My Surprise Romance

Hi Everyone!

This is chapter 14 of my continuing story. I had to take a day off and now I'm back! I'm still writing like a mad woman. Still living for e-mail (sweetheart_stories@hotmail.com in case you're wondering!) Thanks for the huge outpouring of mail that I am still receiving. It makes me feel good to know that you guys are reading this. And of course, my heartfelt, sincere thanks to Justin, Clarke and Damon You guys are the absolute best, and whenever I see an e-mail from one of you guys, I can't help but smile.

DISCLAIMER; This story is not meant to imply the sexuality of any member of N Sync specifically Lance Bass. I do not know him (wish I did), or am him (would mean I was in love' with myself) This story involves a m/m relationship so if you feel funny about reading this, then don't. You have to be 18 or 21 depending on where you live to read this. If you're younger, I don't want to know about it. And now...

My Surprise Romance

Chapter 14

I woke up the next morning in Lance's strong arms, and just for a second I was confused. I wasn't at home, I wasn't in my bed and I had waken up with this wonderful man, who had managed to turn my whole life upside down in only a few weeks. For a second, I thought that I was dreaming, but when I felt his breath tickle the back of my neck, I realized that this wasn't a dream. This was real life.

So why I was I so scared? It was evident in his eyes that Lance cared about me. Everything said it--his touches, his kisses--everything. Still when I thought about us, as a collective whole, being together for a long time, my heart started to race and a sweat began to break out on my forehead. I just wanted to jump out of the nearest window, and get as far away from Lance as I possibly could. But then the thought of being far away from him nearly killed me. Wasn't that the reason I had left my old life behind in the first place? To be with him?

I was confusing myself, so I decided to push these conflicting thoughts to the back of my head and just lie there and enjoy the feel of being embraced by my boyfriend, instead of worrying. A few seconds later, I felt his finger running up and down my spine, and I turned over to face him.

His hair was attractively tousled, and a days worth of slight stubble began to show on his chin. I liked the way he looked--a little sexy, a little dangerous. I sighed happily.

"Morning, honey," I said softly, as he leaned over and kissed me.

"Morning," he said after our mouths parted. "You know, we actually weren't interrupted last night?" Lance said, his eyes sparkling. "I'm so happy about that, I don't even mind your morning breath."

I pretended to take offense at that. "Morning breath?" I exclaimed. "Well, your mouth doesn't exactly taste like peppermint either," I teased him, as I traced a path down his pale cheekbone.

"I didn't see you not kissing me," he laughed, as he snuggled closer to me. I kissed him again, letting my hand roam down his stomach. "Stephen" he warned, closing his eyes in pleasure. "You know what that does to me..."

"Why do you think I'm doing it?" I asked provocatively, as my hand brushed against a very sensitive part of him. Just as I was about to get started, someone knocked on the door.

"Damn it," Lance swore out loud, his eyes flying open. "I spoke too soon, didn't I?"

"Counted your chickens before they hatched," I commented, as I smiled sympathetically at him. I sat up in bed, careful to leave Lance covered as I reached down and found my boxer shorts. As I stood up and pulled them on, I turned around to find Lance staring up at me, smiling.

"Pervert," I said, raising an eyebrow. Lance returned my expression and grinned.

"And you love it."

"Did I say I didn't?" I shot back, as I walked to the door and swung it open. There stood my cousin, a bored look on her face, which changed once she saw me.

"Hi, Stevie," she said, almost in a squeal. But something about her enthusiasm struck me as fake. She then noticed my state of undress, and placed her fingertips to her lips. "Oops, did I interrupt something?" she asked me, peeking around the doorway. She saw Lance sunk down in bed, with the covers near his chin. "Hi, Lance," she said, trying to stiff her laughter. He gave her a brief wave and then rolled onto his side, away from us.

"Kinda," I said, trying to hide the annoyance in my voice, but smiled at her despite myself. "So, what do you want?"

"Well, Josh sent me to come and get you two. We're having breakfast, and then we're leaving at around nine, so we get to the next city by two," Cynthia relayed, leaning against the door frame. "So you two better get your asses ready and going." She smirked. "But I'm sure that you two don't have any trouble with that."

"Cynthia!" Lance yelled from his position on the bed. She just giggled, and sped down the hallway, knowing full well that we'd get her later. I closed the door, locked it and then fell back on the bed. Lance rolled back over towards me and gave me a look.

"She's incredible," he muttered, throwing the pillow over his head. "She really is."

"Hey, you're supposed to be saying that about me," I complained. "Or are you seeing my cousin on the side?"

"A girl?" Lance said, in mock horror. "Come on, Stephen. I thought you knew me better than that. Besides, didn't I tell you how incredible you were last night?" he said, falling backwards onto my lap, looking upwards with puppy dog eyes.

"Get off of me," I said, pushing him away, barely containing my laughter. Lance was about to open his mouth and let loose another dirty comment, when I stopped him. "No more," I said, holding my hand up. "Or well never meet the rest of the guys on time." I stood up and threw Lance's boxers at him. "Now, I'm going to take a shower, and no, you can not join me." I said sternly, walking into the bathroom. After a few seconds passed, I poked my head out of the door and looked back at Lance.

"Maybe tonight?" I said hopefully, giving him a lopsided grin.

Lance laughed at my eagerness. "Maybe tonight," he replied.

We met the other guys for breakfast about a half-hour later. I had dressed casually, in an old t-shirt that had paint all over it. Most of my clothes did. In fact, I only owned a few articles of clothing that were paint free. Lance looked casual and handsome at the same time, dressed in a yellow hooded sweatshirt and a pair of black track pants. We nonchalantly walked into the room where the rest of the guys and my cousin were already eating.

Joey was the first one to look up as we entered the room. "Hey guys, grab a chair," he called out around the food he had in his mouth.

"Yeah, grab some food before Joey eats it all," Justin smirked, reaching over to pour himself some more orange juice. Joey looked at him, clearly offended.

"Curly, how many times do we have to go over this. I do not eat a lot. I am genetically big-boned, not fat," he argued, his voice taking on an Eric Cartman tone.

"Oh shut up, already," Josh remarked, looking up from his plate of food. I looked at him, and was surprised to see that he wasn't kidding. His face was dead serious, and before anyone could say anything, he returned to eating his food. Everyone stared at him, with the exception of Cynthia who had kept her eyes glued to her plate of scrambled eggs and bacon. Lance and I looked at each other. I could practically read his mind, as we began to pick out some food for ourselves.

"Ack, French toast again," Lance muttered under his breath. "I'm so sick of this already, I swear to God, I never want to see another piece of it again." As he said this, he looked at me, then at Cynthia, then Josh and then me again. I shrugged, knowing that something had happened between them since we had saw them last night.

That was a conversation that had to wait until later, as we began to eat. The food was really good, and as the rest of the guys conversed with one another, I felt it was best to keep quiet. Although I liked the guys (especially one), I still didn't feel that instant rappaport and comfort level that they felt with each other. They could zing one another until their heart's content. I, on the other hand, would feel like a big goof if I even tried to blurt out a funny remark. I've always been that way, and I wasn't about to change because I was in a new setting. Plus, I was just happy to see that Lance had become one of the guys again, as he joked around with the rest of his bandmates.

"Hey, Stephen. Are you okay?" Chris asked, noticing how quiet I was. I smiled at him, and thought how strange it was that he was the one that truly scared the shit out of me at first.

"Fine, just eating," I said, shoveling a forkful of eggs into my mouth so I wouldn't have to say anything more. Chris just smiled back at me and went back to joking around with the other guys. As the talk around me began to interweave into one conversation, I turned to my cousin, who was pushing her food around on her plate.

"Okay, Cynth?" I asked her gently. She looked up at me, her eyes melancholy.

"Fine," she said, flatly, suddenly standing up. "I gotta go to the bathroom. Excuse me," she said, and walked out of the room. She bumped into a well-dressed man on the way in, and before I could think about her problems any further, the man who had bumped into my cousin, walked up to we were sitting.

"Hi guys, ready for the next city?" he asked, taking Cynthia's seat. The guys nodded in unison, as the man rested a stern gaze on Lance.

"Glad to see you're back," he said, sarcastically. Lance looked at him, holding his gaze.

"I had to leave," he said unapologetically, not blinking once. "It was an important matter to me and I felt it was too meaningful to ignore."

The man sighed, shaking his head when his gaze finally landed on me. "Who are you?"

"Stephen Peterson," I replied, determined not to intimidated by him. "And you are?"

I'll admit. It wasn't a good opening line and I must have made a horrible first impression. But I really didn't like the way he had treated Lance a few seconds ago (but then, maybe I would too if a member of the band kept disappearing and running off). "I'm Marshall, the guys road manager." He looked at me a bit closer. "Weren't you some sort of contest winner a few towns back?"

He has a good memory, I thought, impressed. Before I could answer, Joey opened his mouth. "Hey, Marsh--remember when you said that we needed some sort of road assistants. You know, to get us stuff when we take stops, so that we wouldn't have to? Well, we found one."

"Actually two," Josh spoke up from his side of the table. "Stephen and Cynthia..." I thought I heard his voice waver when he said my cousin's name, but maybe it was my imagination. "Peterson," he finished up, taking a sip of water. "First cousins, right?" Josh asked me. I nodded.

"Yes, I met the guys a few cities back and Lance and I remained in touch," I said vaguely. Across from me, both Justin and Chris began to snicker, and I almost faltered, before Lance jumped in.

"I know your mad at me, Marsh--for leaving and all, but Stephen's a great guy," Lance told his manger. "Plus, he lost his job and he needs to work." I closed my eyes briefly. While I thought it was sweet of Lance to stick up for me like that , I wished he hadn't said that. The rest of the guys looked at me in surprise, not knowing that I had lost my job.

Marshall gave me the once over and I again wished that I hadn't messed up all of my clothes with oil paints. I must have looked like a bum off the street to his curious eyes.

"How do I know you're not a reporter for some tabloid?" Marshall asked inquisitively. "Or your cousin for that matter?"

I laughed. "Believe me, sir, I'm no writer. I couldn't write to save my life. In fact, I'm an artist," I told him. "I just finished my third year of college and I'm planning to finish my senior year starting in September." Marshall looked around the room at the rest of the guys, who were eagerly waiting for his answer.

"Well...the guys seem to like you," Marshall said, rubbing his chin. "I guess I could give you and your cousin, um, Cynthia, a trial run to see how you're doing. It's very rare we actually give out jobs like this, you do know that." I nodded, as I was unsure to how the whole star/tour thing actually worked. I leaned over and stuck out my hand. Marshall looked at my sincere gesture in surprise, and shook my hand. Then he stood up, his earlier prissier attitude now replaced by a smile.

"Bus leaves at nine-thirty. Meet you guys at the back," he said, leaving the room.

"Alright," Joey said, with a grin, finishing off the rest of his food. "Welcome aboard to our crazy life," he welcomed.

"Thanks," I said. "I don't know if I'll be able to handle the adoring fans, the autographs, and the newspapers." I pretended to shake my head with the idea of all the attention, when Justin leaned over the table.

"Hey, keep your boyfriend in line," he said to Lance, with a smile on his face. "Don't want him stealing the attention from me."

Everyone at the table groaned at his pompous remark, causing Chris to smack Justin in the back of his head. While everyone began to talk, Lance and I sneaked a glance at each other, grins plastered on our faces, clearly thrilled that everything seemed to be working out.

My whole life had become a series of firsts. First person I fell in love with. First job I was fired from. And now first tour bus. It was like a home on wheels, complete with bunk beds, a small kitchen, and a big room with a television, VCR, huge stereo system and a video game system equipped with enough games to keep thirty day care centers occupied.

Marshall led Cynthia and I on the bus. "These are your bunks," he said. "You two will be the ones to run into the stores to get the guys snacks or stuff like that. You are not to talk to any reporters or media people if they notice you getting off the bus. The guys don't get off the bus to sign autographs. We're on a tight schedule now, so the stops we make are going to be quick, fast...no dallying around." He smiled to soften the military-like tone of his voice was giving off. "The next three days are nothing but concerts, then the guys get one day off to rest. Okay?"

"Okay," Cynthia and I answered in unison, nodding our heads. Marshall smiled.

"Good, I'll be up front with the driver if you have any questions, okay?" We nodded again and Marshall left us in the back. Cynthia sat down on her bunk and sighed as though the world was ending.

"Everything okay, Cynth?" I asked, sitting down next to her. She nodded, staring straight ahead and avoiding my gaze completely. I remained silent, and then I thought, `what the hell, why not?'

"Lance and I saw you and Josh dancing in the back of the hotel last night," I said quietly. Her head snapped in my direction, a scowl on her pretty face.

"Were you spying on me?" Cynthia asked sharply, her eyes piercing mine.

"No, we were just on the balcony and we saw you dancing with Josh, that's all," I said quickly, as not to piss her off. "Anything happen between you two?"

"No," she said snippily. "Nothing happened, Stevie. Just mind your own business," Cynthia barked. "I never question what you and Lance do, although every time I see you two together you're going at it like rabbits."

"Oh shut up Cynthia--usually I'm the crabby bitch," I said, trying to make her laugh. I really didn't want to fight with her on our first day of touring with the guys. She cracked a slight smile, and placed her arm on my shoulder.

"Look, I'm sorry I snapped," she said apologetically. "It's just...well, it does have something to do with Josh, but I'm not ready to talk about it yet. When I am, you'll be the first to know, okay?" Cynthia asked, giving me a quick hug as a gesture of apology.

"Fine--no pressure," I said, happy to see my cousin a little more cheerful than before.

"So," she began, pulling her legs under her, Indian-style. "How's Lance doing?"

"Lance is doing fine," a deep male voice suddenly said. Cynthia and I looked up and saw my boyfriend standing in the doorway, smiling at both of us.

"Thanks for answering," she deadpanned, almost returning to her normal self. "You two gonna start something in here? Am I gonna have to get a hose?" she teased us, as Lance sat on the bunk across from us.

"No, Cynthia--but thanks for worrying so much," Lance said, rolling his eyes. "It's good to know you care."

"Anytime," she said. Then she grinned and rubbed her hands together. "But you know, in case you're interested, I do like to watch..."

"Oh, ew, gross!" I shrieked, bopping her over the head with a pillow. "Cynth--I take back what I said before--you weren't raised by truck drivers, you were raised by Neanderthals. God..." I trailed off, shaking my head at her tacky behavior.

Lance looked at me, a fiendish grin spreading on his boyishly handsome face. "Stephen, I do believe we still have to get Cynthia for her little remarks this morning. What are her weaknesses?"

I thought for a moment. "Tickle her," I said quickly, grabbing my cousin by the shoulders. I pinned her to the bed, while Lance lunged over and began to tickle her around her middle. She began to scream with laughter. It almost sounded like we were murdering her to death.

"Jesus! Stephen! Lance! Stop it!" she managed to squeal between giggles. "Oh God! Stop it! Stop it! I'm gonna pee all over the place if you don't!" We were absolutely merciless on her, as we kept tickling my cousin.

"Say you're sorry," I said, stopping for a brief second.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Cynthia managed to say. I looked at Lance who was crying so hard from laughing. It was contagious, and I soon found myself also laughing like a manic.

"I think she's learned her lesson," I said, letting her go. She sat up and gave us both an evil stare, rubbing the sides of her stomach.

"Oh, you think you're funny? Don't you?" she said, looking at both of us as we avoided her gaze. "That's my life--finally groped by two men at once and one of them is related to me and the other one isn't interested," she said melodramatically, throwing one hand to her forehead. Suddenly, she broke into a grin despite herself. "You big idiot," she said, belting me in the stomach. "You promised that you would never tickle me again." I doubled over at the power of her hit.

"Promises are made to be broken, my dear cousin," I managed to say, despite the pain I was now in. She stood up, giving us one of her trademark evil smirks.

"I will definitely get revenge--this is war," she threatened, sweeping out of the room, leaving Lance and I alone.

"So we meet again," I said, pretending to be annoyed, "Don't you have anything better to do than bother me?" He fell onto the bed next to me, placing his arms around me and kissed me on the cheek.

"Nah, I like bothering you," Lance sighed into my ear. "So, did you find out what happened between Cynthia and Josh?"

I shook my head. "Nah--but that was the reason why both of them were so touchy at breakfast. She promised me that she would tell me as soon as she felt better," I relayed, dropping my head on Lance's shoulder. We were quiet for a moment, until he spoke up.

"So, do you like it here so far? You know, on tour?" Lance asked me gently, lifting my chin so that I looked into his eyes.

"Love it," I admitted. "Beats scraping half-eaten food off the plates, I tell you. Not to mention that I get to hang around with the cutest member of `N Sync," I said, kissing him. "Are the guys okay with me around?" I asked, when his lips left mine. I waited for his answer with trepidation, but to my relief, Lance smiled and nodded.

"We were talking about you when Marsh was showing you and Cynth around in here, and we thought it was great to finally have some new faces around here," he told me, letting his fingers gently brush over mine. "They think you're shy though, cause you weren't being a loudmouth like the rest of us at breakfast." Lance kissed me again. "But I know better," he said, grinning.

I smiled back, but I was still worried."They don't mind Cynthia?" I persisted. Suddenly, we heard a peal of loud, female laughter that was unmistakably my cousin's. "Well, I guess that answered my question." I said, resting my head on Lance's shoulder once again, as his hand reached up and slowly stroked my back. We listened to the inner silence of the bunks that descended upon our ears, while the sound of the tires on the road and the animate conversation that the guys and my cousin were involved in were merely background noise.

I was content to stay that way all afternoon and even into the night. Damn the concert, I thought as I enjoyed Lance's hand moving up and down my back. The thought made me smile, and Lance noticed it.

"What're you so happy about?" he asked curiously, as I reached up and ran my hands through his blonde hair. We fell back onto the bed, and I rested my head on his chest. Almost immediately, the feelings of nervousness that I felt about our relationship welled up inside me and I stomped them back down, determined not to ruin the moment between us.

"Just thinking," I said, contented by the feel of his arms around me. "About how lucky I was meeting you," I said before kissing him again.

The rest of the afternoon went smoothly. Lance and I lied in my bunk for a little while longer, occasionally making out for periods of time, until we had pulled into a rest stop at the state line.

"Stevie!" I heard my cousin's voice ring out like a shotgun. "We got work to do!!!"

I groaned out loud, and looked at Lance, whose arms I was still wrapped in. I lifted my mouth from his. "Sorry," I apologized breathlessly. "Work to do."

"Yeah, I know," he said, clearly disappointed our time together had ended. He looked as though the wind had been knocked out of him, and to tell the truth I didn't look any better. My lips were a little swollen, clothes badly rumpled and my face was red from being rubbed by his slight stubble. "I don't want everyone to think your getting paid just to sleep with me," he bantered. I just shook my head, letting out a chuckle and walked out into the main sitting room of the bus. Justin and Joey were involved in a frantic video game battle, while Chris was sitting on a couch watching them.

"Hey cuz," Cynthia said, slapping me on the arm. "Didn't want to bother you, but duty calls. Okay guys, what do you want us to get?" She grabbed a notepad, and began to take orders.

"I feel like a waitress," she laughed as each guy gave her their request, which was mostly junk food. She looked at me, holding the notepad out.

"You wanna get Lance and Josh's orders?" she asked quietly. I looked at her with a funny expression on my face, but didn't say a word. I headed back to my bunk where Lance was still laying flat on his back, looking at the bottom of the bunk that was over him.

"Hey," I said. "Cynth and I are going to get some stuff to eat. Can I get you anything?"

Lance rolled over on his stomach, propping himself on his elbows. "Get me a cup of coffee...something with caffeine," he said, smiling at me. "And potato chips."

I marked it on my pad. "Anything else, Mr. Bass? A magazine perhaps? Newspaper? Anything?" I asked, mimicking a waitresses stance, jutting my left hip out and rested my hand on the other. I tapped my pencil on the notepad in fake annoyance. In return, Lance smacked me on my ass, making me jump in surprise.

"Hey! What was that for?" I cried out.

"I'm not paying you to talk, I'm paying you to work, honey,"he teased me. "Come on, I'm starving. Move it, move it." I just rolled my eyes at him and laughed..

"Slap me again and you get more than just your food," I said, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Another promise?" Lance said eagerly. I didn't answer him, instead I leaned over and kissed him briefly before I headed back out. I could feel his eyes watching my ass as I left the room. Tuning around, my suspicions were confirmed by the goofy, lovelorn look on his face. Letting out a laugh, I walked over to the section where Josh's bunk was. I found him flat on his back, with his hands behind his head, his blue eyes focused on nothing.

"Josh--Cynth and I are getting some stuff to eat. You want anything?" I asked him. He looked up at me and shook his head.

"Not hungry," he said, giving me a sad smile. "Hey, Stephen? Can I ask you something?"

"Sure," I said, already knowing that his question dealt with my cousin..

"Cynthia..." he trailed off awkwardly, sitting up. "Why won't she go out with me?" he suddenly blurted out. "We were together all last night and I was gonna kiss her, but then she pulled away from me as though I had the plague." He shrugged. "I didn't do anything else, I swear."

I sighed. Great, now I was an advice columnist for Cynthia and Josh when I had enough doubts and worries about my own relationship. "Look, Josh--I don't know what's wrong with Cynth. I know she just got out of a bad relationship awhile ago, but I didn't think it was that serious."

"Oh," he said shortly, lying back down. "Well, thanks..."

I stood there for a few seconds, not sure what to do. I hated to see the guy all distressed over my cousin. I was going to kill Cynthia for putting me into this predicament. "Josh," I said and he looked up at me.

"Yeah?"

"I'll talk to her later, okay? Sometimes, I don't know what's going on in that crazy head of hers." My response was perfect--Josh grinned from ear to ear, like he had just won the lottery.

"Thanks a million, Stephen--you know I'm really glad to have you along on the tour," he said. "You know, I can't believe that I almost knocked you out." He shook his head. "What was I thinking?"

I laughed at his question. "Just protecting a friend--to tell you the truth, I think that's great. Lance is very lucky to have person like you in his life."

"That's funny--I feel the same way about you," Josh said. Then he paused, and I could tell that he was thinking about Lance and I. When he finally spoke again, he said, "Stephen, I don't think you know how happy Scoop is now with you around. It's like he's a different person." He paused again. "Thank you."

I felt tears well up in my eyes at Josh's kind words. It was in the way he had spoken the words that really touched me. I just nodded at him, before leaving his bunk area--I was afraid I was going to cry.

The rest of the day could be summed up in one word: hectic. When we arrived at the next city, we all checked into the hotel and then the guys were immediately rushed off to rehearsals for that evenings concert. This left Cynthia and me with nothing to do, except to bitch and moan at each other for awhile.

We were allowed to watch the guys rehearse on the empty stage with their choreographer, and while the guys were good as an entire group, I have to admit that my eyes were exclusively on Lance. It was just like the first time when I had saw him perform on stage, My mind reeled to that first night that I had met him. Who knew that my surprise romance would have came out of that meeting--it was as though fate intervened and I was supposed to meet Lance. I was supposed to chaperone my sister and her friends and I was supposed to sit next to Lance when we first met. A weird chill ran down my spine, as these thoughts sunk into my brain.

Why was I so nervous everytime I thought about Lance and I together as a couple? I sat in the auditorium seats with my feet propped up on the seat in front of me. Cynthia was busily scribbling in her notebook, a frantic look on her face. I decided not to interrupt her train of thought with my problems and kept my own thoughts caged up in my head.

Part of me thought that Lance and I had moved too fast. Way too fast for people who knew each other for so briefly. Part of me concluded that I had had sex with him, just so that I wouldn't lose him. But, another voice said, you wanted him that night (and last night) as much as he did. Another thought crossed my mind: were we just convenient for each other? I was lonely for another person, that was accountable. Lance hadn't been too sure if he was gay, and had only decided he was after he met me. Why, I thought, my head beginning to hurt, would he have picked me over other guys? What made me special?

That question was never answered. The choreographer clapped his hands and called out "Break for five minutes!" The guys looked grateful and relieved at the brief rest that was bestowed upon them, and almost immediately I saw Lance peering out into the darkened, empty auditorium seats.

"Stephen?" he called out, his deep voice bouncing off the bare walls. "Stephen, where are you?!"

I stood up in my seat, nearly losing my balance as I realized that the seats were foldable. Cynthia looked over at me, smirking.

"Nice move, there kiddo," she said. I gave her a dirty look, as I waved my arms over my head. Once he spotted me he jumped off the stage, and walked rapidly to meet me. I sat back down in my seat and looked at him. Lance was almost completely out of breath, red faced, his shirt damp with sweat from all the dancing he had done.

"Hey," he said, falling into the empty seat next to me. "How're you doing so far?"

"How am I doing? You're the one doing all the work up there," I said. I leaned my head over to his, trying not to make us look too suspicious. "You look great up there," I said, lowering my voice.

He grinned at me. "Awww, trust my boyfriend to say such a nice thing like that when I'm ready to die of exhaustion," he whispered. "I'm touched."

I grinned at him. "That's what I'm all about: compliments."

"And that's what I love about you," he said, his green eyes darkening. He gently touched my calf, so that none of the road crew would see. I smiled at him, fully getting the message, as I returned the touch back. Lance and I stared into each other's eyes for what seemed like forever, before the choreographer rudely interrupted us by calling out, "Guys--back to work!"

Lance sighed, whimpering, "I'm so sick of this," he said getting up. "Hey, wanna have lunch after this?"

"Sure," I said, smiling at him. He looked at my cousin and then mouthed, `Should I ask her too?' I shrugged. I really didn't care one way or another.

"Cynth--" Lance called out.

She looked up from her scribbling with an annoyed look on her face. "Yeah?"

"Wanna lunch with me and Stephen after rehearsal?" Lance asked her, wiping the sweat from his brow. She shook her head no and then went back to her writings. Lance and I looked at each other with bewildered looks on our faces, and then he ran back up to the stage, ready to do some more dancing.

"Cynth," I said, once the music started back up and the guys were moving to it. "What's going on? One second you're cranky, the next second you're sweet. I know that you said you'll talk when you're ready, but I think you need to talk now."

Cynthia sighed, and closed her notebook. "You wanna know what's going on? I'll tell you." She let out another sigh and then continued. "Josh and I met at the bar in the hotel last night and then we danced on the patio," she recalled. "And then he was about to kiss me good night and I realized something--I'm just a fling to him. I'm convenient for Josh because I'm on tour with him."

Her truthful words didn't help me much. I felt those old feelings of doubt coming back into my mind, as Cynthia went on, barely taking a breath. "Stevie, that's why Michael and I broke up. Long distance relationships never work out." As she realized her words mirrored my own situation, she slapped a hand over her mouth.

"Oh God, I'm not talking about you and Lance," she said. "I'm not! It's just me--I have different views, you know that Stevie." She noticed the glum expression on my face, and gently patted my arm. "You guys were made for each other," she said reassuringly. "You were meant to be together--I can tell. But me and Josh? No way, Jose." I sat there for a few more seconds, my poor brain trying to absorb all of this information, before I felt compelled to ask her something else.

"But do you like him?" I asked her. Cynthia remained quiet for a few seconds and then nodded.

"Yeah--I do. He's handsome and funny and really everything I've been looking for, but I don't need to get hurt again. I can't," Cynthia said, sounding unsure of herself. "It's better this way if I reject him first, right?" She stared at me, hoping I would give her the answer she desperately wanted to hear. But I couldn't.

"You gotta follow your heart," I said. "Isn't that what you told me?" Another silent moment passed between us. A slow smile began to spread across her face, and I could tell it was a real smile. Not a fake one. A real one. Then she impulsively leaned over and hugged me tightly.

"Thank you," she said after we parted. "Thank you so much, Stevie." We turned back to watch the guys on stage. As I watched Lance, I realized that I truly wouldn't be happy until the feelings that had been bothering me inside were rested. And with that I knew I couldn't be hypocritical. I had to take my own advice and have a long talk with him to get my feelings sorted out for once and for all.

That's it for now. I know this chapter wasn't as exciting as the previous ones but don't worry, it'll be getting good again soon. Don't hesitate to write me with comments or complaints: the address is sweetheart_stories@hotmail.com. (I love e-mail!) Thanks for reading! Gabriella.