Hi everyone...
Wow...people are actually reading my stuff. Thanks for the positive responses. -- I'm even a nominee for some slash-fiction awards! Vote for me please!!!! (http://jump.to/nsync_stories or http://www.geocities.com/sasha02.geo/award.html) I'm nominated in the Best Joey story' and Best Slash Fiction'.
This story has now officially taken on a life of it's own. I didn't expect it to go this long or be this developed. But so many people have written me that I have to see what happens next!
As always, Gabriella and Mike and Charlie are my main cheerleaders. I'm a bit nervous--so if people could please e-mail me at bwicub@hotmail.com--I'd really appreciate it. I love e-mail!!
DISCLAIMER: This is a fictional story that came right out of my own mind. I have no knowledge if any member of N Sync are gay or whatever. That being said, please enjoy the story and remember-- write me!!! (Especially write me if you're a member of the group! GRIN)
--The Lottery Winner Ch 19--
"Sorry for keeping you waiting mom. We were delayed with traffic."
"Oh, it's nothing dear. So what's the big emergency that we had to meet tonight? It's not that I don't love you, I just have a lot to get done this week."
Joey smiled at me and extended his hand to his mom.
"Not now mom, let's eat first. I'm starved!"
The waiter came around and took our orders. I sat there and listened when Joey and his mom banter for awhile. He kept dragging me into the conversation. I could tell he was very nervous. The conversation flowed pretty well over dinner, Joey kept excusing himself to go to the bathroom. He was probably trying to keep himself from losing it. During one of his trips to the bathroom, I tried engaging Phyllis in conversation, and she was polite but distant. Once the meal ended, and we were relaxing over a light desert I could tell that Joey had finally worked up the nerve.
"Mom, there's something I want to talk to you about."
"I knew it. Okay Joey. Talk. Should Dale be here?"
Joey just looked at me and smiled. "Yeah mom, he should be here." Her eyebrows shot up when Joey reached over and gave my hand a gentle squeeze. Taking a deep breath, he finally blurted it out.
"Mom, I'm gay."
Her eyes narrowed, and she just looked at the two of us. She looked down, took a couple of deep breaths, and then looked back up.
"Did he do this?"
It took Joey a second to register what she was asking. "I've always been gay mom, but I do love Dale."
She got up and grabbed her purse. "Goodbye Joe." She walked out of the restaurant without a backward glance. We looked at each other, and ran after her. She had just given the valet her ticket to get her car when we got outside.
"Mom?"
"Not now Joey. I need time. Go on the road." She got in her car and left the parking lot. Joey and I just stood there, watching her drive away. I looked at him. Shit, have to get him out of here before he falls apart. I gave the valet our ticket and told him to hurry. As soon as the Acura was pulled around, I opened the passenger door and told Joey to sit. He just smiled gamely at me and nodded. I tipped the guy a twenty and we pulled away. It took Joey a second, then he lost his shit. He scrunched down in the seat, hot tears streaming down his face. The sobs that racked his body were bad. I pulled the Acura over and ran around to his door. I opened it and took him in my arms. His arms wrapped around me and he held on to me like a drowning man with a life preserver.
"Oh my god Dale. She walked away."
I just held him close, taking a brief instant to close the door so the light went off. Fortunately there isn't a whole lot of traffic on this road, but we still have to be careful.
Joey was just starting to calm down a little and his breathing was getting back to normal, when a car pulled up behind us. Joey stiffened as their headlights swept over us. I looked back, and saw a police car.
Great...just great.
"Is everything okay sir?"
"Yes Officer. My friend received some very bad news tonight, and I thought it was best to not drive while he was upset. He's calmed down now so we're going to get going again."
He looked like he didn't really believe the story. "Have either of you had anything to drink tonight?"
"No alcohol sir, just soda."
"Can I see your license sir?" I just rolled my eyes and handed it to him. "Maryland huh? You just visiting or are you planning on moving in?"
"I'm going to be moving here sir. I'll be going to transfer my license over this coming week."
Handing my license back to me, he told me to make sure that I was the one driving. He got back in his car and pulled out. I noticed Joey looking at me out of the corner of my eye. I turned back to him. He still had tears streaming down his cheeks, but he had a small half-smile also.
"What Joey?"
"You're moving here Dale?"
Oh God. "Well I want to be with you Joey. Somehow you don't strike me as a Baltimorean. One of us has to move. I'll do it. I've been thinking of relocating anyway. Why not to Orlando? I mean, it's a fun town, lots to see and do. And I do already know a few people down here." I smiled at him. He ran his fingers along my face and cheek.
"Let's go home baby. Please."
We got back in the car and were nearly home when Joey's cell phone started ringing. He threw it in the center divider between the seats. It stopped ringing after four rings, then started ringing again.
"You going to answer that hon?"
He just looked out the window. "Nope. Don't want to talk to anyone right now." I just sighed and reached for the phone.
"Joey's phone."
Dead silence on the other end. Finally, a voice spoke. "Um, is Joey there?"
"He's a little busy right now, can I tell him who's calling please?"
"This is his brother Steve."
"Oh hey Steve, it's Dale. Hang on." I just looked at Joey in the windshield reflection. "Do you want to talk to your brother? If not, I'll tell him to try later." Joey just held his hand out for the phone. I smiled at him and blew him a kiss. "Love you babe."
"Hey Steve, what's up? Yeah I told mom. Not good. Oh you know? Just perfect. What did she say?" Joey got a surprised look on his face and sat up a bit straighter in the seat. "Really? HHmm. Okay. Thanks for letting me know bro. Talk at ya later." He hung up the phone and just looked at me, not saying a word.
"Lord Joey, what happened now?"
"Mom needs time. She called and talked to Steve. He told her that he'd already known. She told him to call me. She still loves me, just needs time to adjust. God Dale, what if she doesn't accept me?"
I reached over and took his hand in mine. "She will hon. You're her son. Family is everything. Don't worry." We didn't say anything further as we finished the drive home. Pulling in, I saw a light on.
"Joey, did you leave a light on?"
We parked and headed in. The door was still locked. We went in, and were greeted to the sight of JC sitting at the kitchen table. Joey tensed up, and glared at him. I wasn't exactly tickled to see him, but I wanted to give him a chance to say something. JC stood up, and hurriedly took a drink of something in a tall glass. He set the glass down.
"Hi guys. I hope you don't mind, but I let myself in."
Joey threw his keys on the counter. "Fine, you're here. What do you want?"
I looked from Joey to JC. "You two have to talk. I'm going to bed. See you shortly babe." I gave Joey a hug and a kiss. JC tried saying something to me, but I cut him off. "We'll talk tomorrow. I'm going to bed. Now you two need to talk about stuff. Make sure you send my man to me before too long though. I need something nice to curl up with when I'm sleeping."
I went upstairs, and heard them heading in to the living room. I took a quick shower and got into bed. I curled up with "Interview With A Vampire", which I haven't read in years. I was just getting into it when the door opened and my man came in.
"Hey Dale, figured you'd be asleep." He took his shirt off and bent over to remove his pants and shoes. I pulled out of bed and grabbed him. Pulling him back onto the bed, I threw myself on top of him. I just stared into his eyes. He grinned at me and stuck his tongue out. Leaning down, I started out gently kissing his lips, and my kisses started getting more intense. He french-kissed me, and ran his hand down my flank. I broke the kiss, and pushed him slightly away. He looked offended.
"Go shower handsome. I'll still be here." I went back to my book. He just sniffed at me, and went to shower. He was back in minutes, and getting into bed. He started nibbling on the side of my neck, and massaging my chest and back with his hands. I felt his hard cock on my ass, he groaned when I pushed back into him. We laid there spooning, and just started talking. It was nice. We talked about everything. His fears about the situation with his mom, the guys. Finally we touched on our relationship. He said he had something he wanted to do tomorrow, but he wouldn't tell me what it was.
He pulled me around so I was face to face with him. He had tears on his cheeks, which I used my fingers to brush away. I took his hand in mine and kissed it. I then kissed him lightly on the lips.
I told him to turn around. He did, and I pulled him back to me. He was using my shoulder and arm as a pillow. "Go to sleep my handsome man." I ran my fingers through his hair. "Dream nothing but pleasant dreams, and know that I'm here as long as you need me to be." He made a contented sound and settled back onto me. Within minutes he was snoring lightly. I turned the light off.
RINGRINGRING...RINGRINGRING...RINGRINGRING...RINGRINGRING
God I hate it when people call early in the morning. The phone was on Joey's side of the bed, so I couldn't reach it. I nudged him softly.
"Phone's ringing babe. You wanna get it?"
"mmmkay." He reached for the phone. "Hello? MOM!!!" He sat bolt upright in bed. He scrambled back into me, grabbing my hand. "What's wrong mom?" His jaw dropped, and I saw tears again. Damn, if she hurts him I don't want to have to go ballistic on her. "Okay, I understand totally. Love you." He hung up the phone, and just stared at it.
"Joey? What happened?"
"She loves me. Steve told her that I needed to hear it. She apologized for leaving last night." He pulled me into a hug, and just held me. I stroked his hair, and just held him. We fell back asleep in each other's arms.
RINGRINGRING...RINGRINGRING...RINGRINGRING...RINGRINGRING
Goddammit!!
Joey could probably sleep through a nuclear blast. I gently shook him again. "Babe. Phone again." He groaned and reached for it.
"Hello?" He rubbed his eyes. "Hey Josh, what's up? Really? Okay. See you in about an hour." He hung the phone up and snuggled back into my arms. Since no explanation was evident, I had to ask.
"Okay. So what happened with Josh last night? You didn't come up here covered in blood, so you obviously didn't kill him." He just flashed that incredible smile of his.
"Oh, we're fine now. We had a nice talk. He is planning on apologizing to you today, after we get done with what we're going to be doing."
I ran my finger down his chest, playing with the trail of hair that ran down to his crotch. I nuzzled his ear, and began lightly stroking him to hardness underneath the sheet. "Oh, come on Joey, you know you want to tell me." He groaned and in seconds I had his body twitching with need and anticipation. Just as he was getting ready I heard the bedroom door open. What the hell? I looked over, and saw Lance standing there with a grin on his face.
"Don't you dare Joey!"
Joey's head snapped around to stare at him. "James do you mind. We're a little...busy here!" He turned back to me and began nuzzling my neck. I grinned and pushed him away.
"Nuh uh...not with an audience."
Joey just smacked my ass and got out of bed. He padded over to the bathroom so he could shower. I watched him go, and once the door was closed went back to paying attention to James.
"So why are you here? And without even knocking! You interrupted my interrogation of my man." I gave him a mock growl. He just laughed and rolled his eyes at me.
"Oh please! Trust me, you'll thank me later. Now, you're coming with me today. Both of you are actually."
I got up and was heading over to the bathroom to join Joey when it hit me what he said. "Where are we going?"
"We all are heading over to Johnny's office this morning before heading back out."
"Oh. We'll be downstairs in a few minutes." I went in and closed the door to the bathroom. I heard Joey humming softly as I finished stripping and opened the door. He didn't say anything as I got in and wrapped my arms around him. I kissed the side of his neck.
"Hey sexy man. Come here often?"
We spent the next twenty minutes engaging in heavy petting in the spray of the warm water. Finally we got out when Lance began beating on the door and bellowing that we had to hurry up. We hurriedly dressed and ran downstairs (for some reason Joey kept rushing me).
We got in Lance's car and he headed out, driving like a maniac the whole time! I clutched Joey's hand in the back seat as Lance weaved in and out of traffic.
"For God's sake Lance, I feel like I'm in a high speed chase! Slow down."
He smiled back at me. "Can't Dale, we have to be at this meeting on time, there's too much to get accomplished before we head back out." Joey smiled and leaned his head onto my shoulder. We cuddled up with each other for the rest of the trip. About ten minutes later we pulled up in front of Johnny Wright's office. Lance bustled us out of the car and into the elevator. God, I feel like a freshman during college orientation!
We walked past the receptionist, who didn't even look up at us. Lance practically pushed us through Johnny's door and closed it behind us. Joey and I stood there, holding hands, while Johnny sat behind his desk glaring at us. He sat there for a minute. Two minutes. Finally, he got up, and headed around the desk. He stood in front of me and extended his hand. Bewildered, I shook it.
"Dale, I want to apologize for rattling your cage. I wanted to make sure you could stick to your convictions and your feelings for this guy." He squeezed Joey's shoulder. Joey for his part was just looking at Johnny like he'd grown a third eye. I looked at Joey, and finally back at Johnny.
"Did it ever occur to you that you could just ask me?"
"Nope, too easy! Nothing worthwhile ever comes easy. Wanted to take this opportunity to clear the slate so we can start fresh. So, I understand that you'll be sticking to Orlando when Joey goes back on the road with the guys."
"Um. Yeah. Why?"
"Well Dale, if you want. I can have my assistant draw up a list of fun things to do here. I've been keeping an eye on these guys for awhile now, so I now what your generation likes!"
"That'd be great Johnny. Thanks."
Joey finally chimed in. "Johnny, hate to run. But the guys and I have some stuff to get done before we head out." He didn't even wait for Johnny to say anything, just grabbed my hand and pulled me out the door.
"Um, bye Johnny!" As we hit the elevator, Joey was almost bouncing. Something was up.
"Joey, what are you not telling me? Where are we going?"
"Dale, trust me." Once the elevator doors were closed he pulled me to him and passionately kissed me. The elevator doors opened and we were greeted to the sight of Lance, Chris and Josh standing there. Joey walked over to Josh, and they started walking away.
"Joey? Where are you..."
Chris grabbed my arm and began pulling me out the door. "Come on Dale, you're coming with Lance and I for a few. We need your help."
I let myself get led out to Lance's car. I spent the next two hours following these two around while they got stuff ready to go back on the road. I finally got introduced to Busta. He really is a cute dog. Chris got a little jealous that Busta didn't bite me or anything. What can I say??? I have a nice personality!
After we ate lunch at Lance's house, they tried taking me someplace else when the phone started ringing.
"Hello? Ready? Okay. There in ten." He hung up and looked at Chris. "All set." Chris smiled and went to rinse his dishes. "Come on Dale, we have to meet the guys at Joey's before we head out."
//Um. Okay. I'm now totally confused. I HATE being kept in the dark!//
We began talking about music on the way over. Chris got me to harmonize with him on "Music Of My Heart". Lance chimed in while driving, and I have to admit...we sounded pretty good! We pulled up, and saw Josh's car in the driveway.
We stormed into the house. Josh and Justin were in the kitchen refreshing drinks. Joey was over at the stereo fiddling with something. After the obligatory "HI's" were exchanged, we all headed in to where Joey was. Soft jazz began coming out of the speakers. Joey danced over to me and kissed me gently. We stood there for a second hugging each other, then Josh cleared his throat. Joey broke the hug and stepped slightly away from us.
"Dale. I can honestly say that the past few weeks have been unforgettable. We've gone through a lot, and you scared the shit out of me a few times. I can't imagine how I lived before you came into my life and I know more than anything that I don't want to live without you." He looked at the four men around me, and continued. "Friends count for a lot. If I met someone and they didn't all approve then there'd be an issue. Fortunately for all assembled, you're not only liked by these clowns but you've become part of our extended family. You don't just get me you get these guys." Laughs sounded from everyone. Joey turned somber. "You met us, and you didn't put us on pedestals. You look at me and you don't see `Joey from N'Sync'...you see the real me. I think that's why I fell in love with you. Plus, you were so cute when you were ripping into the guys in the elevator." I smiled at that. "I don't want to ever be without you in my life. We all go through life searching for the person who makes us feel whole inside. For me Dale you ARE that person."
"Dale, I think what I'm trying to say is this." I gasped as he sank to one knee. He pulled a ring box out of his shirt pocket and opened it.
"Dale, will you marry me?"
I will never forget the sounds the guys made or the look in Joey's face when I gave my answer.
"No."