Well, well, well. It's been a while since I last updated, and I'm very sorry for that. You see, things in my life have recently become very hectic and my free- time schedule has been reduced a lot. Just FYI, I'm not completely out and have a boyfriend of just over four months. His name is Jorge and I love him completely. If you wanna see some pictures of us, or just him, feel free to check out his website at http://www.spicboy.homestead.com I hope y'all haven't missed me TOO much, LOL.
I have a couple of thank you's:
First and foremost, MH... thank you ONCE again for turning my mediocre work into a masterpiece. I don't know how you do it, but you work miracles.
Paul and Shann... I don't know what to say. Both of y'all have been there for me from the get go. Now look, that little bud you once saw has now blossomed into a beautiful flower. I'm out, I'm about, I'm a fag, and I'm proud! And I owe it all to you two. LOL.
I've had major problems with the formatting this time, and I'm somewhat lazy today so I'm not going to be adding the last paragraph or so of the last chapter. Y'all know where to find it anyhow.
Oh, and this is not real. I just made it up from my own head. Some of y'all can do that, too, if you tried.
Feedback is always welcome. Bigdaddycool_0813@hotmail.com
This Gift 16
A week had passed of me sleeping on the couch, and my bedroom still wasn't complete. In fact, the foundation was laid and that was all that could be completed before the city council informed Drew that he needed to get permission to have an extension built on to the house. Who would've known that 98 Degrees couldn't get zoning for an extension to their house?
So I was still sleeping on the couch despite all of Drew's protests. I assured him over and over again that I was fine on the couch. In truth, I couldn't sleep beside him without being with him -- it was too difficult emotionally.
Things with Justin were going great. He had headed back to Orlando to do some promotional work and *Nsync had some studio time booked so they needed to take advantage of that, but I called him nearly every night and if I couldn't, he'd email to update me. It was adorable how he always made sure I knew what was going on in his day-to-day life. It always brought a smile to my face when I either caught an audio clip in my voice mail, or found an email in my inbox.
So it was Saturday and I was just lounging around the house. God only knew what the Degrees were up to because they left before I had woken up and no one left me a note as to their whereabouts. My guess was they were off to some meeting or some other work-related function.
Speaking of work, I figured if I was going to be staying around, I had better find myself a job. I still had money left over from my severance package - not much, but enough - and I could always ask Mama for money if I needed it, but I just wanted a sense of independence. Mooching off of four celebrities, or your own mother, is no way to gain any independence.
Walking down to the corner, I bought a newspaper out of one of the vending boxes on street corners and headed back home to rifle through the classifieds. Taking a seat at the kitchen table, I spread the newspaper out in front of me, flipping directly to the employment section. I searched through the newspaper with my pen, crossing out the unwanted ads, and circling the prospective ones.
Just as I was about to get up for a glass of water or something to quench my thirst, the doorbell rang. Curious as to whom it would be since we rarely had people ringing on our door, I pulled open the door to a delivery man and a package. "Drew Paquette?" He asked glancing down at his clipboard.
"That's me," I supplied reaching for the box he was holding. It was a plain white box with the mailing address fixed in the centre. No labels, no indicators, nothing to tell me what was inside. "Do you know who this is from?" I asked, noting there also wasn't a return address.
"Yes I do, but I'm not supposed to say. It's a secret." He held the clipboard towards me. "Please sign at the 'x'."
I signed and then headed back to the kitchen afraid to actually open the box. I made sure I didn't move it too much so that I wouldn't upset the contents. I didn't have a clue what was inside, and wasn't all that sure that I wanted to find out.
Reaching for the phone, I called up Drew. His cell phone rang a couple of times before he picked it up with a "Hello?"
"Hey Drew. I got this package delivered here today... it's a plain white box with no name or anything... should I open it?" I asked.
"It's addressed to you?" he questioned. "Who knows you're here?"
"Well, my mama... I think that's it."
"Well, I don't see any harm, just open it up. Do you hear ticking coming from the box or something?"
Placing my ear next to the box, I confirmed that there wasn't any ticking. "No."
"I'd say it's safe to open it. It's probably nothing. We don't get much hate mail."
"Oh, not much." I replied sarcastically.
"Just relax; open the box. We'll be home soon enough anyways if anything goes wrong. I kinda have to get back to what we're doing here. I'll talk to you soon." With that he hung up, leaving me left to ponder about whether I should open it or not.
I sat in front of the box for a good five minutes going over the consequences opening could bring should it turn out to be more than just a friendly gesture. Sure Drew said the guys would be home soon, but if it was a bomb I could fucking well be dead. Inhaling a breath, I slowly pulled the tape back from the box. We all gotta die sometime, right?
Pulling the tape all the way off, I slowly opened the box to reveal a dozen red roses. A smile instantly came to my face, both for realising how paranoid I was about the box, and for how sweet a gesture this was. Noticing a card, I pulled it out and opened the envelope. My name was elegantly written on the outside of the envelope in a very feminine script. Pulling out the letter, I opened it up:
"Dear Drew, I really hope these made you smile. I just wanted you to know that someone, somewhere is thinking of you."
That was it. No name, no number. Nothing. I had absolutely no clue whom these were from, although I had a feeling they might've been from Justin. I decided that I'd give him a call and thank him for his really nice bouquet of roses.
"Yo, this is J."
"Hey baby," I knew already he knew who it was -- damn caller ID.
"Sup D, how ya doing?"
"Not bad, much better now, actually." I confessed.
"Really? And why is that?"
"Well, I just got a bouquet of roses in the mail. That's enough to make anyone smile, ain't it?"
"Boy, who's sending you roses?" From the tone of his voice, Justin had no idea about the flowers either. Guess I really didn't know who they were coming from.
"Um... uh... I thought it was you. Oh... well, I really don't know." I admitted.
"You sure they weren't for Drew Lachey?"
"Positive."
"So you trying to tell me that I gotta send you flowers now?" It was obvious he was jealous of whoever sent them.
"No baby, just hearing your voice is enough. Well, I'll let you get back to what you were working on. God knows y'all don't get enough studio time as it is."
"Sweet. I'll holler at you later. I miss you." The adorableness of his voice allowed me to realise just how much I missed him.
"I miss you, too, baby."
I thumbed the talk button, ending the call as I slid further into my seat to ponder who would've sent them. Within seconds, the guys were home, Drew coming into the kitchen. "So, where's the bomb?"
"There ain't no bomb."
"What do you mean there ain't no bomb. You sure sounded like there was something explosive in here." He glanced into the box, taking in the roses. "Oh... who sent you those?" I could tell he was jealous, already.
"To tell you the truth, I don't know." I confessed.
"Was it Justin?" Jeff asked, looking in the fridge.
"Nope."
"Why would Justin be sending him flowers?" Drew queried.
"I don't know. They're friends." Jeff shrugged, trying to drop the topic.
"Either way, Justin didn't send them to me, none of you know anything about them, right? I have no idea who they're from."
Just then Justin Jeffre popped in. "Don't matter if you don't know who they're from... you still gotta display them." He searched through a cupboard until he found a vase. "Here, put 'em in this."
Thinking it was a good idea, I slid the roses into the vase and added some water, proudly displaying them in the centre of the table. I sat back admiring them as Nick walked into the kitchen. "Nice roses, who's are they?"
"D's," Drew, Jeff, and Justin replied in unison.
"Oh..." Nick trailed off. Nick still had some problem with me, even though I had no idea what it was. I was hoping he'd get over it soon because it was really starting to annoy me.
The conversation in the room just died out with Nick's question and the tension was high. I don't understand why there always seemed to be high tension levels around me, but lately that's all there'd been. A few days ago Nick decided to pull out his share of the money that was going to be used to build me a room. I said that it was fine, that I didn't expect him to pay for me, I'd cover the cost. Ever since then, however, the tension in the house had multiplied.
"Well this is really uncomfortable." Justin Jeffre finally made notice of the obvious. "What the hell is going on around here?"
"Well... let's see. D's sleeping on the couch because Drew and him aren't together anymore. We can't get zoning so his room won't be finished any time soon. Nick's not talking to D, and D just got a dozen red roses from some stranger and that's about it." Jeff explained as he sat down at the table, peeling the orange he had grabbed from the fridge.
"Oh." Was all Justin could say. "Guess that explains everything, huh?"
"Pretty much." Jeff supplied as if Nick, Drew and I were not in the room.
"Glad we live normal lives?" Justin asked Jeff, stealing a slice of his orange.
"And how!" Those two decided to leave the room, ending what little conversation was actually going on in the kitchen.
I sat there silently looking over my circles in the employment section as Drew quietly asked, "You really don't know who they're from?"
"Hmm?" I hadn't exactly heard him correctly.
"The roses, you really don't know where they came from?" He repeated for my sake.
"Actually, no idea at all." I replied as I circled another ad in the paper. "Wish I did, though. I wanna know who to thank."
"Whatcha doing?" He asked motioning towards the newspaper.
"Lookin' for a job."
"You know you don't have to." We had been through this many times before. He didn't see a problem with me living off of him.
"Drew, you know that I don't want to be living off you - especially now that we're not a couple - just like I wouldn't really like sleeping in the same bed as you. The couch is fine, and finding a job is fine. I just don't want to be an inconvenience to you."
"Andrew, you're never an inconvenience." He said as he placed a hand on top of my left.
"Really? Cause you could've fooled me Mr. Can't-Do-This-Anymore." I knew it was harsh but it was true and instead of sitting there feeling guilty about what I had said, I got up and left. There was no way I was going to apologize for saying what I felt.
As I passed Jeff's room, I could hear him and Justin talking so I decided to pop in and talk with them for a bit. Just as I was about to open the door though, I caught a piece of their conversation. "We gotta get 'em back together. You saw the way Drew was all down today. It's like he lost something." Justin explained.
"Justin, whether we want to or not, Drew's the only one who can fix things. Imagine being in D's position. You have sex one night for the very first time with the guy you love, and the next night your lover tells you he can't be with you anymore because you're a man and it's wrong. Drew hurt D. If I were D, I'd think twice before taking Drew back."
"Good point... I just wish Drew would open his eyes, this just ain't right."
"I know this, and you know this... and even though Nick is being a prick, he knows it. Drew'll figure it out. It's just taking a bit longer to sink in. That's all." Jeff reasoned.
I felt bad enough already for having heard that much of their conversation so I gently rapped on the door. "Come in!" Jeff's voice came through the door. Pushing the door open slightly, I allowed myself to cross the room and sit on the bed beside Jeff.
"I was thinking of heading out to grab something to eat... y'all wanna come with me?" I asked, just wanting to get out of the house and away from the Lacheys for a while.
Jeff looked at Justin as Justin looked at Jeff, both nodding in agreement. "Sure, just let us get ready and we'll meet you in the foyer, k?"
"K." I left them to get ready and headed to Drew's room to change into something a little more public-appealing. After changing I popped into the living room where both Nick and Drew were watching television and discussing some current event or something that the program was focusing on. "Um, I'm heading out with J and J to grab something to eat. We'll probably head to Subway, y'all want anything?"
"Yeah, steak and cheese, white bread, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, mayo, barbeque sauce and salt and pepper, please." Drew threw over his shoulder. I guess I kinda deserved it for my remark earlier on.
Nick, however, surprised me by actually getting off the couch and walking over to me. Grabbing out his wallet, he passed over two twenties and, grabbing my hand, placed them in it. I looked him in the eye for the first time in over two weeks as he looked right back in mine. Still holding my hand he proceeded in giving me his order. "I'll have a turkey sub, white bread, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, mayo, and salt and pepper." It seemed easy enough because those are what I usually ordered. Just as I was about to walk away, he pulled me back with the hand he was still holding. For a month he wouldn't look at me and was constantly throwing in rude remarks. Now he wouldn't let go of my hand... something was up. "Please." His blue eyes pierced through me as he searched for something within the depths of my eyes. Hurt? Sadness? Confusion? Whatever he was looking for, I'm sure he found.
Shaking myself from his little hypnosis, I nodded and walked to the foyer where Jeff and Justin had been waiting. "You ready to go D?" Justin asked while bending over to tie his shoe.
"Yup yup. Just got some orders from the bro's in the living room." I stated pulling open the door. Jeff was driving, he always drove whenever we had to go places. "Shotgun!"
"Ah man! You always get shotgun." Justin pouted.
"You snooze and you lose." I laughed, running to the passenger seat.
I was buckling my seat belt as Justin plopped into the back seat. "Fucking short people, always claiming the front seat..."
"Hey, just because I'm vertically challenged doesn't mean you can blame me for your slowness... the height come with any other disadvantages?" Glancing in the rear view mirror, I caught Justin sticking his tongue out while flipping me the finger. I just had to chuckle, he was such a kid sometimes.
The ride was quiet, as usual. It always seemed like no one knew what to say while we were in the car, but as soon as we got into the restaurant you couldn't shut any of us up. The girl that was taking our orders seemed to be getting frustrated with our lack of attention. "Sir, can I ask you what you want on this?" She asked gesturing to Jeff's sandwich.
"Sure... um. Lettuce, tomatoes..." after catching a bit of something Justin said, Jeff started laughing again, instantly forgetting about his order. "Did you see the look on her face though when she found out it wasn't Nick! It was priceless!"
"Sir." Jeff was so engrossed in the conversation that he didn't hear the girl until she started screaming at him. "Sir! If you don't mind pausing your conversation for just one minute, we can get your order done!"
Chastised, Jeff apologized while completing his order. He must've felt horrible because we couldn't get two words out of him until we were all sitting at our table. A couple minutes after we were seated it was as if nothing had happened, Jeff was babbling once again.
It wasn't long before the conversation turned onto the topic of me and Drew. Justin casually slipped in a comment of Drew and I not sleeping together anymore and how Drew's face has been so long lately. Jeff, the subtle guy he is, reached across the table and backhanded Justin figuring I didn't want to go through this conversation again. I figured what the hell, might as well tell Justin what was going on.
"Well, Justin, if you wanna know, I'm kinda seeing someone." I admitted.
"What!? Already? Who?"
His surprise wasn't exactly what bothered me... he seemed kind of disappointed in me. "Yes, already. And Justin Timberlake."
"He's a fag, too?" He practically screamed.
"I prefer the term homosexual, but however you like to put it, yeah."
"So... how long, now?" Justin asked.
"Bout a week." Jeff supplied.
"You knew!?" Justin couldn't believe it.
"Yes, I knew. And I'm happy for D. If he's happy, that's all that matters."
"But have you seen Drew lately? You see how down he is. You know how he's always going off by himself. He's miserable. He needs D!" It was obvious that Justin really wanted to see me and Drew back together. "Stupid fucking video... it ruined everything!"
"Justin, why are you so upset over this?" I asked, not understanding his anger.
"Because! Why aren't you!? I mean, Drew was... is the love of your life and you just don't see it. You're going to let him just walk away like that? I don't get you!"
"Justin, Drew's the one that says he can't be with me. I'd be right beside him right now if he could accept the fact that he likes to give it up the ass. He's a queer, he just doesn't want to accept it. Until he does, I can't be with him. How do you think I feel... Justin, one day everything was perfect. I had just given up my virginity to the man I love, and then he turns around and tells me that we just can't be together anymore because it's wrong. It's wrong! Tell me how the fuck it can be wrong if it felt so right?" My voice rose with that question causing a couple of people to look at us. "What's wrong, never seen a fag upset before?" I spat to my audience.
"I think we should get the bro's subs and get out of here. This isn't the place for this conversation." Jeff, ever so intelligent, always looked out for all of us.
"Yeah, I think you're right." Justin agreed, shocked by my outburst, but understanding nonetheless.
Walking up to the counter, I began to order Drew and Nick's subs. I just wanted nothing more to get back home and sleep. Escape this world for a bit. The best escape from anything is sleep. In the middle of my order though, the girl who had blew up at Jeff earlier shyly asked, "Is that Jeff and Justin from 98 Degrees?"
What was I supposed to do, lie to her? "J," I said getting Jeff's attention. "This girl wants to know if you're from 98 Degrees." I figured it'd be up to Jeff if he wanted to deceive her or not. Smiling, Jeff and Justin walked up, introducing themselves as the girl apologized over and over for her rudeness earlier. After Jeff assured her over and over again that it was alright, she eventually let us leave, without paying for Nick and Drew's subs.
The drive home was completely silent, no one said a word until we reached the driveway. "D?" Justin asked, hesitant.
"Yeah?"
"I'm sorry. I just want you to be happy. " He squeezed my shoulder momentarily before getting out of the car and heading in the house.
"So... how does it feel now that you've declared your homosexuality to about five unsuspecting Subway customers?" Jeff asked, smirking.
"Pretty damn good, I have to admit."
"Good, just don't go making a habit of it, k?"
"Sure."
Jeff walked into the house leaving me to my thoughts, sitting on the doorstep. A couple of minutes later, Drew popped his head out of the door. "So you did come home with them."
"Yeah, why wouldn't I?"
"Well, it's just that they came in, there was no sign of you... I was wondering where you were, that's all."
"Drew?" I asked, my tone indicating that I was going to say something important to me. Drew slid down right beside me.
"Yeah?"
"I'm sorry for what I said earlier..." I trailed off not knowing what to say.
"It's alright. I understand you're upset. It's affecting me too."
"Then why go through it?" I couldn't help but ask.
"It's just something I need to do." He explained.
"I just hope it's worth it..." Passing over the subs, I kissed Drew on the cheek and walked into the house to have my much needed escape. I figured since the guys were still awake and all, I'd go and catch some z's in Drew's room. I walked up the stairs, slammed myself down on Drew's bed, and fell asleep before I could realise just how much I missed sharing the bed with him.
I don't know how long I had been asleep, but I awoke to the bed shifting. I had spent the last week or so on the couch, so I knew I wasn't where I was supposed to be - the couch doesn't shift when you're the only one on it. Glancing over my shoulder I remembered where I was, in Drew's bed, and noticed that he was in it too. This was the first time in about two weeks Drew and I had shared a bed and I had to admit that it felt good in some odd way.
Laying on my back and staring up at the ceiling, I was reminded of why I awoke in the first place as Drew started tossing and turning on the bed. It appeared he was having a nightmare, thrashing about, mumbling incoherently. I didn't want to just let him suffer, so I closed the distance between us so I could shake him out of his nightmare. As I placed my hands on his shoulders I could feel the heat radiating off him and noted that sweat was collecting on his brow. "Don't go... don't leave me... please... don't... I need you..." Drew's mumbles took on form as I got closer to him, his words barely a whisper in the dark. My heart wrenched inside me. If Drew was dreaming about me, I couldn't understand why he was torturing himself the way he was.
Shaking him slightly, I began to call his name. "Drew... Drew... wake up, honey." Drew had always been a stubborn person to wake so I knew a slight shake wouldn't do anything; I needed to be a little more forceful. Turning up the rigorousness a notch, Drew finally opened his eyes, panting, trying to focus on his surroundings. It was obvious he was scared so I grabbed him up in a hug, rubbing his back in circles to assure him that he was fine, that I was there for him.
A while later Drew was back asleep, but this time he clung to me like gum. Admittedly it was difficult for me to be in this situation again, but I figured that out of love some sacrifices needed to be made... even if they cause you so much pain. Within ten minutes I, myself, had fallen victim to my slumber.
The scent of food wafted up my nostrils causing me to gain consciousness. Shaking the grogginess of sleep from my head, I gained enough coherency to realise I was now alone in the bed. Trudging down the stairs, one at a time, I followed my nose to the kitchen where Drew was busily making some breakfast for all of us. It was actually quite a surprise since Drew was rarely up this early, and it was extremely rare for him to make breakfast. Boy, were we in for a treat--Drew made only the best omelettes ever.
The kitchen was already full of Degrees as I made my appearance, the boys all sitting around the table idly conversing about something or other. Grabbing a seat at the table, I pulled the classified section out of the paper and was glancing over it when Drew slid a glass of O.J. in front of me - a gesture everyone else picked up on witch cocked eyebrows. "Thanks."
"No problem."
As Drew went back to the stove to finish up his cooking, the doorbell rang. Justin decided he'd get it since he was closest to the door. A couple of minutes later, he reappeared with a box similar to the one that my roses had come in the day before. "D, someone must really like you... you got another package today."
Curious, I put down my classified and opened the box as Justin set it in front of me. Immediately searching out the card, I opened it up for today's message. 'Sorry'. That's all it said. This could've been from anyone! Glancing down into the box, I took in the white roses - my favourite. Thinking back over last night, I thought it was Drew who had ordered them, but with a look in his direction it was apparent he had no idea about them. Who in the hell was this secret admirer of mine?
Breakfast was amazing, as I knew it would be. Normally I don't even eat breakfast, but today I even managed to have seconds. I volunteered to do the dishes since Drew had cooked and none of the other boys were quick to argue with me. One thing I've come to notice, these boys were lazy when it came to housework.
I had about two plates left when Jeff came in and handed me the cordless mouthing the word 'Justin' as I dried my hands. Grabbing the phone from him, I sat down at the table, placing the phone to my ear with a sigh. "Hey," the smile was definitely audible through the phone.
"Hey baby."
"How you doing?" No matter how many times we've talked on the phone, that was always my first question.
"Not bad, I've had better days." He admitted. I knew him well enough to know something was bothering him.
"What's up?"
"Well, our new album's gonna be release in a couple of days... I was hoping you'd come out and we could spend some time together."
"That's great! I'd love to."
"I wish it was great... Britney's gonna be around." He didn't have to say anything else. He understood clearly my hatred towards that woman, if you could even call her that.
"Oh." I tried to find something else to say, but it was all that would come out.
"Yeah. So, you still up for coming?" The question didn't have his normal energy in it. I could tell he was just as upset about the whole situation as I was. I hadn't met Britney face to face yet, there was a reason for that. I'm not a flamey queen but I had a feeling she would cause me to break out my ass-kicking shoes.
"Yeah, I'll be there."
"Great. I'll email you the flight details, alright?"
"Sounds good."
"Well baby, I gotta go. We have some promotional work to do... I'll call you later, alright?"
After saying our goodbyes, I hung up the phone, finished the dishes and walked into the living room to let the guys know what the plan was. You could tell when the guys had a day off -- they just lounged in front of the television most of the morning watching cartoons. "Well, that was Justin. Their albums due for release in a couple of days... he wants me to go visit them."
"That's great!" Jeff replied a little over-ecstatic.
"Yeah. I guess... Britney's gonna be there." I added.
"But you hate her." Drew's brow furrowed.
"Yeah, but I figure I might as well get this meeting over with, right?"
"Oooh, I wish you luck." Justin laughed. "You know she knows you don't like her, right?"
Now that was news to me. I actually didn't have a clue. "She does?"
"Yeah. I forget who it was, but someone slipped it at one of the functions we were at." Justin continued. "It was quite comical, actually."
"Who would do that?" I couldn't help but ask. "I mean, what brought it up?"
Nick fidgeted around in his seat before coming clean. "It was me, actually." He admitted, hesitantly. "She was going on and on about how hot she was and how everyone liked her, so I just had to shut her up. I explained your extreme distaste towards her and she shut right up. Not another word came out of her mouth." He kinda smirked as he remembered it. "She doesn't understand it."
I smiled as I tried to imagine her face contorting into some kind of scowl while Nick told her my feelings about her. "Well, looks like I've got my work cut out for me then, don't I?"
"And how!" Jeff laughed.
"Anyhow, Justin said he was gonna email me the flight details, so I'm gonna go and check to see if I've got mail." I explained as I walked towards the stairs.
"See ya later." Jeff threw my way as I began to climb the stairs. "Let us know when you know, k?"
"Will do!"
After booting up the computer, I logged into my email program and waited for it to download my new messages. I had several messages, most of them junk mail which was promptly thrown in the trash can. As I clicked on Justin's message, I couldn't help but smile.
'Hey baby! I'm so glad you're gonna come for this. It means a lot to me. And don't worry about Britney, she won't be a problem, I'll take care of that. So you'll be leaving LAX at 9 in the morning, tomorrow, you just have to pick up your ticket at the counter. Be there about an hour earlier so that you don't miss your flight. Can't wait to see you, baby. Love you, J'
Damn! This boy booked me the earliest possible flight he could. I smiled thinking how it just showed how much he missed me, but the thought of actually waking up that early was somewhat disconcerting. I mean, he actually wanted me up that early? He must be mad!
Because the flight left so early , I needed to get my ass to sleep or else I would never wake up on time. Again the couch was most likely occupied, so I decided to crash in Drew's room. The previous night wasn't exactly as bad as I had thought it would be. Snuggling into the bed, I closed my eyes and dozed off.
Sometime that night Drew slid his way into the bed, rousing me only somewhat before I nodded off again. Just like the night before, Drew started tossing and turning, mumbling nonsense. Not even bothering to wake him, I grabbed him up into my arms and pulled him to me. He wrapped his arms around me, whispered something with his face burrowed into my chest and drifted off to sleep.
I awoke before Drew and untangled myself from him. Sliding out of bed, I kissed his forehead and snuck into the shower. After having done my morning routine, I got all my stuff together and went down to the kitchen to call a cab to take me to the airport. I decided to be courteous enough to write a letter letting the guys know where I had gone. Pulling a pen out of the utensil drawer I wrote a note explaining that I had left for the airport and would call them once I arrived.
After finishing the letter, I called for a cab and dragged my luggage out onto the front stoop while I waited for the cab. I could tell it was going to be a hot day in LA and I was somewhat glad that I was heading north. Nsync was doing their release in New York and I knew it just had to be at least a couple of degrees cooler.
I didn't have to wait long for the cab, and before I knew it I was in line at the ticket counter waiting to pick up my ticket. Eventually, and finally, my turn came to approach to the counter. "Good morning, what can I do for you?" It's not often you see a guy working the ticket counter, and when you do they're usually not the straightest of people. I smiled inwardly at how obvious it was that this boy, Josh as his nametag read, was gay.
"Good morning. I'm supposed to be collecting a ticket that's reserved for me."
"Alright sir," Josh looked at me for the first time, a smile instantly coming to his face. "Alright, could I ask your name?"
"Why sure you can." I replied, flirting somewhat.
"Well..." you could hear his smile through his voice, "what is it?"
"Drew Paquette."
"Ok, I got the Drew part... how do you spell your last name?"
I spelled it out for him as he typed it into the computer. "Yes, it's right here. A reservation for Drew Paquette under a Mr. Justin Timberlake..." He trailed off as realization dawned on him. "Is... is... is that the Justin Timberlake?" He asked.
"Why, yes, I do believe that is him." I laughed as he handed me my ticket. "Have a great day."
I left him to himself as I made my way towards the security screening so I could wait by my gate. I always hated waiting in airports, having worked in one you see how long some people have to wait before they finally get to board. I always hated being on the other end, actually having to wait myself always seemed so much longer.
After screening I was left to wait for almost an hour in the uncomfortable chairs until my plane was ready to board. After awhile, and nearly falling asleep, I awoke to the tail end of a boarding call in English. As I waited for the French translation to start up after it, strangely the same boarding call was repeated in English. After a second I realized two things: one, I wasn't in Ottawa -- where the repeat would've been in French -- and two, that the call was for the boarding of my flight.
Justin, in all his kindness, had me flying first class. I have to say that it was definitely a first, and even thought it was first class, it didn't make me like flying any more then before. There's just something really unnatural about flying. If God had intended us to fly he would've given us wings, but he saves those for the angels.
I don't remember much of the flight, like usual I passed out just after take off, and was awakened by a stewardess tapping me on the shoulder telling me that we had landed.
I wasn't sure if Justin was going to meet me at the airport or if I had to look for a chauffer with my name. Either way, I had to head to baggage claim to grab my bag so I thought I'd leave the wondering until I was sure I had my bags. I remember one time someone almost walked off with my bag. That could've been disastrous.
Finally in baggage claim, I waited patiently for my bag to slide down the conveyor belt. As I waited I silently pondered how many people actually lost their luggage because somebody just grabbed the wrong bag off the belt. Eventually the bags disappeared one by one and mine still hadn't come in sight. With a big sigh, I headed over to the airline counter to explain that my bag hadn't made it on the conveyor belt.
After doing some checks in the computers and filling out some forms, the counter attendant assured me that my bag was just misplaced and that it should be returned to me before I headed back home. If it hadn't, they'd issue me a cheque that should cover my loss.
Frustrated, I headed towards the doors looking for my chauffer person. Obviously Justin wasn't picking me up or he would've paged for me over the public address system - not like I would've heard it. The paging systems in airports are so horrible; half the time all you hear is mumbles or an echo.
Just as I had presumed, there was a man holding up my name as I neared the doors. I walked towards him to introduce myself, though it seemed as though I didn't need to. "Mr. Paquette, nice of you to arrive. Was your plane delayed?"
"Not exactly, Mr..." I trailed off, not knowing his name.
"Mr. Kemp." He allowed.
"Not exactly, Mr. Kemp. The airline lost my bag. I just spent the last half an hour trying to find it."
"I'm so sorry to hear that. Would you like to go shop for some clothes to wear for the duration of your stay?" Such the polite one he was.
"No thanks, I'd just like to head to the hotel , the trip has kinda wore me down." No matter how long the flight is, I'm always tired after my arrival. Not to mention the fact that I had woken up pretty damn early.
The ride was quick, and before long I found myself in Justin's arms. "Hey baby!"
I smiled, "Hey, yourself."
"How was your trip?" He asked, pushing back enough to look in my eyes and place a gentle kiss on my lips.
I sighed. "It was alright... up until they lost my luggage."
"Aww, baby. They lost your luggage?"
I nodded.
"Did you want to go shopping or something?"
His nuzzling my neck had me somewhat distracted. "Huh?"
He laughed. "I said did you want to go shopping or something?"
"No, it's alright." I smiled. "I just want to take a quick nap, k?"
"Sure."
After walking me through the main room, and saying my hellos to the guys, Justin deposited me into his room. As I began to remove my shoes, I noticed Justin was doing the same, pulling at his necktie and unbuttoning his shirt. "You napping with me, baby?" I asked.
"Something like that," he replied with a huge grin on his face.
With a smile, I slid under the covers as I waited for Justin to join me. Gracefully, he slid his boxers off just before squeezing in beside me. His kisses started out soft, just slight pecks along my jaw line before moving down to caress my neck. That's how things were with Justin: they started off slow and increased in intensity until, before you knew it, everything had escalated into some animalistic act.
"I've missed you so much, sexy." Justin whispered as he licked his way back to my lips, pulling my lower lip into his mouth and sucking on it gently.
"Mmmm," was all I could respond, becoming overwhelmed with pleasure.
Justin flipped me on my back, laying himself on top of me as he began to gyrate his hips into mine, stimulating both of our cocks. My breathing began to pick up as his moans became louder. Slowly, he commenced licking his way down my body, kissing and caressing every inch he could before he reached my cock. Grabbing it in his left hand, he began licking it from top to bottom, coating it with his saliva before he actually sucked it all in, right to the base. I groaned and grabbed his head in my hands with intense need.
Justin worked my cock over well, ensuring that his saliva had me well lubricated, before he straddled me, sitting on my cock. The pressure hurt slightly before I felt the head of my cock pop in as he slowly lowered himself onto me. He hissed with pain and I instantly brought my hands to his face to wipe away the tears that began to trickle out of his eyes.
"Do you wanna stop, baby?" I asked, my voice laced with concern. Even though it felt incredible, there was no way I was going to do something that would hurt him so much.
"No," he gasped, lowering himself further. "More."
"'No more' like stop, or 'no, more' like don't stop?" I wanted to clarify.
"More!" He moaned, raising himself only to slam himself back down. "Fuck me!"
Not one to disappoint, I began to thrust my hips upward, meeting his hips as he lowered himself on me. It wasn't long before we had worked up a rhythm, my cock pounding into his prostate and eliciting moans of ecstasy. He gripped down on my shoulders, his nails digging into my skin as he rode the waves of pleasure.
Reaching down, I grabbed his cock, which was now leaking copious amounts of precum. Using it, I lubed up his cock and began to stroke, jacking him off in time to our fucking.
A couple of minutes later, Justin let out a cry, somewhere in the middle of pain and pleasure and came all over my chest. With his ass clamping down on my cock, it only took two more thrusts before I came in his ass, unloading my juices. Completely spent, he dropped onto my chest, both of us heaving with exhaustion. That was definitely my workout for the day.
"Mmmm, thanks." Justin said with a kiss on my cheek before he rolled over, causing my cock to slide out of his ass. "I think we should shower..." Justin pulled me out of the bed, and into the bathroom so we could rinse off.
The water pouring over us felt incredible as the heat relaxed my now tired muscles. Sure I hadn't moved much, just thrusting into Justin, but my muscles ached with exhaustion.
"Baby, sorry you won't be getting your nap."
"What do you mean?" I asked, washing my hair.
"Well. Once we get cleaned up we have a dinner date." He explained.
"With who?"
"You, me, the guys... Britney." I could tell he was reluctant to say her name, his face contorted as if I was going to hit him.
"What?! Why?"
"She wants to meet you... says she's heard a lot about you and can't wait to see you."
"Justin. She knows I hate her. Nick let it slip awhile back. She can't wait to see me so that she can bitch me out... it ain't gonna be pretty." I explained.
"Can I ask why you don't like her?"
"Because she's a slut. And she used you to boost her career. And I just don't like her. Plain and simple."
"She's not that bad a person..." he trailed off.
"I wouldn't expect someone who slept with her to understand where I'm coming from." I joked. I guess my joke wasn't as funny as I thought it was since Justin didn't laugh. In fact, he didn't say anything; he just became deathly silent.
We finished our shower, drying and dressing in silence. I knew something was off , one minute we're moaning and groaning and then we're completely silent. Something was definitely wrong.
After getting dressed, Justin and I made our way to the main room where we met up with the rest of the guys. JC was just getting off the phone with the front desk, he didn't want to bother with a limo tonight so he arranged for a rental. "Well, let's get going." He announced as he gathered together some final things. "We're gonna meet Britney there, J. She called while you were in the shower."
Justin just nodded his head, continuing his silence.
The ride to the restaurant was deathly quiet. Nobody asked me anything about how my trip was, or why I was wearing one of Justin's suits, nothing. It appeared that I wasn't the topic of the group tonight. That was fine, I'm not a greedy person and at the moment I had other problems... I really needed to piss.
When we made it to the restaurant, I let Justin know that I had to use the restroom and that I'd be at the table as soon as I finished. I quickly asked the hostess where the bathrooms were before making my way over to unload my bladder. I should've realised that I would have to go... any time I have sex, I usually have to go the bathroom afterwards.
As I walked back to the table, I realised that everyone had already taken their seats, Britney included, which left me with the seat directly across from her. I was a bit hurt that Justin didn't save a seat beside himself for me, but there was nothing I could do about it now. I sat down, barely acknowledging Britney and passing Justin a look, which I knew he understood since he looked down.
The waitress soon showed up asking us what we'd like to drink. Making her rounds she finally landed on me. "He'll have an iced tea," Justin decided for me.
Just as the waitress, Mindy, was about to write that down, I glared at Justin, "No, actually I'll have a vodka water, no lime please."
"Vodka water it is. I'll be back in a couple of minutes with your drinks, guys." With that she left to go and fetch our drinks.
Shocked, Justin asked me, "Vodka water? Since when?"
"Since it's very cold in this room," I said glancing at Britney who had passed me nothing but dirty looks all night , "and I think the alcohol will warm me up."
"Oh," was all Justin said before Britney stole his attention away, talking up a storm about some pointless thing that had occurred in her life. I had never felt so alone as at that moment. There I was at a table of six other people and not one of them would talk to me. All of them were engrossed in their own private conversations, Justin with Britney, Chris with Joey, and JC obviously with Lance.
Mindy finally returned, passing around all the drinks and sliding mine in front of me last, "And a vodka water, no lime, for the gentleman. Don't worry, I always save the best for last." She said with a wink. I found it strange that she probably picked up on my lonely vibe moreso than anyone else.
"Mindy?" I asked, grabbing her attention before she could ask about our orders.
"Yes?"
"Could you please..." I looked at Justin laughing and smiling at Britney. "Please... keep them coming."
"No problem. Now have you all decided on dinner or do you need more time?" She addressed the table.
Everyone glanced at their menus one more time before naming off their orders. Not surprisingly Britney jumped at the chance to order for Justin since he seemed indecisive, which Justin only giggled at.
I don't remember much of the meal. I do remember, however, the comfort I was beginning to feel from the vodka on my eighth class in. Funny how Justin only noticed on my ninth class that I seemed to be a little intoxicated. "Drew? Are you ok?" It might've been the alcohol, but it actually did look like he cared.
"Oh, sssure Jussstin. I'm fffine." So I was slurring my words a bit, happens to everyone.
"You're not fine... you're slurring your words and your pupils are dilated. You're drunk, aren't you? How many have you had, three? Four?"
I laughed out loud unable to hold it in. "Yeah," I lied, "About three or four. Sssomething like that."
"He'll be fine." Britney interrupted drawing Justin's attention back to her by pulling his chin towards her. I waited... just waited to see if Justin would drop it at that and go back to Britney. Sure enough, he did.
Grabbing my wallet, I pulled out enough cash to cover my meal and a tip and staggered to my feet. "Where are you going?" Justin asked as I began to slide my chair in.
"Back to the hotel." I was holding onto the chair and still swaggering back and forth.
"Just sit down. We're almost done, and we'll go back."
"We'll go back?" I asked gesturing to him and I. "Or we'll go back?" I asked indicating the triangle between Britney, Justin, and I.
"Yeah, Britney's going to be coming back with us, too. Why? Is there a problem?" Justin licked his lips in that way that started a stirring in my groin. I could feel it begin but quickly dismissed the idea as Britney leaned over and kissed his cheek earning a smile from him. There was no way Britney was going to come back to the same room as me. No way.
"No. There's no problem at all. I'm just leaving now, you can leave whenever the fuck you want."
Justin's eyebrows shot up in disbelief. It seemed like he was going to get up so we could discuss this somewhere else, but I could see Britney whispering in his ear. Telling him to let me go, I'd be fine. He just sat there.
I tried my best to walk straight for the exit but failed miserably, zig-zagging back and forth, staggering here and there. I knew everyone must have been looking at me, Justin included. I just couldn't understand that if he felt for me what he said he did, why wasn't he coming to see what was wrong. Why he wasn't coming to stop me. He just let me go.
I stumbled my way down the street and grabbed a cab at the corner. After telling him where to go, I could only look out the window, my mind spinning half from the alcohol, half from Justin's actions. I didn't understand it. After reaching the hotel, I paid the cabby and made my way to the hotel bar. I didn't have Justin's keycard and there was no way that the desk clerk would give it to someone who's breath reeked of alcohol. I figured I'd down a couple more and when Justin and the guys came back, I'd go up to the room and, depending on what happened then, make my choice of whether I stayed or left.
For the moment there was only one thing that started with a J that I wanted and that was some comfort from my good friend Jack Daniels.
TBC...