Date: Tue, 18 Jul 2000 09:26:49 PDT From: Michael McCall Subject: Re: Lance and Michael: Chapter 9 (Celebrity, boy bands) This story is completely fictional and I am not in anyway implying that Lance Bass or any members of Nsync are gay. The usual warnings apply...If you shouldn't be here, then don't be here. DISCLAIMER: The characters of Ben Corbyn and his brothers appear in this chapter with the permission (and a writing assist) of "Studio in the Country" author, Michael Ellis. Thanks Michael! Love ya dude! For more information on Nsync's visit to the "Studio"...keep your eyes open this summer for the "Studio in the Country"/ Lance and Michael crossover! While you're at it, check out "Studio", it's a great story!!!! Special thanks go out to my new friends and fellow writers from the chat room. Scotty T, Dayse, Em, ecswim, Angel, DLS, Matt, Frank, Josh, tiny, Ty, and arpo! I know I've forgotten someone....sorry. Big thanks go out this time to my good friend Rob. Thanks for your writing input! Rob I never could have gotten this far without your support. And to Steve! You're the greatest! Have you figured out who it is yet? OH! Almost forgot! Support your favorite boy band authors! Its that time of year again. The Boy Band Story Awards are coming up! So get out there and vote for your favorites. All of the authors on this board put their heart and souls into their work and this is a great way to show them how much you appreciate their hard work! I hope that you all enjoy this chapter, and I would appreciate any comments and criticisms. You can email me at mccall0470@hotmail.com. Lance and Michael: Lance's Love Chapter Nine "(I Always Feel Like) Somebody's Watching Me" April 4, 2000, 10:00 am. Orlando, Florida --Journal Entry: April 4, 2000. Talk about March Madness! Sorry to be out of touch for so long. I barely had enough time to breath during the month of March, much less sit down and write in my journal. Everything was on a rise to the fever-pitch for the album release. The guys have appeared on just about every talk show and news show known to man. I think we were at the MTV Studios at least once a week! I've met more influential people from the industry in the last month than I have in my entire life. --They guys have been amazing. I don't know where they get their energy. But I have to say that it's infectious. The album is phenomenal! Every track is a hit! If I had to choose a favorite, I guess I'd say that "I Thought She Knew" and "Its Gonna Be Me" are my favorites. But I love every track. The guys surprised me with a thank you from each of them in the liner notes. It was very touching.- Michael McCall leaned back from his computer and let out a small sigh. He looked out the window to the small lake that Lance had built into the backyard of his house. A smile crept over his face as he pictured Lance racing across the water on his Jet Ski, the water spraying his face and body. Lance loved to jet ski. And Michael always had to laugh in amazement that the singer had a lake built in the backyard for the sole purpose of making his pastime more assessable to him. Running a hand through his brown hair, Michael returned his attention to the computer screen in front of him. As he read over what he had just written, he took a quick drink of his water. Next to the computer was a small stack of photos. After replacing his glass on the table, Michael picked up a couple of the photos and studied them intently. He flipped through the photos that captured him in various locations with Britney Spears and the members of Nsync. Michael set the photos down and rubbed his eyes. So many questions, but so few answers. --Someone is watching me. At the moment I don't know who or why...but somebody's watching me. I got the first package at the end of February. It had pictures of me and Britney kissing as well as pictures of me dancing with the guys. The note asked for me to meet this person. I believe that the correct wording was "It is in your best interest to meet with me." Of course, I didn't go to the meeting. Melinda and I had both just figured that this was some fan that didn't like the fact that I was "dating" Britney. --I got the second package the following week. This time there was a copy of the latest National Enquirer with me as the cover story. Attached to the copy was another note. "I told you that you should have met me." I have to say that at that moment I got a little worried. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to worry, because the next thing I knew, Johnny Wright was on the phone telling me to get in to the office immediately. --To make a long story short, Johnny, Melinda and I sat down and discussed the entire situation. We ran down the list of potential enemies that I had (not a very long list for an unknown Production Coordinator), and did the same for Britney and Nsync. I had no idea that Jive had files on various "fans" that had sent in threatening letters or emails to their clients. I was amazed at how extensive these files were and how seriously Johnny and his crew took some of these letters. --We all decided that it would be best for us not to mention the packages to anyone besides the three of us. No need to worry anyone over what was potentially nothing to worry about. Melinda tried to convince Johnny that I needed a bodyguard with me when I was out. But I told him that I would be fine and that it was unnecessary. So far the letters weren't threatening me physically. When you break it down, we really had no idea what this guy wanted.- Michael's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the phone ringing. He quickly took another drink of his water before picking up the phone. "This is Michael." A smile flashed over Michael's face as he recognized the voice on the other side of the phone. "Ben Corbyn! How've you been? I'm sorry that I haven't called you back. Things have been crazy." "No problem, Michael." Ben's voice came through the phone. "I can only imagine how crazy things can get. I was just wondering how you've been holding up with all the madness." "I'm doing okay." Michael stood and stretched his legs as he spoke. "Now that the album has dropped, I get to breathe a little before the tour begins." "When will that be?" Michael took a quick glance at his calendar to verify before speaking. "May 9 in Mississippi. Lance said we had to open in his home state." "That's great! Are you guys coming to Dallas?" "Let me check." Michael smiled flipping through his calendar. "Looks like we'll be in your neck of the woods on June 2." "Great! I'll write that down!" "I'll make sure that we have VIP passes with backstage access for your entire family." Michael added while returning to his seat. "The guys will enjoy having you there." "Thanks, Michael." Ben said. "How's Lance doing?" "He's fine." Michael answered. "He and the guys are in LA right now. They're doing Leno tonight." * * * NBC Studios Burbank, CA 1pm Lance Bass sat quietly in the corner of the dressing room reading through a small history book. On the couch next to him was a notepad that was filled with hand written notes from the book. The singer sighed softly and attempted to rub the fatigue out of his eyes. "Hey Scoop!" the familiar voice of JC Chasez filled the otherwise quiet dressing room. "You still cramming for Millionaire?" Lance let a small smile cross his face. "I'm trying. But I've got something else on my mind." JC glanced over at his friend while he picked up a bottle of water. "Wanna talk about it?" Lance dropped his head on the back of the couch and let out a long sigh. Did he want to talk about it? Or more correctly, did he want to talk to JC about it? Ever since JC admitted that he had feelings for Michael, a very obvious distance had appeared in their friendship. Lance looked up to see JC sitting in a chair near the couch with a look of concern on his face. The two of them had been through far too much together to let JC's confession break up their friendship. "I told my mom." Lance said softly. "What do you tell her?" The blue eyed singer asked absentmindedly as he took a swig of his water. "I told her about me and Michael." JC nearly fell out of his chair and water flew from his mouth. "What?" Lance leaned back against the couch and closed his eyes. "I told her about me and Michael." He repeated. "I figured that with them both being at the Millionaire taping this week, it would be a good time to do it." "How'd she take it?" JC was surprised to hear Lance start to laugh. He watched his friend closely as Lance shook his head and leaned forward placing his elbows on his knees. "She..." he began chuckling. "She told me that she had figured it out long ago." "Really?" JC raised an eyebrow. "Yup." Lance nodded. "She said that she always had a feeling that I was gay. A gut feeling, she said." Lance stood and began to pace the small dressing room. JC took another drink and turned to keep eye contact with his friend. He could see the tension in Lance's face and shoulders. "She told me that after watching me and Michael together, it wasn't hard to put two and two together." Lance continued. "Why didn't she ever say anything?" JC asked. Lance raised his shoulders. "I don't know. She said that she knew that I'd come to her when I was ready." "Well, that's good....right?" "I guess." Lance nodded. JC stood and placed an arm over his friend's shoulder. "She's okay with everything?" Lance looked to his friend and finally smiled. "Yeah, she is." "Then what's the problem?" The blond singer let out a sigh and shook his head. "Am I that transparent? Is it so obvious that Michael and I are a couple?" "Is that what's bugging you?" JC half laughed. "Just because your mother can figure out that you are gay doesn't mean that the general populace of the world can too. Hell, she's known you from birth! She probably knows you better than anyone else in the world." "Yeah, I guess." Lance responded solemnly. "Listen." JC said, taking his friend by the shoulders. "Take it from someone who had watched the two of you since you started going out. When you and Michael are in private...it is so obvious how much in love you are. But when you are out in public, the two of you behave like friends. No one can tell." "Are you sure?" JC smiled and sighed. "I wouldn't lie to you, Scoop." JC walked over to the couch and picked up Lance's cellular phone. He swiftly powered up the phone and tapped one of the speed-dial buttons. "Here." He smiled, handing Lance the phone. "This will make you feel better." Lance took the phone with a questioning look. He placed the phone to his ear and listened to the short rings. After three rings, he heard a familiar voice. "Hello?" Michael McCall's voice came through the receiver. Lance smiled broadly and mouthed a thank you to JC. "Hey, baby." He spoke softly into the phone. "Lance? What's wrong?" Michael asked, hearing his lover's voice. Lance walked back over to the couch and sat down. "Nothing much." He answered. "JC just thought that I needed to hear your voice." There was a moment of silence before Michael spoke. "Are you okay?" "Yeah. I just have a few things on my mind." "You want to talk about it?" Lance leaned back into the couch and pulled his knees up to his chest. He wrapped his free arm around his legs and let his weight fall into the couch. "I told my mom about us." There was a long pause before Michael spoke. "You did?" Sensing Michael's discomfort, Lance added. "She said that she already knew. Had us figured out in Hawaii." "And what did she have to say about the whole thing?" Michael asked tentatively. Lance let out a chuckle. "You mean what does she think of you?" "That too." Michael sighed. "Is she okay with us? With you?" Lance reached over to the table and picked up his day planner. He opened the planner and flipped through to one of the back pages. Attached to the back of one of the pages was a photo of Lance and Michael. The singer looked down at the photo with a smile. "She's happy for us." He grinned. "She loves you." "Really?" Using his fingertip, Lance lazily traced over Michael's features on the photo. "Yeah." He sighed softly. "She thinks that you're good for me." Michael laughed softly. "So, what is the problem then?" Lance let his head fall back onto the back of the couch. "I'll tell you later." He whispered. "I was just being stupid." The singer closed his eyes and enjoyed the silence for a moment. He just listened to his lover breathe on the other end of the phone. "Y'know what? JC is a lot smarter than he looks." "Oh really?" "Yes he is." He smiled. "He knew I was being stupid and that all I needed was to hear your voice and I'd feel better." "Remind me to thank him, then." Michael responded. "Are you gonna be okay?" "I'll be fine." Lance reassured. "I miss you." "I miss you too." Lance could feel Michael's smile through the phone. "I'll see you the day after tomorrow." "I know." Lance said softly. "I love you." "I love you, too." Lance waited to hear Michael hang up on his end before turning off his phone. He set the phone down on the table, hugged his legs close to his chest and sighed. Michael set down the phone and returned to his computer. He took a quick drink of his water before continuing to type. --Something seems to be bothering Lance. He just called. I could hear it in his voice. I'll check with him again later tonight. Plus I'll see him in New York on Thursday. The day before he tapes Millionaire. The day before my birthday. Hopefully Lance will get to the hot seat early on in the game so we can go out that night.- The phone ringing once again interrupted Michael. He let out a moan and reached for the phone. "This is Michael." "Hey, its Mel!" Melinda Bell chimed with her usual perkiness. "You near a TV?" Michael stood and headed for the living room. "Will be in a sec, why?" "MTV is interviewing Lou Pearlman about Making the Band." "Really?" Michael's eyebrow rose as he turned on the television and entered the channel number for MTV. "I can't believe that they are allowing that bastard to do this show. I mean, after all the publicity that happened over the guys suing him for cheating them out of money...They'd have to be pretty stupid to sign any contracts with him." "Remember, sweetie," Melinda added. "They started working on this show before the guys pulled away from Lou." Michael stared at the image of Lou Pearlman on the television in front of him. "Will you listen to this guy! 'I want to show the world what it takes to make a band like Nsync and the Backstreet Boys.'" Michael spat. "Can you believe this asshole?!" "Some people will do anything to get into the public eye." Michael turned off the television and headed back to his computer. "I can't watch this!" "What are you up to?" Melinda asked, changing the subject. Michael sat down with a sigh. "Not much. I just got off the phone with Lance. Otherwise I'm just relaxing." "Let's go to a movie then." Michael glanced over at the clock with a smile. "Sure." He smiled. "Then you can come back here and we can watch the guys on Leno." "Pick you up in twenty?" Reaching over to power down his laptop, Michael nodded. "I'll be ready." * * * Los Angeles, CA "Justin, you've got the room booked?" Lance asked impatiently. Justin Timberlake looked up from his magazine and rolled his eyes. "I told you yesterday that I had that taken care of." Lance made a quick notation on his palm pilot and moved on to Chris and Joey. "You guys get the DJ squared away? What type of music are you playing? Are you guys doing decorations?" "Yes. All kinds. And yes." Joey grinned from his place on the couch. Chris shook his head. "Damn, Scoop. You're treating this like it's a royal ball. Take a chill pill." "I just want everything to be perfect!" Lance stated, making more notations on his palm pilot. "Which leaves JC..." "Guest list is complete and all but one guest is accounted for." JC interjected before Lance could even ask. "And I'm going outside right now to make that call." Lance smiled and made the final notation in his palm pilot. He and the guys had planned a surprise birthday party for Michael, and Lance wanted everything to happen flawlessly. So far so good. The only thing left on Lance's to do list was to make the room reservation for his "birthday present" for Michael. JC stepped outside and took out his cel phone. He had been dreading and looking forward to making this phone call. Which was why he had held off on doing it. But there were no excuses now. He had to make the call. He quickly dialed the familiar number and moved the phone up to his ear. After a few rings, he heard the phone pick up and the sound of the familiar voice. "Hey, this is Rob, I'm not in right now, so . . . you know what to do!" The answering machine chimed in Josh's ear. "Hey Rob, it's me Josh . . . Um..." JC stammered into the phone. ". . . I was hoping to catch you . . ." "Josh?!" Rob said picking up the phone. "Hey!" Josh said happy to hear his voice, but still feeling awkward. "How's it goin!?" "Pretty good, I just got in actually!" JC noticed that Rob sounded out of breath. "Oh really? What've you been up to?" "Not much, just a date. Didn't really go anywhere though." Rob said trying to make it sound like he was moving on with his life, but failing. "Oh . . . I see, yeah, I understand," JC responded, feeling his stomach tighten. "I've been doing the same!" "Oh really? That's good . . ." He said followed by an awkward silence. Eager to break the silence, JC chimed in. "Well, I was just calling to see how you've been doing, and to ask you something . . ." "Yes?" Rob said hoping it was a question he wanted to hear. "Um . . . well, yah see . . ." "Yeah?" "We're planning a surprise birthday party for Michael and we'd really like it a lot if you could come!" "Oh . . ." Rob sounded a little distant. "We as in the guys, or we as in you?" "Both . . ." JC smiled. "Well, where will the party be? When is it?" Rob asked. "Um . . . we're planning it for the day after Michael's birthday, in New York." JC answered quickly. "He and Lance will be there for Lance's taping of Millionaire." "Hold on, lemme check my planner!" "Ok!" Josh said holding on, hoping that he could make it. As he heard Rob flip through the pages of his organizer, he couldn't help but think to himself "Why don't you just tell him that YOU want him to come! Don't use Michael as an excuse to see him!" "Josh?" Rob's voice brought the singer back to reality. "Yeah?" "Did you hear what I said?" "Um . . . No! I dropped the phone for a second." He lied. "Can you make it?" "Yeah, I wouldn't miss Michael's birthday for anything!" "Oh! Perfect then! I guess that means I get to see you then!" JC slipped, and then regained composure. "I mean we all get to see you!" "Yeah, I guess so . . ." "Rob?" JC said in a softer voice. "Yeah?" "It was good to talk to you again!" "Yeah, it was . . ." Rob said followed by another awkward pause. "Well . . . I guess I . . . we'll see you at the party!" JC said, trying to ease the tension. "Yeah, I guess so!" Rob sounded a little disappointed. "Um, I'll have Lance call you with the rest of the details." JC added. "He'll get you the address and time and all." "Ok . . ." "So, um . . . bye?" Josh said hoping Rob would ask him to stay on the phone. "Yeah, bye . . ." Rob said sighing then hanging up the phone. "Wait!" Josh said trying to get Rob's attention, but hearing the dial tone instead. "SHIT!" He cursed himself. "Idiot! He was waiting for YOU to make the move!" * * * April 7, 2000 New York --Journal Entry: April 7, 2000. It's my birthday! Luckily Lance has a solid schedule today, so we really won't have time to celebrate. Well...actually we did quite a bit of "celebrating" this morning. What a way to wake up! Okay....enough of that. I'm a little nervous right now. Lance is picking his mom up from the airport right now. I've met her before...but things are different now. She knows. Lance told her about us. --Lance promises me that there is nothing to worry about. He says that his mom loves me and thinks that I'm good for him. But still...meeting the "parents" is never easy. Even when I was dating girls, it wasn't easy. It doesn't matter what they say...parents are always sizing you up to see if you meet their standards. Shouldn't be too bad though...-- Michael's typing was interrupted by a knock at the hotel room door. He quickly saved what he had and walked over to the door. Taking a quick look through the peep hole, he saw no one standing outside. "That's odd." He mumbled as he slowly opened the door. The hallway outside was empty. Michael shrugged his shoulder and started to close the door. He stopped when he noticed the envelope sitting on the floor in front of the door. He bent over and picked up the envelope. The front of the envelope had his name written on it with his hotel room number. Michael closed the door and walked back over to the desk to open the envelope. Michael slowly opened the envelope and pulled out its contents. "Great." He sighed seeing the small stack of photos and the note attached. "Another gift from my friend." Before reading the letter, Michael thumbed through the photos. The first was of him and Melinda Bell walking through a parking garage. The second photo showed Michael eating dinner with Lance at Planet Hollywood. The third picture was of Michael and JC hugging on a balcony. Michael instantly recognized the balcony as the one he and JC were on when JC revealed to him that he was in love with him. "Interesting." Michael whispered, turning his attention to the note that came with the photos. "Happy Birthday, Mr. McCall. This is the last time that I ask nicely, Mr. McCall. Meet me in the bar of the Parker Meridian at 9pm tonight. You'll know me when you see me." Michael set down the note and picked up his cel phone. He quickly dialed a number and waited as he heard ringing on the other end. "This is Melinda." He heard Melinda Bell's voice on the other end of the phone. "Hey Mel, its Michael." Michael greeted her. "Thought you'd like to know that I got another package." "What?!" Melinda exclaimed. "Where?" Michael inspected the envelope. "It was addressed to me here at the hotel." "He knows where you are?" Michael nodded as he answered. "Yup. And apparently he knows it's my birthday, too." "Where's Lonnie?" Michael walked over to the window and looked outside. "He's with Lance at the airport." "Michael," Melinda began. "Promise me that you won't go anywhere without him. Don't go anywhere by yourself." Michael let out a long breath as he looked at the photos again. "I still think this is just a harmless fan, Mel." "Promise me, McCall!" Melinda said forcefully. "Fine!" Michael sighed. "I won't go anywhere without a bodyguard." * * * "Hey Johnny!" Melinda poked her head into Johnny Wright's office. Johnny looked up from his work and smiled at his Special Projects Producer. "Hey Mel. What's up?" Melinda stepped into the office and closed the door. "Michael got another package this morning at his hotel." "Another one?" Johnny asked in disbelief. "Yeah." Melinda nodded. "I'm catching an earlier flight to New York this afternoon and I'm bringing an extra bodyguard with me." Johnny sighed and nodded in agreement. "Keep me advised. I'll be up tomorrow. Let me know if you need me there sooner." "Sure thing." With that, Melinda was on her way out of the office. * * * "I thought you'd like a cup of coffee, Mrs. Bass." Michael smiled as he handed Lance's mom a cup of hot coffee. Diane Bass took the cup and smiled. "Thank you, Michael." She said. "And please, call me Diane." Michael smiled and nodded. He glanced at his watch and whistled. "I can't believe we've been here so long." After taking a sip of her coffee, Diane asked. "How long has it been? I've lost track." "Just about eight hours." Michael answered. "He hasn't even gotten close to getting in the hotseat." Diane laughed lightly. "He's probably just nervous." Diane took a moment to look at the young man sitting next to her. She could tell that Michael was definitely nervous. She had only met him a few times over the past year, but he had never seemed this nervous or distracted. "Michael?" She began. "Yes, ma'am?" The smile grew on Diane's face as she began to talk. "My son loves you very much." Diane watched as Michael's face turned bright red and he ducked his head bashfully. "He's spoken with me every night since he told me about the two of you." She continued. "Lance has told me everything that the two of you have gone through in the past few months." Michael sat up hearing this. "He has?" Diane nodded slowly. "I'm very sorry to hear about what happened last October. That is an ordeal that no one should ever have to live through. Let alone live through it twice. I only wish I had known so I could have helped the two of you get through that." Michael looked over at Diane and smiled weakly. "I don't know why we didn't tell you sooner. I'm sorry." Diane reached over and placed a hand on Michael's arm. "That's not what I meant, Michael." "I know." Michael nodded. "I just feel bad for keeping our relationship from you and the rest of your family." "Don't worry about that now." Diane said reassuringly. "What is important is that you make my son incredibly happy. More happy than I have ever seen him. And I want to thank you for that." "Thanks." Michael said sheepishly. "He makes me happy, too. I can't picture my life without him." "It would be a horrible place for sure!" Lance smiled from the doorway. "Hey." Michael smiled up at him. Lance walked into the room and gave his mom a quick kiss on the cheek. "Hey mom. We're on a break." Diane smiled. "How is it going out there, honey?" Lance rolled his eyes and pulled Michael to his feet. "Don't wanna talk about it." He sighed. "I need to borrow Michael for a few minutes." Lance led Michael away from the green room to his dressing room. After closing and locking the door, Lance pulled his lover into a hug and placed a long and loving kiss on his lips. "I missed you." Lance smiled after he broke the kiss. "You two getting along?" Michael smiled and nodded. "Yes, we are." He answered. "I love your mom. And it would seem that she loves me too." "Good." Lance said before placing another kiss on his lover's lips. "I'm sorry that we are wasting your birthday here." Michael let out a low chuckle. "Yeah, you are kinda sucking out there." "Hey!" Lance said in mock hurt. Michael traced his hands over Lance's back. "And here I thought you were the intelligent one of Nsync." He sighed playfully. "I may just have to take JC up on his offer." "Not funny." Lance said flatly before smiling. Michael placed a kiss on each of Lance's cheeks. "Nah, I've got the right member of Nsync right here. Even if he can't get into the hotseat." Lance rolled his eyes and smiled at his lover. "Anyway, we'll go out with Brit and the guys tomorrow night to make it up to you." "Cool." Lance placed one more kiss on Michael's lips before breaking their hug. "I've got to get back. I love you." "Is that your final answer?" Michael smiled evilly. Lance shook his head and smiled. "That's my final answer." "You're right! You just won a million dollars!" Michael said in his best Regis impression. Lance leaned forward and passionately kissed Michael before opening the door. "Forget the million, I just want you." * * * April 8, 2000 The elevator doors slid open and Michael McCall stepped out, escorted by the five guys of Nsync. Michael stopped in the empty hallway and turned to his "entourage". "What are we doing here?" he asked with a slight frown. Justin was the first to step forward and usher Michael down the hall. "We have to pick up Brit." He chuckled lightly. "Didn't we tell you that she was coming with us?" Michael raised an eyebrow at the young man walking with him. "Ummm. No, you didn't." he commented. "What is she doing on this floor? Aren't these all just ballrooms?" "She's..." Justin glanced over his shoulder in search of help from his friends. "She's rehearsing!" JC chimed in, appearing on Michael's right. Joey quickly joined them, shaking his head. "That Brit...so determined to remain the reigning queen of pop." "Hey Mikey..." Chris suddenly appeared in front of them. "Wasn't yesterday your birthday?" Michael stopped short, suddenly very nervous. "Yeah....why?" Chris quickly looked to each of the guys before speaking. "Well...no one sang for you!" "What?" Lance and Michael both asked at the same time. "Since you were stranded at the Millionaire taping all day..."Chris began. Lance quickly punched Chris in the shoulder. "Hey!" "No one sang Happy Birthday to you." Chris beamed. Michael looked at each of the guys standing around him. Something was up. He couldn't put his finger on it, but he knew that he was surrounded and had no way to escape. "Is that what this is all about?" "What?" Chris asked, trying his hardest to sound innocent. Justin let out a groan and started to usher Michael down the hall again. "Come on." He said. "We gotta go get Brit." Chris quickly stood in the center of the hall and placed his hands firmly on his hips, blocking everyone's path. "No!" He practically shouted. "I am not going anywhere until Mr. McCall here gets a proper birthday greeting!" "Chris!" Lance rolled his eyes. "We don't have time for this." Joey moved to Lance's side and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Chris has a point, Scoop." "But what about..." Justin said through clenched teeth, motioning to the door at the end of the hall. "No one sang to you?" JC abruptly asked. "Not even Lance?" When Michael shook his head to the negative, JC pushed past him and got into Lance's face. "What kind of boyfriend are you?" Michael took a couple of steps backward as the small group suddenly erupted in an argument. As his arms folded over his chest, Michael's green eyes narrowed and surveyed the men in front of him. Something wasn't right. Their dialogue was too precise for a "typical" Nsync argument. Each word seemed planned, each movement choreographed. As he watched each of the men interact with each other, he noticed that Chris was the only one not speaking. Chris was staring straight at him with a particularly evil grin forming on his face. Michael pretended not to notice Chris as his gaze returned to the others. Obviously they had something planned. And it had something to do with the room directly in front of them. Michael let out a small sigh and mumbled to himself. "Might as well get it over with." "Guys?" Michael stepped forward. After a moment, he repeated. "Guys?!" The arguing stopped and the men turned their attention towards Michael. "If it would make Chris happy, then why don't you just sing and get it over with." After about thirty seconds of silence. All five men shrugged their shoulders. "Okay." Michael shook his head as they gathered around him, humming their opening notes. After a few moments, Joey cleared his throat and started to sing. "Happy Birthday..." Joey sang sweetly. "To you..." the rest of the guys joined in with perfect harmony. Michael felt his cheeks instantly flush as the guys continued to sing and lead him down the hallway. "Happy Birthday..." "To you..." Lance leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on Michael's cheek. Michael watched as the guys moved in between him and the door. He saw Chris grab the door handle and begin to turn it. The five guys were smiling broadly as they sang. "Happy Birthday from Nsync!" At that moment, Chris opened the door to the ball room revealing a large group of people huddled near the door. "SURPRISE!!!!!" The group yelled in unison. Justin and Joey stood on either side of Michael, linking arms and walking him into the room as the guys finished the song. "Happy Birthday, to you!" The group of people in the ball room erupted in applause and cheers. Michael took a small step back to survey the room. The ballroom was filled with balloons and banners that all read "Happy Birthday Michael!" At the front of the room was a DJ booth and a dance floor. Near the back was a grouping of tables and chairs. Michael shook his head in disbelief. "Happy Birthday, bro!" Justin smiled, breaking Michael out of his trance as he grabbed him in a big hug. "Thanks, Just!" "So?" Chris beamed, pulling Michael away from Justin. "Did we surprise you?" "Uh...yeah!" Michael laughed. Joey grabbed Michael from behind, pulling him into a headlock. "You should've seen your face! It was priceless!" "Hey, hey, hey!" JC stepped in to free his friend. "Let the birthday boy alone!" Michael stood and straightened out his shirt. "Thanks, Josh." JC pulled Michael into a hug, brushing a quick kiss on his cheek. "Enjoy your party, you deserve it." Michael and JC turned at the sound of Lance clearing his throat. "Can I greet the birthday boy?" Lance asked. Michael walked into Lance's open arms and gave him a strong hug. "Did you plan all of this?" "It was nothing!" Lance smiled. "Happy Birthday, baby." Michael blushed slightly. "Thanks." Lance pulled back slightly and gazed into his lover's eyes. "Now go and have a good time." "What?" Michael asked in mock surprise. "No presents?" Lance placed his hands on Michael's shoulders and turned him toward the guests. His right hand slid down Michael's back and gently squeezed his ass. "You'll get your present from me later." The singer whispered into his lover's ear. Michael raised an eyebrow and smiled broadly. He opened his mouth to reply, but was interrupted by a familiar voice to his right. "Michael!" Tyler smiled as he jogged over and gave his friend a hug. "Happy Birthday!" Michael returned the hug with a laugh. "Tye! They got you to come to New York!" "Me too!" Alyx smiled as she joined the two men. "Hey Alyx!" Michael smiled, placing a quick kiss on the red-head's cheek. Alyx stepped back and looked Michael up and down. "You're looking good, McCall." She grinned. "This singer taking care of you." Lance blushed slightly at the woman's comment. "Michael takes care of himself." Michael smiled at Lance and pushed him in the direction of the bar. "Usually I do." He chuckled. "But you can still go get me a drink." JC slowly walked the perimeter of the ball room, his eyes gazing over the crowd. The singer smiled at the success of the party. The guys had managed to put together a nice guest list. It was the perfect combination of Jive employees, celebrities and Michael's friends. But at the moment, there was only one guest that JC was concerned about seeing. "Rob." JC whispered as soon as he spotted his former lover on the dance floor. Rob was in the middle of the dance floor, dancing with a large group of people. His body moved with the music as he swayed his hips and turned around. His eyes were closed as if the music had placed him into a rhythmic dance. "I was such a fool." JC mumbled to himself. He and Rob had been building a budding romance when the singer managed to foul the whole thing up. "I should have fought harder for you. Never should have let you go." Michael was still talking to Alyx and waiting for Lance to return with his drink when a voice behind him said, "Hey, Birthday Boy! Remember me?" For a split second, Michael thought it was Lance fooling around with him. The accent was close, but the voice was all wrong. When he turned he saw a young man with wavy blond hair smiling at him. "Robby," Michael let out, "you made it." Robby Corbyn laughed. "Just barely. Traffic outside the Garden was crazy. I wanted to walk, but Nick wouldn't let me." For the first time, Michael noticed another young man standing slightly behind Robby. He'd met Nick Carter once before, and Michael's memory of the event wasn't too pleasant. "You two know each other, I guess," Robby said. "Yeah, we've met," Michael said. "Hello, Nick." "Happy Birthday, Michael," Nick said, a little shyly. He remembered meeting Michael too. Michael had been dancing then, and Nick had no trouble recalling just what he'd looked like, the way he'd moved. Nick had been really attracted to him, but he'd acted on that attraction badly. No wonder Michael seemed a little distant now. "Good," Robby was still talking. "Ben tells me I make lousy introductions." His voice dropped in pitch a bit before he added, "Though I certainly don't mind being introduced." The change in Robby's voice recaptured Michael's attention. He looked back at him and then followed his gaze to Alyx's face. Michael laughed. "Look out, Alyx. Robby's a major flirt." "Well, a man should go with his strengths," Robby said, moving a little closer to Alyx and extending his hand. "I'm Robby Corbyn." Alyx took the hand offered her and smiled. "Hi. I'm Alyx." "Well, hello Alyx." Robby smiled. "It is nice to meet you." Nick snorted back a laugh and interjected his own hand. "Hey Alyx! I'm..." "Nick Carter of the Backstreet Boys." Alyx completed the sentence for the singer. "Wow! You're even cuter in person." "What about Ben?" Michael quickly asked Robby. Taking the subtle hint from Michael, Alyx placed a quick kiss on his cheek. "You boys catch up!" she smiled. "I'll see you all later." "Are your brothers here?" Michael asked as Alyx walked away. "Ben and Mike are," Robby said. "Ethan went out with AJ after the show. Howie and Nick came with us." "What about Kevin and Brian?" "They're back at the hotel," Nick told him, "acting like two boring, married men." "Michael frowned. "They're not married yet, are they?" "They might as well be," Nick said. "They don't go out with us after shows as much as they used to. They usually go back to the hotel and call their women." "Who has women?" Lance asked. He'd joined them quietly, stepping neatly past Nick and carrying one drink in each hand. Michael reached up and took the one Lance held out to him. Their fingertips brushed a bit longer than was strictly necessary, but neither of them minded. That was about the only touching they could get away with until later, when they were alone. "Brian and Kevin," Robby said. "They're back at the hotel calling their fianc‚s." "Robby!" Lance said as he finally noticed him. "Glad you could make it." They shook hands in the automatic, deeply ingrained way Southern men do. Turning toward Nick, Lance said, "Hello, Nick. Was it a good show?" "Yeah, it was. Thanks," Nick said casually. It had been a good show, both because the Backstreet Boys' set had gone well and because it had been exciting to perform with so many great musicians. Normally, Nick would be going on and on about it, but knowing how Lance and Michael felt about him had sucked the enthusiasm from him. "It sounded great to me," Robby said, looking up at Nick. "But I missed playing. Now that I've been on-stage, it's hard to just sit in the audience." Lance laughed. "Just wait. Someday you'll be glad to just sit in the audience and listen to the show." "Yeah, but it was Madison Square Garden!" Robby exclaimed. "I wanted to be on that stage!" "Robby," Michael said, "where are Ben and Mike? I'd like to say hello." "They're at a table over here," Nick said. He stepped briefly between Robby and Michael and continued toward the table where he'd left his friends earlier. The crowd was a little thick, and Nick had to glance back a couple of times to make sure he hadn't lost the other men. Nick was glad to be moving, to be getting away from Lance and Michael's dislike of him, even if just for a few seconds. Robby followed behind Nick, and Michael and Lance were following him. Lance put his hand onto Michael's shoulder to get his attention. "So Ben's here?" he whispered into Michael's ear. "Does JC know?" "I don't think so," Michael replied softly over his shoulder. "Hmmm," Lance murmured with a grin. "JC and Rob AND Ben, all in one place. This could be interesting." "Especially since they're all single this time," Michael smiled back at him. The table was near the wall. It was a large circle, covered with a crisp white table cloth and surrounded by eight chairs. But five of these were empty. Ben Corbyn sat in one chair, his back to the wall and facing the party. His brother Mike sat on one side of him, and Howie Dorrough sat on the other. "Boy, Corbyn, you know how to party!" Nick said as he approached the table. The three young men looked up as Robby appeared from the crowd behind Nick. "I thought you were gonna get us drinks," Mike said. "Where are they?" "We found these guys instead," Robby said just as Michael and Lance stepped up to the table. "Michael!" Mike said, jumping up and extending his hand. "Happy Birthday, bud!" "Thanks, Mike," Michael said, shaking his hand. Mike turned to greet Lance when Ben Corbyn stood up and stepped closer to Michael. Michael was ready for another handshake, but Ben surprised him by grabbing him in a hug and lifting him off his feet. "Happy Birthday, Michael," Ben said. "It's good to see you." "It's good to see you too," Michael replied, laughing, "but you can still see me if you put me down." Once Michael was again on his own feet and everyone had greeted everyone else, Ben put his hand on Michael's shoulder. "I hope you don't mind that we don't have a present for you." "Yeah, sure," Michael said. "Your being here is enough of a present." "No, we bought you presents," Robby said, "but someone left them at the hotel." "Uh, 'someone, huh?" Lance grinned at Robby before adding slowly, "I wonder who that was." "Ethan," the three Corbyns said at almost the same time. Nick laughed. "They always do that. Whenever something goes wrong, they blame it on whichever one of them isn't here." "We do the same thing," Lance said with a laugh. "Not us," Howie said. "We blame Nick for everything." "And now it's Nick's fault we don't have anything to drink," Mike said. "C'mon," Lance said. "I'll show where there's a closer bar set up." After finding out what Ben and Howie wanted, the two of them disappeared into the crowd to the right. Lance was leading the way through the crowd, nodding a greeting to people from time to time. He slowed a bit and turned his head over his shoulder and leaned toward Mike. "Ben looks good," he said, just loudly enough for Mike to hear him over the din. "From what you'd said, I was afraid he'd be more upset." Mike nodded then put his mouth near Lance's ear. "He was. It was a hard couple of months, but he's over the worst of it. Howie and I spent a lot of time with Ben. Touring with AJ helped, but it's still hard for them to see each other." Lance leaned in again, "Are he and Howie...?" Mike shook his head. "No. Ethan was suspicious that Howie was trying to take advantage, but he's been nothing but a good friend." At the table, Michael sat down with Ben on one side of him and Nick on the other. He knew he couldn't stay here long-he was the guest of honor and he had a lot of people he wanted to see and thank-but he wanted to spend some time with the friends he hadn't seen for almost three months. Michael was about to speak to Ben when Nick nonchalantly asked him, "Michael, remember the first time we met?" Then Michael glanced toward Nick. "Yes," was all he said in reply. "I was an asshole," Nick said simply. Michael was looking back at him, no expression on his face. "Yes, you were," he said at length. He maintained his poker face just a bit longer, then-seeing the genuine concern on Nick's face-he smiled. "You did come on awfully strong," he said. Relief showed in Nick's grin. "Yeah, I did. But I didn't know you and Lance were together." He glanced about a bit before leaning in and adding, "And, to be honest, I didn't say anything that hadn't worked on dancers before." Howie laughed. "Dancers, maybe, but not boyfriends." "Not even on boyfriends pretending to be dancers," Nick added. Then his expression turned more serious as he leaned closer to Michael and his voice dropped. "Michael, I know I was a jerk the last time, but I want I'd like a chance to show you I'm not. You seem like a great guy, and I'd like us to be friends-just friends." Michael smiled gently at the young singer sitting next to him. "I'd like that too, Nick." Seeing the youngest member of the Backstreet Boys blush a deep crimson, Michael reached over and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "There's a catch though." Nick looked into Michael's green eyes and asked, "What?" Michael let out a small sigh. "You have to wish me a happy birthday and promise to have dinner with me and Lance the next time you're in Orlando." Nick bit his lower lip thoughtfully for a moment before a devilish grin broke over his face. He quickly leaned forward, catching Michael off guard and placed a gentle kiss on his lips. After a moment, the singer pulled back, smiled and pulled Michael into a hug. "Happy Birthday, Michael." He whispered into his ear. "You tell that boyfriend of yours that I'll be over for dinner soon." "Do you think he's doing okay?" Alyx asked suddenly. "What?" Tyler asked, his attention returning to his girlfriend. "Who?" Alyx set her drink down on the table in front of her and brushed an errant lock of hair out of her face before nodding towards where Michael McCall was standing with a group of men. Tyler took a quick drink from his glass and glanced over in time to see Michael walk away from the group he was in. Michael had made it a few steps away when he was grabbed by Britney Spears. "He looks like he's doing great." Tyler answered. "Why? Have you heard something?" Alyx leaned back in her chair and watched Michael interact with the reigning queen of teen pop. She shook her head and let out a sigh. "No. It's just that we haven't seen him much since he relocated to Orlando." "He's been a little busy, Lyx." Tyler chuckled. "Working for the hottest act in the music industry can take up a lot of time. Not to mention that he probably spends any free time with Lance." Alyx tapped her finger on the table thoughtfully. "I hope Lance is taking care of him. I'd hate to hear otherwise." Tyler took a moment to take in what his girlfriend had just said. He shook his head with a smile and took another drink. "Whatever." "Hey Brit!" Michael grinned as he gave the singer a hug. Britney Spears returned the hug and brushed her lips quickly over Michael's. "Happy Birthday, sexy!" "Thanks!" Michael blushed. Britney led Michael over to a table and motioned for him to sit down. "Are you enjoying the party?" Michael took the seat offered to him with a nod. "I can't believe that the guys pulled this off! When do they find the time?" "You know better than to ask that question." Britney playfully slapped Michael on the arm. "Those boys will always make time for their loved ones." "That's true." Michael agreed. "But..." Britney narrowed her eyes and pointed a finger at her friend. "No buts!" she said pointedly. "You became a part of the Nsync inner-circle within your first week of work with the company. It's almost been a year now! So it should be no surprise that they performed small miracles in order to celebrate your birthday." Michael smiled and looked down at the table. "Yeah." "Not to mention the fact that Lance is so totally in love with you!" Britney grinned. "Yes, he is!" Lance appeared behind Michael. "Hey you." Michael smiled, looking up to the singer. "Where've you been?" Lance placed his hands on Michael's shoulders and gently squeezed. "Nowhere special...Just preparing your birthday present." Britney stood with a laugh. "Well if that isn't a cue to leave, I don't know what is." She bent down and kissed Michael's cheek, then leaned over to give Lance a kiss as well. "You two have a fun night." "Bye Brit." They both said in unison. Michael casually reached up and squeezed Lance's hand. "Have a seat." He smiled. Lance gently patted his lover's shoulders and moved to sit in the empty seat next to him. "Are you having a good time?" "Of course I am!" Michael smiled broadly taking a drink from the glass in front of him. "You guys know how to throw a party." Michael looked out over the dance floor and watched Joey and Chris dancing in the center of the crowd. He could tell that the duo was thoroughly enjoying themselves amidst the group of women around them. Taking another drink from his glass, Michael returned his attention to the man sitting across the table from him. He raised an eyebrow at the mischievous grin that covered Lance's face. "What?" Michael asked, placing his glass on the table. Lance blushed slightly and leaned forward on the table. "I was just thinking." Michael glanced around before leaning forward on his elbows. "'Bout what?" "I was just thinking about how much I would enjoy kissing you right now." Lance whispered wickedly. "And maybe a few other things." This time, it was Michael's turn to blush. He let his gaze fall to the table as a chuckle escaped his mouth. Looking up and locking eyes with the singer in front of him, "Really?" Lance slowly stood from his chair, never taking his eyes away from Michael's. He stepped closer to his lover and lowered his head as if to kiss him. When his mouth was mere inches from its target, he veered off to hover near Michael's left ear. "But that is for later." He whispered. "I have some mingling to do." "Tease!" Lance quickly dodged the hand that Michael was slapping in his direction and jogged off laughing. Michael watched Lance jog off and then continued to scan the room. Everyone looked like they were having a great time. Michael's gaze stopped suddenly on a long-haired waiter who was standing on the far side of the room staring at him. Michael returned the stare, taking in the man's appearance. He had long, dark hair that was pulled back behind his neck. "Do I know you?" Michael mumbled to himself trying to place where he had seen the man before. He lifted his drink from the table and took a quick drink. After he set his glass down, he turned back to see that the waiter had disappeared. "Weird." The long haired waiter quickly made his way out of the ballroom, glancing over his shoulder every few feet to ensure that he wasn't being followed. As he stepped through the doors and out into the hall, he pulled a cellular phone from his pocket and pressed speed dial. After a few moments, he spoke into the phone. "Hey boss. It's Evan....Yes, I'm at the party. Everything is going as planned." Evan walked away from the ballroom as he listened to the person on the other end of the phone. "I've double checked that everything is set for the after-party festivities...Yes I got some good pictures from the party. He may have recognized me though...I don't think he did though...Yes, I'm on my way out now. I'll check in later." Evan closed the cel phone and replaced it in his pants pocket. Taking a quick glance back to the ballroom, he smiled. Without another thought, he turned and headed towards the elevators. "I'll talk to you soon." Alyx said before turning off her cel phone and placing it back into her purse. "Who was that?" Tyler asked from across the table. Alyx took a sip of her drink and smiled at her boyfriend. "No one special." She said. "Just business." "Who was on the phone, Nick?" Ben Corbyn asked the singer as he turned off his cel phone. Nick Carter smiled sheepishly and glanced around the room before looking back to Ben. "I was just trying to see what Brian and Kevin were doing." "What are they doing?" Ben smiled. "What?" Nick asked, clearly distracted. "Oh, they were still on the phone. God they're whipped already." "Haven't I told you not to take business calls in your off hours." Johnny Wright said paternally to Melinda Bell as he approached her. Melinda placed her phone back into her bag and looked up to her boss. "You know me. Work, work, work." Noticing the concerned look on her face, Johnny took a seat next to Melinda. "Anything pressing?" Melinda shook her head to the negative and glanced onto the dance floor. She paused for a moment, catching a glimpse of Michael McCall crossing the floor to the bar. "Nothing pressing, Johnny. Just business." Justin Timberlake quietly moved up behind his girlfriend Britney Spears as she was turning off her cel phone. "Woman!" He called, making the female pop star jump in surprise. "Why won't you dance with me?" Britney turned and playfully slugged Justin in the arm. "You scared me!" "I sorry." Justin smiled at her. "Dance with me?" Britney laced her arm through Justin's with a large smile. "Lead the way." "Important call?" Michael McCall asked as he took a seat next to JC Chasez at the edge of the dance floor. JC smiled at the sight of his friend. Placing his phone on his belt, JC grabbed his drink. "Hey Michael. You enjoying the party?" "Yes. Yes I am." Michael beamed. "You guys really outdid yourselves. Thanks again." JC took a drink of his beer and looked out at the dance floor. "It was nothing." Michael watched his friend intently. He could see that the singer was troubled. Once he traced JC's line of site across the dance floor to the table where Rob was sitting, it all became clear. "Josh..." Michael moved closer to his friend. "Are you okay?" After a few moments of silence, JC realized that Michael was speaking with him. "Huh?" Michael smiled and nodded his head in Rob's direction. "You miss him, Don't you." "Hey Rob!" Lance Bass smiled, placing his cel phone in his jacket pocket as he neared the table. "How've you been?" "Hey Lance!" Rob waved. "Have a seat." Lance took the seat offered him. "Enjoying the party?" Rob nodded. "Yeah." He answered. "Didn't know that Michael knew so many people." Lance laughed softly, taking a quick glance over the room. "Everybody loves him." "He's a great guy..." Rob said absently, his gaze locked on the other side of the dance floor. Taking notice to where his friend was looking, Lance smiled. "He's not the only great guy here, you know." "Yeah." Rob agreed taking a long swig of his beer. He set the bottle down and returned his gaze to the spot where Michael and JC were sitting. Lance placed a hand on Rob's shoulder. "Josh loves you." He said plainly. "He misses you terribly." Rob turned to Lance with a look of surprise in his eyes. "He made a mistake." Lance continued. "Don't let that ruin what you had and what you can still have." Rob turned his head and stared at the table in front of him. He had been hurt by JC's mistake over a month ago. It was the reason he ran back to New York. To try to heal the wounds. But his running had only succeeded in making new ones. Lance looked at his watch and whistled lowly. "Rob, I need a favor." "Sure, what is it?" Lance pulled a card key out of his pocket and handed it to Rob. "Take this to Michael and tell him that he is supposed to go up to this room." "Right now?" Rob asked, looking back over to where Michael and JC were sitting. "Yes, please." Lance smiled as he stood. "Thanks, Rob." With that, Lance was making his way across the floor and out of the ball room. "You've got to stop doing this to yourself!" Michael said sternly to JC. JC Chasez put his head in his hands and let out a groan. "I know! Dammit, you don't think that I know that!" Michael sat back in his chair and folded his arms over his chest. "Well, I'm not the wuss who's just sitting around wallowing in angst." "Fine!" JC spat, hitting his hands on the table in front of him. "I am in love with Rob! I fucked things up back in February! My life has been an utter mess without him around! I love him and I want him back!!!" JC took in a sharp breath and shrugged his shoulders. "Is that what you wanted to hear?" A smile grew over Michael's face as he gazed over the singer's shoulder. "Hey Rob." JC's head whipped around to see Rob standing behind him with his mouth open. There was a moment of uneasy silence before Michael spoke, barely containing his laughter. "Join us, Rob." Rob slowly walked around the table and handed Michael the card key. As he sat down, he explained. "Lance asked me to give you the key. He said you are supposed to go there now.' Still smiling wildly, Michael stood. "Perfect timing." He said. "I'll leave you two alone then." JC and Rob watched Michael exit the room then turned back to look at one another. * * * Michael McCall slid the card key into the door and opened it. He slowly walked into the dimly lit room, instantly catching the smell of burning candles. He smiled, seeing Lance standing in the center of the room waiting for him. "Hey." Michael quietly greeted him. Lance returned the smile. "Happy Birthday." Lance reached out his hand and brushed the backs of his fingers against Michael's cheek. Michael looked at him, his eyes swimming with love. Lance's hands moved to Michael's hair and his fingers combed through it as he stepped forward. Michael put his face into Lance's shoulder and wrapped his arms around his waist, pulling him tightly to him. After a moment he stood back and slowly unbuttoned Lance's shirt and slipped it from his shoulders, letting it drop in a puddle behind him. Lance was not wearing a tee shirt, and Michael's hands moved over his shoulders and down his chest and stomach. As his fingers fumbled with the button on the waistband of the khakis and undid it, Lance stopped him with his hands and pulled Michael's shirt over his head. His arms went around him and stroked the bare skin of his back and his clothed buttocks. Michael pressed forward and kissed him, then stepped back. Michael's fingers again found Lance's fly and unzipped it. Michael's trousers fell to the floor around his feet, and he stepped out of them. Michael stooped and pulled the singer's loafers and socks from his feet. He stepped back and looked. Lance stood before him clad only in his green boxer briefs. His graceful body, clear, rosy tan skin, and those green eyes that always drew Michael in. Michael took in the bulging crotch of Lance's boxer briefs, and he thought that he could see the outline of Lance's magnificent cock beneath the thin cotton material. Lance undid Michael's jeans, pulled them to his knees, and pushed him back into a sitting position on the edge of the bed. He knelt and pulled Michael's sneakers and socks from his feet, and then he pulled the jeans over his feet and tossed them to a nearby chair. Lance's fingers lightly touched the confined genitals concealed in the pouch of his boxer briefs. Michael felt his own cock stir and begin to stiffen. "No. Wait." Michael whispered as he stood up and walked over to his own bed and threw the spread back over the foot of the frame. He came back to Lance and slowly drew his boxer briefs down to and over his feet. He stood and removed his own briefs. They stood, face to face and drank in each other's body with their eyes. Michael stepped closer and embraced Lance pulling his body tightly against him. They ground their pelvises against each other, their cocks swinging, bumping, stroking and ultimately caressing one another. Michael kissed him, opening his lips, and Lance returned the kiss with open mouth and searching tongue. Lance's hands were on his ass, squeezing and stroking. Michael moved his own hands lower on Lance's back, stroking the firm, meaty buttocks and squeezing softly. He wanted to feel like the other night and lifted Lance a few inches from the floor. "Wrap your legs around me," Michael whispered. Lance put his arms around his neck, and Michael felt him spread his legs and, holding on to Michael's neck, he lifted his legs and locked them behind Michael's buttocks. Michael looked down between their bodies and saw Lance's cock and swollen testicles against his soft, curling pubic hair. Michael placed his hands on Lance's taut buttocks and lifted and pulled his lover against him. His own cock was hard, and the length of it was pressing into Lance's spread cleft. Still holding Lance, Michael walked awkwardly to his bed and lay Lance against the head board, in a half-reclining, half-sitting position. Alan sat on the edge of the bed and placed the notch of his thumb and hand around the base of Lance's large, almost erect cock and cupped and stroked his testicles with the other three fingers. He leaned forward and kissed Lance deeply again and then moved his lips down to his neck and shoulders and chest. He kissed and licked Lance's hard nipples and slipped lower to his stomach, kissing his navel and running his tongue around the indention. Lower still, and his lips were in the soft, curling pubic thatch. He inhaled Lance's musky, male scent with a sigh of satisfaction. Reaching down he coaxed Lance's legs apart and crawled between them. Poised above the now fully erect cock, he continued to hold it in the circle of his thumb and forefinger. Michael licked the dewdrop of semen from the opening at the tip of Lance's cock and raised his head savoring the salty sweetness. He looked at the swelling flesh of Lance's cock, the most perfectly shaped Michael had ever seen, the small vein faintly visible beneath the soft sheathing skin. He opened his lips widely and lowered his head, enclosing the smooth head of his cock in his mouth and licking the expanse of sensitive skin in wet, circular motions and softly across the highly sensitive lips of the opening at the tip of his cock. His lips slid lower and his tongue stroked firmly the hard ridge of channeling on the underside of the large shaft. He took all of its length into his mouth, and drew back to the smooth, swollen head of Lance's cock, sucking firmly and licking wetly. Lance was watching closely as the encircling mouth slid down his hard, glisteningly wet shaft, to the base. As Michael slid back up its length, licked and sank down the hard flesh again, Lance involuntarily flexed his buttocks, thrusting himself slightly into Michael's mouth. This time he could feel Michael's nose and lips pressing firmly into his pubic hair and pelvic mound. He moved his hands to Michael's head and stroked his hair before grasping two handfuls of it. Michael smiled inwardly when he felt Lance's hands in his hair and his hips thrusting in synchronous, contrapuntal rhythm to the movements of his head, he grew more aroused and sucked and licked with greater abandon. After a few minutes--all too soon, they both thought--Lance felt an ache in his loins, and Michael felt the cock between his lips harden and throb more insistently and prepared himself for what he knew was coming. "Ahh! Michael, I'm coming. I can feel it coming. Michael, I can't stop it. Please stop it, Michael. No! Don't stop! Keep sucking hard. Yeah, like that! Suck my cock! Get ready! Are you ready? Ughh! Unghh! Yeah, I'm coming!" Lance's cock spasmed and jerked against Michael's tongue and he felt a jet stream of hot, spurting come splash against the back of his mouth and flood his stroking tongue in a seemingly never-ending ejaculation. It had a rich taste - slightly salty and slightly sweet with a protein laden flavor. It was like nectar! Michael moaned softly in serendipitous fulfillment as he swallowed rapidly and sucked harder, stroking Lance's stomach and pubic hair with one hand and stroking and gently squeezing his smooth, hairless testicles with the other. Michael sucked him dry and continued to nurse on the softening flesh, now fully enclosed and being gently laved and massaged with Michael's greedy tongue. Finally, he allowed it to slip from his lips with a wet sound of released suction. He rolled over and lay on his back next to Lance, his cheek against Lance's naked hip. "Ahhh, Michael, that was good - great!" Lance said, catching his breath. "But don't get too relaxed, because I need you in me, now!" Michael looked up at his lover with a wicked grin. "Oh do you, now?" Lance reached for Michael and pulled him into a deep kiss. With his free hand, he reached for the tube of lubricant on the nightstand. He pulled back from the kiss with a smile. "Yes, I do." He whispered. "I need you like I need oxygen." Michael fell back onto the bed laughing. "I'm sorry." He laughed. "But that's too much even for me." Lance got up on his knees joining in on the laughter. "Well we don't have to do this then." He replied starting to get off the bed. Michael grabbed Lance by his arms and pulled him close. He looked deeply into his lover's eyes before kissing him hard on the lips. "Oh no." he stated. "We do have to do this." Lance reached forward for another kiss but Michael stopped him with a finger. "Wouldn't want to deprive you of your....oxygen." he smiled. "Shut up and make love to me." Lance half pouted. Michael smiled and moved closer to the singer. "Your wish is my command." Lance spread the lubricating gel on Michael's cock generously and then got to his knees and elbows on his bed. Michael got into position behind him. He watched what he was doing closely as he took a generous amount of the gel on his fingers and spread it around and into the pink puckered area of Lance's sphincter. Lance felt the heat of Michael's cock as it approached his ass and intruded in the spread cleft of his buttocks. Michael's cockhead pressed against the sphincter. "I love you." He whispered. Lance's only answer was to rock back slightly, and increase the pressure of imminent entry. Michael pressed forward, and surprisingly, as Lance relaxed the muscles of his tight sphincter, his cock slid rather easily into the tight warmth of Lance's ass. His full entry was effected in one slow stroke and he hesitated as his pubic hair crushed against the smooth skin of Lance's buttocks. Lance had grunted slightly at the unfamiliar feeling of being filled from the rear and the slight pain of initial entry. But with Michael fully buried in him, he rocked back and forth slightly, groaning softly with increasing pleasure. "Fuck me, Michael. It feels sooo goood! Fuck me!" Michael withdrew to his glans and slid back in fully. Lance's sphincter muscle squeezed and relaxed, stimulating Michael's cock with intense physical pleasure. He began a rhythmical thrusting in and out and Lance rocked back and forth in contrapuntal synchronization. As the pleasure became even more intense, Michael leaned forward and kissed Lance's back, continuing to thrust. He reached under Lance's kneeling body and stroked his stomach and pubic area. He fancied he could feel his cock filling Lance but knew it was probably only the spasmodic tightening of Lance's stomach muscles in rhythm with the thrusts inward. He grasped and stroked Lance's cock. The pleasure increased and Michael felt his cock harden and the familiar increase of the ache of pressure in his loins. "I'm coming, Lance. Oh, baby! Am I ever coming!" He thrust forward, burying himself deeply in Lance's warmth, and stiffened as he cock began to jerk and pump a copious, pulsating stream of come in Lance's bowels. Lance felt his insides being filled with warmth as Michael ejaculated and wiggled his buttocks against Michael encouraging even more. As Michael completed his ejaculation, Lance dropped flat to his stomach on the bed, Michael atop him, his softening cock still buried, and they lay thus for several minutes as they regained their breathing, pulse and sexual equilibrium. "Uhmmm-umm, good," Lance moaned softly in satiated satisfaction. "Yeah," Michael agreed, kissing the back of Lance's neck. "Uh, Lance?" "Yeah?" "Uh, do you, uh, think you can, uh, do me tonight? Or do I have to wait?" "Oh, I think I can manage." And so he could. A few minutes later, as Michael spread the lubricant, on Lance's hard penis, he almost had second thoughts. As he laid back down on the bed and Lance spread the lubricant in his crevice and around his sphincter, however, Lance himself expressed some fear. "Look, Michael...we haven't done this...since..." "Please, Lance, I want it." Michael pleaded, his green eyes flickering with love. "I want you inside of me." Lance placed himself between Michael's legs and guided his hard cock to what now appeared to be a tiny opening. At the entrance, he hesitated and then gently thrust forward. There was resistance and he stopped. "No, Lance. Please! Do it. I want it." Lance thrust with more force and succeeded in making entry. "Unghh!" Michael grunted, and Lance stopped again. "No, no. Please. I'm okay," Michael pleaded. Lance pressed, and now that the entry was made, his hard penis slid in much more easily. Michael's ring of sphincter muscle tightened and relaxed spasmodically, bringing intense pleasure to Lance. Michael was making sounds of mixed discomfort and pleasure. "Ungh! Ohhh. Yes! Ungh! All of it, Lance. I want all of you inside me! Ungh! Oh, yeahhh." Finally Lance was fully imbedded. They began the same rhythm of thrusting and rocking, as Lance made love to Michael with more and more abandon and Michael eagerly received it with as much abandon. Lance was now over Michael, embracing his waist and chest, his hands moving rapidly over the chest and nipples and stomach and pubis of his lover as he thrust back and forth with increasing speed and force. His cock sliding in and out of the tight enclosure as Michael's sphincter muscle alternately tightened and relaxed, massaging his hardness to the point of almost unbearable ecstasy. He held back his orgasm as long as possible in order to prolong the experience. Michael was now almost babbling, "Oh, oh, oh. Yes, yes, yes. Oh, baby, your filling me up. Fill me up. Oh, ahhh. Lance, I love it! I love you in me! Fuck me. Ohhh, Lance, fuck me!" Finally, Lance could hold back no longer. His cock stiffened and seemed to swell, and he felt a familiar jabbing ache in his loins. As he rammed his rock hard penis into Michael's rectum, his semen, so long under the pressure of his delay, shot forth into Alan in forceful spurts. "Ahhhh, Michael I'm coming." "Yes! Yes!" Was all Michael could manage to say. Finally, the ejaculation was complete and Lance withdrew and held Michael in arms as Michael kissed him in passionate fulfillment. "I love you." Lance whispered, placing gentle kisses over his lover's face. "I love you, too" * * * --Journal Entry: May 4, 2000. My God, where has the time gone? It seems like it was just yesterday when we were in New York celebrating my birthday. Now, here we are in Orlando and its Lance's birthday. I'm surprised that we even get time to celebrate it. We are currently in hell week for the concert. We open in five days and the guys' concentration is totally fucked. I don't know where their heads are, but it sure isn't with the show. What's making it worse is that MTV is here with us taping some All Access special. They caught a real great scene yesterday of our choreographer, Wade J. Robson, chewing out the guys. It was a very special moment, indeed. --Thankfully, Johnny has given the guys the night off to celebrate Lance's birthday. It's a big one for him. The big 2-1! The guys want to take him out and get him plastered tonight. This should be interesting.- Michael sat back from his computer and looked at the sleeping form in the bed across the room. He stood and paused over the bed before carefully laying down on his side next to his lover. Michael smiled and quietly watched Lance sleep. His gaze washed over the peaceful face down to the slow rising and falling of the singer's tan, firm chest. Looking over to the clock next to the bed, Michael decided that it was time to waken his sleeping beauty. He gently leaned over and placed a soft kiss on the singer's cheek. This kiss was followed by another on his nose, his eyes and then finally on his lips. Lance stirred and moved a hand up to rub his eyes. After a moment, the green eyes opened and sparkled to life at the sight of his lover laying next to him. "Mornin'." He said in his deep Southern drawl. "How long have you been awake?" Michael placed another kiss on Lance's lips. "About an hour." He answered before kissing him again. "Why didn't you wake me?" Michael scooted closer to the singer and sighed. "I was just enjoying watching you sleep. Its something I like to do every now and then." Lance smiled and pulled his lover closer to him. "Really?" Michael leaned in for a deeper kiss before saying. "Happy Birthday." Lance rolled onto his back and stretched his arms and legs out. "I believe you said that last night when you..." Before the singer could answer, Michael had rolled on top of him and was kissing him deeply. Lance's arms instinctively went around Michael's form and pulled him tightly to him. "Mmmmmm." Lance moaned into the kiss. "This is a great way to start the day." Michael had begun to kiss his way down Lance's chest when the phone started to ring. Michael fell flat onto Lance and sighed. "Damn." Lance sighed as well but gently rubbed Michael's back. "Ignore it." "No." Michael reached for the phone. "It's probably the guys." Lance rolled our of the way so Michael could get the phone. "Okay." "This better be good!" Michael said gruffly into the phone. "Michael, its Melinda." Michael could hear the panic in his friend's voice. "What is it Mel?" "You got another package this morning." Melinda said quickly. "I opened it." "And?" Melinda took a deep breath before continuing. "You'd better get in to the office." Michael took one look at Lance who was drifting back to sleep. "I'll be right there." Twenty Minutes Later: "Where is it?!" Michael called as he stormed into Melinda's office at Wright Entertainment. "Michael..." Melinda started as she handed him the opened envelope. Michael quickly pulled out the stack of photos and started leafing through them. The first photo was of him and Joey at the movies. The second was a picture of Michael with his arm around Justin's shoulder during a basketball game. The third photo was of Michael hugging JC at his birthday party. "How did he?" Michael started to ask. Melinda put up a hand to stop him. "Look at the last photo." Michael cocked an eyebrow and returned his attention to the photos in his hand. He slowly lifted the photo of him and JC and moved it to reveal the final photo in the stack. Melinda could see the blood drain from Michael's face as he looked at the final photo. She reached forward and held out her arm to steady her friend. "How?" Was the only word that Michael's mouth could form. "I don't know." Michael looked back down at the photo in complete shock. The black and white photo in front of him was a snapshot of Michael and Lance making love. From the looks of the surroundings, Michael guessed that the photo was taken the night of his birthday party. Almost trembling, Michael moved his thumb to inspect the picture. That was when he noticed the post-it note attached to the bottom of the photo. It read "Turn me over." Slowly, Michael turned the photo over and revealed the message written on the back. "Do I have your attention now? Meet me tonight at the address on the envelope or this goes to the press." "Oh shit." Michael whispered as he fell into the nearest chair. "How?" Melinda walked over to her friend and began to rub his shoulders. "I hate to point this out, Michael...but that last photo is a video capture." Tears were quickly filling Michael's eyes. "Video?" "We've got to do something." Michael set the pictures down on the desk and began to pace the office. He stopped in front of the window and looked outside. After a few minutes, he turned and faced Melinda. "I'm gonna meet whoever this is." He said evenly. Melinda opened her mouth to protest but Michael raised a hand to silence her. "Mel, this guy has pictures. A video for Christ's sake!" Michael said, trying not to yell. "If this picture gets out...it will be all over for Nsync. I can't let that happen." Melinda stood and crossed the distance between her and Michael. "We don't know what this guy wants. He could be dangerous." "He..." Michael shook his head. "Or she is already dangerous. They have information on me and Lance that can end careers." Michael locked eyes with his boss and tried to smile. "I'm going. End of story." Melinda let out a long breath. "Fine." She conceded. "At least take Lonnie with you." "Have him pick me up at eight." Michael nodded, then headed out of the office. * * * --Journal Entry: May 4, 8:15pm. This is it. I meet my "stalker" tonight. Unfortunately I'll be missing Lance's birthday party. But I have a strange feeling that whoever I'm meeting tonight knows that. Which makes me hate them even more. I just want this over with. Lonnie will be here any minute. Wish me luck.- "You sure you want to do this?" Lonnie asked as they entered the hotel and made their way to the elevator. Michael nodded grimly. "Have to, Lon." He responded. "I need to find out who this is and why they are doing this to me." The elevator chimed and slid open. Lonnie stepped out first and Michael followed. They made their way down to the hall to the appointed room. Once there, Lonnie knocked twice and folded his arms over his chest. Moments later the door opened to reveal a familiar face. "You're the waiter from my party." Michael exclaimed. Evan nodded and pulled the door open. "My employer is waiting for you Mr. McCall." Michael moved forward but was stopped by Lonnie's arm. Lonnie took a step forward, but Evan cleared his throat. "Sorry." Evan smiled. "Only McCall may enter." "It's okay, Lon." Michael whispered. "I'll call you if I'm in trouble." Michael followed Evan into the hotel suite. He ran a hand nervously through his hair as they walked. Evan stopped in front of another door and gently opened it. As the door swept open, Evan gestured with his arm for Michael to enter. Michael McCall cautiously rounded the corner and took a step into the next room. He stopped short seeing the person sitting behind the desk in the room. "Holy shit!" Michael gasped in disbelief. "It's you?" to be continued--- Who is Michael's mysterious stalker? Tune in next time for that fateful answer! Same Bass-time, same Bass-station! (you figure it out yet, Steve?)