My Everything

Happy New Year, Everyone!

I'm back with another chapter of "My Everything."

Thanks for all of your support! Without it, I don't think I could have written this story for this long.

Now on with the story.

First of all, let me just say that this is my first time writing any kind of fiction like this.

DISCLAIMER: This is a work of total fiction and is not meant to imply anything about the sexualities of Nick and Drew Lachey or anyone else mentioned in this story.

If you are too young to read this, or if Homosexuality offends you, then please don't continue any further and leave.

Other 98 Degrees stories I'd like to recommend are.

"Give Me Just One Night" by Unanoche. "69 with Jeff Timmons" by Zachary Scott Pritt "Nick Lachey" by Ken. "98 Degrees Is Hot" by Gay Night "The Reunion" by RinSong. "Loving Nick Lachey" by Jordan "Playing Doctor with 98 Degrees" by Brian "This Gift" by Sprout

and finally:

"What I feel for you" by Thack.

Now, I"ll let you get on with the story.

Enjoy.

Previously on "My Everything".....

After stepping aside and letting Nick in, I accepted the present and sat it down on a little table near the hallway.

"Ok, here goes." I said, as I took the top off of the box to see what was inside. I gasped when I saw what Nick had gotten me.

"I had to apologize." Nick said to me. "The right way."

Inside the box, was a bouquet of beautiful red roses. I picked them up and admired them.

"Nick, they're beautiful!" I gushed, in a low voice, as tears came to my eyes. "You really shouldn't have done this."

"I know." Nick said. "I know that roses usually mean "love" but nothing in the stores seemed right for me to get you that were good enough to apologize for what I said to you, in L.A. You deserved something more meaningful than a shirt, or any other material thing. You deserved these, so I got them for you."

I was speechless as I gazed up at Nick. I wanted so badly just to tell him how I felt about him. That I still loved him. What moment wouldn't have been more perfect?"

But, still, I couldn't do it. Because I knew that Nick only got me these roses as an apology to me for what happened in L.A. It didn't change anything for the two of us. We still couldn't go back to the way things were, years ago.

But, whatever his reason had been, I was so touched that he'd gotten me this beautiful bouquet of roses. I couldn't think of a more meaningful present that I could have gotten on a day like today.

"Thank you." I said, as I looked up at Nick. He flashed me his killer smile.

"Merry Christmas, Sean." He said, as he reached out and pulled me into his arms.

I wrapped my arms around him, careful not to damage the bouquet of roses, and hugged him back, tightly.

"Merry Christmas, Nick."

I released Nick and then kissed him on the cheek, as I wiped away my tears.

I'm sorry, I don't mean to get emotional." I said. "But it's just that it's been a long time since I've gotten anything more meaningful from you."

Nick smiled at me and then looked down at my hands again.

"With the exception of this, I'm sure." He said, as he took my right hand and raised it up so he could see it better.

He, of course, was referring to my wedding band that he had given me, years ago when we'd gotten engaged and then married, which was still on my finger.

Nick looked up at me.

"I'm surprised you're still wearing this." He said, studying it close. "I thought you would have gotten rid of it by now."

I couldn't, Nick." I said to him. "For one thing, because it cost you alot of money, and secondly because I couldn't bring myself to take it off. It represents so much."

I looked at Nick, in the eyes.

"It holds the greatest memory I've ever had of the love you and I once shared." I said to him. "And even though you and I don't share that love anymore, I'd still like to keep this ring on my finger, if it's alright with you."

Nick looked down at the ring, thinking it over for a moment. Then, he looked back up at me.

"If it means that much to you, then you can keep it." Nick said. "But I do have some concerns about it, though."

I frowned, wondering what he was concerned about.

"What concerns are those?" I asked him.

"What about if you were to become involved with someone else?" Nick asked me. "If the next guy you become involved with, see this, they might think that you're still married and not want to be with you."

I then thought about Jason at that moment. I'm sure he had seen my ring, but he hadn't said anything about it. But I'm sure he'd want to know why I was wearing it if my relationship with Nick was over.

"I'll cross that bridge if I should ever come to it, Nick." I said. "Until then, I want to continue to wear this ring. Besides, I like the way it looks on me."

"Ok." Nick said. "I guess that's alright."

I then looked around the room and saw that everyone had quieted down and were watching us.

"What?" I asked the occupants in the room.

"Aww!" I heard all of them gush, in unison. Nick and I both blushed.

"Come on guys." I said. "Nick just got me roses for a present. They were to apologize for what happened in L.A. It doesn't mean anything."

Everyone just looked at each other and shrugged it off. The rest of the guys went back to watching the television, and the girls resumed cooking in the kitchen. I turned back to Nick.

"Why don't you go and watch the television with the guys?" I said.

Nick shrugged.

"I guess I can." he said. "But first, I need to use your bathroom."

"Sure." I said, "Go ahead."

Nick then walked towards the bathroom, while I started to walk towards the kitchen, but was stopped by the doorbell, ringing again.

"Damn, I must be popular today." I said, as I walked to the door and opened it.

When I saw who it was, my breath caught in my throat. I stood there, in shock, staring at the person who was standing before me.

"Oh my god!" I said, my eyes wide.

Drew stood in the doorway, looking at me, a big smile on his face.

"Merry Christmas, Sean."

*********** CHAPTER 78 ***********

I stood there, in the doorway just staring at Drew. Alot of thoughts were going through my mind at this moment. Also, were the conflicting emotions that I was feeling.

On one hand, I was glad that Drew was back, but also, I was still angry with him after what he did to me and Nick.

As for my thoughts, I was thinking of alot of things. "What did Drew's coming here to my house mean? Did he know that Nick and the guys were here? Or was he here to talk to me? Would there by any chance for him and Nick to reunite as brothers?

"Well?" Drew asked, breaking through my thoughts. "Aren't you going to invite me in?"

"Drew, before you come in, I think I should let you know that Nick, Jeff, Danny, Justin and Kandi, are here, celebrating Christmas with me." I told him.

Drew brightened when he heard that Nick was here, with the rest of the guys.

"That's great." He said. "I really missed them while I was gone."

I shrugged, not sure what to say to him about that.

"Well, I can't speak for Nick, and the rest of us, but I will give you the chance to find out." I said to him.

I then stepped aside to let him in. When he entered, I took that moment to announce his presence.

"Hey, guys." I announced to them. "Look who's back?"

Danny, Jeff, Justin, and Kandi, turned to look at me. When they saw Drew, standing next to me, their jaws all dropped in surprise.

"Hi, guys." Drew said, softly. "Merry Christmas to all of you. It's really great to be back home and to see you all."

When the shock wore off, Kandi was the first one to rush over and give Drew a big hug. Drew accepted.

"It's so great to see you back where you belong, Sweetie." She said to him. "We've all been so worried about you, since we found out that you left."

Drew released her and looked her in the eye, as he smiled at her, warmly.

"I'm sure you have." He said. "And I'm sorry that I worried everyone. I just needed time to think and get my head together. I couldn't do that at home. I needed a change of scenery."

Jeff was right behind Kandi and he took his turn, giving Drew a hug.

"Where did you go, Sprout?" He asked, calling Drew by one of his most popular nicknames. "It wasn't the same around here, without you."

Drew hugged Jeff hard. He had definitely missed Jeff while he was away. With the exception of Nick, Jeff was the next guy that he was the closest with.

Drew opened his mouth, getting ready to tell Jeff, but then he decided against it.

"You know what?" Drew said. "We'll have plenty of time to talk about me, later. It's Christmas day and I want to help you all celebrate it."

Drew then looked around the room, noticing that Nick was nowhere to be seen. That was odd.

"Where's my brother?" He asked me. "You said he was here?"

"Yeah, Drew." I said, nodding. "Nick's in the bathroom. He'll be out, shortly."

"Oh." Drew said, nodding in understanding. "Ok. I know I'm dying to see my big brother right now. I have alot I have to say to him--"

Drew broke off here, a sad look in his eyes, as well as in the tone of his voice. It was clear that he was still hurt over what had happened between him and Nick before he left town.

"Alot that I have to make up for." Drew finished. "I can only hope that Nick is ready to let me."

Drew then turned to me and looked at me. I could see that even though he seemed really happy at the moment, I could still see that there was a hint of sadness behind his hazel eyes.

"And you too, Sean." He said. "I know that it will take some time, but I'm hoping that, eventually, maybe you can find it in your heart to forgive me for what I did to you."

My eyes shifted to the floor, as I debated on what to do. I knew I didn't really want to get into anything heavy on today of all days.

I looked back up at Drew.

"We'll talk, but not today." I said to him. "It's Christmas. I need that we should put anything heavy off until after the holidays."

I then took a few steps towards him. I hesitated, not sure if I should do it, but in the end, I pulled him into my arms and gave him a hug.

"This doesn't mean I've forgiven you, Drew." I said, as he hugged me back, strongly. "I'm just glad you're back home, safe and sound."

"That's fair enough." Drew said. "I'm not expecting your forgiveness right now. I know I have to earn it back. And with time, I'm sure I will."

He released me, and I looked up to see Jake and Michelle, standing in the kitchen doorway, looking at us. I then took that moment to introduce them to Drew.

"Jake, Michelle, I want you to meet Nick's brother, Drew Lachey." I said, as Drew turned around to face them.

"Drew, this is my best friend, Jake Roberts." I said, as Jake extended his hand out to Drew.

"It's nice to meet you, Jake." Drew said. "Sean told me about you long ago, and I want to thank you for saving Sean's life. If it weren't for you, Sean probably wouldn't even be alive today."

Jake was surprised that Drew brought that part of my past up, all of a sudden, but he appreciated Drew's kindness.

"Thank you, Drew." Jake said. "I'm glad I saved him. Sean's a great guy and has so much to live for."

Jake looked up at me.

"I think he knows that now." Jake said, more to me, than Drew. "Right, Sean?"

I nodded at Jake. I had not forgotten that he was responsible for my being alive today. And I never would.

"Right, Jake." I replied back. "I will always be grateful to you for what you did for me."

Jake nodded. Then he turned to Michelle.

"Drew, I'd like you to meet my fiance, Michelle." He said. Drew shook her hand, when she held it out to him.

"It's very nice to meet you, Michelle." Drew said. "I've heard nothing but good things about you and Jake from Sean."

"I should hope so." Michelle said, sarcastically. "And if he's told you any horror stories about us, don't listen to him, alright?"

That caused everyone to start laughing. At that moment, I heard Nick's voice from behind me and Drew.

"Sean, who was at the door?" Nick asked me.

I turned and looked at him, quickly and then back to Drew, who still had his back turned.

Drew, hearing his brother voice, stopped suddenly. He slowly turned around to face his brother.

When Nick saw Drew, in the flesh, standing before him, he was rendered speechless. He stood there, in shock, not saying anything.

Drew smiled at Nick. He was really glad to see him. He had missed Nick alot.

"Hi, Bro." He said. "Merry Christmas."

After that, there was total silence, within the entire house, as everyone watched and waited for Nick to respond to his brother's presence. The silence was so still, I swear you could have heard a pin drop.

When Nick had finally gotten over the initial shock, and realized that his brother was, indeed, standing before him, he snapped out of it and managed to get his voice back.

"Merry Christmas, Drew." He said. "Where have you been? Mom and Dad have been so worried about you. Everyone has."

Drew nodded, not saying anything. Then, he looked up at Nick.

"Including you?" He asked Nick, hoping that Nick would admit that he had been worried about him.

Nick didn't answer right away. He and Drew still had issues to resolve. But I knew that Nick had missed Drew, whether or not he would admit it.

"Yes, Drew, I was worried about you, too." Nick said, nodding. "Just because things are bad between us right now, doesn't mean that I wanted anything to happen to you."

Drew smiled when he heard Nick admit that. It was nice to know that his brother still cared about him, despite everything.

"Come here." Drew said, as he advanced on Nick and threw his arms around him.

Nick hesitated slightly, before he brought his arms up and returned the hug. Everyone, except Jake and Michelle, who didn't know what was going on, could see that even though Nick was glad that Drew was back, he was still distant. He was not quite ready to forgive Drew just yet.

"I'm sorry for everything I did to you, Nick." Drew said to him. "I just want you to know that I will wait for however long it takes until you are ready to forgive me for everything."

Drew and Nick released each other and Nick looked into his brother's eyes. He could see that something about Drew was different.

"Thanks for understanding, Drew." Nick said. "Because I'm nowhere near, ready to forgive you just yet. But, I'm willing to put our differences to one side, so we can celebrate Christmas together."

"I hear you, Nick." Drew said to him. "And I'm willing to do that if you are. But before we sit down to Christmas dinner, I have some news that I want to share with all of you."

Now, everyone was curious. Drew's face literally brightened and that infectious smile of his returned to his face. He was obviously happy about something. He had that look, of a kid on Christmas morning, in his eyes.

Even Nick could not help, but smile at the look in his eyes.

"What is this news, Bro?" He asked Drew. "I've never seen you like this before."

I could see the excitement on Drew's face. He was about to burst at any moment.

"Ok, Drew, spill it." I said to him, smiling. "If you hold it in any longer, you're going to burst."

"Better, yet, I'll show you." Drew said. "Just one second."

He then grabbed his cell phone, out of his pocket, and started dialing someone's number.

"Who are you calling?" Nick asked him. Drew looked up and grinned at him.

"You'll see." He told Nick. "It's a surprise for Sean."

Then, someone must have answered, because he cut off and started talking to whoever it is that he had called.

"Hey man, it's me." Drew said. "Where are you right now?.....You are? Right now?..........Ok, do it."

Drew hung up his phone, just as the doorbell rang again. Drew looked to the door and then back at me.

"You'd better answer the door, Sean." Drew said, grinning. "Your surprise I was talking about has just arrived."

Now, I was intrigued. "What was this surprise Drew was talking about?" "What was he up to?"

With a confused frown on my face, along with my smile, I walked back to the door and opened it to see who was here.

I opened the door and froze, in shock. There was a man, standing on my doorstep. I recognized him. I had not seen him in a long time.

"Merry Christmas, Sean." He said to me. "Surprise!"

When the shock wore off, I exploded, with excitement.

"OH MY GOD!" I squealed, as I grabbed him, in a bone-crushing hug. "CASEY!

Casey hugged me back as he started laughing. He obviously was glad to see me.

"Gee, can you scream any louder?" He laughed. "I'm not sure the neighbors heard you."

"Oh, I don't care about the neighbors." I gushed as I let him in. "How are you? It's been so long since I've seen you!"

Casey walked over to where Drew was standing and put his arm around him. When I saw that, I looked at Drew.

"This was your surprise wasn't it?" I asked Drew. "He's the one you were on the phone with just now, right?"

"Yep." Drew laughed. "And that's not all. Here's the 2nd surprise."

With those words, Drew wrapped his arms around Casey's neck and planted a kiss on his lips, shocking all of us.

But, nobody was more shocked that Nick and I were. I thought something was a little off here.

"Ok, guys, come up for air." I said, seriously. "I need to ask you something?"

Drew and Casey pulled back and looked at me.

"Yes, Sean?" Casey asked me. "What is it that you want to know?"

First, this." I said to him, gesturing towards the two of them. "Are you two together?"

Drew grinned and looked back at Casey.

"Isn't it obvious?" He said, as he ran his hand along Casey's chest. "I've never felt happier than I do right now. And it's all thanks to this man right here."

Now, I had to ask the second question. I wondered what had happened to Paul, who had been dating Casey the last time I saw him.

"Casey, what about Paul?" I asked him. "The last time I saw you two was at my wedding to Nick 2 years ago."

Casey's happy mood seemed to vanish the moment I had mentioned Paul's name. The look in his eyes said it all: Something bad had happened between the two of them. But what could it have been?

"If you don't mind, Sean, I'd really rather not talk about Paul right now, ok?" He said. I could see the hurt within his eyes. I frowned, in confusion.

"Why not?" I asked him, wondering why he was so closed off. "Did he do something to you?"

Casey was almost on the verge of tears at that moment. It was clear that whatever he and Paul had gone through, it had to have been pretty traumatic.

"Sean, please, not now." Drew said, as he threw his arm around Casey's shoulders. "Casey's not ready to talk about it yet with anyone else."

The way Drew said that, led me to believe that he knew about whatever it is that Casey couldn't tell me, where Paul was concerned. But, I didn't press him to tell me anything.

"Alright." I said to him. "You can tell me another time. Right now, let's all sit down and eat dinner."

"I'm glad you said that." Nick said, rubbing his washboard stomach. "I'm starved."

"Aw, poor baby!" I whined, in amusement. Nick laughed at me.

Everyone entered the kitchen and we all chose our places to sit at the table.

On the right side, it was Nick, Me, Drew, Casey, and Jake. On the left, it was Jeff, Danny, Justin, Kandi, and Michelle.

We all got ready to eat. But before we did, I had a request to make.

"Before we sit down to eat," I announced to everyone in the room. "We should all pray first." Who wants to say "grace?"

I looked around the room to see if anyone volunteered. And to my surprise, someone did.

"I will." Drew said. "Is that alright with you, Sean?"

"Sure." I said, giving him a pleasant smile. "Start whenever you are ready."

"Ok." Drew said. "But first, let's all join hands."

We all stood up and joined hands around the table. Drew took a deep breath and then began his prayer.

"Dear Lord," He began. "We all thank you for the food that we are about to feast upon today. We also thank you for all the many great blessings that you have bestowed upon us all."

"We ask of you to watch over our families, as they enjoy Christmas and keep them safe."

Drew then, unknownst to us, started going in a different direction.

"But what I want more than anything, this Christmas day, is forgiveness. I pray that the people I've hurt will someday find it in their hearts to forgive me for my sins. Especially, my big brother, whom I love more than my own life."

When, I heard Drew say all of that, I opened my eyes and glanced at him. I saw him, looking over at Nick. At the same time, I looked over at Nick to see what his reaction was.

Nick just stood there, looking at Drew, with no emotion on his face. I glanced around and saw everyone else, looking from Nick, and then to Drew.

"I pray that you guide us throughout our lives as they change, and help us achieve all of our goals for the New Year, ahead. We pray all of this, in Jesus's name. Amen."

"Amen." All of us said, in unison as Drew ended his prayer.

As we all sat down, I looked around and noticed everyone sharing kisses. I saw Jeff and Danny kiss. Then Justin and Kandi. As well as Jake and Michelle. Then last, but not least, I saw Drew and Casey share a kiss as well.

I looked over at Nick and noticed that he had a sad look in his eyes at the moment. He seemed deep in thought at the moment, and I wanted to cheer him up.

I tapped him on the shoulder, lightly. When he turned my way, I quickly leaned in and kissed him, on the lips. That surprised him.

"What was that for?" He asked, still surprised. He hadn't been expecting that.

"Everyone was kissing, and I didn't want you to feel left out, so I decided I'd give you one to cheer you up. You looked so lost, just a second ago." I explained to him. "And also, that kiss was to thank you for the roses you gave me."

"Oh." Was all he said. Then, he got all quiet again. Concerned, I touched his shoulder lightly.

"What's wrong, buddy?" I asked him, sympathetically. "You don't seem your usual self today. Is something bothering you?"

Before Nick could answer me, we all heard Drew's voice.

"Alright, everybody!" He announced. "Let's eat!"

Everyone was glad to hear that news and they all set about to filling their plates with food and starting to eat.

I turned back to Nick, and saw just how down he was. He was really hurting for some reason.

"Nick, tell me what's wrong." I asked him, squeezing his shoulder, gently. "I've never seen you like this before."

Nick looked at me for a moment, and then he got up and started walking away. When he got to the doorway of the kitchen, he turned back around and motioned, with his head, for me to come with him.

Frowning, I got up and followed him and saw that he was going towards my room. I guess he wanted to talk with me, alone.

We entered my room and I shut the door behind us to give us some privacy from unwanted interruptions.

Nick walked over to my bedroom window and stood there, looking out of it. He had a far away look in his eyes at that moment.

I walked up behind him and put my hands on his shoulders and started massaging them. Only then did I notice how tense Nick had been.

"Nick, you know you can tell me anything." I said to him. "I'm your friend and I want to help you."

I could feel Nick starting to relax as I massaged his shoulders. After a moment, he turned around and I dropped my arms down again.

"I don't think even you can help me today, Sean." Nick said, sadly. "Christmas didn't turn out the way I had planned."

"Why?" I was confused. Nick blinked his eyes and looked up at the ceiling as he let out a huge sigh, and I knew that he was starting to get emotional about something.

Finally, Nick couldn't hold it in any longer.

"My life is such a mess right now, Sean." He said, as he started to burst into tears. "My marriage to Jessica may be over, and I miss my little baby girl so much today. Christmas just isn't the same without my precious little angel with me."

When I heard Nick say that his marriage was over, I was shocked. I had no idea that Nick was going through this. He hadn't said a word about it when he'd arrived.

"Nick, what do you mean that your marriage may be over?" I asked him. "What happened?"

Nick wiped at his eyes and then looked back at me.

"When you left, I thought that our friendship was over." Nick said. "So, I tried to catch you at the airport before you got on the plane, but I got stuck in traffic and was too late."

I knew what he was talking about. He was referring to when I'd said that I didn't want to be his friend anymore and after that, I'd headed to the airport to come back home. But I'd had no idea that Nick had come to the airport, back in Los Angeles, to try and stop me before I got on the plane.

"I'm kind of surprised that you came after me." I said, seriously. "When you said that I never cared about you, it sounded like you really meant it at the time."

"No, Sean, I didn't." Nick said, stepping over to me and pulling me into a hug. "I didn't mean to say it like that. I was hurt and confused, that's all. I thought you meant what you'd said about not wanting to be my friend anymore."

"Nick, I did mean it." I said, pulling back from Nick. "But that doesn't mean that that's what I wanted. I was just trying to get you to see that Jessica is not the same person she once was. And I couldn't take any more of her insults and abuse. I deserve better than that."

I could see the mixed emotions, playing on Nick's face. He was starting to see things from my point of view.

I continued.

"I mean, how can I be there for you and be a good friend when Jessica is constantly trying to drive a wedge between you and me?"

"She can't do that, Sean." Nick said, in a low voice. "Not anymore. After what happened, I told her that I wanted a legal separation."

When I heard that part, I felt bad for him. I know that decision couldn't have been easy for him.

"Oh, Nick." I said, as I hugged him once again. I'm so sorry, man."

Nick and I stood there, hugging each other, for what seemed like an eternity. I started running my hands up and down his back, comforting him.

Then I pulled back and looked Nick in the face. As I did, I noticed that he was looking right back at me. Neither one of us said a word.

Then, I felt Nick run his hand up my face and start stroking my cheek, lightly. I continued to gaze into his eyes and I could see the lost look within them.

I couldn't help myself for what happened next. As I lost all of my restraint, I leaned into Nick and kissed him, fully on the lips.

Nick was caught off guard by my sudden affection. But when he'd realized what was happening, he started to return my kiss. I felt him put his arms around me and he started to run them along my body.

I wrapped my arms around his neck as I continued to kiss him, slipping my tongue into his mouth. I could tell that Nick was really starting to get into it. I started running my hands along his back and his sexy, muscular arms.

As I kissed Nick, I kept thinking to myself:

"What does this mean?" "Could there really be hope of a future for Nick and me, again?"

******************************************************* BACK OUT IN THE LIVING ROOM...........

Jake and Michelle, Jeff and Danny, Justin and Kandi, and Drew and Casey, were sitting around the dinner table, eating Christmas dinner and chatting amongst each other.

With Drew back, they all had alot of catching up to do with him.

"So, Drew," Jeff started to ask, as he was cutting his ham. "Where have you been all this time?"

Drew frowned as he looked around at everyone. It was clear that he wasn't sure that he wanted to get into it right now. Especially not on Christmas day.

"Do I have to tell you, right now?" He asked Jeff. "Can't we wait until later?"

Jeff looked around the room and saw that everyone was looking at Drew and wondering what was going on with him. There was definite a mystery about Drew since he got back.

"I guess we can wait until later." Jeff said, and then he went back to eating his ham.

"Thank you, Jeff." Drew said, in relief. "It's not that I want to keep anything from you all. It's just that I don't feel like getting into it right now. I just want to enjoy this time here with you all before I have to leave again."

"WHAT?" was heard around the table as everyone was shocked by what Drew had just said. Here he was, home, and now he was going to leave again? There had to be some reason for that. But what was it?"

"What are you talking about, sweetie?" Kandi asked him. "Why would you want to leave again?"

Drew looked at Casey, who nodded at him, which must have been his signal to allow Drew to tell everyone what he wanted to tell them.

"I'm still not welcome in Nick's life yet." Drew said. "And I still have alot I have to make up for with him and Sean. As well as all of you."

"But Drew, you saw how Sean and Nick made an effort with you, earlier." Danny pointed out. "How can you make anything up with any of us if you leave again?"

"Whoa!" Drew said. "You guys don't understand. Yes, I'm leaving, but not for the reasons you're thinking."

Now, everyone was confused. If he wasn't leaving because he was running away from his problems, then what was the reason for his leaving?

"And what reason is there for you to be leaving again, Drew?" Justin asked him.

Drew saw that everyone was wondering the same thing. He then set about to putting their minds at ease.

"Relax, Justin." Drew said to him. I'm just going to be going back to New York with Casey for awhile. I'll be back in Los Angeles for New Year's Eve."

"Ah, so that's where you've been." Jeff said, realization dawning upon him. "New York City. I should have known that when I saw Casey here with you."

"It shouldn't come as such a surprise to you all that I was in New York City." Drew said out loud. "You all know how much I love "The Big Apple."

"Yeah." Danny said, remembering New York City. "Sean loved New York too."

Casey finished his dinner and set his fork down.

Speaking of Sean, he and I have some unfinished business to attend to." He said, getting up. "I have to go and talk to him."

"Wait." Drew said, grabbing Casey's arm before he could walk off. "Now?"

Casey nodded.

"Yes, now." He said. Then he leaned down and kissed Drew, on the lips, briefly. "I'll be right back."

Alright." Drew said, smiling. "Don't be long."

"Ok." Casey said, before excusing himself from the table. He then headed in the direction of Sean's room.

Drew turned back towards the table, just in time to see the guys giving him looks of disappointment. They'd been expecting alot more from him than he was able to give right now.

"What?" Drew said, kind of loudly. "What are you all staring at?"

"Nothing, Drew." Jake said. "We were just wondering what that was all about? What does Casey mean when he said that he and Sean have some "unfinished business."?

"It's a long story." Drew said, as he took a bite of mashed potatoes.

"If you have the time, we'd love to hear it." Michelle said, around her food. "How do Sean and Casey know each other?"

Drew took a deep breath and began telling Jake and Michelle the whole story.

******************************************************* BACK IN SEAN'S ROOM.............

Nick suddenly put his arms around me and pushed me back a bit, breaking our kiss, his hands on my upper arms.

"Sean, we can't do this." Nick said, breathing hard. "I'm a married man."

I looked at him, my expression full of disappointment.

"Yes we can, Nick." I said, as I tried to put my hands around his shoulders again. "You and Jessica are separated, remember? There's nothing holding you back now, is there?"

Nick gently removed my arms from around his shoulders, but he wasn't trying to hurt my feelings. He was just uncomfortable at that moment.

"We're not separated yet." He said. "At least not legally."

I looked down, now feeling guilty for being the one who kissed him, when he wasn't expecting it. I should have realized that Nick was vulnerable right now.

"I know." I said, sadly. "And I'm sorry about that. I can't imagine the pain that you're going through right now. I was just trying to make you feel better, and I guess I took it a little too far."

"Don't worry about it." Nick said. "Besides, it takes two to kiss. I shouldn't have encouraged it by kissing you back, so I accept my share of responsibility for that kiss."

"Are you sure?" I asked him, really starting to feel bad now. "I feel like I took advantage of you now. I didn't mean to."

"Sean, would you stop that, already?" Nick said, with a grin. "You worry too much. Although, I have to admit that it's really sweet of you to be thinking about my feelings. It really shows how much you have grown and matured over the years that we've been apart."

I smiled at him. I was really touched by his kind words. I could definitely say the same thing about him. He had changed alot while we were apart all those years. He had grown and matured too. Not to mention the fact that he'd gotten sexier than ever before. He was still the most beautiful man in the world to me. Even today.

"Thanks." I said, lowly. "I can say the same thing about you. You've changed alot too."

Nick nodded, as he looked at me. Then, his smiled faded and that look in his eyes came back again. I could feel the intensity within them.

"Don't you ever wonder......." I said, breaking off as I gazed into his eyes, mesmerized by their beauty and charm.

"What?" Nick asked, never breaking his gaze from me.

I swallowed and then took a breath. My attraction to Nick was getting stronger and stronger all the time. I didn't know how much longer I was going to be able to keep my feelings for him under wraps.

"Don't you ever wonder what it would be like.....for us to be together again?"

Nick blinked, as he processed my words. I continued.

"To make love again." I said, as I started caressing Nick's chest, lightly. "To feel your warm skin against mine?"

I started running my hands along Nick's arms again and up to his shoulders. I leaned in closer, my lips just inches away from his.

"Right now, you're lonely." I continued, saying, my voice full of lust. "I'm lonely. So, what do you think we should do about that?"

Nick and I both stared into each other eyes, both of us breathing hard. We could feel each other's hot breath on our lips, even though we were not kissing. At least not yet.

To Be Continued....?

Well, that's it for this one. I hope you all enjoyed it!

"What happens next?" Oh, if you only knew!"

Stay tuned.

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