Hi everyone...
In order to accommodate people who are asking me about notification lists, I've finally created an Egroup to do so: http://www.egroups.com/group/Dale_writings
This is the page of the group, If you would like to be notified when a new chapter gets posted please go join my group. {smile} I'll try and make sure there's fun stuff along with this.
I'm not hearing from anyone anymore. I don't know if this means that you guys are too busy to write or no one's reading anymore. I'll go another couple of chapters, and if the feedback doesn't increase I'll wind the story down with a finale.
As always, Gabriella is my main cheerleader. 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: The names of the people are fictional (well, except for the members of the group). 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)
Thanks guys and gals,
Dale
--THE LOTTERY WINNER Ch 32--
I nestled against Joey, and took a sip of my drink. "Tell us what?"
Lance smiled at me, and took Chris' hand in his. "We've already taken some preliminary steps in that direction."
"We? Direction? Care to elaborate?"
Chris jumped up and began walking around, talking the whole time. "The group of us have been planning a surprise wedding for you two!"
I didn't say anything, just looked at Joey. He was smiling at me with a goofy grin on his face. "Don't look at me Dale I had no idea. He gave me a quick kiss and smiled at Lance. "So, who's we and what are you guys up to?"
Lance giggled as he started talking. "We is Chris and I along with Justin and Josh. Johnny chimed in with stuff when he could. And if you want to know what we're up to you have to show up at the wedding." He beckoned to Chris, who came back over and cuddled up in his arms.
I felt Joey's arms wrap around me, and he nuzzled my neck. I heard him crying softly. "Dale, can you believe this?" I gave him a quick kiss, and he looked at Chris and Lance. "Guys, I don't know what to say. I've always felt of you like my brothers, and I'm glad that everyone accepted Dale with no problems." Joey took my glass and gave me a drink from it. Then lightly kissed me on the lips.
Someone cleared their throats behind us. The four of us looked over and saw the attendant. "Gentlemen, we're due to land in about thirty minutes. I'll be clearing the glasses in approximately ten minutes...so if you want to finish your wine please do so now." He excused himself and headed back to the rear of the plane.
"Hey Dale. Do you think it's a good idea for him to see us all over each other?"
I turned and looked at Chris. "If he wants his security bonus he knows what's good for him. Besides, I don't think he can handle the cost of the lawsuit if he speaks."
All three of them just looked at me. "Lawsuit? Bonus? What are you talking about?"
I finished my glass of wine and put it on the tray. "It's easy really. When I won the money my attorney told me that I would probably have to deal with all kinds of situations. Some of those would undoubtedly be me wishing for some real privacy without the threat of blackmail. He came up with an ironclad document that I use whenever I want privacy. I had the owner of the service along with the pilot and the attendant sign off. If they wanted my business today they had to. If any of them talk about anything they saw or heard they're liable for no less than twenty million dollars. They also would be responsible for all court related expenses and would make public retractions on whatever they said or printed."
They were all silent for a bit. Finally Lance spoke. "Wow." He stood up and stretched. "You put some thought into it. Way to watch your back my man!"
Joey nuzzled my ear. "So how much did you pay for this little plane ride Dale?"
I grinned at him as he hugged me tight. "About a hundred grand thanks to the short notice."
"WHAT??!!"
"Oh please guys just sit down and chill. I'm good for it. Besides, if I didn't want to spend it I wouldn't have. Now let's relax and get ready for the rest of our evening." We sat and engaged in small talk for the next little bit. We felt the plane start to descend. The captain announced final approach. We fastened out seatbelts and continued our discussion about random stuff in our life. Lance was telling us about his latest work with FreeLance, and Chris was filling us in on FuMan Skeeto.
The plane coasted to a stop, and we thanked the pilot and attendant as the door was slowly opened. In the distance was an airport terminal with the words "Welcome to Baltimore" painted on it.
"We're in Baltimore?"
I led the way down the stairs to a waiting man in a suit. "Mister Wright?" I nodded. "Very good, this way please sir." He turned and walked over to a waiting Lincoln Navigator limo.
He opened one of the back doors and didn't say a word as we piled in.
The dividing window was up, and heavily tinted...so he couldn't see anything. After a minute or so the driver's voice came over the intercom.
"Where to sir?"
I hit the talk button on the box in front of the seat. "We're going to be dining in Greek Town. Atropos Restaurant, side entrance please." I pulled out a cellphone and dialed a number that I knew by heart.
"Atropos, this is Steven can I help you?"
"Steve! It's me. I'm on my way with my party. Is the upstairs all set?"
"Hey Dale, as a matter of fact...yes. Now, are you gonna tell me who you're bringing? I had to pull a lot of strings to get the entire room locked off. I told the boss you'd leave a big tip, hope that's okay."
"I'm sure I can come up with something. Tell Constantine that if he's not nice to me I won't introduce his daughter to you-know-who." I smiled at the guys, who were looking uncertainly at me. "I gotta jet for now Steve, see you in like twenty minutes." I hung up the phone and curled up in Joey's arms.
"Are you gonna introduce us to someone's daughter?" Chris had this look on his face like he didn't look forward to it.
"What do you mean?"
Chris then repeated what I'd just said on the phone to my friend Steve. I grinned at Joey and then at him. "Honey, it's not always about you. If you must know then you-know-who is another friend of mine who Constantine's daughter, Connie, has a crush on."
Joey started laughing. "Wait a minute. Constantine has a daughter named Connie?" For some reason he found that incredibly amusing and was laughing his ass off.
I sat up slightly and punched his arm. "Her name is actually Constantina. When she was born the birth was so hard on her mom that Constantine decided to pass on the family name to her, with a twist. Don't laugh at her name though, she'll knock you on your ass and snap your dick off without a moments hesitation. I love Connie to death but she can be mean when she wants to be."
Lance smiled as he asked how I'd met her. I couldn't meet Joey's eyes as I answered. "Well, we dated for awhile when I first got to Baltimore."
You could cut the silence in the limo with a knife. Finally Joey said something. "If she's good enough to be your friend she's good enough for me. Is she going to like scream and drool all over us?"
I laughed, "Probably not...she's more of a Backdoor Boys fan."
That did it. We were all laughing, and Chris was making fun of me for the next twenty minutes about how I used to "do chicks". He shut up when I pointed out that he did too.
We pulled up on the side of the restaurant very shortly after. The driver opened the door, and I saw Steve standing there. I will say this for him, he held the smile on his face as he saw who my company was. I told the driver we'd be about two hours, so he gave me his card so I could call when ready. Steve led us upstairs, and was being all stiff and formal. He seated us, and took drink and appetizer orders. I followed him as he walked away.
"Steve? Are you okay?"
"As a matter of fact, no. You've been abandoning your friends here ever since you won the lottery. You didn't even tell me about knowing these guys! Do they know you're gay?"
I grinned, and gave his hand a quick squeeze. "Yeah Steve, I think they know."
"And they're okay with it? Wow." He leaned in and barely whispered at me. "So, which of them are family?"
I nodded my head as I replied. "You think you're so good at picking us out in a crowd, so you try and figure it out. I'll give you until the end of dinner. So what time are you off work tonight? We'll have to talk before you take off. Gotta get back to my guests before they start throwing forks at the ceiling or something."
While I was sitting down, they asked me about Steve. I was just starting to tell them about how he was one of the first friends I'd made in Baltimore when Lance's cell phone started ringing. We all stopped talking, and waited for him to answer.
"Hello? Oh, hey Justin. What's up?" Lance grinned at the rest of us. "Tonight? No, I don't think I'll be able to. Well, if you must know I'm spending time with my boyfriend. Dale and Joey are with us." He listened to something that Justin said. "Just, think how stupid that sounded. And even though you're not my mom or my lover I will be nice and tell you where I am. I'm in Baltimore."
He held the phone away from his ear as Justin yelled out "WHAT!?" We all heard it. I reached over and took the phone from his hand. "Justin, it's Dale."
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING IN BALTIMORE?"
"Listen Curly. If you must know two couples are spending time together. You and Josh decided to freak about some things, so we're doing our own thing tonight...I suggest you do the same." I hung up the phone and handed it back to Lance. I excused myself and went to the bathroom.
Joey found me there a few minutes later.
"Dale, what's wrong?"
"What is their fucking problem? They were fine with us weren't they?" He nodded. "Why in the hell are Josh and Justin giving poor Lance and Chris such grief? Are they afraid that they'll `catch it' or something?"
He sighed and sat on the counter. He opened his arms and legs so I could get up next to him. I wrapped my arms around him and just held him close. He always smelled good. He kissed the side of my neck, and hugged me tight before he started talking.
"They had no problem with us because you didn't start out with the group. Whenever one of us has dated it's pretty standard for us to date outside. But when Lance and Chris got together that changed things...they're dating inside. I have no problem with it obviously, but they still have to get used to the fact that two of their closest friends are now a couple. It's hard sometimes, but they'll get there."
It was probably the most thought provoking statement I've ever heard Joey use. I ran my finger along his chin and gave him a soft kiss. "Have I told how much I love you lately Joey?"
"Not in a few hours...but those are words I always wanna hear." He grinned and kissed me passionately. We were just starting to get into it when we heard a voice from over by the door.
"Oh, so this where you went off to." I broke the kiss and looked over my shoulder.
"Oh, hey Steve. Do you mind, I'm making out with my boyfriend." Joey was blushing for some reason. I just smiled as I kissed him. "Isn't he cute when he's being bashful?"
"Yeah, he's adorable. Now you gonna come back out so I can take your dinner orders?"
We followed Steve back to the table. He took our dinner orders, and was just heading down to turn in our order when I saw Connie running up the stairs. She nearly collided with him, and yelled out a `sorry' as she ran over to me.
"Get up you bitch and give me a hug!" She then grabbed me by the collar and pulled me into a bear hug. I laughed as I felt the breath being crushed out of my body.
"Hi Connie, long time no see. You been working out again?" She was looking like she'd been trying out for American Gladiators.
Joey let out a whistle. "Damn, you look almost as big as Chyna!"
She turned to look at who I was with, and I got to see her eyes widen. "Holy shit Dale. When'd you start hanging out with famous people?"
"Connie, that mouth! Does your dad know you talk like that?"
She plopped down into my seat. "Please, the man taught me how to cuss in four languages." She grinned at Joey. "How're you doing hot stuff?" Lance, Chris and I just started laughing as Joey turned beet-red and began stuttering. I had to step in when I saw her move her arm like she was going to grab his dick.
"Whoa Connie. Be nice to my man."
Lance and Chris both snapped their heads to stare at me, but thankfully Connie didn't even bat an eye. "I can see why you'd go for him. He's a hottie Dale. Oh don't worry your peroxided little head blondie, I won't breathe a word." She winked at him, and went back to snuggling with Joey.
"Okay you, out of my chair!" I jerked my thumb, and she stuck her tongue out at me as she went to get another chair. She grabbed a chair, and sat down next to me. "So, what brings you guys to Baltimore?"
I wiggled a bit in the chair, and took a sip of my drink. "Well, you see..."