Date: Tue, 05 Mar 2002 15:16:00 -0500 From: Derik Blake Subject: Nsync with my Premonitions--Chapter 19 January 6, 2001 Derikab@hotmail.com *Nsync with my Premonitions- If Only Through Heaven's Eyes Well, here is the next and almost final installment of the story. I know it too me so long, that most people have probably forgotten about me. I am so, so, so sorry for it taking so long. First there was school, which came first, then my job, and then if there was any time left, my friends were dragging me somewhere. By the time I had some free time to write, I was so exhausted, I couldn't get my fingers to move. So again, I apologize about the year long wait for this chapter. I still don't have internet access, but I will try my best to get the last installment downloaded as soon as I finish writing it. Anyway, here is the next chapter. I hope you like it and I am trying my best to finish up the last chapter, but it is taking time, because I really don't want it to end, but I know it must. As always, I would love some feedback, so if you can, email me with the results of this chapter. Thanks for understanding, and if I did loose some readers because of my absence, then it is only my loss. Thank you, again, and I hope you enjoy Chapter 19-If Only Through Heaven's Eyes The next morning, I was the first one awake. I hadn't slept all too well, but at least I got some rest. After adjusting my eyes to the morning sun, I looked around the room and saw that it was a little after seven am. I looked over to Lance and saw that he was still asleep, but during the night, he ended up on the other side of the bed. I reached over and pushed his hair off his forehead and he stirred a little, but remained asleep. Carefully, I got out of bed and went to the kitchen to start breakfast. I decided that I would make waffles, eggs, bacon and biscuits. During the process of making the bacon, I had my first visitor. Justin stammered into the kitchen in his tee shirt and boxers while rubbing his eyes. "Mornin'," I called to him, with a smile. "Good morning," he said back, plopping himself down in a chair at the table. "Is there any coffee?" "Sure is," I answered while reaching for a cup. "Milk and sugar?" I asked. "Yup," he answered. I fixed the coffee as he specified and handed him the cup and went back to the bacon. He took a few sips and sat the cup on the table and just stared at me. "Listen, Justin, I just want to say that I am really sorry for the way I have been acting these past few weeks. It was and still is a shock that things happened the way they did and I just couldn't handle it. I am doing better, but it's still hard to come to terms with." "And it'll be that way for a long time. I knew Josh for about 10 years and I'll never forget this. I just have to focus on what we had and also focus on my friends and family to help get me through the tough times." As I continued to cook, I listened to him talk. Once he was through, a silence enveloped the room except for the crackle and the occasional pop as bacon and the grease danced as one. After a short while had passed, a question occurred to me and I needed to ask Justin to find the answer. "Do you regret that Josh and I ever met?" Justin looked up from the floor and had a look of horror on his face. He tried to answer, but stopped. He stared at me and remained silent. I removed the bacon off the griddle and laid it on some napkins to drain. When I was done, I looked back at Justin and he was, again, looking at the floor. "I can't say that the thought hadn't crossed my mind..." he said, bringing his hands and running them through his hair. He took a deep sigh and finished. "...But the way you made JC happy...I have never seen him that happy in his life. He found someone to love him for him and not some superstar. You showed him that there was real love out there for everyone. He was always afraid that if he found someone, that they would like him for JC and not Joshua Chasez. He always believed that if someone he cared about liked him it was because of his celebrity status not because of the man he was. You proved to him that this wasn't true." Standing, he walked over to me and continued. "You were the second person he ever fell in love with, Lance being the first. But you were the first person that showed him what true love was. He and Lance weren't together long enough to develop the relationship into more that a mutual love before they called it quits. He once told me that he didn't even want to go out on stage when you were with us because he would have to leave you, if only for two hours." I smiled and a single tear fell down my cheek. "Before he met you, music was his number one passion. When you came along, it quickly moved to number two. He wanted to do everything in his power to make you happy. Granted, he made a few mistakes, but when he did, it just about killed him. It broke his heart to know that he broke yours. Monty, he loved you so much, that he wanted nothing more than to make you the happiest man in the world and to take care of you. And for that, I am very glad that you and him met. I have never regretted seeing how happy you made him. Please don't ever think that." I reached my hand up and wiped the tears away and smiled that I-don't-know-what-to-say smile. He broke the ice that had grown between us by hugging me. I wrapped my arms around him and held him tight and told him thank you. While we were hugging, a voice sliced through the air saying, "I completely agree with Justin." It was Joey. "Me too," said Chris. "If JC hadn't met you, he might still be here, but if he was, he would never be as happy as he was. Plus, if he hadn't met you, then you and Lance would never had met. I hope I just didn't ruin the moment by saying that, but think about it. He would probably still be lonely and Lance would be miserable because of his love for JC and then you, Monty. You would still be stuck at a dead end job that you hate and might still be single or not. But you see my point. Every thing happens for a reason. As much as we wished it didn't sometimes, it does" After Chris had concluded his comments, Lance walked in in the same fashion as Justin did: wiping his eyes and looking confused. "What'd I miss?" he asked while walking to me. "Nothing much," I said, reaching out my arms for him to fall into. After taking him in my arms, Joey said, "I am glad to see that the two of you finally made up." "We had a little help," I informed them. "What kind of help?" asked Justin. "Or do we want to know?" Releasing Lance, I swiped Justin on the arm and said, "Alright, gutter boy. There will be no sex talk before breakfast!" Everyone besides Justin laughed. He just blushed and walked back to his chair and grabbed his mug. After the laughter died, I asked Lance if we should tell them and he found no reason not to so he explained our encounter with Josh from the night before. While he told the story, everyone's eyes got wider and wider. They couldn't believe what he was telling them. I have to admit that if I were in their shoes, I would probably be the same way. It does sound like an odd story, but too odd to make up. When he was done talking, everyone stood or sat in silence to let it sink in. Still not believing, I ushered them to the table for breakfast. Once everyone was seated, I served the meal and poured the coffee or juice and we ate in an almost uncomfortable silence. During the meal, the ringing of the phone broke the tension. Almost everyone jumped at the high pitched ringing sound that the little phone made. My puzzled expression was why would the phone be ringing so early in the morning. Tony jumped up to answer it and soon was calling Justin, telling him that it was Tom on the phone. Justin excused himself from the table and took the phone from Tony. The other three guys were straining to hear at least Justin's side of the conversation so that they might know what to expect, but to no avail. His back was turned to us and he was talking in a low whisper. After he hung up, he came back and sat without a word. "Well?" Chris inquired. "Tom needs us to come back home for a while," he said flatly, then stuffing a strip of bacon in his mouth. "Why?" Lance asked. "Upper management needs to talk to us about the album and everything else afterwards." After a long pause of everyone pondering what he was telling them, he then asked, to no one in particular, "Do we still want to release?" "I can understand the point from either side, so the decision is the three of yours," Joey piped up saying. Without thinking, I interrupted, saying, "Yes, you are still going to release." All eyes turned to me as if wondering who I was. "This was and is your final project as *Nsync. Josh, unfortunately, will never be able to create anymore. You need to do this for the memory of *Nsync." "A tribute to *Nsync," Tony added. All eyes were focused on him now. Tony slumped his shoulders and grabbed his fork and started moving the uneaten eggs around on his plate. "Justin?" I called. He lifted his head and turned his eyes to me. "What would Josh want you to do? You are the one that knew him the best. What would he do?" After taking a few moments to think, he, again, lowered his head and gave the answer. "Release." "Will management still go for it?" Mitchell asked. "Yeah," Lance answered. "That is probably why they want to talk to us. They want us to agree to let the release continue." "When is it scheduled to be out?" I asked. "Tomorrow," Lance said, "but that isn't going to happen." "How about next month? June 30th?" Pat asked. "Sounds like a good idea to me," I said. "All the songs are finished and you guys can go and arrange them then let the reproduction take place." "Well, not every song is finished. The last song we were working on is only about half way complete. If we release, then we will be one song short. And we can't record anymore." "Do you have the song you are talking about with just JC's voice singing his part on a separate track?" "No," Justin answered. "We were doing the individual parts, but he was scheduled to have his session on April 10. He never got his recording finished." "What about taking one of your old songs. One no one has heard of, like off of a soundtrack or something and putting that on the album? It might be old to some people, but it might be brand new to others," Tony suggested. "Sounds like a great idea," Pat and Mitchell agreed. "Well, it is a possibility," Lance said, pondering what song to use. "Yeah, it's not a bad idea," Chris said. "Scoop, how much trouble would it be to do that if we got a song off a soundtrack or something?" Joey asked calling Lance by his nickname for the first time in front of me. "It wouldn't be too difficult, but if there is a problem, it could take a few months, possibly a year. Depends if the writer and the publicist want to cooperate." "When do we need to be in O-Town?" Chris asked. "Four days. Saturday morning," Justin answered. "Well, call Tom back and tell him to move the meeting to tomorrow afternoon. 3pm. Well be there." "Are you sure Chris?" Lance asked. "Yup. No need to put this off. We have an album to release and the longer we wait, the longer it will take and the shorter time we will have," he said, standing. "Ok," Justin said, going to the phone to call Tom. "Well, then, let's leave by 10. That gives us about two-and-a-half hours to get cleaned up and packed. Can we do it?" "Yeah," Lance said. "I've got the shower first," Joey called, racing to the stairs. "The hell you do," Chris shot back, following close behind Joey. As the two of them raced upstairs, Justin was making the details with Tom and Tony, Mitchell, Pat and I started cleaning the kitchen. Lance remained in the chair at the table with a small smile resting on his lips. Justin got done with his call and told us that the meeting will be ready the following day and headed upstairs to start his packing. Tony, Mitchell and Pat continued the cleaning while I grabbed Lance's hand and pulled him into the living room. "You ok?" I asked. "Yeah, this just brings back memories of getting the final step in motion with the first albums. JC was so excited about finishing things up and getting it to the public, he offered to even help them in the warehouse. He was just so excited." "That sounds like him," I said with a big grin. "I guess you could say I am a little nervous too. I mean Josh isn't here to give his ideas and such on the finished product. I feel that if we do this without him, it will be like we left him out somehow. Know what I mean?" "I think so, but do this instead. Remember back to those times where he offered suggestions and think about how you could use them now and see if the guys will take it. If they do, then Josh is still apart of the finished product. Maybe that will help a little." "It might," he said, laying his head on my shoulder. I reached down and grabbed his hand and gave it a slight squeeze. After a few moments, I told him that he needed to get ready and start packing. He gave a sigh and an, 'I know' response and kissed my cheek before heading upstairs, alone. I went back to the kitchen and helped them finish. Before I knew it, 10 am was about three minutes from being upon us and I knew that very shortly, they would be leaving. I didn't want to see them go, especially Lance, but I knew I needed a little time alone to get my thoughts together. After throwing on my clothes, with my hair still wet from my shower, I ran down stairs to find the guys at the door already saying their goodbyes. When I came into view, Lance was the first to come to me. "Are you sure you won't come with us?" "No. I really need some alone time. And I think that it might do you some good also. The way I treated you and the others, I would expect that you would like a little time away. Plus, I have a few unfinished things to take care of here in town." "Well..." he paused. "I'll see you in a week, then?" "Yup. If things go as planned, I'll be home next week for sure." "I can't wait then," he said before kissing me goodbye. I told the others goodbye and that I would see them soon. After all the partings were done, the four of us were standing on the porch waiting for them to leave. After they packed the cars, they each got in their seats, buckled up and headed for Orlando. Once they drove away, Tony, Mitchell, and Patrick went inside to plan their day. I waited on the porch until I couldn't see them. Only when they were out of sight did I turn to go inside. After a week, the five of us were on the porch again. Only this time, they were saying goodbye to me. I was heading back home to Orlando to be with Lance and try to start our life as a couple and not a trio. Sounds strange to say couple now instead of the three of us. I got so used to it in the time we were together. The strange look people gave us when they found out. The comments that were made. Now all people can do is just say the same old usual, "It was Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve," they would yell. Along my drive home, I was remembering all the good times that I had with Josh. How we met, the tape he made for me, the fight, the makeup. So much of his memory flushed over me during my journey. Once I reached home, I was really missing him. When I saw the house, it only made it worse. By this time, I knew it was ok to cry over JC. I did my best not to do it too often, but I knew it was ok to just let it out when I needed to. Before I could let more than just a few drops escape my eyes, I noticed that all the guys were here. As I pulled up behind Lance's Four Runner, I cut off the engine, fell back in my seat and wiped my eyes. I sat like this for a few minutes before deciding to head inside. Once inside, I headed to the bedroom and heard that they guys were in the studio downstairs. I dropped off my bags and headed down to say hello. As I rounded the corner, I could see all the guys with their backs to me in the control room listening to something that I am assuming they just recorded. During the playback, they were making comments about this being more defined, that being more articulate and such. Only when I heard, "...And this is where Monty will come in," and there was no words, just music, did I interrupt. "Excuse me?" I asked with a puzzled look on my face. "Monty!" Lance exclaimed. "Oh, I've missed you," he said, running over to hug me. "I've missed you too, baby. Sorry I'm a few days late, but Catherine wanted me to stay with her for a couple of days. Y'know, just to catch up." "That's fine. I'm just glad you're home now." "Me too," I said, hugging him tight. "Me too." After Lance and I broke our embrace, Justin was the next to follow suit by hugging me. After him was Joey then Chris. When all the hugs were distributed and all the hellos were said, I asked my question again. "Excuse me, Justin, what did you mean when you said, 'This is where Monty will come in?'" "Well, first of all," Lance started, "we found the song we want to put on the album. It's called 'If Only Through Heaven's Eyes' and it would almost be like a tribute song to JC. Have you heard it before?" "I don't think so," I answered. "But if it is like a tribute to JC, why would you want JC singing with you?" "Well, that is where things get a little complicated," Justin said. "What do you mean?" I asked. Justin looked over to Chris then shifted his eyes to Joey. Once they met stares for a moment, Justin turned his head and found Lance staring at him. With no answer given, yet, I looked at all of them then asked, to no one in particular, "What?!?!" All eyes looked over at me and locked onto my own two eyes as if they were waiting for me to answer without knowing the question. Lance looked at me and said, "We need a fifth voice here so JC won't be singing. That is why Justin said it would be complicated." I looked at them all as if they were a little nuts. A song that is complete with Josh's voice on it and they want to go and find someone to replace him. Even for a tribute song, I thought would be kinda weird. "But why?" I asked. "Because we want to dedicate the song and the album to JC. We figured that if we found another voice to record what JC sings, then we can dedicate it to him without it sounding kind of...I don't know, weird. Him singing on it and we dedicate it to him. Y'know what I mean?" Chris asked after explaining their reasons. I shook my head and answered, "No, not really." "Never mind, baby. We just need someone to sing with us, that's all." "Well, who are you going to get?" Without any words spoken, they all just stared at me and gave a smile. I smiled back then it hit me as to what they were doing. "No!!! I won't do it. I can't sing anywhere near as good as JC. I'll make ya'll the laughing stock of the music business." "No you won't," Joey called. "I've heard you sing and you know I know what JC sounds like. There have been many times I heard you sing Josh's part and I thought it was Josh. Remember that time at your house in Nashville? I was coming down the stairs and you were playing the piano and singing one of our songs. I thought you were JC. Remember? I even called you JC." "Yeah, but that doesn't mean anything. You are only one out of millions. People will hate me for trying to sing his part. I'll screw it up and then there will be no final song for the album." After a few more minutes of debating both sides of the answer, Lance finally came over to me and whispered something in my ear. All the guys could see was my eyes slowly close and my mouth slowly part. What they couldn't see was Lance's hand rubbing his hand over my crotch and on my thighs. In the end, I did everything I could to keep from reaching an orgasm and to agree to only listen to the song. After listening to the music and the words, and only if I felt comfortable enough would I say yes. However, as of now, my answer was still no! After Lance backed away, grinning, no less, I quickly turned around and walked away for a minute. I went to the bathroom and splashed some cold water on my face. He got me so worked up that I needed to do something. When I returned, I had my eyes turned to the floor while blushing. All the guys, except for Lance, was giving me a look of wonder, but no words were spoken to ease their minds, only business followed that little ordeal. "So, what does this song sound like?" I asked. "Here, I'll play it for you," said Justin. He reached over to get a CD and popped it in the player. He found the track and turned up the volume. The music started out with a beautiful chord that led into a soft ballad. Then Justin's voice cut over the music with a hum. Then the words came over and the meaning behind the song and how it related to JC started to hit me. I smiled a faint smile and closed my eyes to absorb the meaning and the music. When the second verse came over the speakers, it was Josh's voice, which, this time cut through the air. I opened my eyes and looked around the room. Joey was singing along with Josh as well as Chris. They looked at each other and smiled as they were singing along. I looked at Justin and he had his head bowed to the control board with his eyes closed. As I was looking at Justin, Lance came over to me and put his hand on my shoulder. After a minute or so, Justin started to bob his head in time to the beat and he started mouthing the words of his part. With Lance's hand on my shoulder, I closed my eyes and listened to the rest of the song. When it was finished, I looked at everyone and smiled a little bigger. Justin's eyes were a little red. He almost started crying, but he held it off. Lance was smiling at me and the other two turned and Chris asked, "Are you up to it?" Looking around, I just sighed. "When do we have to have this recorded by to make the June deadline?" "We have to have the final recordings and everything finished by the 25th so we can turn it in to management by the 26th," Lance answered. "That only gives us four days," I said in disbelief. "Yeah," Justin answered. "You know you don't have to sing it just like him. You can have your own version, just keep it around the same style." "I don't know guys. I mean four days is kinda tight." "I'll help you with it," Lance said. After looking at the guys, I gave in and said that I would do it. Justin ejected the player and handed me the cd. After accepting it, I asked what we were to do now. "Well, I'm taking off. I am going to go home and get some rest. There's not much else to do until this last song is complete," Justin answered. "Me too," Joey and Chris said in unison. Without saying anything, Lance reached over, put his arm across my back, and laid his head on my shoulder. I turned and kissed his head and put my cheek against his hair. "Well, I guess this is it for a few days, then," I said. "Guess so," Chris agreed. After a mind numbing minute or two of silence, I started for the stairs. Lance and the others followed suit with their things in hand. After we were on the main floor of the house, we gave our usual goodbye hugs and Lance and I watched everyone leave. For the next two days, that song played constantly and I knew every word that I needed. I had the entire song memorized within the two days so instead of waiting any longer, Lance and I decided to go ahead and record the last song. Lance called Justin and said that we would meet the following day on Friday to get the last song down. The next morning, Lance and I arose and got ready to leave the house. We arrived at the Compound around 10:30. Walking up to the door, I decided to take a walk around back. Lance asked if I was ok and I told him that I was fine, I just wanted to take a walk for a minute alone. He told me that he would be inside at the studio. After he went in the house, I walked around and came to the doors where the incident with Josh happened many months ago. I replayed the entire scene in my mind again and I almost broke down at the thought of scaring him as much as I did. I realize that I was just being selfish, something I never thought would happen while we were together. After snapping my mind out of the daze it was in, I wiped my eyes, went back to the front, and walked through the door. Walking through the halls to the studio, I was looking at the pictures on the wall. The years that *Nsync were together, all the boys grew up to become great looking guys. Girls in America can attest to this, but looking at them as the years go by in pictures is so funny to see the changes. While I was looking at one picture, Justin walked up behind me and startled me by saying, "That was probably the worst picture ever taken of me." "Oh, well then you obviously haven't seen the pictures that I took of you while you were sleeping when we were on the road." "No you didn't!" he exclaimed. "No, I didn't...or did I?" I asked with an evil grin. "You better not have, and if you did, you better not show a soul," he said with a smile. Hooking his arm around my neck, he said, "C'mon, let's get this song recorded." Putting my arm around his back, I looped my thumb in one of his belt loops and headed toward the studio. Once everything was set up and we were ready to record, one of the guy's managers and a recording engineer was there to oversee things. After we were settled in the studio, the guys went through their usual warm up exercise to get their voices ready for the song. I joined them in the routine and after about ten minutes, we were ready for our first try. Mike, the engineer, started the music and Justin said, into the mic, "This song is dedicated to JC, from all of us. We love you and we'll miss you." Then a couple of measures went by with only music before Justin started the song. I never thought you were a fair-weather friend You never let me down; you were true to the end And in the darkest hour when all was lost Somehow, you left the light on Faced the wrong and showed the world a thing or two Stood up for me for you And you should know Some say it wasn't worth the things we went through I say it ain't worth loosin' you I hope you know how much you changed all our lives Someday you'll see If only through heaven's eyes At this point, I took the lead, finished the last part of the chorus, and started the next solo, the part where in the original recording, JC sang. Only through heaven's... I still remember, the words that you said I keep you words alive, I can never forget 'Cause in the final hour, you made me proud, So proud that I could know you Told the world it was time that they believed in you You stood for pride and truth And you should know Some say it wasn't worth the things we went through I say it ain't worth loosin' you I hope you know how much you changed all our lives Someday you'll see If only through heaven's eyes Only through heaven's eyes At this point, Justin looked over to me and started singing. All the sudden, Justin stopped and said to stop the music. I knew I messed up. "What'd I do wrong?" I asked. "You stopped singing. This is the part where you and I have the duet. I sing the harmony and you sing the melody. C'mon, let's try this again. Mike start the music back at the last chorus and keep it going. We'll pick it back up from there," Justin said. A second later, the chorus came back on and we all got back into the music and before you know it, we were singing the last line before the duet. Again, Justin looked at me and we both came in singing. And so we can't forget We've got to keep remembering them all The ones who took the fall They did it for us all Then Justin backed out of the music to let Chris take over the harmony. And we should learn from it Stand up if you believe in it You've got to face the world, be strong Then I repeated the word strong, followed by Chris, then Justin and finally Lance. Then it was time for the chorus again. With me prominently in the lead. Some say it wasn't worth the things we went through I say it ain't worth loosin' you I hope you know how much you changed all our lives Someday you'll see If only through heaven's eyes Some say it wasn't worth the things we went through I say it ain't worth loosin' you I hope you know how much you changed all our lives Someday (someday) you'll see (you'll see) If only through heaven's eyes The chorus was repeated about six times so that on the cd you would hear it fade off instead of coming to an end. After the music came to a stop, Mike told us where the trouble spots were. I was the main trouble spot. All my mistakes kept that from being the actual recording. As we listened, he explained where I messed up and how to correct it. We went through a couple more tries and then Justin told Mike to record it to see if there was progress. After the second recording, he said that it had improved, but still needed some work. After about the fourth recording, I told them that I needed a break. They all agreed and we called it quits for about an hour. Each of the guys sorta went their own way for a while. I ended up walking around and found the kitchen. Looked in the fridge and got a bottled water and continued my self-guided tour. After about ten minuets of walking around, I ended up in the great room. The same room where I pulled the gun on JC then turned it on myself. After looking around and realizing where I was, I kinda went into a trance and relived that moment. Staring off into space as the images flashed in my head, I didn't hear Lance call my name until he touched my shoulder. "Huh?" I asked, coming back to my surroundings. "Are you ok?" he asked. "Yeah," I answered. "Just remembering that stupid stunt," I said lowering my head. There wasn't much anything Lance could say, so he didn't. He just grabbed my hand and led me to the couch. He sat down and pulled me towards him. I sat about four feet from him and laid my head in his lap. He looked down at me and smiled while he brushed my hair from my forehead with his hand. I grabbed his other hand, placed it in mine, and rested them both on my chest while I kissed his arm. I smiled at him and he smiled back. Then I closed my eyes for a moment just to relax. A few minutes later, I opened my eyes as Justin and Lance were talking. Rising from Lance's lap, I looked at the wall clock and noticed that I had slept for about an hour and a half. "Why didn't you wake me?" I asked Lance, inadvertently interrupting their conversation. "Because, Justin walked in about ten minutes ago and he woke me up," he replied. "Well, then, I don't feel too bad," I said, and then took a swig of my now-room-temperature water. Making an awful-taste-face, I replaced the cap and sat the water on the table. "Where are Chris and Joey?" "In the gym playing some b-ball. I just finished with them and wanted to rest before the next session." "Well, are you ready or do you need to rest more?" Lance asked. "I'm cool, but we need to let Joey and Chris know so they can catch their breath," he replied. "I'll let them know," I said rising off the couch. "Tell them we want to start again in about fifteen minutes," Justin called out. Waving my hand to say that I acknowledged, I disappeared around the corner. Later on in the evening, we were able to finish the song. Each time a mistake was made, the music was stopped and was played back. As it was, Justin listened and told the respective person, mainly me, how to correct it. By nine thirty that evening, the song was complete to each of the guy's satisfaction. Also, on the last recording, the engineer didn't have to stop the music at all. He, along with the manager, was pleased with the recording. Once everything was finished, I asked what was next. Justin explained that the engineer would take the recording and put it on the final real with the other songs for the album and then he would have it ready to hand over to the record company by Monday morning. So to answer my question, Lance chimed in to say that it was time to go home. Everyone else agreed. We said our goodbyes and all went our separate ways, until Monday when the tape was to be delivered. When Lance and I arrived home, I heated up a frozen pizza while Lance went to the bedroom to change. Just before the pizza was ready, I heard him turn the music on in the dining room. I walked in with the food in hand and sat it on the table. The music was some soft jazz with a prominent trumpet playing the melody. It was actually relaxing listening to something besides the song we recorded. Just a completely change in speed and mood. Not so depressing, I guess. We ate dinner with very little talk, as we were both tired. Actually, we never even finished the pizza. We left a few pieces because we were so stuffed. When we were done, Lance go up and started clearing the table, but I grabbed his hand and told him to leave it. He looked at me and smiled saying that I know how he can't stand to have a dirty house. "Since you insist on cleaning, then I'll run us a bath for us to soak in before we go to bed." "That sounds wonderful," he said. "I'll be in there in a few minutes" I started the water running then slipped out of my clothes and eased in the very warm water. When it was at the right level, I turned the water off and waited for Lance to appear. As soon as I laid my head against the edge of the tub, I heard Lance walk in and take off his pajamas. "It's a bit warm," I cautioned, "So be careful." Sticking his fingers in, he said that it was just right. He carefully climbed his way in, sat down between my legs, and moved back against my chest. I wrapped my arms around him and he wrapped his arms over mine and rested his head on my shoulder. We sat there until the water turned cool, talking a little about everything. The past, the future, Josh. Because we were both sleepy, our brains weren't functioning at full throttle, so we practically ran out of things to say. Lance gave a big yawn and I knew it was time to go to bed. We got out of the water and dried off. Neither of us worried about pajamas at that point, so we just climbed in bed in the nude. Once we were settled, I moved over closer to him and, once again, put my arms around him. "G'night, Lance," I said, then kissed his shoulder. Listening to his breathing, I knew that he had already fallen asleep.0 To Be Continued. . . .