Disclaimer: This story, though maybe not in this chapter but in subsequent chapters, will have celebrities in it. I have no knowledge of their sexuality and this is not intended to imply their sexuality. This is all from my own mind.
Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, Angel and all related characters created by Joss Whedon. Copyright 20th Century Fox.
Batman, and all related characters created by Bob Kane. Copyright DC Comics and Warner Bros.
X-MEN, and all related characters created by Stan Lee. Copyright Marvel Comics and 20th Century Fox.
The Vampire Chronicles and all related characters created by Anne Rice. Copyright Anne O'Brien Rice.
Star Wars and all related concepts created by or based on the universe created by George Lucas. Copyright 20th Century Fox, LucasFilms Ltd. and Lucas Books/Ballantine Books.
I don't know for sure if I will use all the above elements, but just in case, I have myself covered.
This story has taken on a life of its own. From its inception a year ago, I had only thought it would last ten chapters maximum. As you can see, it has grown tremendously. Mostly due to readers emailing me and telling me they've enjoyed it or have received help due to certain issues addressed. I've enjoyed writing this story but it would not have been written without men and women reading it and telling me they've enjoyed it. I do hope that you continue to enjoy each new chapter as our hero lives and grows.
I have received many emails from people who have enjoyed it and some from those who do not. I would enjoy hearing from you. Any emails you send, please tell me what chapter and story you are commenting on. Thanks.
authorjames2002@yahoo.com
I also have several online messenger services, one of which is this yahoo email address. Some of you know them; however, in the recent weeks I've changed my screen name. If you want to chat with me in real time, email me and tell me the services you use and I will tell you my screen name.
Chapter 26 Invitations
I walked down the darkened street. I had no idea where I was or what was going on. All I knew to do was walk. Strange and frightful noises burst out from the shadows causing me to jump.
'What is all this?' I thought. 'Why is it so dark and where is everyone?'
"Eric," a voice whispered. It was dark and grating and pierced my heart.
"Who's there?" I asked loudly.
I looked around and kept walking. Whatever it was, I didn't want it to catch up with me. It was terrifying.
"Eric, I'm looking for you," the voice said again.
"Who are you?"
Again there was no answer. This was getting too crazy, too frightening.
"What are you?" I called out.
"Emptiness," it replied.
"Why are you here? What do you want?"
"Nothing," it said. "I have what I need."
Something jumped out at me and...
I sat up in bed breathing heavy. Lance sat up and looked upon me.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
"I had a bad dream."
"From the looks of it, it must have been horrible." Lance reached over and hugged me. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah. I'm fine."
"What was the dream about?"
"It was weird. I was walking down a street and everything was dark. And emptiness was looking for me."
"It was all a dream," Lance said pulling me close to him. "Dreams aren't real."
"I know," I said.
"Besides, your life is getting pretty full, wouldn't you say? You are getting married, the center is being built..."
"I want to go back to school."
"See, you have lots of things going on in your life to make it a full and happy life." Lance kissed. "No worries."
"No worries," I replied.
Lance got up and went to the bathroom. I stood up and pulled on my robe, and then I went to the window and looked up at the sky. It was cloudy and the rain slowly fell. It was a soft, gentle rain.
Lance came up behind me and kissed me on the back of my neck. He wrapped his arms around me and we stared out the window at the pouring rain.
"It is so relaxing, isn't it? The rain, I mean," Lance said.
I nodded. "It sure is. Makes me want to crawl back in bed and not do anything today."
Lance chuckled. "We have invitations to pick out."
"Oh, that's right. You having your arms around me made me forget anything I had to do today."
Lance kissed me again. "Want to shower?" he asked.
"No, you go ahead. I'll get one in a little bit. I have some things I need to work on."
Lance nodded and headed back into the bathroom to shower. I sat down at the computer and logged onto the internet. I looked around for the universities and colleges in Orlando to see where to register. With the center being built, it would be a good idea if I jumped back into getting the schooling I needed to actually run the place.
After about five minutes of searching on the web, I found the web page for a local university that offered a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology. I clicked on their financial aid link and read through their process of getting financial aid. As it turned out, I hadn't missed a window of opportunity to enroll for financial aid. Yes, I know, my soon-to-be husband is very wealthy, but I was determined to get through schooling through my own means.
I filled out the financial aid application and made an appointment to meet with an Academic Advisor to see what transferred from UCLA where I previously attended. Once that was all done, Lance came out of the bathroom meaning it was my turn to go in.
After my shower, I went downstairs to see a table full of food. There were some waffles, sausage links, bacon strips and bowls of fresh fruit as well as a carafe of orange juice.
"I made breakfast for a change," Lance replied.
We sat and had a nice leisurely breakfast. Once finished, we cleaned up, brushed our teeth and headed out looking for invitations.
Lance drove us to a small wedding shop and we entered looking for invitations. The clerks and salespersons were shocked to see Lance Bass entering their store and some were ready to drop what they were doing to assist him. I wasn't given a second look.
"Can we help you, Mr. Bass?" one asked.
"Uh, yeah," he said a bit uncomfortable.
I knew that celebrity could be unnerving sometimes. He wasn't comfortable with it, at least when it came time to private events he wasn't comfortable. He did well with it when he was supposed to be in the spotlight.
"We're looking for wedding invitations," he said.
"Oh, so you are getting married! Who is the lucky girl?"
"No girl," he replied sheepishly.
"Oh, so your friend is getting married. That is nice that you came to help him out. We'll give him a discount just as we would give you."
I couldn't help but laugh. They were going to give a wealthy celebrity a discount just for buying invitations, like a wealthy person would need a discount anyway, unless he or she were buying an extravagant amount of goods.
"Actually," Lance said taking my hand in his, "the wedding is our wedding."
The saleswoman was grasping at straws. "A double wedding, how nice."
"No," Lance said a bit more firmly. "He and I are marrying each other."
The woman's face turned red with embarrassment and her eyes widened in shock.
"Oh, my apologies...Well, come this way."
The lady headed back to a small alcove that was decorated with flowers. A white table sat in the middle with three chairs, two on one side one on the other.
"Have you...thought about what you...wanted your invitations to look like?"
"No," Lance replied. "We wanted to look through what you had."
"Oh, sure."
We sat down in the chairs and I placed my hand on his. What he did last winter when he gave me the award was a public display of love and support. But it was on TV. This was a more personal openness, a much greater potential for homophobic outbursts and violence. I was honored by his love for me that he was willing to say what he said.
"Here are our books. Feel free to take all the time you need," the saleswoman stated. "I have some things to take care of, but I will be back to see what you have decided."
The saleswoman looked at Lance and smiled. When she looked at me, she had a look of contempt on her face. Nothing easily recognizable, but I could tell. She thought I had somehow seduced Lance into being gay. She must have a daughter who is in love with Lance.
Once the lady departed, I leaned in and said, "Thank you."
"For what?" Lance asked.
"For being brave and open about the invitations. It may not seem like much, but in our world, it is a big step."
"I love you," he whispered. "Why should anyone hate anyone else for whom they love?"
I nodded and we opened the first book.
"I think you made her nervous," Lance whispered.
"Me? What did I do?"
"You didn't look very pleasant."
"I didn't? I'm sorry. It must have been a knee-jerk reaction to what I was feeling from her. Sorry. I'll try to be a bit more pleasant."
"What did you feel from her?"
"Resentment," I answered. "I think she has a daughter or knows a young girl in love with you. She doesn't want to break the news to the girl that you aren't on the heterosexual team."
Lance chuckled and squeezed my hand.
The invitations were beautiful. It was hard to find the right one, though. Some had champagne glasses and ribbon, some had flowers, and many had the usual pair of doves. As we looked, we came upon one that had a red rose and two wedding bands, the kind that a man wears for his wedding.
"How about that one?" Lance said excitedly.
"I love it," I said. "It's perfect!"
"Then this is it."
"How many do we order?" I asked.
There was a stack of blank paper on the table. Lance took one and we started making a list of who we wanted at the wedding. We knew this wouldn't be detailed enough since it was on the spot. But it would give us a rough idea of how many invitations to order. Besides, we could always order more if need be.
"The guys," Lance said writing down the band members' names. "My family," he said then turned and looked at me. "You should send to your family. They would want to know."
"Okay," I said reluctantly. "I will be surprised if they show up."
"We can at least give them the opportunity."
We went on making the list of guests until we had roughly a good count of people. The saleswoman came over and sat down across from us.
"Have you decided?" she asked.
"We'd like this one," I said with a smile pointing out the rose and wedding bands.
"Excellent choice," she replied. "I had the exact same one for my wedding."
I knew that it threw her for a loop since we picked the same one she had.
"Did you want to order now or wait until you have a better idea of who to send to?"
"We figured out roughly how many to get."
Lance handed her the piece of paper and she filled out the order form.
"How long will it take to get them?" I asked.
"Two weeks," she replied. "Now we need to fill out what the inside of the card will be. Groom's name?"
Lance and I looked at each other.
"You go ahead and be the groom this time," I replied with a smile on my face. "I'll be the bride."
Lance did all he could not to bust out laughing. The poor saleswoman was extremely uncomfortable and was ready to cry with what she was going through. It made the situation all the more humorous.
"James Lanston Bass," Lance replied.
The saleswoman wrote it down. "And the...?"
"Bride?" I completed for her. "Eric McCoy," I said proudly.
She wrote it down. "Date for the wedding?"
Lance looked at me. "July 31st."
"But that's my birthday!" I said.
"And I want my gift to be my commitment to you for the rest of my life."
It was all I could not to cry. He was being so sweet.
The saleswoman wrote it down and tried not to look up. It would serve her write if I kissed and hugged Lance. She needed her homophobia to be dealt with, and what better way than to see two men hug and kiss. After all she was the one helping us fill out our invitations.
I leaned over and hugged him tight. "I love you."
"I love you, too."
We released our embrace and the saleswoman was nervously writing down the order information.
"I'll leave the rest to you," she said turning the slip around and handing it to Lance. "Just fill out the address and bring it up to the counter."
"Thanks," Lance said taking the paper and filling out our address.
The saleswoman stood and walked away. Lance finished filling out what he needed to. We took the paper up to the counter and he handed it to the lady at the register. She took the yellow copy of the order form and handed it to us.
"We will call you when the invitations arrive. You can pay for it then."
"Thanks," we said and headed out.
"That was fun," he replied. "Let's go shopping and then grab lunch."
"Anywhere sounds good to me as long as I'm with you," I replied.
To Be Continued...
I've had three suggestions for Eric's best man. They are, in no particular order: Matt, Nightwing, and Justin. Please, which of these three do you think it should be? Be mindful of their relationships with ERIC, not Batman. I have inkling who I would like it to be, but I want to hear from you, my readers. Thanks for your support.