raised his hips to allow Michael to slide them off. Which Michael did as quickly as he could. Lance then raised his legs and Michael pulled his shorts off and threw them on the floor. Michael could see Lance's erection poking through his pale blue boxer briefs that were wet with precum. Michael took in all the beauty of his lover. His gorgeous lover was lying there, anxiously awaiting his next move. Michael reached out and pulled Lance's boxer briefs down his legs and off of his body.
Throwing the underwear onto the floor, Michael looked into Lance's beautiful, pale green eyes which, in the dim light, looked like they were glowing. Michael's eyes trailed along the blonde's body. His skin golden brown and toned to near perfection. Michael ran his hands up Lance's legs, loving the feel of the downy hair on the legs under his palms.
Lance was almost panting from the excitement the entire scene was causing him. He saw Michael lean forward and felt Michael put his lips around his own cock. Lance was always amazed at how each time Michael began to make love to him it was like the first time all over again. How he always finds himself anticipating what this would feel like and he could never have imagined the sensations that surged through his body.
Michael went down on his lover, taking all of Lance into his mouth. Lance began moving his hips in rhythm to Michael's motions. Lance could feel Michael's tongue moving all around his cockhead and the feeling was driving Lance crazy.
Lance grabbed the nearby pillows and squeezed them with all his might. Lance was trying desperately to hold on but it was more than he could take.
Suddenly, Lance's body and cock stiffened and he drove his dick even deeper into Michael's mouth. Lance let out a loud moan and shot load after load into his lover's mouth. Michael tried as hard as he could to swallow Michael's entire load, not wanting to waste one drop of the sweet nectar but he couldn't. Some of the cum leaked out of the corner of Michael's chin and onto Lance's balls.
Lance was so overcome by his orgasm. His heart was racing almost as fast as his thoughts. He quickly pulled Michael up into a kiss as his hands fumbled with the buttons of Michael's jeans. Once he was able to remove his lover's pants, Lance grabbed Michael by the shoulders and rolled him over onto the couch. Then in one fluid movement, Lance straddled the somewhat stunned Michael and lowered himself onto his lover's waiting cock.
"Yesss..." Lance hissed as he felt Michael's cock enter him.
Michael locked eyes with his lover as Lance began to raise and lower himself. He moved forward and gently kissed Lance's lips before matching his hips to the singer's movements.
Lance's hands roamed over Michael's firm chest as he rose up and down on his lover's dick. He could tell that Michael was close, so he began to increase the pace.
"Uh...ugh....Lance!" Michael moaned as he began to lose his self control.
He placed one hand on Lance's hips as he began to quickly thrust his hips faster into Lance's ass. His other hand moved to Lance's cock which had never softened from its earlier workout.
Lance bent down and placed gentle kisses on Michael's forehead. "Oh baby, I love you." He moaned quietly.
Michael's moans and grunts grew louder as he reached his climax. "I love you too!" Michael stroked Lance's dick harder, and just as his load shot into Lance's ass, Lance shot another load all over Michael's heaving chest. Lance collapsed onto Michael, Michael's dick slipping out of his ass. They lay quietly for a few minutes to recover.
"Think they heard us?" Lance whispered.
Michael laughed softly. "I think the entire block heard us."
Lance smiled as he stood from the couch and quietly slipped back into his shorts. Michael watched his lover casually cross the room and walk through the dining room to the patio. Michael reached down and pulled his jeans back up over his hips as he stood up.
"They left a note." Lance shook his head. "They said that we sounded busy so they'll give a call tomorrow."
Michael let out a long sigh. "Tomorrow."
"What time is your flight?" Lance asked heading towards the kitchen.
"Nine." Michael answered from the living room. "Why didn't you ever tell me about you and JC?"
Michael stopped himself, hearing the words coming out of his mouth. He wanted to talk to Lance about what he learned from JC earlier in the day, but was this the right time?
"What?" Lance popped his head out of the kitchen. "I didn't hear you."
Michael took in a deep breath and let it out. "Why didn't you ever tell me about you and JC?"
Lance felt the blood leave his face when he heard the question. "What about me and JC?"
Michael watched as Lance suddenly started cleaning the kitchen. "He's nervous." Michael thought to himself. "Best to just rip this band-aid off."
Michael hopped up onto the counter with a sigh. "I know that you and JC were lovers a few years ago."
Lance stopped what he was doing and let his head hang down. "How?" he whispered. "How did you find out?"
"Josh and I had a long talk today about some trouble he's having with Rob."
Michael explained. "It just came out in the conversation."
"I'm so sorry." Lance said as the tears began to appear in his eyes.
"For what?" Michael asked. "For not telling me or for being with Josh?"
Lance wiped his eyes. "Both."
"Hey." Michael jumped off the counter and took Lance into his arms. "I'm not mad at you. I'm a little hurt that you felt like you couldn't tell me...but I'm not mad at you."
"Really?" Lance pulled back from the hug to look into his lover's eyes. He could see that Michael wasn't mad, but he it was also very obvious that something wasn't right in his mind.
Michael gently kissed Lance on the cheek. "Really." He smiled weakly.
"When you get to Orlando next week, you can tell me all about you and Josh.
Right now, I need to go to bed so I can catch my flight in the morning."
Lance gave Michael a quick hug. "You go ahead. I want to clean up here. I love you."
"I know." Michael smiled as he left the kitchen.
-*-
February 25, 8:30am.
Lance Bass rolled over and opened his eyes with a groan. The sunlight was invading his bedroom and refusing to let him sleep. Instinctively, the singer reached behind him to tap Michael on the shoulder, but his hand hit and empty mattress.
"Michael?" he called out.
After not hearing an answer, Lance rolled out of bed and walked towards the bathroom. He stopped in front of the mirror when he saw the piece of paper taped to it.
"Hey babe." He read groggily. "You looked so peaceful sleeping, I didn't want to wake you up. Tyler dropped me at the airport. I'll call when I get to Orlando. See you in a couple of days. Love you. M."
Lance leaned back against the wall with a sigh. "Damn." He cursed. "I wanted to talk to you."
-*-
LAX:
Michael McCall adjusted a few entries in his palm pilot before turning it off and slipping it back into his backpack. As he was placing his pack back on his shoulder, he caught a familiar face in the crowd.
"Rob!" He called out jogging over to his friend.
Rob stopped and turned at the sound of his name. Seeing Michael jogging over to him, he gave a small smile.
"Hey! Where are headed to?" Michael asked as he caught up with Rob.
"Huh? Hey Michael . . . I'm headed back to New York."
"Since when? I thought you were out here for awhile!"
"I was...but I have to head back, I got some things to take care of back home." Rob said unconvincingly.
"You're a bad liar, you know that?"
"Only when I wanna be."
"I'll walk you to your gate so you can tell me what's wrong."
After a few moments of walking in silence, Michael finally spoke. "Ok, so come on . . . out with it! What's the real reason you're leaving?"
"I just need to get away from everybody and go some place familiar." Said softly.
"Um . . . why?"
Rob stopped walking for a moment and looked at his friend. He let out a heavy sigh and continued walking. "I dunno . . . I just need to clear some things out in my head."
"Oh, you mean the whole thing with JC?"
"Yeah . . ."
"Well, how do you feel about him?" Michael asked directly.
"It's not a question of how I feel about him, it's how he feels about me."
"What do you mean?"
Rob stopped again and locked eyes with Michael. "Well, he's falling for another man that's not me."
"You mean me . . ." Michael stated.
"How'd you . . ."
Michael directed Rob to a bank of chairs and they sat down. "We had a talk . . . he told me what happened with you, and how he feels."
"And?"
"You wanna know if he's in love with me don't you?"
"Well . . . yeah . . ."
"Well, no . . . " Michael began. "He's not in love with me exactly . . .
He's in love with the idea of being in love with someone like me."
"Huh?"
"He thinks he's falling in love with me, but he's not. He fell in love with the idea of having someone like me to love him. You get me?"
"I think so." Rob responded, scratching his head.
"He wants someone to love him the way I love Lance. He wants that type of relationship we have."
"Yeah, I get you."
"He's actually kind of jealous of us." Michael laughed.
"So wait, if he's not in love with you, then how does he feel about me?"
"I don't know. He doesn't even know." Michael shrugged his shoulders. "The fact is that he's confused about everything. He wants to settle down with someone, he doesn't know with who. He admits that he could have a chance with you, but he needs figure out what he feels, what he wants, and who he wants." Michael said as they continued on towards the gate.
"So what the hell am I supposed to do? Just sit around and wait till he decides everything?!" Rob said adjusting the bag on his shoulder.
"I dunno."
"What about what I want!? What about who I want?! I swear, I would've had a chance if it wasn't for . . ." Rob said hesitating.
"Wasn't for what!?" Michael took a step back. "You're trying to blame this on me!?"
"N . . . No, look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that. It's just, I thought that I could finally fall for a great guy and have something more that a fling, and when I thought I found it, he goes and calls out your name while I'm giving him head! That's not exactly the best reassurance!"
"I know! But that's NOT my fault!" Michael said as the made their way towards the boarding gate.
"It's just hard to process without trying to push the blame on something."
"Look, I know that right now you might find it easy to put the blame on me, but deep down, you know that I had no conscious part in what happened."
"I . . . I know. It's just easier to blame your friend than to admit when you did something wrong."
"Wait, wait, wait! What makes you think that YOU did something wrong?"
"Well, if I would've tried to make what me and Josh had into a relationship earlier, then I wouldn't be getting on a plane back to New York to be all alone and drowning myself in teaching dance classes."
"Rob, you have to understand that this is in NO way your fault!" Michael reassured his friend. "What Josh is feeling is totally because of him! There was no way that you couldn't known this was going to happen, and you can't blame yourself cause it did!"
"Yeah . . . I guess you're right!"
"If what you and Josh have was meant to be, it will."
Rob looked to the ground and nodded. "I guess it's just that I need to know where I stand with him before I can move on."
"Tell me what you're feeling cause I need to know." Michael laughed lightly.
Rob joined in his friend's laughter. "Yeah, that's it. My life is a Marc Anthony song."
"Flight 283 to New York is now boarding." The automated voice sounded over the loudspeaker.
"Well, that's me!" Rob said turning towards the gate.
"Before you go, just reassure me that we're still cool, and that you know it's not any of our faults!"
"Come on, you know I can't stay mad at you! And yeah, you're right, it's not our fault! I guess I just gotta sit back and wait and see what happens! Whether it be with Josh, or someone else."
"I love you bro!"
"I love you too!"
The two friends gave each other a warm hug and stared at each other for a quick minute before Rob boarded the plane. As Michael stood there and watched the person whom had become his best friend leave, he couldn't help but feel that he could always count on Rob whenever he needed a friend.
-*-
JC Chasez sat on the edge of the bed in his hotel room listening to the recent recordings he had mixed with Wild Orchid. There was a knock on JC's hotel room door, he knew it would be Lance, because he got a message that he had wanted to speak to him.
"It's open!" JC yelled from inside the room.
JC heard the door open and close. "Hey Lance! What's up?" JC said turning to greet Lance.
"We have to talk." Lance said, not in a very good mood.
"Yeah, I know . . ." JC noticed the anger in his friend's voice. "You said that in the message. What about?"
Lance paced the hotel room for a few moments before turning to face his friend. "I want to know why!"
"Um . . . why what?" JC shrugged his shoulders, trying to figure out what Lance was talking about.
Lance slammed his fist into the nearest wall with frustration. "Why the HELL did you go and tell Michael about us!?"
"Umm..." JC was at a loss for words. He hadn't expected that Michael would have told Lance about their talk yesterday.
"What could've possessed you to do such a thing?!" Lance said raising his voice.
"I thought he knew! Hehe . . ." Josh said with a chuckle, noticing the similarity to their song. "I mean, I thought you told him!?"
"You should've asked me first! If I wanted to tell him, I would've!" Lance began to pace again.
"Well . . . why didn't you?"
Lance spun around and shot a look at JC. "That's none of your business!"
"I think it is!" JC spat back. His anger and frustration filling his voice.
"I was involved in the equation, and I told him. So I think you can at least tell me why you didn't?"
"Ok, fine! You wanna know?" Lance retorted, his voice getting even louder.
"I'll tell you!... I was afraid!"
"Of what?"
"I thought that if I told him, he would've turned away from me!" Lance looked at his reflection in the mirror. "I thought that he might look at the both of us differently!"
JC watched his friend's expression change from anger to something resembling fear. His heart went out to his friend. He knew how much Lance was in love with Michael. This was exactly the thing JC was hoping to avoid. The pain on Lance's face was enough to make JC wish he wasn't born.
"What you and I had didn't last that long." Lance said softly. "No one knew about it, so I figured that Michael wouldn't find out. I didn't want to jeopardize our relationship, and your friendship!" Lance turned away from the mirror and looked at his friend. "That's why I didn't tell him! And now, I have NO idea as to how the hell he's taking this!"
"He's turning away from you?"
Lance shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. He left for Orlando this morning before we really had a chance to talk about it."
JC let out a small sigh. "Well, you shouldn't worry about it." He smiled.
"I'm sure that things will be cool with the two of you."
"You're right." Lance nodded. "We've dealt with bigger things."
"Yes, you have."
Lance smiled slightly. "So what happened with you and Rob?"
JC shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Nothing."
"Liar." Lance laughed. "It had to be something if you talked to Michael about it."
"It was no big deal."
Lance gave JC a playful push. "Come on...spill it Sleepy."
"The night of the Grammys," JC began. "Rob was giving me a blow job and I called out someone else's name as I came."
"You did WHAT?!" Lance fell off the bed.
"I . . . I called out another man's name while Rob was giving me a blow job." JC said cringing from the sound of Lance's deep voice rising in volume due to his temper.
"I heard what you said! I just can't believe you would DO something like that! Especially to Rob!" He said standing next to JC's bed.
"I . . . I know!" JC buried his face in his hands.
"What were you thinking?!" Lance exclaimed.
"About the other guy . . ."
Lance threw his hands into the air and began to pace again. "Obviously!"
"Um . . . Lance?" JC whispered.
"What?"
"Th . . . there's more."
"Oh god . . ." Lance moaned.
"I...kind of...called out..." JC stammered.
"You didn't call out my name did you!?" Lance stopped pacing. "I thought you were over me years ago."
"No, no, no!" JC answered quickly. "Not your name . . ."
"Then whose?"
"Um . . ." JC said hesitating. "Michael's . . ." He said almost inaudible.
"Whose?" Lance asked hoping he hadn't heard his friend correctly.
JC looked up and directly into Lance's eyes. "M . . . Michael's"
"WHAT?!!!" Lance yelled in disbelief.
"Um . . . It . . . It just kinda slipped!" JC started to explain.
"I thought you said that you were thinking of another guy!"
"Oh . . . yeah . . ."
Suddenly it all became clear to Lance just what his friend was trying to tell him. "Why the HELL were you thinking about Michael when Rob was giving you a blow job?!" Lance said raising his voice more, pacing back and forth in front of the terrace door.
"Well . . . Cause I think . . . I think I might be falling for him . . ." JC answered with a wince of pain.
Lance stood there for a few minutes, shocked at what he just heard, unable to speak. He continued to pace back and forth, and finally just stepped out onto the balcony, while JC took a seat on the foot of the bed, where Lance had been before.
"I . . . I'm sorry . . ." JC said hoping Lance would hear him.
"You're sorry?" Lance said from the terrace. "What? You got bored fucking any boy who'd bend over for you, so you thought you'd move in on my boyfriend."
"It's not like that!" JC quietly stated.
"Sure it is!" Lance stood in the doorway with fire in his eyes. "You can't stay faithful to save your life. It was the same thing when we were together!"
"No, Lance." JC stood from the bed and faced the blond singer. "This is real."
"Fuck you!" Lance spat and turned to look over the balcony.
JC walked over to the terrace door and softly sighed. "Scoop, I can't explain it." He began. "I can't even tell you when I started having these feelings. I've always been physically attracted to Michael...But sometime after he was in the hospital, I started to notice things about him.
"The way he smiles...the way he listens to every word I say or sing." A smile crept over JC's face as he spoke of Michael. "We've spent a lot of time together over the past few months. I just feel so good when I'm with him. But there is just one problem..."
JC took a step onto the terrace and placed a hand on his friend's shoulder.
"He's madly in love with you. And I could never do anything to come in between the two of you. I love you both too much."
JC turned back and walked back into the hotel room and sat on the bed. "The last thing I wanted to do was hurt anyone."
A clear and audible sigh was omitted from Lance as he turned around and walked back into the hotel room.
"Look . . . I'm sorry for blowing up at you...I wasn't being fair . . . I know this is hard for you." Lance said as JC looked up at him with grief, pain and shame in his stare. "I . . . I dunno . . . I guess . . . UGH!"
Lance said giving in to Josh's stare, as he started to cry. "Come here!" He said pulling Josh up and pulling him into a hug.
"I . . . I'm so sorry Lance!" JC said sobbing into Lance's shoulder. "I didn't mean for it to happen! You know I'd never wanna do anything to fuck up your relationship! I just . . ."
"Shhh . . ." Lance said comforting him. "It's ok Josh . . . It's ok. I know you wouldn't. And I can't be mad at you . . . I mean, I can, but I won't."
"No . . . you should be mad!" Josh said turning away from Lance. "You should be pissed! You should just kick my ass right now!"
"Josh . . ." Lance reassured softly.
"Come on! I know you want to! Better yet, I should just leave the group! It's just cause problems!"
"Don't even talk like that!" Lance said grabbing him by the shoulders and turning him around. "One, I don't want to kick your ass! Two, you're my best friend, and as much as I love Michael, I would never let him, or anything else get in the way of our friendship!"
"But . . . but . . ."
"No buts!" Lance smiled. "We all just need some time to process this and move on. Okay?"
JC nodded and wiped the tears from his cheeks. "Okay."
-*-
Orlando, Florida.
Michael McCall slowly walked from the plane into the airport. He shouldered his bag and scanned the terminal for a familiar face. He shook his head with a smile when he saw Melinda Bell walking towards him holding a sign with his name on it.
"Very funny, Mel." He chuckled as she approached.
"I thought so." She giggled, giving him a quick hug. "Any luggage to pick up?"
"Nah." Michael shrugged. "All carry-on this trip."
Melinda waved her arm forward and began to lead her friend and co-worker out of the airport. As they walked, she handed Michael a large envelope that was addressed to him.
"What's this?" he asked as he started to open the envelope.
"Don't know. It was delivered this morning." She answered. "Oh, yeah."
She added with a smile. "A guy by the name of Ben Corbyn called this morning."
"Cool." Michael nodded as he began to pull the contents of the envelope out into the open. "I've been meaning to call...SHIT!"
Melinda saw Michael stop short as he stared at what appeared to be two photos and a note from the envelope. "What is it?" She asked, trying to get a look.
"Oh, my God." Was all Michael could mumble as he handed the photos to Mel.
Melinda took the photos from him and looked at them. "Where did these come from?" The first photo was of Michael dancing with Chris, Justin, Lance and JC. From what Melinda could tell, they looked to be rehearsing Bye, Bye, Bye. The second photo brought a low whistle from the producer's mouth.
"Wow!" Was the only word she could use to describe the picture of Michael and Britney locked in a powerful kiss.
"Read this." Michael's voice had a slight tremble to it as she took the note.
Melinda cleared her throat and began to read. "Mr. McCall, over the past few months I have taken a great interest in you and your career. As you can tell by the photos I have enclosed...I have been keeping my eye on you. It is in your best interest to meet with me. Meet me tonight at the Rainforest Café around 9pm." Melinda whistled once again. "Creepy."
"That's an understatement." Michael shivered. "What should I do?"
"You do nothing." Melinda stated plainly. "We don't tell anyone about this.
It's only one note and probably just some fan who saw you with Britney.
Let's see if we get a second note...then we can worry."
-*-
Tuesday, February 29 Orlando:
--Journal entry, February 29, 2000. It's all downhill starting tomorrow! I should probably explain myself. Tomorrow begins the month long Nsync media blitz. From now until April fourth the guys will be on one kick ass publicity tour that culminates on the twenty-first when the album hits the streets. It's gonna be so crazy! Luckily I don't have to travel with the guys the entire time. I'll be here in Orlando hashing out final details for the tour.
--Lance comes home today and I plan on taking advantage any time I can spend with him. After today, it will be hard for us to get a moment alone together. So I need to make it count. We've talked on the phone the past couple of days. He and JC seem to be in a better place with each other.
I'll talk to JC before they take off in the next couple of days. I'm not ready for that yet.-
"Honey! I'm home!" Lance's deep voice echoed through the house.
Michael got up from the table and met his lover in the hall with a big hug.
"Hey baby! How was your flight?"
Lance placed a quick kiss on Michael's lips. "Long." He answered. "I want to get a shower and then go to bed."
Lance set his bags on the floor and handed Michael an envelope. "This was on the porch when I walked up."
Michael took the envelope and nodded. "Start your shower and I'll join you."
As Lance headed back to the bedroom, Michael opened the envelope. Inside was a copy of the National Enquirer with a note attached. The phone started to ring as Michael read the note. "I told you that you should have met me."
A chill ran down Michael's spine as he removed the note from the magazine and looked at the pictures on the cover.
Emblazoned on the cover of the magazine was the quote "Is Britney's boytoy replacing Nsync's Joey Fatone?" On either side of the quote was the pictures of Michael rehearsing with the guys and kissing Britney.
"Oh God." Michael mumbled.
"Hey baby." Lance called from the bedroom. "Phone's for you..."
Michael looked up from the magazine and a feeling of dread took over his body.
"It's Johnny."
"Shit." Michael could only guess why his boss was calling as he took another look at the magazine.
-*-
Twin Towers Correctional Facility, Los Angeles
Andy Rodriguez was escorted from his cell to the visitor center. The guards ushered him into a chair behind a glass window.
"Why did you bring me out here?" he asked, getting agitated.
"You've got a visitor." The guard answered.
Andy looked through the window and saw that the seat on the other side of the glass was empty. "Ain't no one out there." Andy mumbled. "And who would visit me anyway?"
A moment later there was a tapping on the glass. Andy turned around and faced the glass. He picked up the phone on his right. "Do I know you?"
"No you do not." The man on the other side of the glass answered with a smile. "But I have a proposition for you Mr. Rodriguez...One I don't think you will pass up."
--to be continued--