Date: Thu, 28 Sep 2000 20:10:50 EDT
From: Gabriella Morrison <sweetheart_stories@hotmail.com>
Subject: My Surprise Romance 45

Hi everyone!

Ahh, what can I say. It's been almost three weeks and I feel really bad
that it's taken me so long to get this installment out. My dearest
apologies to those who've waited for this part. I can honestly say that
I've had writers block as well as school, which has become the thorn in my
side. Uuuggghhhh....

Anyways, enough of that. I'd just like to thank everyone who sent me
e-mails about the last installment. I really really appreciate it and since
I'm not feeling too inspired these days, all feedback certainly makes me
feel better :) I *have* been slow in getting to my mails lately and for
that I do apologize. I've always been an e-mail fanatical-junkie-slut and I
feel bad when it takes me forever to answer back. Anyways, please, please,
*please* e-mail me at sweetheart_stories@hotmail.com .*Please* I really
need the feedback, whether good or bad, I don't care. I need it!

And thank you to everyone who cheers me on...Damon...KiKi...Ethan....John
(Just Around the River Bend), Dale...Khiem...the list could go on and on
and I'm just too lazy to type everyone's name in :) I would like to give
thanks to some really special people here: John, for being my *hubby*--I
love ya and I should be home in time for tea :), Val--well, sweetie, what
else can I say, but `Thank You' for all of the support that you've given me
(you know *exactly*what I mean). I owe ya an email and I'm gonna send you
one once I finish this! Really! Chris--::sigh:: we need help. Serious
help--but that's what makes us so cute! And Justin--I don't think I can say
anything else but I love ya. I'm so glad I met you and thank you for
everything....*everything*.

And the webpage has been updated. Like always--go, go, go!!!! Lots of new
stuff and you'll see why I'm going to checking into the loony bin when MSR
is over with!

http://sweetheart.homepage.com

DISCLAIMER: This chapter/installment deals with a m/m relationship. If it's
not legal to read it, then don't. If you're not of legal age (18/21), don't
read it. If you don't like this stuff, don't go any further. This story is
not meant to imply the sexuality of Lance Bass. I don't know him, I want to
know him...and...well, that's all I can say...

(The title of this chapter is taken from the R.E.M. song of the same name.)

My Surprise Romance

The Better to Dream of You

Chapter 45

Nightswimming


It had been an incredible night. I don't think there was any other word
that could describe the night that Lance and I had shared together,
*except* incredible...

I think I need to explain...

When I had spoken to Stacey that afternoon, she told me that she and Ford
wanted to take Lance and I out to dinner that night, as an apology for the
way she had treated us. Now I have never been one to say no to a free meal
and as we got ready, it seemed to be a good idea. Lance seemed nervous once
I mentioned the idea and while we dressed, he had managed to cover all of
the worst case scenarios possible. My poor boyfriend was freaking out
before we even got into the car, a very nice SUV that he kept at his
parents house while he was on tour. During the drive, I tried to calm Lance
down by telling him that Stacey wasn't mad at him and that everything was
going to be alright, but my words fell on deaf, nervous ears. When we
finally got to the restaurant, Lance was squeezing his hands into tight
fists to keep them from shaking.

We met Stacey and Ford at the entrance and once we were inside, the four of
us were whisked off to a reserved section of the restaurant. And that's
where disaster struck. Lance's mouth clamped shut. Stacey gazed off into
space with an uncomfortable expression on her face. And Ford and I sat
there, like two schmucks, playing with our flatware. We were thankful when
the menus were passed out, because at least we had just that inanimate
object to look at and not at each other. I don't know why it was so hard to
make eye-contact... Stacey and I had that nice talk that afternoon and she
had even hugged me upon parting...but this...this dinner was just
torture...

After the waiter had fawned all over Lance (who looked like he was going to
kick the waiter's ass in if he mentioned the word, `N Sync' one more time),
and then taken our orders (I was surprised that Lance hadn't been drooled
on), the four of us sat there once more, in uncomfortable silence, staring
at the walls and playing with the shiny flat gold utensils that sat on the
elegant silky ivory colored tablecloth. The quiet was unbearable--much
worse than any other patches of quiet that I had experienced before. Lance
drank the glass of wine that sat in front of him in one quick gulp and
immediately poured himself another glass. I stared at my fingernails,
praying that the night would soon come to an end. This was a huge mistake
and we all knew it.

And finally...finally Ford decided to break the ice. He looked at all of
us, flashing us a somewhat shy grin...and then he opened up his mouth and
out fell out an incredibly lame joke. Something about a zebra, a church, a
priest and...I don't even remember it to be honest with you. It was *that*
bad. Incredibly lame. And much worse than any joke book I had ever
read. And Ford knew it. When he received nothing but resounding silence
from the three of us, he just sat back in his chair, and stared at us with
an expectant look on his face.

I looked over at Lance and he just stared at me with an openmouthed gape. I
could read his mind--`What the *hell* is Ford thinking? The last thing in
the world I want to hear right now is some lame ass joke.' But still, Ford
continued to stare at us...waiting for some kind of response...

And then Stacey began to laugh. A high pitched, girlish giggle that
reverberated throughout the restaurant's VIP section. All of the rich,
snobby patrons present, turned to look at us with angry, disapproving
looks. But Stacey didn't care...she just kept laughing and laughing,
doubling over, and when she looked back up at us, tears rolled down her
lightly rouged cheeks.

"Ford..." she managed to gasp out between bursts of laughter. She slammed
her hand on the table in front of her, causing the entire table to shake,
as she attempted to take in a breath of air. "Oh my Lord...Ford...what the
hell was *that*? That was so bad....so bad..." She pounded her hand on the
table once more, drawing even more furious looks from the other
patrons. And suddenly, I got it. I got the whole absurdity of the situation
around me and found that Stacey's laughter was contagious.  Soon, I was
uncontrollable laughing my ass off, like Ford's joke was the funniest thing
that I had ever heard. And almost instantaneously, Lance began to laugh as
well. Maybe he realized the whole odd situation in front of him. Or maybe
he had thought Ford's joke was actually funny (you could never figure out
Lance sometimes--he had the strangest sense of humor). Or maybe the sight
of the two laughing idiots next to him was just too much for him to
take. Whatever it was that triggered his fit of laughter, Lance suddenly
jumped up from the table and ran off in the direction of the bathrooms.

Seeing Lance's reaction, only made Stacey and I laugh even harder, and then
Ford finally jumped in as well. My sides began to ache and my throat burned
from laughing so much. When Lance came back to the table, he just stared at
the three of us with a mock evil glare...and then broke down into a fit of
giggles once more.

The ice had finally been broken and the four of us began to talk. But not
before Stacey reached over, placed a hand over Lance's and looked at him
with sadness and shame in her sapphire eyes.

"Lance..." she began, her words barely audible over the clink-clink of the
porcelain dishes and gold flatware that echoed through the restaurant. "I
need to say this: I'm so sorry about what I said..." She lowered her eyes
to her lap before looking back up at her brother. "Lance...I love you--and
I've decided that no matter what...I'm behind you one hundred percent. *One
hundred percent*."

Well, the expression on my boyfriend's face would have put a 150 watt bulb
to shame. His lips broke out into a grin that stretched out from ear to ear
and his luminous green eyes filled with tears...my heart jumped into my
throat as Lance suddenly rose from his chair and pulled Stacey from her
seat. He wrapped her into a wild, unexpected hug and held onto his sister
for dear life.

I felt myself choke up at this sight, mainly because I never thought that I
would see it happen. I thought that the bond between Lance and Stacey had
been broken for good, but seeing the display of affection in front of me,
it clearly wasn't. Both of them had looks of relief and happiness on their
faces, and they were both so overcome with emotion, neither Lance nor
Stacey could speak.

And while I'd love to say that was the best part of the evening, it
wasn't. Something even better had happened that night and it happened after
dinner...

Lance and I decided to head back home. Or at least I *thought* we were
going to head back home. As Lance sped down the highway in his SUV, I
realized two things: One, this was the first time that Lance had ever
driven me around. All of the other times, I had been the one behind the
drivers wheel and, well...I'll admit it, I liked being the one in
control. Not having my hands on that steering wheel made me nervous. And
two, Lance drove like a crazy person. He drove well above the speed limit,
sometimes passing cars that were actually obeying the law and all of this
rush-rush urgency made me uncomfortable. However, I didn't say anything,
for fear that my food would crawl up my trachea and out of my mouth--that's
how nervous Lance's driving made me. Plus, to make matters even worse, I
think both Lance and I had a little too much `celebratory (as he called it)
wine to drink at dinner. I know that my head was spinning around like a
record as Lance pressed his foot to the accelerator, which caused the
needle on the speedometer to rise even more.

"Lance?" I said, my voice a bit wobbly from the alcohol that was
frantically coursing through my bloodstream. As I said his name, Lance
turned his head to look at me, his chartreuse eyes shining with mischief. I
couldn't help but let out a strangled yelp as we drove down the road. "For
the Love of God, Lance--don't look at me, just pay attention to the
road!!!"

To my surprise, a deep,throaty laugh punctured the vehicle's claustrophobic
space.  Lance shifted his eyes back to the road that lay in front of him
and grinned. "Geez, Stephen," he began to tease me. "You wouldn't happen to
be a little nervous now would you? Were you a driving instructor in one of
your past lives?"

I couldn't answer his little quip. Instead, I dug my fingernails deeper
into the vinyl covered passenger door and began to silently recite numerous
Act of Contritions in my mind. I did this over and over until the religious
words didn't make much sense to me anymore. I grew silent as the world
whizzed past me in a blur. My silence must have tipped off Lance, who
automatically picked up on my worry.

"You okay, Stephen?" he asked softly, as he began to slow the SUV down a
little. I looked over at him, and couldn't help but give him a smile. I
noticed that ever since we had been down in the south, his almost
nonexistent southern accent had emerged stronger than ever. I thought it
was an incredibly sexy aspect of him, and I allowed my mind to replay
Lance's question over and over.

"I'm fine," I answered a bit breathlessly, as Lance rounded a corner,
turning onto a darkened road. The bright lights of downtown faded behind us
as Lance continued his drive. "Although I never knew that you were such a
maniac behind the wheel."

Slowing down even more, Lance turned to look at me. His cheeks were flushed
and his eyes flashed a mischievous glint at me. "Aww, come on Stephen--you
know what a maniac I am in bed. So what would make you think I was any
different behind the wheel?"

For some reason, his very suggestive comment made my face turn as red as a
tomato. I wasn't used to this side of Lance--he had always been
so...calm...almost gentle and caring towards me...and now here he was: this
speed freak, an adrenalin crazed nut...and as much as I didn't want to
admit it, it was really turning me on. I liked this side of Lance. I mean,
I'm not saying that he was innocent--because he was far from that--no, it
was more that I hadn't expected him to have this wild side. The alcohol in
my blood prevented me from elaborating on my thoughts, and I silenced the
thoughts in my mind. I don't think my mind was making a lot of sense.

And as much as I wanted to answer Lance's provocative little question, I
couldn't. The words caught in my throat as Lance continued to drive down
the practically deserted road. It was free of streetlights, and noticing
this, he flipped on the SUV's high beams, allowing him to make out the path
in front of us. As the blacktop turned to gravel, I could hear the stones
hit the underside of the car. Where the hell were we going? I knew that
this wasn't the way back to the Bass house. I didn't consider myself an
expert on Mississippi, but I sure as hell knew that this wasn't the way to
Lance's house.

"Lance? Where are we going?" I asked, my voice filled with curiosity as I
watched his hands slide over the steering wheel, maneuvering the vehicle
down the rough road. He took his eyes briefly off the drive and looked at
me.

"You'll see," he promised teasingly as we came to a fork in the road. As he
went down the left path, Lance asked me an odd question. "Stephen--truth or
dare?"

What? Truth or dare? What the hell was this? I didn't get the point of the
question and I let him know it. "Lance...you've gotta be kidding me. Truth
or dare? What gives? Is this some kind of a joke?" I pestered. Rolling his
eyes, Lance pressed his foot on the brake, causing the SUV to stop with an
abrupt jerk. I nearly flew through the windshield and I thanked God for the
invention of the seat belt.

"No, it's not some kind of a joke," Lance answered my question and I
noticed the look on his face was one of dead seriousness. "I mean it--truth
or dare?" He had to be kidding me. We were twenty-one years old. Way too
old to play childish games like this.

"Lance, you're drunk," I complained. "Come on, just turn the car around and
head back home," Instead of listening to me, those perfect light brown
eyebrows of his, furrowed into a deep glare and he violently slammed his
hand on the steering wheel, which caused me to wince.

"God damn it, Stephen! I'm not drunk! I am *NOT* drunk!" he roared. "I just
want to have some fun with you!" He glanced at the road in front of him for
a moment, before looking back at me, his voice full of pent up tension.
"We're finally alone, and isn't that what matters the most? That we're
finally alone together? We haven't been alone in ages--not since the
airport! And I just want to be with you before we have to go back home--is
that too much to ask?" His voice had calmed down a bit, back into his
normal gentle manner and he flashed me a shaky smile. I was shaken up as
well as sobered up. Being screamed at does wonders for you if you happen to
be drunk.

"Sorry," I apologized. "I didn't mean to get you mad, Lance...I thought you
were kidding..." I gave him a smile and blindly reached out for his
hand. His skin felt so warm and inviting against mine, I thought with a
sigh. "Or drunk," I added mischievously. "But you're not...so...dare."

"Dare?!" Lance asked in surprise, before relaxing his lips into a
grin. "You're a feisty one aren't you? Okay...uh..." He darted his eyes
around nervously, trying to think of something good. I guess he had
expected me to answer `truth'. "Ah....lean your head out the window and
scream, `Lance Bass is the handsomest man on this planet and I want to bear
all his children,"

My mouth dropped open momentarily as Lance leaned back in his seat and
flashed me a cat-that-ate-the-canary grin. "Come on, Stephen--you chose
dare," Lance reminded me.

Smirking, I began to roll down the car window. "It's not that I don't want
to," I began, "I'm just surprised how egotistical you are."

I didn't bother to wait for his response. Instead, I leaned my head out of
the car window and screamed at the top of my lungs, "Lance Bass is the
handsomest man on this planet and I want to bear all his children!!" I
paused for a moment and looked back at my boyfriend. His head was thrown
back, as his body shook with uncontrollable laughter. Another phrase popped
into my mind and, before I lost the nerve to scream it, I leaned my head
out the window once more and let go: "And he's also the greatest fuck that
ever walked!" My words echoed throughout the country air, stretching past
the fields of corn and wheat. I looked at Lance once more, and found his
face contorted into a mask of shock as he realized my words.

"Stephen!" he exclaimed, pressing his foot to the accelerator as he was
about to drive off. But before we could escape, another voice reverberated
throughout the air: "Shut the fuck up!!! `N Sync sucks!!!" A burst of
laughter sprung from my throat as Lance drove off into more uncharted
territory.

"I can't believe you just yelled that," Lance moaned, shaking his head. I
enjoyed watching the blush creep up the side of his neck. It was cute.

"Why not? It's not like they knew who we were," I managed to say between
giggles. "But they knew who you were, my dear." Not able to hold back any
longer, I reached out and stroked his cheek, causing his eyes to close
briefly at my touch. When they flew open, Lance hit the brake once more,
stopping the vehicle and nearly sent me flying through the windshield
again.

"Okay, Stephen--its your turn to ask me."

I sucked in a breath through pursed lips. I knew it was going to be my
turn, and for a brief second, I found myself at a loss for words. "Okay,
Lansten," I finally said, my voice sly, as I cracked my knuckles.  He
winced at my actions, but kept his eyes glued to mine. "Truth or dare?" I
attempted to make my voice sound as mysterious as possible, but it didn't
work. Instead, I sounded like I had a bad cold. Lance ignored this and a
shy, somewhat awkward grin flew across his lips.

"Truth," he answered solemnly, quickly placing the SUV in park. I raised an
eyebrow at this, but didn't say a word. Instead, I began to rack my brain,
trying to think of a good question to ask him.

"Alright...where are we going?" I asked, motioning around me with my
hand. "I have no clue where we are--for all I know, you could be a murderer
who wants to kill me," I said, sticking my lower lip out and widening my
eyes, trying to muster up a fearful look.

"Aw, come on Stephen!" Lance objected. "You gotta come up with a better
question than that--and hey, how did you find out my side profession?" he
asked, trying to hold back a laugh. I rolled my eyes and quickly thought of
another question.

"Okay, what are you feeling right now?" I desperately hoped that my
question wasn't too lame. But I didn't have a good imagination--and
besides, I wanted to know what was going on in that pretty little head of
his. I wanted to know how he felt...what he wanted...and why we were here.

"Right now?" Lance asked, his voice a low whisper. "Well..." His words
trailed off as he unbuckled his seat belt and leaned over towards
me. Moving his face next to mine, Lance reached up and gently traced a path
down my cheek. "Right now...I'm feeling like I want you..." And he finished
off his statement by placing his lips on mine. For some odd reason, neither
Lance nor I closed our eyes as our lips met, in an enduring kiss. I felt
his tongue tenderly part my lips and began to search my mouth like there
was no tomorrow. I couldn't believe how fast my blood pressure began to
rise while my heart thumped rapidly in my chest. I reached around, placed
my hand between his shoulder blades and pulled Lance a little closer to me
(well, as close as you possible can when there's a stick shift between
you), our eyes never closing. It was like Lance was staring directly into
my soul as his tongue moved inside my mouth, gently running over my teeth
and meeting the tip of my tongue. When we finally parted, I felt like the
wind had been knocked out of me. I couldn't breathe or speak. I felt like I
had been on some sort of acid trip where one world had shut and another
world opened up inside of me. I had seen something that altered my
perceptions of reality and it led me into one where only Lance and I
existed. It was mind boggling. Shaken by the fervent moment that we had
just shared, Lance and I remained silent for a couple of seconds. He
finally saw fit to break the lull between us, by looking down at my lap,
and a humored smirk broke out on his lips.

"Down boy," Lance teased me, a glint in his eyes as he eyed my reaction to
our moment of passion. I felt my face turn hot, embarrassed by how fast my
body had become aroused by his kiss. I cleared my throat, and noticing my
discomfort Lance changed the subject.

"So....truth or dare?" he asked quietly, reaching out to take my hand in
his. I took one more deep breath, trying to quiet the ringing of my heart
in my ears.

"Truth?" I answered, trying to sound like I wasn't going to faint any
second. Lance flashed me another one of his heartbreaking grins as he
pulled the car's transmission into drive.

"A good answer," Lance nodded wisely. "Do you want me to show you where I'm
taking you?" When I bobbed my head up and down in response, Lance pressed
his foot to the accelerator and we were off...




"This is it?!?" I asked, my voice betraying the lustful feelings that were
brewing inside of me. Lance and I were still sitting in the SUV, while an
almost picture-perfect pond stretched out in front of us. Under the
moonlight, the water rippled gently in the slight breeze, and a slight
shimmer of light bounced off the waves.

"Yup," Lance answered, his eyes turning downcast at my surprised
expression. "I was hoping that you'd be a little more excited--but you're
probably more curious to why I brought you here in the first place, right?"

I nodded mutely, my eyes still taking in the swimming hole. I didn't mind
that we were here, but I still wondered what Lance's motives were. I
patiently sat next to my boyfriend as I waited for some sort of response.

"Well..." he began slowly, as though he didn't want to tell me the
truth. "You know, I'm not sure why I brought you here--it was just at
dinner--this place just crept into my mind, and...well...remember how you
took me to the sculpture garden on our first date?"

"That wasn't a date," I protested, as my mind recalled the simpler days of
my past. "We weren't even sure that we liked each other then."

Lance shook his head firmly and I looked into his eyes, watching them turn
jade as he thought of the memory. "Well, I call it a date--not an official
one, but I knew how much I liked you back then. I was just hoping you felt
the same way....anyways, I just wanted to bring you here. It's nice and
peaceful--there used to be huge keg parties here during my senior year, but
before that, I used to come out here when I needed to think." His
expression turned pensive as he took my hand into his.

"By yourself?" I teased him. "Didn't your mom teach you that there's safety
in numbers?" Lance grinned at me, allowing his hand to move downwards,
where he began to gently stroke my thigh. I quickly bit my lip, not wanting
to let out a moan. I didn't want to ruin the moment between us with my
lustful howlings. It just seemed too perfect to ruin. Lance was telling me
about his past, which despite all the time that we had spent together, was
still a bit of a mystery. I had heard odd bits here and there, but I had
never heard the whole thing. And I liked it when Lance confided in me...it
made me feel so honored.

"Well, I'm here with you, now, right? So I'm safe--" he raised an eyebrow
at me. "or at least I think I am." As he said this, Lance's gentle touches
against my leg, grew heavier with each stroke. I found it difficult to
control my breathing, but I tried my damnest to ignore his hand and
concentrate on his words instead. "*Anyways*," Lance repeated, as a grin
peppered his comments. "Before I was so *rudely* interrupted--" His eyes
sparkled as he said this, so I knew he was kidding me.  "I used to come out
here in the daytime to think about stuff..."

"Like what?" I asked him curiously. I knew I shouldn't have pried, but I
wanted to know. After all, he did bring me out here, right? I peered at
Lance, hoping that he wouldn't mind me asking him what he thought about.

"Well..." he squirmed uncomfortably in his seat, looking at the steering
wheel in front of him. "You know...stuff...stuff...about myself. Like why I
didn't find any of the girls that I was dating attractive...you know, stuff
like that," Lance let out a forlorn sigh as he rushed on. "So I used to
come out here and sit on the hood of my car, and just think, `why me'." He
looked back up and I was astonished to see those beautiful eyes of his
filled with a pain and longing that I had never seen before. Even though
those days were past him, the faded memories that had once haunted his soul
were now rushing back. And sadly enough, I knew how he felt at that
moment. But part of me was shocked, since I had never thought of Lance as
having any sort of emotional baggage...His personality was so bright and
positive, I had never imagined that he had any sort of psychological scars
inside of him.

"I was so unhappy Stephen," Lance managed to choke out, carefully blinking
so that the tears wouldn't spill from his eyes. "You don't even know--no
one did--everytime I would kiss a girl, I wouldn't think of her...my mind
would be on something else..." Lance blinked once more and gave me a
sheepish smile. "I guess you know what I was thinking about...but I just
was always so confused--until I met you..." I felt something in my heart
snap as he said this. I felt the same way. No one had affected me so deeply
until I met Lance.

"Lance," I said softly, reaching over to stoke his face. "I never knew that
about you...why didn't you tell me about that before?"

Lance could only shrug his shoulders, refusing to meet my eyes as he
spoke. "I don't know, I guess I just never wanted to bring it up. We were
having such a good time, I figured, why bring up old skeletons? And then
all of the stuff that happened to you." He snorted. "I was *not* going to
burden you with my problems." He paused for a moment and finally met my
eyes again. "But being back home...I guess it just brought all those old
feelings back out in me, y'know? I mean, I always knew I was...like this,"
Lance gestured helplessly with his hand and then let it drop back in his
lap. He turned his head away from me, choosing to peer out the car window.

"I know...I understand," I said, my voice quiet as I attempted to soothe
him. "You have to be comfortable in telling me--I'm certainly not going to
pry about your past experiences or anything if you don't want to tell me."
I carefully chose my words, not wanting to sound like I hadn't thought of
this before. Because I had. When Stacey had mentioned to me that Lance was
caught in bed with another girl, she had opened up a Pandora's box that I
found hard to shut. We had never talked about our past experiences,
although I could count mine on one hand. While I had never thought of
myself as the jealous type, the idea of my boyfriend, the love of my life,
physically being with someone else before me...well...let's just say that I
wasn't thrilled with it. But I wasn't about to pry...let Lance tell me when
he was ready to.

And by the determined look in his eyes, it was clear to me that he was
ready. He popped the locks and swung his door open. "Come on, Stephen,"
Lance murmured as he jumped out of the SUV. "I need to stretch my legs."

I followed Lance's lead, opening my door up and hopped onto the dirt
ground. He slammed his door and began walking aimlessly towards the pond,
not saying a word. It was almost as though a black cloud had formed over
his head, as he bent down and picked up a handful of medium sized pebbles
from the ground beneath us. He angrily threw them, one by one, into the
pond, causing the water to ripple out into even, symmetrical patterns. The
waves reflected off the moonlight, looking almost velvety in texture.

"You alright, Lance?" I asked cautiously, as I watched him bend down once
more and pick up a few more stones. Unlike the other bunch, Lance hurled
the entire collection into the air and watched as they landed into the pond
in rapid succession.

"I'm fine," Lance shot back angrily, as he spat into the water. "Just
fucking fine."

"Lance," I said, reaching out towards him, grabbing for his arm. I couldn't
understand why he was so upset. We didn't fight, I hadn't said anything
stupid and the events of the night had gone reasonably well...

"What, Stephen?" Lance asked bitterly, his eyes flashing fire. He shook off
my grasp and shot me a look of pure venom. "What the hell do you want?" And
without answering me, Lance gave me one last angry glare and spun around on
his heel, walking away from me.

I stood there in shock, watching as he began to walk around the perimeter
of the pond. He shoved his hands deep into the pockets of his dress pants
and muttered some unintelligible words under his breath. Lance continued to
walk, until he was halfway around the water's edge. I continued to stand
there, frozen like a statue, feeling as though he had slapped me in the
face. He was mad at me, and for what reason, I didn't know. I began to
replay our conversation in our mind. Had I said something wrong? Did
something wrong? I didn't know...I knelt next to the edge of the pond and
stared into the water for a couple of seconds. I sucked in a shaky breath,
not wanting to cry. I wanted to be tough...strong...but with Lance snapping
at me for no obvious reason, I couldn't. I knelt down to gaze into the dark
water and I could see my reflection in front of me. The expression on my
face relayed exactly what I was feeling inside. I looked sad. A few more
seconds passed before I saw someone else's reflection appear behind me. I
looked up to see Lance standing there, a wistful look on his face.

"Stephen," he said softly as I rose to meet him at eye level. "I'm sorry
for snapping at you like that...I didn't mean to..." he trailed off and
looked at the ground for a couple of seconds. Swallowing my hurt and pride,
I just gave him a half-smile.

"It's okay, Lance," I said, the words coming out of my mouth a bit shakier
than I had expected them to. "Don't worry about it." I tried to brush his
actions off, pretending that they hadn't bothered me, but they did. I
didn't like to be yelled at, especially when I hadn't done anything to
provoke Lance into yelling at me.  I didn't deserved to be treated like
that.

"No it's not," Lance said, taking my hands in his. "I didn't mean to yell
at you, okay? It's just...look, there's something that we have to talk
about, okay?"

"Okay," I agreed as we sat down on the ground, next to the pond's
edge. Lance played with the blades of grass that surrounded us, before
looking back up at me. He gave me a slight smile as he plucked one of the
blades from the dirt and fumbled with it for a couple of seconds.

"Look...I just need to get this off my chest...before we go any further,
alright?" Lance said seriously. "I don't want to hide stuff from you
anymore." My eyebrows shot clear off my forehead when he said that. What
exactly was he hiding from me? I felt my blood grow shaky as Lance quickly
wetted his lips and took a deep breath.

"Alright," I agreed, surprised at how calm my voice sounded. "Shoot."

"Look, before I met you--" Lance paused for a second, and looked like he
wanted to fall through the ground. "I slept with other people...girls." His
voice had come out so solemn and scared that I almost expected Lance to
follow it up with, "I have a child. I got a girl pregnant. And I've been
treated for every disease you can imagine." But he didn't. His words had
stopped at "girls" and that was all he had to say.

I don't know if Lance had expected me to freak out or start screaming at
him, but I didn't do either of those things. Instead, I just sat there and
stared at him evenly, waitng for more. But nothing came.

"Stephen," Lance finally said, snapping his fingers in front of my
face. "Helloooo....did you hear what I just said? I slept with girls
before..."

I thought about the words that were floating around in my head. I didn't
want to sound as though I didn't care, but I didn't want to sound like a
raving lunatic either...

"Lance...I had a feeling that you did...I kinda surmised that already," I
told him, reaching out to trace a light path around his knuckles until I
ended up at his thumbnail. "Plus, Stacey told me that your mom and dad
caught you with a girl in bed, so....I kinda knew already."

The look on Lance's face was one of shock and surprise. "Really?" Lance
asked, his eyes wide with amazement. "You knew?"

I nodded and pulled my knees up to my chest. "Uh-huh" I nodded. "I
knew. And if you want to know, it doesn't bother me one bit. Not at all...I
mean...well..." I lowered my voice a notch, allowing the words to fall from
my lips. "I mean...well, I guess it does. A little. To know that other
people have been with my boyfriend...but I don't control you." I let out a
short laugh. "Hell, I didn't even know you back then, so why would I be
mad?" I let the words pass between us and was relieved to see a relieved
smile appear on Lance's face.

"So you understand?" he asked, the words catching in his throat. "And
you're not mad at all?" I looked at Lance and was amazed at how truly
beautiful he looked at that moment. If I could have frozen the expression
on Lance's face, I would have. He looked both innocent and not-so-innocent
at the same time. His eyes, iridescent in the shadows of the moonlight,
glowed at me, full of understanding and love. The shadows caused by the
moonlight, seemed to allow his cheekbones to stick out prominently. I just
wanted to reach out and kiss him, but I didn't. Not now. I wanted to wait.

"I'm not mad at all, Lance..." I trailed off and then gave him a
mischievous smile. "But can I ask you one thing?"

"What?" Lance asked, his eyes filling once more with worry. I almost
regretted my question. Almost.

"How was it? You know, with a girl?" I couldn't help asking it. My question
caused Lance to let out a laugh that bounced off the trees and rocks
surrounding us.

"I'm guessing that you've never been with one, then?" Lance chucked
softly. I shook my head and made a horrible face at him.

"Ewwww....a girl? Lance, come on," I teased him, nudging him in the
shoulder. "No, seriously--how was it?"

Lance took a breath and grimaced slightly. "It was...awkward. I didn't know
what to do....and when it did happen, I just wasn't into it....I mean,
everything happened that was supposed to happen, but not inside. I didn't
feel like I do when I'm with you...it's perfect when I'm with you,
Stephen." A magnificent smile spread across his face when he said this and
it took my breath away. With a slow, shy grin, Lance picked himself up off
the ground and crawled over towards me. He moved his face next to mine and
before he kissed me, he whispered, "I love you, Stephen. And no one else."

As our lips met, Lance and I fell backwards onto the ground together, our
arms wrapped around each other's bodies. Our kisses were frantic, eager and
needy. The blood throughout my body pounded through my veins, making me
almost dizzy with passion. I felt his hands pull my tucked shirt out of my
pants, while beginning to work their way up my chest. He pulled my shirt
off of me, threw it carelessly to the side and then I felt his hands, brush
over my nipples, hardening under his touch, before working back down to my
belt.

"Stephen" Lance managed to breathe between kisses. "I know you don't want
to do this, but I need you. I need you more than you'll ever know...and I
need you now." And before I could even respond, Lance placed his mouth
against mine once more and began to unbuckle my belt. Our lips parted again
and his eyes trailed down my face, shining as they did so.

"Please?" he begged me, widening his eyes into the puppy dog look that he
knew I couldn't resist, before kissing me again. But all I wanted to do was
tell him that he didn't need to use that look. I wanted him just as much as
he wanted me. I needed this too. All of the thoughts that had dogged my
mind--my mother, the will, Lance's family--became distant memories as I
began to run my hands up Lance's back. At that moment, I needed Lance as
much as he needed me. Maybe even more.

We rolled around on the grass for a few seconds, dirt beginning to stick to
our bodies as we tumbled back and forth. I felt his soft lips trail a path
from my mouth to my neck, allowing his tongue to drift across my Adams
apple. I shivered at the sensations that coursed throughout my body. And
then Lance abruptly stopped and lifted himself off of me.

"What are you doing?" I asked my boyfriend as he extended his hand out to
mine. He pulled me off the ground, our eyes locking as he began to step
backwards towards the water.

"Lance? What are you doing?" I repeated. My head was spinning with broken
lust. and my body ached for his touch. Why was he doing this to me? Why was
he prolonging what I wanted so bad? Was this my punishment for what I had
put him through that one night? Because if it was, Lance was doing a very
good job at it.

"We never finished our game of truth or dare," Lance laughed huskily as he
stopped at the water's edge. "And if I'm not mistaken, it's my turn to ask
you something..." When I answered him with a frustrated, blank stare, Lance
rolled his eyes and tugged on my hand. "Come on Stephen--don't you like to
play?" he asked coyly, batting his eyelashes at me.

I felt my face turn crimson at his question. `Why was he doing this to me?'
I thought over and over. "I like to play, but Lance--you're killing me
here..."

"Come on," Lance ordered me with a mischievous smile. "Just let's finish
the game." I heaved a sigh. Anything to make Lance happy, I
thought. Anything. Anything so he would get back to pleasing me. "Truth or
dare, Stephen?" He arched an eyebrow as he waited for my response.

"Dare," I finally answered after forcing more unpure thoughts of Lance out
of my mind. He smirked at me, and I watched as the corner of his mouth turn
up and an glint appear in his eye.

"Jump into the lake," Lance laughed. "Come on..." I stared at him as though
he had gone insane.

"What?" I asked him, in shock. "You've got to be kidding me! Jump into
there?" I pointed at the seemingly harmless water. "I don't know what's
lurking in there!"

"Scared?" Lance teased me as he took off his dinner jacket and threw it to
the side. In a matter of seconds he had stripped down to his boxer shorts,
carelessly throwing his clothes in various directions, not caring where
they landed. "Scared that the bogeyman is gonna grab you once you jump into
there?" He never pried his eyes off of me as he did this.

"No," I answered indigently. "I'm not--I'm just saying that--" And before I
could finish my sentence, Lance took off and cannonballed into the pond,
landing with a huge splash. Drops of pond water tidaled from his jump and
landed on me. I looked back at Lance, who emerged in the middle of the
water, his hair plastered down over his eyes. As he threaded water, Lance
flipped his hair away from his face and grinned at me.

"Come on, don't be such a chicken..." Lance gently chided me, as he stuck
his tongue out. I watched him, marveling at how silly he was being. I
wasn't sure if he was still a little tipsy from the alcohol or if he was
just being goofy and spontaneous.

"No," I said, crossing my arms over my chest and shook my head at him.

"Aww, come on Stephen," Lance begged, giving me the puppy dog eyes once
more. "It's so lonely in here...nothing's going to bite." He paused and
gave me an evil grin. "Well...I can't make any promises for myself." And
with that, he began to float on his back and leisurely began to backstroke,
while singing at the top of his lungs.

"Made a mistake when I let you go, baby...I drive myself crazy...wanting
you the way that I do..." His deep bass voice reverberated throughout the
air, and I couldn't help but smile. Lance was such a beautiful singer I
thought with a sigh. How many people would have killed to be in my
position?

"Don't you know any other songs besides your own?" I teased him, as he
looked up at me. He was about to say something when I saw his head suddenly
disappear under the water. He was gone...

"Lance?" I called out, attempting to peer into the dark water. Nothing. The
water grew still...and my heart began to beat wildly in my chest, this time
not because of lust, but because of fear. "Lance?" I yelled, my voice
growing more and more frantic each time. "Come on, this isn't
funny. Lance...stop shitting around." Still nothing. `Oh my God', I thought
frantically and without another thought, I jumped into the water, my pants
and shoes still on. The cool water encircled me as I swam around
underneath, keeping my eyes shut the entire time. I was never good at
underwater swimming, and even though I thought Lance was in trouble, I
couldn't bring myself to open my eyes. My limbs began to move around,
desperately hoping that I would feel Lance--an arm, a leg...anything. The
seconds began to rush past me as I felt nothing but water surround me. Just
as I was about to come up for a breath of air, I felt a hand close around
my arm and pull me to the surface of the water.

When I felt my head bob up, I finally opened my eyes. My hair was blocking
my vision and I couldn't see a thing. I lifted my hands through the heavy
water and pulled my hair away from my eyes, blinking a couple of times only
to see Lance floating in front of me, an amused grin on his face.

"Oldest trick in the book and you fell for it," Lance chuckled, as I felt
his arms encircle my waist. He pulled me closer to him and grinned at me,
his eyes glowing with happiness. But as relieved as I was to see that Lance
was okay, I was also freaked out with worry.

"I can't believe you!" I sputtered, water dripping from my hair and down my
face. "You're insane, you know that? I thought you--" The words refused
leave my throat and I felt tears fill my eyes. "I thought....I mean...I
thought something happened to you once before, when you fell from the air
and now you do this to me..." I didn't want to say the `d' word. I
couldn't. It hurt too much to even think of that.

"Stephen," Lance murmured. "I'm fine. I just tricked you, that's all...I
just wanted you here with me..." And with those words, Lance pulled me even
closer to him--so close, I felt our stomachs touch. A funny thrill shot
through my body at the feeling of Lance's skin so close to mine.  There was
an ache in my throat as Lance rested his hands on my shoulders and placed a
kiss at the hollow of my throat. My head tilted back and I relaxed a
little, feeling my shoes brush against the bottom of the pond. It wasn't as
deep as I thought it was and that surprised me. Knowing this, I felt my
body relax even more as I fell into Lance's embrace.

"You wanted me here? Really?" I asked somewhat dumbly, as though the idea
of Lance wanting to be with me was a foreign concept. He nodded shyly and
rested his head against my shoulder. In one swift motion, Lance took
advantage of the water's buoyancy and wrapped his legs around my hips. As
he did this, I could feel his hardness brush against my own, despite the
heavy, water soaked clothes that I was still wearing. Lance noticed this
and pressed the lower half of his body against mine, smiling as he felt my
obvious reaction to it.

"Really," Lance whispered as he reached up to stroke my cheek. There was
something wonderful about that particular moment. The feeling of solidarity
that overswept Lance and I. It was like we were the only two people on the
face of the earth. The gentle noise of the water lapping against our skin
and the crickets chirping around us only added to the romantic
atmosphere. I gazed into Lance's eyes and noticed the gentle contours of
his face as the moonlight beamed down upon us. Lance briefly broke our gaze
for a second, before meeting my eyes once more. This time, his cheeks had
taken on a slightly pink cast and he seemed clearly embarrassed by the
thoughts that were running through his mind. "You wanna know something,
Stephen?"

"What?" I asked, as I moved in for a kiss. I guided his lips to mine,
brushing them gently against his. His kiss was so sweet, so warm with
passion and lust. `Lance was right', I thought. `When we're together, it
*is* perfect'.  He allowed a couple of seconds to pass before speaking once
more.

"I kinda had a motive for bringing you here," he murmured under his breath
and through the weight of the water, I felt his fingers brush against the
button on my pants. He leaned forward while he unbuttoned them, pressing
his lips against my bare neck at the same time. "I kinda always wanted to
do it here--you know, in the pond, the water. It's always been a..." he
cringed slightly, as though he didn't want to admit it. "A fantasy of
mine." He wrapped his arms around my neck once he finished unbuttoning my
pants.

An aroused smile appeared on my face once I heard Lance say that. "Really?"
I asked. I wasn't sure if I should have been surprised by Lance's
revelation or not. But at that particular moment, I really didn't care. My
concentration was focused on kicking off my pants and shoes. I didn't care
that they slowly sank down to the bottom of the pond. That was the least of
my worries right then.

"Yup...and since we're here," Lance whispered sheepishly, as he began to
slowly grind his hips into mine. "I figured...what the hell, right?" And
with that, he moved in for another kiss. I wrapped my arms around his bare
torso and held onto him for dear life. His hard member was pressing against
mine and even through our wet boxer shorts, I could feel the heat pulsating
from it.  Our kisses grew more and more desperate as Lance began to thrust
his groin into mine. Suddenly all of the joking and laughter dissolved into
something much more passionate and intense. I felt my head begin to spin as
Lance licked around my lips, one hand brushing up and down my back while
the other slipped down my boxers and gently stroked my ass. Our flesh was
pressed together and I could feel his heart beating rapidly next to
mine. Lance pulled his mouth away from mine for a moment, to catch a breath
while letting out a moan of desire at the same time.

Needing Lance like I've never had needed him before, I began to slip my
hands past the elastic band of his boxer shorts, cupping his ass, while
bringing the lower half of his body even closer to mine. As Lance moved his
body against me, the water began to lap wildly against our bodies. Losing
complete control of himself, Lance began to unknowingly dig his fingernails
into my back, while leaning forwards and sinking his teeth into my
shoulder. His hips continued to thrust into mine, faster and faster. He met
my eyes briefly before closing them, completely losing himself in the
moment. I held onto him as tightly as I could, while his nails began to
drag a painful path down my back. I winced at the feeling, but forgot about
it as his thrusts grew more and more intense. Our bodies moved in unison,
and needing to taste Lance, I roughly placed my lips against his, cutting
off a moan that dared to escape my throat. I couldn't control myself
anymore. I needed this man more than anything in the world. He was my
sanctuary, my light at the end of the tunnel. Lance was the only thing that
I ever desired so passionately and this moment was no exception. As these
thoughts whirled through my mind, I suddenly felt Lance's body tense in my
arms.  His limbs had gone rigid and there was an obvious change in his
breathing.

"Stephen," Lance whispered into my ear, his voice ragged with desire and
his eyelids heavy with arousal. "I think I'm gonna come." With those words,
I felt Lance uncontrollably thrust his hips one last time into mine, as his
actions matched his words. I could feel an undeniable liquid warmth fill
the tight space between us, while Lance attempted to muffle his groans by
pressing his lips into the crook of my neck. I felt his body spasm a few
more times before peacefully relaxing in my arms.

"Stephen," Lance managed to murmur into my skin "Oh Lord..." He pulled his
face away from my neck and looked at me, looking as though the wind had
been knocked out of him. As he examined my face, a content, sleepy look
filled his magnificent green eyes.

"You...you...alright?" I managed to gasp, shaken by what had just occurred
between us. It had seemed like ages since Lance and I had shared something
this intimate together. And he had been right--we needed to do this--I felt
different, for the better. The happiness that had been missing, suddenly
radiated throughout my body, as Lance leaned over and gave me a passionate
kiss.

"Wonderful," Lance sighed and I felt his legs unwrap from around my waist,
allowing the cool water to meet my body. As I threaded water, I watched
Lance swim away from me and towards the pond's edge. The happy feeling that
had filled my body, was replaced by a wave of disappointment that swept
through me. I watched as Lance pulled himself out of the pond, water
dripping from the transparent, soaked boxer shorts that hung from his
body. And although that was a nice visual, I knew that I wanted more than
what had just happened between Lance and I. As Lance took a seat on the
soft, downy grass, he turned his head as though he had expected me to be
there next to him. A look of surprise registered on his face when he
realized that I wasn't there, and he whipped his head around to see that I
was still threading water.

"Stephen?" Lance questioned, a smile playing on his lips. "What are you
waiting for? An engraved invitation or something?" I let out a soft,
relieved laugh as I glided through the water and pulled myself out of the
pond. As I took a seat next to Lance, a blush swept over my face as I
noticed my own erection clearly visible through my own wet boxer
shorts. This did not escape Lance, who knocked me to the ground before I
could even get settled down next to him. I could feel the soft blades of
grass poke into my back as I hit the ground. Lance hovered above me,
peering at me, while tracing a path down the middle of my chest. His finger
briefly circled around my nipples, before he continued downwards, past my
stomach and down the light trail of hair that lead to my neither
regions. My breath caught in my throat as Lance ran his finger over the tip
of my penis. I floated out of my body just then, paralyzed by the
sensations that ran rampant throughout me. The muggy air hit my damp skin
with a vengeance, but that disappeared once Lance pressed his body to mine,
tipped his head downwards and kissed me again.

"Someone's eager, aren't they?" I laughed gently, my voice was full of
teasing and excitement. I was so happy to be with Lance. This was our time
together--it belonged to Lance and I, and damn the rest of the world or
what they thought of us. Who the fuck cared about them? All my world
consisted of was Lance and I...

"Yup," Lance answered thickly, as he ran his index finger back up my
breastbone. His eyes focused deep into mine and he gave me another soft
smile, illuminating his beautiful features once more before placing a soft
kiss on my lips. His lips moved lower, down to my neck, lingering over both
of my nipples and down the trail of light hair present on my stomach. Lance
dipped his tongue into my navel for the briefest of seconds, before quickly
pulling off my boxer shorts and tossing them off. I heard a `splash' and it
took me a few seconds to realize that they must have landed in the water. I
would have laughed at that, but Lance's actions distracted me from my
thoughts. He began to place light, feathery kisses along my hipbone, while
gently running his hand up and down my thigh.

"Lance," I murmured, as I reached downwards to run my hands through his wet
hair. He looked up, flashed me a mischievous grin, and then allowed his
soft lips to close around my erection. "Oh God, that feels..." I became
incapable of finishing any sentences. My body had turned to nothing and I
felt like I was on a different planet. All I was aware of was Lance, who
was currently working me into am unbridled frenzy. His mouth slid up and
down my swollen shaft, before coming back up to gently lick the drop of
precum that had appeared at the top of the head. And then he dove back down
once more.

Lance worked me over for a few more minutes, until my body was trembling
with anticipation.  I felt my body shift and my hands formed clenched fists
as they pulled out clumps of dew-heavy grass next to me, when Lance
suddenly removed his mouth from me. He crawled back up and placed his mouth
over mine, kissing me with an intense passion. And although I loved it when
our mouths met, I had to break away from him.

"Lance...why'd you stop?" I managed to gasp, my voice full of frantic worry
and need. This wasn't funny at all.  His eyes blanked for a moment, before
a devilish grin flew over his face.

"Truth or dare, Stephen," he said, as he rested himself on his elbows. I
let out a groan of frustration at Lance's teasing, light tone. Why was he
flirting with me like this? What was he trying to do to me? Drive me into
the loony bin for sexual deprivation?

"Lance...why?!?!" I cried out, not able to hold back my anxiety any
longer. When it was clear that he wasn't going to answer me, unless I
played his game, I sighed and caved in.

"Dare," I said, not caring what words left my mouth. A satisfied grin
appeared on Lance's face when I said that and I knew I had chosen the right
answer.

"Stephen...I...I need you," he answered almost shyly as he fell onto his
back. "I need you and I want you to..." His words trailed off and he gave
me a knowing smile. It took me a few seconds to get his message, but when I
finally did, a smile lit up my face and I rolled myself on top of Lance,
placing sloppy kisses on his neck. He let out a stifled moan as I did this,
and I smiled, pleased with his reaction. Another thought popped into my
mind, bringing my kisses to an abrupt halt.

"Sweetie," I sighed, as I allowed my hand to roam down his chest. "What if
someone sees us? And takes pictures?" I don't know why I had thought of
that. Maybe it was because Lance and I were naked as the day, lying in the
grass, ready to engage in an activity that should have been regaled to the
bedroom.

Lance laughed softly, as he reached up and tugged on my earlobe. "I don't
care--if someone does take pictures of us, at least I'll finally get to see
how beautiful we look together." My heart melted upon hearing those
words. For some reason, Lance was blessed with the gift of saying the right
thing at the right time. And I loved him for that. How could I have *not*
been swept up in the moment?

We kissed for a few more seconds, and everytime our tongues met, I felt
like electrical impulses were being sent to my heart. My thumbs stroked his
cheekbones as I pulled myself upright, running my hands leisurely down
Lance's statuesque chest. I bent over and began to lick around his
hardening nipples, gently biting on one before leaning back up and
continued to run my hands lower. I stopped once I reached his groin and
yanked off his boxer shorts with an intensity that even surprised me.
Shifting myself into a kneeling position, I wrapped my lips around Lance's
throbbing erection, going down on it, until the tip of his head tickled the
back of my throat. A low wail escaped his lips as I continued to tease the
sensitive organ with my tongue until I felt that Lance had enough. Pulling
myself into a sitting position, I ran my hands across his thighs and gently
parted them, positioning the lower half of my body in between.

I lifted his thighs up and positioned my erection against his hole. I could
hear his breathing grow raspier and heavier as the seconds passed. A look
of rapture came over his face as I began to work my precum around his
opening. He let out a soft, almost tortured whimper as I did this, shutting
his eyes at my actions. He looked a little scared. We hadn't done this
much--Lance was never the one on his back, I always was--and I knew that
while he wanted me to do this, he also was a bit apprehensive. I sensed
this, so I leaned over and placed another soft, reassuring kiss on his
mouth. I was rewarded with a smile and a nod. Taking this as my cue, I
began to slowly slide myself into my boyfriend. As I expected, a painful
cry left his lips and I stopped, still halfway in Lance. God, I didn't want
to hurt him. I wanted him to enjoy this as much as I had come to enjoy it,
but it wasn't worth it if he was in pain.

"Stephen, don't," Lance ordered me, despite the tears welling up in his
eyes. A couple of them slid down his cheek. "Please...don't stop. I need
this. I want this so badly, you don't know." He nodded again to reinforce
his words and I continued, slowly and gently entering Lance, until I was
completely inside of him. I looked back up at him and he nodded, signaling
me to go on.

It felt so different being inside of Lance, compared to the way he felt
inside of me. He was tighter than I had expected, but I kept working in and
out, watching the expression on Lance's face change from hesitant to
exhilarated. He tossed his head from side to side, biting his lip so that
he wouldn't moan loud enough for the next six towns over to hear him. I
moved faster and faster, leaning over to kiss him as I slid in and out.

"Stephen," Lance whispered as I placed a kiss on his collarbone. "I love
you--oh Lord, I love you."

"I love you too," I whispered back, and as I leaned forward, I trapped his
already hard penis in between our bodies. The friction drove us both
distraught with excitement and I continued to move thrust myself in and out
of him for God only knows how long. Finally, Lance let out another moan,
unable to control his pleasure any longer. As my body shifted, I could feel
Lance's body shake with expectation. He wrapped his arms around my torso,
bringing me closer to him. And as he placed a kiss on my lips, I felt him
come for the second time that evening. The hot, sticky fluid pooled between
us, and I suddenly felt my body tremble with anticipation. The expression
on my face must have changed as well, because Lance just smiled at me, and
pulled my face to his.

"Come on Stephen," he whispered, staring intensely into my eyes. "I need
you..."

Those words triggered my orgasm and I came in Lance, my body shaking
violently as it happened. The feeling was incredible, stirring something
inside of me...I had never felt more alive in my life, as our mouths met in
a passionate kiss. I loved the man that lay under me. I loved him more than
anyone else in the world, and I had never felt closer to him, than I did
now. I know how hokey it sounds, but that's what I truly felt at that
moment and no one could take that away from me.

With those thoughts embedded in my mind, I left Lance's body and rolled
myself onto the grass, the spiky blades poking into my back. I attempted to
catch my breath, as I stared at the night sky that opened up above me. I
was at peace...everything seemed perfect. Next to me, I could hear Lance
trying to catch his breath, and then I felt his hand softly brush against
mine.

"Stephen..." I heard him whisper. "You alright?"

I nodded, even though I knew that he couldn't see it. "I'm fine, Lance...I
didn't hurt you did I?" I asked, my voice filled with concern. I somehow
mustered up enough energy to roll myself onto my side so that I could look
at my boyfriend. He looked like an angel, I thought as my eyes took in his
body. His blonde hair was mussed up, his eyes aglow and a sleepy smile on
his lips as he looked at me.

"God, no," he chuckled softly. "That was the last thing that you did to
me..." Leisurely, he reached up and began to stroke my neck. "That was
amazing..." I smiled, leaning down to kiss him. In return, Lance wrapped an
arm around my body and brought me closer to him, allowing my head to rest
on his chest. I could feel his ribcage move up and down as he took in
shallow breaths. We lay there, silent for God only knows how long, just
basking in the afterglow of the moment that we had shared.

Finally Lance broke the silence. "I think we should be heading back home,"
he whispered regretfully, as his thumb stroked my shoulder. "I lost all
sense of time, but I'm guessing that it's late and I don't want mom and dad
worrying about us."

I grinned at his thoughtful comment. "Always worrying about others--isn't
that my job?"

"Not anymore," Lance laughed, as he sat up. He looked down at his stomach
and his face turned an interesting shade of crimson. "Yeesh, I have to
clean myself up.  I kinda made a mess, didn't I?"

"Oh please--if you didn't, I'd be a little worried," I joked as I stood up,
reaching out to help Lance up. "That would mean that I didn't do something
right--and then we'd have to do it all over again."

An excited smile lit up his face. "That's not a bad idea," he grinned. "In
fact, I kinda am lovin' that idea." We both laughed at the thought as Lance
began to look around for his clothes. He quickly found the articles of
clothing that he had worn to dinner and I searched in vain for mine, until
I realized that they were sitting at the bottom of the pond.

"Shit," I thought out loud, as I walked over to the water's edge. "My
clothes are in here..." I jumped into the warm pond water once more and
dove down. But it was no use--it was too dark and too deep for me to
venture very far underneath. When I emerged from the water, I found Lance
standing in the water next to me, a concerned expression on his face.

"No?" he asked, looking around as though he expected them to float to the
surface. I shook my head and groaned.

"What am I going to do?" I asked out loud. "I have no pants, my boxers are
gone..." I let out a sigh that seemed to echo off the water, not knowing
what I was going to wear. Damnit, I thought, not caring where my clothes
had gone seemed so passionate and romantic at the time. To my surprise,
Lance wasn't as worried. Instead, he burst into a fit of laughter as he
swam away from me.

"It's not funny!" I protested as Lance pulled his body out of the water. "I
have no clothes to wear except for my shirt!"

"So you go home half-naked," Lance said, as though he had done it all the
time. "No one's gonna see. Except me," he added, wiggling his eyebrows up
and down. "And I never get sick of it. Don't worry about it." I let out a
sigh as I got out of the water and grabbed for my dress shirt. Pitifully, I
wrapped it around my waist, but it didn't work as well as I hoped it would
have. Lance attempted to get dressed, but fought a losing battle with his
soaking wet boxer shorts. With a carefree shrug, Lance threw them into the
water, where they joined mine in an underwater grave.

"Nice," I laughed as we watched them disappear from view. "You could have
sold them on ebay--how many people would have bidded on *those* things."
Lance just shrugged and turned to face me once more. My laughter subsided,
as a serious look overcame the joyful one on his face.

"Stephen," he whispered as he reached out for me once more. "This
night...it was incredible." He drew me a little closer then, and rested his
head against my chest. He looked up at me after a couple of seconds passed,
and placed another kiss on my lips. I wrapped my arms around his body and
held him close to me. I would have been happy to stay that way forever, but
I knew that there was no such thing as forever. We had to live in the
moment and act on it. And we had.

"It was, wasn't it?" I whispered in his ear as I slowly ran my hand down
his spine. "One of those nights that you'll never forget."

"You can say that again," Lance murmured against my chest, punctuating his
words by placing a tiny kiss at the base of my throat.

"Okay," I grinned. "It was one of those nights that you'll never forget."
Lance looked up at me, an unimpressed look on his handsome face.

"You think you're so funny, don't you?" Lance asked, as he slipped his hand
into mine. We began to walk back to his SUV, listening to nothing but the
sounds of the twigs and stones crunching underneath our feet.

"I'd like to think I am," I sighed as we reached the vehicle. Lance stopped
then and pressed me against the car's exterior. Grinning, he leaned forward
and placed one last kiss on my lips. I felt my arms inadvertently wrap
around his torso once more, as we kissed each other passionately for what
seemed to be the thousandth time that night.  But I didn't care. I just
couldn't get enough of Lance...everything he did, amazed me. It was as
though he had cast a spell over me, one that I didn't want to shake off.

A sigh escaped my lips as we parted once more. He stared into my eyes, and
gently picked up my hands into his. "I love you Stephen," he whispered. His
voice was so quiet, I could barely make out the words. He lifted my hands
up and kissed each of them before speaking once more. "And don't you forget
it." And with that, he let go of my hands, and walked over to the drivers
side of the vehicle. Unlocking the doors, we climbed inside and headed back
home.



It was around four a.m, when Lance and I finally pulled into the driveway
of the Bass residence. As we had expected, the house was pitch black. In
the dark, Lance and I flashed each other goofy, relieved grins. No one
would see us sneak in. No one would see my barefoot, state of
half-nakedness. I quietly crept out of the SUV, while Lance gingerly pulled
his keys out of his pocket and unlocked the back door. Placing a finger to
his lips, Lance and I silently snuck into the kitchen. We took a few,
silent steps and just as we were about to enter the living room, we were
greeted by a harsh flood of light. I blinked rapidly as my eyes struggled
to adjust to the overhead kitchen light that had snapped on. Feeling like
someone had knocked me in the head, I looked over at Lance, who reaction to
the light was similar to mine.

But what I wasn't prepared for was Diane standing there, clad in a light
cotton bathrobe and pair of slippers. Her hand was glued to the light
switch and her eyes were wide as she caught sight of her son and his
boyfriend standing there in front of her. Diane's coffee colored eyes
widened at the sight of us. We were both disheveled, with wayward hair. And
then there was me, in my state of undress. I felt my cheeks turn hot as
Diane looked me over.

"Lance? Stephen?" she exclaimed, trying her best to keep her voice at a
whisper. "It's four in the morning." Her eyes took in the sight of me,
holding my hands over the, uh, more personal parts of my anatomy. "What
happened to your clothes?" As she asked this, I noticed that Diane's eyes
fell on my shoulder, where an impression of her son's teeth embellished my
skin. Averting her gaze from that tell tale mark of intimacy, her gaze
switched back over to her son. "And why is there grass in your hair,
Lance?"

I took a perverse interest in the floor just then, while Lance became
amazed by the white ceiling structured over our heads. My face grew even
warmer as Diane slapped a hand to her face. She wasn't stupid. I think she
knew very well what we had been up to.

"Look, I came down here for some milk. I'm going to walk to the
refrigerator and when I turn back around, I'm hoping that both of you will
be upstairs by then, and that all of this is some strange nightmare I'm
having, okay?" Diane murmured groggily as she made her way to the
fridge. "So, good night boys--and let's never speak of this again."

"Okay," Lance and I said in unison as we hightailed it out of there. But
not before another low, painful sounding moan escaped Diane's lips. I
wondered what she had seen that made her sigh like that, but at that
moment, I didn't care and neither did Lance. All we wanted to do was get
upstairs, and into our respective beds. We climbed the staircase in
silence, with me leading the way. When we did reach the second floor, Lance
followed me into the guest bedroom.

"What are you doing in here? Go to back to your room...unless you want your
father hear us and come see what we're doing in here," I hissed, as Lance
shut the door behind him and flipped on the light that sat on the
nightstand next to the bed. His eyes searched my body for a couple of
seconds and when they fell on a certain spot, a knowing smirk filled his
face.

"Turn around," Lance ordered me. I raised a curious eyebrow at him, but he
just made a little motioning signal with his hand and I did as he told me
to. When my back was to him, I heard him chortle.

"I did a bang up job on you," Lance snickered, as he grabbed my elbow and
led me over to the mirror that hung over the dresser. I was about to
protest when my eyes somehow caught the sight of my back, completely
scratched up from *someone's* nails. The cuts on my back were a bright,
vivid red in color and extremely painful looking.

"Oh that's really attractive," I murmured as I turned away from the mirror,
not wanting to look at my body anymore. Lance gently ran a finger down one
of the scratches, which caused me to wince in anguish. They hurt terribly,
but for some odd reason, I liked that Lance had scarred me the way he
did. They reminded me of war scars, I thought with a snicker. Was that
sick?  Without answering my question, I turned back to Lance, who stood
before me with a slightly guilty look on his face.

"I'm sorry, Stephen," Lance sighed. "I really am....but I think that's why
my poor mother let out that sigh..." He shook his head in
embarrassment. "You can tell what those scratches are from...I don't think
she needed to see that, did she?"

"Nope, but look on the bright side," I chirped. "At least she didn't kick
me out of here. Or wake up your father." Lance buried his face in his hands
at the thought and let out a soft groan.  "Oh Lord...that would have been
a spectacle and a half. You half naked with your back looking like that. Me
with--" Lance walked over to the mirror and examined himself
critically. "--Grass in my hair and mud on my neck....and my father seeing
it all." He rolled his eyes heavenward, with thoughts of what could have
been. "Wonderful..."

"Yeah," I agreed lamely, turning to my suitcase to look for a pair of boxer
shorts. When I found a pair, I slipped them on, over my hips and unknotted
the shirt around my waist. As Lance watched me cover myself back up, a soft
smile appeared on his face. When I realized that he was watching me, I
looked up and met his steadfast gaze. A chill ran down my spine, as his
intense gaze reminded me of someone who had completely lost themselves in
the moment. I could tell that his mind was working overtime--what he was
thinking about, I would have liked to know, but I wasn't going to ask. Some
thoughts had to be private. And maybe this was one of them. Everyone has to
have those thoughts from time to time...

"Stephen," Lance suddenly spoke up. "Thank you for tonight." He strode over
to me and placed his arms around my neck, a soft kiss landing on my
forehead.

"Thank me?" I asked in wonder. "Thank *you*. You took me out to the lake."
Lance shook his head wildly in protest.

"No--if it weren't for you, we wouldn't have had dinner with Stacey and
Ford...I got my sister back because of you, Stephen. I don't think I can
ever repay you for that, you know." A radiant grin took over Lance's
perfect features, making him (if it was possible) more beautiful then
ever. "I love you." Another kiss, this time on the lips.

"I love you too, Lance. And I did that because I wanted to--not because I
felt I had to. I'd do anything for you, Lance...you know I would," I
whispered solemnly, as my arms tightened possessively around his waist.  I
wanted to hold him forever...

Another kiss on the lips. Another. And another. I felt something inside of
me stir, and my heartbeat began to beat like a drum. A light sheen of sweat
formed on my body as I pulled Lance closer to me. His hands ran frantically
through my hair and a persistent ache in my groin began to appear. We
continued with our frenzied kisses, until Lance pulled his mouth away from
mine, a look of regret appearing on his face. "Okay, I've got to get to my
room," he said sadly. "Any more of this and you might have a sleeping
partner."

"Am I complaining?" I teased him, as he left my arms and made his way to
the door. He placed his hand on the knob and just as he was about to turn
it, he spun himself back around to me.

"Good night, Stephen," He whispered across the room. "I love you."

"I love you too, Lance. Sweet dreams," I sighed, placing my fingertips to
my lips. He gave me another serene smile and with that exited out of my
life for that night. I found myself standing in the middle of my room,
replaying his last words over and over in my mind. And then, feeling
incredibly exhausted, I hit the lights and fell into my bed, my mind filled
with dreams that I never wanted to forget.



Waking up the next morning was torture. I could barely move and to make
matters worse, Lance's Uncle Jeff had called while we had been out at
dinner the night before. He wanted to see me that morning, to discuss my
mother's will and of course Lance insisted on accompanying me. Not that I
minded at all. In fact, I was hoping that he would want to come along with
me.

 It had been fun (yeah right--and maybe sticking a fork in my eyeballs
would be fun too). It was a blast rehashing the old memories of my bitter,
deceased mother in order to get part of her estate. Yeah, after last night,
I really wanted to think about that. I won't bore you with the details of
what went on, because, well...it was boring. Jeff asked me a round of
difficult, somewhat painful questions. He was particularly interested in
the medicinal cocktails that my mother downed before she slit her wrists,
and whether or not she had an autopsy (she did). Jeff was nice and didn't
even bat an eyelash when I broke down in the middle of the office and Lance
grabbed my hand in order to soothe me. That was nice, I reflected as I lay
in my hammock, swinging back and forth. If you could forget about the
morning, the afternoon was heaven.

The sun beat down on Lance and I as we lay next to each other in separate
hammocks. The swaying of our bodies controlled how fast we swung back and
forth, and sometimes, if we were in sync (ha ha ha, no pun
intended. Really.) we would bump into each other, causing us to laugh and
then go back to our leisurely rest.

We really didn't say anything, and instead just allowed our skin to soak in
the sun's harmful ultraviolet rays. This was the first time in ages that we
truly felt relaxed. There were no family crisises hanging over our heads
(well, mine, but there was really nothing that I could do about it), no
siblings banishing us to eternal damnation...nothing like that. Just peace
and quiet. The birds chirping in the air and the wind rustling through the
trees. Kids from down the street, yelled and shrieked with their playtime
amusement. And the occasional, content sigh that would break loose from
either Lance's or my throat. It was perfect...and it couldn't get any
better than this, I thought closing my eyelids and shutting myself off from
the world.

And then a high pitched, ear drum shattering male voice pierced the
silence.

"Lance! Look! It's Lance from `N Sync! And he's lying around, being a bum,
just like a normal person!! Oh. My. Gawd!!!!" came the grating shriek. I
sat up gingerly, not wanting to fall onto the ground, and saw none other
than Joey Fatone walking towards us, a huge, excited grin on his face.

"Joey!" I exclaimed as I swung my legs over the hammock, placing them
steadily on the ground. There was an art to getting out of a hammock and as
I stood up, I think I had mastered it. Lance looked up at his friend,
lifted his arm and gave Joey a lazy wave.

"Joe! What are you doing here?" Lance called out, still not bothering to
move from his place in the hammock. Not bothering to answer his bandmate,
Joey strode over to me and took me by surprise, grabbing me in a big bear
hug.

"Stephen, man--you doing okay?" he asked me, his voice gruff with both
concern and emotion. "I'm really sorry about what happened to you mother,
you know?" His eyes grew sad as we both thought of my mom's impromptu
death, before he continued on. "Although I was ready to kick your ass in
when you left Scoop here." Joey finally let go of me and eyed me
critically. "That was low, not telling Lance about your mom." His face
melded into a brief scowl at what I had done, but then was quickly replaced
by one of his charming grins.

"Thanks, Joey," I said dryly. "Really appreciate that."

"No problem, man," he answered, slapping me on the back and nearly knocking
my teeth out. "Just don't do it again." Joey then turned back around and
looked over at his relaxed bandmate, who still hadn't bothered to get out
of the hammock and greet him. "Lance, man--are you gonna lay in there all
day?"

"Yup," Lance answered shortly, a smile lighting up his face. He lowered his
sunglasses to peer at Joey. "That's all I'm doing today. I am
tired. Exhausted. Completely beat."

"Tired?" Joey asked, confusion seeping into his voice. He had no idea what
could have made Lance so tired, that is, until the dirty part of Joey's
mind clicked on. "What are you so tired from, huh Scoop?" Joey swung his
gaze from Lance to me, and then back again, all the while grinning at us
devilishly. Instead of acknowledging Joey's remark, I chose to stare at the
ground underneath my feet. Lance and I were equally bad at hiding the truth
and it couldn't have been more evident at that moment, as bright red
patches of color spread across both of our faces. Lance was just about to
defend himself, when out of the corner of my eye, I saw JC Chasez stroll
into the Bass's backyard, his arm looped around the waist of a redheaded
girl.

I did a double take. A redhead? Josh's arm protectively encircled the
attractive girl's waist. Her auburn hair was cut into a neat parted bob
that framed her oblong shaped face, while a pair of stylish mirrored
aviator-type sunglasses masked her eyes.  The coupled waltzed up to me and
my mouth went as dry as the Sahara. `Where the hell was Cynthia?,' I
frantically thought. Did Josh actually have the nerve to cheat on my
cousin? I began to panic--not because Josh was acting pretty friendly with
another girl who was not my cousin, but because if Cynthia found out (and
she would--she's like a bloodhound when it comes to men), Josh would be
dead. Once, Cynthia had nearly started the house of one her exes on fire
when she found out he was seeing another girl on the side. It was common
knowledge that you didn't mess with Cynthia--*everyone* knew that.

"Hey Stephen," Josh said casually, giving me a wave. "Good to see you
again." He wrapped his arms a little tighter around the redhead's slim
waist and I began to sputter. How could he so brazenly flaunt this girl in
front of me, when he knew that Cynthia was my cousin? I stood there,
frozen, staring at the two of them, while Joey observed us with interest. A
moment of silence passed as my mind reeled. What do I say? Did I have the
right to even butt my two cents in?

Suddenly, the girl disentangled herself from Josh's embrace and walked
directly up to me. I saw my bewildered reflection mirrored in her
sunglasses, as she stared at me from behind them, placing her hands on her
hips. `Who did she think she was?', I thought with disdain, trying to
control my face from forming into a scowl. I was about to give Josh a piece
of my mind, when the girl's pink glossed lips curved into a wicked smile.

"Stevie--I'm shocked at you! Simply shocked! Doesn't your favorite cousin
even warrant a hello?" she asked, her voice full of sugar as she reached
out and tickled me under my chin. It took me a few seconds for the voice to
match the person in front of me.

"Cynthia?" I asked in amazement, not sure if the girl in front of me was in
fact, my dear cousin. "Is that you?" With a bubbly laugh, Cynthia
dramatically whipped off her sunglasses, nearly whacking me in the head.

"Well, duh!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms around my neck and jumping on
me at the same time. As Cynthia continued with her back-breaking
strangulation, I glanced over at Joey and Josh, who by now were laughing so
hard, tears were falling from their eyes. "You know I'm the queen of hair
dye! What's wrong with you, Stevie? Too much time with Lancey-poo and you
lose your sense of reality, right?" Cynthia asked slyly. My face turned
redder than a tomato as the guys continued to chuckle at my obvious
confusion.

"You should have seen your face," Joey guffawed, as he wiped his eyes. "You
really had no idea who Cynthia was, did you Stephen?"

"I know my own cousin," I lied pathetically, as Cynthia jumped off on me
and landed firmly on her feet. "I'm not *that* dense, guys."

"Sure," Josh laughed. "Sure you do. That's why you looked like you were
about to punch my lights out, right? Thought I was cheating on Cynth,
didn't you?"

"No..." I trailed off, hoping that my face wouldn't belie my
words. "I...I..."

"Oh come on Stevie, you should know by now that I wouldn't have let Josh
off that easy," Cynthia giggled as she eyed Lance, who was still lying in
his hammock, oblivious to what was happening. He really was exhausted, I
thought with a smile, as the memory of last night floated back into my
mind. I couldn't blame him--I was a little tired myself, but I was also
happy to see my cousin and some of the other `N Sync guys.

"Hey, Lancey-poo," Cynthia called out, brushing a strand of auburn hair out
of her eyes. "Aren't you gonna say hello to me?"

Raising his head just slightly, Lance gave her a smile and lifted his hand,
giving her a lackadaisical wave. "Hey Cynth," he called out, resting his
head back down. I looked back at my cousin, knowing full well that Lance's
paltry greeting wasn't good enough for her. Narrowing her eyes, Cynthia
took off running towards him at full speed, a mischievous grin forming on
her lips. She leapt into the air, looking almost graceful, flying through
the air like superman would.

"Lancey!!" she squealed as she soared through the air. The look on Lance's
face was priceless as he saw Cynthia coming down towards him, flopping on
top of him. As her body hit his, the hammock that Lance had been peacefully
lying in, tipped over a full 360 degrees, knocking both of them to the
ground.

Joey, Josh and I watched with both horror and amusement as Cynthia lay on
top of Lance, a huge grin on her face as she greeted Lance with a big,
sloppy kiss on the lips. A shocked look crossed his face when he realized
that my cousin was giving him the lip lock of a lifetime. I looked over at
Josh, expecting him to be rendered jealous by the fact that his girlfriend
was kissing his bandmate, but instead, Josh was doubled over, laughing his
ass off. Lance, on the other hand, was a completely different story.

"Cynthia!" he wailed, like he was in horrible pain. Lance was unable to
move, pinned underneath my cousin as she continued to place kisses on his
face. "What the hell is going on? What's happening to me?" The three of us
could barely contain ourselves as I watched my helpless boyfriend endure
the wrath of an ignored Cynthia. Finally, she subsided her kisses and
stared at him with a unmerciful grin, before pulling herself off of him.

"That's what you get when you don't give me a proper hello!" Cynthia
proclaimed triumphantly, as she brushed herself off. Realizing that Lance
was still sprawled out on the ground, she reached down, slid her hands
under his arms and pulled him off the ground.

"Wuss," she teased him, while he scowled at her. "Come on--tell me that you
didn't love that!" Cynthia grinned at Lance, until he finally broke down
and couldn't help but laugh at her antics.

"Okay, I give," he said, wrapping his arms around my cousin. "Yes, I missed
you Cynthia--but remind me to give you a more enthusiastic hello, next
time, okay?" A giggle bubbled from Cynthia's throat and as I watched her, I
could tell that she was completely in her element, surrounded by three
handsome guys that weren't related to her.

"That's better," she admonished him, and walked back over to Josh, who
greeted his girlfriend with a kiss. "Ahhh, you can't beat that," I heard
Cynthia murmur as she snuggled her face into Josh's chest. Lance walked
over to me, shaking his head in disbelief.

"She's something else," Lance muttered, as he brushed himself off. "I can't
believe you two are related." He finished off his statement with a smile,
letting me know that he wasn't angry. Lance then turned his attention to
Joey, who was standing there, looking as though he felt out of place. Josh
had Cynthia, I had Lance, and poor Joey had no one.

"So Joe," I called out, wanting to include him into the conversation. "What
are you guys doing here, anyways? Don't call, don't let us know you're
coming--what gives?"

Joey flashed me a grateful smile, as he stepped closer to Lance and
I. "Well..." he began, shuffling his feet. "We kinda had a motive for
coming here." Lance looked at him with a `now what' expression on his face.

"What?" Lance asked impatiently, as he walked over to the porch. "Joe--what
kind of mess did you get yourself in now?"

Joey smiled at his friend's warning tone of voice. "There's the old Scoop
again," he reminisced. "Always trying to take care of business and
stuff. Naw, I'm not in trouble--no one is...it's just that we all wanted to
go and see Justin and Chris in Florida."

"Huh?" Lance looked at Joey with some confusion. "Go visit Justin and
Chris? Like a group field trip? Aren't we old enough to go visit them by
ourselves, when we want to?" Josh and Cynthia walked over, their arms
wrapped around each other's waists.

"Not like a group field trip, but Josh wanted to go down there and see Just
and Chris," Cynthia explained as she stepped on her boyfriend's shoes. "And
then he came up to Wisconsin for that surprise visit, and since I've never
been to Florida, he decided to bring me along with him to," she said simply
as Josh stepped on her shoes in retaliation. The two of them began to mock
fight with each other, tickling each other's sides before falling onto the
grass and rolling around. Joey, Lance and I watched them for a few seconds,
before Joey picked up the rest of the story.

"Anyways," Joey continued, "I found out where Josh was, and told him I was
going down to Orlando--it just kinda fell into place," He ran a hand
through his dark hair and smiled.  "Then Cynth here said that you--" Joey
pointed to me. "Were down here in Miss with Lance...so we decided to swing
by and see if you two wanted to come along. So here we are. What do you
say? Yes? No?"

Lance and I looked at each other and shrugged. The idea of going to Florida
was so spur of the moment, so crazy...but for some reason it fit my life
perfectly and the way that I had lived it for the past two months.  Spur of
the moment. So what should this be any different?

"You wanna go?" Lance asked, taking my wants into concern. "I mean, we
don't have to..."

"Your uncle can just call us if there's news, right?" I asked Lance
hopefully. For some reason, I wanted to get out of Mississippi. It wasn't
that I hated it here or anything. In fact, I really liked it..mugginess
included. It was just that being alone with Lance last night had spoiled
me. Our little rendevouz had reminded me just how special the time we
shared together actually was. And I had missed that. Plus, it was kinda
hard to be romantic with each other when Jim and Diane were breathing down
our necks.

"Yup--Uncle Jeff has my Orlando number," Lance nodded, a slow smile
appearing on his lips. "So what do you say? Little side trip to Florida?" I
wordlessly bobbed my head up and down, a feeling of excitement growing
inside of me as we stood up from the porch. As we headed inside to pack, I
could hear my cousin squealing as Josh teased her, and the rowdy laughter
of Joey as he observed the happy couple. Hearing them seemed like a promise
of good things that were to come our way. Maybe this is what we needed, I
thought. Maybe we just needed to get away from all of the problems that had
been dogging us these past few days. Lance and I had to let loose, get a
little crazy and get really drunk. It seemed like the answer to
everything...it was so simple...

And suddenly the future didn't seem so bleak anymore.


*So it's the return of Cynthia (can I have a collective `woo-hoo' here?
Enough of people have asked me where she's been--*ahem, Val!*) and a trip
to Florida....I'm working on the next chapter as much as I can*

Once again, please email me about this chapter. It seems that I *never* get
mail after the more...um..risque chapters (like this one), so if you could
find it in your heart to email me, I'd appriciate it so much, I'll do
cartwheels!!! The email addy is sweetheart_stories@hotmail.com Use it, know
it, love it.

Biology test next week. Pray for me :) Thanks for reading and good
night...Gabriella.