Hi everyone...
Wow...Chapter 20. Guess that means people are actually reading my stuff. Thanks for the positive responses. -- I'm even a nominee for some slash-fiction awards! Vote for me please!!!! (http://jump.to/nsync_stories or http://www.geocities.com/sasha02.geo/award.html) I'm nominated in the Best Joey story' and Best Slash Fiction'.
This story has now officially taken on a life of it's own. I didn't expect it to go this long or be this developed. But so many people have written me that I have to see what happens next!
As always, Gabriella and Mike and Charlie are my main cheerleaders. I'm a bit nervous--so if people could please e-mail me at bwicub@hotmail.com--I'd really appreciate it. I love e-mail!!
DISCLAIMER: This is a fictional story that came right out of my own mind. I have no knowledge if any member of N Sync are gay or whatever. That being said, please enjoy the story and remember-- write me!!! (Especially write me if you're a member of the group! GRIN)
--The Lottery Winner Ch 20--
Joey just looked at me in horror. "N..nnn...no?"
I smiled and pulled him up. "Calm down baby. I do want to spend the rest of my life with you, but do you want to do what society says we can't do? Let me try something. Stand there and look gorgeous." He smiled and just stared at me. "Actually, come with me."
I pulled him after me as I headed to the deck. The guys followed not sure what to say or do. We stood by the edge of the deck, the pool was on our left and we were facing the back yard. "Joey. When I first met you I thought you were such a spaz. Then when I began getting to know you I got scared. What could this man who could get anyone he wants find attractive about a guy like me? Baby, you make me smile. You know about the shadows of my past, and you've even met my moms. Anyone who survives that and still wants to be with me must mean that they're either deranged or they really love me." I smiled and stroked my finger along his jawline. "Joseph, will you do me the honor of formally joining my life? I finally found you, the one in the whole world who is the flip side to my coin. The future is the road not yet taken, and I for one want you walking it with me so we can see where it takes us. What do you say?"
He'd started crying when I began talking. He nodded and threw his arms around me. The guys cheered as we kissed. Joey broke the kiss and smiled at me. He slipped the ring on my finger and kissed me again.
"I love you baby. And I don't want to ever be without you. Thank you for being you."
I started crying at that. But I did have one final thing to do. "You ready to take this plunge? It's a big step." He smiled and nodded.
Okay...he asked for it. I smiled at him and pushed him into the pool.
"WHATTHEFUCK!!!!!!!!!!!" (splash)
Joey was in the middle of the pool, splashing. I smiled and jumped in. I swam over to him and wrapped my arms around him. I wrapped my legs around him and kissed him. We began sinking though, so I had to stop. The guys were horrified at first, but got into the spirit. After a minute or two in the water, Chris and Lance called us in. They handed us towels as we got out of the water. The guys gathered around and gave us their congratulations and good wishes.
"So does this mean you guys are engaged?"
"My big question is who's going to wear white." Chris laughed out loud as he said that. Joey and I swung our towels and snapped him on the ass. "HEY!!" Joey and I headed upstairs to get into dry clothes and so he could finish packing for leaving to go back on the road.
I kept him company as he packed up clothes.
"So, how long are you guys going out for on this leg?" I flopped onto the bed, and just stared at him.
He was rummaging in the closet. "This one's a bear. It's going to be about 4 weeks of constant shows." He walked out and saw me lying on the bed. He didn't say anything for a second, just finished putting his clothes in the suitcases. Once he closed them up, he came over and laid down on the bed using me as a pillow.
"Hey Dale. Are you okay?"
I turned over and smiled wanly at him. "Yeah, just thinking of how hard it's going to be to be away from you for a month." I put my arms around him and just held him tightly. We got about ten minutes of privacy. We just lay there holding each other. It felt nice to have my head on Joey's chest. I was just starting to nod off with him running his fingers through my hair, when someone knocked at the door. I looked over and saw Lance and Justin.
"Sorry to interrupt guys, but we really should get going if we want to get out of here on time." I sniffed and wiped my eyes. Joey gave me a tender kiss.
"Do you want to go with us to the compound Dale?"
"Yeah, I'd like that." We got up, and I took one of Joey's bags and followed him down the stairs. We all trooped out to the cars. I rode with Joey in his so I could drive it home. We didn't really talk a lot on the way over. We were listening to a compilation CD. A Lara Fabian song came on and I began singing along softly while staring out the window. I felt Joey put his hand on my knee and give it a gentle squeeze.
"Joey, I don't know if I can handle the next month. Maybe I should have stayed in Baltimore. I don't know anyone here. I'm just going to rattle around your house." Joey pulled off the road and squealed to a stop. I threw my hand up to catch myself on the dash. "Joey? What the..."
That was as far as I got, he had pulled me over to him and was kissing me. We were holding each other. I heard someone giggle. The kiss broke, and Joey and I looked over at the grinning face of Chris.
"Okay. Who had the panic attack?." I felt my cheeks flush.
Joey didn't say anything, just ran a finger down my jawline. "I love you baby. Never forget that. If you feel up to coming on the final couple weeks of the tour I'd love to have you. The guys will probably get no sleep on the bus, but I'm sure they would love to have you there also." I grinned as he spoke. Chris just made a crack about getting earplugs. We got back on the road, and made it to the compound on the edge of Orlando with no further problems.
The guys loaded the bus, and then all disappeared at once. Joey came over to me and took my hand so he could pull me onto the bus with him.
"The guys are going to give us a minute or two. Come here you." His kiss was full of passion, and as his hand went down to cup my ass. As his lips worked their way down my neck, I ground myself into him. Gods, he's going to give me a hickey! My hand went down and cupped his dick through his khakis. We broke the embrace. "Damn Dale, is it hot in here?" He grinned at me and we went outside. The guys were all standing around the door to the bus, looking distinctly nonchalant. Chris was actually whistling! Geez, it was like something out of a cartoon. I just smiled at the four of them.
"Thanks guys."
"Jesus Dale. You're going to have a mark." Chris and Justin teased me about the hickey that was on my neck. I turned to Joey and took his hand briefly in mine, because we were in public now. "Call me."
"Every night baby." He turned and ran back onto the bus. I just smiled softly to the guys. "Have a safe trip guys. I'll see you in a month." They all gave me hugs, Chris told me that he'd make sure Joey didn't get too depressed. I stood there while they all piled on the bus, and watched it pull away. The last thing I saw was Joey's face appearing at one of the back windows. He mouthed the words "I love you" to me, and then kissed two fingers and put them over his heart.
Okay, that did it. I got back in the Acura and bawled. God, this was going to be hard. I sat there for about twenty minutes, then headed home. A few minutes after I left the compound my cell phone started ringing. I looked at the caller id screen and smiled.
"Hey baby. It's only been a half hour. The guys are going to tease you."
"I don't care Dale. I just wanted to hear your voice. Have I told you lately how much I love having you in my life?" It sounded like he'd been crying.
"It sounds kind of familiar, but I always love hearing you say it. Now buck up buddy. The month will fly by. Besides, I know you. You live to be on that stage. Throw yourself into the show. The girls will love you for it!" He laughed, and it was music to my ears. "So do you have any recommendations for how I should spend my time?"
"Um. Fantasizing about my gorgeous bod?"
I laughed. It felt nice. We made small talk until I pulled up to the house. "Joey, I'm going to let you go for now. I have to plan a surprise for you."
"Oh, a surprise! What is it??? Come on baby, you know you want to tell me."
"Not even if you held me down and had your way with me." I smiled as I said it.
"That'll work."
"God Joey, you're such a pervert! Hey, let me talk to Lance. Love you babe" I heard a shuffling, and then Lance's deep voice came over the phone.
"Hey Dale, what's going on?"
"Don't say anything to him, but do you know his ring size by chance?"
"Yeah, it's twelve and a half."
"Thanks Lance, now do me a favor. Lie like a rug about that number. I don't want him knowing that I'm getting a ring for him." I heard him moving around.
"Okay Dale, I'm alone now. What kind of ring you gonna get him?"
"That's for me to know and you guys to drool over. I have to go buy a car too. I can't keep using his Acura. Okay now, one final question then it's time for me to scoot. Where are you guys staying at tonight? The Hilton in Charlotte? Okay. I'm going to send him some flowers to cheer him up. Make sure that security doesn't toss them or something." Lance made an `aw' noise.
"Dale, go through Johnny to do it, that way security won't get bent out of shape."
"Sounds like a plan. Thanks Scoop. Keep my man happy for me." We said our goodbyes and hung up the phone. I went in and relaxed in the living room. God, this place is big. I went to get my phone so I could start making some phone calls. I called Johnny and told him I wanted to send two dozen red roses to Joey's hotel suite. He laughed, but said he'd do it. I grabbed the Orlando yellow pages and began leafing through it for listings of auto dealerships. I had a vague idea what kind of car I wanted, so decided to go test driving.
HHmm. Acura. BMW. Mercedes. All are good. Florida is hot, so a convertible would be good. But they're so easy to break into. Besides, I need something that can carry more than two. I know! I'll check into getting one of those new Acura Sport Utilities. I liked how they looked in the commercial. I wrote down the address of the Acura dealership, and called for a cab.
The guy at the car lot was kind of cute. He saw me looking at the MDX SUVs that were on the lot, and came out at a run. When I told him I wasn't working he kind of snorted and threw his nose in the air, telling me that these were forty thousand dollar cars and I probably couldn't afford it. I just smiled and handed him the # to my accountant.
"Call this number and speak to Simon Levinson. Mention my name and what I'm looking at. They'll let you know if I can `afford it'." I went back to looking at the cars. Minutes later the guy was back and there was an older man with him.
"Mister Wright? I'm SO sorry for the problem you had with Charlie here. I can assure you that he'll be dealt with. My name is Ted Roberts, the owner of this establishment." He extended his hand and I automatically reached and shook it.
"Nice to meet you Mister Roberts. So I take it Charlie called my accountant?" By the look of pure terror on Charlie's face, I can tell that he spoke to Simon. "Well that's too bad if you decide to `deal with him' Mister Roberts. If something were to happen to Charlie here then I'd be forced to take my business elsewhere." The smile fell off of his face. I turned to the poor salesman who had been caught in the middle of this. "I would like to take this one for a test drive." He went and got keys for the Black Pearl colored model and within minutes we were driving. Have to admit, it drove REALLY nice.
Within an hour I'd finalized the options I wanted. He spent most of the time apologizing profusely. I just told him not to worry, I get it all the time (I don't...but didn't want to alienate him.) I decided to go for a lighter color than black, which attracts heat. The creamy green one was pretty, so I chose that. The salesman made a comment about how it almost matched my hazel eyes.
"Oh really Charlie? You think. HHM. If I didn't know better I'd almost think you were flirting with me." He blushed about twenty different shades of red, then apologized again. "You know that most people get annoyed with constant apologies. You did nothing wrong, so stop apologizing!" He grinned and then told me that the accessories I wanted would take a few days to put together, but I'd be more than welcome to take a loaner car until it was done. I told him it wasn't necessary, but did want a ride home from their shuttle service.
I got home and headed back out in Joey's Acura to find a place that I can get a good ring. I found a jeweler nearby that looked like they would do custom jewelry. I went in and outlined what I wanted. He wasn't sure at first, then gave me what he thought was an astronomical figure. I just smiled and put down my titanium card. I told him that there'd be a tip in it if he got it done in two weeks. He just smiled that fake `can I kiss your ass some more' smile and went about his business. I headed back home after stopping to pick up some chinese food for dinner.
A few hours later, I was lounging on the deck, sipping some wine and listening to Billie Holliday sing through the stereo speakers about love being for sale. I was nodding off when the phone started ringing.
"Hello this is Dale."
"Hey sexy. I love the flowers."
"They got there? I'm glad. Wasn't sure if they'd get to the room ahead of you or not."
"So how was your day Dale?"
I just smiled as I went to refresh my glass of wine. "Better now that I get to hear your voice. How was the trip?"
"Lousy. I kept crying. I missed you."
"Oh Joey. Baby I don't wanna hear that. You'll make me fly somewhere to visit."
"Hey Dale, that'd be fun. I'm sure we could find something fun for you to do."
"Eh, I've already had you. What else fun is there?" He giggled. We spent the next hour just making nonsense talk. I didn't realize it until he spoke, but I was really missing him. After I told him about going to the car dealership, he told me that he was more than happy letting me use his car. He did sound a little envious when I told him just what I got. I told him that if he was good I'd let him drive it sometimes.
"But baby, you know I'm good." We both laughed.
"So are you guys going out tonight? Do the obligatory club crawl while you're in town."
"Nope. I got a man so what do I need to go out for."
I kept talking to him while turning off the lights. I was heading upstairs when he let out a depressed sounding sigh.
"What's the matter Joey?"
"Nothing."
"Joey. What is it?"
"Okay, what're you doing right now Dale?" I stopped in my tracks.
"Um. Stripping and getting ready to crawl into bed. Why?"
"Would you think less of me if I blew off the tour and came home to be with you?"
"Joey! You will not! The guys need you. You stay where you need to be. We can do this. So, what're you wearing?"
He giggled. "Boxers and a smile. And if you must know, my dick got hard as soon as I heard your voice."
"Really?" I purred as I got into bed. "Don't tell me any more. You'll get me all turned on and I'll have to whack off."
Joey growled into the phone. "God Dale I just want to curl up with you and hold you tight."
I smiled. "I know babe. Hey, what's your schedule like tomorrow? Do you guys have like interviews and stuff or do you get free time?"
"I don't really know. Lance gave us our wakeup time. He has the final itinerary. Why?"
"No reason. Have him give me a call tomorrow. I have to check where you guys are going to be in about two weeks."
"What for Dale? Is this for the surprise you mentioned earlier today?"
"Yes dear. Now don't ask me any more questions." I yawned into the phone without even realizing it.
"I guess I should let you go for now Dale. I don't want to bother you if you're tired."
"Okay Junior, stop right there. You never bother me. Except in the way I want to be bothered." I let out a chuckle.
"Junior? Excuse me? Who are you calling Junior Dale?"
"The gorgeous hunk of Italian man on the other end of this phone. According to what I know his name is Joseph Anthony Fatone Junior. So yeah, I called him Junior." I heard his laugh, but I also heard a yawn.
"Getting tired sweetie?" He yawned an affirmative to me. "Okay, we'll both call it a night for tonight. I hope you have sweet dreams."
"Of course they will be. You'll be in them. I love you Dale. Good night."
He sounded like he was going to start crying as soon as he hung up. We ended the call. I waited about fifteen seconds, then called his cell phone. He answered, and yep...he's crying.
"Don't cry baby. I love you."
"I know Dale. I just miss you."
"Try and sleep. If you don't tomorrow is going to seriously suck. I love you."
It took me a long time to get to sleep that night...