Date: Fri, 11 Apr 2003 18:55:41 -0700
From: dkstories@cox.net
Subject: A Phone Call 8

Legal Stuff: I don't know NSYNC or any other celebrity mentioned.  While
real people are the basis of characters, they are characters here and do
not represent the real lives, thoughts, or feelings of the real people.
Again, these are characters based on them, not the real people themselves.
If you are too young, or live in a location where it is illegal to read
stories that include love between men, read no further!  Like that would
have ever stopped me...


A Phone Call -- Chapter 8


Darkness.  Okay, I'm awake but it is still dark. Oh, wait, that's because
my eyes are closed.  My head is pounding and my mouth feels like it is full
of cotton.  Okay I must have been drinking last night and didn't drink
enough water before passing out. I must have been really drunk.  I moved my
head and felt some pain in the upper left ear.  Take my hand from the warm
body next to me feel it.  Crap, I got another piercing.  Why is my right
arm sore?  A quick feel revealed I'd gotten another tattoo.

Shit.

I must have been partying with Manuel last night.  I hope I didn't dye my
hair too.  Wait, there's a warm body next to me?  I hope it's not Manuel.
Okay, force the eyes open.  The face I saw brought me fully awake and I
sighed.  The world was a whole lot better with my James next to me.  I must
have gotten totally blitzed last night.  I always did when I went partying
with Manuel.

Who knows how long I sat there staring at the beautiful man next to me,
wondering what I had done to deserve.  All I know is that I could live
forever with him lying next to me. The headache was no longer a problem, it
still existed, but I was ignoring it.  Unfortunately, I couldn't ignore my
bladder.  I rushed out of bed and hit the bathroom just in time.  I was
sighing in relief when I heard him entering the bathroom behind me.

He snuggled against my back while I finished my business.  I turned around
within his arms and started planting kisses over his face.  He smiled and
let out a little moan at my attention to him.

"My arm is sore." He said after a moment.

"Probably from the tat." I told him, suddenly remembering us getting them
together.

"SHIT!" he nearly yelled, running to the mirror and pulling the bandage
down.  "Now I can't wear any sleeveless shirts!  How could I do this?
People are gonna freak!"

I moved behind him and wrapped my arms around him, trying to comfort him.
That was when I noticed that my bandage had fallen off sometime in the
night.  Our tattooed shoulders were right on top of each other in the
mirror and James let a sigh.

"I like it." He said after a moment, staring at our arms.  "Much more
permanent than the other way of marking you."

He was referring to the fresh set of hickeys on my neck and shoulders.  I
swear, that if my neck wasn't my most erogenous zone, I would have killed
him for how many there were now.  It almost looked like one massive bruise.
Okay, I loved it when he was nibbling, sucking, biting me there, but I just
wish I didn't bruise so easily, or at least lived where I could where a
turtleneck.

"What time is it?" I asked as my thoughts reminded me I had a flight later
today.

"It's only 9" he told me.  Just then the phone rang in our room and he
answered it.  From his part of the conversation, it was Justin inviting us
to breakfast in his suite.  We showered (Yes, just showered although the
feelings of his hands washing me definitely got me going) got dressed and
went over to Justin's room.  To my surprise, Manuel was there and both of
them had big smiles on their faces.

Hotel food definitely was not as good as home cooked food.  The company was
good.  All four of us chatted amiably while we ate.  Manuel kept on raving
about the concert last night, and the fun afterwards.  Later we finally got
around to discussing what we were going to do today.

"Well, we're moving on to the next venue late this afternoon." Justin told
us. "I'm flying out at 3:00"

"My flight is out of LA at 6:30." Manuel reminded us.

"And Dave's is at 6:00" James said, his face looking downcast.

"Don't worry." I told him.  "You'll still be flying back out to Phoenix
this weekend."

"Shit!" James muttered at that. "I have to go to Orlando on Thursday.  I
won't be coming back to LA until Sunday and I have meetings on that
Monday."

"Well, I'll be flying back out to LA a week from Friday." I told him.
"We'll see each other then."

"It's going to be a long 12 days." James muttered.

"Somehow I can't disagree with that." I said, hugging him with one arm.

"Well, let's have some fun today!" Justin said in a very cheerful voice.

"What should we do?" Manuel asked.

"I want to do some shopping!" Justin said enthusiastically.

"Cool, we can go downtown to Horton Plaza" Manuel said.  "Then have lunch
at the Fish Market."

"Oh, my poor bank account" I moaned and Manuel laughed.  James and Justin
just looked at me curiously.  "Every time we're in San Diego, we go to the
Fish Market and order lobster.  For the two of us, the bill usually comes
out over a hundred dollars for lunch."

"Well, you can afford it now." James said with a smile.  "Even with two
extra doubling the bill."

"True, true." I admitted.  Justin got up and made a phone call.  We split
up to our rooms and finished packing our clothes up.  We gave our keys to
Justin's assistant and headed out to James' SUV.  Justin's was being
returned to the rental place.  The drive downtown was quick and we parked
in the mall's garage.  All four of us began roaming the mall together.  It
was weird for me, looking around and realizing I could buy most of the
things that were here.  Of course that would mean I wouldn't have the money
later when I needed it.  Who knew how long it would be before I saw another
paycheck. Hell, if the studio canceled the project before it aired, I'd
never see any more money from them.

James must have sensed my thoughts because he told Justin and Manuel that
he was going to get his hair cut.  We walked around, looking for a salon
and just chatting about minor things for a while, when we found a place. We
went inside, and there were no other customers.  Both the women who worked
there were real nice and James turned back to me.

"You should get your hair done nice." He told me with a smile.

"I have no idea what I'd want." I told him honestly.  I'd never really done
more than get it colored.

"Do you trust me?" He asked with a smile.  I should have known better, but
I told him I did.  He whispered to one of the women, who then led me into
the salon proper.  Two hours later, Justin and Manuel found us just as the
woman was finishing.  James had convinced me to keep my eyes closed the
entire time, he wanted to surprise me.  Manuel's snickering almost made me
open my eyes, but James covered them with his hands.  Ten minutes later, I
was told I could open them.

"Oh my god." I whispered at what I saw.  My hair was CURLED!  My straight
ass, never do anything but stick up, was CURLED.  It was also colored a
much lighter blond with reddish streaks throughout.  Okay, after the shock
of it, I realized I kind of liked it, and told James the stylist that.  The
next few minutes was full of instructions on how to take care of my hair
and to style, but I knew I'd be calling James for help in the morning.

By the time we left, it was long past lunch time.  We walked down to
Seaport Village, my hair being the favorite topic of conversation.  We got
to the restaurant, got a table for four that was right over the bay and
ordered.  To my surprise, and chagrin, everyone ordered the Live Maine
Lobster.

As lunch progressed, I found myself thinking about how good this was.  Here
I was with the man I loved.  My best friend, who is also my ex, seemed to
like him as well, and we both got along with James' good friend.  Justin
seemed to get along with us as well, and I let myself really believe that
James and I could make things work long term.  I mean sure, our
relationship was between us, but our friends getting along was only
something that could be for the better.  As we finished, we had only a half
hour to get Justin to the airport, so we rushed back to where the SUV was
parked and hurried to San Diego's airport. Fortunately, it's near downtown
and we made it on time.  We all said goodbye to Justin as he met up with
his tour people and disappeared into the security area.

The drive back to LA was mostly a quiet one.  James and Manuel were
chatting, getting to know each other better.  Manuel told James about how
he had met me, and about our hilarious fifth date (imagine a big brown van,
the two of us going at it in the back and a car parking next to us with a
straight couple who were arguing while we hid and continued our fun).
James shared some more `on the road' stories from his group and Manuel just
soaked them up like crazy.

Due to heavy traffic, we didn't get to LA until it was time to head for the
airport.  I sighed when I realized I wouldn't get any alone time with
James, but we headed directly to LAX anyway.  Since we were a little early
(that's the problem you know...not enough time to go home, but too much
time at the airport.) we went to the VIP lounge and relaxed there.  Manuel
had never been in one before and was immensely enjoying himself.  When they
called the boarding for first class on my flight, James walked with me
until we were in a corner.  I didn't want to leave, his kissing was so
nice.  We both had tears in our eyes as I pulled away.

"It's only 12 days." I told him, and myself.

"We've lived for years without each other, we can get through 12 days."
James whispered.

"I'll call you." I told him.

"As many times a day as we want to." He whispered.

"Get going." Manuel said, coming up behind us.  He was smiling though.  I
left and made my way onto the plane, sitting down in first class and
wishing I wasn't leaving.  The next two weeks were going to be long, and
emotional as I left my work.  I was actually relieved as the plane finished
boarding and took off.  The sooner I got back to Phoenix, the sooner I
would get back to my pop star.

***

I walked up to my apartment and immediately noticed a note taped to my
door.  I opened the note and found it was from my complex manager.  I'd
forgotten that my lease was up this month and they were asking me if I was
going to renew.  I unlocked the door and went inside, putting my bag in the
hallway.  The note had me thinking, and I wasn't sure what I was going to
do.  I was quitting my job, and I would be spending a lot of time in LA,
but I didn't know if I wanted to give up my apartment here in Phoenix.
Maybe I'd talk to James about it and see what he thought.

I went into my kitchen and got something to drink.  I was going to have to
clean out the refrigerator, there was food in there that was getting bad.
I looked over at the answering machine and groaned.  18 messages was a lot.
Two weeks ago, I'd be lucky to have four or five after being gone this
long.  Taking the pen and pad near the phone I went ahead and started
playing them.

The first three reminded me that I hadn't called Whoopi, Robin, or Chad
back.  I'd definitely need to return those.  The next was one from Manuel
before I had called him, so I skipped his cussing me out for not calling.
The next few were from both my Grandmothers, reminding me I had to call
them as well.  I skipped another four that were from telemarketers, only to
find that the rest were from Grandmothers still trying to get a hold of me.
Their tones sounded worried.  The last was from my sister and I groaned
again.  She only called when there were problems.

I picked up the phone and decided to call my paternal grandmother first.
This was the one who knew Robin Williams and who had been most accepting of
me when I came out to the family.  I loved her and dreaded the day she
would no longer be with us.  She'd lost two of her children already (my dad
and aunt bev), and her third child was competing with her in the strokes
and ill health department.  The phone rang a few times before she picked it
up.

"Hello" she said. I could tell from her tone she was tired.

"Hi, Grandma" I said as cheerily as I could.  When you had as many deaths
in the family as I had, calling home could be a mixed bag.

"Davey!" she squealed.  Yes, squealed.  Okay, maybe I really should call
her more. "It's about time you called.  Where have you been?"

"LA, San Diego." I told her.

"Did Manuel come out there again?" She asked me.

"He came out to LA for the weekend, yes." I told her.  She knew me too
well.

"Good, how's he doing?"

"Good.  He had a very exciting weekend.  We all did actually."

"All?  So who else were you with?"

"Well, my new boyfriend James and his best friend Justin." I told her.

"New boyfriend?  The one that Robin was talking about?" She asked, her tone
a mixture of curiosity and disapproval for a guy other than Manuel.

"Yeah, his name is James." I sighed.  Okay, my voice gave away how much I
cared about him.

"Tell me about him, tell me how you met." She immediately asked.  So I told
her, in detail.  She was surprised that James was a member of a boy band
and had his own company.  After I was done talking, she demanded that I
bring him home to meet the family.

"I'm not sure when we'll be able to get out there." I told her honestly.
"We're both going to be extremely busy the next few weeks."

"How's your work going?" She asked, changing the topic immediately.

"Well, it's been going good but I'm nervous about tomorrow."

"Nervous?  Why?" she asked me.

"Because I'm giving them my two week notice." I told her succinctly.

"What?!  You're quitting the best job you've ever had?  Why?" She shouted.

"Because I got a better one." I told her honestly.

"What kind of job did you get?  I didn't even know you were looking."

"I got a job for Korvan studios to write a script for a mini-series and for
a television series."

"What?  You're not pursuing that stupid Hollywood dream again, are you?
You know what happened last time."  Grandparents never forget stuff like
that, it seems.  I spent the next hour telling her everything about my
meetings, going over my contract in detail with her.  By the end, she
wasn't still one hundred percent convinced, but she agreed that it was
something I should go after.  I was so worn out by the time I was done that
I decided to fix something to eat.  I ate a salad and had another soda
before calling my other grandmother.  That conversation went much the same,
except this time my maternal grandmother still thought I shouldn't quit my
job.  She really disapproved of taking big chances.  She even pulled out
the `bird in the hand is worth two in the bush' saying.  I tried calling
Whoopi, but got her answering service.  I called Robin's house and talked
to his wife for a bit before hanging up. It was nice talking to her again.
Then I called Chad and got his answering machine as well.  After that it
was a two phone call with James where we just chatted about anything and
everything, just to hear each other's voice.  My cell phone rang and it was
Manuel telling me he had gotten home okay, and that was when I realized it
was almost midnight.  I said goodnight to Manuel quickly, then took a half
hour telling James goodnight.  My bed was lonely as I went to sleep and I
knew that I wouldn't be getting a lot of rest that night.

I woke up early, and immediately called James.  He was awake already and we
chatted together as I got ready for the morning.  I hung up when it was
time for my shower, but immediately called him after I was done.  With his
help, I got my now curly hair looking almost like it had yesterday, then
got dressed.  That was when I found that half my closet was filled with new
clothes.  James realized I had seen them when I sighed heavily.  He laughed
for five minutes at that point.  I chose a pair of slacks and a nice button
down short sleeve shirt from the new clothes for my big day.

The nice thing about cell phones is that you can take them with you, which
is what I did as I drove into work.  I stopped at McDonald's for some food
and looked at the teenage girl working drive though. I wondered how she
would react if she knew I had Lance Bass on the phone with me right then.
A few minutes later, I pulled into my office's parking lot, parked the car
and walked inside.  I didn't hang up the phone until I had gone upstairs
and was a few feet from my office.

"Oh my GOD!" a female scream immediately drew the eyes of everyone who was
in the office.  There was Jean, pointing at me with a look of shock on her
face.  Chuck came rushing around the corner and stopped, staring at me.
His face alternated between a smile and a frown.

"Two days off and you come back with a new piercing, a permanent, and a dye
job.  Where's the tattoo?" he asked.  I raised my sleeve and showed my new
tattoo and he immediately started laughing, as did most of the people in
the office.  I blushed and rushed into my office.

"Was Manuel there this weekend?" He asked me.  Yes, everyone knew that I
was around Manuel when I got a tat, a piercing, or colored hair.

"Yes." I moaned aloud.  This was going to be a long day.

"Nice clothes." He commented.  "You turning into a fashion whore now?"

"We need to talk." I told him, deciding to hurry up and get this over
with. "Please shut the door."

"This is serious." He noted as he shut the door and sat down. "What's going
on?"

"Chuck, let me start by saying that I have loved the last few years working
here.  You've been a good boss, a good friend.  I don't know how I would
have survived losing my parents if all of you hadn't been so supportive,
and I want you to know I will appreciate that always."

"Whoa!" he exclaimed.  "It sounds like you are quitting."

"That's because I am." I told him softly, handing him the letter of
resignation I had printed out last night.  "I got a new job last week.
That was why I had to take time off in LA."

"What kind of job?" he asked me curiously, only glancing at my resignation
letter.  I told him about my week and weekend.  He sat there, mouth open at
first then shook himself.

"I hope everything works out for you, and I'll be watching for your show to
come on T.V." was all he said after a while.  "Two weeks isn't much time."

"I only have six weeks to get a six-hour script done." I told him honestly.
"Besides, you can always call me if something comes up and you need
information from me.  I will be glad to help if I can."

"Okay, I'll get this over to HR and have Jean get the paperwork ready.
We'll talk more later today about how we're going to split your duties
until we can replace you." He said in a rush, getting up to leave.

"Chuck, I'm sorry." I said, feeling guilty.

"Don't be.  You'd be a fool to pass this chance up." He told me before
leaving.  Just then, my phone rang and my mind became focused on the work
before me.  The day passed pretty quickly.  My two days off had done
nothing but increase the amount of paperwork in my in-box.  I was steadily
working my way through them, having skipped lunch, when my phone rang
again.

"Dave Young" I said shortly into the phone.  I hated being interrupted when
I was in the middle of reading a legal agreement.

"Don't sound so excited to hear from me." Marketing Mark said into my ear.

"Mark!  Sorry, it's been a bad day.  What can I do for you?"

"Well, have you had a chance to look at the article on the web site yet?"
he asked me.

"No.  I've been busy."

"Well, the write-up was fantastic.  Just the right mix of optimism and
pessimism.  I was worried it would be either too nice or too critical, but
it was neither.  Good job."

"Thanks, is that all?  I've got a lot of work to finish here." I said,
pleased that it was well received, but more focused on the work in front of
me than the work in L.A.

"No." Mark said shortly.  "It's been generating a whole lot more interest
than we were expecting.  Tom wants us to go ahead and move while the fire
is hot."

"Mark, I have obligations here that I will not abandon." I said firmly.

"No, no." Mark emphasized.  "We're not talking about you coming out here.
We've set up some phone interviews with local trade publications here in
LA.  Nothing national yet, but they will generate good buzz here in town,
which we need right now.  If we get enough good press now, we might be able
to get some bigger names on board for less money."

"That's definitely a good thing." I admitted.  Some of the parts would need
more experienced actors to pull them off successfully.  "Just set them up
for my evenings."

"Will do.  Do you want me to call you with the details of them or use your
PA at FreeLance?"

"Use Peter.  He's already working my schedule for travel and stuff so he
will have a good idea of when I'll be available, and where."

"Will do, have a good day."  Mark said then hung up.  I decided it would be
polite to call Peter and let him know to be expecting Mark's call.  I
picked the phone back up and dialed the FreeLance LA office number.  Peter
answered after a couple of rings.  His voice sounded slightly exasperated.

"Hey, Peter.  It's Dave." I told him after he'd answered.

"Dave!  You want me to switch you into Lance's office?" he asked.

"No, actually I called to talk to you?"  I said with a little laugh.

"Me?  Why would you want to talk to me?" Peter asked.

"Because you're about to get some more work." I told him, the proceeded to
review what had happened with Mark's phone calls.  I gave him directions on
when to schedule phone interviews and the information I'd want before each
one.  We talked for about twenty minutes, then I had him transfer me into
James.  That conversation lasted for ten minutes before my phone rang and I
had to hang up.  The yelling person that had ended my phone cal with James
made me very glad that I was out of here in two weeks.

I got home shortly after 5:30 p.m. with take-out for dinner.  As I sat
eating, with the T.V. on for noise, I worked on finishing up the revised
storyline.  I was doing a basic outline of the major events and character
interaction that would be fleshed out into the script itself.  I found
myself lost in the world I had created only to be brought back to reality
by the shrill ring of the telephone.  It was my interview for the evening.
The woman was very pleasant and asked background information on the story
and some on me and how the other people were involved so far.  It only
lasted a half-hour but I felt more drained afterwards.  I had a very damn
good idea that I was going to be very tired of answering the same questions
over and over again.

I moved into the bedroom and started typing up the notes I had made.
Within another few hours, I had things completed and sent them off in an
e-mail to JMS and Luke.  Tomorrow I'd actually start on the script for the
first two hours while I waited for their responses.  The phone rang again,
but it was my cell phone.  I smiled as I picked it up and talked to James
for a while.  I finally remembered the note from the property manager and
decided to see what he had to say.

"James, I was just reminded yesterday that my lease is up at the end of the
month.  What do you think I should do?  Should I keep the apartment?"

"Well, how much time do you plan to spend in Phoenix?" he asked me
cautiously.

"I'm here for two weeks, then I'm back in LA for most of the next week.  We
have plans for that weekend, if you remember.  I'll probably be trying to
spend my weeks in LA and my weekends with you, wherever you are."

"Then it doesn't really make sense to keep the apartment, does it?" he
asked.

"No, but I'm staying at your place in LA.  What will I do with all my
furniture?"  Where do I leave my car?"

"You could move in." He said cautiously.

"Move in?  I'm already staying at your place in LA!" Okay, I was getting a
little frustrated and felt like I was getting lost.  Fortunately James
realized immediately what was wrong.

"You feel like you're in MY place, like you're a guest, right?"  he said
slowly.

"Yes." I answered glumly.  I knew what he was about to say, but I still
wanted to hear it.

"That's bullshit and you know it.  We've both said we want to share our
lives together.  That means that we share everything, including homes.  I
never felt like I was a guest in your apartment after the second night.
Hell, I even left stuff there so I'd have some of me there!  Your furniture
will go great in the den at the Phoenix house.  I purposely didn't decorate
it hoping you would someday move your stuff in.  There's also a bedroom
that hasn't been set-up yet.  Your bedroom furniture and computer stuff
would go great in there.  It can be a guest room and office for you."

"I don't know, James." I said slowly.  "It's your home."

"Do you want me to put you on the title?" he asked me. I was shocked!

"No, that's not what I want." I told him.

"Then what do you want?" He asked me.

"To get my stuff moved in there at the end of the month." I told him,
making a snap decision.  He wanted me to, and it would make him feel good.
Besides, if I ever needed to move out, I could afford doing so.

"Smart decision." He told me.  "By the way, when you come back to LA would
you mind bringing your crystal chess set with you?  It would look good in
the condo on the coffee table."

"Thanks." I told him.

"For what?"

"For being willing to having my stuff in the condo, and the house."

"I want you to feel comfortable in our homes." He said slowly, making me
smile again.  I looked at the clock and realized it was past bed time.  Our
goodnights took a while, but eventually I drifted off to sleep, dreaming of
when I'd be back in his arms.

By Tuesday, everyone in the office knew I was leaving.  To make matters
more interesting, someone was a regular visitor of the web site that broke
the story, and soon the full text of the interview was rushing around the
office.  I had people stopping by all day to talk, trying to pump me for
information.  I was getting frustrated by the all the visitors, when Jean
solved it for me.  She shut my office door and put a note on it directing
everyone to her.

My day was filled with phone calls from developers, and to my surprise,
many of them seemed to have heard about my impending departure.  I'm sure
they were all partying now that the `rotten, son-of-a-bitch asshole' was
leaving.  Hell, some of them were even nice to me!  Mark called several
times that day, as did Peter.  JMS called me towards the end of the day
raving about how much I'd already gotten done.  He promised to call me
later that night to discuss some things.  Luke called as well, and he
promised to get with JMS so we could conference call. For lunch that day, I
went to the bank.  I split my money into blocks of $10,000 and put them
into Money Market Account for 3 month, 6 months, 9 months, and year and so
on.  I kept a little under $20,000 to cover me for the next few months.  I
hoped it was enough because my new life could prove to be very expensive.
I used about $4,000 of my leftover funds to pay off my car loan and credit
cards.  I was debt-free for now, and felt better about things.  That night
was much like the last.  Take-out, phone calls and hours spent in front of
the computer.  The creative juices were flowing and I made progress I found
acceptable.  By midnight, I was making my nightly phone call to lover boy
and drifted off to sleep to his voice.

I woke up with the phone making that annoying sound when it was off the
hook too long.  Pushing two buttons replaced it with the sound of a groggy
James.  He sounded pleased to hear from me, but irritated at being woken.
To be honest, all I wanted was to go to sleep next to him and wake up with
him.  Since that wasn't happening, hearing his voice on the phone before
sleep and upon waking would just have to do.

I was surprised that it was Wednesday already.  My morning shower, a quick
breakfast, and soon I was dressed in some more of the clothes James had
bought.  Just as I opened the door to head to work, my regular phone rang.
Cursing, I went and picked it up.

"Davey?" the female voice asked when I picked it up.  I immediately cursed
myself for not just going.

"Hello, sis." I said resignedly.

"Hey bro, how are things going?"

"Not too bad, but I'm running late for work." I told her, hoping that would
be enough.  It wasn't.

"Oh, I was wondering if you had time to talk?" she said, her voice full of
hope.  I loved my sister, I loved her kids, my nieces and nephews, but I
hated the choices she had made in her life.

"How much do you need?" I asked bluntly.

"I'm not calling just to.." she began.

"Look, April, I know you're calling for money.  Tell me what it's for, then
give me the number of the people to call to set things up for you.  I'm not
sending you cash."

"Okay," She said, her voice low.  When she was done, I hung up after
telling her I loved her.  I did love her, I just didn't trust her.  Of
course, now I was in a bad mood, and that mood lasted all day long.  That
night I didn't get much done, just a few pages of dialogue.  I went to bed
after talking to James, but our conversation that night was subdued.

I woke up Thursday morning to a phone call from James.  He was already on
his flight back to Orlando and was using the air phone.  We talked while I
got ready and my mood was slightly improved until we hung up. It was then
that I realized why I was so depressed. I hadn't been with him for four
days now and I missed him.  A lot.

Work was quickly becoming interminable.  People were still pestering me
about my new line of work, and even Jean was giving in to curiosity bugging
me about people I knew in Hollywood.  I had never been so glad when five
o'clock rolled around and I was able to get out of there.  That night I had
no phone interviews, and no other phone calls on business.  I'd spent
$3,000 helping my sister get her car fixed, power turned back on,
groceries, and new clothes for the kids.  I swear I spent more money on
those kids than my sister and her husband did!  Not that I resented the
kids, I resented my sister and her husband spending more money on alcohol
and drugs than on their own kids.

Friday at work was hell.  Everything that could go wrong, did.  The people
that were going to be taking over my duties just weren't catching on, more
work was coming in every hour, and everyone who called had a chip on their
shoulders.  I had a flight to LA for the next morning, and meetings
scheduled with JMS and Luke.  It was going to be a weekend full of work and
I was not looking forward to it at all.

I spent the weekend in LA, working hard with JMS and Luke on the script and
on pre-production issues.  I had an intellectual understanding of the
processes for bringing a project to television, but I was quickly learning
just how much work was really involved.  By the time I was done on
Saturday, the sun had gone down and I was too exhausted to do anything.  I
did call Chad and we finally talked a little.  My calls with James
continued each morning and night, and they were the only things that kept
me from going crazy.  James was starting to sound strained and promised to
tell me why later.  Sunday I flew home and crashed as soon as I got in the
door.

My last week at my old job passed by in a blur.  I ended up working ten
hour days to get everything I could wrapped up.  I was falling behind on my
writing and was getting pressure from JMS to pick up the pace.  He even
suggested I cancel my weekend plans and I told him to shove it.  James and
I had decided that we would be meeting in Phoenix, with his flight arriving
early Saturday morning.  We were leaving town and going camping.  We'd also
decided to leave behind our cell phones.

Friday afternoon began to stretch interminably.  I had lunch with Chuck one
last time, filling him on my near term plans.  I'd given him my cell phone
number so we'd stay in touch.  I'd also packed my personal stuff out of my
office and taken them home the night before.  I was planning on taking most
of the boxes to LA and put them in the office at the condo.

I looked around the office I had been in for three years with a sad smile
on my face.  There were many memories here.  I had been here when I learned
of my mom's death, and six months later of my dad's.  I'd also been here
when I found out that Aunt Bev had passed away.  There were also good
memories here, but with all my stuff packed away, it was bare, empty of the
things that had been mine.  For the first time since I started work here,
my in-box was empty.  The things that had been there were now spread out
among three other staff members.  However, the phone was still here, and it
was ringing.  The caller was the receptionist telling me I was needed in a
meeting taking place downstairs.  I smiled, thinking this would be the last
time I got called into a meeting without any preparation time and went to
the downstairs conference room.

Tears came to my eyes at the big banner I saw when I opened the door.  It
said `Good Luck, Dave!"  Inside the room, about forty people were gathered
and there was a big cake waiting to be cut.  Living in a city where none of
my family lived, these people had become a second family for me and their
caring was very evident in how the room was decorated and the tears that
filled many eyes, including mine.

Several of my fellow employees had brought their kids, including Jean.  Her
sixteen year old daughter and fifteen year old son had me cornered twenty
minutes later and were bugging me incessantly about all the people I knew
in Hollywood.

"Well, Luke Perry is probably the person I've been friends with best." I
was telling them. They recognized him from 90210 reruns and Nathan, the
son, was an avid fan of Luke's current show, Jeremiah.  I realized Jean
would probably be having a talk with her son one day when he mentioned how
"hot" Luke looked in those leather pants.  I just smiled and agreed with
him as he blushed.  His sister was giving him a weird look but instantly
forgot what her brother had said when she looked over her shoulder.

"What, I though I was your best friend in LA." A very sweet voice said
behind me.  I turned around, and there was James.  He was dressed to the
hilt and must have spent a couple of hours on his hair, because it was
perfect.  I stood there for a moment, mouth hanging open, looking at his
smiling face with tears coming to my eyes.

"You...you were supposed be arriving tomorrow." I stuttered out.

"I couldn't wait." He said softly, pulling me into a hug.

"James, there are..." I whispered into his ear but he interrupted me.

"I don't care, right now." He told me, his voice quavering.  "I need to
feel you."

"I love you." I whispered back.

"Thank you, love." He told me, pulling back from the hug as the room had
gone silent. Jean came walking over with Chuck right behind her.

"Dave, you want to introduce us to your friend? She said with a smile on
her face. She knew who he was.

"MOM!" her daughter, Natalie nearly screamed.  "That's LANCE BASS from
NSYNC!  You've seen him on my WALLS!"

I stepped in at that point before Natalie started to hyperventilate, and
introduced everyone.  The poor girl nearly fainted when James gave her a
hug, and from the look on Nathan's face, he wanted a hug too.  I saw Jean
watching him, then she noticed me watching her.  She shrugged her shoulders
while nodding at her son and I realized she already knew.  Like a good
mother though, she was waiting for him to tell her.

Chuck took James off, introducing him to different people in the room, and
Jean's two kids were following behind, now joined by some of the other kids
who'd been dragged here by their parents.  I noticed James was taking some
time and talking to all of them and smiled.  He was so good with people.

"I thought you were dating Chad Allen." Jean said from behind me.

"I'm not..." I started to protest.

"Don't bother.  I'm not going to say anything." Jean said quickly.  "It's
so obvious the way you both look at each other.  I take it he makes you
happy?"

"More than I ever believed possible."

"Good, I always hoped you'd settle down, get yourself a husband, and adopt
some kids." She told me seriously.  I looked at her with my mouth quirking
into a smile.

"What happened to the woman who didn't introduce me to her kids for a year
because she was afraid my gayness would rub off on them? I teased her.
She'd gotten past that years ago.

"You did, you big lug." She said, hitting my arm.  "You showed me that gay
people had dreams just like everyone else, and were really no different.
It's a good thing I learned it too."

"Nathan." I whispered.

"Yeah, I found some porno the other month.  Gay porno.  Plus I think he's
in love with his best friend.  He looks at the kid like you just looked at
the pop singer over there."

"Oh." I said softly.

"Yeah, I told him the other week that you were gay and how much I liked
you." She continued saying.  "I'd hoped that if he knew I wasn't going to
disown him, he'd be more comfortable talking to me.  His dad is still
oblivious, but you know we're divorced and Nathan lives with me."

"He's a lot luckier than most kids to have a mom like you." I told her
honestly.

"Only because you opened my eyes.  I just wish you were sticking around so
he could have someone older to talk to about...you know...gay things."

"You've got my number, use it if you want." I told her.

"Thanks I will.  Looks like they're coming back.  You keep in touch now,
you here?"

"I will, Jean, I will." I told her. James came back with his little circle
of admirers.  Natalie was pissed at me for the rest of the party and Nathan
kept on looking at me then at James, back and forth.  I couldn't really
help but drink in the presence of James back in the same room as me after
almost two weeks.  It really had been a long time and I could feel muscles
relaxing that I didn't even know were strung out.  Finally, the party wound
down and it was time for me to go to Human Resources for my exit interview.
James stayed, helping Jean, Chuck and some others clean the room up before
everyone went home.  It was on my way out of the building to head over to
HR that I heard a young voice calling my name.  I turned around to see
Nathan rushing over towards me.

"Dave!" he half-shouted again, looking over his shoulder to make sure his
mom and sister weren't following him.

"Heya, buddy." I said, smiling.  "What you need?"

"Oh." He said, stopping as he reached me.  He looked down at the ground,
shuffling his feet for a moment.  "I was wanting to ask you a question."

"Sure, I've always got time to answer you questions." I told him, lifting
his head up until he was looking in my eyes.  His red hair was offset
beautifully by his green eyes.  He was good looking at his current age, and
when he finished growing he was going to be gorgeous.  I also felt real old
all of a sudden.

"Mom...mom told me...uh...about you." He was stuttering now, really
nervous.

"She told you that I was gay, right?" I asked him gently.

"Yeah." He let out a big sigh.  "I was wondering..."

"How I knew I was gay?" I finished for him gently.  His head jerked sharply
and his eyes went wide in surprise.

"How...how did you know what I was going to ask?" He asked me in a rush.

"I saw your face earlier, bud, and I remember being fourteen and trying to
understand the feelings I was going through."

"Yeah, but you're not fourteen now." He said, looking down again.

"No, I'm not.  It's different now, for people your age.  In some ways it is
easier, and in other ways it is a lot harder.  Are you still trying to
figure things out, or.."

"No, I've figured it out and I am gay." He said, his shoulders slumping.
"I just wish I wasn't.  Life would be so much easier!"

"There are times I still wish I was straight at times." I told him gently.
"But I've learned to accept that I am who I am.  Now, having fallen in
love, I'm even gladder that I am who I am and I wouldn't change a thing.
It doesn't matter if it is with a guy or a girl, love is a wonderful
thing."

"You're with Lance, aren't you?  You look at him the way I look at Timmy."
He said softly.

"Don't spread it around, k?" I told him softly.  "It wouldn't help his
career."

"I won't, but you know, it makes things easier for me knowing that someone
famous like him is like me." He said with a smile.

"I'll tell him that if you don't mind." I said.  "I think it would make him
very, very happy."

"I don't mind, but I do have another question?" Nathan asked.

"Go ahead, bud."

"Do you think I should tell my mom?  I mean I'll probably never tell my
dad, I don't trust his reaction, but I think I could tell my mom."

"She's just waiting for you to tell her." I told him honestly.  "She's been
around me so long that she picked up on some signs."

"Like what?" he asked in a horrified voice. I know he was thinking of the
crap that would happen at school if word got around, so I decided to tell
him the truth.

"She found your porno mag.  Try using some place besides under your
mattress, or in your drawers.  I use to use hide them in between comics
inside plastic bags.  My mom would sort my comics for me once in a while
and never, ever found the porno mags."

"Oh my god!" He said as he blushed heavily.  I couldn't help laughing at
his discomfort.

"Don't worry, but you know she's going to forbid you to have that stuff in
the house.  She'd do that whether it was straight or gay porno.  Just be
careful, and trust her.  She loves you."

"I wish you were staying around.  It's nice having an adult to talk to
about this stuff."

"Your mom has my cell phone number.  Don't hesitate to call me.  Plus I'm
only living in LA part of the time. I also live here still."

"Really?" he asked all excited suddenly.  "Are you and Lance really going
camping tomorrow?"

"Yes," I answered him.

"That is so cool.  I've always wanted to go camping but my dad won't even
drive off of a road, much less hike into a mountain.  Timmy's dad isn't
much better since he's always working.  Do you think you and Lance could
take us camping some time?"

"I don't know, Nathan, we'll have to see." I said with a laugh. I felt
sorry for him.  His parents did not get along and all his dad wanted was a
carbon copy of himself.  I'd taken Nathan places over the last year, like
to a football game, a baseball game, and similar stuff.  His dad had gotten
jealous and started doing things with him for a bit, but then that had
tapered off. "I'll tell you what, Nathan.  You get your mom to approve, and
I'll get Lance to agree for you and your friend to go with us on our next
camping trip. I can't promise when, but maybe some time this summer."

"Thanks Dave!  You're the best!" he cried out, giving me a hug.  Then he
ran back into the conference room excitedly.  I made my way to HR and
walked in to see Louie, who would be doing my exit interview.  It took a
half hour, but I emerged with a good recommendation if I ever needed to
return to the City, and my last paycheck which came to almost $3,000 after
I got paid for my accumulated vacation time.  James was waiting for me by
my car.

"Where's the SUV?" I asked him.

"I didn't get one." He told me.  "I took a cab here.  Since we're taking
your car tomorrow I thought we'd just use your car today."

"Sounds like plan I said." unlocking the doors. We both got in and I pulled
out of the parking lot.  "The house or the apartment?"

"Apartment for tonight." He said quietly.  "There's no food or anything at
the house."

"Cool, it'll be easier to load the gear in the morning, too." I said and
headed for the apartment.

"Do you realize that you didn't say `yours' or `mine' when you referred to
the house and the apartment?" James asked after a moment.  It surprised me,
and as I thought about it, I realized that I indeed had not even been
thinking in those terms.

"Not until you said something." I told him honestly.

"Well, thanks." James said softly.  "It's nice that you are thinking that
my house could be your home too."

"I hope you feel the same way." I told him.

"I do, I do." James said softly.  As I drove us home, he looked out the
window, lost in thought.  I could see the edge of a frown forming on his
face and began to get worried.  He was supposed to be in meetings with his
label, and his group today, and in order to have arrived when he did, he
had to have left Orlando this morning.  However, I didn't think he was
willing to talk about it yet.

We arrived back at the apartment and went inside quickly.  That was when I
realized James didn't have any bags.  He shrugged it off and reminded me he
had left clothes here already so it was no big deal. I had just opened the
refrigerator when he snuggled up behind me.  I turned around and wrapped
him in my arms while he leaned against my chest.  I rubbed his back for a
bit until he looked up at me and leaned in for a kiss.  The kiss had a hint
of desperation to it at first, but that quickly changed to passion.

I never did cook dinner that night.  Our clothes ended up on the kitchen
floor and James showed me he knew how to use a kitchen counter effectively.
Sure I'd probably be sore tomorrow, but it was worth it.  We later moved to
the living room where James reminded me that we hadn't initiated that room
yet.  Later, my eyes shined as I remembered the dining room wasn't
initiated either.  James got the last one though, the guest bedroom.

Right before we drifted off to sleep, James was snuggled into my arms and
reminded me with a chuckle that we had four more houses to break in, and
all of them were bigger than my apartment.  I went to sleep dreaming of
things to come.

***

Okay, a little more explicit, but that is about as close as I'm going to
get.

To be continued