Loving Lance

Loving Lance Chapter 2 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 the authors are great guys. 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!

I woke up the next morning to the insistent ringing of the phone beside my bed. I picked it up and grumbled, "Hello."

"Hey Jeremy, still feel like going to the beach today?" Lance asked cheerily.

"Sure," I said, perking up at the sound of Lance's sexy deep voice. "What's the plan for the day?"

"If it's alright with you, I'll be at your hotel to pick you up in about an hour. Then we'll head over to Justin's and pick up him and JC."

"Sounds good to me. See you in an hour," I said. I hung the phone up and quickly hopped out of bed and into the shower. Luckily, I had packed a pair of swim trunks because I had figured on going to the beach by myself. As I was toweling off from the shower, my stomach reminded me that I had yet to eat breakfast.

I found a room service menu in the top dresser drawer and ordered an omelet, bacon, and pancakes. While I was waiting for the food to arrive, I decided to catch a little news on the TV. I found a station showing news and was soon immersed in the 'local flavor' of Orlando. Just as I was about to get fed up with listening to the perky blond reporter babble on about the joys of rollerblading, I saw my own face flash across the screen.

There was a small bit of video of the guys and I leaving my hotel and climbing into the limo from the previous morning. The anchorman went on to explain the details of the contest that I had won and did a small bio on me. I was shocked to say the least. I made a mental note to ask Lance if he had seen the story and if he had known about it ahead of time.

My food arrived at that point and all other thought was driven from my head by the rumbling of my stomach. I quickly wolfed down the food and went to the bathroom to make a last check of my appearance before heading downstairs to wait on Lance. It was then that I remembered what I had forgotten to pack. "Sunscreen," I moaned to myself. Without it I would fry like an egg. 'Maybe we'll have time to stop by Wal-Mart or something,' I fervently hoped.

Glancing at my watch, I realized that I'd better hurry downstairs if I didn't want to keep Lance waiting. I grabbed my camera and hotel key and headed out the door. Just as I was nearing the entrance to the hotel, I saw Lance's 4-runner pull up outside. I sprinted the last few feet to the door so that he would see me before he got out of his vehicle. He happened to look my way and a smile spread across his face as he witnessed my mad dash for the door.

"You didn't have to hurry on my account," he said as he opened the passenger side door for me. "I hope you didn't forget anything in your rush."

"Well," I replied. "I didn't forget anything this morning, but I realized that I forgot to pack any sunscreen. Would it be possible for us to stop somewhere so I can pick some up?"

"Don't worry about it," Lance smiled. "I've got plenty. Every time I don't wear it, I regret it the next day."

"Same here," I laughed. "I hope I didn't keep you up too late last night."

"Oh, not at all," Lance said as we pulled out of the parking lot. "As a matter of fact, I was about to ask you the same thing."

"Exactly where are we headed after we pick up JC and Justin?" I queried. "I figured that you would be mobbed so much at the beach that you wouldn't have time to enjoy yourself."

"First we'll be stopping by the jet-ski rental place and then we'll drive for about 45 minutes out to a private beach that is owned by a friend of ours," Lance replied.

"I love riding jet-skis!" I exclaimed. "I've only done it a couple of times, but it was a lot of fun. How many are we getting?"

"Two,' Lance said. "That way, we can all ride at once if we want to. We all enjoy riding them too. As a matter of fact, it's my second favorite past-time. After horseback riding of course."

By this time we were pulling up to Justin's house. He and JC must have been watching for us because we hadn't even come to a complete stop before they were out the door and heading for the 4-Runner. I noticed they were both only wearing small tank-tops and swim trunks that tended to ride up as they walked. I made a mental note to keep my imagination under control today or I would end up being very embarrassed.

Making that mental note reminded me of the news broadcast this morning and I asked Lance about it. "I didn't see it," he replied. "But they usually do something like that when we have a contest winner in town. I should have thought of it and warned you."

"Don't worry about it. I was just kinda surprised to see myself on TV in Florida."

Justin and JC climbed inside and greeted us. "Good to see you again Jeremy," JC said. "When Lance called and told us that you'd be joining us this morning, it made my day."

"You're too kind," I replied with a blush.

"No, really," said Justin. "Now Lance can taunt someone else as he rides circles around them on the jet-ski." JC and I had a hard time controlling our laughter.

"Hey, when ya got, flaunt it," Lance said with a smirk.

We continued to exchange witty banter as Lance drove to the jet-ski rental business. When we arrived, Lance quickly got out and went inside to confirm our rentals. He returned a few minutes later and backed the 4-Runner up to a two jet-ski trailer and the owner hooked us up. "Just 45 minutes til we're on the water," Lance assured me.

The trip out to the beach was uneventful. Justin fell asleep and the rest of us were subjected to his loud snoring until Lance turned onto a small access road. JC woke Justin up and, in the process, began a shoving match that lasted for the final mile of the trip.

"Finally!" Lance sighed as we pulled up to a small beach house. "I've been looking forward to this for the past week." Justin climbed out and guided Lance back to the edge of the water in preparation for unloading the jet-skis. Justin climbed up and unhooked the jet-skis and soon they were bobbing in the surf. Lance parked the 4-Runner and the rest of us got out.

I'm gonna go use the little boys' room real fast," JC said as he headed for the house.

"Ooh, me too. Wait up!" Justin yelled as he ran after him.

Lance and I walked down to the edge of the water and he kicked off his shoes and began to unbuckle his pants. To my relief, (and disappointment) he was wearing his swim trunks underneath. He then pulled off his shirt, but it managed to get tangled up around his head. I took the opportunity to let my eyes wander over his body.

He had a pale complexion with a few freckles here and there. His stomach was flat, with just a tiny hint of the muscles that lay underneath. His chest and arms weren't very developed, but they weren't flabby by any means. The only body hair visible was under his arms and a tiny bit that traveled from his bellybutton to the waistband of his trunks. Overall, I thought he looked just scrumptious.

I became very nervous at this point because I've always been self-conscious about my body and here I was, swimming with three major hunks. I finally convinced myself to take off my shirt and relax. It's not like they were gonna make fun of me or anything.

Lance began applying sunscreen to himself until he found a spot that he couldn't reach on his back. "Hey Jeremy," he asked. "Could you put some sunscreen back here where I can't reach?"

My eyes nearly popped out of my head as I replied, "S-s-sure, no problem." He handed me the bottle of sunscreen and I squeezed some into my palm. I had to concentrate to keep my hands from shaking as I slowly raised them to his back. I began rubbing in small circles to work in the lotion. His skin felt like silk under my touch and I probably rubbed about twice as long as I needed to. When I realized this, I quickly jerked my hands back and said, "OK, all done."

Lance turned around and gave me a big smile. "Thanks, you need any help with it yourself?" he asked.

"Thanks for the offer, but I've always been pretty flexible." I turned away as one part of my brain screamed, 'Fool! You could have had Lance Bass rubbing sunscreen onto your back!' The calm, rational part answered, 'Yes, but then he might have seen the prominent bulge in our pants.'

The logical side won out and I quickly walked back towards the 4-Runner to get the blanket from the back seat. On the way, I forced myself to think of every disgusting biology experiment that I had ever performed. By the time I got back to the water, Justin and JC had returned from the bathroom and I had everything under control. They quickly pulled off their shirts, sending another reeling blow to my rational half.

I slathered on a healthy dose of sunscreen and dove into the pounding surf. Lance was gingerly working his way into the water when Justin and JC grabbed him from behind and forced him completely under. He came up sputtering and grimly announced, "You'll pay for that."

"What are you gonna do about it?" JC teased. "There's two of us and only one of you."

"That's what you think," said Lance. "Jeremy is on my side and he's gonna help me kick your scrawny butts."

"What?" I yelped. "How did I get dragged into this?" The only answer I received was in the form of a flying tackle from JC. We wrestled around for several minutes with neither team gaining an advantage.

Suddenly, Lance broke Justin's grip on his waist and sprinted for the jet-skis yelling, "Come on, we'll make our get away!"

I quickly dunked JC and jumped onto the jet-ski behind Lance. He gunned the motor and we sped out over the ocean. JC and Justin quickly followed suit with JC in the driver's seat. Lance whipped us around until we were nearly on a collision course with Justin and JC. At the last minute, he turned away sharply and sent a large jet of water into their faces. JC wasn't without skills of his own and he soon managed to drench us too. We played on the jet-skis for the better part of an hour until the rumbling of our stomachs began to drown out the sounds of the motor.

It was only when we started heading in that I realized that my hands were wrapped around Lance's waist. They must have been that way the entire time that we were on the jet-skis. I didn't feel so nervous about it when I realized that he hadn't complained and that Justin was hanging on to JC in the same way. Lance pulled up onto the beach and retrieved a large picnic basket from the rear of the 4-Runner. He brought it over to the blanket and unpacked fried chicken, potato salad, corn, rolls, and a pecan pie.

"You really know how to pick food!" I exclaimed. "This is some of my favorite stuff."

"I'm from the South too, remember?" he smiled. "This is the kind of stuff that I was raised on."

We began filling our plates as JC and Justin piloted their jet-ski onto the sand beside ours. They raced up to the blanket and began piling their plates high with food. Not much was said until the last piece of pecan pie had been devoured and we all flopped down onto the sand. JC spoke up first, "We need to think of something to do for the 30 minutes before we can go back in the water."

"It better not be wresting unless you wanna be covered in pecan pie," Lance moaned as he clutched his full stomach.

"So what movie did you guys see last night?" Justin asked. "Anything good?"

'Oh no!" I groaned. "It was so horrible that I've repressed the memory. Everything from Justin's house to my hotel is missing."

"Let me guess," JC giggled. "You let Lance pick the movie? No one ever makes that mistake twice."

"Hey!" Lance exclaimed. "I don't always make bad decisions about what movie to see."

"Oh yeah?" said Justin. "What about the time you chose that horror movie that was so scary we all fell asleep?"

"OK, so I don't have the best track record with movies, but at least I don't snore like a dying horse."

Justin was too full to attack Lance so he simply glared at him for a while. "I think it's safe to get back in the water now," I said. "At least I don't feel like I'm gonna pop anymore.

"You wanna drive this time?" Lance asked me. "I don't want to have all the fun."

"Sure, but I'm not really that good of a driver, so don't blame me if we roll over a few times," I informed him.

We hopped back onto the jet-skis, with Justin and I in control. A tingle went through my entire body as I felt Lance's strong hands wrap around my waist. I had to concentrate on my biology experiments again to keep his hands from having company. It turns out that Justin wasn't an accomplished jet-ski operator either, so I wasn't totally alone. In the next hour, I managed to roll the jet-ski three or four times, but soon I was handling it like a pro(OK, maybe I wasn't that good). We decided to pack it in about 3:00 and head back for the big city.

We had a little trouble getting the jet-skis loaded back on the trailer and I managed to smash my thumb. Nothing too serious, but I thought it was never gonna stop hurting. As we pulled back out onto the highway, JC leaned up and said, "I've got an idea. Why don't we drop you off at your hotel, get cleaned up, pick up Chris and Joey and then come get you and go to dinner."

"Sounds like a good plan to me," I said with a yawn. I snuggled deeper into the seat and drifted off to sleep.

I was awakened about an hour later by Lance's gentle shaking of my shoulder. "Wake up," he said softly. "We're at your hotel. I'm gonna go drop off JC and Justin and we'll be back in about an hour.

"OK, see you then," I mumbled. I waved goodbye and traced a weaving path to the elevator. The headache that was raging in my skull reminded me why I didn't like to take short naps. Barely making it to my room, I quickly swallowed a couple of pain relievers to combat the headache and the continuing dull pain in my thumb. I jumped in the shower and turned the cold water all the way up in an effort to revive myself. Fifteen minutes later, I was feeling much better and I began to think back on the day.

They had actually wanted to see me again even when they didn't have to. That, plus the memory of Lance's smooth skin under my fingers, made me feel better about myself than I had in a long while. Now I was going to supper with them and it will probably be the last time I see any of them. That thought quickly brought me back to reality. I brushed my teeth and hair and put on a set of clean clothes. I noticed in the mirror that I had a small bit of sunburned skin just below my hairline. 'Must be my lucky day,' I thought to myself. 'I usually burn more than that, sunscreen or no sunscreen.

Noticing the time, I finished getting ready and walked downstairs. I stepped outside and was greeted with the sight of a long black limo pulling into the parking lot. "Ready for another fun-filled adventure with 'N Sync?" Chris asked as he opened the door. "We had to get the limo cause we couldn't all fit in Lance's 4-Runner."

"Chris, Joey, nice to see you again," I said. "What were ya'll up to today?"

"I was just teaching Chris here the finer points of the Nintendo 64 gaming system," Joey said with a laugh.

"In other words, he kicked my butt at video games all day," Chris glowered. "Of course, I'd be that good too if I spent all my time playing and eating."

"Don't make me beat the snot out of you in real life too," Joey jokingly warned as he yanked one of Chris' braids.

Before it their playfulness turned into a full-fledged wrestling match I asked, "Where are we gonna eat?" Of course, this just ended up making the situation worse, since it gave them something else to argue about.

"Hard Rock Café?" JC questioned hopefully. The other guys moaned, but much to JC's delight, I voiced my approval.

"Sorry, I got to the driver first," Justin announced with a grin. "We're headed to this Italian place called Guccione's. I've been there a couple of times before and the food is excellent."

It turned out to be a quaint little restaurant and grocery store stuck in the corner of a mini-mall. As we stepped in the door, I was overwhelmed by the most wondrous smells. Not only did the food have a wonderful odor, but you could also smell the herbs and spices that they sold in the grocery section of the store. Most of the light on the inside came from the candles that where placed in the center of each table and in sconces on the walls.

"Seems like a pretty romantic little place Justin," JC said. "Who did you say that you came here with?"

"That's for me to know and you to agonize over for days," Justin replied with a smirk.

Our waiter, Mario, brought us water and rolls before taking our order. I requested the meaty lasagna, Lance chose fettuccini alfredo, JC had the basil chicken, and Justin, Chris and Joey all had spaghetti. "You come to an Italian restaurant and get spaghetti?" I asked them.

"Nobody makes spaghetti better than us Italians," said Joey. "And don't you forget it."

"JC told us about your experience at the movies last night," Chris said to me. "We should have warned you in advance about Lance's dysfunction in the area of movie selection."

"Did ya'll have fun at the beach?" Chris asked.

"We had a great time," JC answered. "But you should be warned that Lance's threats carry a lot more weight with Jeremy around to help back them up."

"I think JC and I actually managed to teach Jeremy and Justin how do drive a jet-ski, although Justin still sucks pretty bad," Lance said with a laugh. He quickly ducked as Justin hurled a roll at his head.

"Oh, I've been meaning to ask who owns the house and the beach. I was going to earlier, but that's when I fell asleep," I said.

It's belongs to Robin Williams," Justin stated matter-of-factly. "We met him in town a while back and he offered to left us use it when we wanted to go to the beach without getting mobbed."

"ROBIN WILLIAMS?!" I yelled. "I was at Robin Williams' beach house? He is my all-time favorite comedian!"

"What are we, chopped liver?" asked Chris.

"Well, you guys are nice and all, but Robin Williams is the big time," I joked. That was quickly followed by a yelp on my part as Chris stabbed me in the arm with his fork.

The food arrived and Chris forgot about attacking me and concentrated on his spaghetti. "This food is great," commented JC. "While haven't you told us about this place before Justin?"

"He didn't want to reveal the location of his little love nest," Joey said with a giggle.

Justin sighed, "OK, if you must know, I was here with my mom. She really likes Italian food and we come here and eat together sometimes."

"Darn," said Lance. "And I was hoping for some big juicy secret. I was betting on Britney Spears." Lance dodged another flying roll and resumed his meal.

When the check came, I stood up and said, "I insist that you let me pay for the meal tonight. You guys have been really great to me over the last few days and I really want to try to pay you back."

"You won't hear any argument from me," Chris said as I walked to the register.

When we climbed back in the limo, Justin spoke up, "How about we go back to my place and watch some pay-per-view movies and play Nintendo?"

"Sure," the guys chorused. Justin looked at me and asked, "What about you Jeremy, you wanna join us?"

"If your sure its not too much trouble, I think I'd like to," I replied.

"It's no trouble at all. I think we've had just as much fun with you over the past few days as you've had with us," Justin assured me.

Within minutes of arriving at Justin's house, Joey had the N64 set up and was challenging everyone to a four-player game of Goldeneye. I've always sucked at that game, but I agreed to play anyway. Pretty soon, Joey, Chris, Justin and I were all huddled around the television, deeply immersed in the game, as Lance and JC looked on. It seemed to me that this game mainly consisted of me being hunted down and shot like a dog. I never did see any of them communicate, but they must have prearranged to beat the crap out of me and only me.

I gave up in disgust and JC took my place, not faring much better. "We could go check on the other TV and see what movies there are to watch," Lance suggested.

"Umm, Lance. No offense, but you are to go nowhere near the TV until you have proper supervision," I said. "We can't be having you pick out any more movies on your own."

The other four guys decided to have a tournament to determine the ultimate Goldeneye champion, but I declined to participate. "I think I've embarrassed myself enough for one night," I replied.

Lance and I sat on the couch and continued our discussion about our pasts from the previous night. I asked him about life on the road and not being home much.

"It's kinda rough being away from my family for so long at a time, but I try to talk to them pretty often and that helps," Lance explained. "I've been around the others guys so long that they're like brothers to me. I don't know what I'd do without them." He looked wistfully towards the group clustered around the TV.

"I just want you to know that I really do enjoy listening to your music," I said. "I know that a lot of people say that it doesn't really have much substance, but I don't agree with them. Songs like "Music of My Heart" are really inspirational. And the more upbeat ones help keep me in a good mood when I might not be otherwise. I appreciate what you do."

To my surprise, Lance pulled me into a hug. As I was looking over his shoulder, I noticed that the other guys had turned from their game and they must have listened to my little speech. They all got up and trapped me in the middle of a group hug. Pulling away, Chris said, "How would you like to come to the studio with us tomorrow? I know you may be sick of being around us, but you're welcome to come."

"That would be awesome!" I exclaimed. "I've always wanted to see how songs are produced."

"Hey, who's up for some movies?" Joey asked, breaking the somewhat somber mood.

"Good idea, you already beat us all at Nintendo anyway," Justin replied. "Let's watch them on the big TV in the den. We can pick up some munchies from the kitchen on the way."

We trooped into the kitchen and microwaved several bags of popcorn and dumped them all into a big bowl. Justin poured on extra butter and salt and we all grabbed some sodas from the fridge. We made our way into the den and got settled in for the movies. I ended up in the middle of the couch between Lance and Joey. Justin claimed the recliner and JC and Chris were left with the floor. I tossed them some pillows to make their seats a little more comfortable.

"OK, so do we wanna see action, drama, comedy, or horror?" asked Justin as he picked up the remote.

"I vote for anything but comedy," I replied with a glance in Lance's direction. "I don't think I could stand to sit through another one if it turned out to be bad."

"We want horror!" yelled Joey and Chris.

"We don't really care," JC and Lance answered.

"OK," said Justin. "Action it is." Chris and Joey began to protest and Justin said, "I'm the one with the remote, so I'm claiming JC and Lance's votes for my side."

"OK, if that's how it's gonna be," Joey said. He turned to Chris and they nodded their heads and tackled Justin simultaneously. After wrestling the remote away from him, they used it to choose the first horror movie that came up.

The movie began with a quiet scene in the woods that was quickly broken by and ear-shattering scream. This caused all of us to jump and when Lance's hand came down, it rested partially on his thigh and partially on mine. It didn't stay their very long, but I was forced to pick up a pillow from the floor to disguise its impact on me.

The first movie ended before long and I stood up and stretched. "I'm gonna go get something else to drink," I announced. "Anybody else need anything?" I ended up carrying six cans of soda back into the den just in time to catch the start of the action movie that Justin had chosen.

After the movie had been playing for a while, I looked around and was surprised to find that JC and Chris had fallen asleep. They were soon followed by Lance and Joey. Unlike all those stories that I've read on the Internet, the object of my affection didn't fall asleep on my shoulder, but Joey did. And he snored.

Justin saw my predicament and laughed softly. I gently eased Joey's head from my shoulder onto the back of the couch. I tried to stand slowly, but we were wedged onto the couch so tightly that I jostled Lance and he woke up. As he blinked the sleep from his eyes, he looked up and said, "I guess you need to get back to your hotel now."

"Yeah, I better get to bed if I don't want fall asleep tomorrow in the studio."

"You could sleep here if you want," Justin spoke up.

"Thanks for the offer, but all my clothes and stuff are back at the hotel. I think it would just be easier if I went back there. I'll just go call a cab to take me."

"No," Lance said. "I'll take you. I should be getting back to my place anyway."

"Thanks for having me over Justin," I said. "Tell the others when they wake up that I'll see them tomorrow."

"OK, night guys," Justin yawned.

Lance and I made our way out to his vehicle and climbed inside. He looked pretty tired so I asked, "Are you sure you can make it home all right?"

"I'll be fine," he replied. "It just takes me a minute to wake up."

He started the engine and began the trip back to my hotel. I began to drift off and I turned my head in Lance's direction. As the streetlights zipped by, I examined his profile in their flickering light. The spikes of his hair, his strong jaw, and those heavenly eyes, they were the stuff dream are made of.

"Jeremy? Are you OK?" Lance's voice intruded into my musings.

"Umm, yeah. I guess I was a little more little more sleepy than I thought," I quickly lied. My face began to burn from the embarrassment of being caught staring, but luckily it was dark and Lance couldn't tell. He seemed to believe my excuse and didn't say much for the remainder of the trip.

As we pulled up to my hotel, he turned to me and said, "Do you need any help getting up to your room?"

I mulled it over quickly and decided that I wasn't going to waste this opportunity like I had with the sunscreen. "I am pretty tired," I replied with an exaggerated yawn.

Lance parked the 4-Runner and led me into the building. I forced myself to stumble just so he would have to catch me as we entered the elevators. His strong arms quickly clamped around me and arrested my fall. "Good thing I did come," he said with a chuckle.

He guided me to my room and I fumbled with the key until my door was open. He followed me in and helped me pull off my shoes and shirt. "I think you can make it from here," he said. To my utter surprise, he swept me into a hug and whispered, "Thanks again for what you said earlier. Having fans like you makes it all worth while."

He turned at the doorway and said, "We get up pretty early to go to the studio, so we'll send the limo by to pick you up at about nine."

"See you then," I replied sleepily as he slowly shut the door.

My thoughts began to wander back over the events of the day as I slid under the covers. Having fun at the beach, dinner, and watching movies like we'd been friends for years. But tomorrow would be my last day with them, I suddenly realized. Tears came to my eyes with this final thought, but they were soon soaked up by my pillow as I drifted off to sleep.

Thanks again for reading this and I hope the second chapter was a little more clear than the first. The suggestions that everyone sent in were very helpful and I hope that they keep coming.