My Surprise Romance

Hi everyone!

It's me again with another installment of My Surprise Romance. From the few e-mails I received, I'm really sorry with the cliffhanger I left everyone with, but hey, it's my story ;) Anyhoo, the amount of e-mails have dropped, which always makes me worry. So please, after you read this, send me one at sweetheart_stories@hotmail.com and tell me what you think of the story so far--I'm begging you--good, bad, or if you just want to say `hi'--whatever. Much thanks to those of you who have e-mailed me, I really appriciate it.

Thank you so much to Justin, Clarke, Damon and Cele. Without any of you I wouldn't be writing this. ....I want you to know that!! And now the disclaimer

DISCLAIMER: m/m relationship, as not to imply the sexuality of `N Sync or Lance Bass. You must be 18 or 21 to read this depending on where you live--I'm sick of writing these.

My Surprise Romance

Chapter 18

Cynthia and I stood in the hot parking lot in complete and utter shock. I mean, what else could we do, besides stand there and stare at the sight of Justin and another man only a few feet away from us, making out as if they didn't have a care in the world. I felt the shopping bag in my hand slide from my fingers and hit the pavement with a noisy rustle. I'm surprised my lower jaw didn't hit the ground either.

"I think I'm gonna be sick," Cynthia finally whispered though she was unable to tear her eyes away from the two gentlemen in the car. I felt as though my feet were cemented to the ground--Justin was...gay? And as though he had felt us watching them, Justin's eyes turned to us, flashing a mixture of shock and horror. He tore himself away from his love interest and continued to stare at Cynthia and I. Suddenly, Cynthia casually strolled up to the car, and to everyone's horror, she tapped on the window.

"Hi," she mouthed at the two guys, giving them a little wave. Justin turned to my cousin, giving her a `what-the-hell-are-you-doing' look. The young man in the drivers seat didn't even glance at her. Instead, he quickly slipped on a pair of dark sunglasses, and then started up the car's engine. And before we knew it, they had hightailed it out of the parking lot, the automobile's tires screeching behind them. Cynthia stood there, a look of astonishment on her face. "He nearly ran me over!" she exclaimed, walking back over to where I was standing. She knelt down to pick up the shopping bags I had dropped, and then looked back at where the car had just been parked.

"They wanted to get out of here fast," Cynthia said dryly, observing the skid marks that the expensive car had left behind. I shook my head in amazement.

"I can't believe it," I murmured under my breath, as I finally spotted our rental car. Cynthia and I got into it and drove off in the direction of the hotel. "Do you think the rest of the guys know?"

Cynthia shook her head, as she rolled down her window. "You are so dense sometimes, Stevie--why do you think they drove off like that?" She slapped me upside the head lightly. "Duh, of course they don't know--if they did, do you seriously think that Justin and his mystery man would have hightailed it out of here like they were escaped criminals? I just can't wait to confront him." She rubbed her hands together in anticipation.

"You cannot do that to him," I declared as I turned the car onto the thruway. "He's obviously been hiding this from the rest of the guys, Cynth, and for you to just...expose him like that..." I shook my head gravely. "It's just wrong."

She fell silent for a brief second. "Yeah, I guess you're right," she finally said. "But you have to ask him about it. Justin saw you--he knew that it was you and me standing there, he's not stupid," Cynthia said. "And I wanna find out who that guy was--he was pretty cute."

I let out a laugh, despite the uneasiness I felt in my stomach. "Cynthia, honey," I said gently. "He wouldn't like you anyways." We both laughed at my remark as we turned back onto the exit that would lead us back to the hotel.

When we arrived back on our floor, Cynthia made a beeline for Josh's room. "I'll check in here," she said innocently. "To make sure that Justin didn't come back here."

"Yeah, right," I teased her. "You better make sure that Josh is just in there." She flashed her pearly white teeth at me in knowing happiness.

"Good idea, Stevie," she laughed and gave me a big wink, while knocking on his door. I headed down the hallway towards the room that Lance and I shared, unlocked it and let myself in.

"Hello?" I called out to the resounding silence. I looked at the immaculately made up bed, and saw a handwritten note lying on top of his pillow, placed neatly over the mint.

Stephen,' it read, I went out shopping with Joey. Might stop to have a massage. I'll see you later tonight (if your busy schedule permits--ha ha) Love, L.' I read the note over and over, and then folded it up into a neat square and tucked it into my suitcase.

I looked around the room and let out a sigh. I wasn't sure what to do with myself, so I stretched out on the bed, letting my mind soak in the peaceful atmosphere around me. For the first time in days, I finally felt `off'. It was a nice feeling, I thought as I picked up one of the tabloid newspapers that Lance had left on the nightstand. I flipped through the paper and began to read the article to myself. My eyes wandered over to the photo of Lance and Cynthia, their lips attached as though they had super glued themselves together and suddenly, feelings of jealousy began to fall over me. I noticed how my boyfriend and my cousin made a pretty darn cute couple. Suddenly, I knew why Josh had stormed off that morning. It wasn't a pretty sight seeing your significant other kissing someone else, even as a joke. I tried to tell myself that I was being silly, as I attempted to shake the resentful feelings out of my mind.

A knock on the door cut off my train of thought. It was a soft knock, as though the person on the other side of the door was hoping that no one would hear it.

"Who is it?" I called out, folding the tabloid in half and placing it back on the nightstand. I pulled myself into a sitting position on the bed. The voice hesitated in answering me back.

"It's...it's Justin," he said so quietly, I was lucky I could even hear him. I stood up, walked towards the door, and opened it. There before me stood Justin, his eyes downcast, and hands deep in the pockets of the jeans he was wearing.

"Can I come in?" he asked me, looking at the carpet underneath him.

"Sure," I said, opening the door wider to let him in. Justin brushed past me, and took a seat in one of the oversized chairs that sat next to the window.

"Lance isn't here, is he?" Justin asked as though the thought suddenly dawned on his. His eyes darted around the hotel room nervously.

"Nope--he went out with Joey. It's just me and you Curly," I said, taking my place back on the bed. Instead of looking at me, Justin chose to stare outside, his face void of any emotion. I continued to sit there wordlessly. I wasn't going to pressure Justin into saying anything, opting for him to speak first--and he did.

"I guess you saw me this afternoon," Justin began in a soft voice, folding his hands in his lap, still looking out the window. "I know Cynthia did."

"Yeah, we both did," were the only words I spoke. I continued staring at the curly haired lead singer, not sure what he was going to say next. I began to feel more and more uncomfortable as the minutes passed and then I began to wish that I hadn't even gone out to the mall that afternoon.

"That was my boyfriend you two saw in the car," Justin said, finally meeting my eyes. "His name is Harris."

I nodded. "He was cute," I said neutrally. "What I could make out, at least. He put his sunglasses on too fast." Justin smiled nervously at my remark and then placed his face in his hands. When he looked back up at me, tears were streaming down his face.

"Almost no one knew," Justin managed to say in a hoarse whisper. "The only one that knew was Brit."

"Brit?" I repeated, confused. "Is that a nickname for one of the guys?"

Justin shook his head, and wiped the tears out of his eyes. "No, Britney. You know, Britney `hit me baby one more time' Spears?" Justin said, managing to laugh, despite his obvious pain. "She's one of my best friends in the whole world."

I nodded again feeling like one of those bobbing head dolls you see in the back of cars. "I know who you're talking about now. How could I not? The tabloids are always linking you two together." I reached over and handed a box of tissues to Justin, who blew his nose before he continued.

"Yup--we were even making out a few months ago in front of the reporters. She wanted to help me throw them off," he admitted, nervously cracking his each of his fingers. I winced at the noise and Justin noticed.

"Sorry," he apologized. "I always do this when I'm nervous." I smiled at him, surprised by how different he was in person, than when he was with the rest of the guys. The outgoing Justin Timberlake had silenced, and a quieter one had emerged.

"It's okay--just don't do it again," I warned him jokingly, wagging a finger at him. "And relax--there's nothing to be nervous about. It's just me here and I never considered myself to be too threatening," I cracked, trying to make Justin a little more at ease. To my relief, he laughed despite himself and then let out a loud sigh. A few more tears slipped down his cheek.

"The rest of the guys don't know about me and Harris. They don't even know that I'm gay..." he trailed off, looking forlorn. "You know the night that Lance told everyone that he was seeing you? And he made that joke about liking curly-haired blondes?" I thought back to that night, and did indeed remember Justin's strange reaction to Lance's joke.

"Oh yeah--you just walked out of there. I remember it well," I told him.

Justin grimaced. "Yeah, well I was petrified that somehow Lance knew and that's why he had joked around like that," he explained, drumming his fingertips against his knee. "I've been really paranoid lately--that someone's always watching me when I'm with Harris."

"Well, making out in a public parking lot usually isn't the best thing to do when you're paranoid," I said gently. Justin smiled at me again, the tears now subsiding.

"I know, it's just that when you're with someone you really like, you can't help doing stupid things," Justin described. "It just happened and then...we saw you staring at us. Harris thought that you and Cynthia were two strangers--that's why he just pulled out of the space like that."

"Hey, you should be lucky it was only me and Cynth and not some reporter," I reminded him gently. Justin nodded, clearly relieved.

"I know--I can't believe how close we were to getting caught. Sometimes I forget how close I am to the public eye," Justin said in amazement, shaking his head. His head snapped up as though something had just hit him. "You gotta promise not to tell the guys--you or Cynthia. Please," Justin said suddenly, his eyes pleading.

"Justin, why not? Everyone knows about Lance already," I said. "And no one held it against him. What would be the big deal if the guys know you're gay?" Justin stared at me for a few seconds, as though I was speaking a foreign language. He then got off the chair and began nervously pacing back and forth.

"Stephen, you don't understand. I'm not comfortable with telling everyone yet. Everytime a conversation comes up about Lance, I don't know what to say about it. I wasn't even sure that I was..." he paused, and his face suddenly resembled someone taking a horrible medicine "Well, you know..."

"Gay? Is that the word you're looking for?" I interjected teasingly.

Justin swallowed and nodded. "Yeah. I didn't even know until I met Harris--I've always seen girls, I've always hit on girls, but when I met him, everything changed," Justin described. "It's weird to explain about how I felt when I met Harris." A grin appeared on Justin's face at the mention of his boyfriend's name and being in love myself, I couldn't help smiling at his reaction. I knew how he felt.

"I think I know what you're talking about," I said. Justin gave me a relieved look as he stopped his pacing and stood in front of me. I decided to take it a step further. "Where'd you meet Harris?" I asked. "If I'm not being too nosy," I added quickly.

Justin shook his head. "No--I'm just glad that I can finally tell someone besides Brit," he said, his voice returning to normal. "I met him when I was in Boston around Christmas...he's a singer actually...opera. Harris is in this group that travels around the country and somehow our schedules have been matching," Justin said shyly.

"He sounds nice."

"He is--and you know, Stephen, I'd love to tell everyone." Justin paused. "I want to tell everyone. But I know I can't. Especially after the conversation we all had this morning--coming out would kill me in every way possible--my career, my family--everything. My mother doesn't know... and right now I just don't want to ruin anything," Justin said sadly, sinking back down in the chair. He looked back at me with a gloomy smile on his face.

"You know Stephen, I'm really glad that you're here and that you know about me," he said, his smile growing a little wider. "Tell me--was it this hard for you?"

My face fell as I thought about my own messy life. "Yeah, with certain people..." I trailed off, avoiding to tell him about my mother. "But once you let someone know, you feel a hundred percent better."

Justin nodded. "I know what you mean. When I told Brit...God, I felt like someone lifted a weight off my shoulders. She was really happy for me and Harris--she's met him already and she loves him. They even went shopping together," he said happily.

"That's good--but you know you'll have to tell the guys sooner or later," I told him, not trying to freak him out too badly. Justin nodded.

"I know that Stephen," he replied in a calm voice, despite the terrified look in his eyes. "Just promise me you won't say anything," he said feverently.

"I keep promises," I said simply. "You've put trust in me and I wouldn't dare betray it."

"What about Cynthia? She saw us too," Justin suddenly said, looking even more worried. "I like her and all, but she doesn't seem to be the type to keep her mouth shut about a juicy secret like this."

I shook my head. "Nah--my cousin might have a big mouth when it comes to certain things, but this isn't one of them. Underneath that crazy exterior, is actually one of the sweetest people you'll ever know. Cynthia is really sensitive when it comes to breaking promises--its one of her pet peeves," I explained with a laugh. "Besides, I already told her to keep her mouth shut after we saw you and Harris."

Justin laughed at my last remark and stood up from his position on the chair. He walked over to me and grabbed me in a friendly hug.

"Thanks, Stephen,' he said, looking a more relieved than when he first came in, but not much. "You know, I'm really glad that you came on tour with us."

"So am I," I agreed, grinning causing Justin to roll his eyes at me.

"I'm sure it's not for my company," he laughed. "But I'm glad that you came anyways. I'll see you later," Justin said, letting himself out of the room.

"Bye," I called out, as the door closed behind him. I sat on the edge of the bed for a few minutes reassessing what had just happened between Justin and I. Coming on tour, I never expected to be the one who held the secrets, I thought. And while it wasn't such a big deal, I felt like I was keeping some kind of potentially dangerous problem hidden inside of me. The image of Justin's serious, worried expression popped into my mind, as I laid back down on the bed. All I could think of was how sad he was keeping the truth hidden, and I hoped that he would come to terms with himself soon enough to let himself be happy.

Chapter 19

"Stevie, you lazy bum--get up already." I had fallen in a rather peaceful slumber after the talk I had with Justin. I fall asleep rather hard, so that should give you a good idea how loud my cousin's voice was as she stood over me, barking orders like a drill sergeant.

"Cynthia,"I said, sitting up and yawning. "What gives? I was sleeping, if you hadn't noticed," I said a bit crankily. My mind still wasn't working properly, as my eyelids threatened to close on their own. To my surprise, she threw a glass of ice cold water directly in my face.

"What the hell?!" I yelled at her, jumping off the bed. "Why did you do that?"

"Because I said so," Lance announced from the other side of the room, in his deep voice. He was leaning against the wall, arms folded across his chest. "Good work, Cynthia--didn't think you'd have the nerve to do it," he complimented. I wiped my eyes, ready to strangle my cousin and Lance for what they had planned against me.

"I have no nerve," she announced rather gleefully, pulling my groggy self off the bed. "Come on, Stevie--you have to get ready for your big date tonight." She raised her eyebrows at me, and I groaned.

"You had to tell her," I complained to Lance. "You just had to, didn't you?" He shrugged helplessly at me and grinned. He was about to open his mouth, when Cynthia spoke up for him.

"Lancey-boy here wants to pick you up before hand," she said in a teasing voice, rolling her violet eyes. For some bizarre reason the tone of her voice made me blush as she continued on, "So you're gonna get ready in my room."

I looked over at my boyfriend. "You've got to be kidding me," I said in astonishment. "It's not like we don't know each other already." Cynthia picked up my shopping bag and began to pull me out of the room. Lance walked over to me, as I was leaving.

"Hey, if we were going out like normal people, then I would have picked you up at your house," Lance explained, moving a little closer to me. "But we're not, so this is the best thing I could come up with." He moved even closer to me, placing his face next to mine. "Besides," he continued, brushing my now-wet hair away from my eyes. "I want to be surprised when I see how you look in clothes without paint on them for the first time." He leaned in for a kiss, but Cynthia pulled me away before his lips could touch mine.

"Oh no you don't," she warned Lance. "Stevie, you don't want him thinking that you're easy because you kiss before the first date." She leaned over towards Lance. "I know about guys like you." Cynthia gave him a wicked grin. "Taking advantage of poor, innocent guys like my cousin here," she said, punching me in the arm.

"Innocent?" Lance said, his eyebrows shooting upwards in surprise. "My Stephen? I think you've got the wrong guy there, because the Stephen I know is far from innocent."

Cynthia rolled her violet eyes at him again. I swear, one they their going to get stuck. "Save it for the good night kiss, you two," she sighed, pulling me into the hallway. "Come on, cuz--we've got work to do." And with that, she whisked me down the hallway.

Once I was in Cynthia's room, I took a long hot shower. When I stepped out of it, I found that she was waiting for me in her usual place: on the seat of the closed toilet.

"Thanks again for the privacy," I grumbled, as I wrapped a towel around myself. "I just love walking around naked in front of my cousin." She dismissed my comment with a wave of her hand and then smiled at me.

"I ironed your new clothes for you, Stevie," she said, watching me as I vigorously dried my hair with a clean hotel towel. "They're hanging on the back of the door, freshly pressed and ready to wear." I looked at her in amazement. Was this my cousin, or a robot, I thought to myself.

"Hey, thanks a lot, Cynth--but don't you hate ironing?" I reminded her, to which she nodded.

"Yup, but I figured you'd be too nervous to do it. Either that or you'd burn `em. I can tell you never iron your clothes--you always look like you just crawled out of bed."

"I do not look like I crawl out of bed," I denied, knowing fully that Cynthia was, as usual, one hundred percent on the money. I did look like a slob some mornings--I just hoped that no one noticed. "And besides, you're acting like I've never laid eyes on Lance before, my dear cousin. For your information, I see him every day...and night," I couldn't help resisting.

"I know that," she laughed. "That's why you're so happy all the time--you're gettin' some." I cringed at her words and laid my toothbrush down.

"Cynth--you're so..." I trailed off before placing the toothbrush back into my mouth.

She looked at me. "Truthful?" she offered. "Well, you are, aren't you? I mean, you two do share a room. You sleep in the same bed, right?" I just nodded my head, because my mouth, at that moment, was filled with toothpaste. Plus, I didn't feel like answering my cousin's questions.

"Stevie, if you and Lance weren't doing anything, then I'd think there was something wrong," she said knowingly, giving me a big wink. Then she stopped. "You are doing `stuff', right?"

I pulled the toothbrush out of my mouth. "Yes!" I exclaimed, a little perturbed at Cynthia's sudden interest in my sex life. "Yes we are doing `stuff', as you put it.," I said, spatters of toothpaste flying out of my mouth and onto the mirror. She cringed as I yelled at her.

"Sorry," she apologized. "I guess I was being nosy." She stood up and walked to the bathroom door. "I'll be outside, waiting if you need any help." she called over her shoulder ,with a serene smile on her face as she exited the room. I stared at my reflection in the mirror, shaking my head as I finished brushing my teeth.

I did a couple of things and then emerged out of the bathroom, and found Cynthia standing over an ironing board, flattening the hem of a floral print dress. She smiled at me as I unhooked my clothes from the back of the door.

"Hey, I'm sorry I yelled at you, Cynth--I guess I'm a little nervous." I sat down on the bed. "I have no idea why--it not like Lance and I have ever met."

Cynthia smiled and flipped the dress over. "I know--Josh and I are going out tonight too and I feel the same way. It's really our first date together and I want everything to be perfect, I guess. So I'm a little high strung," she explained matter-of-factly.

"You? A little high strung?" I teased her, as I slid the shirt off the hanger. She laughed.  "I know--I'm usually so calm," she joked. "But seriously, Stevie, I am nervous. What if I screw something up and Josh realizes that I'm some kind of idiot, you know?" She shook her head, as she slipped the dress on over her head. "I'm always screwing something up.," she said as she disappeared into the bathroom.

I sat on the bed for a few seconds, thinking about what she had just said. Even my overly confident cousin had doubts...and here I was, thinking I was the only one who berated myself on a regular basis. Taking a deep breath to clear myself of any negative thoughts, I stood up and began getting dressed.

A little while later, Cynthia and I critically looked over each others outfits. "Looking good, Cynth," I said, as she twirled before me. She had pulled her blonde hair up into a twist, and put on a pair of pearl earrings that I had bought her ages ago for her sweet sixteen birthday. "Aw, that's sweet--wearing something I bought you," I said, touching the delicate studs in her earlobes.

"My lucky earrings," she beamed. Then as she thought about what I had said, she leaned over and belted me lightly in the gut. "Just `good'? I look better than good, Stevie," she said in feigned outrage. I rubbed my stomach where she had punched me.

"New appearance, same Cynthia," I commented wryly with a chuckle."You look fabulous, my dear."

She grinned. "That's better--and Stevie, you don't look half bad yourself, you handsome devil, you." I looked at my reflection in the mirror--she was right, I did look decent. The beige shirt had complimented me, and it was nice to finally own something with out a splatter of paint on it. I was still examining my appearance, playing around with my hair when there was a knock on the door.

I looked at Cynthia in the reflection of the mirror and we grinned at each other. "Which one of you big stars is it?" she called out.

There was a pause and then we heard a smattering of laughter. "Both of us," came the reply through the heavy wooden door. Cynthia and I both rushed to it as though someone had told us we had just won a million dollars and we both reached it at the same time. She hip checked me out of the way, reaching the door first and threw it open to see Josh and Lance both standing there, with confused looks on their faces.

"Are you two okay?" they asked in unison, and then looked at each other and laughed again. Cynthia pushed me out of the way, and stood there, grinning like a fool at Josh. She made a feeble attempt at looking as though she just hadn't fought me for first place at the door.

"Make it quick, you two," I could hear Lance complain impatiently from the hallway.

"Hold it, keep your pants on," Cynthia said slyly, causing everyone to groan. She just grinned as she pulled Josh down the hallway. "We'll give the two lovebirds some time alone," I heard her say as she and Josh walked to the elevators. I was about to yell out a nasty retort as I walked over to the door--that is until I stood face-to-face with Lance. When I laid eyes on him all thoughts flew out of my head, and I felt the nervous feelings returning to my stomach. Lance, that night, looked better than handsome--I don't think there was a word that could even describe how wonderful he looked. He was dressed in an iridescent cedar blue shirt, unbuttoned at the neck and a pair of casually rumpled khakis. His ever present silver cross hung around his neck, and his hair was perfectly fixed.

"Hi," he said, giving me a nervous grin. "Ready for our date?"

"I'd love to but...I have so many things to do," I said with a straight face. Lance gave me a shocked look, and I couldn't hold it any longer. "I'm just kidding," I said, breaking into laughter. "Of course, I'm ready--did you really believe me?"

Lance nodded. "Yeah," he said, a bit embarrassed. "I guess I'm just a little nervous," he said in his deep voice and let out a shaky laugh. "I don't know why I am--it's not like we're total strangers or anything," he said, echoing my early thoughts.

"I think I have something that will make you feel better," I said and before he could answer, I leaned over and met his lips in a slow, leisurely kiss. My eyes closed upon meeting his mouth, and we stood there like that for who knows how long. I didn't care and suddenly, I wasn't nervous anymore.

When we parted, Lance's eyes fluttered open and he gave me a slow, sexy grin. "That was nice," he said, his green eyes sparkling.

"Feeling better?" I questioned, as he leaned over and fingered the lapel of my shirt.

"Much. You know, you look really great tonight--no paint," he observed, clearing his throat.

"You're looking pretty sharp yourself," I remarked. We stood there for a few more seconds before I decided to shut the off the lights and stepped out into the hallway

"So are you ready to go?" Lance asked me, as I closed the door behind me.

"Definitely," I said, as we walked down the hall together, hand in hand, ready to embark out on our very first date.

Lance and I decided on your basic dinner and a movie date, but to be honest with you, I don't think either one of us cared what we did, as long as we were with each other. Lance wanted to take a limo, so we could, as he put it, travel in style', but I declined. I wanted our date to be as normal' as possible, or at least as normal of a date you could have with one of the world's biggest pop stars. I drove us to the restaurant that Lance had made reservations at, which was a nice, little elegant place that was on the opposite side of town.

"We were interviewed here before," Lance explained. "And I always wanted to come back here on a date." He took hold of my hand, and I attempted to concentrate on the road as his thumb began to stroke my palm. Somehow I managed to make it to the restaurant without crashing, and parked the car in a space next to the restaurant. The building, I should add, was absolutely beautiful--gothic style architecture, two stories high, with creeping ivy growing up the sides. Lance noticed me examining it and smiled.

"Nice, isn't it?" he asked me, as we walked into the building. I could only nod, as we walked through the door, whose glass was hand painted with elegant French symbols. Inside, the matri'd instantly recognized Lance and greeted him rather enthusiastically.

"Hello, Mr. Bass," he said, taking Lance's hand. He looked at me and then at Lance. "Isn't your girlfriend going to join you two gentlemen tonight?"

Lance stared at him blankly for a few seconds, not understanding what he meant. "Girlfriend?" he asked, the confusion clear on his face.

The matri'd looked a bit uncomfortable. "Yes," he said with a nervous laugh. "The girl on the cover of the tabloid with you." Lance slapped a hand to his forehead, not believing what he had just heard.

"She's not my girlfriend--it was just a tabloid story," Lance explained politely. "It's just going to be me and my friend here tonight." The matri'd nodded and began to apologize profusely.

"Yes, Mr. Bass--I'm sorry about the mix up, sir. Come with me, gentlemen," he said, grabbing two menus and began walking up a flight of stairs to the second story of the building. Bewildered to why we were going upstairs, I looked at Lance. He grinned at me and mouthed, `it's the V.I.P. section,' and I nodded. Once we were upstairs, the matri'd seated us, handed us our menus and apologized once more. He had seated us at a secluded little corner table with only the glow of a frosted wall lamp bouncing off of us. The walls were lined with vintage depression-era posters as well as with autographed pictures of celebrities from the 1950's and 60's. I couldn't imagine a more perfect place for our first date, I thought happily, as I took a sip of my water.

"That tabloid thing is now an official pain in the ass," Lance laughed as he opened his menu up. "When I had my massage today, that was the only thing the girl giving me the massage could talk about."

I leaned over the table we were seated at, towards Lance. "You know, I could have given you a massage," I whispered suggestively. "You didn't have to pay for one."

"Au contraire," he replied in a faux French accent, seductively raising an eyebrow. "But you need to keep your strength up for later tonight." He gently nudged my foot under the table knowingly while keeping his eyes glued to the menu. I felt my face turn red at his suggestive remark, and I was glad that the restaurant was so dimly lit.

I didn't have a reply for that, so I just opened my menu up, and looked for something to eat. Fortunately, this restaurant had edible things like chicken and steak--nothing too extravagant that I would make a fool out of myself, I thought with relief. When I looked up from my menu, I found Lance staring at me.

"You okay here?" he asked, smiling gently at me. He placed his menu down and rested his chin on his hand, continuing to gaze into my eyes as though we were the only two people in the place.

"Fine--it's really nice. I love the posters and stuff on the walls," I said, looking around once more in wonder. Lance smiled at my reaction.

"I thought you would--being a painter and all. I was trying to think of a restaurant that you'd appreciate. You know, art-wise, and this was the first place that popped into my mind," he explained shyly. I stared at him in awestruck belief, as the realization sunk in--Lance specifically found a place that I would really enjoy and not just somewhere that he wanted to go to. That simple gesture touched me like you wouldn't believe, and it took me a few minutes before I could actually speak.

"Thank you, Lance" I said quietly, looking down at my lap. "No one's ever really thought of me like that before."

"No one?" Lance asked in surprise, taking a sip of his water. His eyes widened in disbelief as I shook my head.

"No one," I repeated, looking back at the menu and avoiding his eyes. I was afraid that my emotions would spill over and that I would start crying out of nowhere. For the millionth time since I had met Lance, I wondered why I had been chosen to meet him and not someone else. Luck like this never had come my way and it made me wonder if these past few weeks had been all a dream. Looking across the table at the man I had fallen in love with, I realized that it wasn't a dream--it was reality. And that made it all the better.

After our dinner, Lance and I decided to see a movie. He gave me directions to a theater and when we pulled up in front of it, I was surprised to see that it wasn't a big, flashy multiplex. I looked at the marquee listings and then realized that there wasn't a movie playing there that wasn't over twenty years old.

"What is going on?" I asked him, clearly perplexed as I parked the car in a space. I sat there in silence for a few seconds, for an explanation until Lance finally rewarded me with a sheepish grin.

"Okay, while you were sleeping, I asked Cynthia what kind of movies you liked. She told me how fond you were of older stuff, so we looked through the listings and I found this place," he explained. "And then she told me that your favorite movie was playing, so..." he trailed off, letting his eyes drift upwards to the marquee.

I followed his gaze and read the listings. " `The Graduate!'" I exclaimed happily. "I love that movie--and Cynthia knows it! I've only made her sit through it--"

"Twenty times," Lance said with a sigh. "I know, she told me," he said, giving me a look, which was quickly replaced by a smile. "But I've never seen it. And I want to now."

"You really want to? Instead of something more modern?" I asked a little uncertainly. I didn't want to bore him by making him watch a movie he didn't want to see. But Lance shook his head firmly.

"Nope, I want to see it," Lance said firmly He leaned over and gave me a reassuring peck on my cheek, before opening his car door and got out. He looked at me, still sitting in the car, staring at him in disbelief. "Well, what are you waiting for? Are we gonna see it or are you just gonna sit there all night?" he asked. I let out a giddy laugh and got out of the car. I joined him as we walked into the theater together, side by side, never feeling happier than I did just then.

The movie was as great as I had remembered it, except that this was the first time I had seen it on something other than a television screen. That is, the parts Lance and I actually watched when we weren't attached at the mouth. I know you're probably thinking, `didn't I learn anything from Justin?' But think about this: Lance and I were in a dark, secluded movie theater that was only half-filled with older people and bored college students, who could have cared less about us sitting in the last row of the theater. Plus, I had never made out in a movie theater before, so it was kind of exciting for me...I felt as though I had a second chance to relive my teenage years by doing this. You see how easy it is to ignore that gorgeous man next to you , when his fingers are creeping up your thigh and I'll give you a million dollars.

When the movie ended and the lights came on, Lance and I looked at each other and grinned. We had waited until we were the last ones in the place, no one would see us. Our hair was mussed up, our clothes were rumpled...and I had loved every second of it. We quickly straightened ourselves up, making us look a little more presentable before leaving and headed back to the car.

"You weren't recognized once," I said once we were inside the automobile. I pulled onto the main street and looked over at him. "I'm impressed."

"I'm not that important of a member of `N Sync," he quipped sadly. "If I was Josh or Justin, I'd be mobbed, but no one cares about Lance..." he trailed off. At the mention of his bandmates' name, I felt myself cringe. Yeah, I thought, Justin was always noticed--it was just a fluke no one saw him this afternoon, except for Cynthia and I. For some reason, his problem had embedded itself into my mind. Luckily, Lance didn't notice the change in my expression and continued talking as I kept on driving.

"You are an important member of the band," I said, pulling myself out of my thoughts and back to our conversation. "At least to me, you are," I admitted sweetly.

"Aww, thanks...so you wanna come over back to my place?" Lance asked eagerly, grinning like an overexcited teenager. I couldn't help but laugh at his expression.

"Using the sympathy technique, aren't you?" I asked him, faking a weary sigh. "Well, Mr. Bass, that doesn't always work...for your information, I am not that type of guy."

He leaned over and kissed me on the cheek. "Are you sure you aren't? Maybe I should have gotten you liquored up. Then you'd be a little easier to handle," he said flirtatiously.

"I'm positive--it takes more than dinner, a movie and a kiss on the cheek to change my mind. And now you want to get me drunk? What kind of person do you think I am?" I questioned him as we reached a red light. Upon seeing this, Lance reached over and quickly grabbed my face and pressed his mouth to mine, letting his tongue slip in between my lips, passionately kissing me for the briefest of seconds. He pulled his mouth away just in time for me to see that the light had changed from red to green.

"How about now?" Lance asked as I pressed my foot to the accelerator. I didn't speak--this time a kiss said much more than any words could say. But I will say this--it was hard thinking about driving after that.

A little while later, Lance and I reached the hotel again and we managed to make it upstairs without anyone noticing. Unlike the other cities, the rabid fans that circled the hotel, weren't allowed to camp out day and night. Once we had made it onto the elevator, Lance and I kissed, not being able to hold our feelings back anymore. The power of passion and lust that ran rampant throughout me was unbelievable, I thought as I ran my hands up and down his strong back. The elevator let out a `ding' and Lance and I quickly parted as the doors opened and an elderly couple got on. They smiled at us and we both managed to smile back, despite our heavy breathing and flushed faces. Once they got off at a different level, I looked at Lance, who stood there with an innocent expression on his face. I reached over and let my thumbs stroke his cheekbones before kissing him one more time, before the elevator reached our floor and the silver doors opened.

It was completely silent, I noticed as we stepped off the elevator. I assumed that Josh and Cynthia were still out and that Joey, Chris and Justin had hit the town. Lance and I walked rapidly to our room, hand in hand. He began fumbling with the lock as I stepped away from him. He looked up in surprise at me.

"Well," I said. "Thanks for a wonderful night. I'm going to Cynth's room to sleep." I began heading down the hallway, only to be stopped by Lance,whose hands had found their way around my waist.

"Oh no you don't," Lance said softly, pulling me backwards towards him. He moved his lips to the nape of my neck and began to place light kisses on it, causing me to sigh in happiness.

"I told you, I don't do these sort of things on the first date," I managed to say, as Lance spun me around to face him. He gave me an irresistible smile as he opened the door to our room and without a word, promptly pulled me inside it. Once Lance had closed the door and locked it, he pressed me against the back of the door and placed his face close to mine.

"I hope you had a good time," he said huskily, staring deeply into my eyes. He pressed his body against mine and as he did this, I felt him poking into my thigh.

"I had a wonderful time," I managed to say, before Lance kissed me again. I barely had to pry his lips open, as he took my tongue and sucked on it briefly, before he began to explore my mouth with his tongue. His fingers began to unbutton my shirt, letting them run over my smooth skin as more and more of my flesh was exposed. I lifted my hands and ran my fingers uncontrollably through his hair.

Once he had managed to unbutton my shirt, Lance parted the fabric to expose my chest. He worked his mouth away from mine, moved it past my neck and to my nipples, where he began to suck on them gently. While he did this, Lance ran his hand over my hardening penis, caressing it softly, until I couldn't stand it any longer and a strangled moan escaped my lips. He looked up at me, his green eyes shining at me in the darkness of the moonlit room.

"Stephen," he whispered, his voice deeper than usual. "I want you." He moved up to me, and stared into my eyes, holding my gaze while leading me to the bed. I fell onto it, watching him slowly pull his shirt over his head. He threw it carelessly to the side, as he climbed onto the bed as he fell on top of me. I began kissing him slowly, letting my tongue trail down the side of his neck. My hands fell to the waistband of his pants, where I began to unbuckle his belt. While I did this, Lance ran his hands over my bare chest, moving lower to softly rub my stomach.

"That tickles," I breathed, trying not to laugh as his fingers began to creep down to the button on my pants. He quickly unbuttoned them and then pulled the zipper down, purposefully brushing over my hardness in the process. Once this was accomplished, he stood up, yanked my pants off in a rather swift motion, and threw them carelessly off to the side. Lance then got back onto the bed and hovered over me, his silver cross dangling over my chest, as he lowered his lips to mine. Our mouths met in a frenzied kiss, while I preoccupied my fingers in unbuttoning his pants (damn button fly, I thought as I did this). I managed to sit up then and succeeded in pulling his pants down halfway to his knees.

He smiled at me as I managed to roll him over onto his back and placed myself on top of him. I let my hands run down his body, slowly and gently, enjoying every second that I touched his warm flesh. Lance closed his eyes, as his lips parted to let out a moan. With that as my invitation, I lowered my mouth to one of his already hardened nipples and began to tease it with my tongue. While I did this, I let my hand work down into his boxer shorts and slowly began to stroke his hard penis with my hand.

"God, Stephen,' he managed to groan as I slid my hand up and down his swollen member. I let my fingertips run over the slit at the top of the head, feeling the precum that had already gathered at the tip, before sliding my hand down the shaft once more. I let my lips work on his other nipple for a brief second, before moving down his body. Beads of sweat began forming between us as I let one hand continue to bring Lance closer to the edge, while the other busied itself with removing his boxer shorts from his lower half of his body. Once I threw them on the floor, I lowered my mouth to him just as his hips thrusted upwards. I slid my tongue up and down his engorged shaft, tasting him while my lips applied gentle pressure. His hips began to rhythmically thrust, causing more and more of him to enter into my mouth.

"Stephen," he moaned as my tongue swept across his head, before diving back down onto his shaft. I felt his strong body tense, as his hands grabbed the comforter underneath him tightly. His body began to writhe uncontrollably with pleasure. "I'm...I'm..." were the only words he managed to say, before he came in my mouth, his whole body shaking with the intensity of his orgasm. I let my eyes drift up to his face, which I noticed had contorted with pleasure at his release and he let out a loud, earth shaking moan. Once I had swallowed everything, Lance's eyes looked down at me.

"Stephen," he panted, reaching down to run a hand through my hair. "I want you to.." his voice trailed off, as he closed his eyes. When he opened them, he looked at me and gave me a sultry smile. Alarm bells went off in my head, as I realized exactly what he wanted.

"You mean?" I said uncertainly. "But I've never done that to you..."

He nodded, and smiled again. "Please, Stephen--I want you to make love to me. I love you and I've never wanted anything more," he managed to say, his breathing growing incredibly ragged as the seconds passed.

I felt myself melt as the words left his mouth. "I love you too, Lance," I murmured as he pulled himself into a sitting position and kissed me, while pulling my boxer shorts off my hips. Lance fell back onto the bed and rolled over. He opened the drawer of the nightstand, removing a bottle of lube, which he neatly threw at me. I caught it, as Lance laid back on the bed and watched what I was about to do next with great interest. Gently I moved his legs apart, and opened the lube, spreading it on my fingers. I took a deep breath before slowly working a finger into his hole. He let out a moan as I moved the first finger inside of him, and then carefully inserted another. I searched Lance's face for any signs of discomfort, but all he did was give me a smile and nodded.

Taking this as my signal, I spread the leftover lube on myself. I lifted his legs up, holding them by then ankles before positioning the head of my penis before pressing myself into his hole. At my movement, he let out a painful groan and I almost pulled out, only stopped by Lance.

"No," he managed to cry out. "Keep going--I'll get used to it,' he said. I continued moving myself into him, as slowly and gently as I could. Soon the look of pain, was replaced by a look of rapture and satisfaction. Lance nodded again and I began to move in and out of him in slow, steady thrusts. The feeling of being inside of him was completely indescribable, as I continued to move myself back and forth. I leaned over to kiss Lance, trapping his rehardening penis between us. As I moved over him, the friction of our bodies rubbed against his member and I could feel both of our bodies tense. Before I knew it, my slow thrusts had increased and as I thrust myself one last time into Lance, I finally came, emptying my load inside of my boyfriend. At the exact same time, Lance came again for the second time that night between us.

I collapsed on top of my boyfriend, our breathing rapid and ragged by what we had just done. For a few seconds we lie there wordlessly, before he wrapped his arms around me.

"Thank you," he whispered into the silence, stroking my damp hair from my forehead.

I looked up at him ,with a sleepy smile on my face. "No, thank you," I whispered back, before kissing him. I fingered the silver cross that lay on his bare chest.

"For what?" he asked, looking a bit puzzled.

"For trusting me," I said shyly. "You didn't have to let me do that." Lance smiled at me and placed a soft kiss on my forehead, this time letting his kiss say more than any words of expression ever could. And before I knew it, I had fallen fast asleep in Lance's strong arms, feeling more content than I had ever felt in my entire life.

That's all I have to say: remember e-mail me at sweetheart_stories@hotmail.com and tell me what you think so far. Thanks for reading!