DISCLAIMER: I don't know anyone in this story... Everything that is happening is pretty much made up. So be realistic and just enjoy it. If you cannot legally or morally read this, then save us all some trouble and don't, ‘k? Thanks.
I got quite a bit more feedback from the last two chapters than any of the previous, which I guess means that I am going in the right direction, so thank you. I kinda made an outline of what I want to happen in the story so most of the next couples chapters will be playing connect the dots, which should make for some interesting situations, I hope Thanks. As always feedback is welcome, downlikeastone@msn.com.
When It's Over -- Part 6
Lance was stretched out over the length of his hotel room bed. The rise and fall of his chest was the extent of his movement, except for his mind, which was running at full speed. Jody had left shortly after their first kiss. It was clear he had no plans of screwing this up, and taking slow seemed to be a good idea to Lance.
When Lance thought back to that kiss he could feel his face flush a little. It had taken him by surprise. He knew when Jody came up behind what he was going to do, but he hadn't expected Jody to be so shy about it, and so gentle. But now, lying in bed alone, he wondered if Joey had been right, if this was what was best for them. He needed some advice and his mind was wondering through everyone he knew, and imagined what each one would say. Joey and Chris would both joke about just sleeping Jody, Josh and Justin would probably tell him to take it slow. Josh was the one of the group that knew Jody the best. He had spent nearly 2 days alone with him in a small studio, reading his notebook.
That notebook. It looked like something out of a bad 80's teen flick. The pages were obviously turning yellow, the cover was torn and stained with god knows what, and the entire thing was creased down the center. Josh had said it seemed to hold random thoughts that Jody felt where important for some reason and had written down. What Josh had seemed most impressed with was the fact Jody could take any phrase and almost instantly begins to form some kind of song around it. Lance's mind wandered to the entry Jody had been writing when he had leaned over his shoulder once. The only line that was still clear in his mind was "these isolated endeavors..." which is where Jody had stopped.
He finally gave up the idea of sleep and crawled out of the soft bed. The cool air instantly brought goose bumps to his skin. He looked blankly out the window he had been standing at earlier. The dark night outside still held nothing for him except the occasional reflection form inside his room. His will finally broke and he reached for his cell phone on the dresser. As he dialed Josh's number he tried to figure out exactly what time it was in LA.
Jody hadn't even attempted to go to sleep. He chose instead to work in his notebook. Normally he would have simply written down phrases or ideas, but tonight there was one that begged to be expanded. He spent several hours scribbling out ideas and phrases around the one that had caught his attention, but most simply were erased a few minutes later.
He went to the bathroom at some point and when he came back the same phrase still stared at him "these isolated endeavors..." He looked at it blankly for several minutes; no emotion seemed to register with the phrase. When he had written it had seemed very powerful to him, now there was no strength to it, which in a way brought a new power.
The insistent ringing of his hotel room phone finally woke Jody from sleep. His notebook was still beside him, and then pen rolled along the sheets as he forced his body closer to the bedside table.
"Hello." Jody could hear the grogginess in his voice.
"Jody? You awake, or should I call back?" It was Josh. Why was Josh calling?
"Josh, no, I'm fine. What's up?"
"You sure, cause I can call back..."
"Josh, you called for a reason, right?"
"Yeah."
"Well?"
"Oh. I just called to congratulate you. I talked to Lance last night and he told me the good news."
"Thanks, I was pleasantly surprised." He absently wondered how much Lance had told him, and what he was being congratulated on.
"You are asleep."
"No, my mind just doesn't function very well until I have caffeine."
"I don't mean to seem imposing or anything, but have you thought about producers? I mean, I have some experience, and you demo seemed to come out pretty well."
"Josh, did you call to see if I would let you produce my album?"
"Yeah."
"Shit. I figured I would have to call and beg you." Jody had planned on asking Josh to at least help with it. They had worked really well together last time and it just felt right.
"No Shit!"
"No shit." Jody was a good spirits. He now had a record contract, and awesome manager/boyfriend (?) and a producer. Now all he needed was some studio time, and to write songs.
They talked for a few minutes before Jody finally admitted he really did need to shower if he was going to be ready in time to catch his plane. No sooner did he hang up the phone than there was a knock at the door. "Well, shit." Jody said under his breath as he forced himself to the door. When he looked through the peephole he saw Lance standing in the hall with a very large room service cart.
"I brought food, we have business to talk about before we leave." Lance had said it as soon as Jody opened the door and hadn't left time for a response before pushing the cart past Jody into the room. On his way past he hesitated for a moment beside Jody, it was clear he felt uncomfortable. Jody on the other hand, partially out of gratefulness when he saw the large pot of coffee on the cart, and part to make it easier had leaned over to Lance and kissed him lightly on the cheek. Lance had turned to meet his lips, but Jody moved in turn to avoid making contact.
Confusion past quickly over Lance's face until Jody grinned slightly and his face flushed a little. "I haven't had the chance to brush my teeth yet, and I'm betting my breath isn't real pleasant." He casually went into the bathroom and searched out his toothbrush. As he brushed Lance set up breakfast on the table in the center of the room.
When Jody returned the entire table was covered in pastries and various other breakfast food. "I didn't know what you liked so I got one of just about everything." Lance blushed -- he looked cute when he blushed -- and began to pile a bagel with cream cheese.
"Question."
"Shoot."
"When do you think I could get into the studio?" He asked the question without looking up from the cup of coffee he had just poured for himself. The hot bitter liquid felt good going down his throat.
"Anxious?"
"Curious."
"Well, that is part of what I wanted to talk to you about." Lance sat in a chair and motioned for Jody to sit in the on across from him. "Trent said he could have in his studios next week if you wanted."
"We have to see what the producer's schedule is like."
"Have some one in mind?"
"I had some one call this morning and ask to do it." A grin spread over Jody's face when he realized Lance probably already knew.
"Who?" Sincere confusion.
"Josh."
"Really? I didn't figure he would ask this soon. He said something about waiting to see if you had some one picked out already."
"Yeah, well, I did have him in mind, he's good in the studio."
"By the way, he can be here next week as well. So if you think you're ready we can do this while he and I can be here."
"Are you still going back to Orlando today?"
"Yeah, I have some things to deal with, especially if I am going to be here while you record an album. That takes time."
"I don't know, with me and Josh doing it...." They both laughed. Jody realized that during the entire conversation he was either looking at his coffee trying not to spill it or staring at Lance.
"True, you think you're ready?" He was sticking to business - which Jody didn't really want to deal with.
"I will be."
Their conversation floated to schedules. They had a two-month window. Then Nsync had planned another tour, which would take away his manager and producer. It also would take away his new romantic interest. None of this sounded pleasant to Jody. He would also have to tour and start doing publicity soon, which sounded almost as bad.
"Are you planning on staying here until we can start? I rented a small house for the three of us while we're in town so we don't have to deal with hotel rooms the whole time. You could go ahead and move in if you want."
"I take it you thought I would say yes to Josh?"
"I figured."
"I guess I can move in. I don't really want to go back home right now, so unless you have a better idea..."
"Well, let me see. You could go home, stay here in New Orleans, or you could go to Orlando with me for a few days."
"Want some company or something?" Jody was kidding; the idea had been floating around in his head, right behind the ideas of how to make Lance stay here with him.
"Yeah, besides I think the rest of the guys want to spend some time with you. You know, since me and Josh spend so much time around you."
"Yeah. I'm sorry, but I have to ask this. Do they know about last night? About us?"
"I think they're planning a celebration in our honor."
"I should have guessed that. Justin and Brittany seemed damn determined we were going to get together."
"I'm sorry about that. They shouldn't have gotten involved. It's just that I had just come out to them, like ten minutes before they came up to see you, and they were just trying to do what would make me happy."
"It's ok. It's nice to know there is some one watching out for you when I'm not around."
"I traded in your plane ticket for the seat next to mine to Orlando."
"Pretty confident I was going huh?"
"Yeah well, I figured I could always charm you into it. Besides, I haven't gotten the first date yet, and you already got a kiss." Jody was surprised by the comment. He hadn't even thought of that. They had never officially been out on a date.
"When is our plane?"
"In about three hours."
"Jesus, I haven't packed."
"We can do that after breakfast." Lance leaned back in his chair. He watched Jody sip his coffee and stare out the window. He looked good, especially for some one who just rolled out of bed. He had a pair of black Adidas basketball shorts on, which accented his small hips. His small silver glasses always struck Lance as strange. Jody never wore them in public unless he was trying to hide from fans, or if he felt bad. He normally wore contacts -- "I was always told my eyes were my best feature, makes you feel bad when your eyes are the only thing people notice about you." He had told Lance that one night as they worked over some business contracts. Jody's eyes had gotten tired and he had taken out the contacts in exchange for the more comfortable glasses.
It had been the first time Lance had ever seen him with his glasses on. Even when he had arrived at Jody's room when they officially met that first morning he had already put in his contacts. The small silver frames contrasted nicely with the long chestnut brown hair that hung over his face.
Several hours later in the airport VIP room Jody was typing away on his notebook computer lost in thought. Lance was pretending to read a magazine, remembering to turn the pages every now and then. His mind was wandering again, running through several scenarios of what could happen when they arrived in Orlando. He imagined the guy's response, and how Jody would in turn respond to them. Josh knew Jody and liked him. The rest of the guys didn't trust him -- there was still a grudge.
"Quit worrying, I promise not to embarrass you in front of your friends." Jody's voice had startled Lance. Jody hadn't even looked up from his computer screen, though there was a small grin etched on his face.
"I know you won't, I more worried about what they'll do." He sighed. They had talked about the rest of the group's feelings towards him before.
"They will be nice to me, even try to be friends with me. They love you too much to do anything else. And if they aren't nice and friendly, I'll just have to charm them." Lance laughed nervously. He trusted his friends and knew there was no reason to worry, but still he had a knot the size of Texas in his stomach. Jody looked up finally, with an odd look in his eyes. Lance could tell he wanted to say something but wasn't sure if it was appropriate. Suddenly Jody closed the computer and leaned closer to Lance.
"I have to ask you something."
"Ok."
"Early you said you had just recently come about to the guys."
"Yeah."
"What about everyone else?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean - if I meet your mom or something, am I going to be the boyfriend, the client, or the friend?"
"I doubt you will meet my parents, or any of my family."
"Why?" A robotic voice came over the speakers, announcing that their plane was finally boarding. Lance got up and headed towards the gate without answering Jody's question. Jody followed, it was obvious Lance didn't want to talk about it, and he wasn't about to push the subject.