Hi again!
Okay, I'm keeping everything short and sweet...and yes, this is a very short installment.
I want to thank the normal bunch of people who keep my encouragement and morale up--Matt, Cele, Mykl (read his wonderful story, "We Admitted it", Clarke (sweetie, I'm sooo glad your back!), John (I LOVE YOU TOO!!!~private joke~oh and please go read his story, "A Little Bit of Love", it's fabulous!), Khiem (ahem, slutty bitch? You forgot `Miss' in front of that! =) And go read his story too, "Umm, Whatever"). And of course, Justin...what else can I say about you? Besides that you're an awesome friend to know and you make me smile. Love ya, honey.
DISCLAIMER: This is a story, fictional and what not and is not meant to imply the sexuality of anyone in `N Sync, especially Lance Bass...you know the drill, m/m relationship, 18/21 depending on where you live and so on
more notes on the bottom
My Surprise Romance
Chapter 31
It had been only seconds from when Lance and I had entered the hotel, that we left it. Apparently, Josh had done some detective work and had found out what flight my cousin was on.
"I have to go find her," Josh said frantically as he ran out of the hotel and onto the sidewalk. I followed him, with Lance right next to me. Within seconds, Josh had flagged down a taxi and barked directions at the driver. As I climbed into the vehicle, I looked at Lance.
"Lance..it's my cousin..don't worry. Go to bed," I said, suddenly feeling more tired than I had ever felt in my entire life. But Lance just shook his head and climbed into the backseat and plopped himself down on the vinyl seat next to me.
"No way," Lance said, shaking his head. "I'm coming along with you two...I care about Cynthia just as much as I care about you and Josh." I smiled at his comment and then looked over at Josh. He could have cared less about what Lance and I were talking about as he impatiently checked his wrist watch and let out a sigh of disgust as the taxi was immediately stopped at a red light.
"Oh fuck this," he muttered under his breath. I was half-expecting Josh to jump out of the vehicle and run to the airport, but instead he began impatiently drumming his fingertips on the door. I looked at Lance and rolled my eyes. He gave me a sympathetic smile in return and while we rushed off to the airport, I let my mind wander for a few minutes.
How the hell had the evening gone from Lance and I, strolling along a beach to suddenly being squashed in the back of a cramped taxi en route in search of Cynthia? I laid all the blame on her for it, mainly because she wasn't there. It was easy to point fingers--at Josh for making out with that skanky nightclub girl, or at Cynthia who was too proud to talk to Josh. It was a mess, I thought as I managed to hold back a disgusted sigh. How did Cynthia manage to cause trouble even when she wasn't there? I shook my head at the absurdity of the situation that I was currently entangled in...wasn't it usually the `N Sync guys getting chased by girls and not the other way around? Trust Cynthia to turn the tables like that, I thought with a smile.
But this wasn't funny to Josh. Although he avoided saying anything to me or Lance, I could tell that if we did, Josh would most likely snap at us. His hands were clenched into two fists and the expression on his face was one of worry and distress. He kept muttering things under his breath, "Cynthia...can't believe she'd just leave....what did I do wrong..." over and over. I glanced at my boyfriend, who was staring at Josh with an apprehension. Lance then looked over at me and gave me a shrug, not saying a word. It seemed best not to say anything because it just seemed that Josh would punch our lights out if we even breathed the wrong way. I should know...he had punched me in the face without any hesitation at our first meeting. To keep my mind off of things, I attempted to read Cynthia's good-bye note as the taxi passed under the occasional street light. It read:
To everyone:
I really did enjoy all the time I spent with you. I want you to know that I'll never forget it But everything has to come to an end sometimes and this is one of those times. I have to go back home...and Josh, I want you to know I hold nothing against you. I hope everything goes well in your life and maybe we'll run into each other again. Lance, thank you so much for bringing happiness to Stevie's life--and Stevie, I'll see you when the tour is over. Take care everyone...
Cynthia
I stared at the feminine handwriting on the crumpled paper for a few seconds, and tears formed in my eyes at the words she had chosen. Even through all of her pain and troubles Cynthia had still managed to think of me, I thought, while quickly brushing the tears from the corners of my eyes.
As I was lost in my own world, the taxi came to a screeching halt, nearly throwing Lance and I into the front seat. Josh on the other hand, had leapt out of the taxi even before it had stopped running into the airport like a madman. After we had watched Josh do this, Lance and I looked at each other, astonishment in our eyes.
"Does he know what he's doing?" Lance finally asked, shaking his head at Josh's actions. He pulled his wallet from the back pocket of his pants, pulled out some money and placed it in the waiting palm of the taxi drivers hand. We then got out of the car and ran into the airport, in search of Josh.
"Jesus Christ," I yelled to Lance as we ran through the half-empty building. "I can't believe this is happening to us!"
"Same here," Lance shot back, as we stopped in front of monitors that listed the various flight destinations and departure times. "I'm supposed to be a singer--not a detective." As we read the monitor, I realized that Josh had never told up what flight Cynthia had taken home. We had no idea what to look for.
"It's hopeless," I muttered under my breath as turned to face Lance. We stood there, trying to figure out what to do next when Lance's face lit up as an idea came to his mind. He saw a couple approaching us and he turned to face them.
"Excuse me," he began politely. "You didn't happen to see a guy run through here a few seconds ago, did you?" The couple stared at him for quite awhile and I could tell by the expression in their eyes that they were trying to think of where they had seen Lance before. And then the woman let out an excited shriek.
"You're from `N Sync aren't you?! Oh my god!" She turned to the man that she was with, whom I presumed was her husband. "Honey, I told you that was JC Chasez that ran past us, but noooo, you said that I was going insane," her voice was coming out in a high pitched girly shriek that irritated my eardrums. She began to jump up and down excitedly, while her husband let out a disgruntled sigh and just rolled his eyes. His face turning a bright red, Lance smiled again and touched the woman's arm in an attempt to calm her down.
"Please--I don't mean to be rude, but which way did JC go?" Lance asked, his voice beginning to verge on impatience. As I watched him, I marveled at his patience. I'll tell you this much, he was much nicer to the woman then I would have ever been.
"He went that way," the man finally interrupted his wife, pointing in the direction that Josh had disappeared in. Lance and I gave him a grateful look and sprinted off in search of Josh. Our footsteps pounded through the empty halls of the airport and like the light at the end of a tunnel, we finally saw Josh. He was alone. Standing in the middle of all of those seats where you wait for your plane to take off. He was holding the small jewelry box that contained the necklace he had purchased for Cynthia in his hands. And the look on his face was one of complete and utter dejection.
Lance and I slowly approached Josh, not sure what he was capable of. As we stood next to him, I could hear him gasping for breath. Trying to calm down after running through the airport. Lance and I kept silent, until Josh felt comfortable enough to say something. And he finally did.
"She's gone," he said quietly, turning his head to stare out the plate glass window that over looked the runway. "The flight boarded about five minutes ago...the woman at the counter said that I just missed it...and that a Cynthia Peterson was booked on it..." His voice trailed off as he said this, the realization of his words making sense. Josh walked up to the window and placed his hands on the cool glass, as though it would bring Cynthia back to him somehow. He stood there watching the plane that was ready for take off, knowing that his ex-girlfriend was on it.
I turned to look at Lance and by the expression in his eyes, I could tell that his heart was breaking in two for his bandmate. I know that mine was. Unconsciously, I let my hand fall to my side and noticing this, Lance reached over and grabbed it, giving it a gentle squeeze before letting it go. Surprise filled my eyes at Lance's affectionate public gesture, but it didn't make me feel any better inside. I gave Lance a sad smile as we stood there watching Josh.
You're probably wondering what I was thinking, since Cynthia is my cousin after all. Well, I'm not sure. Part of me was angry at her for just leaving Josh like this. But part of me also understood. Sometimes it's just better to run away from your problems and make a clean break. I wondered if I could ever do such a thing to Lance...I mean, what could possibly happen between us that would just make me leave him?
We looked at each other once more, and Lance nodded towards his bandmate. We walked over to where Josh was standing, and once we reached him, Lance slung an arm over his friends shoulder.
"It's okay man," Lance said softly, attempting to soothe him. The look on Josh's face was one of pain and hurt. "There'll be other girls...don't worry." Josh and Cynthia had some troubles before, but this just seemed like the wrong ending for them. It should have ended better than this, I thought bitterly.
Josh looked at Lance in disbelief, like he couldn't believe what his friend had just said. But then the realization of the words hit him, and Josh's lips broke out in a very shaky smile. "Yeah..I guess," he said uncertainly. "I hope..." I stared out the glass, watching the plane drive down the runway. Since I was watching the plane, I could also see the reflection of what was going on in back of me as well. I blinked my heavy eyelids, ready to drop dead from exhaustion. I was so tired that I could have sworn I saw Cynthia walking towards us.
I blinked again. Damnit, the girl in the reflection looked like Cynthia. The same strawberry blonde hair, girlish swagger in her walk...I turned around and my mouth dropped open. There, walking towards us, was my cousin. There was a funny look on her face and as she drew closer to us, I realized that she was crying. I had never seen her cry before.
As I spun around, Lance looked up from the window, wondering what I was looking at. His mouth promptly dropped open when he saw Cynthia coming towards us. Our eyes met and smiles appeared on our faces. I felt a lump form in my throat.
"Josh," Lance said softly. "Hey, man...turn around." I saw a brief look of annoyance pass over Josh's face. But by the time Josh turned himself around, he was face to face with my cousin. The look on his face said it all--every emotion that he was feeling at the moment. Hurt, sadness, happiness, love...the range of feelings that I saw flash on that man's face was incredible.
He stared at her for a few seconds before speaking. "Cynthia?" he finally breathed, his words shakily leaving his mouth. His blue eyes gazed at my cousin as though she was an ghost and not there, right in front of him in the flesh. Cynthia nodded slowly, the tears running down her face and in the blink of an eye, Josh had reached out and embraced her in a hug. I saw her arms wrap around his body and the two of them held onto each other for dear life.
There was something so wonderful about that moment--to see two people in love. And it finally made sense to me about why she had written that little blurb about Lance and I on her thank you note. It was beautiful to see two people who cared so much about each other..it was a little disgusting, but I thought as a happy grin formed on my face, it was absolutely worth it. As they remained entwined in each others arms, Lance and I looked at each other. He rolled his eyes good naturedly at me and motioned me to come over to him. When I walked over, Lance gave me a happy grin that rivaled my own.
"Think we should leave the kids alone?" he whispered. Personally, I don't think there was a reason to whisper. I don't think Cynthia and Josh would have heard Lance and I if we would have started running around the airport, screaming at the top of our lungs. They were too lost in their own world to notice any outside interruptions.
"Definitely," I agreed and with one more glance at Cynthia and Josh, Lance and I left them alone, in search of an exit.
Lance and I made it out of the airport, but not before being ambushed by that woman whom we had asked directions from. She had been waiting for us to pass back through. Lance couldn't help but laugh at her persistence and obligingly gave her an autograph. The man she was with just gave us a `look' as they finally left the airport.
We hailed a taxi back to the airport, and on the ride back, I fell asleep. I couldn't help it. The events of the past day had seemed like a dream to me and my poor brain couldn't keep up with it anymore. My eyelids retaliated and soon enough, I was out like a light for God only knows how long.
Lance's deep voice entered my mind like a ray of light as I felt his hand gently nudge my shoulder. "Stephen..wake up..we're back." When I opened my eyes, I found him staring down at me, his green eyes filled with humor. It took me a few seconds to realize that we were in a taxi and that my head had fallen right into his lap. I shot up like a rocket to find the cab driver turned around in his seat, staring at us with a strange expression on his gruff face. I guess if I was him, I would have thought that we were a little weird as well. I mean,how many guys do you see falling asleep in each others laps? Besides the gay ones, of course, and well, that was what I was. So it made sense to me. And Lance. But not the cab driver.
Lance and I got out of the cab and into the hotel. This time, there was no frantic Josh waiting for us, and thankfully no other distractions either. Somehow we made it into the hotel and like so many other times when Lance and I were alone on an elevator, he backed me up into a corner and gave me a kiss.
"I'm so sorry," I breathed once we parted. Lance cocked his head at me and gave me a strange look.
"For what? Falling asleep in my lap? I really didn't mind," he grinned devilishly.
I let out a tired laugh at his remark and then let myself fall back into seriousness. "No, for all of the trouble I caused. I lied to you and we had kind of a fight this morning--"
"But we made up," Lance said, his green eyes lighting up at the memory of that afternoon's romantic encounter. I blushed at the thought of it and continued on with my rambling.
"I was the one who accepted the date with Justin and Harris--"
"But we had a nice time after that," Lance protested, before kissing me once more.
"And I'm the one who has the schizo-runaway cousin that caused Josh heartache, and who we had to chase after."
"You didn't tell her to leave," Lance said persuasively. "And hey, it was an exciting evening, wasn't it?" He gave me a light peck on the forehead right before the doors to the elevators opened up. The ride up to the floor had seemed shorter than usual, thanks to Lance's amorous distractions, and we headed to our room. The hallway was far from quiet, as we heard the voices of Joey, Chris and numerous female laughter coming from one room and some loud, bass heavy music coming from another. I looked over at Lance as he unlocked our door and flipped on the light.
"We are so boring," I sighed once we were inside and I had locked the door behind us. Lance turned to me and in a matter of seconds, pinned me against the door and kissed me. His hands began to run up and down my body, slipping under my shirt.
"You call this boring?" Lance whispered in my ear once his mouth left mine. "Then what do you call exciting?" I could barely say anything to his remark, as my mind was more concentrated on pulling his body close to mine once more. We remained locked in that comfortable position for a few more seconds, as our hands frantically ran up and down each others bodies, underneath clothes. Finally, Lance frantically pulled away from me with a pained look on his face.
"Stephen," he whispered, running his index finger down my cheek. "I hate to do this, but I have to take a crippling piss." I blinked in surprise at the vulgar way he had put it, not expecting those words to have tumbled out of his mouth.
"Boy you really know how to ruin the moment," I murmured against his earlobe, feeling more than disappointed when the warmth of his body left mine. "But I understand." Lance gave me a grin as he rushed off to the bathroom. Feeling a bit dejected, I flopped on the neatly made bed and laid down on it. The sturdiness felt comforting against my back. It was as if something finally was holding me up...it was a strange feeling. I briefly closed my eyes, the blackness of my eyelids soothing protection from the bright ceiling lights. As I succumbed to my tired state, my mind began to sift through the events of the day and I fell into the darkness that surrounded me. My eyes were closed, but my mind was still on. I could hear the toilet flush and then the brief sound of running water and then Lance's footsteps as he exited the bathroom.
"Stephen?" I heard his soft voice come out in a gentle whisper. "Stephen, are you up?" I wanted to answer so badly, but I was just so exhausted that I couldn't get the muscles in my mouth to even budge. I could feel Lance's presence walk to my side of the bed and hover above me. As much as I wanted to look at my wonderful boyfriend, my eyelids were glued shut with sleep. I felt Lance move, his hands removing my shoes and throwing them off to the side. I could feel Lance move himself upwards, and I felt his warm breath softly caress my cheek. A pause.
"Good night, Stephen," I heard him whisper. I could tell by the way he whispered my name that a smile had appeared on his lips. I wished I could open my eyes up to see that smile, but I just couldn't. Sleep had won over my ability to do what I pleased. I could tell the he flicked the lights off and then I could feel Lance walk around the bed and then fall next to me. I could feel his hand move across my chest and then his head gently fall against it. And that was the last that I remembered.
I woke up the next morning feeling as though I had been run over by a cement truck. When I opened my eyes, I saw Lance's head on top of my chest. He looked peaceful. All he needed was a halo and the vision in front of my eyes would be complete. I contemplated staying that way for the rest of the morning, but then I remembered that Lance had a band meeting and I inwardly groaned to myself. Plus, he had a concert tonight, which meant rehearsals and all of that other crap. Oh well, I thought, at least we had a great night yesterday--if you counted out Harris and Justin, Cynthia and Josh...ugh.
Lance must have sensed that I had waken up, because he suddenly looked up at me then. He gave me a sleepy smile and smacked his lips a couple of times.
"Morning, sleepy," Lance teased me. "Man, were you tired last night. I guess I wasn't exciting enough for you." He stuck his lower lip out at me.
"No, you were exciting--I was boring," I laughed as I gave him a kiss. "I'm sorry I zonked out on you though, I was really looking forward to you coming back."
"So was I," Lance said honestly as he rolled off of me. "Man, yesterday felt like the longest day of my life." I nodded in agreement as I pulled myself off the bed. Lance reached over and gently rubbed my back. A sigh escaped my lips at his touch and I grinned at him.
"Thanks. So what's on the agenda today?" I asked lightly, even though I knew already. I guess I just wanted to hear his voice, I thought as Lance made a horrible face at me.
"Band meeting, rehearsal for the show, lunch for a magazine interview and then the concert. Great, huh?" Lance said sarcastically. "Another day of crap. I guess those two days off spoiled me." He continued massaging my back in small circles and I didn't want it to end. The silence between us was a welcome sound.
"How's your arm?" I finally asked Lance, breaking the silence that had formed between us. He lifted it up at me and grinned. As my eyes ran up and down his pale limb, I noticed that the purplish red bruises were still present.
"Hurts a little, but its much better," Lance said, moving it around. "Thanks for asking."
"Hey, I'm always worried about you," I said, leaning over so that I fell against him. "Worrying is in my blood, I guess."
Lance looked at me oddly then. "Yeah, I've never thought about it, but you're right. You used to work at the nursing home...you've taken care of Natalie...you've worried about me in the hospital...geez, Stephen, you're a worrying machine," Lance joked, yet there was a serious undertone to his voice and I knew that he was right. I was a worrier, no doubt about that. I just couldn't help but worry about the people that I cared about and Natalie and Lance were definitely two people that I cared about. More than cared about, I corrected the voice in my head. I loved them. I loved them both more than anything else in this world.
I smiled at Lance, and ran my fingers through his soft blonde hair. For reasons that I couldn't explain, I wanted this moment between us to never end. There had been something that changed between us from yesterday to this morning and I couldn't place my finger on it. It had changed for the better and I couldn't help but feel that our souls had finally connected. It wasn't just lust anymore (not that it had been all lust, but it certainly did play a big role in getting our relationship off to a start). It was something else...something that I couldn't even put into words and whatever it was I liked it.
Overcome with this new emotion, I leaned over to kiss Lance and just as my eyes closed and our lips were about to touch, there was a knock on the door. My eyes flew open at the disruption and I let out a groan.
"Nice..someone up there really hates us," I muttered under my breath, rolling my eyes towards the ceiling. Lance just gave me a dejected smile as I turned myself towards the door.
"Yes?" I called out, my voice a bit shaky from the let down I had just experienced.
"It's Josh! Just wanted to remind you two lovebirds that we have a band meeting this morning!" he called out happily. "I'll see you then!"
Lance and I exchanged amused glances at Josh's obvious good mood. "Someone got some last night," he quipped and I leaned over and placed a light kiss on his cheek. "You know, I could have gotten some too if my boyfriend wasn't such a sleeper." He gave me another look. "Why don't you and Josh form a club for sleepers, since that's what you do the best? He could be the president and you could be the vice."
I punched him in the arm. "You act like you never get any, you big slut," I teased Lance. For a moment, Lance's face remained completely expressionless. I guess he never expected me to say anything like that. A slow grin finally spread across his lips as he reached in back of me and hit me over the head with a pillow. I sat there in shock, since the pillow had hit me quite hard over the head. I felt a little dizzy and blinked a couple of times. Lance dropped the pillow and shifted closer to me on the bed.
"Geez, Stephen..are you okay? I didn't mean to hurt you or anything," he said worriedly, brushing my hair away from my forehead. I let my eyes meet his as I slowly reached in back of him . "I'm okay," I said, trying not to grin as I brought the pillow up closer. "Really, but...I have a feeling you won't be." I raised my arm and with pillow in hand, I promptly bonked him over the head with his pillow. "How do you like them apples?" I shot back as Lance's expression changed from one of shock to anger. Giving me a glare that sent shivers down my spine, he rubbed the spot on his head where I had hit him.
"I don't," he said shortly, turning away from me. I felt my skin crawl...what had I done now? Especially when things were going so well, I thought with dismay. I reached my hand out to touch Lance's shoulder and he turned his head backwards to look at me. I was about to say something, when he let out a short laugh and before I could even respond, Lance threw himself on top of me and began to wrestle me.
"Faked you out didn't I?" Lance laughed as we rolled around on the king sized bed. "Thought I was mad? Didn't you?" He intertwined his hands with mine as we rolled around a little bit more. In one swift move, Lance pinned me down, my back against the bed, while he held onto my hands. He gave me a mischievous grin.
"Now say you're sorry," Lance ordered, his green eyes twinkling. I stubbornly shook my head, and stuck my lower lip out.
"No way," I managed to pant before Lance leaned his face towards mine. He stared into my eyes for a few seconds before biting my lower lip, pulling me into a tender kiss. I felt my lips part allowing his tongue to slip in between and begin to frantically search my mouth. Letting one of my hands go, I reached up and pulled his face closer to mine. Seconds passed and needing to take a breath, our mouths parted slightly and a lazy smile formed on his handsome face.
"Please?" he whispered against my mouth. My heartbeat began beating faster and faster as those hypnotic green eyes continued to stare into mine. I almost felt as though Lance had cast a spell on me...one that I didn't want broken. At that moment, I would have jumped off a bridge if he would have asked me to. Allowing my stubborn facade to drop, I caved in to Lance's request.
"Okay. I'm sorry," I managed to breathe. "But could you please tell me what I'm so sorry for?" I had forgotten what had caused us to become so amorous. Everything thought seemed to disappear out of my mind when Lance and I became like this and then it suddenly hit me. "That's right--now I know-- it was for hitting you on the head."
"Right! And I accept your apology," Lance said graciously, letting go of my other hand so that he could stroke my cheek before diving down to place another one of his passionate kisses onto my lips. I responded my wrapping my arms around him, pulling his body to close to me. As I felt his warm lips press against mine, the emotions throughout my body ran the gamut...I was safe...I was loved...feelings that I had never experienced before until I met Lance...and as we escaped reality once more, I wondered how long we could go on before something threatened to tear us apart.
notes
*okay, first up, I have been concerned with the steady decline of e-mails pertaining to the last few chapters of this story...I don't know what I've been doing wrong (or right) for that matter, but I would like to know. And yes, I've been worried if I'm getting too stupid here or what. Or If I'm losing readers. Yes I know I sound pathetic. I know I sound like an idiot but...please, please e-mail me with your thoughts, comments and criticisms about this story. PLEASE. The address is sweetheart_stories@hotmail.com
**okay, number 2: this chapter is the last installment in what I call Part 1' of MSR. The last three chapters plus this one made up a mini-series entitled, The Longest Day'. It was meant to tie up a lot of loose ends as well as set up new questions for the next part of the story...if you couldn't notice them pop up throughout this chapter :) So the next installment will start up Part 2 of MSR...which I will be hoping will be out by sometime next week. Whew, that was a lot! Okay, I'm going to bed now...so good night and please e-mail me: sweetheart_stories@hotmail.com Thanks for reading :) Gabriella.