My Surprise Romance

Hi y'all!....now what they say, everything can't be perfect forever... anyways, let me know what you think by sending me an e-mail at sweetheart_stories@hotmail.com. I love e-mail and THANK YOU to everyone who keeps sending me all of the positive feedback..thank you so much...

Mmmm, now with the thanks....long list, here so skip over if you're not interested...thank you to: Matt, Cele (who has a pretty darn fabulous story called Love Letters on her own website: http://www.angelfire.com/journal/LoveLetters/frames.htm...go check it out after you read mine ;) ) Mykl (who writes `We Admitted It'), John (sweetie? Are you still there?), Clarke (lubs ya honey!), Khiem (see, I mentioned you =P ), and of course Justin, who makes me laugh, listens to me rant about crap and reads over every installment and that's just what I can list here...thank you honey :)

Of course, I'm being a total shameless self-promoting hussy here, so please go check out my new website, which has a lot of stuff on it, plus MSR. And if that's not enough, I also put a pict of what Stephen got Cynthia for her birthday...really...don't believe me? Just go see for yourself:

http://sweetheart.homepage.com/

DISCLAIMER: God if you don't know this already, where have you been living...you know...m/m relationship, 18 or 21 to read it, involves Lance Bass of `N Sync and is not to imply his sexuality...yeesh...and now....

My Surprise Romance

The Better to Dream of You

Chapter 33

I was lying in bed...sleeping peacefully...my mind was free of thoughts...problems. Life was perfect. Lance was lying next to me and although I was sleeping, I could feel the warmth of his bare skin next to mine...and then the explosion occurred.

"Stevie! Lance! Oh my God! Holy moly canoli! Wake up already! Guess who's birthday is today! Wakeupwakeupwakeup!" And then as if that wasn't bad enough, Cynthia added insult to injury by jumping on top of the bed--while Lance and I were still in it--and squashed herself in between our sleeping bodies. When I felt her wedge herself in between Lance and I, I had no other choice but to roll myself over, opening up one eye as I glared at her.

"Geez, Cynthia..." I began in the angriest voice I could muster, only to ruin it by yawning. "Are you excited about something?" My overly enthusiastic cousin reacted by reaching out and punching me in the arm. I saw Lance take the pillow from in back of his head and throw it over his face.

"Cynthia...fire drills are quieter that you," came his muffled voice from under the pillow. Giving me a wicked grin, Cynthia reached over and pulled the stuffed object from his face.

"Rise and shine!" she yelled as she tossed the pillow onto the floor. "Come on Lancey...you have to wake up and give Cynthia a big good morning, happy birthday kiss!" She puckered her pink gloss covered lips at him and he just groaned in response. Lance rolled over on his side and faced me.

"What did we do to deserve this?" Lance asked, stifling a yawn as his eyelids threatened to close once more on him. Cynthia gave me another one of her evil grins as she lifted the edge of the comforter that we were snuggled under and peeked between the sheets.

"Nice," she remarked casually as she examined Lance's naked body. "Very nice, Stevie." Lance, who had closed his eyes, opened them once he realized that a cool drift of air was slipping between him and the sheets.

"Hey!" he exclaimed in surprise, pulling the comforter out of her hands. "If you're gonna look, you have to pay." He grinned, despite being dead tired and being ogled by my cousin.

"Does Stevie have to pay? Or does he get free samples?" Cynthia asked, giving us a sly grin. I heaved a sigh and then did the only thing I could do.

"Cynthia--OUT!" I screamed, pointing my finger towards the door. Her face changed from elated to shocked.

"Aww, come on," she began to protest. I sat straight up in bed and placed a hand over her mouth to shut her up.

"Now," I said sternly, pointing my finger to the door again. "Happy Birthday, Cynthia... Now GO!" Realizing that I was dead serious, Cynthia got off the bed and flounced to the door. Before she left though, Cynthia turned around and stuck out her tongue at Lance and I.

"I know why you want me to leave! I know what you two are gonna do," she said. I'm not sure if she was trying to threaten us or what. Suddenly an idea lit up my mind causing me to grin at her.

"What Cynthia? Screw each other's brains out? Is that what you wanted to hear?" I asked , keeping the lazy, lopsided grin plastered on my face. Her face went dead white at my remark. I guess she hadn't been expecting my retort to be so...so Cynthia-like. A few seconds later and after the shock had worn off, a slow smile began to spread across her face.

"Stevie..you're finally getting a dirty mind! I'm so proud of you!" she laughed before finally leaving the room. With a loud sigh, I fell back onto the bed and then looked at Lance. He was staring at me, a smile playing on his lips.

"She's something else," he laughed as he rolled himself even closer to me and placed a kiss on my lips. "Morning, by the way."

"Morning to you," I said back. "So what's on the agenda that's gonna take you away from me today?" Lance rolled his eyes.

"Photos...lots and lots of photos for the teen magazines," Lance sighed as he pressed himself closer to me. "We have to go to a studio in downtown L.A.and pose for the cameras all morning long...sounds like fun, doesn't it?"

"Sounds like it," I said dryly as another knock on the door interrupted us. I let out a groan at being disturbed once more. Lance however, was more responsive than me. A disgusted look appeared on his face as he shot up in the bed like a rocket.

"What?!?" he screamed at the door "Who the hell is it? And what the fuck do you want?!" I looked over at Lance, amused by this furious side of him that I rarely saw. His eyes were practically bugged out of his head as he stared at the door, which slowly began to open. Who's head should poke in to our room but Britney's. When Lance saw who the target of his anger was, his face turned flaming red at his behavior.

"Whoops, sorry, Brit," he sheepishly said as he sunk back down onto the bed. "I thought you were one of the guys or something...sorry for swearing at you." Britney's brown eyes twinkled with amusement at Lance's change of attitude.

"Um, that's okay," she said, trying not to laugh. "I just wanted to know if everything was okay in here. I heard someone yelling before and I was just wondering if something was wrong."

I shook my head wearily. "No, it was just Cynthia...she came to tell us that it was her--"

"Birthday?" Britney said with a laugh. "I heard her run into Chris and Joey's room this morning as well. She's really excited, isn't she?" I nodded.

"Yeah, back home it was a big deal..she was the apple of my aunt and uncle's eye..the youngest...I used to fly out to see her," I explained, finally feeling as though I was waking up. "She had these huge parties like you wouldn't believe and I think that's why she's making a big deal out of it..she's not home."

"Mmmm, but I think she's gonna love what Josh has planned for her tonight," Britney said, with a smile on her face. "I can't wait to hear about it."

"You going with us?" I asked curiously as Britney shook her head.

"Nope...I can't. I have a video shoot that's gonna last most of the night and then I have to go off to some photo shoot tomorrow morning. It's too bad though, I'm not gonna get to see the guys for quite some time after this." She frowned, but then quickly replaced it with a wistful smile. "Oh well, there's always another time." She was about to walk out of the room, when another thought struck her and she walked back into our room again. "Oh, and Lance...guys are meeting downstairs in about a half-hour...breakfast will be served at the shoot," Britney relayed before she left Lance and I alone again.

"God, I'm beginning to hate this schedule we have," Lance complained as he got up from the bed. "Nothing but work, work, work..."

"But hey, the tour ends in a week or two," I reminded him happily. "And then you're off for a couple of weeks." Lance smiled at this thought as he pulled on his boxer shorts and headed to the bathroom.

"You're right," he agreed, as a mischievous expression appeared on his handsome face. "I'm gonna go take a shower...wanna chaperone me?" Lance asked, a childlike grin forming on his lips as he said this. I couldn't help but laugh.

"Lance...you have to get going...and as much as I'd like to take you up on your offer, you and I both know that if we do, you'll never get downstairs on time," I said as sensibly as I could, although my mind (and well as other parts of my body) was completely disagreeing with this. Lance just made a `tsk-tsk' noise with his tongue and shook his head before disappearing into the bathroom. I continued to lay in bed, listening to the sound of the running water....I lay there, staring at the ceiling, until Lance appeared from the bathroom again, a towel wrapped around his waist as he dried his hair off with another.

"Geez, you're the lazy one today," Lance teased me, as he pulled his suitcase from under the bed "Aren't you gonna come along with us to the photo shoot?" Lance asked curiously as he began to dig through his clothes, while waitng for my response. I hesitated to answer.

"Lance, I have to do a couple of things today...there's a few things I have to do, and while you're at the shoot, I can run around L.A. and do them, okay?" He looked up at me from his suitcase, an expression of surprise on his face. And then, understanding what I really meant, Lance grinned knowingly.

"I know what you're planning to do," he said. "You're gonna go around and draw stuff, aren't you?" I blushed at the fact that Lance was right. He knew me way too well already.

"Auugh, you are psychic," I teased him as he quickly pulled on a t-shirt and a pair of baggy jeans "That's exactly what I had planned to do...so if you don't mind..."

Lance looked at me, a huge grin plastered on his face. "Not at all...I'll miss you, but Stephen, why do you think I got you all those art supplies? To gather up dust?"

"Hmmm." I said, placing my finger to my lip as though I was in deep thought. "That's a good idea. Maybe I should do that instead." I ducked my head as Lance whipped his hairbrush at me. "I guess not," I laughed as the brush hit the wall with a `thud'. He walked over to pick it up, but not before stopping next to me.

"I knew you'd see it my way," he said softly, before leaning down and planting a kiss on my lips. When we parted, I had a grin on my face from ear to ear. Nothing could be better than this...nothing.

And so after Lance left for his photo shoot, I finally dragged my lazy butt out of bed to take a shower, as well as shave and dress. When I got out of the shower, I stared at myself in the mirror and marveled at how happy I looked. It was disgusting, I thought with a smile as I brushed my hair back. When I was satisfied with that, I placed my brush back on the dresser and walked back over to the bed. I pulled my suitcase from under it, and zipped it open.

I pawed through the items until I found my journal that I kept. I rarely wrote in it...even after I had met Lance. Writing was just not my thing. I couldn't sit myself down and relay all of my feelings onto a piece of paper like some people could. Maybe that's why I was an artist. All of my paintings and drawings were my journal entries. I opened up the book to the last entry I had made...it was on the day that Lance and I had first slept together. Obviously that was important, I though with a smile as I skimmed over my messy handwriting. And then my eyes drifted onto a word-"mother". My mother. How could I have forgotten her? Did I really forget her? Or was she always with me? Always haunting my mind and I just refused to acknowledge it...maybe that was it. I quickly flipped the page and my eyes were treated to seeing the Polaroid of Lance and I that Britney had taken a couple of days ago. We looked so happy together, I thought as examined the picture.

And as I sat there, something happened. I felt cold...it's a hard feeling to explain without sounding like a nut. A chill ran down my spine for a few seconds...and then it was gone. My mind was a little disturbed with what had just happened, but I shrugged it off. I slammed the journal shut and stuck it back in my suitcase, underneath a stack of t-shirts. And then my hand came into contact with a small velvet jewelry box. I closed my eyes at its touch as I pulled it out of the suitcase and into the light of day.

I had forgotten that I had brought it along with me. It's funny how some things slip your mind,' I thought as I flipped open the box. My father's sliver ID bracelet winked at me in the sunlight that filled the room, and I gently lifted the silver object from its case. For a few seconds, I just sat there on the bed and stared at it, not comprehending what had possessed me to look at it. My mother had handed it down to me on my eighteenth birthday and told me to do whatever I wanted to do with it. I ran my fingers over the name engraved on the cold metal...it was the same name that was given to me, Stephen. Maybe that's why I was so adamant about people spelling my name with the p'...because it was my father's name. I felt tears threatening to come to my eyes as I thought about him...

Not wanting my emotions to rule my life, I snapped the jewelry case shut and stuck it back into my suitcase. After I had shoved that back under the bed, I grabbed my sketch pad, my pencils and left the room.

The morning that I spent alone was like a breath of fresh air in my crowded life. I had forgotten what it was like to be alone, all by myself and not have a group of people breathing down your neck all the time. It was odd to be traveling on a bus, and not by some fancy mode of transportation, like a limo, but it was normal. Normalcy was good...it was needed...

After I had hit a coffee shop in search of my morning caffeine fix as well as a chocolate doughnut, I began walking the streets of Los Angeles looking for something interesting to sketch. I finally found my salvation on a park bench, where I planted myself down and began to record the people that walked back and forth.

It's easy to lose yourself in something that you love, and that's exactly what I did. Before I knew it, I had not only filled up over half of my notebook with sketches of the people that had passed me by, but over two hours had passed as well. Shaking my head, I realized that I had to start drawing Cynthia's gift for her. I had come up with an idea last night and I had to get it down on paper before I totally lost it. Not to mention, I had to finish it before tonight. I continued drawing, until I looked at my watch. It was a little past one o' clock, and with that, I decided to head back to the hotel.

After I had boarded the bus and took a window seat, a thought had entered my mind. Something was missing all morning and I knew exactly what it was: Lance. It was funny how accustomed I had become to having him around me all the time. And even the few hours that I had been without him had been a little weird. I mean, it wasn't like I was dependent, that I couldn't stand on my own two feet without him, but it was lonely. I missed having someone to laugh with, someone to talk with...someone just to be there with me. Lance was the person that I had always been missing in my life and now that I had found him, I didn't want to lose him. In fact, I had never wanted to see him more than I did now.

The ride back home seemed to drag on forever, but the bus finally arrived at a stop near the hotel and when it did, I practically jumped off of it. I was so eager to see Lance, I practically ran the entire way back, garnering some strange looks from the passers by. And as I ran back, I thought about all of the thoughts that had filtered through my mind that morning and suddenly, everything made sense. I knew what I had to do.

When I finally made it back to the hotel, I was surprised to see none other than Harris standing around in the lobby. He was dressed casually, yet still stylishly in a nectar colored snap front shirt and a pair of expensive looking slacks. He immediately saw me and a smile lit up his face.

"Hi, Stephen," Harris greeted me, as he noticed my out-of-breath demeanor. "Where'd you come from?"

"I was out sketching all morning," I explained, pointing to the sketchbook and pencils in my hand. "They were a gift from Lance and I thought I'd go and try `em out. So what are you doing here? I thought you were in Sacramento?"

Harris smiled. "Justin's been talking about me, I presume," he said as we laughed. "Yeah, I was, but we have tonight off so I thought I'd make a quick trip down here."

"Wow," I said impressed by Harris' determination to see his boyfriend. "All that way for one night?" He nodded.

"Yup..I really wanted to see Justin since our schedules are completely off after this. Plus I get to say bye to Britney as well..." he trailed off and then he rolled his eyes, grinning once more at me. "Aw, who the hell am I kidding...I really want to see Justin." I laughed at his remark, knowing exactly how Harris felt. "Same here. I hate to cut it short, but I really want to get upstairs and, uh, see Lance," I said, a bit embarrassed by the intensity of my feelings. Obviously Harris knew exactly what I was feeling, because he just smiled politely.

"Perfectly understandable," he laughed. "I'm just waiting for Justin to try and sneak down here without getting mobbed. I'll see you around Stephen," Harris called out as I began to walk towards the elevators.

"See you!" I called back, giving him a parting wave as I pressed a button that would get me an elevator.

It seemed like it took forever to get upstairs. Of course, I had to get clearance to go upstairs, even though I had been hanging around with the guys for a week. And then after that I had to patiently wait while the elevator seemed to stop at every damn floor to let people on and let people off. Finally, I had reached the top floor, the one I had been waiting impatiently to get to. It seemed like hours had passed, when in reality it had only been a little over ten minutes. Once the doors opened, I nearly flew out of the elevator and banged right into Cynthia.

"Geez, Stevie! Watch where you're going!" She exclaimed, noticing the crabby, anxious look on my face. "Where's the fire anyways?"

"Never you mind, my dear cousin," I called out as I walked down towards the room that Lance and I shared.

"Oh please, like I haven't guessed anyways! And Stevie!" I turned back to face my cousin with a aggravated look on my face. I didn't need Cynthia's too-cute-for-words mood right now, "Lancey-poo was looking for you!" she called out, with a knowing look on her face. A grin appeared on my face at hearing this news as I turned the doorknob.

"Thanks for telling me!" I called back, as I walked into the room and smack dab into my boyfriend.

"Hey!" I exclaimed as I bumped into him. "Waiting for me?" I closed and locked the door behind me as I walked over to the bed and sat down on it. Lance walked over and took a seat next to me.

"Yeah, I guess I was," he admitted sheepishly as I began flipping through the sketch pad. "I was kinda worried when we got back and you weren't here." I was touched by his concern--that he had been worrying about me. Lance really cares, I thought with a content feeling in my heart.

"I'm a grown boy, Lance," I laughed. "But thank you for worrying. No one usually cared about me when I went off on my little excursions back home," I explained as I continued to search for the sketch that I was searching for. I looked over at Lance to see a curious expression appear on his face. I knew he was going to ask me a question about what I just said, but luckily I found what I had been looking for.

"Wanna see what I drew for Cynthia's birthday?" I asked Lance, who nodded eagerly. I held the notebook up and as I expected, he let out a delighted laugh.

"God, that's awesome! I can't wait to see her face...Josh's too," Lance said, shaking his head. "You're good...did you use a photograph to draw from?"

"No," I admitted. Lance's mouth dropped open at hearing this.

"No? No pictures at all? You just drew it from memory?" I nodded again.

"I have a photographic memory, I guess," I said a bit awkwardly, embarrassed to tell him this because when I did tell people, it was something they usually fawned over. And I didn't want Lance to do the same. It was bad enough that some people at school didn't like this about me (the normal cattiness that occurs in circles) because they thought I was full of it. But I wasn't. And I didn't like flaunting it at all. I hated attention drawn to me. "Never mind that," I said somewhat abruptly, as I dismissed the subject with a wave of my hand.

"Okay," Lance said, looking a little surprised by my hesitance, but backed away from the subject neverless. "I was hoping you'd come back soon though. We have to go off to rehearsal in an hour or so...this is the big end concert and all," he said, rolling his eyes. "And I guess I just wanted to spend sometime with you before I had to go again."

"Same here," I said, as I leaned over and gave him a kiss. "But before anything, I wanted to give you your gift." Lance tipped his head at me, not understanding what I meant.

"Gift? For what?"

"Gift. You know, for our one month anniversary that even I didn't know about."

"Stephen! I told you not to worry about it!" Lance exclaimed, turning pink. "I got you that stuff because I wanted to. Not because it was our anniversary or anything."

"Just shut up," I said with a smile to let him know I was kidding around. "I want to give you this because I want to. Now close your eyes." Lance grinned at my request.

"Ooh, I like the way this is going so far," Lance remarked happily as he obligingly closed his eyes. It took me a few seconds to get out my gift for him and when I did, I sat back down next to him.

"Open your eyes," I said gently. Part of me couldn't believe I was doing this. But then, another part of me could believe it because it made the most sense to me. Nothing had made more sense to me than what I was doing right now. Lance opened his eyes and stared a bit suspiciously at the velvet box I was holding in my hands.

"Stephen...you shouldn't have," Lance began to protest, but I quickly shushed him.

"Just open it," I said, placing the box into Lance's hands. He stared at it for a second and then cautiously opened it as if it was going to bite. Lance stared at the silver bracelet curiously for a second, and then pulled it out of the box, where just stared at it as it dangled between his fingers. He laid it gently in his palm and ran his finger over the engraving. I really don't think he understood what it meant. Hell, if I were just given this out of the blue, I wouldn't have known what it meant either.

"Let me explain," I said softly, just as Lance said "Stephen, I like it," at the exact same time. We both laughed at this, as he let me continue first with my explanation.

"Lance...my mother gave me this when I was eighteen," I began, as I took the bracelet from him and held it in my hand, before passing it back to him. "It..it used to be my father's..that's his name on the bracelet.. well, it's mine too, but I was named after him."

"So you're Stephen William Peterson Junior?" Lance asked, reading the name off the bracelet and adding the junior himself. He looked up at me with a gentle smile on his lips. I nodded at the way he had put it. My name sounded nice when it came from Lance's mouth. His face lit up as another thought crossed his mind,

"That's why you introduced yourself that way to me when we first met, Stephen, with a p''," Lance recalled. I looked at him in amazement.

"And I have a photographic memory? You actually remember me telling you that?" I said in awe. Lance leaned over and kissed me on the tip of my nose.

"I remember a lot about you when I first laid my eyes on you--you were wearing a light blue shirt, dark jeans...your hair was kind of messy looking, and you looked extremely uncomfortable being in the same room with us," Lance added with a soft laugh. "Good memory, huh?"

"Amazing...if I didn't know you better, I'd say you were a stalker," I remarked as Lance unsnapped the bracelet's clasp and placed it on his wrist. He turned his wrist back and forth, modeling it for me. It fit perfectly.

"Well, I couldn't help but notice you," Lance said shyly, as he lifted his wrist up to me to see how the bracelet looked. "What do you think?" I smiled at how perfect it looked on him.

"I think it looks great on you...but Lance," I trailed off. He slowly lowered his hand and looked at me with concern in his green eyes.

"What's wrong? Do you want it back?" he asked, ready to unsnap the bracelet's clasp. I placed my hand over his to stop him.

"No, no--it's just, I don't want you to think that...that...I'm...." I struggled to find the right word. Lance looked at me and placed his fingertips to my cheek.

"Labeling me?" he filled in. "Or forcing me to wear it?" Lance's words were simple, yet managed to hit the nail right on the head. My lips formed into a shaky smile at the words he had chosen to use and I nodded in agreement.

"Yes..that's it. How did you know what I meant?" I asked in wonder once more, as Lance shifted his body practically into my lap. He placed an arm around my shoulder and began to lightly kiss my earlobe, sending shivers down my spine.

"Well, two reasons...One...I could tell by the expression on your face that you were worrying--again...and two, I just assumed that you were thinking, `if Lance is wearing something with my name on it, then he might think that I own him.'" He looked at me. "Am I right?"

I sat there, eerily freaked out how Lance had practically read my mind. Maybe I wasn't the only one with intuition around here, I thought as I allowed Lance to start unbuttoning my shirt.

"Stephen..." Lance said slowly. "I feel incredibly honored that you would give me something that obviously means so much to you...you don't know how that makes me feel inside." It was hard to concentrate on his words, as his lips began to dance along my collarbone. "I would never feel as if I'm being owned by you, just because I'm wearing something with your name on it...this only makes me feel like you're with me all the time, even if we can't be together." As he spoke these words, he managed to gently push me down on the bed.

"Thank you, Lance," I finally whispered when he finished comforting me. "Thank you so much for what you just said. I was afraid that you'd think it was a cheap gift or something...because it was previously owned or because--" Lance placed his hand over my mouth as I had done earlier that morning to Cynthia.

"Shut up, Stephen," Lance said with a suggestive smile as he leaned his face close to mine. "Just kiss me and shut up." I knew when I was beaten, so I just gave into his request and let his lips meet mine. He began to kiss me with an intense passion than I had never felt before, as his fingertips began to run up my shirt and over my nipples. I couldn't help but moan at his touch, as he gave me a smile. He knew exactly what he was doing to me, I thought while Lance undid a couple more buttons so that he could push the fabric off of my body. He gave me another alluring smile before moving his lips further down my chest, reaching one of my nipples. His tongue darted out of his mouth and began to flicker over the bud, until it was erect from his teasing. I began to run a hand up and down his back and then through his hair, which was I noticed was soft despite all of the styling products he put in it.

His mouth briefly moved over to my other nipple before moving downwards. His tongue began to lick a path down my stomach, pausing to dip into my navel. This caused me to let out another moan and Lance continued to work his tongue down the light trail of hair before reaching my jeans. He began to frantically unbutton them and when he did, Lance slowly ran his fingers over the hardness that had resulted from all of his work.

Upon his touch, I let another moan escape my lips, not caring if everyone in the world could hear me. Lance looked up at me when he heard this and smiled, knowing that he was driving me insane. With that, he pulled my pants down in one swift motion and then climbed back on top of me.

"You okay, Stephen?" he asked a bit breathlessly. I nodded and then decided to take him by surprise, by flipping him onto his back. It worked. The look on his face was one of total shock as I did this as I hovered over him.

"You okay, Lance?" I asked him, smiling. We both let out soft laughs before I leaned down and kissed him once more. I trailed my tongue over his lips before parted them open. Once I did this, I slowly began to search his mouth until I felt the tip of his tongue meet mine. When we pulled apart, I noticed that Lance's face was flushed with excitement from my kiss. I began to place soft, tantalizing kisses down the length of his neck, running my tongue over his Adam's apple and then settling in the hollow at the base of his throat. I looked up at him then, only to catch his green eyes looking back down at me. They were filled with love...lust...excitement...everything that I felt at that moment myself.

I found myself quickly pulling Lance's t-shirt off, aching to feel his warm flesh under my fingertips. I moved downwards to pull off his pants and when those were gone, I threw them off to the side and moved myself back over his body. The lower half of my body began to grind into his and I nearly fainted at the feeling that it sent through me. I could feel his hardness pressing against mine through the thin cotton of our boxers as Lance rolled me over on my back once more.

Lance stared deeply into my brown eyes as one of his hands began to work its way down my stomach and slipped into my boxers. I felt his fingertips come into contact with my hardened member and wrap around it. I let out a gasp, as the way his hand lazily worked up and down the shaft. I closed my eyes only to fly back open when I felt his touch leave me.

"What the hell..." I managed to utter as Lance pulled himself up and away from my body, first pulling off his boxers and then mine. In one swift motion, Lance straddled my hips allowing his swollen penis to brush against mine. When I felt this, I let out another breathless moan that bounced off the walls. Lance picked up my hand and slowly began to suck on one of my fingers, before moving to the next. He kept his eyes locked with mine while doing this and if I thought I was going to go insane before, forget it. I was ready for the asylum now.

Lance abruptly stopped doing this, much to my disappointment, and then ran his hands down my chest. He leaned down to plant one more frantic, lustful kiss on my lips before pulling himself back up and then he gently lifted my legs. I could feel Lance brushing himself against my hole, working his precum around it, and then after a few seconds, I could feel him slowly push himself into me.

Everytime we did this (which I should note, was quite often), the pain grew less and less noticeable for me, only to be replaced with an enormous feeling of pleasure. I was aware of the way Lance felt inside of me...I had become accustomed to it. I watched the lower half of his body slide in and out of me. Not forgetting about the state I was still in, Lance wrapped one of his hands around my still aching member and began to stroke it to the rhythm of his thrusts. This simple movement nearly drove me over the edge right there and then, but it didn't. Instead, Lance continued moving in and out of me, and I noticed a trickle of sweat running down the side of his neck and onto his chest. For some reason, this fascinated me as I realized that similar beads of sweat were forming on my body as well. I forgot about this as I felt myself suddenly tense, anticipating my release. When Lance noticed this, his hand began to stroke me faster and faster until I couldn't take it anymore and I finally came, letting out another window-shattering moan into the air.

Lance leaned down and I could tell by the shift in his body that he was about to come as well. He leaned down again and placed his mouth next to mine.

"I love you, Stephen," he whispered against my lips before pressing them against mine. "I really do." With one final thrust, Lance came inside of me, causing his eyes to close and his face to twist into a mask of ecstasy. I felt him leave my body as he rolled over to the side. We lay on the bed for a few minutes, attempting to catch our breath. After a few more seconds passed, I rolled myself on top of Lance.

"Hey," I said a euphoric smile forming on my lips as I kissed him. "Maybe I should give you gifts everyday."

He let out a laugh at my remark . "Maybe you should..I certainly enjoy thanking you for them." We laughed softly at that. Right now, Lance and I were so happy, I think we would have laughed at anything, . Finally, our laughter subsided and I found myself staring deep into my boyfriend's pale green eyes. I was speechless as I did this...awed by the feelings that were running through my mind. It was more than the sex, I thought. It was Lance. It was everything about him that made me feel this way.

"I love you...you know that," I said, as I brushed his slightly damp hair out of his eyes. I leaned down and planted another kiss on his lips.

"I know that, silly," Lance said, rolling his eyes as he gave me another happy grin. "Now kiss me again." And since I couldn't put up a good argument, I gave in.

Chapter 34

"I can't believe you knew all about that!" Cynthia exclaimed happily as a bodyguard brought her back off stage from where Josh had just serenaded her in front of a good twenty thousand plus teenage girls. It was part of his birthday present to my cousin, and to be honest, I couldn't have thought of a better gift for my attention loving relative to receive.

To my surprise, tears were streaming down her cheeks as she clasped the roses that Josh had also given her to her chest. "I can't believe he did that!" she exclaimed as I wrapped her in a quick hug.

"I can. He asked me if you would mind," I told her as we parted. I looked at her critically. "Stop crying! Your make-up is gonna run," I gently chided her as I pulled a tissue out of my pocket and handed it to her.

She began to dab at her eyes. "I just can't believe that no one was booing or had the nerve to throw things while Josh sang to me," she said in awe. The tears stopped and she gave me another quick hug. "Thank you for letting me come along with you Stevie," she whispered in my ear. "I don't think I could have asked for a better time." She paused. "Or a better cousin. Thanks."

"Stop it," I said, dismissing her comments with a wave of my hand. Just then the rest of the guys ran past me, after changing into another round of hideously ugly costumes, ready to go back on stage for their next number. I caught Lance's eye as he ran past, and gave him a grin. As he returned it, he gave Cynthia a questioning look. I knew he was silently asking me if she was okay and if the first part of Josh's plan went off without a hitch. I just gave him the thumbs up sign in return and he nodded before being rushed back onto the stage, where the music began to play. Cynthia and I just stood in the wings and as we stood together, we watched the men we loved entertain the crowd...

"Alright!" Joey screamed once we had gotten back on the bus after the concert. "Last night in L.A!!! So what's everyone planning to do tonight because I know I'm hitting the clubs!" Everyone laughed at his comment.

"Joey, is there one night when you don't go out to the clubs?" Lance asked as he stepped onto the bus. "I mean, seriously....take a breather or somethin'."

"And miss the chance to find Miss Right?" he said, pretending to be offended. "Come on, I'm a ladies man!" Cynthia let out a giggle at hearing this, and I looked over at my cousin. She was wrapped in Josh's arms, still cradling the roses that he had given her. They really did look like the perfect couple, I thought with a happy sigh. I was so happy that Cynthia had found happiness with Josh, even if they did have a rocky (understatement of the year) start to their relationship at first. And then I looked over at my own happiness, who was listening to his discman. Lance had his eyes closed and was silently mouthing the words to the song.

"Come on, sing," I teased him, poking him in the arm. His eyes flew open, startled by my touch.

"I will tonight," he promised me, looking over at Cynthia. "When are we putting `the plan' into action?" I grinned at his comment.

"I guess after everyone's had a chance to change and shower and stuff...Josh said he was gonna come and knock twice on our door and then we go through with the plan," I told Lance, who nodded and went back to listening to his headphones. I settled back in my seat and looked back over at my cousin...oh, only if she knew, I thought with a smile. She was going to have the best birthday ever...

Around eleven o'clock, there were two short raps on our door and Lance and I automatically knew it was Josh. We looked at each other and grinned excitedly. Something inside of me was really happy that Lance found this exciting...I mean he was a star. He could find fun doing other things, like Joey, going clubbing and stuff. But instead, he was content to go along and surprise my overeager, outgoing cousin for her birthday.

"Ready?" I asked Lance a bit nervously, as he pulled me off the bed. Lance critically looked my outfit over, before giving me a quick kiss on the lips.

"Ready. And you look perfect, Stephen. Really great," he added.

"So do you," I told him, eying his gunmetal colored button down shirt. "Almost makes me want to stay in." I raised my eyebrows at him suggestively and he just groaned.

"We'd never hear the end of it from Josh if we did that," Lance laughed, thinking about his bandmates reaction. "Although you do have good ideas." He grabbed the scarf that Josh had stolen from Cynthia's suitcase earlier in the day and then given us. "You know, I've never been involved in a kidnapping before..."he trailed off as we left the room and locked the door behind us.

I grinned. "Neither have I," I said. "But I think this one will be fun." Slowly we crept to Cynthia's room and knocked on the door.

"Who is it? Josh, is that you?" My cousin called out.

"Nope, it's me and Lance," I called back, looking at my boyfriend. "Josh sent us over though."

"Oh, okay," I heard her say. "Just a second..." Her footsteps came closer to the door and then I heard the doorknob turn. When it swung open, my cousin stood before us, looking up and down the hall for Josh.

"Hey guys, what do you--" She greeted us with a smile, before I spun her around and Lance placed the blindfold over her eyes. "What the hell are you two doing!" she shrieked as Lance tied it around her head. "If this is some part of your sick love games, I don't want anything to do with it!"

"Relax, Cynthia," Lance said as he began to lead her out of the room, while I shut the door. "This is part of your birthday surprise. If you don't like it, you can complain to a Mr. Joshua Scott Chasez, who I happen to believe is behind this whole plan."

"Yeah, he's your boyfriend, Cynth," I said, as Lance and I lead her to the elevator. "Complain to him if you don't like being blindfolded and taken somewhere in secret." A smile appeared on her face as she realized why we were doing this.

"Fine, fine..but if this is some sick prank, I swear to God, I'll kill you both," She warned us as we lead her onto the elevator. Lance looked at me, grinning at Cynthia's reaction, while he pressed one of the buttons to go to the ground floor.

"Where are we going? And why is Josh doing this to me, Stevie? Come on, tell me...I'm your cousin...I know everything about you....everything," she said in a threatening voice.

"Ah, ah, threatening won't get you anywhere, Miss Peterson," Lance shushed her. "Although, I wouldn't mind you spilling some juicy secrets about Stephen as a kid." A sly smile spread across my cousin's lips as the opportunity Lance had just opened up for her.

"Ooh, okay...when Stevie was in the third grade, he had the lead part in the class play and when he walked onto the stage, he was so nervous he peed..right in front of everyone!" she managed to say through her laughter, while my face turned crimson with embarrassment. "The best part is that my mom and dad have it on tape!!!" Lance and Cynthia began to laugh uncontrollably at her past memory while I could barely stop from cringing.

"Okay, that's enough out of you Cynthia," I said with obvious relief as the service elevator hit the ground floor. Lance looked at me and mouthed, `I'm sorry', while giving me puppy dog eyes. I just shook my head at him and smiled, letting him know that I wasn't mad at him. The doors opened and the limo was waiting there, just as it was supposed to be. Josh poked his head out of the automobile and grinned as he saw Lance and I leading his blindfolded girlfriend to the car.

"Hey, Cynthia," Josh greeted her as he gave her a quick kiss. He helped us sit Cynthia in the car and once Lance and I were inside, he closed the door.

"Josh, what the hell did you plan tonight?! Didn't I tell you the other night already--I'm not into this kinky stuff!" Cynthia exclaimed as she felt the limo begin to move. Lance and I looked at each other in amusement, as Josh began to turn a pale shade of pink at Cynthia's comment. Not able to stand it any longer, my cousin whipped off the blindfold and looked around, her face registering disappointment once she saw where we were.

"We're in a limo, big deal...this is what you two blindfolded me for?" she asked Lance and I, totally confused as Josh let out a sigh.

"Can't surprise this girl, can we?" he asked us, shaking his head. "Cynthia, you have to put the blindfold back on when we get there." My cousin smiled at this.

"Okay, I will. Promise," she said as she leaned over to give Josh a kiss. Lance and I made gagging noises at their display of affection, which elicited some dirty looks from them two.

"Oh please, that's painting the kettle black," Cynthia remarked. "Or whatever that saying is...anyways, come on, everytime I see you two you're always smooching or humping each other or something." She grinned. "It's so cute when people do this and you two know it." Since Cynthia was right, as she always was, I didn't know what to say. So I just picked up the gift I had drawn for her and hastily shoved it into her hands.

"Here you go, happy twentieth birthday," I said. Anything to change the subject, I thought as my cousin squealed in happiness.

"Ooh, a gift! I love presents!" She tore the paper off and began laughing once she saw the drawing that I had given to her. "Oh Stevie! I love it! I absolutely love it!" Cynthia leaned over to give me a kiss on the cheek and then proudly held up the caricature that I had drawn of her and Josh. "And you made me look like a slut!" She exclaimed as she examined the picture.

Josh leaned over to look at it. "Hey, I look pretty good in this...you did a great job, Stephen," he said admiringly. "And you--" he said to Cynthia, "Look wonderful. How come you don't ever wear dresses that short?" Cynthia rolled her eyes and was about to say something when the limo suddenly came to a halt.

"Hey!" Lance exclaimed, picking up the blindfold and throwing it back at my cousin. "You promised!" With a few grumblings, Cynthia placed the blindfold over her eyes and waited patiently, while Josh, Lance and I hopped out of the limo and then pulled my cousin out of it.

"This better be good guys...I mean, really good," Cynthia said in a warning voice, as we stood outside of the bar that the limo had stopped in front of. I looked at Josh and grinned, knowing that what we were about to do was Cynthia's without a doubt, absolute favorite thing to do whenever she went out at home.

"Oh it is..Cynthia..where are you always dragging people around with you whenever you go out, even though no one, especially me, can stand it?" I asked her, as she stood there, blindfolded. I could tell that my cousin was searching her mind, and then a slow grin spread across her face.

"Oh, Stevie...you didn't tell them, did you?" she said, trying to hold back a squeal. I nodded at Josh, who then whipped the blindfold off my cousin's eyes. When Cynthia saw where we were at, I'm surprised her scream didn't break the windows of every building that surrounded us.

"Oh my God! You found a karoke bar!" Cynthia squealed, throwing her arms around Josh, nearly pulling the boy down to the ground. Lance and I looked at each other in disbelief, and shook our heads at each other. Yes, my cousin...the queen of hyperactivity and not to mention, someone who seemed like the coolest person in the free world, absolutely loved karoke. The one summer I had visited her in Wisconsin, she had dragged her brother and I down to the local karoke bar almost every night. I hated it, couldn't stand it and loathed it with a passion. But Cynthia loved it. And I could tell that some nights while we were on tour, she was missing it. That was just something that was a part of her, I guess..like my painting and sketching.

Now, the way Cynthia was acting, you'd think someone had just crowned her the Queen of the Universe. "Oh, Josh! I love you!" she said, as she held onto him for dear life.

"Hey, I just planned it, but it was Stephen who told me about your little obsession," Josh explained, nudging her towards me. She spun around, throwing her arms around me.

"Thank you, Stevie," my usually outgoing cousin whispered in my ear. "You're the greatest cousin..friend..anyone could ask for." Upon hearing her words, I nearly started tearing up. Rarely did Cynthia ever get sentimental, and the one time she decides to, I practically start blubbering like a girl. Thank God for Lance, I thought as he noticed the change in my expression and tapped Cynthia on the shoulder, causing her to spin around.

"Hey, Cynthia, are we just gonna stand out here, or are we gonna get in there and sing?" Lance asked with an impatient smile on his face, as he held his hands out in front of him. Being as excited as she was, Cynthia then proceeded to throw her arms around my boyfriend as well.

"Hey! I didn't do a thing..I'm just along for the fun!" he exclaimed as he wrapped his arms around my cousins lithe frame. Lance looked up at Josh and I and smiled helplessly, before Cynthia tore herself away from him.

"Come on you guys, what are we waiting for?" she asked impatiently, as though the three of us guys had been doing all the hugging and not her. "I want to sing!" And with that flourish, Cynthia walked into the karoke bar, leaving the rest of us in the dust.

"I never knew Cynthia was such a great singer," Josh said in amazement as we watched my cousin on the stage sing along to an old Go-Go's song. I knocked back another sip of my beer as I watched Cynthia move around perfectly, not only impressing Josh, but most of the guys that were present in the bar as well.

"Yup," I said, like a proud parent. "Cynthia's always had the voice...she's in some punk band when she's in college.." I shook my head, forgetting what it was called. Just then I felt someone tap me on the shoulder. I turned around to see Lance slid into the booth next to me.

"Yeesh!" Lance exclaimed, with a look of surprise on his handsome face. "We've been here for about an hour and I've already gotten hit on twenty times or so."

"Aww, poor baby," I teased him, wanting to reach out and pinch him on the cheek. But I knew I couldn't. We couldn't be all handsy and grabby in such a public place. I mean, once we entered the karoke bar, the man at the door treated us all like Gods of some sort, fawning over us and giving us a semi-private booth in the front. It was nice to be treated like this, but a little weird. But you probably get used to it, I thought with a smile as I polished off my beer.

Just then, Cynthia stepped off the stage, her cheeks flushed with excitement as she bounded over to our booth, and promptly ordered herself her second strawberry daiquiri of the night.

"I'm having such a great time," she exclaimed as she planted another kiss squarely on Josh's mouth.

"I can tell," Josh laughed as he moved closer to Cynthia. They began to talk privately, occasionally letting out peals of soft laughter. For a second, I was envious that they could act so lovey-dovey with each other in public, while Lance and I had to pretend we were just two guys out on the town, looking for hot chicks. Yeah, I thought to myself with a snort, and hell would freeze over and I would turn straight.

Lance must have noticed this, because he discreetly slid his hand over to mine and took it into his. "You okay, Stephen?" he asked softly, over the horrendous screeching of the new singer that was coming from the stage. The poor girl held nothing to Cynthia, I noticed with an air of haughtiness. I looked back at Cynthia and Josh, and my mood grew a bit heavier as they began to giggle and whisper even more. I wanted to do that, I thought enviously.

"I'm fine," I said, a bit more darkly than I intended to as the waitress brought over my cousin's drink. While she was there, I ordered myself another imported beer and sat back, while Lance just stared at me, not sure what I was mad about.

"Stephen," he said nervously. "You look a little angry...what's wrong?" I counted to ten before taking a deep breath and then let out a loud, somewhat disgusted sigh.

"Look, it's nothing, Lance. I guess I'm just a little touchy...you know, Cynthia and Josh can act that way in public," I said, nodding my head towards them, as they were practically inhaling each other's faces.

"And you and I can't, right?" Lance said, a bit enviously himself. I nodded as the waitress came back over to our booth, bringing me my beer. She leaned over as she did this, showing us not only a good deal of her cleavage, but dropping a piece of paper in Lance's lap as well. My boyfriend blushed at her straight forward, um, assets and just gave her a wan smile in return. When she noticed her plan didn't work, she just shot us a dirty look and spun away on her heel.

"Thanks," I mumbled under my breath, as I twisted open the cap and tipped the bottle back. Lance took a swig of his beer in front of him, before I felt his hand suddenly fall into my lap and begin to pull down the zipper of my pants. I turned to him, with an astonished look on my face at what he was doing to me.

"Lance," I hissed nervously under my breath as I met his green eyes with a look of disbelief. "What are you doing?" He just gave me a mischievous grin and shifted himself a bit closer to me. His hand slowly ran over the front of my boxer shorts, causing me to bite my lips so that a moan wouldn't leave my mouth. Lance gave me another knowing, yet seductive grin as his hand slowly ran over my hardening manhood, and just as his hand was about to work its way into the opening of my boxer shorts, a bright light flashed on our table. I blinked a couple of times at the spotlight that had been shifted upon us. Lance pulled his hand out of my pants as though I was poisonous, and looked like a deer caught in a car's headlights. Cynthia and Josh broke apart quite abruptly as we heard the emcee's voice bellow out of a speaker.

"Hello, everyone! And welcome to the Paradise Nightclub!!! Now, I'd like to give a welcome to two special guests that we have here tonight--JC Chasez and Lance Bass from `N Sync!" Lance had a startled expression on his face, as these weird lights began to flash around us. As for me, I just wanted to crawl under the table and JC looked the same way, although he had managed to plaster a fake smile on his face. Only Cynthia looked truly happy to be in the spotlight, as she let out a giggle and waved at all of the people who were now staring at us. Lance quickly scooted himself away from me, looking disgusted at the attention that we were receiving, as people started whistling and calling out their names.

"I can tell by the response here that we want these guys to come up here and sing, don't we?!" the emcee called out enthusiastically. I wanted to smack the shit out of him. More whistles and catcalls from the bar patrons, as Josh finally stood up.

"What do you say, Scoop. Let's give the people what they want," Josh said, nearly falling over from the few beers he had just drank. Lance looked up at him and shook his head.

"You go up first," Lance said taking another sip of his beer. But the shouts grew louder as the people saw Josh stand up and they began calling Lance's name as well. Looking beaten, Lance stood up and followed his bandmate to the stage, where once they got up there, someone put on the Spice Girls, "Wannabe" and they began to sing it.

Cynthia and I looked at each other and started laughing hysterically. For some reason, the two grown men on stage looked incredibly silly as they sang, `"I'll tell you what I want, what I really, really want" to each other, trading off the lyrics and dancing to it.

"I wish I had a camcorder," Cynthia laughed, as she buried her face in my shoulder, not wanting to look. And then she looked up at me, with a startled look on her face. "Stevie...your zippers open." I looked down at my pants, and saw that the fly of my pants was still down, thanks to Lance. I smiled sheepishly at my cousin who just gave me a look. Meanwhile, the guys were still on stage and crowd was still going nuts at seeing the two boyband members sing. So naturally, when the song ended, the crowd yelled for more.

I could make out Lance saying something to Josh, shaking his head at him as he jumped off the stage and made his way back to our booth.

"Hey Cynthia," Lance said, as he approached us, a grin appearing on his face. "Josh wants you up there with him." My cousins mouth dropped open in shock.

"Me?" she squeaked out, clasping her hand to her chest. Lance nodded as he slid into the booth next to me and grinned at her.

"Go get em, Cynthia!" Lance called out as Cynth ran up to the stage. Wild horses couldn't have kept my exuberant cousin off the stage as she joined Josh, and they began to sing...

It was around three a.m. and we were still at the karoke bar. The crowd had thinned out considerably, and to be honest with you, I really wanted to get back to the hotel. I knew that we were finally leaving the next morning at around ten, and judging from the empty bottles that were gathered in front of me, I also knew that I would be waking up with a very nice hangover. I looked over at Lance, who had as many bottles in front of him as I did. What a way to end a night in L.A., I thought as I shook my head.

Cynthia and Josh were pretty much out of their minds... They were laughing hysterically at God-only-knows what, things that you can only find funny when you're that drunk. I shook my head as I attempted to stand up, and then quickly sat back down when I thought the room was spinning too much.

"Lance..." I trailed off as he looked at me, a little bleary eyed. "Are you ready to go back?" He nodded wearily at me and reached over to touch my hand.

"You know, I'm not sure if it's the alcohol talking...but you look incredibly sexy right now," Lance whispered drunkenly. "I just wish we hadn't been interrupted before...you know what I mean?" He raised his eyebrows at me and gave me a lopsided grin.

I nodded. "I know exactly what you mean..and we say Harris and Justin were bad," I laughed, as I reached for a bottle and began to peel its label off. "I think we were just as guilty tonight."

"Eh, tough," Lance said, looking disgusted with the whole situation that we were in. "You wanna know what I think about everything?"

"What?" I asked suspiciously. They always say that drinking leads to things said that shouldn't have been said. I just hoped that this wasn't one of those times...

"I wish this whole tour would be over right now. I wish this was our last tour date and then we could all go home and just be happy..." Lance complained, trailing off to take a breath before starting up again. "I'm sick of hiding this relationship with you...I'm sick of being Lance Bass, member of `N Sync..." His voice trailed off once more and he began to drunkenly ramble on once more. "I want to be Lance Bass...no, James...I want my old name back...the name I had before the band....you know they made me change it for their stupid name to work out...and I want to have a normal life...with you...and not be worried that our record sales will plummet just because I have a boyfriend..."

"Lance," I said, cutting him off, with a wave of my hand. "You're drunk. Shut up." He stared at me squarely in the eyes.

"Oh, I'm drunk...so what I'm saying doesn't make sense? Is that what you're saying?" Lance asked, as he polished off the rest of his beer and slammed the empty bottle down on the table in front of him. It was so loud that even Cynthia and Josh stopped their uncontrollable laugher--but only for a moment--to stare at Lance. "Are you saying that I can't be reasonable while drinking?"

"No! I'm just saying that--" I said, before Lance stood up suddenly. He was a little shaky one his feet, but he slid himself out of the booth and stopped, giving me one more look.

"I'll show you how unreasonable I can be," Lance said, giving me a devilish grin, before running off to somewhere. I stared at him, worry growing in my stomach. What was he planning to do? Out himself to the entire club?

"Hey, where'd Lancey-poo go?" Cynthia managed to slur as she noticed there was an empty space next to me. I shrugged my shoulders, not sure what Lance was planning...

"Did you two have a fight?" Josh suddenly asked, whipping his head around so that it was almost next to mine. The smell of alcohol on his breath was enough to knock out a person.

"Yeesh, how many drinks did you have...and no, Lance and I didn't have a fight. He just said something and got up," I explained defensively, just as I heard a loud echo of feedback screech through the club. I cringed at the noise, and then looked on the stage to see who was doing this...

"Lance?" Josh exclaimed. "What's he doing up there?" My heart nearly dropped to my shoes as I saw Lance standing up there, next to the microphone as he tapped it a couple of times.

"Sorry, everyone," he announced to the remaining people in the club. "Didn't mean to knock out your eardrums or anything...but I...I just wanted to get up here...something just occurred to me and I guess I just wanted to knock it out of myself before I lost the nerve..." he rambled shyly, running a hand nervously through his hair. He looked in our direction then, shielding his eyes from the bright stage lights as he attempted to make us out from where we were standing.

"Does Lance know he's making a jack ass out of himself?" Cynthia slurred, taking a sip of her seventh strawberry daiquiri that the waitress just brought over.

"I don't know," I said, feeling a little helpless. God only knows what he was gonna do up there, I thought panicking internally. I watched my boyfriend up there as he swung one of his arms out, to cue the person running the music. It began, soft...slow...the sound of a twangy guitar...and then Lance opened his mouth...

"Times are hard and rents are high....what can a working girl do..." Lance smiled as he sang this lyric and the crowd tittered in response. "But struggle through another day...then I'll take care of you..." I froze upon hearing his beautiful voice echo throughout the club, which I noticed had become strangely quiet. It was as though they were mesmerized by his bass voice, that was rarely heard in `N Sync.

And me...I could barely speak as Lance continued singing. "Nights are long and dreams are cold...if they're all you wake up to...but should you rise with crying eyes...then I'll take care of you..."

My heart began to beat in my ears. Could he mean me? I thought, as a lump formed in my throat upon hearing those words sung from his mouth. Cynthia had noticed the change in my demeanor and out of the corner of her eye, I could see her staring at me with concern, despite the fact that she was completely wasted, Still, I couldn't tear my eyes away from Lance...who was still up there, singing softly into the microphone.

"So let them talk about us...Let them call us funny things...people sometimes do...well, I don't care as long...as you know I love you..." Lance looked directly in our direction, as as though some miracle happened, our eyes met and I knew he could see me watching him. He kept his eyes locked with mine as he sang the next line, which nervously tumbled out of his mouth. "Oh, and you know I do..." He gently touched the ID bracelet that encircled his wrist and then continued singing.

"I'll be there, but you might not see me...It's never easy to get through...But when the laughter dies away...then I'll take care of you..." I sat there as though I was glued to my seat, not able to even move a single muscle in my body as Lance...my boyfriend...stood there in front of that crowd and sang that beautiful song to me. I knew it was for me, even if no one else did.

The words...they touched my soul. I had heard it before and I had liked it, but the words never held as much meaning as they did at that particular moment. Lance's green eyes were staring directly at me as he finished the song...and received a thunderous round of applause from the remaining patrons. Obviously he had made an impression on them as well.

"Stevie..." I heard Cynthia's voice creep into my mind. "Stevie..." I looked up at Cynthia and Josh who were staring at me. My cousin was holding out a napkin. "You're crying," she said simply, sliding the napkin over to me. I touched my face. She was right. Tears were streaming down my face. I hurriedly wiped them away and stood up, sliding myself out of the booth. There was no way I could stay there anymore. Lance had just jumped off the stage and I managed to catch his eye as I began to make my way out of the club.

I stumbled onto the sidewalk and realized that it was drizzling outside. A light mist of rain was falling on the streets, rendering them empty. I stood there, trying to catch my breath as I heard footsteps behind me. I spun around to see Lance standing there in back of me. A simple grin had appeared on his lips as I reached out for him. Pulling him close to me, I kissed him, overcome by the feelings that were running through me. I thought Lance would push me away, worried that someone might see us locked in an embrace, but to my surprise, he didn't. Instead, he wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me even closer to him, and then cupped my face in his hands. I felt his mouth part, allowing my tongue to slip inside as we stood there, holding onto each other for dear life, underneath the Los Angeles rainfall. And then finally we let each other go, not caring that as we stood there, we were slowly becoming soaked.

"I don't know what to say," I finally managed to say. "It was beautiful...what you did up there." The rain was sobering me up fast and the realization of how strongly Lance felt about me were now hitting me like a lead weight...

"I hope you liked it....I was listening to that song today and it just stuck with me," Lance said simply, taking my hand in his. "I thought of you right away Stephen..I don't think there's any better way for me to describe my feelings for you." And since there was nothing else to say (well at least nothing that I felt could be said), Lance reached out for me and guided my lips to his.

"I love you," he said softly, his eyes searching mine as his lips brushed against mine. "And I don't care who knows it. I love you, Stephen Peterson. And I always will." And with those words, Lance pressed his lips against mine, as we stood there, letting the rain fall down on us....

The song I used in here is by the Dixie Chicks..it's called "I'll Take Care of You" and its off their `Wide Open Spaces' album (wonderful stuff btw). It's written by John David Souther...great song...

Anyways, this chapters over and I'd love to hear what you thought of it? Too sappy? Corny? Or was it sweet? Whatever you think, please e-mail me at sweetheart_stories@hotmail.com. I love e-mail, good or bad....thanks for reading! Love, Gabriella.