Date: Sun, 10 Mar 2002 21:32:11 -0500 From: Dale E Wright Subject: "The Lottery Winner" Chapter 51 To Hi everyone... In order to accommodate people who are asking me about notification lists, I've finally created an YahooGroup (Gods, Yahoo is like the Borg!) to do so: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Dale_writings ****** As always, Gabriella is my main cheerleader. Mark has also been great. I've even inspired him! Check out his story "Blind Date", it's also here in the Boyband section. I love email, so feel free to drop me a line with your thoughts on the story. My story is hosted on another website. Here's it is: http://railwayshoes.net/hosted It's partway down the site, just look for "Lottery Winner". There's lots of other great stories there so check them out. DISCLAIMER: The names of the people are fictional (well, except for the members of the group). This is a fictional story that came right out of my own mind. I have no knowledge if any member of N Sync are gay or whatever. That being said, please enjoy the story and remember-- write me!!! (Especially write me if you're a member of the group! GRIN) Thanks guys and gals, Hope you like it. Dale --THE LOTTERY WINNER...Ch 51-- "This has to be the best Kung pao chicken I've ever had." Joey took a bite of his meal, then sipped the drink at his side. He grinned around the table then took Dale's hand furtively in his to squeeze it. "Of course, it's probably the people I'm with." JC and Justin made 'aw' sounds as they ate their dinner. "So Lance, what's on your agenda for the break?" Lance had been whispering something to Chris, but stopped when JC asked the question. "I dunno, hang on I'll check." Lance whipped out a palm pilot and began zipping through entries in the calendar. "It looks like I have four artists to talk to, and a showcase over in New York." He looked sideways at Chris. "I thought I'd take Chris to hang out with, I'm sure we can find something fun to do." Chris blushed and became very interested in his dinner. The other three members of the group all laughed good-naturedly. "What about you Joey? Now that you got Dale back what do you have in mind?" Joey wiped his lips as he looked tenderly at Dale. "You know, I haven't really thought about it. You got any ideas Dale?" Dale sat there for awhile pondering the question. "Well, I want to move back into Joey's firstly." He grinned at Joey and wiggled his eyebrow. "After that I want to just spend some time with my baby." "Hey Dale." Dale turned to look at Chris. "Just out of curiosity, what're you gonna do with that big old house you bought?" "Oh that's easy, I'm going to sell it to Mark." That got everyone's attention. "Um, Dale? Do you think he can afford it? It's probably worth at least three hundred grand." Dale nodded as he took a drink. "Actually it's worth almost five hundred after the work I had the people do on it. But yeah, I think he can afford it. I'm selling it to him for one fifty and then he pays the taxes and stuff each year. Lance, ever the businessman, shook his head. "Dale, at one hundred and fifty grand you'll take a bath on it." Dale smiled at Joey. "No Lance. One dollar and fifty cents." A chorus of guffaws broke around the table. "You can't be serious. You're selling that house for a dollar fifty? That's insane!" Dale sat back and serenely grinned at Lance. "No, it's doing something good for a friend. I was going to see if mom and Deb wanted it but they don't want to leave Montana. He's moving here to work and needs to find a place anyway... he's also been a good friend to me for a long time. If I can afford to help out a friend why shouldn't I?" "What'll you do if you and Joey break up?" "Now why would we break up Josh?" Joey finally chimed in. "I think it's great Dale cares enough about people he's close to that he wants to help." He turned to smile at Dale. "If we were alone I'd take you in my arms and give you such a kiss." The look he was giving Dale was so filled with love that Dale blushed. "I miss the singing lessons I was taking. Maybe I'll start that up again." Lance grinned. "No way! You took lessons? When?" He grinned at Joey then at the rest of the guys. "It was for the last two years I was in Baltimore. I was going once a week to a great lady named Annie. She helped me a great deal." Dale sighed. "I miss it. We had a lot of fun." "So what made you decide to start taking lessons?" Josh was leaning on his elbows staring intently at Dale. Dale thought about the question for a minute, and then started snickering. "You'll never believe it... but it was you guys." A round of laughs greeted that. Joey was smiling sweetly at Dale. "Really?" "Yep. I even auditioned to one of your songs." He sat there grinning at all of them and then broke into the refrain from 'Bye Bye Bye'. "Wow. Not bad. You definitely should get back into it." They all went back to eating, making random small talk. At the end of the meal they went back to Joey's house. A round of hugs was exchanged, and the friends went their separate ways for a much-needed vacation before the next round of recording and touring got underway. Dale and Joey waved to everyone, and then headed inside. As he was locking the door Dale felt Joey's arms wrap around his waist. Joey pulled him into a tight hug, gently nuzzling the side of his neck. "So... I inspired you to sing. Is there anything else I inspire in you?" Dale turned around in Joey's arms and saw a wicked twinkle in his eyes. Dale ran his finger along Joey's jaw, and leaned in to passionately kiss him. Joey groaned and pulled his arms tighter around Dale. Breaking the kiss, Dale ran his finger along Joey's nose. "You inspire a lot in me Mister Fatone." Joey pulled Dale to the couch and they spent about an hour making out. Later, while they cuddling, Joey asked Dale some more about his vocal lessons. "So, did Annie work with you on just vocal or did she make you get up and shake that cute bootie of yours?" Dale was twirling his fingers in Joey's chest hair. "Oh she made me move. Every time I finished doing Bye Bye Bye I was sweating like a pig in heat." Joey snickered as he wrapped his leg around Dale. "I like it when you're all sweaty." Dale gave into the kisses for a minute, then pulled away slightly. He got up, pulling Joey up off the couch. Dale didn't say anything, just pulled him upstairs to the bedroom. "Dale, I..." "Sshh..." Dale pulled Joey's clothes off, then took his own off. Dale kissed Joey on the lips, then pushed him softly back onto the bed. He lay next to Joey, propped up on one elbow. "How'd I get so lucky?" "What do you mean baby?" "Somehow I managed to get the cutest guy in N'Sync to fall in love with me. Are you sure this isn't a dream?" Joey didn't say anything, just curled on his side and wrapped Dale in his arms. "Baby, I'm here... and you can't get rid of me that easily." They went to sleep after awhile. Joey lay there for about an hour after Dale was softly snoring, just staring into Dale's face. Joey had tears in his eyes, but he didn't wipe them away. Finally he fell asleep. "Come on Dale, it'll be fun. Or are you afraid you can't handle it?" Well those were fighting words. "Bring it on!" Dale grinned as he stood next to Joey. Joey had decided to go to the compound and do a work through on the choreography from a couple of the songs that they were carrying over from the last tour. Wade had given them some ideas on what he was dreaming up for the new choreography, so Joey was winging it. As the music started, Joey began the routine. It was a combination of the stuff Darren dreamed up for the video with some extras that Wade had thrown in. He was about halfway through 'Bye Bye Bye' when he watched Dale out of the corner of his eye. Dale was doing pretty good. He was an almost perfect shadow of Joey. He seemed to know the video steps but didn't really know what Wade had tossed in on top of it. Joey stopped and went to reset the CD. Before he started though he decided to see how much Dale could handle. "Okay baby. This time start on the left foot, and listen for the beats. We changed it from how we did it in the video. Like this" He did the move, then did the section of the choreography it was in. "See how I did that?" Dale nodded his understanding. "We'll start at the beginning again. Ready?" Dale grinned and stuck his tongue. "I said bring it!" Joey laughed as he started the CD, then went into performing mode. Four years of work showed in his movements and breath control. He was singing along to the CD, and sounded on key and not out of breath. He kept peeking out of the corner of his eye at Dale and had to admit, he liked what he saw. Dale was doing the steps, and appeared to even be singing along. As the music faded Joey was in his position for the end of the set, and Dale was standing in Lance's. As Joey headed over to stop the CD he heard someone clapping. "That was pretty good guys." Joey looked around the room and saw one of the road managers, Larry, in the doorway. "Sorry Larry, I thought the place would be empty. Wanted to see what Dale had in him." He grinned at Dale, then looked back at Larry. "So what're you doing here?" "Just reviewing paperwork. You know... the stuff you guys pay me to do." Larry walked over to Dale. "You're looking better than the last time I saw you. Do me a favor. Can you sing me a C sharp?" Dale looked at him then sang the note. "Hhmm." Larry went over to the piano and sat. "Do me a favor Dale. Sing the notes I play." He gave Dale a couple of seconds to get ready then began playing ascending scales. Dale sang along, alternating the tempo as Larry gradually sped up his notes. He switched to descending scales, and Dale had a flashback to standing next to Annie's piano as she played the descending scales to see how far down he could go. He loved the look of shock as he got to a low F, so he wanted to see what Larry thought of it. Hah! The look on Larry's face was classic. Dale looked over at Joey and saw something new in his face. He wasn't sure what to make of it yet. Larry stopped playing abruptly and sat there staring at Dale. Finally he spoke. "How much professional training have you had?" Dale looked at Joey, then back at Larry. "About two years worth up in Baltimore with a lady who studied at the Peabody Institute in Baltimore before spending two years working as an opera singer in Europe. Why?" "Do you think you would be interested in working with one of the coaches we have here? You have pretty good control of what you have right now, and if we can improve it a bit you could go far. Four octaves is a pretty impressive for a vocal range on someone with as little training as you have." The alarm on his palm pilot started going off, so he checked it. "Crap, didn't realize it was this late. I have to run for a meeting at WEG. Think about it and let me know." He shook Dale's hand, and said goodbye to Joey as he took off at a run. Dale stared after him for a minute, then smiled at Joey. "Did that just happen?" Joey wasn't smiling. "Come on baby, let's go get your stuff back to the house." Joey grabbed a towel and wiped his brow as he walked out of the room. Dale followed a few seconds behind him. Joey didn't say anything until they got into his car, then turned to face Dale. "We went through so much hell from people who lied to us and took advantage of us... I don't want you to get stuck in a situation like we were. Will you let the guys and I help you with this?" Dale took Joey's hand. "I trust you guys. If you tell me to wait then I'll wait." They made small talk on the way over to Dale's house. Joey fixed them a couple of drinks while Dale went through the house gathering up what little he had there. He went downstairs and saw Joey standing in the kitchen holding Loki, who was purring contentedly while kneading his paws on Joey's arm. Dale laughed as Joey stopped petting Loki and got a love tap for doing so. "Damn Loki, that almost hurt. You just want to be the center of attention don't you." Joey scratched behind the ears, and Loki began purring again. "You two look so cute." Joey looked up and smiled. "Did you get everything?" "There wasn't a whole lot here. I did find this." Dale held out his hand so Joey could see the ring that he'd given Dale. "I wondered where that was." He grabbed Dale's shirt and pulled him close to plant a kiss on his lips. Loki squirmed between them and jumped down. Joey took that opportunity to wrap his arms around Dale's neck and deepen the kiss. The two were still kissing when Dale's cell phone started ringing. Joey broke the kiss and looked down at the phone on Dale's belt, then looked at Dale. "You gonna get that?" Dale sighed and took the phone out of its holder. "This better be good you're keeping me from doing something." "Well shit Dale... love you to." Dale rolled his eyes. "Hi Mark. What's up?" "Not a lot here. I'm stuck in a traffic jam so I thought I'd give you a call. How's things?" Dale smiled at Joey and took his hand in his. "Well, I remembered things finally. It took awhile, but it's all here." "No way! Dale that's so great. I bet Joey's happy." "Well here, you can ask him yourself." Dale handed the phone to Joey. "Heya Mark." "So, you got your boy back. You doing better now?" "A little. Hopefully he won't go anywhere ever again. We're in the middle of heading back to my house Mark, so I'm gonna give you back to Dale now." Joey handed the phone to Dale and walked out of the house. "Mark, I'll talk to you later." Dale hung up the phone and put Loki into his cat carrier. He closed up the house and carried Loki out to Joey's car. Joey was sitting behind the wheel arguing with someone on his cell. He shut up when Dale opened the back to put Loki on the back seat. "I gotta go. We'll finish this later." Joey hung up his phone. "Hey baby, you ready to go?" Dale fastened his belt, then reached over to take Joey's hand in his. "You okay?" "Yeah, just thinking about stuff." The drive back to Joey's house was silent, then just as they pulled into the driveway Joey started talking. "Let's go away. Tonight." "Where?" Joey flashed that devastating grin at Dale. "Don't you trust me?" "Well, of course I do." "Then let's go. Now." Dale laughed. "Well, what about Loki?" Joey didn't even hesitate. "Steve'll keep an eye on him. He'll check in twice a day and take care of things." Dale felt a grin on his face. "Sure, why not." Dale took Loki into the house, while Joey grabbed what little stuff Dale had over at the house. While Loki ran around the house and reacquainted himself with the house Joey and Dale were packing. "Joey, what should I take for clothes?" Joey walked over to where Dale was standing and looked in the bag. Without saying anything he grabbed a couple of more things and put them on top of what Dale had already packed. He zipped up Dale's bag and pulled Dale into a quick hug and kiss. "Come on babe." Thirty minutes later they were standing in line at the American Airlines ticket counter at the airport. They booked two tickets on a flight going to Miami. Four hours later they were dropped off in front of a cruise ship. Dale stared open mouthed at the ship, then smiled at Joey. "We're taking a cruise?" Joey grinned at Dale and told him to go with him to check in. As they were walking down the corridor on the upper deck, Joey told Dale to close his eyes. "Okay, they're closed." Joey took Dale's arm and led him through the door. "Okay Dale, open." They were booked in a suite with a private deck. Dale squeaked as he looked around. "Holy shit, a hot tub!" Dale was still standing there looking around when he felt Joey take his hand. Joey led him out onto the deck area, and put his arms around Dale's waist. "We're booked for a week Dale. I hope you like it." He softly kissed Dale's lips, then pulled him into a hug. They were still standing there holding each other when the boat started pulling out of dock. As the whistle sounded, Dale grinned. "This is going to be a hell of a week." One week later, the Sun Princess cruise ship pulled back into port. Dale and Joey didn't talk as they walked down the gang plank and got into a cab. "Airport please." As the cab pulled out Dale turned to glare at Joey. "Dale, I." "Not now Joey." "But I" "I SAID NOT NOW." "Okay." Joey didn't say anything again until they were walking down the gangplank to get on the return flight to Orlando. "I only did it because I was angry." Dale didn't say anything until he was fastening his seatbelt on the plane. "Angry or drunk. Which is it?" Joey sighed and put his head into his hands. He reached for Dale's hand but Dale pulled away. "We're in public Joe, don't want to get in trouble with the media." Dale asked the flight attendant for a magazine, and ignored Joey for the rest of the flight. Dale held himself together until they walked in the front door of the house. He picked up Loki, and stood there petting him as he watched Joey sort through the accumulated mail of a week. Finally when Joey began feeling the silence was going to make him scream he tried breaking down the walls again. "Dale?" "I'm tired Joey, I'm going to go nap." Dale went upstairs and stripped before slipping into bed. A few minutes later he heard Joey walk into the room. He didn't say anything as Joey slid into bed behind him. Dale felt Joey's arm tentatively draped over him. "Dale?" Joey sounded like he was on the verge of tears. "I'm sorry. I love you." That did it... Dale felt tears start to fall. "I love you too."