Encounter In The Sand

by Jeremy

~Part 2~

Last Time:

   The short ride to the 'N Sync house was spent in silence. As they pulled into the driveway, Justin smiled and said, "Well, thanks for the ride and all."

   Ricky nodded and smiled. "It was no problem at all." He reached into his glove compartment and pulled out a business card. "Here," he said, "take my card. If you guys want someone to show you around town, look no further. My home, work, cell and pager numbers are on there."

   "Thanks," Justin replied, taking the card, "I'll talk to the guys." He slipped the card into his pocket and got out of Ricky's Jeep. "Thanks again," he said, extending his hand to shake Ricky's.

   "You're welcome," Ricky replied. As Ricky accepted his hand, it was like electricity passing through both of them, though neither one acknowledged it at the time. Both knew though, that they'd like to get to know one another much better. With that, Justin closed the door, and disappeared into the house. A moment later, Ricky drove away.

And now, the continuation:

   A few days later, after spending most of the day at work, Ricky arrived home, pulling into the garage and going into the house. As he walked into the kitchen, he noticed that the answering machine was blinking, indicating that he had messages. He tapped the play button and went to the refrigerator to get a bottle of water as his messages played. "Ricky," his mother's voice came from the machine, "it's mom..."

   "No... really?" Ricky said, rolling his eyes.

   "...I haven't heard from you lately," the message continued, "I was just calling to make sure that you were still alive, since you don't have the courtesy to call your mother once in a while." The typical motherly guilt trip lasted for nearly the entire two minutes allowed by the answering machine. When it ended, Ricky shook his head. "Note to self," he said, "Call mom."

   "Hey Ricky," the next message began as he took a drink of water, "it's Justin..." Ricky choked on his water, sputtering it all over the place.

   "...I decided to give you a call," Justin continued, "I talked with the guys and they thought it was great that someone wanted to show us around. You can call me at..." Everything had blurred as soon as the message started. Ricky couldn't believe that Justin had actually called him back. When he came to his senses, he picked up the portable phone and dialed the number Justin had left.

   Ring... Ring... Ring... No answer. Damn. Just as Ricky reached for the power button to shut the phone off, someone picked up on the other end. "Justin?" Ricky inquired and then smiled. "Hey... It's Ricky. Yeah, I got your message." He paused for a minute while Justin expressed how glad he was that Ricky had called him back. "Yeah... I was glad to hear from you as well. So, you guys want to hit the town tomorrow night?" Ricky was all smiles as they chatted. "Hey... Have you guys eaten yet this evening? You haven't? Would you like to come over and I'll make dinner? Yes, I can cook. That's how I came into the restaurant business. I didn't spend two years at culinary school for nothing. Cool. See you guys soon." With that, Ricky hung up the phone.

   Tossing the phone on the counter, Ricky ran around the kitchen, pulling things out of the refrigerator and cupboards. He set about chopping vegetables and such. About an hour later, all the prep work for the meal was done. Leaving the pasta sauce to simmer, he went to set the table.

   Moments later, as he was finishing setting the table, the unmistakable sound of the doorbell filled the house. The doorbell was so unmistakable because it was programmed to play random snippets of hit music. Ironically, this time it played a little of "It's Gonna Be Me."

   Chuckling, Ricky opened the door. The five young men standing on the opposite side of the door were grinning at the doorbell as the door opened. Justin was laughing. "WHAT was that?" he asked.

   Ricky blushed. "I swear," he said with red cheeks, "I didn't plan that. My doorbell plays random music. It was merely coincidence that it played that song." They guys just stood there, trying to keep from laughing at his embarrassing moment.

   "Please," Ricky said, motioning them in after the normal color returned to his face, "come in." The five made their way in and Justin spoke up. "Guys, this is Ricky... Ricky, these are the guys."

   Ricky smiled, shaking each of their hands. "It's nice to meet you all." Shutting the door, he turned to them again. "So... who's hungry?" he asked, glancing around at them.

   Justin started laughing, and soon the rest of the guys joined him. Ricky just looked at them, confused. "That's a silly question to ask us," Justin explained. "We're ALWAYS hungry."

   "Oh," Ricky replied, grinning. "I cooked enough for an army. I hope that's enough."

   "How big of an army?" Joey asked, grinning.

   "Just follow me, smartass," Ricky teased back, rolling his eyes. He led them into the dining room. "Have a seat," he said, "I'll be right back with dinner." Everyone seated themselves as he disappeared into the kitchen.

   "He seems really nice," Chris said, after Ricky had left the room. "Yeah," JC, Joey and Lance said in unison. Justin remained quiet, staring at the door that Ricky had walked out of.

   JC grinned, nudging Chris in the arm, pointing at Justin. "Look at Curly," he said, "Looks like he's a million miles away." "Nah," Chris replied, pointing toward the kitchen, "Just twenty feet."

   Lance reached over and nudged Justin. Justin blinked, blushing as he glanced around at all eyes on him. "Sorry," he said sheepishly. JC just grinned across the table at him. "He is kind of cute."

   Justin nodded. "I don't know what it is. There's just something about him."

   Just then, Ricky emerged from the kitchen, a large serving tray in his arms. The tray carried several dishes with different foods. Balancing the tray with one hand, he reached over and grabbed the stand for the tray, setting it up near the head of the table and putting the tray down on it.

   Five pairs of eyes gawked at the tray of food. "You weren't kidding, were you," Joey remarked, "when you said you'd cooked enough for an army." Ricky chuckled and replied, "Nope."

   "Hey Ricky?" JC asked, eying the platters of food. "What is it with cooks and putting greenery on our food?" he inquired, pointing to a few parsley sprigs in the center of the chicken fettucini.

   Ricky laughed. "At culinary school," he explained, "we were taught that presentation is everything. It's just habit now to do it."

   Joey interrupted from the other end of the table. "Are we going to eat, or talk about how well the parsley sets off the dish?"

   "Good things come to those who wait, my friend," Ricky said, grinning as he sat down. He passed the food around and soon everyone had salad, chicken fettucini, grilled vegetables and fresh bread. Everyone dug in, and the duration of the meal was spent in silence.

   A while later, Lance pushed his plate away and leaned back in his chair, rubbing his hand across his stomach. "That was amazing. Would you consider going on tour with us?" he asked, grinning. "We could really use someone who cooks like this. Take out food gets so tiresome, and when we do have catering, it's usually fancy stuff that none of us really likes anyway." "Sorry man," Ricky replied, chuckling at him, "I've got a job. Besides, I like being the boss."

   Glancing at his watch, JC spoke up. "Guys, it's 10:30, we should be going."

   "Wow," Ricky said, "I didn't realize it was that late. I guess I'll clean this up in the morning before work."

   Justin looked up at Ricky. "I can stay behind and help you out, if you wouldn't mind giving me a ride home afterward," he said. "I wouldn't mind," Ricky replied, "But it really isn't necessary. I can do it."

   "It's not a problem, really," Justin assured him.

   Ricky nodded. "Alright then."

   JC grinned at Justin and then turned to the rest of the guys as he stood up from the table. "Let's get going." Turning to Ricky, he smiled. "Thanks for dinner, Ricky, it was great. We look forward to tomorrow night."

   Ricky smiled back at him. "You're welcome, and I'm looking forward to it as well. You guys are always welcome in my house. Any time you want to come over and use the pool, hot tub, whatever, just give me a call. I'd welcome the company."

   Joey's eyes lit up. "You have a pool? Way cool! Tweedledum and Tweedledee here," he said, motioning to Lance and JC, "couldn't pick a place with a pool." Ricky just chuckled at him as Lance and JC shot him a look.

   "Well guys, let's go," JC said, seeming to hurry them out. Not that Ricky minded that he and Justin were going to be alone, mind you. Lance, Joey, and Chris nodded and followed, waving to Ricky as they left.

   Ricky glanced at Justin as he shut the door and smiled. "Let's get the table cleaned up." Justin nodded and followed him back into the dining room, where they set about cleaning the dishes and such off of the table. Soon, they were in the kitchen, putting things away.

   "I really appreciate your help," Ricky said as he was bent over, loading the dishwasher. "It's nothing," Justin replied, carrying the last of the dishes to the dishwasher. Just then, Ricky stood up and turned, running into Justin, the dishes falling to the floor. "I... I'm so sorry," Justin said, looking down at the floor, then back up at Ricky.

   "It's alright, don't worry about it. But we've got to stop running into each... other..." Ricky paused, looking into Justin's eyes. It was like some magnetic force was pulling them together. Before they knew what was happening, their lips were touching; pressed together in a deep kiss. Neither one of them really knew what to do. A moment later, they broke apart, both quiet, not knowing what to say or do.

   "Justin," Ricky finally spoke up, "I'm sorry... I don't know what came over me. I just..." Justin put his finger to Ricky's lips, interrupting him. "I've wanted to do that since I first ran into you the other day," Justin said, "But being in the public eye, I can't take chances like that. Something told me that I could trust you, though."

   Ricky looked at him puzzled. "You... You're...?"

   "Gay?" Justin finished for him, "Yes, I am."

To Be Continued....