Here is part 8. I want to thank everyone who had helped me write this story and especially those who have read it and enjoyed it. I appreciate all the questions and compliments, and I hope that they continue to enjoy this story.
The rest of the tour went smoothly, which is to say that everything was awesome. After the initial shock the guys expressed at Lance's and Justin's story, everything slowly went back to normal. Normal being, of course, that they played to full stadiums of screaming teenage girls who wanted to get backstage and I had to hold off; that they had great show after great show without stopping and were entirely professional the entire time; that Justin and I always shared a room or a bunk in the bus; and that there were no more of those crazy attacks.
So after a couple more weeks of this hectic tour, we finally made it to Orlando, where management called and told the guys that they got a couple of weeks off for doing such a great job on the tour. Justin told me about the phone call as I was driving him to his house.
"And you know what else they said, Ry?" Justin asked playfully with his had on my leg.
"What's that, hon?"
"They also congratulated us in hiring a heartthrob as a bodyguard. It accented our sexual icon image tremendously when you ended up on camera in New York," he said with a huge grin.
"I still got to get Lance back for that," I told him seriously, flushing as I remembered how embarrassed I was.
"Don't worry, Ry," he told me. "Our management loves you. Now, we just need to see about you joining the group." He smiled at the thought.
I just stared at him for a second, a look of horror on my face. "Justin! Are you crazy? I love you guys and I love to sing, but I could never do what you guys do!"
He pouted, his lower lip jutting out. "But I want to spend more time with you!" he told me in a little-boy voice.
I laughed and quickly leaned over and kissed his pouting lower lip. "I didn't say that I wouldn't be going with you, silly. Just not onstage!"
"Make a right here," he said suddenly. I turned the corner a little sharply and he just cried "Wheee!"
"Curly, you nutball!"
"That's why you love me, isn't it?" He asked me impishly.
"Well, that's ONE reason." I smiled. "So once I drop you off, I'll..."
He cut me off. "You'll stay with me. Mom and I wouldn't have it any other way."
"But Justin," I began.
He waved his hand, stopping me again. "No buts, Ry. I'm gonna insist."
"Fine. But just for a while. You know I hate imposing on people."
His hand rose up my leg to rest on my crotch. "It's no imposition, love."
I stopped at the next red light and looked at him seriously. "Justin, tell me the truth," I said with all the straightness I could manage while staring into his beautiful eyes. "Do you regret..." I broke off, not really knowing how to ask this without sounding like an asshole.
He smiled. "That I'm still a virgin?"
I nodded. He leaned in and kissed me on the lips. "Never. I know when the time's right, everything will be fine."
I kissed him back, falling in love with his kindness and sensitivity all over again and giving him my heart with my lips and tongue.
A car behind us honked, and we jerked apart, blushing a little. Justin told me, "Make a left here and then a left at the second stop. It'll be the third house on the right." He still hadn't taken his hand off my crotch.
"Uh, cutie," I said gently.
"Uh huh?" He hummed.
"I love your hand, but do you think you could move it so when I meet your mom she doesn't get the wrong idea?"
He laughed and slowly pulled his hand down my leg and then removed it. I moaned the whole time. He just grinned at me.
"You, you..." I was speechless. "JC told me to get you back for him," he told me, still grinning. "So I figured that this would be a good way. You teased him, so I'd tease you." He paused, "in a manner of speaking."
"I don't believe you! You little..."
He laughed and gave me a quick kiss. "We're here."
I pulled the car into the driveway and we got out. We each grabbed one bag, (mine happened to be my bag with all the money and weapons) and walked to the door. I was really nervous, meeting his mom, but he gave my hand a squeeze and unlocked the door.
We stepped in. "Mom!" He called, "I'm home!"
A second later, a little voice cried, "Justin! Wheeeee!" And a cute little guy ran down the stairs at full speed and plowed into Justin.
Justin laughed and picked him up. "Hey, Jonathan! I've missed you!" he give him a kiss on the cheek.
"I missed you to, Justin," Jonathan replied in that little piping voice. He hugged Justin around the neck and looked at me. "Who're you?" He asked nervously. Something in me just melted. He looked like my little cousin Tony. And remembering Tony and how young he was made my heart break. I tried to keep it off my face, though.
Justin gently put him down. "Jonathan, this is Ryan. He's a friend who's going to be staying with us for a while."
"Oh, OK." He looked at me hopefully. "Do you wanna play with me?"
I smiled a bit sadly, "Sure, what do you want to play?" I asked in a false happy voice. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Mrs. Timberlake walking towards us.
"How 'bout some Nintendo?" He asked anxiously. He was nearly bouncing up and down, he was so full of energy. Tears started to well up in my eyes as I nodded, and Justin noticed them.
"Ah, Jonathan," he cut in, "why don't you go upstairs and get the game ready. Ryan will be up in a minute. I just want to introduce him to mom."
"OK, Justin," Jonathan said happily and he bounced up the stairs, content.
The minute he was gone, I started bawling and Justin pulled me into a close hug. He looked up and saw his mom looking at me concerned. He just shrugged.
"Shhh, it's all right, everything's all right, Ry." He tried to comfort me.
Mrs. Timberlake came and put her arms around me and I spun around and started to cry on her shoulder like a little boy. She was surprised, but she closed her arms around me and started running her hand through my hair.
Justin motioned to go into their living room and she nodded and led me along. We all sat down, and I slowly stopped crying. I looked at her embarrassed. "I'm sorry. I haven't even met you before, Mrs. Timberlake. I'm Ryan." I held out my hand for a handshake.
She brushed it away and gave me another hug. "Stop with the Mrs. Timberlake, Ryan. I'm glad Justin has another friend, and one outside the guys. To them, I'm just Lynn."
"OK, Lynn." I smiled through my tears.
She smiled back. "That's better. Now if you don't mind, what brought this on?"
I shook my head and went and sat down. Justin, being sympathetic, started to tell his mom my whole story in regards to my family and how I joined up with the rest of the guys.
Her lips started quivering and tears came to her eyes as she watched me sitting silently. When Justin finished, she just said, "Oh, Ryan. I'm so sorry. Please, consider yourself one of the family. We'd love to have you stay. Justin," she added, "why don't you go show Ryan to his new room?"
"Sure mom," he said, putting his shoulders around me and leading me towards the stairs.
I stopped and looked at Lynn. "Thanks, Lynn." I smiled sadly at her.
"Call me mom."
I smiled again, this time, not sadly at all, and went with Justin upstairs. We walked past his room and I looked inside. He had a neat room, but I assume it was like that because he'd been gone. I liked the way he had it arranged, and I liked the fact that his room and my room were right next to each other.
My room was plain-obviously a guest room, but it was HUGE and I had my own bathroom. Jonathan's room was away down the hall, closer to Lynn's room, and so Justin and I would have relative privacy.
"Ryan," Jonathan's voice called, "are you gonna come play with me now?"
I laughed and walked into his room where he was busy playing Mariokart. I used to be pretty good with my younger cousins, but I let him win. The second time, I gave him a run for his money, but still let him win. "Well, Jonathan," I said after about ten matches or so, "I guess I can't beat you in this game," so I reached over and started to tickle him and bounce him around. Justin came in during this, hearing Jonathan's wild laughter and looked at me. His face was concerned, but the concern dropped and was replaced with a look of love and happiness. Once Jonathan was red and having trouble breathing, he was laughing so hard, I stopped tickling him and said, "Sorry, pal, but I gotta unpack. We'll be able to play again later, OK?"
"Sure," he said, excitedly.
Justin and I went outside and finished bringing in our bags. I kept the weapons hidden, of course, but I asked Lynn, I mean Mom, if I could rearrange the room a little bit.
"Of course, honey," she told me. "Make yourself at home."
"Thanks a lot, mom." She smiled at this and I smiled back. Then I looked over at Justin who was in the kitchen making a sandwich. "Hey, J, will you go shopping with me before passing out for the rest of the day in your food?" He looked at me, chagrined while Lynn laughed.
"Sure, thing, Ry. But just let me finish this sandwich first, OK?"
"Justin, you better pay for his stuff," Lynn told him.
"No, mom. I've got it covered." I contradicted her. "It's really nice, but what I have in mind may be a little bit pricey. You're taking me in; I can't have you pay when I'm readjusting a room you've given me!"
"But," she started to protest.
"Mom, you're not going to win this. Believe me, we've tried." Justin informed her.
"Fine, Ryan, but just for that, I'm paying for dinner tonight, got it?" Justin nudged me with his elbow.
"OK, Mom. You've got a deal." She smiled. "Jonathan," I called upstairs, "I'm going shopping. We can play when I get back, OK?"
"Yipppee!" I smiled at him. God, that kid is a lifesaver! Justin saw my look and smiled, too. His hand twitched. I felt the same way-I wanted to hold his hand, too.
"We'll be back in a little while, Mom," Justin told her.
"OK, bye," she replied cheerfully.
When we got outside, Justin said, "Since you don't know how to get there, let me drive to the mall, OK?"
"Why don't you just give me directions, J?" I countered.
"Because it's harder that way, Ry," he answered innocently. "We wouldn't want to get lost on accident, would we?"
"Oh, all right," I gave in, "but only because you're so cute."
"YESSS!" He cried.
I laughed. He can be such a little kid! But I thought about it: I think that boyishness is one of his most endearing qualities. I couldn't have said any of this, 'cause it would have been embarrassing, but my new insight into the depth of my love for Justin brought a huge smile to my face and I grabbed his hand in mine.
He slid his hand out and when I looked at him shocked, he laughed and gave me a big kiss. Where we stood, what our plans were, even who we were left me and all I knew was that my one true love and I were connected again and remembering all the times we were apart in the past ten minutes caused me a lot of pain.
"Justin," I asked him after the kiss, "can we never be without each other again, please?"
"You know it, sweetie," and he leaned in for another kiss. I melted in his arms again and knew only that I had truly come home.
Lynn, watching us out the window, frowned slightly when Justin pulled his hand out of mine. When he leaned in and gave me that big kiss instead, she just looked on and let out an enormous smile...
At the mall, Justin parked in the underground garage and we got out of the car. "What was it that you wanted to get, Ry?" He asked me curiously.
"Well," I was kind of embarrassed by how much I was going to redo the room, so I hesitated. "I don't exactly know. I'm probably going to get a futon and some mirrors, though. Aside from that, we'll see."
"OK. Let me know if I can help."
I grabbed his arms, squeezing his biceps. "Trust me, honey, you'll be able to help."
So we went shopping. I pulled out my backpack and stuffed a large amount of money into it, filling it up. "Uh, sweetie, is that a good thing to do?" He asked me.
"What do you mean, J?"
"Well, if someone sees all that money, won't they think you robbed a bank or something?"
"Maybe, sweetie, but I doubt it. It seems that even if I wished it were otherwise, everyone has heard of me. And if not, I do have a notice from the gov't saying I can carry large amounts of cash on me."
"Really?"
"Yep. Now let's shop!"
The first purchase was a futon. I walked into the right store and immediately saw the one that I wanted. It was low to the ground, almost Japanese and it folded up into more of a reclining chair than a couch. But it was still a double bed. The frame was black wood and was enormously comfortable. I knew that this was the right one. The mattress was a snow-white and I thought it blended perfectly. I bought sheets to fit it that were half- black and half-white in a swirling pattern, which reminded me of a yin-yang. I also bought a black and white comforter. Justin was surprised that the sheets were satin and the comforter and pillows were down-filled. I looked at him and said, "I haven't really been sleeping well for the past couple of months, J. The last few weeks excepted, of course," I smiled at him. "So I figured that I'd buy a bed that I could be comfortable on."
He just shrugged. "It's your money. I just don't want you to waste it."
"Justin, baby, what's the good of having more money than you can count if you can't get a few luxuries?"
He shrugged again. I leaned in. "Besides, I figured YOU'D find it comfortable, too. If you don't, please tell me and I'll get something else."
He just grinned. "Just testing you, hon. I love it. It's real comfy and I just wanted to make sure you were getting it for the right reasons!"
I lightly punched him in the arm and went to buy a blanket for the bed. Then I saw it-a wool blanket with a snowy background. In the forefront was a wolf running in full stride towards a den, where the she-wolf and young cubs were waiting. All of their eyes almost glowed a beautiful gold and stood out since everything else on the blanket was either white like the snow or black like the trees and the wolves themselves.
I HAD to get this blanket. It was amazing! And unlike the other stuff, which would arrive with the futon, I decided that I'd take it with me. So it got put into a bag and placed into Justin's arms. As we left the store, I whispered to him, "I told you you'd be able to help me, love."
Next, I bought about 20 mirrors that were going to be put together to make one wall of my room solid mirrors. Justin looked at me strangely and asked, "what're these for?"
"I practice martial arts, remember? I need a wall where I can see myself in order to check my technique. But thanks for the reminder. There's something else I'm going to need."
"What?"
"You'll see."
I got a table that was low to the ground, also black, and wide enough to use as a shelf for small items. Then I bought an oriental bowl and some incense sticks. Finally I bought several candles of different shapes and colors-each one with a different meaning behind it and a couple of crystal and ceramic dragons. I tried to explain the meaning for these, but Justin didn't really seem to understand, so I soon gave up.
I decided that there were only two things left that I needed to buy. The first place that I stopped was the toy store and I picked up a Nintendo 64 with Mariokart 64 on it and two extra controllers.
Justin smiled when I bought it. "For Jonathan, right?"
"Right. I just figured what the hell."
"He'll love it."
"I hope so. Now I know you're probably getting tired, so I just have one more place to go, OK?"
"Sure. Where to?"
"The music store."
"You wanna get CD's?"
"No, Justin. Not that kind of music store."
"Oh. OK. It's just down this way."
We walked into the music store and I went straight to the instruments. I looked around and saw one of the things I was looking for: an Irish flute made out of silver and with a beautiful sound. I played a little ditty on it and Justin looked at me and said, "That's really a pretty sound. Where'd you learn to play it?"
"I learned it when I learned the others," I told him.
"What others?" He asked curiously.
"Well, this, for instance." I picked up a piccolo with a deep black body but the keys were made of silver and all used cork. I picked it up and played something else with it. It had a clear tone, although extremely piercing. Justin winced. "What do you expect from a piccolo, Justin? It's made to go really, really high."
"That's cool. It'll just take some getting used to," he assured me. "Don't worry."
"Ok, but I won't be playing that one much anyway," I told him. I reached up and picked up another instrument. "I'll be playing this." He stared at it. It looked to be silver but was instead a darker color than polished silver. I played "On My Own" from "Les Miserables" and this flute had a true tone better than anything I'd ever heard.
"Whoa," Justin awed.
"Yeah. It's perfect." I looked at the store owner, "I'll take 'em," I told him.
"What THAT flute?" He asked in surprise.
"Yeah, is there a problem?"
"Kid, do you know what that flute is made of?" He seemed ready to go into apoplexy.
"Yeah. It's 99.9% pure platinum. Is there something wrong with it?"
"It's $57,000 is what's wrong with it!" He screamed.
"Is that with or without sales tax?" I asked him calmly. Justin was staring at me during the whole exchange, but giggled at the sound of my voice compared to the owner's.
"It's without," he snapped, surprised by my question.
"So what is it with taxes?" I asked seriously.
He plugged it in, mumbling. "Let's see... $57,000 plus 7% sales tax plus 17% luxury tax equals $70,680," he told me smugly.
"OK, I'll take it, the piccolo and the Irish flute," I told him. "And please give me those mahogany and velvet interior cases, too, will you?
He stared at me and then looked at Justin more closely. "Mr. Timberlake?" He asked, "Is he managing to make YOU pay for all this?"
"No," I interrupted harshly. I pulled two stacks of bills that were about $40,000 each and asked impishly, "Will this do?"
His bottom jaw hit the counter. "Uh, yes sir. Can I get you anything else?"
I smiled. "No, that'll be enough. Thank you." I grabbed my stuff and with Justin's help, managed to lug all our purchases that were able to lift to the car.
He pulled me into a hug when we got there. "The way you handled that store guy was incredible! I was trying so hard not to laugh."
"Thanks, hon."
"But why didn't you tell me you play the flute?"
"I just never thought of it. It was part of my old life and I didn't want to remember that. But thanks to you, I have a real life again, so I figured that I could start to do the things I used to like to do."
I kissed him deeply. "It's all because of you."
We got back to Justin's house and he helped me to carry all of my new purchases up to my room. We placed the table and candles around the room at intervals which I'm sure confused him but which had special meaning for me. It took about half an hour, and when we were done, I gave Justin another kiss. We fell into my bed, kissing each other passionately. I knew that with Justin nearby, I'd never have to worry about being alone, and I wanted to show him my appreciation with all my heart. Of course, I wanted very much to go much further with him, but we had an agreement and I was a man of honor.
Our kiss broke suddenly when we heard, "Ryan, when are you going to come play with me," called from Jonathan's room.
"Uh, I guess I should go and play with him."
Justin smiled at me. "So you want to go give him his present?"
I grinned. "I can't wait to see the look on his face."
I grabbed the couple of boxes and took them down the hall to Jonathan's room. "Jonathan, I've got something to show you," I told him with a big smile.
"Oh, WOW! Lookit that! Is it for me?"
"It sure is. But I'll help you set it up first, OK?"
"Yeah, please please please please!"
"Ok, Jonathan. My pleasure," I smiled at him again. It only took a few minutes for me to set up his new system and I showed him what the buttons were for on Mariokart 64. At first, I won frequently, but he quickly got his old talent back and I started letting him win again.
"Ryan," he asked me unexpectedly, "why did you kiss Justin?"
--Uh, oh-I thought. -Careful here, Ry- "Well, Jonathan, let me see how to say this..." I thought for a second. "Jonathan, do you love your mom?"
"Yeah, of course I do!" He responded, confused.
"And you kiss her to show her you love her, right?"
"Right."
"And you love Justin, too, right?"
"Yeah, he's my brother," he still seemed confused.
"Well, I love him too, and so I kissed him," I told him.
"Why do you love him?" Jonathan wanted to know.
"He's helped me, and now, I'm going to be, like, one of the family, so I guess in a way, Justin's my brother."
"But why'd you kiss him like that?"
"We were just wrestling, Jonathan. You understand that, don't you?"
"I guess so."
"Good. I'm glad you understand. And don't worry. If you have any questions, I'll always try to explain things to you." I got up to leave.
"I have only one more question, Ryan," he asserted.
"OK, buddy, what is it?"
"Since you're Justin's brother, are you mine too?"
"I hadn't thought of that, but I guess that in a way, I am." He smiled and jumped into my surprised arms. He quickly kissed me on the cheek. "Thanks for the present, Ryan."
"You're welcome, Jonathan," I replied, giving him a peck on the check and setting him down. I turned to leave and saw Lynn standing outside his door.
"Ryan, can I talk to you for a minute?" She asked.
--Oh, Shit-I thought. "Sure thing, mom."
We walked downstairs and passed Justin's room on the way. He was asleep on his bed and both Lynn and I smiled seeing him there. We went into the living room and Lynn took a seat. She motioned for me to sit down and nervous, I sat down across from her.
"Ryan," she began, "I just wanted to say that you handled Jonathan very well. I was a little concerned, but I liked how you compared your relationship to being Justin's brother, even if it is inaccurate."
I started. "What do you mean, mom?"
"Ryan, you don't need to give me crap, you know. I'm Justin's mother and I know him much better than he thinks I do. I've known that he's...gay for a while now. It took me a while to get used to it, since I was really concerned for him. It can be very dangerous to be gay right now."
"I know," I told her, remembering the anti-gay punks back at the gas station.
"So when he brought his boyfriend home, I was really happy that it turned out to be someone like you. I'm really pleased and I want you to know that I'm happy for the both of you."
"Does Justin know that you know?"
"No. That's what I wanted to talk to you about. Is there any way you can convince him to tell me the truth?"
"I'll try. But, I've got a question. If Justin and I were to... sleep in the same room, how problematic would that be?"
"Well," Lynn began.
I cut her off, "We've been sleeping together for a while, and I for one can't sleep unless he's in my arms."
"I don't think I want you two having sex in the house with Jonathan here."
"Actually, mom, we don't. All we do is hold on to each other."
"Well, then I guess it's OK," she decided.
"To be honest, I'm surprised you're taking this so well," I observed.
"I've been in love too, you know."
"I guess I never thought of that," I admitted.
"Good night, Ryan. I know you're tired."
"Thanks, Mom. Good night."
I went up to Justin's room, shut the door and stripped down to my boxers. I also slowly and carefully removed his shoes and shirt and pulled him close to me. He snuggled close to me and I inhaled the scent of his hair. His smell was so intoxicating that I realized that he'd become my reason for living.
I slowly faded into sleep with Justin in my arms. During the night, I saw Justin's face and I smiled, but his face was pale and full of fear. I grew worried, and I started looking around. Justin screamed and I saw a line of bright red fly towards me. Justin was clutching his chest and I was running towards him as I felt a sudden pain in my chest. I reached towards him as I began to fall endlessly. I screamed and suddenly, Justin was there, comforting me. He was kissing me all over my face and holding me tight, saying, "It'll be all right, Ryan. Please, calm down."
I clung to him. "My God, Justin, it was horrible."
"I know," Justin calmed me. "I saw it, too."
"What was it?" I asked him.
"I don't know, but will you please stop having these dreams? You keep drawing me into them and I don't sleep too well either," he joked.
"This is the first time since we got together, J," I reminded him.
"So it was just a fluke," he told me. "Good night." This time, he held me in his arms and I fell asleep being comfortable and close to him.
That next time, we slept peacefully.
That's all for part 8. I know it's a little weak, and I'm sorry. I'll try to make sure that part 9 is better. I hope all of you who've enjoyed the story aren't upset by this part. Thanks for all the mail I've gotten. It's meant a lot to me.