Maze of Moments

DISCLAIMER, WARNINGS, AND OTHER ASSORTED THINGS:

Now, I don't claim to know Lance Bass, nor the other members of N'Sync. This work of fiction is just that...fiction. It should imply nothing about their true sexuality. While the locales in the "Maze of Moments" series are actual ones, the characters portrayed are also fictional, and any coincidence is just that.

This work is copyright by yours truly, and may not be posted or used in any other way without my expressed permission. So if you had any thoughts to the contrary...n'uh-uh!

Hey! This story is hosted at two, yes, two great places! The Nifty Archive and Sweetheart Stories, homepage of my guru, the wonderful and talented Gabriella Morrison! Go there! Now!

Freespeech.org/gabriella

What does everybody like? Feedback! Drop me a line and tell me what you think! Okay? Please? Pretty please? With Lance on top? Write me at

KandLStories@aol.com

Thanks for waiting, and have a Happy Easter everybody!! Now, on with the story!

--Tony

The Maze of Moments - A Kevin and Lance Story

From the end of chapter three....

Kevin was sitting at his desk, typing away on his computer. Occasionally, he glanced over to some hand made notes, and this allowed Lance to see the gold-rimmed, wire glasses that sat on the bridge of his nose. He also noticed that Kevin was only wearing a pair of shorts, no top. He saw the muscles of his shoulders and back flex as he moved or typed, and the small tattoo of an eagle that was drawn on the left shoulder blade. He was wearing headphones, and while Lance couldn't make out the song he was listening to, it undoubtedly explained why any of the conversation he had with Eric did not draw his attention. Tiptoeing over, Lance took the bagel off of the plate, and slowly moved his hand around to the front of Kevin's face.

Kevin, who was engrossed by his typing, saw the bagel out of the corner of his eye. Yet, he was so preoccupied, that it did not register that a bagel with cream cheese spread on it was approaching his face. As it neared his lips, he opened his mouth and took a bite, chewing and swallowing it down.

Wait a minute. A bagel?

He spun around quickly, taking off his headphones in the process, and saw Lance, grinning from ear to ear with the food in his hand.

"Hey there, good morning," Lance said.

Chapter Four - Past Regrets, Future Fears, and Taking Chances

"And these old hopes and fears, still at my side"

-from "The Cool, Cool River" by Paul Simon

"Jesus! That's twice you've done this to me!"

Kevin placed his hand over the center of his bare chest and shook his head, startled by the silent approach of Lance Bass bearing gifts, more specifically, breakfast food.

Lance raised an eyebrow. "What have I done twice?"

"Scared the shit outta me, that's what! Remember? The mall yesterday?"

"Oh yeah, right. Sorry." Lance shrugged and gave a lopsided grin as he recalled how his friend spun quickly the afternoon before, with fist cocked and raised in mid-air. For the moment, however, the young pop sensation was far more interested in the sight of a semi-naked Kevin sitting in front of him. He immediately noticed a few things:

Kevin was tan. Very tan.

Kevin was muscular. Not bodybuilder gross muscular, but you could tell he worked out regularly.

Kevin had a slightly fuzzy chest. Not that he was wearing a sweater or anything, but there was enough there to make it worthwhile. He also took notice of the fuzzy happy trail that led from his bellybutton down into his shorts.

Needless to say, Lance was more than a little transfixed. So much so, that he was totally oblivious to the words coming out of Kevin's mouth, preferring to stare.

"Um, Lance....yoo-hoo?"

Lance's head snapped up. "Huh? What's that? Yeah, sure. Um...what?"

Kevin started laughing as his friend turned beet red. "I said, were you going to feed me the rest of that? Maybe you'd better sit down, dude. Want me to put on a shirt?" It was obvious that the sight of him sitting there half-dressed was a little much this early in the morning, and besides, they had only met yesterday after all.

"NO! I mean, no, you don't have to on my account, it's cool....uh...maybe I will sit down." He sat on the bed next, facing Kevin, whose grin grew even wider.

"Can I have the rest of it?"

"The rest of what?" Lance asked.

"The bagel." Kevin raised his eyebrows and pointed at the plate.

Lance looked down at the plate. "Oh yeah, sure. Here ya go." He handed it over to Kevin, who picked up the food and began to devour it rapidly. "Thanks," he said with a mouthful. "Sometimes I get so involved in this stuff I forget to do certain things...eat, drink, go to the bathroom." He paused only to take off his glasses and put them down on the desk.

"Uh-huh." Lance was now looking around the room in an attempt to stop staring. His eyes were drawn to the framed pictures that sat on top of the dresser. He got up and walked over, grateful for something that would keep his mind free of dirty thoughts, at least for the time being.

There were a couple of pictures of Kevin and Eric together, which was to be expected. There was also one of Kevin with several other people, some noticeably older, which he assumed were family members. Then, one whose color had started to fade with time; of a young man and woman, who appeared to be very happy and, from the way they were looking at each other, very much in love.

"Your mom and dad?" Lance pointed to the picture.

"Yeah. That was taken just after they got married. I was born around eight months after that I suppose."

"When's your birthday?" Lance had now turned back towards Kevin, who had finished eating.

"January 25, '79."

"Cool. Mine is May 4, '79."

"Hey, that's not too far away from now...very cool."

"By the way, I didn't know you wore glasses."

"I don't. I only need them for reading sometimes, or if I'm doing a lot of up-close work, like on the computer. My eyes get tired after awhile."

Lance turned back to the pictures, and found one at the very back, virtually hidden by all the others. It was of Kevin and another young man. He was slightly taller than Kevin, Lance noticed, with a boyish face and a cute smile. "This your cousin Chad that you mentioned last night?"

Kevin's mood immediately changed, and the grin that was present on his face just seconds before had disappeared. "No," he said, rather curtly, as he got up from his chair. "I'm going downstairs for some coffee." He brushed past Lance and walked out of the room, trotting down the stairs quickly. Lance was about to say something, but Kevin had left the room so fast, he didn't even have a chance.

Shit, he thought to himself, what was that all about. Wait a second...what was that Eric said about the last relationship Kevin was in? It ended badly. Is this...

"Fuck," Lance muttered, and headed downstairs.

He found Kevin in the kitchen, staring out the window that faced the faux backyard, and sipping coffee. Approaching quietly, he stopped when he reached the table.

"Kevin?"

No response.

"I'm sorry if I upset you....I guess I should get going."

Kevin did not turn his gaze from the window. "I thought I got rid of all the pictures I had of him, that's all. That ones kind of smaller than the others. God...stupid of me to overlook it." Turning around, he saw Lance standing there with a genuine look of concern on his face. "You have nothing to be sorry for Lance. If anyone should apologize, it's me. I shouldn't have reacted like that up there. Don't leave just yet, okay? Please?"

"Okay," Lance said. "Do you want to talk about it? It's okay if you don't want to." He had only known this person less than a full day, but for some reason, he couldn't stand to see him in pain. It was a feeling usually reserved for those closest to him, like family or the other members of the band.

People he cared for.

"I don't know what it is about you dude," Kevin said with a laugh and a shake of his head. "I tend to keep stuff to myself, you know? Emotional stuff. But with you...I feel like I could tell you anything." He sat down at the table and for the second time that morning, Lance was invited with a hand gesture to sit as well.

Kevin smiled and sighed. "His name was Kris. We met through some mutual friends of ours, and got along pretty good. Well, we started hanging out together a lot. A lot. About as much as Eric and I do, you know?" He took a drink of his coffee before continuing.

"Well, after awhile, I started to fall for him. He was great. Funny, attractive, fun to be around. So I opened up to him, told him about me. The true me, about being bi. I guess we were on a road trip somewhere when I told him. God was I nervous. I didn't think I was going to spit it out.

"So there we were, driving along, and I finally just break down and tell him that I go both ways, and that I was sorta liking him...that maybe I wanted us to be more than just friends. So he pulls over, and I'm thinking, 'Great, here we are on the fucking interstate, I just told this guy what I think about him, and he stops.' I didn't know what he was going to do."

"What happened?" Lance asked.

"He kisses me. He looks at me, leans over, and kisses me. Now, not just any kiss, but the kiss, you know? The one that makes your toes curl and your hair stand up on end? That kind of kiss."

"Yeah." But deep down, Lance did not know what that was like. Still, he didn't need to get into that right this moment.

"So, we became more than just friends, shall we say. We had a great time together too."

Lance's eyebrows went up at that comment, causing Kevin to laugh.

"Not just that way! I mean, yeah, the sex was good...um, it was more than good. But there was more to it, you know? Like, I loved to hold him when we slept together. We would lay on our sides and I would wrap my arm around him and rest my head on his back. I could have laid there like that forever." Kevin's voice got quieter as he recalled the feeling of being safe.

"As much as anyone, I loved him. Probably more than any other person that I was ever involved with, or that I knew. And then, things started to fall apart. We gradually spent less time together...I figured it was because of school, you know? Classes and everything. Plus, he worked a lot.

"Then, one Sunday morning, I wake up and come downstairs, and Eric has the newspaper. And he's got this look on his face like...well....like someone died. So I ask him what's wrong and he hands me the paper. That's when I see it....the wedding announcement."

"The what?" Lance tilted his head slightly and made a face, not believing what he was hearing.

"The wedding announcement. Turns out Kris was bi also, and while he was seeing me, started to see some girl on the side. They got engaged. He never had the balls to tell me, he kept it a secret the whole time."

"Shit!"

"Yeah. So I call Kris and we have this huge fight over the phone. Wait, let me rephrase that, I did most of the fighting. He just kept saying how sorry he was in this small little voice over and over, and never really explained anything. So that's how it ended. That was the last relationship I was in. That ended...oh, I guess it's almost seven months ago now."

The room fell silent. Kevin finished the last dregs of his coffee and stared at his empty mug, while Lance looked at him with large, sad eyes.

"Kevin...man....I don't know what to say."

"Nothing to say. He broke my heart. End of story."

Lance reached across the table and placed his hand over Kevin's arm, gently stroking it with his thumb. Even in this shared moment of heartache, the touch was soft, loving, and electric all at once. Kevin smiled at the sight of his friend's actions, this small gesture of comfort.

"I've been avoiding this whole issue for so long...talking about it, admitting that it was a mistake. It's held me back, you know? From moving on, finding someone new to have in my life." Kevin sighed and his eyes glistened with tears, causing Lance's throat to constrict a little. "Eric keeps bugging me about it, that I have to put it behind me." He sniffed as he finished this statement and closed his eyes tightly, willing the tears away. They sat in silence. 'I will not cry', Kevin thought to himself. 'I will so not cry in front of someone I just met. I will not cry over what that bastard did to me. Eric is right, he's gone. Fuck him.' After another minute or so, he was satisfied that his emotions were kept in check. He cleared his throat before speaking again.

"Well, I guess there's only one thing left to add to this tale of woe."

"What's that?" Lance asked in a soft voice.

"I'm still hungry. You get something to eat with Eric earlier?" Kevin looked up and was grinning now.

Lance pulled his hand back and chuckled, amazed at how quickly Kevin changed not only the subject, but the mood as well. "No, actually I didn't, and I am kinda hungry now."

Kevin pushed back his chair and stood up. "Okay, what do you want to eat?"

"Aw, Kev, you don't have to..."

"Ah! I'll hear none of that. As far as I'm concerned, you're still a guest in this house. So, any special requests?"

"Well, what were you going to have?"

"I was thinking...omelets. Sound good?"

"Yeah, that does. But listen...do you mind if I take a shower? I slept in these clothes and I kinda feel grungy and I know I must stink. Is that okay?"

"Sure...you wanna borrow something to wear?"

"Nah, I have stuff in the truck. I kinda came prepared, in case I stayed over with friends...which, as it turns out, I did."

"Cool. Well, you get going, and I'll start on this stuff."

Lance stood up and grabbed his keys from the table, where he laid them the night before. He walked out the front door and jogged over to his 4-Runner, opening the back and taking out a gym bag, then after locking up his car, jogged back. He moved quickly for two reasons. One, he didn't want to take the risk of being seen by anyone. Fortunately, the complex was still quiet. Secondly, and perhaps more important, he was in such a hurry that he forgot to put his shoes back on, and the gravel lot didn't exactly feel good on his bare feet. As he started up the stairs he looked towards the kitchen and saw that Kevin was already gathering all of the things he needed to make breakfast. "Be down in a few," he said as he trotted to the upstairs bathroom.

Kevin, meanwhile, was pulling a variety of things from the refrigerator: eggs, butter, various vegetables. He paused as he heard the shower starting to run from upstairs. He looked up at the ceiling and smiled. 'That went a lot easier than I thought it would,' he thought to himself. 'I guess Eric was right after all, talking about it did make me feel better.'

He pulled out a carton of milk and placed it on the counter and then paused. "But," he said to himself, "am I really ready to move on? I'm really starting to like him...but he's probably on tour all the time, always busy....do I really want to take a risk like that?" Sighing, he decided that maybe he had better put on a shirt, and made his way towards the stairs.

Like any typical college student, Kevin's clothes were divided into a variety of categories. There was clean, naturally, but what followed it drifted off into the realm of unusual, if not ludicrous. There was dirty, which meant that it needed washing, but there was no harm in wearing it one more day. Then, there was really dirty, which meant that wearing it before laundry day ran the risk of creating a public emergency. Finally, there was funky, which meant that it probably would be better off if the article of clothing in question was simply burned and put out of its misery. He was sorting through a pile of shirts on the floor of his closet, sniffing here and there, trying to decide which one would be the least offensive. What he had failed to notice as he came into his bedroom, however, was that Lance had dropped his gym bag on the bed, and had only taken the essential toiletries into the bathroom with him. So, when the shower stopped running, Kevin paid no attention and kept on digging and sniffing.

Lance stepped into the bathroom with a towel around his waist, droplets of water still clinging to his body in various places. He saw Kevin bending over at his closet, digging around in a pile of clothing. There they came again, those same dirty thoughts from earlier, as he saw the broad shoulders, the tattoo, and, for the first time, the firm rear end that Kevin possessed. A slight grin crept onto his face as he continued to stare. Then, a familiar stirring began below his waist. 'Uh- oh' he thought, 'this is not good.' He was about to back out of the room, when Kevin got up and turned around.

"Ahhh! That's three times you've snuck up on me! Shit, boy, how do you do that!"

Lance couldn't help but start to laugh in disbelief at how jittery Kevin could be. The whole situation was so funny to him, that he held his sides and began to laugh harder. "I'm sorry," he said, "maybe I should have told you that one of my nicknames is Stealth!"

Kevin joined in the laughter for a couple of minutes, until both of them caught their breath. Then, it finally dawned on him that Lance was standing in his bedroom practically naked and somewhat wet. Much like his friend had done earlier that morning, he began to stare at the lean, yet toned body in front of him. This did not go unnoticed by Lance who smiled shyly and blushed a bit.

"See anything you like?"

"Ummm....uh-huh....yeah...I think I better get back to the kitchen now." Kevin had turned bright red, and he began to feel himself become aroused. Shirt in hand, he slowly walked past Lance, the two never taking their eyes off of each other. "See you...see you downstairs."

"Okay," Lance almost whispered.

Kevin began to trot down the stairs when he stopped mid way and looked down at the crotch of his shorts. He was definitely aroused. "Fuck," he said under his breath, as he reached down to adjust himself. Looking back over his shoulder to make sure he wasn't being watched, he silently prayed that his member would go back down. 'Whoever said having a big dick is a good thing obviously never had to deal with this' he thought to himself. He pulled his shirt over his head and continued downstairs.

Back in the bedroom, Lance was having pretty much the same problem. He had the presence of mind to close the door before unwrapping the towel. As he began to dry his hair, he noticed that while he was not at full erection, his dick was rather plumped up. "Gotta think about other things...baseball...no, never really cared for baseball...um...Joey naked." Unzipping his bag, he looked down and saw his semi-hard begin to shrink down. "Always does it," he said with a smile.

They sat at the table once more, eating the omelets Kevin had prepared, along with toast and glasses of orange juice.

"I bet it's hard for you to be in a relationship when you're on the road." Kevin lifted a fork to his mouth.

Lance nodded as he took a drink of juice. "Mmmm-hmmm." He looked over the rim of the glass expectantly.

"So...are you seeing anyone?" Kevin asked.

"No," Lance replied with a sigh. "I guess I haven't found the right guy yet."

They continued to eat in silence for a few more minutes. Kevin finished his meal first and pushed his plate away from him. "What do the other guys in the group think about you being gay?"

"Well, it took a long time for me to tell them. I guess we'd been together...oh, about two years. I wanted to wait as long as I could, you know? Make sure that this thing we had was going to last." He paused and wiped his mouth with a napkin. "I also wanted to make sure that we could all trust each other, that we could really be friends, not just a bunch of guys that some record company threw together.

"So, one night we're in between shows and hanging out in a hotel room. They were all talking about girls they've been with, the ones they wanted to be with, that kind of thing. All of a sudden, Justin looks at me and says 'Hey, Scoop, what about you? When was the last time you had a little play?' "

"Scoop?" Kevin inquired.

"Another nickname. Anyway, so I guess I turned all red and stuttered for a while...I wanted to tell them so badly for so long...and I started to cry."

"You did?"

"Yeah, like a baby. They got really worried, started asking me what was wrong, all that. So I told them. I just came right out and said I was gay. They all got quiet and stared at me, and I started to cry even harder. Well, Justin came over to me and put his arm around me, and said that it didn't matter if I was gay or not, that I was still their friend and they loved me, and just wanted me to be happy. They other guys said pretty much the same thing, and from what I remember we ended up in a group hug."

"Awww," Kevin said with a grin.

Lance laughed. "It worked out pretty well. They've helped keep my secret, and I honestly think it brought the five of us closer together. Now if they would just stop trying to set me up."

Kevin looked across the table at Lance quizzically. "They try and fix you up with guys?"

"Yeah," Lance sighed. "They mean well, but it never quite works out. See, I discovered along the way that there are plenty of guys in the music industry that are gay. Well, once the others found out about any of them, whether they were an artist or someone behind the scenes, they've been on this non-stop quest to hook me up with one of them. I think Chris calls it 'Project Get Lance Laid' or something like that." He finished with a laugh.

"So..you've never..um..." Kevin's eyes grew wide with wonder.

"Nope. I'm still a good little boy. Not by choice, but still all pure and innocent." Lance was blushing big time now.

"Hey, there's nothing to be ashamed of. I think it's cool that you're saving yourself for the right guy."

"Well, it may be cool, but it's hard."

The two young men looked at each other for a moment. Then, the double entendre hit them, and they burst out laughing. "Oh my lord," Lance said between laughs, "I can't believe I just said that!"

"It's okay, I think I knew what you meant." Kevin stood up and stretched. "Did you have enough to eat?" "Yeah, that was great. Thank you Kev, I really appreciate it."

"No problem dude." Kevin was taking dishes and utensils over to the sink, as Lance got up.

"Here, let me wash those for you."

Kevin turned and smiled, wagging a finger. "Uh-uh. Remember what I said, you're the guest."

Lance rolled his eyes. "Enough with the guest stuff already. Let me do the dishes." He picked up the sponge that lay near the faucet and was about to turn on the water when Kevin tried to take it away from him.

"Nothing doing..I got it," Kevin said with a smile.

"Oh no you're not."

The two engaged in a playful tug of war over the sponge, laughing and giggling. Kevin, being the stronger of the two, gave a sharp tug, and pulled it towards him. However, Lance did not let go, and bumped into the torso of his friend.

The two bodies were touching, and the feeling was at once intense. Lance looked up at the slightly taller Kevin and stared into his deep blue eyes. The light from the window over the sink brought out the color even more. They stared at each other for only a few moments, but it felt like an eternity to the both of them. Their smiles faded as new feelings began to course through them. Kevin blinked and parted his lips, breathing heavily through his mouth. Lance swallowed audibly and moistened his own lips with his tongue.

"Um..." was all Kevin could manage to say.

"Yeah," Lance whispered.

A sudden urge overtook Kevin. He wanted to take Lance's beautiful face in his hands, lean in, and kiss him. Yet, there was something inside holding him back, the same feeling that had been holding him back for nearly seven months:

Fear. The fear of being hurt again. The fear of giving his heart to someone, only to have it trampled on in return. That awful feeling began to rise up from the soles of his feet, all the way to his heart. It was powerful, overwhelming. It stopped him, planting the seeds of doubt into his mind.

"Lance..." He was barely able to squeak out the name.

"It's okay...shhhh...I don't bite." Lance smiled as he reached up and stroked the side of Kevin's face with his finger. "I...I think I'm falling for you." Kevin just closed his eyes and sighed in response.

"L-.Lance...I want to kiss you right now...I want to so bad." Kevin's voice was barely above a whisper.

"Go ahead Kevin....I won't stop you."

"No...no, you don't understand. I can't. I want to but I can't." He opened his eyes, which were now full of tears. "I'm afraid....I'm afraid of getting hurt....I can't." Tears began to stream down his cheeks, as his voice got smaller and quieter. "There's something stopping me....I'm sorry..." He began to cry openly as doubt overcame him, and he mentally cursed himself for breaking down, and Kris, who had done this to him in the first place.

Lance felt badly for his friend. He nodded his head and pulled him close into a warm hug, resting his head against his chest. "You have nothing to be sorry for," he whispered. Kevin squeezed his eyes shut and sobbed, hot tears falling on Lance's scalp. "I hate feeling like this....I just want to be happy again." He choked out the words as Lance held on to him tighter.

"It's okay....don't cry Kev, please? Everything will be fine, I promise," Lance said in a soft and gentle voice, one full of understanding and patience. He rubbed his hand up and down Kevin's back, offering the best comfort he could, trying to make the hurt and the pain, all the anger, go away.

Kevin let go of Lance and stepped back, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. "I'm sorry Lance...I didn't mean to start crying like this..."

"Kevin, you don't have anything to be sorry for...it's not your fault." He moved next to Kevin and put his left arm around his waist. "It's just going to take some time, that's all. You need to take baby steps, and you'll get over this. You'll see."

Kevin sniveled and looked at the floor. "I really wanted to kiss you just then...it felt so right...but there were so many things holding me back. The fear, the pain, the fact that I just met you yesterday...." He looked back up at Lance with red, teary eyes. "I...I think I'm falling for you too. I really do."

"Well," Lance pulled Kevin in closer, giving a reassuring squeeze, "we just need to take things one step at a time then."

"What do you mean?"

"Do you have anything planned for tonight?"

Kevin shook his head.

"Well....I was gonna ask you this anyway...and I'm not very good at this sort of thing, but here goes. I was wondering, if you didn't have anything going on tonight, that maybe we could....you know, like...go out."

Kevin looked over and blinked away the last of his tears. "Go out. Like, on a date?"

"Um...yeah. A date. I'm asking you out on a date."

"Man, my cooking must have really impressed you," Kevin said with a small laugh, as he began to feel better.

Lance laughed right along. "Yeah, that's it exactly. Seriously, listen. I like you Kevin, I like you a lot. I want to get to know you better...and...and I think I want to be a part of your life."

"I like you too, Lance. Last night, when you fell asleep on me...it felt so good...it felt...perfect. Like you were meant to be there with me. I can't explain it." Kevin worked himself free and turned to face Lance, and took his hands into his own. "I really did want to kiss you, but it's like something is holding me back inside, some invisible force, you know? You said earlier that you haven't found the right guy yet...well, maybe I need to find the right guy to help me find love again. So, yes, I'd love to go out with you tonight."

Lance's eyes lit up and he smiled broadly. Inside, he was doing cartwheels. He squeezed Kevin's hands.

"Great!" he exclaimed. "Man, that was a whole hell of a lot easier than I thought it was going to be."

They both laughed, and dropped their hands to their sides.

"It's going to get better Kev. You just have to give it a chance. Give me that chance. Let me show you how."

Kevin nodded and smiled, sniffing. Looking around, he grabbed a napkin from the table and wiped his eyes, then blew his nose. He crumpled it up and tossed it in the trash can. "God, I feel so stupid."

Lance shook his head. "Don't say that. It's okay to cry. You were hurt, and hurt pretty badly, so I'd say you were entitled."

"Yeah, but I'm twenty-one years old for God's sake, and here I am, crying like a baby."

"Kev, listen. You have nothing to be ashamed of, nothing at all. Real men cry. I still do sometimes."

"You do?"

"Sure. Like, when we're on the road a lot and I'm missing my family, or when I'm feeling really lonely. Remember, Project Get Lance Laid? It's not like I have someone in my life like the other guys do...or many someones in Joey's case." They both laughed at that comment. "It's not easy Kev, trust me. That's why I always try to stay busy when we're on tour. Remind me to tell you about FreeLance sometime."

"Okay. So...what's the plan for tonight then?"

"Let me run back home and take care of some things...change clothes and what not, and that will give you time to work on your paper. I'll come back say around seven?"

"You're going to drive home and back?"

"It's not that far of a drive, no big deal."

They walked into the living room. Spotting his shoes, Lance sat on the bottom step that led upstairs and began to put them on. "You know, I'm going to do your dishes one of these days."

Kevin laughed. "Okay, I'll hold you to that."

Tying his laces, Lance stood up and faced Kevin. Then, holding out his arms, he pulled his friend into another hug. "Thank you for everything. And don't feel bad about what just happened, okay? We're going to get you over this. I promise." He squeezed his friend tightly.

"You seem to be taking a big chance here dude." Kevin looked down and grinned.

"Well, that's what life is all about, isn't it? Taking chances? You do realize that asking you out nearly caused me to wet myself, don't you? I had to grow some big ones really quick."

"Well, considering you scared the piss out of me three times in less than a day, I'd say that would have been a just reward. But you know what? I'm glad you did find the courage. And I'm glad you're being understanding of what I'm going through right now. I don't want to feel like I'm rushing into anything, and it's not like I want to push you away."

Lance nodded. "I understand. Like I said, baby steps. I'll see you around seven then. Dress nice, and I'm driving."

"Okay...I'll see you tonight."

Lance put on his sunglasses and cap and took his bag from the bottom of the steps as Kevin opened the door. Looking around outside, he trotted over to his truck and unlocked the door. He turned and waved to Kevin as he got in and started up the 4-Runner, and then drove away.

Closing the door, Kevin let out a sigh. "Well, what's that they say about the journey of a thousand miles?" Tonight was going to be interesting to say the least. But first, there was a paper to finish. And dishes to wash.

End of Chapter Four

Kevin and Lance will return in Chapter Five: "A Night With Lance," so stay tuned!