Date: Fri, 22 Oct 1999 15:43:44 PDT From: Brain King Subject: Loving Lance Loving Lance Chapter 1 By: Jeremy W. All the usual stuff applies, this story isn't meant to imply anything about the sexuality of any member of 'N Sync. If you aren't 18 or whatever the legal age is in your area, you shouldn't be reading this. And if you are offended by homosexual material you might oughta leave. And why are you on Nifty? I would also like to mention a few of my favorite stories on Nifty, "Brian and Me" by DLS, "Lance in Shining Armour" by Scotty T., and of course "Brian and Justin' and "Just Beginning" by JM. These are all great stories and if you haven't checked them out yet, by all means do. This is my first time writing a story of this kind so please bear with me. I have no idea how often I will be able to get them out because college tends to keep me pretty busy. I'd love to get some feedback on this story, positive or negative. Drop me a line at brainking@hotmail.com. On with the story! 'Three down, two to go,' I thought to myself as I walked back to my dorm after the last of my Wednesday classes. In the past week since my roommate moved out, my life seemed to have gotten more boring. It's not that I didn't have other friends, I was just used to the late night debates that John and I used to have over Jay Leno vs. David Letterman and the friendly name-calling sessions that could last for over two hours as we got more and more creative. He had moved in with a friend of his that lived in an apartment off campus when his friend's roommate had withdrawn from the university. I didn't blame him, the first chance I had get to move out of this stinking hell-hole that they called a dorm, I would take. I don't why I'd even moved back in for my sophomore year. When I got to my room, examined my 5'8", 155 lb. frame in the mirror. For what must have been the thousandth time, I cursed my luck at having been born with dark brown hair and eyes. "Damn dominant genes," I muttered to myself. As I turned to drop my backpack on the bed, I noticed that the light on the answering machine was blinking. When I pushed the button, my best friend Jed's voice emanated from the speaker. "Hey Jeremy, I was just wondering if you wanted to go and get a bite to eat at about six this evening," the machine played. "Give me a call when you get a chance." Jed had been my best friend since about halfway through my first semester at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. I've always been a shy person and I never made friends very quickly, but it was different with Jed. We had a class together and one day as he was turning to speak with someone, his backpack swung around and clocked me right in the jaw. He immediately began apologizing profusely as I attempted to tell him that I was fine, even though I was surprised that I wasn't spitting out teeth. After that, Jed made it a point to talk to me every day in class and soon I actually started to talk back. We found out that we had a lot of similar interests and in a short time, we became very close friends. We decided not to room together our sophomore year because we had heard horror stories of friends who had become roommates and began to hate each other. 'I'd better call him now before I forget and he ends up going to supper without me.' I thought. I dialed his number and he picked up on the second ring. "Hey Jed, how's it going," I asked. "Pretty good," he replied. "But I'm getting pretty hungry now. Mind if we go to eat a little bit early?" I thought for a moment and answered, "Not a problem. Meet you downstairs in a couple of minutes." He was late, as usual, but we finally got into my '90 Ford Ranger and pulled out of the parking lot. "Where to?" I asked. "I'm in the mood for Chinese tonight," Jed proclaimed. Let's go to the Panda." On the way we discussed our day and he complained about how difficult his business management class was. "You wuss," I joked. "Business majors don't have any hard classes compared to us Biology people. Have you ever had to name all the muscles in a dead cat?" I asked. "OK, maybe my class isn't as hard as I thought," he replied. When we arrived ate the restaurant were promptly seating. We then proceeded to gorge ourselves at the buffet. After my third plate of shrimp chow mein, I pushed away from the table with a sigh. "Well, we'd better be getting back so I can finish up my reading for tomorrow," I announced. After bidding Jed goodbye at the door to his room, I trudged up to my floor. Thinking back to the previous year, I remembered the huge crush I had on Jed after we first met. He's very good looking and athletic, as a matter of fact, he plays baseball for the university team. He also has brown hair and eyes, but somehow, he makes it look good. But, unfortunately, he's as straight as straight can be. He even dated my cousin for a while after I introduced them. And I eventually got over my crush, mostly. As I flopped don onto my bed, as noticed that the light on the answering machine was flashing again. 'Two messages in less than two hours, this must be my lucky day,' I thought. When I pushed the play button, an unfamiliar male voice began. "Congratulations, you've won the 'Spend a Day with 'N Sync' contest." I gasped in surprise. I had totally forgotten about entering that contest on the Internet months ago. I had done it on a whim, never once thinking that I might actually win. The man went on to explain the details of the prize and said that I would get the rest of the information in the mail in a few days. Still in disbelief, I played the message again to make sure that I wasn't imagining things. Then I called Jed and told him about it. He knew that I was an 'N Sync fan and he was constantly teasing me about in a friendly way. I think that over the past year of our friendship, he may have begun to suspect that I was gay, but he never mentioned anything about it. The weeks until I was to meet 'N Sync flew by. I threw myself into studying for my classes to make the time go by faster. My grades even got a little better. Finally, the day arrived. I was supposed to from Little Rock to Orlando, arriving at about 9:00 AM. Jed called my hotel room at 5:00 AM to make sure I was up and getting ready. I couldn't really sleep the night before, so I had been up since about 3:30 anyway. "Have fun," Jed told me. "And don't stare too hard when you first meet them." I could just picture the smile on his face as he made that remark. "I'll bring you back a good souvenir," I promised him. After saying goodbye and hanging up the phone, I went through my things again to make sure I brought everything I needed. I'm horrible when it comes to remembering things I'll need on a trip. I always end up without a comb, toothbrush, or something else I desperately need. I made it to the airport about an hour early, just to be safe. I'd only flown once before in my life, so I was fairly nervous. I got my bag safely checked and boarded the plane. Surprisingly enough, I fell asleep soon after we were airborne. Probably as a result of not getting any sleep the night before. A stewardess woke me up as we approached the airport in Orlando. I sat up with a yawn, just in time to look out the window and see the first glimpse of the city as we began to make our landing. I was getting progressively more nervous by the minute and if something didn't give soon, I was gonna pop like a balloon. I knew from the information that I had gotten that there would be someone waiting at the airport to pick me up and take me to my hotel, where I would meet 'N Sync at 11:00. I found the man holding the sign with my name on it and was surprised to find that he was standing next to a limo. That was a little more than I had expected. Once I was inside, I forgot my nervousness for a while because I was fascinated with riding around in a limo. I tried to imagine what the people around me must think I we went glided past. The limo pulled up to the entrance of the hotel and the driver insisted on helping me take my bags in, even though I told me I could do it myself. The front desk was expecting me and I was promptly shown to my room. The first thing I did was to call Jed and my mother and tell them that I had safely made it to Orlando. Then I took a nice, long bath to help ease out some of the tension that I was feeling. I got out of the tub and put on the outfit that I had bought especially for this occasion. Then I spent about 30 minutes getting my hair just right. After fixing my hair, I looked at my watched and noticed that it was already 11:00. Just then, I heard a knock at the door to my hotel room. When I opened the door, there stood a very large and frightening looking man. "Are you Jeremy?" he asked in a loud and harsh voice. I slowly nodded my head, afraid to make any sudden moves around him. He then stepped aside to reveal the hottest band on the planet. I've had a thing for 'N Sync ever since I saw them for the first time. Not only did I like the way they looked, but I genuinely enjoyed listening to their music too. Lance, Justin and JC are three of the best looking men that you could ever hope to meet. Joey and Chris are all right too, just not really my type. My first reaction, when faced with the sudden onslaught of cuteness, was to stand there in shock with my mouth gaping open. Then I suddenly remembered what Jed had jokingly told me and my jaws snapped shut with an audible click. Seething with embarrassment, I blindly stuck out my hand and said, "Hi, I'm Jeremy." All five of them attempted to shake my hand at the same time and we ended up in a large tangle of fingers. "Sorry," JC said. "Were just used to our contest winners being screaming, frothing at the mouth, 14 year old girls." "Well, it looks like your stuck with me for today," I answered. "And we're happy about it," said Justin. "It'll be nice to do this with a guy that's close to our own age for a change." "Yeah," Lance spoke up. "At least we won't have to answer any questions about what kind of underwear we have on." If only he knew what going through my head at that moment. "Let's get this show on the road," exclaimed Chris. "I'm ready to hit the town." "What did you have in mind for today?" Joey questioned me. "I really haven't come up with a plan or anything," I replied. "Ya'll are the ones who live here, what is there to do?" "If I'm not mistaken," Justin said, "The contest also gave you $1,000 to spend while you are down here, so why don't we hit the mall?" "I knew that's what you were gonna suggest Just," giggled JC. "Sounds good to me," I said. "Let's go." I quickly grabbed my wallet and headed out the door. When we got to the elevator, Justin and Chris had an argument over who got to push the button for the lobby. As they were wrestling, I reached around them and push the button myself. "They'll get you for that," Lance whispered with a grin. We were nearly to the ground floor before Chris broke free of Justin's headlock and noticed that the elevator was moving. JC, Lance and I burst into laughter at the look on his face. We exited the hotel and climbed into yet another long, black limo. 'I could get used to this,' I thought to myself. Joey told the driver to head for the mall and we were under way. JC turned to me and asked, "So what kind of things do you like to do?" "Well, I replied. "I like hiking and swimming, just being outside really. I also enjoy reading, but only stuff that I like to read, not assignments for class." "Do you like basketball?" Justin questioned. "I like to play, but I'm not very good," I replied. We pulled up the mall and the guys donned their disguises, which consisted of a baseball cap and a pair of mirrored sunglasses. "It's not much," Lance explained. "But it's definitely better than nothing." Before going in, we decided that I would spend the first hour shopping with Lance, JC, and Justin and after lunch I would join Chris and Joey for a while. We opened the limo doors and practically sprinted to the mall entrance. After stopping to catch our breath inside, we split up. "What kind of things do you want to shop for," JC asked. "Well, I promised some people back home that I would bring them something, so I guess I wanna do that first," I replied. We proceeded to find a jewelry store where I bought a pearl bracelet for my mom and then I bought a new cap for Jed because I was constantly telling him how ratty the one that he always wore looked. "OK, now that we've shopped for other people, what do YOU want?" Lance questioned me. "Well, I think I want some new CD's," I told him. "Cool," Justin answered. "There's a great music store just down this way." Justin led the way to the store as JC, Lance and I made small talk. "So, do you go to school somewhere?" JC asked. "I'm a sophomore Biology major at the University of Arkansas," I told him. "Is there much to do around there?" questioned Lance. "Well, most weekends there's a ballgame or some other special event." I replied. "And we have a couple of movie theaters and a nice bowling alley. There are about three different state parks within an hour's drive too. I like to go to them of them on the weekends and hike." "Ever do much horseback riding?" Lance asked. "No, I've never really had the chance," I said. "Hey guys, we're here," Justin shouted from up ahead of us. As I browsed through the store, the guys tried to remain inconspicuous. When I walked to the counter to pay for my CD's, they rejoined me. Examining my sack containing the new Dixie Chicks CD, the latest album from Smashmouth, and an old one from CCR, Justin gave me an odd look. "You sure have a wide range of musical tastes," he stated. "Yeah, I pretty much like everything," I replied. "As long as I'm not being continually screamed at, I enjoy listening to it. And I'm not all that fond of rap either." By then it was nearly time for lunch so we headed for the El Chico in the corner of the mall. Chris and Joey met us by the door and we went in. After we were seated, Joey and Chris described their narrow escape from a mob of howling girls. "We ditched 'em by crawling inside a giant pyramid of shoe boxes that was set up in front of Foot Locker," Joey explained. The rest of us burst into to laughter, causing the people at the surrounding tables to look our way. "Keep it down," whispered Chris. 'We don't want a repeat!" The food came about then and we spent the next ten minutes in relative silence as everyone chowed down. For dessert, I suggested the caramel pecan cheesecake. When the last of the cheesecake had been devoured, JC insisted that they pay for the meal. "But they gave me $1,000 bucks!" I exclaimed. "There's no need for you to pay." "We insist," said Lance. "Management also gave US money to spend today and I intend to put it to good use." I grudgingly agreed. "Now it's our turn to show you what the mall is all about," crowed Chris. "Meet us back at the fountain at 2:00," JC said. "OK, see you then," I replied. Joey and Chris each grabbed one of my arms and dragged me back out into the mall. "How about we take you to get your ears pierced?" Joey asked. "Great idea," cheered Chris. Then he realized how loud he had shouted and he looked nervously over his shoulder. "Umm, I don't think so guys," I said hesitantly. "I'm not really into getting things pierced." "Well, if that's how you feel," Chris replied dejectedly. "But, to make it up to you, we can go anywhere you want for the next hour," I proclaimed. They both instantly perked up and grabbed me by the arms again. I spent the next hour in and out of toy stores, gag shops, and even a condom boutique. After that slightly unnerving experience I announced, "Well, it's 1:55, we'd better head to the fountain so we won't be late." Chris and Joey were both beginning to lose their enthusiasm at that point anyway, so they agreed and we began the walk to the fountain. "Did ya'll have fun?" Lance asked as we approached the fountain. "Oh yeah," I replied. "These two are crazy. I think it may be impossible not to have fun when you're with them." "Believe me, it's possible," Lance snickered. "Hey!" Chris exclaimed. The rest of us couldn't help but laugh as we started for the door. "I called the limo driver just before you walked up," JC said. "He should be waiting just outside." As we climbed into the limo, they all began to suggest more things to do. "How about we catch a movie?" Justin asked. "The beach is nice," Lance said. "I wanna go get something to eat," Joey stated. "We just ate an hour ago Joey," Chris cried. "I know, but I'm still hungry," Joey whined. "You're always hungry!" Justin exclaimed. "Why don't we go try out that new go-cart place that we heard about?" JC suggested. "That sounds like a good idea to me," I replied. Justin tapped on the divider and told the driver where to go. On the way to the go-cart track, I told them about the go-cart that I had when I was little and how my brother and I used to try to throw each other out of the passenger seat. "And how many times did you have to go to the hospital?" Joey questioned. "I've never been in the hospital in my life," I proudly reported. "We Southern boys are tough, right Lance." "Lance? Tough?!" Chris exclaimed. "I don't think so." Lance proceeded to prove it by putting Chris in a headlock and not releasing him until he had taken it back. We pulled into the parking lot of the go-cart track and climbed out of the limo. The place appeared to be deserted. "Man, I expected at least some people to be here," I said. JC replied, "That's one of the perks of being famous. We had the driver call ahead and tell them that we would pay enough so that they could close down for the day and we would be the only ones here." I was surprised to find that they didn't even make us listen to the normal "be careful and don't ram each other" speech. Another one of the benefits of fame I guess. After a few laps, everyone was started to get warmed up and have fun. I noticed that Justin and Chris had managed to box me in between their carts and I saw that they were both wearing evil grins. "This is for pushing the button on the elevator!" Justin yelled over the roar of the engine. They began to slam into me from the front and side until my go-cart spun a complete circle in the center of the track. "You won't get away with this!" I warned as the sped away with laughter. Pretty soon, my years of go-cart driving experience paid off and I was able to catch both of them alone and force them to slam into the curb. We stayed at the track until 4:00, when Lance began signaling us to pull into the pit area. After we unbuckled ourselves and climbed out of the carts, he announced that he had a brilliant idea. "Since Jeremy likes the outdoors but he's never been horseback riding, I think that's what we should do for the rest of the day." I love the idea as long as it's OK with everyone else," I replied. "Hey, this is your day," Justin said. "We're game for whatever you want." Lance gave the limo driver instructions to a little ranch he knew of just outside Orlando. We passed the time by asking each other about our lives and our likes and dislikes. I was really having a good time. I had figured that I would be too uptight to enjoy myself, but the guys were so easy to talk to that I didn't have any trouble at all. I had told them more about myself in the past few hours that many people had learned about me over the course of several years. Upon arriving at the ranch, Lance was greeted like an old friend. "Whenever I get time off, I like to come out here and just relax," he explained. The owner, a pleasant couple in there late 50's, introduced themselves as Randy and Lurleen Johnson. They told us an embarrassing (to Lance) story of his first ride on their wildest horse, Tequila. It turns out that the horse was pretty smart and he had figured out that if he walked under a low limb, he could scrape the rider off his back. They had Lance show us the scar he had gotten when he hit the ground. It was on his side, so he had to pull up his shirt to show us. It was the high point of my day so far. Soon we were all saddled up and ready to go. Lance had once again opted to ride Tequila while the other guys and I were given much more tame mounts. Lance was familiar with all the trails in the area so Randy and Lance excused themselves to begin cooking dinner. It turns out that part of the experience of the ranch is eating with them when the ride is over. "I love just riding around in the woods, hearing all the birds and the wind in the trees," Lance said wistfully. "My butt hurts," Chris whined. I couldn't help but giggle. "We've only been riding for ten minutes," I said. "If you're already in uncomfortable, I can't imagine how much you'll be complaining by the time we get back. We're gonna be out here for an hour at least," Lance added. Chris' moan of pain was his only response. We rode on for another 45 minutes or so, continually plagued by Chris' groans of protest. When we returned to the ranch, Lurleen came out and announced that we could eat as soon as we'd washed up. Upon entering the dining room, I had to suppress a laugh at the sight of Chris sitting on a pillow. Justin and Joey weren't so considerate and Chris glared at them through most of dinner. Much to Lance's chagrin, Randy kept on telling us anecdotes about Lance's visits until the meal was finished. Joey pushed away from the table and said, "I don't think I could eat another bite." JC stood up and gravely announced, "Hell has officially frozen over." Everyone burst into laughter, including Joey. We thanked the Johnson's for their hospitality and I told them, "I had a great time. If I'm ever down in this area again, I'll definitely stop by." Lance hugged them goodbye and we climbed back into the limo. As we pulled back out onto the highway, Justin looked at his watch and exclaimed, "Hey, it's only 6:30 now, we'll be back in town by 7:00. How about we check out a few clubs?" "Well, I'm not really into the club scene," I replied. "And I'm not a very good dancer either." "You'll fit right in with Lance then," Chris smirked. "Don't make me teach you another lesson today, old man," Lance said menacingly. Chris cowered in mock fear. "I don't think my poor butt is up for much dancing tonight either," he reported. "OK then," Justin sighed. "I guess we don't have to go to a club." "No, I don't wanna ruin your fun!" I exclaimed. "You can just drop me off now and I'll go catch a movie or something." I'm not in a clubbing mood either," Lance quickly spoke up. "Would you mind if I joined you?" "Not at all," I replied. "JC? Joey? You guys still in?" Justin questioned. "Sure," they said in unison. We finalized our plans until we arrived at Justin's house. Lance had left his 4-Runner there and he was going to be my transportation for the rest of the evening. I kept thanking all of them for the great time I had until they yelled "You're welcome!" at the top of their lungs. This startled me out of the trance of gratitude I was in long enough for them to tell me that it wasn't necessary. "I think we all had a really good time today too," JC said. "Yeah, I wish we had more fans like you," Joey added. They all told Lance and I goodbye and we went our separate ways. "So, what movie do you want to see?" Lance asked. "I don't know what's out down here," I replied. "Me neither. I guess we'll just have to pick one when we get to the theater," said Lance. During the drive, we discovered that we had both been raised as Southern Baptists. This got us both starting talking about our families and how are lives were growing up. The theater came into view all to quickly and we were forced to pick a movie. I wasn't really paying attention and I let Lance make the selection. We ended up watching a terribly unfunny comedy with a bunch of no-name stars. After leaving the theater, I thought Lance would never stop apologizing. "Don't worry about it that much, I've seen a lot worse," I lied. That seemed to convince him for the moment and I quickly steered the conversation away. As we pulled into the parking lot of my hotel, Lance turned to me and said, "Let me make up for the bad movie. I know that the contest has paid for you to stay here in Orlando for another three days. JC, Justin, and I are planning on going to the beach tomorrow. Would you like to join us?" I couldn't believe my luck. "Of course, I'd love to come," I said, while trying to keep the excitement from my voice. "But are you sure JC and Justin won't mind?" "No, they really enjoyed hanging out with you today," he assured me. "Give me your phone number and I'll call in the morning and fill you in on the details. "Well, I don't really know the number," I said. "I didn't bother to notice earlier." "That's OK," Lance replied. "I'll just follow you up to your room and we can get it from the phone." My eyes widened as my brain started churning out all kinds of scenarios for what might follow. Then I mentally threw a bucket of cold water on myself and thought, 'There's no way that Lance is gay, you're blowing this all out of proportion. He's just trying to be friendly.' I realized that Lance was still waiting for my response and I quickly blurted out, "OK, let's go get it." Lance followed me up to my room and we talked in the doorway for a while after he copied down the number from the phone. Finally, he let out a huge yawn and said, "Well, I better be going. Don't wanna be too tired to enjoy myself tomorrow." "OK, talk to you in the morning," I replied, adding a yawn of my own. I watched Lance walk away down the hall and a thought suddenly occurred to me. 'Couldn't Lance have just called the front desk and asked to be connected to my room?' A small spark of hope crept back into my mind before I extinguished it. 'He probably just didn't think about it,' I told myself. Another yawn reminded me just how tired I was and I slowly climbed into to bed and began dreaming of what tomorrow might bring. Thanks for reading my first effort. If you enjoyed it, or even if you didn't, write me and tell me what I could do to improve it. The address is: brainking@hotmail.com