Lance and Martin 5

Previously

It was Lance's turn to sigh. "That's okay Chris. Whether he's gay or not, I still want him as a friend, so I'll just let things happen as they're meant to." What choice did he have? Martin didn't have a problem with Lance being gay, but that might change if he knew Lance had a crush on him. Lance looked back at Chris. "You wanna crash here? Curly is already asleep, so you can have the couch."

Chris shrugged. "Guess so."

Lance got some blankets for Chris and said goodnight before walking back to his bedroom.

Chapter 5

Martin walked out to his car and started the engine. He sat there for a minute thinking about the day he'd had. He'd listened to the CDs Lance had given him, and out of curiosity, he'd checked out the Internet for *Nsync information. Martin was amazed at the sites out there. He'd had no idea how popular the band was until then. It was difficult connecting the Lance Bass that the fans gossiped about, and the magazines wrote about, with the James Bass he'd befriended. They were two different people. Lance was a celebrity, recognized in countries around the world, and loved by millions of teenage fans, the boy next door. Lance was the guy who had to constantly deny rumors about his sexuality.

James, on the other hand, was this friendly young man, who liked to talk and really get to know people. He accepted people, at least he'd accepted Martin at face value, despite the potential risks. He was a good listener and liked to help people. James knew and accepted that he was gay; he didn't flaunt it, but he wasn't ashamed of it.

Martin drove home, thinking about something, actually someone, besides his daughter for the first time in a long while. He was happy that he'd finally called James and was fortunate that James was willing to give him a chance. He really needed friends right now and James was willing to fill the position.

Once home, Martin stripped out of his clothes and crashed on his bed. He hadn't been sleeping very well since Kaylie had shown up. This night, he finally drifted to sleep.

Martin bolted awake, sitting up in bed. He was covered with a fine sheen of sweat, his heart was racing and his body was definitely aroused. He closed his eyes, trying to calm his body. What was he dreaming about? He took slow deep breaths as he calmed down; then the dream came back to him.

He was making love with someone. Hands roamed his body, every touch sent electric currents through his system. Lips kissed his mouth, a tongue probed his body, finding every secret crevice, every hidden pleasure center, places that he didn't know even existed. As the dream flooded back through his mind, Martin felt his body responding. He ran a hand over his chest, touching his nipples, which hardened immediately. His pulse quickened as he felt the blood rush to his groin, his penis throbbing to attention. He tried to play the dream over in his mind, he wanted to see who was giving him the pleasure, but a face wouldn't come into focus.

The harder he tried to see the face, the blurrier the dream became. Pieces began to fade from his memory. His body was returning to sleep and his mind wanted to follow. Gradually the dream disappeared as the new stages of sleep took over. Before sleep reclaimed him, Martin discovered a small piece of information about his dream lover. He imagined running his hand over his lover, and as his hand moved down, he found that his lover was flat chested. The hand moved lower, until it encountered something completely unexpected.

Martin didn't remember the dream when he woke. He went to work as usual, but found he was looking forward to the weekend. He was really hoping James would call.

Lance spent the next day at the studio. The band was starting to lay down the music tracks for the songs and each of the guys wanted to be involved in the process. Lance called Martin the next day and the two had dinner at Martin's restaurant. They found they enjoyed each other's company and just talking, although Martin still avoided talking about his family.

The next week, Lance was at the studio every day. Every second evening, he went to Le Grande and had dinner with Martin. He explained what they were doing at the studio and how they recorded the songs. Martin found it interesting to listen to Lance; his enthusiasm was contagious.

It was during their third dinner that Martin finally told Lance about himself. It was Thursday night and Lance had arrived at the restaurant, taking his usual table near the back. Martin joined him a few minutes later. They'd decided that Martin would surprise Lance each time with something different from the menu. Tonight, he brought out a huge seafood platter with crab, shrimp, lobster and clams. They shared the food and Lance talked about the day in the studio.

"Mr. Reed?" a waitress spoke as she approached. She handed Martin the phone. "A long distance call for you."

"Thanks, Lisa," Martin said as he took the cordless. "Hello."

Lance continued to nibble on some shrimp as Martin listened.

"No!…Jessica…Jess…that is not acceptable." Martin listened to the person on the other end. "No. The agreement said June and I intend to have her for the entire month. If you want her to go to camp, send her during your time." Lance felt awkward, listening to an obviously personal conversation, but he wasn't sure whether to leave or not. "Jessica… you know I will fight it if you try anything…don't threaten me! You can't do anything worse that what you've already done, and she's too old to fall for your games." Martin was quiet again as Jessica spoke. "Exactly, Jessica. You call me with the flight information and I'll meet her in L.A. Bye."

Martin shut off the phone and put his head in his hands. He took a couple of deep breaths trying to calm himself. Then he sat up and looked over at Lance. Martin made a decision.

"Are you busy after this James?" he asked. Lance shook his head. "Could we … go somewhere and talk?" Martin asked hesitantly.

Lance smiled gently. "Sure Martin. We can go to my apartment if you want."

Martin nodded. "Thanks."

Nothing more was said as they finished eating the meal. They walked outside into the growing dusk.

"Do you want to follow me, or just take my car?" Lance asked softly. Martin was lost in thought.

"Um…maybe we should just take yours," he finally said, looking at Lance. "I'm too…distracted," he admitted.

They drove back to Lance's place. Lance left Martin alone with his thoughts. The phone call had really bothered him. Once inside, Lance got them both a drink and they sat in the living room. Lance waited patiently for Martin.

"Where to begin?" he sighed. "I guess the beginning. It's rather long…so I hope you bear with me. Um…I was really shy growing up…didn't have many friends. I worked through high school as I told you, so I didn't spend a lot of time going to parties or dating. I moved into a dorm while I went to college. That was the biggest mistake of my life," he paused. "No, I have to take that back. If I hadn't moved into the dorm, I wouldn't have Kaylie." Martin shook his head. "Anyway, even when I was in my third year, I was still very innocent and naïve. I agreed to go to a party with some of my dorm mates. I drank the punch." He stopped and looked at Lance, wondering if he had to elaborate. Lance's eyes showed comprehension. "The next morning I woke up next to this girl. Didn't know who she was, or even where I was." Martin stood up to walk around.

"A few months later Jessica, that was her name, came to me, telling me she was pregnant." He stopped to stare out the window into the darkness. "I have never shirked my duty. I got to know her over the next couple of months. She was nice enough; not who I would have chosen for myself, but…We got married before Kaylie was born. I worked and finished college. Jessica helped too. She found a job a few months after Kaylie was born and helped pay bills and things." Martin shook his head as he remembered. "We were never in love. But we loved our daughter so we tried to make things work. Soon after we were married, I found I'd lost interest in having a sexual relationship with Jessica. After a while she stopped trying. I thought she had accepted it." Another pause as he thought back those many years.

"After I bought the restaurant, I began spending more and more time working, wanting to be a success. I don't know whose fault it was, if it was anyone's fault at all. Kaylie was almost six when Jessica told me she wanted a divorce." Martin ran his hands through his hair and turned to look at Lance. "I shouldn't have been too surprised. It was unfair to expect a young woman to stay in a loveless and sexless marriage. But my first concern was for Kaylie. I reluctantly agreed to the divorce, on the condition that we continue to have full shared custody. Jessica agreed."

Martin turned back to the window, unsure how to continue. He was getting to the ugly part now and wasn't sure how Lance would react. Lance simply sat and waited until Martin finally began to talk again. "Things went well, for a couple of years. About a year ago, things began to go wrong. Jessica missed dropping Kaylie off when it was my turn, or she would be late. She'd come up with excuses about why Kaylie couldn't come for her scheduled visits. I tried to talk to her about it but she wouldn't listen. When I'd had enough, I called my lawyer. I wanted the custody arrangement to be legally binding. But as soon as the lawyers got involved, Jessica went crazy. I don't know if she thought I was trying to get full custody or what. That's when the real problems started. Suddenly I had social workers and police detectives visiting me. Jessica had told people that I was sexually abusing my daughter." Lance gasped, but Martin kept going. "Every aspect of my life was ripped open for the world to see. People started gossiping and rumors were circulating. The entire town soon knew and everybody had me convicted and hung. It took months, but finally the police and the social workers admitted to the courts that there was no evidence. Despite repeated interviews with Kaylie, where I'm sure they tried to put words into her mouth, they had nothing. No charges were ever filed. But by then the damage had been done."

Martin returned to the couch and sat down. He put his head in his hands, resting his elbows on his knees. His voice was barely a whisper. "The restaurant was failing because of what people thought of me. I knew I had to get away, start over. That's why I came down here. Jessica never explained why she did what she did, but she never pushed the issue either. Once the police said there was no evidence, everything just dropped. Except for when the custody hearing reached court. Despite both police and social workers telling the court I was an excellent, loving father, the judge ruled that Jessica would have sole custody with visitations for me. I'd get Kaylie for some holidays and a month during the summer. Other visits as arranged between Jessica and myself." Martin raised his head to look at Lance. Tears were running down his face. "She committed the crime by lying, she ruined my business and still managed to steal my daughter." Martin paused to take a few deep breaths. "They were here that day because Jessica decided to go live near her brother in Hawaii. I spent the afternoon arguing with her that it wasn't in Kaylie's best interest to move so far away. I wouldn't be able to just fly in for weekend visits or to surprise her. That's why I was so upset that day." He looked at Lance. "I knew I was upset…I'm not sure why I decided to bring your phone to you…I just need to see a friendly face I guess."

Lance walked over to sit beside Martin. With only a moment's hesitation, he put his arms around his friend, and hugged him tightly. "I'm sorry Martin. That must have been so terrible for you," he said softly, blinking back his own tears. Martin hugged him back as he took some ragged breaths, trying to compose himself.

Finally Martin sat back up and Lance reluctantly lowered his arms. "The phone call today. She's trying to get out of letting Jessica come for the entire month of June, which was decided by the courts. I told her I'd fight it if she didn't let Kaylie come."

Lance remained sitting beside Martin and absently rubbed his back. Martin didn't object; it was comforting. "That's just over a week away, Martin," Lance suddenly said.

"I know. I can't wait," Martin said, as his sadness changed to excitement. "I hope you'll meet her James, she's a great kid."

"Of course you wouldn't be biased at all," Lance joked.

Martin grinned. "Maybe. But you'll see, she's wonderful."

Lance nodded. "I look forward to meeting her then Martin. Do you suppose she's a fan?"

Martin looked at Lance thoughtfully. "I never thought of that. I imagine she is…unless she prefers that other quintet," he said breaking into another smile.

"Well, we can change that damn quick," Lance declared. Both men laughed.

Martin looked at his watch then stood up. "I really should go James." He turned to look at Lance intently. "Thank you so much for listening, for being such a good friend."

Lance smiled. "Anytime, Martin. Come on, I'll drive you back to the restaurant to get your car."

The next day was a long day in the studio. Justin invited everyone to his place for a barbecue on Saturday. He suggested that Lance invite Martin.

Once finished at the studio he returned home and spent the evening making phone calls for his FreeLance clients. By the time he was finished, it was almost ten. After a moment's hesitation, Lance decided to take a chance and call Martin.

"Hello?"

"Hi Martin, its James," Lance said, happy to hear Martin's voice. "Hope I'm not calling too late."

"No, no problem, James. What's going on?" Martin asked. He'd been sitting at home thinking about his daughter and the call provided a distraction.

"Well, I know its short notice, but Just is having an afternoon barbecue slash pool party tomorrow and we wondered if you'd like to come," Lance explained.

Martin was silent for a minute. "It sounds like fun." Lance could hear the 'but' coming. "But, I don't know if I can get free."

"Okay. Why don't I give you the address Martin? Then if you can get away, just stop by. There'll be about fifteen or twenty people there."

"Alright James. I can't promise anything, but I'll try. It sounds like exactly what I need," Martin said. Martin wrote down the information Lance gave him then hung up.

That night, Martin had the same erotic dream that he'd had every night for the past week. He still couldn't see the face of his lover. However, when he woke up the next morning, he remembered the one vital piece of information in his dream. His dream lover was not a woman.

Martin sat on the side of his bed trying to comprehend his dream. He'd never dreamt about a man before, had he? Usually he didn't remember his dreams, but surely, he would remember if he were fantasizing about making love with another man. Martin got up and made himself some coffee. Maybe it was just because of his new friend. Martin had never known any openly gay men before moving to Orlando and meeting Lance. Perhaps he was just trying to understand his friend. But why did it feel so much better than anything he'd ever thought about with Jessica or any other woman?

Martin shook his head and sighed. Maybe …maybe. Martin couldn't make any sense out of it. He wasn't attracted to James, was he? Was it just because James was there when he needed someone? James had listened and never doubted what Martin had said. He was grateful that James hadn't pushed for information, but was happy that James now knew about Kaylie.

Martin sighed. This whole thing with Jessica and Kaylie had his emotions completely out of whack. Nothing was going to be figured out that morning, so Martin tried to forget about it and went to work.