Lance and Martin 1

Previously

"Hey! I was thinking, you can't possibly work 24 hours a day, seven days a week. So if you like, when you have some free time, I'd be happy to show you around the city," Lance said, handing Martin a card from his wallet, with his cell number on it.

Martin accepted the card and smiled at Lance. "Thanks, James. I'd appreciate that!"

Lance turned to leave but then stopped, losing his smile. "One more thing Martin," he began, "what we were talking about earlier, it would mean a lot if you didn't tell anyone," Lance's voice trailed off.

Martin smiled at Lance. "What was it we were talking about before?" he asked, playing dumb.

Lance smiled. "Thanks Martin."

Before Lance could leave, a voice spoke from behind him. "Dad!"

Chapter 2

Both Martin and Lance turned to look at a young girl, about ten-years-old. Martin jumped to his feet. "Kaylie! What are you doing here? How did you get here? Does your mother know?" As he asked the questions Martin walked around the table and picked up the girl in a tight hug. She giggled and hugged him back, never noticing Lance. Lance decided it was time to make his exit. He slipped over to the exit and then Martin noticed.

Still hugging the girl, Martin glanced over her shoulder at Lance. "I'll call you?" he said almost as a question. Lance smiled and nodded before leaving. He rejoined JC outside the restaurant.

JC grinned at Lance as they began to walk back to JC's car. Finally he had to ask. "So? What was that all about?"

Lance waited until they were in the car. He was still a little bewildered. "I offered to show him around town when he had the time."

"Ooohhhh!" JC commented with a silly grin.

Lance ignored JC. "Then a girl about nine or ten walked in calling him Dad."

JC lost his humor. "Oh!" He looked over at Lance, wondering what his friend was thinking.

Lance was staring out the window as JC drove. He wasn't sure what to think. Martin had been surprised, no, shocked, when the girl appeared. He wondered what the whole story was.

"James? Earth to James!" JC said, gently shaking Lance's arm. Lance turned his head around to look at JC.

"Sorry man. Martin was really surprised to see the girl. I was just wondering why," Lance explained.

JC left Lance to his thoughts as they drove to the studio. The group was meeting to finalize details about which songs they were going to include on their new CD. They arrived at the studio and JC had to get Lance's attention again. The three other guys were already there.

"Hey Chris, Joe, Curly!" JC greeted his friends.

"Hi guys!" the three responded back.

Management and the record company were ready and the five singers sat down to discuss the songs they liked and give their preferences. The list was finalized down to fifteen songs. It was decided that they would name each song and have everyone around the table vote yes or no for the song. The three songs with the most 'no' votes would be excluded. As the vote for the first song came around the table, JC voted yes then waited for Lance. Lance was staring across the room, out the window. JC elbowed Lance in the side.

"What?" Lance asked, looking at JC. Lance blushed as he realized everyone was staring at him. He'd really spaced out this time. Lance concentrated on the rest of the meeting until the final list was decided. Finally everyone else left, leaving the five singers sitting around the table.

Justin leaned forward and stared at Lance. "So Lansten, spill!" he said. Joey and Chris were watching intently, both having noticed Lance was distracted too.

Lance could feel himself blushing again. He blushed so easily. "What?" he asked trying to act confused. It didn't work. The others laughed at him, making him blush more. Chris walked around the table and jumped up, sitting on the table, facing Lance. He didn't say anything; he just sat there and stared at his friend, waiting. Lance sighed. "Okay, okay. I met this really interesting guy," he started and the others began to grin. "But, I have no idea if he's even gay, let alone interested." The guys continued to grin.

"And don't forget, James, he's an older man too," JC added. All eyes turned to look at JC.

"What do you mean?" Lance asked, genuinely confused.

"Uh, well, if he has a ten year old daughter he must be…" JC trailed off, regretting bringing up the entire subject.

"He has a ten year old kid?" Joey exclaimed.

Lance didn't want to have a group debate about it and stood up. "That's it. End of discussion on this subject," he stated and began walking towards the door.

"But…" Justin began, wanting more details. JC looked at Justin and shook his head, telling him to drop it.

Chris followed Lance to the door. "I'll drop Lance off, okay Josh?" he said, looking at the three left in the room. JC reluctantly nodded. He knew Chris would be able to give Lance advice that no one else in the group could.

Lance was standing by the front doors of the studio when Chris arrived. "So, need a ride home?" Chris asked. Lance glanced at his friend and smiled ruefully.

"Guess so," he replied and walked out the door towards Chris' car. Both men were quiet at first. It was Lance who broke the silence. "Chris, how do you tell?" he asked quietly as they got in the car.

Chris glanced at his friend before pulling out of the parking lot. He didn't need to ask what he was talking about. "Come on Lance, you know there's no easy answer to that," he said.

Lance looked over at Chris. "Yeah, but you don't seem to have trouble telling if a guy is gay or not, or if the guy is interested. I just don't get it," Lance sighed.

Chris thought for a minute. "I don't know what to tell you Lance. You start out making friends with the guy then look for the signs. Does he know you're gay?" Lance nodded, surprising Chris. He didn't say anything. "So you know he's not against you, that's a start."

Lance nodded again. "I offered to show him around the city. I gave him my cell phone number," Lance told Chris. As he mentioned his phone, Lance felt his pocket. The phone wasn't there. He felt the other pockets in his light jacket but to no avail. "Damn!" he swore, making Chris look suddenly. Lance smiled sheepishly knowing he rarely swore. "Sorry! Can't find my phone. Can I borrow yours for a minute?" Chris pulled his out and handed it to Lance. Lance dialed JC's number.

"Hello?"

"Josh, its me."

"Hey James, what's up?"

"Are you still at the studio?"

"Yeah. Just walking out now."

"Could you do me a favor and check back in the meeting room and in your car for my phone. I just realized I don't have it any more. I'm using Chris'."

"Sure. I'll call you right back."

Lance turned off the phone and relaxed, waiting for JC. A couple of minutes later, Chris' phone rang. "Hello?"

"James, sorry but I can't find it anywhere," JC said. "Do you think you might have left it at the restaurant?" he asked.

"I must have," Lance admitted. "I'll stop by there tomorrow and check. Thanks Josh. Talk to ya later."

"Bye."

Lance closed the phone and handed it back to Chris. He was silent for a minute. "Would you be interested in going out for lunch tomorrow Chris?" Lance asked.

Chris laughed. "Ah! Want to put my expert gaydar to work do ya?"

Lance giggled and nodded. "I wouldn't mind hearing what you think," he admitted.

"Okay. Give me a call in the morning and we'll set a time," Chris said as he pulled into the apartment complex where Lance lived.

Lance climbed out then turned back to the car. "Thanks Chris, for everything," he said earnestly. Chris just grinned, and Lance closed the door.

Lance tried to do some paperwork for FreeLance, but his mind wasn't on it. He decided to stop rather than risk making any mistakes. He wished he were more like Chris. Chris could pick up just about any guy he wanted. And for a while it seemed that he did, until he went exclusive with Alex. Lance always smiled when he thought of those two. They made an interesting couple, but were good together. Lance often wondered how they made the long distance thing work, but was glad they were happy. It was going on two years almost since Chris and Alex had announced they were together.

Fortunately the eight other guys didn't have a major problem with the two dating, as long as it was kept quiet. All ten of them agreed to that necessity. Lance sighed. All he wanted was someone in his life like that. Someone to laugh with, confide in, hold him, love him. He grabbed a soda out of the fridge and went out to his balcony.

Lance wasn't sure how long he stood there before he heard the door buzzer. He walked back into the apartment and over to the door. Glancing at the video screen, he was shocked to see Martin Reed standing at the door. Lance buzzed the door open and walked out to the elevator, to wait for Martin. A couple of minutes later the elevator opened and Martin stepped off. Lance almost gasped when he saw the man. He looked terrible.

"Martin?" Lance said hesitantly. "What are you doing here."

Martin looked at Lance and tried to smile. "Hi James. I just wanted to return your phone, you left it at the restaurant earlier," he said quietly.

"Come on in, Martin," Lance said softly as he led Martin into the apartment. "Can I get you a drink or something?"

"You don't have anything hard, do you?" Martin asked absently as he wandered around the room.

"Um, I have some beer," Lance offered.

"Thanks James." Lance grabbed a couple of beers and walked back out to the living room. Martin had sat down on the couch.

"So Martin…um…how did you find out where I live?" Lance asked curiously.

Martin looked at Lance, trying to focus on what he'd asked. "Oh, I used your speed dial and reached your friend Josh. He told me," Martin explained.

Lance sat down beside Martin and opened his beer. The two men sat quietly for a few minutes.

"Martin, what's wrong?" Lance asked gently.

Martin took some deep breaths. He could feel himself losing control and he hated that feeling. He jumped up. "I have to go James. Thanks for the beer." Martin set the drink on the table and rushed for the door.

"Martin! Martin wait!" Lance called after him, but he was out the door. Lance debated whether he should go after him, but decided against it. He didn't know Martin well enough to intrude like that.

Lance spent the rest of the night trying to understand what had happened with Martin. When he finally went to bed, he tossed and turned, wondering about Martin, hoping he was okay. His alarm went off in the morning and Lance quickly shut it off. He felt like crap. His mind was going in a thousand different directions. Did Martin get home okay? Is he married? Why was his daughter there? Why did he bring the phone when he could have called or had it sent over?

Lance sighed. He wasn't getting anywhere thinking like that. He rolled out of bed and went to take a shower. Once shaved, he fixed his hair, got dressed and went out to the living room. It was almost ten and he decided to call Chris.

"Yeah?" a very groggy voice answered the phone.

"Chris? It's James. Did I wake you?"

"Mmm. What time is it?" Chris asked.

"Ten. Listen Chris, go back to sleep, we can go for lunch some other time," Lance said.

"No way!" Chris said, sounding more awake. "You're not getting out of it that easily," he added with a laugh. "I'm awake now. Alex called last night, but he forgot the time difference so I was talking to him at two this morning."

"So how is he? How's their tour going?" Lance asked.

"I'll tell you about it at lunch," Chris replied. "But the good news is they'll be home in a couple of weeks, and we should still be here too," he said excitedly.

Lance smiled. "That's great Chris, I'm happy for you," he said earnestly. He knew it had been over three months since Alex and Chris had been home in Orlando at the same time. They'd seen each other briefly when one or the other visited during tours, but they deserved some time together at home.

"So what time do you want to meet?" Chris asked, bringing Lance back to the present.

"You decide, Chris. I'm already dressed so whenever you want."

"Alright. How's 12:30?"

"Great. Mind if I meet you there? I'm gonna leave now and stop at a couple of stores first."

"Okay. What's the address?"

Lance gave Chris the restaurant's address and hung up. He grabbed his wallet, phone and keys before heading out. He stopped at a record store and bought a couple of new CD's he wanted. Before he left he ran over to the pop music section and found the N's. He grabbed one of each of the '*Nsync disks that were there and went to the cash to pay. He smiled to himself when he realized that the guy at the register didn't recognize him. He stopped at a business supply store to pick up paper, ink and other supplies for Freelance.

TBC...

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