Author's Note:
Hey everyone, this is my first submission to the Nifty Archive. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I am writing it. I'm trying to get as much realism as is possible in a story of this type, so the characters will need to get to know each other before there is any sex. It's also not exactly a 'two guys fall in love, and live happily ever after' story, there are going to be a few bumps in the road.
If you have any comments or constructive criticism or whatever then e-mail me: mystories@btinternet.com
Disclaimer:
This story is a work of fiction. I don't know or own any of the celebrities mentioned in it. I also don't know anything about the personalities or sexual orientations of any of the members of *NSYNC, and the purpose of this story is not to imply anything about them. Secondly, this story contains adult themes and content as well as gay relationships. If you're too young to, or don't want to, read what's contained within, then leave now. Everyone else, enjoy...
Under Management by Tris
Chapter 7
After nearly an hour of searching the neighborhood I began to lose hope. Lance had lived in Orlando for years, and surely knew his way around the city well enough to hide when he wanted to. I pulled my old Ford back into the parking lot in front of my apartment and walked. I walked for a long time, not bothered with where I was going, I thought about why Lance had rejected me in the way that he had, a reaction which I had never expected.
I snapped out of my trance when I turned a corner and saw the breathtaking scene of the white moonlight sparkling off the calm ocean. I was drawn, inexplicably, towards the seafront. When I came to the beach I kicked off my shoes and walked along the sand. I found my thoughts returning to Lance, I couldn't fathom what had made him explode. The first time that I had come across another person who was gay, I was overjoyed to find that that there were indeed others like me out there. However, Lance had resorted to the bigotry that I would have normally associated with the classic homophobe.
I stared out across the water and watched as a yacht sailed along the silvery path that the moonlight was creating. My attention returned to my surroundings when I heard a splash to my right. This was followed by another and then in rapid succession three more, I smiled as I recognized the sound of stones skipping across the water. I looked around with reawakened awareness in an effort to locate the thrower of the pebbles. I let out an audible gasp when I glanced towards an old wooden pier, jutting out over the ocean. Sitting on the end of the structure was a lone figure shrouded in shadow, barely discernable against the night sky. Yet, I knew that I had found him.
I approached him cautiously from behind, my bare feet hardly making a noise on the old wood. He was still sitting on the edge of the pier, his feet dangling off just inches from the water. He continued to throw stones out over the water. When I was just a few steps away from him I decided to break my silence. "It normally doesn't work very well on the sea, but tonight the water is calm enough to get a few hops in." I said gently.
"It's a beautiful night." He agreed, with his back to me. I took the very fact that he was talking to me as a good sign, and sat down next to him. "I'm sorry I lost it Alex. You shocked me, and all of a sudden thousands of different thoughts came rushing to my head, thoughts that I've never had before and I didn't know how to handle them."
"Maybe if you explain them to me I can help you deal with them." I suggested.
"I don't know Alex... they were kind of private thoughts." He said, still not looking at me. He was concentrating on the waves that were lapping around the support poles beneath us.
"Lance I won't be offended, I'm sure I've heard far worse things in my time." I attempted to suppress his apprehension.
"Well... Ok. The first thing I thought was 'Wow! I found somebody like me' but then I thought 'If he's like me, why isn't he as depressed and as hated as me?'" He confessed.
"Lance, you're not hated. They guys still like you, I like you..."
"But JC..." He blurted.
"JC will come 'round." I said, not voicing my silent fear that perhaps he would not. Lance simply bowed his head and allowed the tears that he had been holding back to drip down his face. I wrapped my arm around his shoulders and pulled him close to me. Lance sniffed back the tears and stared out to sea.
"Then when I was standing and backing away from you but you kept coming at me... I... I thought that maybe all this time when you were being nice to me, you were just trying to get me into bed." He shook his head as he said it, and then shivered as the wind picked up. I pulled him closer to me.
"But... they weren't the only reasons why I was so pissed at you. I ran out and slammed the door behind me and just kept running and..." He paused "Why didn't tell me sooner?" He wriggled out of my hold and slid away from me. For the first time since I had sat down, he looked at me. I noticed his eyes were shining with unshed tears; he had lost the smile that I had worked so hard on earlier in the evening. "Why didn't you tell me earlier Alex? It would've made things so much easier for me."
"Lance..." I paused, trying to think of the words to explain this to him "...sometimes you really want to tell someone something, but you know that it's better for them if you don't. I wanted you to think 'I'm gay and what am I going to do about it?', you needed to be comfortable with yourself first. Tonight, when I saw you smiling and laughing I knew that you were; for the first time in probably years Lance you were able to be yourself."
"So you thought you were doing a favor?" He asked, confused.
"If I'd have told you about me, I thought that it might distract you from what you should really have been thinking about." I explained.
"Oh... Alex, I'm not going to pretend that I understand... but I guess whatever you did worked, because, you're right, at dinner this evening I felt alive for the first time in ages." He admitted, sliding back towards me. I repositioned my arm around him.
"Lance... are you over it now... I mean can we go back to the way we were?" I wondered. He turned towards me, shrugging my arm off him once more, and looked me in the eyes.
"No. We can't go back Alex."
My breath caught in my throat, "Why?" I managed to squeak out.
"Because..." He paused, and then whispered "...of this." He brought both of his hands to my face and leaned in towards me. I was too stunned to say or do anything but allow him to continue. His lips met mine in a passionate kiss. His tongue probed into my mouth and he let out a groan of pleasure; then I realized what was happening.
I broke our kiss and pushed Lance back slightly, but my face was still inches from his. I could feel his warm breath against my lips and smell the faint scent of his cologne but I looked away and found comfort in the moonlight shimmering off the water, as Lance had earlier.
"Why are you doing this Lance?" I asked quietly, trying desperately to keep my emotions in check.
"Because I like you Alex, I really like you." He breathed heavily, lust in his eyes. I sighed and turned back towards him, making sure that I was further away.
"Have you ever heard of transference?" I asked, to which he shook his head, no. "It's something that happens quite often Lance; it's when a patient starts to think that they are falling in love with someone who is helping them."
"What are you trying to say? Do think I'm some sort of nutcase?"
"No, No." I chuckled, "It's just... Why do you like me? Is it because I've been nice to you and you feel you can talk to me?"
"Yes, it's that, but its also far more. Alex, you're intelligent and friendly, you're kind, caring and above all..." he paused, leaning in towards me, his voice reducing to nothing more than a whisper, "...you're kinda cute." Before I could react, his lips pressed against mine for a second time. I found myself responding to him and all logical thought went out of the window as our kiss increased in intensity.
His hands came up to my face and ran through my hair. I pressed my tongue into his mouth and allowed my instincts to over take me. I ran my hands up and down his back wildly; they eventually came to rest on the firm globes of his ass. Then he pushed me down, flat onto my back and laid on top of me; our legs dangling over the water. He continued to smother me, his index finger tracing erratic patterns across my chest.
"Hey! You there!" A deep voice shouted. Lance broke the kiss and looked in the direction of the sound. Suddenly, a bright light shone upon us.
"Shit" Lance said quietly and scrambled to get off me. I looked towards the source of the spotlight and saw what had caused his reaction. There were two men, whom I presumed to be security guards standing on the beach with their flashlights pointed at us. Luckily they were still too far away to make out our faces.
"You'd better get down from there..." The first guy warned.
"This place is off limits at this time of night!" The other hollered.
Lance, who was now standing, grabbed my hand and pulled me to my feet as well. He looked me in eyes, I could see that he was terrified. "Run!" I stated. He did as he was told and began to sprint along the pier. I followed as fast as I could.
We arrived at my apartment, out of breath, a quarter of an hour later, we were laughing and giggling like a pair a of school children. "Why did we..." he paused to take a mouthful of air "...carry on running after we lost them?" he asked and then returned to his panting.
"I don't know." I laughed "They had radios; I thought they might've called for backup."
"Oh yeah!" He said sarcastically, "Like we were going to have an entire platoon of security guards chasing us!"
"Better to be on the safe side." I checked my watch. "Awww, man, it's nearly four in the morning!" I exclaimed. "We should get to bed."
All of sudden Lance became serious, "Don't you think we should talk first? I mean, about us?"
"It's late Lance. Let's sleep first we can talk all you want in the morning." I answered.
"Yeah, I am kinda tired." He took my hand and refused to let go as I walked towards my bedroom. We entered together, causing me to look at him in surprise.
He must have picked up on it, as he said, "No funny business" holding up his hands in his defense, "Just to sleep; promise."
I nodded my approval, and turned away from him. I began to remove my clothes. I took off my gray sweatshirt and white undershirt, exposing my upper body. Then I kicked off my shoes and crouched to eliminate my socks. I avoided looking back at Lance for I knew I would feel guilty - although I'm not sure exactly why. I quickly pulled down my pants and stepped out of them.
I glanced down at my body; all I was now wearing was my silver chain, which was glinting in the dim light of the bedside lamp, as well as my black boxers. I slowly turned around and had to press my hand to my mouth to stop from laughing at what I saw.
Lance had not moved since I had last seen him, he was still fully clothed. The only noticeable change in his appearance was his crotch, where there was now an obvious bulge.
"Lance!" I snapped my fingers.
"Wha'..." He looked up, shaking his head as if to rid himself of unwanted thoughts. When his eyes met mine he instantly began to blush, a deep red color rose up his neck. His face became flushed, in fact, every visible inch of his skin turned crimson, from the ends of his fingers to the tips of his ears. I chuckled, finding it deeply funny that I had caught him doing the exact thing that I was trying to avoid.
Not wishing to cause any further embarrassment, I waved it off, choosing to say nothing. I laid down on the bed and got under the sheets. It took Lance a few minutes to recover and then he turned and followed my earlier actions.
He pulled his sweater over his head, messing up the spikes. Beneath he was wearing a tight white wife-beater, and for the first time I could make out his well developed shoulder and back muscles, which rippled as he removed the revealing item of clothing. He crouched to pull off his shoes and socks, unwittingly giving me a great view of his ass. He rapidly finished his undressing, my gaze never shifted from his two rounded globes. He was wearing white boxer-briefs, they hugged his contours perfectly. I realized that he would be joining me in the bed soon and so I shifted so that he would not catch me in the fashion that I had him.
He slid into bed next to me, "Good night Alex" he whispered into my neck, kissing my shoulder as he laid his head down on the pillow behind me. I switched off the lamp beside the bed.
"Good night Lance." I responded.
"I don't believe this!" JC shouted. He stomped over to me, "This is all your fault!" He turned away, taking a breath. "It's your fault." He repeated. "Can't you see what you've done?" he asked quietly. He brought his hands to his head and massaged his temples. "You've ruined it all. You've ruined it all!" His voice raising. "Didn't you consider your actions?" He asked, looking back in my direction. He glided up to me, fists clenched. "We had everything, but now we've got nothing, because of you!" He swung his fist at me, connecting with my cheek.
My eyes snapped open; I found that I was back in my bedroom. I was drenched with sweat and panting hard. I calmed myself down and thought back upon my dream. Somewhere in my subconscious I believed that I might break the group apart by being with Lance. My conscious thoughts told me otherwise, but I still wondered how I got myself into this situation. Office relationships never worked, and although there were no offices involved, the same principles applied.
In order to avoid the awkward situation of us waking up together, I tried to get out of bed without making too much noise. I found that I couldn't; as soon as I moved Lance shifted in his sleep, he moved closer to me and spooned me from behind. His arm fell across me, and he hugged me tightly. At first I thought that he was awake, but after a few minutes of him not moving nor saying anything, I decided that he was still asleep. It was then that I noticed the growing erection which was prodding me in the thigh. I smiled to myself and gently eased my way out of bed. Lance squirmed slightly and then settled; returning to a peaceful sleep.
I was munching on a bowl of cereal and slowly reading over some papers when I finally heard noises from the bedroom. I had not wanted to get showered and dressed as it would have woken Lance up, so I had settled for grabbing a t-shirt and leaving my boxers on. I heard his footsteps behind me.
"Morning Lance." I said cheerfully.
"Uh... morning." He replied shyly, glancing down at his feet.
"Why don't you get some breakfast from the cupboard over there and then sit down?" I asked with a warm smile.
"Listen, Alex..." He started, pulling up a chair opposite me.
"Breakfast first." I mumbled with a mouth full of muesli. He went to the cupboard that I had pointed at and pulled out the box of Captain Crunch, and then he took out a bowl from another cupboard. I guess he had been staying with me long enough to know where most things were found. He sat back in his chair and poured some milk, which was already on the table, onto his bowl of cereal.
He made eye contact with me for the first time that morning, and refused to break it even as he shoveled his breakfast into his mouth. "Alex we need to talk." He stated.
"I know" was my reply.
"I like you Alex, I really do, otherwise last night wouldn't have happened. I just, don't know if this is such a good idea." He explained.
"I was thinking the same thing." I admitted.
"You were? Oh thank God!" He exclaimed. "Everything got so mixed up, we had quite a lot to drink and we were getting along really well, then we had kind of a weird moment..."
"When I came out." I interrupted.
"Yeah." he continued "Then things went crazy, and... and..."
"It's Ok Lance." I put my hand on his. "It wouldn't work anyway, you know, work and play and all that."
"My thoughts exactly." He said as we both returned to our breakfast. "Friends?" He asked, as he crunched his food, milk dribbling from the corner of his mouth.
"Of course!" I grinned.
I heard the sound of a key turning in the front door and got up to investigate, "Looks like we've got visitors." I said. When I reached the lounge I saw my friend Susie shrugging off her coat.
"Didn't anyone ever teach you to knock?" I asked incredulously.
"Why would I want to knock? I've got a key!" She held it up in front of my face and then handed me her coat. I simply shock my head in disgust and hung the thin jacket in the cloaks' cupboard.
"So what brings you here, at this time in the morning?" I asked brightly.
"I thought I'd see you before work, since I won't get a chance to this weekend." She answered.
"Oh yeah, you're driving up to Chicago this evening right?" I remembered.
"Uh huh. Gonna go see my new baby cousin." She smiled happily. "Say, what's a girl gotta do to get a coffee in this place?" She asked, wondering into the kitchen.
"Oh shit! Fuck! I... uh... you... I... Oh my God!" she screamed.
"So you met Lance then? Great!" I said, standing behind her. "Lance this is Susie." I introduced her. He stood and shook her hand.
"Hi. Nice to meet you." He said. She did not respond verbally, she only stared down at their connected hands.
"She's a fan." I explained.
"Yeah, I kinda guessed that much." He said sarcastically. I snapped my fingers in front of Susie's face.
"Oh, sorry." She let go of Lance's hand, "Hi" she smiled sweetly at him.
"So, how did you come to know Alex?" Lance asked, taking a sip of his coffee. It was now nearly twenty since Susie had met him, and thankfully she had calmed down considerably.
"Funny story." She grinned.
"Oh please no." I begged. She looked at me indignantly and told the story anyway; I hung my head.
"Now where should I start?" She asked rhetorically. "Ahhh... yes... now I remember. We were both sixteen, and in high school. Neither of us fitted in that well - him being the weirdo, hyper intelligent, British kid and me being the girl who just moved down from Chicago. So we sat next to each other in science class and just kind of hit it off. After a few weeks of sitting next to each other and just chatting in class we started to hang around more."
"Sounds like the beginnings of pretty normal friendship." Lance interjected.
"But wait, there's more! So we were invited to this party during the summer vacation. He asked me as his date." She pointed at me. "So we got a bit drunk and he kissed me - as it happened my parents were out of town and, well... we did the dirty." She giggled. Lance's eyebrows shot up in shock. It was a good job he didn't have a mouthful of coffee as it would've been sprayed halfway across my kitchen.
"You" he looked at me, "and her" he glanced towards Susie, "together?"
"Hey! What's so unbelievable about that?" she asked. Then the realization struck her, "Oh! You know don't you?"
"Yeah, I know about Alex..." Lance grinned at me.
"Good, so I can tell you the rest of the story. Basically, we went out for a few weeks, and then we broke up. Then we got together again, and separated again. We kept trying it, but it just wouldn't work." She explained, and then laughed at her double entendre.
"Now come on! That's not fair. IT worked fine, WE didn't." I emphasized the pronouns. "Eventually we decided it was better to remain as friends." Lance was finding the story quite funny.
"Did you know about him?" Lance asked.
"That's a story for another time." I quickly put an end to his questions. "Now, I need to take a shower. You two carry on talking, but no more stories about me." I pointed threateningly at Susie. "There's more coffee in the pot." I said on the way out.
"Oh!" I heard Lance groan as I walked back towards the kitchen. I was now showered and dressed and planning on getting rid of Susie so that I could get some work done. "Oh!" he repeated. "Look, it's right on my white t-shirt... that's never gonna come out!" He cried effeminately.
This caused Susie to giggle hysterically, "You're so gay!" she exclaimed jokingly. I resisted the urge go in there and slap her. I cringed when Lance gave no response and knew what was coming.
"Oh wow! You are gay!" She cried happily. There was another few seconds of silence before she put two and two together. I ran into the kitchen to attempt to stop the accusations, but it was too late.
"You and..." she turned to see me dashing into the room "...you! You slept with each other. I came in and you were both all messed up; in your sexy t-shirts and boxers, and now you're both gay, you did! You fucked Lance Bass!" She stood and hugged me. "I'm so happy for you!"
"No. Wait!" Lance jumped in. "We did sleep together, but..."
"I knew it!" She interjected.
"But we didn't do anything." He persisted.
"We talked this morning, we're just going to be friends Susie." I stated
"Oh." She flushed bright red. "Ooops, I didn't mean to accuse... but you are gay, right?" She asked him. Who looked at me, uncertain of what to do.
"She's my closest friend Lance, you can trust her." I reassured him.
"I'm gay." He told her.
"Good, now that that's sorted, I've got some work to do. The MTV interview is this afternoon; I have to finish up the contracts and call the guys to make sure they get to the compound on time." I explained to Lance.
"Oooo! Can I come?" Susie jumped up.
"Don't you have to be somewhere?" I asked her.
"Oh sure, a girl can take a hint!" She kissed me on the cheek and shook Lance's hand. "I'll leave you two lovebirds to yourselves." She grinned and let herself out.
End of Chapter 7