Date: Thu, 2 Sep 1999 11:35:16 EDT
From: Faradhi269@aol.com
Subject: nsync-new life-7

**Here's part seven.  You all know the drill, so I won't even bother to
repeat it again.  It's not worth it.  I want to thank all of you who've
been so supportive of this story.  I truly hope I haven't disappointed any
of you with it.**

	We kissed for an eternity.  Then Justin pulled off me and looked me
in the eye.
	"You look tired," he said.
	"I am, a little," I admitted.
	"Well, I am too, so let's get some sleep."
	"Sleep?  With you right next to me?  Impossible!"  I snorted.  "I'll be so
busy concentrating on not taking advantage of your defenseless state to be able
to sleep," I joked.
	It was his turn to snort.  "What makes YOU think I won't be doing the same
thing?"  He asked indignantly.
	I thought about that for a moment and then said, "Well, since neither of
us is going to sleep anyway..." and I pulled him close for another kiss.  I
could luxuriate in his kisses forever.  Every second our lips were together, we
were together.  Every time our tongues touched, I was more complete than before,
and I felt less when they weren't touching.  We gave each other our souls in
that kiss and got something even better in return.
	He pulled off again.  "Ryan, let's go to bed.  I seriously want to see you
in those boxers!"  He giggled.  "That's why I bought them for you."
	I chuckled, "OK, cutie, but only if you wear something similar."
	"Like what?"
	I rummaged through the drawers and found a pair of baby blue silk boxers.
"These'll do nicely," I told him.  "Then we'll be color-coordinated!"
	He laughed.  Then, a little hesitantly, he reached out and pulled off my
shirt.  I let him, and he relaxed a little bit.
	"Justin, I need to take a shower first.  It was hot onstage," I said a
little regretfully.
	He sighed, "I understand," and started to pull his hands away.  I reached
out and grabbed them.  "But you can help me get ready," I said a little
tentatively.  Neither of us were particularly experienced at this.
	"Oh, can I please?" he asked in a little-girl voice.  I laughed at how
comical he looked.  But he reached forward and gently unbuttoned my pants and
slowly lowered the fly.  He pulled them down inch by inch with his hands
caressing my legs as they moved slowly downwards.  Finally, my pants hit the
floor and I stepped out of them.  I pulled Justin up and kissed him again.
	"Justin, I...can't," I said reluctantly.  I felt so guilty for what I had
to say.
	"What?  What do you mean, Ry?" he asked with a sinking feeling.  He didn't
like the sound of it, and he hoped that it wouldn't be bad news.
	"I can't go all the way with you tonight."  He opened his mouth.  "I love
you so much, Justin," I cut him off, "but I can't do anything like that yet.  I
love what you're doing.  God it feels so great and I want to do it to you, but I
just can't go all the way.  Please understand."
	He just nodded and said, "I totally understand and I fell the same way."
Then he sighed, relieved and I noticed it.
	"What's the sigh about, J?"
	"Well. I was just afraid you were going to say you didn't love me."
	"Justin, don't you EVER think that again.  I would give up my life for
you, over and over again.  I love you more than I love myself.  There's no way
that I'd ever stop loving you," I said with all seriousness and passion.  Then I
smiled a half-smile, "So get that through your cute, thick head."
	He giggled and said, "I love you so much, Ry."
	I hugged him close to me and his hands found my boxers.  He dropped them
very quickly, and I was standing in front of him naked.  He looked me up and
down.  "Not bad," he said appreciatively but deprecatingly at the same time,
"not bad at all."
	I quickly gave him a light punch.  "I don't think it's entirely fair for
you to critique ME when I don't get to do the same to you."  He laughed.
"Besides, I'm better than 'not bad' aren't I?"  I asked plaintively, looking
down at myself.  I had good definition on my pecs and abs and my dick was about
4 or 5 inches long, soft.  I had almost no hair on my chest except around my
nipples and navel, which is an outie.  "I mean, I worked hard for this body," I
added.
	Justin ran a hand up my pecs.  "I was only joking.  You have a beautiful
body," he assured me.
	I smiled at him. "And now, it's yours."  He smiled back.  "But first," I
added, "I get to see yours."
	"Ryan, no!  I'm too shy!  C'mon, man!  No!  Please!" he cried out in a
voice that didn't sound like he meant it as I started removing his clothing.
"Please, Ry, Don't!"  I got his shirt off.  "Don't, man!"  He was laughing as I
got his pants off.  "Don't...stop!" he called as I finally lowered his boxers to
the ground.  Then I stepped back and looked at him.  He was BEAUTIFUL!  I
couldn't believe how great he looked.  I'd seen his chest before, but now I just
drunk in the sight, the feel of his powerful body.  His smooth chest drew me and
his dark nipples stood out in the cold and excitement.  I traced the "treasure
trail" of hair from his navel down and loved what I saw.  He was semi-hard and
was easily about 6 inches like that.  Wow, it was gorgeous!
	He blushed all over from the way I was looking at him and I tossed his
clothes to him as I grabbed a towel.  "I won't be long," I promised.
	"You'd better not be," he threatened.
	I literally ran to the bathroom and jumped under the water.  I washed my
hair and the rest of me quickly.  My mind was a blur and so were my actions.  I
was in the water for only about three minutes when I came out drying myself off.
	"Wow, that was fast," he noted.
	I looked at him in his blue boxers.  They highlighted his eyes and made
them stand out even more.  I fell for him all over again.  God I was so lucky to
have him in love with me!  "I told you I wouldn't be long," I replied as though
I normally shower that quickly.
	"So you did.  Now are you coming to bed or what?  We've got to leave
tomorrow for the rest of the tour."
	"Sure thing, cutie."  I grabbed the boxers he'd bought me and slid them
on.  "Silk feels pretty good, doesn't it?"
	"Yeah," he agreed.  "It's almost like you're not wearing anything."
	That got my mind going, and once that started, so did my OTHER mind.
Justin noticed and "awwww"ed.  "That's so sweet, Ry."
	I blushed.  "Let's just get to bed."  We both hesitated.  I figured that
Justin had done the inviting, so I had to make the acceptance.  So I walked over
to the table, poured some champagne into two glasses and moved towards the bed.
I handed one to Justin and slid under the sheets.  I stayed in a reclining
position and beckoned for him to join me.  He did and he lay back with his head
against my chest.  I wrapped my arms around him and we sipped our champagne.
	We talked a little, but we mainly just cuddled.  I've never felt more
comfortable in my life.  We finished our drinks and snuggled closer together.  I
had my arms wrapped around Justin and his head stayed on my chest.  We fell
asleep like that, more peaceful than either of us had slept in a long, long
time.

					CHAPTER 13

	I woke up the next morning with Justin still asleep in my arms.  He
shivered and I pulled him closer to me.  He moaned and went back to sleep.  In
what became a morning ritual, I sat there and just watched him sleep.  His face
was peaceful and beautiful.  He was so calm and so cute.  As I watched him, I
had a premonition.  As much as Justin had cared for and protected me, there
would be a time when I would have to sacrifice everything to protect him.  When
that thought came to me, I got a little afraid, but I silently said, "So be it.
I love him."
	I watched him for about an hour before he woke up and when he did, he just
slowly opened his eyes, looked up at me and smiled.  "Good morning, Ryan."
I smiled down at him.  "Morning, sweetheart."  Then I frowned.  "J, this
may be a stupid question, but will you be my boyfriend?"
	He punched me lightly on the shoulder.  "Ry, how can you think that it'd
be a stupid question?  Of course I will.  It's what I've been wanting for quite
a while."
	"'Quite a while?'" I mocked him gently.  "We've only really known each
other for about six days!"
	"No," he corrected me.  "You've only known me for about six days.  I fell
for you the minute I saw you on TV."
	"What?"  I exclaimed.  "You didn't even know me!  Was all of this just
lust?"
	"No, no, no!"  He said hurriedly. "I liked what I saw and wanted to get to
know you.  Yes, I was attracted to you, but I was attracted to your personality
more.  Please believe me.  I truly do love you, Ryan."  He started to cry.
"Please believe me."
	"Oh, Justin, I'm so sorry.  I never wanted to make you cry," I apologized
with tears in my eyes, "I just, you know, want to make sure I'm doing the right
thing."  I lowered my head and kissed his tears away.  Then we kissed, our
tongues intertwining like our minds and souls already had.
	I broke the kiss after a couple of minutes and he checked the clock.  "We
should probably start getting ready just so we're not late."
	I looked too.  "What time do we have to leave?"  He told me.  "So I've got
time for a bath, then."
	He looked at me strangely.  "A bath?  Why do you need to take a bath?  You
showered last night."
	"Sweetie, the shower was to get clean.  The bath is to relax.  It'll rest
my sore muscles and it just feels so purifying," I said to him, kissing the
crook of his neck and shoulder every other word.
	He giggled at the sensation.  "Oh.  I understand.  I've never really
thought of it that way."
	I got up and walked to the bathroom.  When I was almost at the door, I
stopped and turned towards Justin.  "You want to try it?"  I offered, extending
a slightly trembling hand.
	He smiled.  "I'd love to."  He got up and came to me.  When he reached me,
he put his arms around my waist and rested his head on my chest as we walked
into the bathroom.
	I started to fill the tub with warm water and began massaging Justin's
shoulders and neck.  He moaned and his knees got weak.  "You... should... do...
this... more... often," he managed between gasps.  I started nibbling at his
neck and shoulder and slowly lowered his boxers to the floor.  I also dropped
mine and stepped into to tub and sat down.
	Justin came and sat between my legs and I wrapped my legs around his with
my feet hooking under his knees.
	We were both obviously turned on by this contact, but we didn't really pay
it any mind.  We were too caught up in the sensation of the contact itself.  I
pulled out the bottle of shampoo and started to wash Justin's hair and my hair
at the same time.  He moaned again.  I never thought that washing someone's hair
could be so pleasurable for them!  After I had lathered up his curls really
well, I rinsed his head, being careful not to get the shampoo in his eyes.  He
closed his eyes and sighed in pleasure.  I leaned in and kissed him on the neck
again and he moaned, "That feels so great, man!"
	While my mouth was busy, I grabbed the soap and started to soap his chest
down.  I spent a lot of time on his shoulders and pecs, of course, but I
generally avoided his nipples.   I wanted this to be fun and erotic, but I
couldn't let it go TOO far.  As I was cleaning Justin's chest, I became entirely
engrossed in touching him.  It didn't matter where.  I was as fascinated by his
chest as by his stomach or back.  Just having the physical contact with him made
me feel so much... more and I didn't want to stop.  I caressed and rubbed, not
with the intent of turning him on or making him horny, but to revel in the
beauty of the man who I loved-in his strength, in his weakness, in his
perfection.
	I couldn't have said any of this if I'd tried, so I naturally didn't say
anything.  Justin seemed a little confused by where I let my hands roam, but he
didn't do or say anything to bring attention to it.
	Once I finished with his chest, I put my hands on his shoulder and gently
lowered him into the water.  No words were said: none were needed.  He went
under the water and I took the washcloth and rubbed it over him, trying to get
most of the soap off.  When he came up, I checked to make sure I'd gotten it all
by feeling how slick his chest was with my hands.  After I finished with his
chest, I gently put my hands on his hips and had him stand in front of me.
	I got the soap again and began washing up and down his legs.  I have to
admit that his member, hanging visibly between his legs was distracting, but I
managed to control myself.  As my hands moved to his bubble butt, he moaned
again, this time much more huskily.  I gently rubbed his cheeks with the soap
and even more gently spread them.  I ran my finger up and down his crack, and he
shuddered when I touched his puckered hole.  But I only washed the area and
nothing went into anything.  When he felt me pull my hands away, he groaned in
disappointment.
	Then I turned him around to get to his front.  And there it was.  7.5
inches long and straight as an arrow, he stood straight up and waiting for me.
I decided that it had to be washed, so I gingerly reached forward and grasped
his member.  He shuddered and moaned again and I started to wrap my hand around
it and move up and down just a little.  But to his disappointment, this was not
a jack-off session.  Once I had fully coated Justin's beautiful manhood, I got
to work on his balls.  He was moaning constantly and I was getting ready to
shoot without even touching myself, I was so hard.  But then I was done, and I
pulled him down into the water to rinse off again.  I sat back and he lay
against me with his head on my chest and we just enjoyed the heat of the water
and the feel of each other for another half-hour or so.  Then I lifted my foot
and opened the drain.  Justin just sighed, "Wow, man.  That was incredible.  Can
we do it again?"  He asked hopefully.  I kissed him and said, "Whenever you
want, but not now.  It's time to get out."
	So we got out of the tub and grabbed some big hotel towels and started
kissing.  As our lips locked, we dried each other off with the fluffy towels,
gently rubbing each other dry.  We broke the kiss once we were dry and got
dressed.  Then we got started packing.  We were halfway finished when the phone
rang.  I was nearest to it, so I just grabbed it and winked at Justin as I
answered it.
	"OOOOH, Justin!"  I moaned.  There was a shocked silence at the other end
of the line.  "He-hello?"  I continued to moan.  "Oh, yes, please!  Uh!  Who's
there?"  Justin was laughing silently, but he was doing it so hard that he was
doubled over and his face was bright red.
	"Uh, Ryan?"  JC's voice came through, sounding very embarrassed.  "Am I
catching you at a bad time?"
	"Of COURSE not, JC," I replied sarcastically, immediately followed by,
"Harder, Justin!  C'mon, man, harder!"
	JC spluttered for a minute and I tried with all my strength not to laugh.
"So how are you two getting along?"  He asked impishly.
I nearly screeched, "Oh, YES, J!  MORE!  Uh, what?  Oh we're getting along
fine."
He seemed taken aback.  "Well, um, this was just your wake-up call, but I
guess it wasn't necessary.  You two are already awake."
	"Yep," I replied cheerfully.  "All night!"
	Silence.  "Well, there's a meeting in my room with breakfast in about
twenty minutes.  Will that be enough time?"  He asked sardonically.
	I moaned again.  "I dunno.  Justin, baby," I called, "will twenty minutes
be enough?"
	He smiled and answered loud enough to be heard, "Uh, uh, I dunno.  How
many times has it been already?"
	"About eight," I told him, egging him on.
	"Really?  Well then, I think if I speed up, I can finish in about fifteen
minutes.  Izzat OK with you, baby?"
	"Hey, you're the one driving, do whatever you want."  I was trying not to
just start belting out laughter at JC's shocked silence.  He was completely
flabbergasted.
	"Fine.  JC," he called out, "we'll be there in twenty or twenty-five
minutes, OK?"
	"Uh... Ryan?"  JC asked hesitantly.  "Tell Justin that's fine, but he
doesn't have to, uh, hurry on my account."
	"Don't worry, JC," I assured him, "it's better when he goes fast."
	There was a quick gulp and the line was cut off abruptly.  I hung up and
Justin and I fell into each others' arms, laughing so hard that we couldn't
breathe.
	Once he had calmed down a little, Justin said, "You know, we really should
apologize for doing that to JC."
	"Yeah, I know," I agreed, "but it was fun, though.  I can't wait to see
the type of look on his face when he sees us!"
	We laughed again and went to get ready.  We brushed our teeth, I brushed
my hair, (Curly didn't have to) and packed our toiletries.  Then we went to JC's
room.
	He answered the door on the second knock.  "Wow, that was fast," he said.
To me he sounded a little... jealous?  I brushed that thought aside.  "Yeah," I
told him, "it's amazing what can happen if you take OFF a cock-ring."
	"Ryan," Justin reproved me.
	"I'm sorry," I said in a little boy voice.
	He laughed.  "I forgive you.  But remember that you're supposed to keep
our bedroom antics private."
	"But Justin," I protested, "JC already heard a lot of it.  There's no harm
in his knowing the rest!"
	"Ah," JC said quickly.  "No, thanks Ry.  I don't want to intrude."
	"But," I started.
	"I insist," he interrupted.  "Your private, uh, business should stay
private."
	"OK, JC," I said happily, "however you want it."  Justin and I laughed as
JC looked relieved.
	"C'mon in," he opened the door wider.  "Everyone's inside already."
	Justin and I walked in and grabbed some food.  I got some eggs and
pancakes and Justin got three bowls of cereal.  Then we took a seat.
	"Hungry guys?"  Chris joked.
	JC shot him a warning look.  I saw the look and answered.  "Oh, yeah.
We're starving!"
	Justin gave me a look that said, "OK, the joke's gone far enough."
	I nodded and added, "Scaring the hell out of JC sure gives you an
appetite!"
	JC flushed, embarrassed as everyone laughed.  "Sorry, JC," Justin said,
"but it was too hard to resist!"
	JC waved his hand.  "I forgive you, but don't think I won't get you back
for it!"
	"Bring it on!" I challenged.  We all laughed and got down to talking about
the trip.  I'd be a long drive, but there were only a couple more cities before
we could go back to Orlando.
	"Do you guys normally have meetings on the bus, or do you just screw
around?"  I asked.
	"We don't usually do too much, why?" Joey wanted to know.
	"'Cause I'm offering rides to anyone who wants one."  I smiled.  "I
already have one taker," I added as Justin perked up, "but I'm sure I can get
one more person."
	Joey looked down.  He still seemed a little uncomfortable.  But
surprisingly, Lance raised his hand.  "I'll go, if you'll let me."  Justin and I
looked at each other.  He kind of pointed his chin at me as if to say, "your
call."  I looked at Lance and smiled.  "Welcome aboard."  He smiled back and we
finished our preparations.
	Everyone went to pack, but Justin and I were already almost done, so we
finished long before everyone else.  We took our stuff down to the bus and went
back to our room.  We just held each other close and walked hand in hand to and
from the elevator.  After another hour or so, we met everyone down by the bus,
finished packing it and were on our way.  Before we left, I managed to filch a
copy of the route from their bus driver, so I didn't have to follow the bus
anymore.  We'd agreed to stay in contact as we all had cell phones and swapped
numbers.
	As I hopped into my car and started the engine, I got a lovely purr.  "All
right guys!" I cried out.  And then I sang, "Here we go," and at "Go," Justin
and Lance harmonized with me.  Then I floored the gas and we were off.  With the
wind whipping my hair around, I decided at the next stop, I'd put it up.  But
Justin and Lance and I were all smiling and totally enjoying the ride.  We
played CD's from all different groups and musical genres and just joked around
the whole time.
	I never felt closer to Lance than I did just then.  And Justin: well,
unless I was changing gears, we were holding hands.  Lance noticed this, but
when I looked in the rearview mirror, he smiled at me.  I guess it was all
settled now.  I breathed a sigh of relief as "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by
Nirvana came on.  I smiled-this is the life-I thought.

						CHAPTER 14

	The ride was long and we had to stop overnight around Charleston, West
Virginia on our way to Nashville.  Justin had fallen asleep during the ride, but
he had a huge smile on his face.  I wondered what he was dreaming about, but I
figured I'd ask him later.  Lance and I talked during the whole time that Justin
was asleep.  He asked me about the martial arts and I told him that I'd ended up
being trained in Tae Kwon Do, Muy Thai, Thai Kickboxing, American Kickboxing,
Kumana Karate and a little bit of ninjitsu.  I shied around exactly how much of
that I'd learned in those few months, but he was suitably impressed anyway.
I found out that Lance was raised as a religious person and that he'd
gotten so that it didn't mean anything to him but just doing something ritually.
"So I still believe in these things, I guess, but they don't really have a
lot of meaning for me."
"I know what you mean, Lance.  I was curious and started searching for
Truth so I looked at a lot of different religions.  Each of them promised me
Truth, but I only got partial-truths from them."
"What religions did you look at, Ry?"
"Well, I was deistic for a while," I began.
"What's that?" He interrupted.
"It's a belief that God created the Universe but doesn't give a shit about
people," I answered.  "But from there I explored Buddhism and Zen, Hinduism,
Shintoism, Taoism, and Wicca."
He stared at me.  "Are you serious?  You did all that?"
I nodded.  "Sure.  I want to know Truth and I didn't find it in any one of
them, so I created something of my own."
"So, what do you believe?"  He seemed interested and serious, so I wasn't
embarrassed to tell him.
"I believe in reincarnation, but it can be prevented with ultimate
knowledge of the Self.  In order to do that, you have to completely give up your
self and become selfless.  I also believe that the closer one gets to this goal,
the closer one becomes with the spirits that live in everything and can borrow
or use their power to do things with."
"Uh, huh.  And have you done anything?"
"Not a thing.  But then, I've been focusing on reaching my family and
asking if, even after all this, they're still proud of me."  Tears started
falling from my eyes, and he reached out and squeezed my shoulder.  "I'm sure
they are," he assured me.  "We all are."
I blinked back my tears and smiled at him.  I checked my gas and the time.
It was nearly one am.  -It's getting late-I thought.  -Maybe we shouldn't have
stopped for dinner for so long.- "Lance," I asked, "how far are we from the
hotel?"  He pulled out the map and after looking at it for a few minutes,
answered, "Make a right in three lights and a left two lights after that.  It'll
be on the right."
"All right.  Since it's getting late and we're pretty close to the hotel,
I'm gonna stop and get some gas.  It'll let us stretch our legs, too."
"Great idea," he agreed enthusiastically, rubbing his sore legs.
"And we'll put cutie in the back and you can sit in front and stretch out
your legs more.  OK?"
"Man, I could kiss you!"  He exulted.
"Better make it quick-while Justin's asleep!"  I joked.  He laughed and I
pulled into a nearby gas station.
He hopped out of the back.  "I gotta pee!"  He told me, bolting for the
bathroom.  I laughed and called out to him, "Have fun!"  Then I got out and went
over to Justin's side, opened the door and gently lifted him out of the car.  He
instinctively put his arms around me and squeezed and his head nuzzled into me.
I gave him a quick peck on the cheek and slipped him into the backseat.  He
murmured, "I love you, Ry," and started trying to get comfortable on the seat.
I rolled up a jacket for him to use as a pillow and he dozed right off again.  I
moved over to the pump and was getting ready to fill the tank when I heard,
"Aww, isn't that cute?" from behind me.
I whirled around to see two punks walking towards me and two more over by
their car.  There was also a man with long dark hair in a three piece suit next
to their car and he was pointing at me.  I couldn't see what he looked like, but
one of the guys walking towards me had a blue Mohawk and tattoos on the side of
his head.  He looked about 17, and so did his friend.  This one was bald and had
his eyebrows, nose, cheek, lip and tongue pierced. I shook my head.  -Why does
this seem to happen every place I go?-I thought.
I held up my hands.  "Look guys," I said wearily, "I don't want any
trouble, OK?"
The first one sneered at me.  "Really, faggot?  Well, we don't like your
kind around here," he told me in a thick Southern accent.
"Great," I said, "that's fine, since I just came to get gas and leave."
"We don't want none o' your kind a'tall," the other one confirmed.
"Look, man, I don't want any trouble.  I've already told you this.  Do you
want money or something?  I can pay you to just leave us alone."
"We don't want your faggot money, shitfucker!"  The first one spat.
"Then what do you want?"  I had a feeling I knew what was coming now, so I
started to shift my weight to the balls of my feet.
"Your blood!"  The other screamed and rushed for me.  I dropped low and
spun my right leg out and his charge ended in a flying leap headfirst into the
pump.  With a loud "Thunk!"  he was motionless on the ground and the pump had a
huge dent in it.
I stood up and the first one launched a punch at my face.  My left hand
flew out and caught the punch a couple of inches before my face.  "What the-" he
started to say.  But my right fist connected with his jaw and he stepped back,
stunned. Then I quickly did an outside crescent kick with my left foot followed
by an inside crescent kick with my right foot and used the momentum to spin
around in a spinning heel kick with my left.  It was a fast one, two, three and
they all hit the same spot on his head: right behind the ear.  He dropped
unconscious to the ground and I looked down to check if he was OK.
He was, but that's when I heard a car door slam.  Both of the other punks
were out of the car, and one of them had a tire iron.  The man in the suit was
standing there with his arms crossed, watching, and I recognized him.  This was
the same man I saw back in Pittsburg.  I decided to finally go on the offensive.
I charged towards their car.  The first one swung the tire iron at me, but I
dove to the right and kicked both his legs out from under him at his knees.  I
quickly flipped up and jumped on his stomach.  He let out a loud "OOOF!"  But I
was already doing a jump flip onto the hood of the car.  When I landed, the
other punk looked at me just in time to catch a spinning sweep across the face.
He spun to the side and slammed into a gas pump, too.  I ran along the top and
jumped down in a double jump kick to the man in the suit.
He blocked them with amazing speed and his blocks had enough force to
really hurt.  His counterstrike was almost too fast for me to block, but I
managed to get a sidearm block out before his open hand could strike my face.
We went back and forth, trading blows and blocks so fast that our hands and legs
were a blur.  I would attack his front knee and he would lift his front leg in a
front kick that would make me do a back handspring to avoid.  But I'd use my
feet as an attack in the handspring and he'd take a step to the right and come
with a low side kick to my head while I was in mid spin.  But I'd turn my
handspring into a cradle and flip back up to my feet trying to catch his foot
before he drew it back.
I realized very quickly that this guy was better than me.  I didn't need
anything more than the soreness on my arms and legs to tell me, but he had
managed to get a good strike to the small of my back that would make walking
painful for a while, too.  It wasn't until I heard sirens a few minutes later
and took a step back that I realized he was only about 5' tall and was Japanese.
"We will meet again," he promised.  Then he walked off and faded into the
darkness.
The punk with the tire iron was up and tried to swing at my back as I
watched the Japanese man go, but I heard it's whistle and ducked.  The iron rod
smashed into the car next to me and stuck there.  The kid cried out, "My fucking
car!" and tried to pull the tire iron out of the car's side.  While his hands
were holding onto the bar, I lifted my leg into an axe kick and brought it down,
straight and hard onto his arms.  There was a snapping sound and he cried out
and fell to his knees, sobbing.
I walked back to my car and saw Lance at the telephone and staring at me
wide-eyed.
"Are you the one who called the police?"  I called to him.
He just nodded.
"Good idea.  Thanks a lot.  That guy would've had me."
He just nodded.
I looked in the car, and there was Justin, staring at me with a look of
complete and absolute admiration and worry.
"That was amazing," he told me in an awed voice.
"Maybe, but I lost," I said bitterly.  Lance came over and got the gas
while Justin hugged me close and said, "You didn't lose.  It was a tie.  No one
won, Ry."
"Maybe so, Curly, but he was better than I was.  Lots."  I was nearly in
tears.
"So what?"
"I dunno."  But I slowly calmed down and held back any tears.
The pump dinged and Lance said in a very quiet voice, "Tank's full, Ry."
I glanced at him.  "Thanks, Scoop.  Now, I guess let's just get back to
the hotel."
The short ride to the hotel was silent as we were all lost in thought.  I
was seething in anger, but I started to let it go.  I was being egotistical if I
thought I was the best.  There's always someone better than me, but it sucks to
find out like that.
Justin and Lance were more awed by the fight and didn't want to upset me
more, seeing how mad I was.
I noticed the look on their faces and asked, "OK guys, what's up?  I won't
bite."
"Ry," Lance asked me, "how did you do that?"
"I told you Lance.  I took a lot of martial arts and practiced for like 12
hours a day for months."
"Oh, yeah."
"Ry," Justin asked, "do you think that this time was like those other
times?"
"Yes and no, cutie.  At least-" I began, but Lance cut me off.  "Other
times?"  He asked.
"Yeah," I answered perfunctorily, "two other times, something like this
has happened."  I quickly relayed the story to him.
"Whoa."  He muttered.
"Tell me about it.  As I was saying, those other times, I got really hurt
and the guys were better that I fought.  This time, it was just a bunch of kids.
But that guy was really good and I've never come across him before-at least, not
in a fight.  He was one of the guys who was there in Pittsburgh, but he didn't
fight me then."
"Ryan," Justin asked me in a small voice, "do you know why that guy wants
to hurt you?"
"No, but he's sure getting on my nerves."  I answered tightly.

We pulled up at the hotel after another minute and the rest of the guys
were waiting for us.
"You're late," Joey observed.
I got out of the car, limping a little from the blow to my back and said,
"Let's go inside.  It's a long story..."


**That's all for part 7.  I hope you all enjoy it.  Thanks to Vic, and all the
others for their support and input.  Thanks also to those who wrote me mail-I
really appreciate it.  Please keep in touch.  I'll be out with part 8 as soon as
I'm able.  Ryan**