I Just Wanna Be With You

By: Cindy

"Oh wow! Look at that! I can't wait til we land!" I screamed as I looked out the plane window.

"Yeah, yeah, been here, seen that." Chris said rolling his eyes at me.

"Hey, you said you'd show me around this paradise. Just because you've been here a million times doesn't mean it's not beautiful anymore." I pouted.

"I know. I promised to show you the highlights and I will. We do have work to do though, you know?"

"Of course I know that. When have I ever not done my JOB?" I gave him a glare.

"I'm just playin' with you, don't get so defensive, girl! If you weren't wonderful, you wouldn't be working for wonderful ME!" He grinned from ear to ear and I had to laugh.

"Yeah, okay, whatever, Master!" I giggled.

I have been working as a personal assistant to Chris for the past two years now. We are the best of friends and he is absolutely great to work for. He never yells and gives lots of praise for a job well done. Don't get me wrong, though, it's hard work keeping up with his hyper self all day every day. And the practical jokes....GEEZ! He definitely keeps everyone around on their toes. I never have to worry about getting bored or lonely on the road with him around.

I have a good relationship with all the guys in the group. Well all except for Lance. In the two years I have worked for Chris I don't think I've talked to him more than three or four times. I just can't. I was a huge fan of the group before I got this job and Lance was always my favorite. I still, after two years of seeing him every day, can't breathe when he walks into a room. Apparently he doesn't mind that I don't speak to him because he's never tried to develop a relationship with me either. Not that I blame him. I probably have the old "deer in headlights" look every time he sees me! I'm sure he knows I'm a freak of some sort.

Anyway, we're in the Bahamas and I've never been here before. Chris promised me to show me around as they will have quite a bit of free time to play while we're here. I can't wait! I never traveled much before this job and I have loved seeing all the different cities and countries. This will be a sort of working vacation for the guys. They deserve it. To tell you the truth, I can't wait to catch Lance on the beach shirtless! Chris knows about my obsession with Lance and loves to torment me. I had to make him swear on a Bible to NEVER mention it or tease me in front of Lance. I told him I would quit in a heartbeat. Apparently I do a good job because that scared him! Made me feel good anyway. You know he hates to miss an opportunity to embarrass the hell out of someone.

We all crammed into an awaiting van to head over to the Atlantis resort. My friends had stayed there on a trip once and I was so excited about seeing it.

It was breathtaking! I was in heaven. I know I had the stupidest grin plastered on my face because all Chris did was sit there and laugh at me.

"Stop it!" I squealed.

"I'm sorry, it's just like ‘country come to town' with you." he said in a fake southern drawl. He was trying to imitate my lower Alabama accent.

"Shut up will ya?!?! I can't help it if I'm no world traveler like you!" I rolled my eyes at him but kept on with the silly grin.

"You know you love me" he teased.

"Sure thing, dude. You're the shit." I teased right back.

"Will you two knock it off?!? Is it gonna be this way all week?" Justin whined.

"You know it will be, dude, it's like this every other day." JC chimed in.

"Chris and I thank you all for your love and support." I said. They all laughed. Like I said, we're all friends. Lance didn't say anything. He just stared out his window.

We all headed up to our rooms. Chris and I had adjoining rooms so he could bug me at all hours of the day or night. It wasn’t unusual to get a call or knock on the connecting door at 2 in the morning because he got an idea. I swear the man never sleeps! He does his best thinking in the middle of the night. He needs a woman. This didn’t happen when Dani was around. I guess she kept him occupied and exhausted. They had been broken up now for about six months. He was very depressed for a while and gained a bunch of weight. He has lost it all now and seems to be doing better but he hasn’t had a date since they broke up. I worry about him sometimes but he really won’t talk about her to me. Of course, he still has to see her all the time because of Fuman. I can see it in his eyes that he still loves her. She wanted marriage and he didn’t. The ultimatum came and she left when he wouldn’t budge. I wouldn’t want to marry a man who wasn’t ready, though. It could only end badly. So here we sit, me and Chris, alone and lonely. We only have each other.

I had been married once. It ended badly, too. He cheated and got caught when she turned up pregnant. Good riddance, I guess, but I haven’t been able to get serious about anyone since. It’s been 7 years and I am still a little bitter and afraid of commitment again. I wonder if I’d ever be able to love someone again.

UGH! Get out of the funk, girl. We’re in the Bahamas! Somewhere I thought I’d never get to go. We were free for the rest of the day so I decided I was gonna check this place out. I was changing into some shorts when the connecting door opened. Chris “Kramered” into the room.

“Uh, HELLO! Can you see I’m trying to get dressed! Ever heard of knocking?” I screamed. I turned my back to him as I zipped up my jean shorts.

“Oh, God, I’m so sorry! Well, not really, hey turn back around!” He said. I stared daggers over my shoulder at him and he raised his eyebrows.

“Damn, now I have to add being sexually harassed to my job description.”

“ If you like you can harass me back.” There go the eyebrows again. He is so cute. ‘Too bad he’s my boss’, I thought to myself.

“Did you have a purpose for entering my room?” I asked him, still pretending to be pissed off.

“Yes, ma’am I did” he grinned. “I’m gonna take you sight-seeing.”

“Aren’t you worried about being spotted by fans?”

“Nah, nobody knows we’re here yet. We’ll have Lonnie follow behind us, but not too close ‘cuz I wanna harass you some more.” He crossed his arms over his chest and looked me up and down. “Nice outfit. You tryin’ to find a man here this week? Just might work.”

“Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence.” I pouted. I always won him over with the pout.

“You are so pretty, why do you need a vote of confidence from me or anybody else?”

“Don’t get me started on my life right now, Chris. Let’s just get out of here and see what we can find. I wanna see everything this place has to offer.”

“You know we’re only gonna be here a week.”

“Shut up and show me the sights, Kirkpatrick!”

“Okay, okay, let’s go.” We headed out to look around. In the hallway we met up with Lonnie. I swear, it’s more obvious he’s somebody with that huge black man following him around. I think we’d be safer alone.

“This place is sooooooo beautiful!” I squealed. The sky and the water were the same bright blue. “I’ve never seen anything like this....ever.”

“Mmmmmmmhmmmmmm.” I looked at Chris and he was looking at me.

“What? Is something wrong? What are you looking at?” I questioned

“Nuthin’. You’re right, this place is pretty cool.”

“Pretty cool? You’re so jaded! Come here and look at these fish!” I grabbed his hand and dragged him over to the aquarium.

“Uh huh, greeeeeaaaaaaaaatt fish.”

“You’re such a dick! I’m having fun no matter how hard you make it for me. I’m going down to the beach.” I marched away from him.

“Hey, wait up! I’m gonna show you a really cool place down by the water. Now this place is really cool. We filmed a video here once and I love this place!” I looked at him puzzled by his new attitude.

“Well, let’s go then!” I took off my sandals and ran across the sand with Chris hot on my heels.

“Okay, wait! We have to climb over these rocks.”

“We have to what?” I frowned.

“Climb over the rocks to the other side. You won’t believe it.” I was still frowning. “Come on! You won’t regret it.” He motioned for Lonnie to head back to the hotel. We had not been bothered by any fans.

“Fine, but if I get hurt on these rocks you’re a dead man. I’m serious! NSYNC becomes NSYN!” I stated firmly as I put my sandals back on. He grabbed my hand and started over the rocks. They were pretty high and I was a little worried but I knew he wouldn’t let anything happen to me.

When he got to the top he pulled me up with him. I looked over to the other side and my breath caught in my throat.

“Oh...My...God!” I panted.

“Told you.” He grinned and began to pull me down the other side of the rocks.

There was a hidden lagoon there with a waterfall and the most beautiful trees and flowers growing everywhere. My eyes almost teared up. I’ve never witnessed anything so beautiful in my life. I stepped into the cool water and sighed. My eyes were closed and I didn’t hear Chris come up behind me. Before I knew it, he had pushed me into the water.

“UGH! PFFFFFFT!” I spewed as I came up for air. “What the fuck was that for?” He was laughing so hard he fell to his knees. I couldn’t help but laugh. He’s so cute when he’s giggling. “Okay, you know you’ve gotta get wet, too.”

“Or what?” He countered.

“Or, um, or, I don’t know. This just isn’t fair. You’re bigger and stronger than me. I can’t drag you into this water!”

He started poking me in the side and I screamed. I hate being tickled more than anything in the world and he knows it. I was hopping all over the place trying to get away to no avail. He came at me with both hands and pushed them into my ribs.

“No, Chris, pleeeeasssse!” I screamed as my knees buckled. We fell into a heap on the sand laughing hysterically.

I was still laughing but noticed he wasn’t laughing anymore. I opened my eyes and he was staring down at me. He moved a piece of wet hair off my forehead and a spark shot through me. He leaned toward me and stopped. I licked my lips and he moved towards me again. When his lips met mine they were so soft and sweet. The kiss was tender and gentle at first, then he pressed down on me a little harder. I felt his tongue touch my lips and opened them for him. He was moving so slowly I thought I was going to scream. I grabbed the back of his head and pushed my tongue into his mouth.

“Mmmmmmmmm.” He moaned and wrapped his arms around my waist. It has been so long since I kissed someone. I forgot how much I loved it. I could kiss forever.

And it seemed like forever before he broke the kiss. He looked down at me and I don’t think I’ve ever seen him looking so serious. No games, no teasing.

“Well, um, I, uh, I’m sorry for that.” He said getting off me and sitting up.

I sat up next to him and said “Why are you sorry? You didn’t want to do that?”

“Uh, yeah, I’ve always wanted to do that, but I didn’t mean to actually act on it.”

“Okay. So what the hell does that mean?” I asked.

“I’m your boss, you work for me, I shouldn’t have done that.” He looked really distraught.

“Does it matter to you at all that I wanted it, too?”

“You did?”

“I kissed you back didn’t I?”

“Yeah, I guess you did!” He smiled. “So does that mean I can do it again?”

“Please do it again, Chris.” I whispered.

He turned to me and kissed me softly. His thumb brushed my cheek then he pushed me down under him again. This time the kisses got harder and more passionate quickly. His mouth moved over my jawline to my ear and down my neck. I got goose bumps all over. I love having my neck kissed. I moaned and he sucked on my neck harder. My stomach was doing flip flops. His mouth moved down between my breasts. I was wearing a low cut halter top. His lips and tongue on my skin were setting me on fire. He moved his hand over my breast and pushed the material off to uncover my hardened nipple. When he took my nipple into his mouth I thought I was going to come right then and there. I ran my fingers through his hair.

“Mmmmmmmmm, Chris.” I moaned.

“You taste so good, Cindy.” He whispered. My mind was reeling. My body was awake again. It’s been so long.

As quickly as it began, it stopped.

“What?” I questioned. “What’s wrong?”

“Um, I was just thinking that if we don’t stop now, I won’t be able to.”

“And the problem with that is?” Frustration laced my words.

“The problem is it’s getting dark and we have to go back over those rocks and I don’t want you to get hurt.” He looked so concerned.

“Oh, okay. So we need to head back to the hotel?”

“Yeah, we do.” He stood up and put out his hand to help me up.

“Thank you.” I said. He didn’t let go of my hand. We walked back over the rocks and all the way to the hotel holding hands.

Chris dropped my hand as we entered the lobby. I didn’t question it. There were people everywhere and I understood completely. Lonnie saw us and walked over to us. We headed straight for the elevator. We didn’t speak in the elevator or in the hall as we walked to our rooms. We said goodbye to Lonnie and went into Chris’ door. I walked in first and headed over to the sliding glass door and looked out at the water. Chris came up behind me and put his hands on my arms. I felt his mouth on my neck. Once again, goose bumps. I shivered.

“Ooh, you’re still in wet clothes. I bet you’re freezing. We’ve got to get you out of these clothes.”

“Well, is that so?” I said, teasingly.

“That’s not what I meant.” I raised a curious brow. “It’s not, I swear.”

“On that note, I’m going to take a shower.” I started to walk away from him.

“Wait!” I turned around to look at him. He just stared at me.

“What?” I said.

He grabbed my face and kissed me for all he was worth. I was caught off guard but recovered quickly and slid my hands around his waist. The kiss was intense and when he pulled away from me, his eyes were darker than I have ever seen them.

“God, I want you so bad, Cindy,” he almost growled. I had never seen him like this and I have to say I was loving it.

“Then take me, Chris.”

I sucked his bottom lip and ran my hands under his shirt. It was his turn to shiver. I pulled his shirt over his head causing us to break our kiss. He backed me up until I was stopped by the bed. He sat me down and laid me back. His fingertips brushed across my bare stomach and up to my breast. My nipple hardened immediately to his touch. He pulled the ties at my neck and back and threw my halter onto the floor.

“Mmmmmmmm”, he moaned against my breast. I ran my hands through his spiky hair as he worked his magic on one breast and then the other. Once again, I was writhing in ecstasy.

His hand wandered down to the top of my shorts. I thought I would go crazy if he didn’t touch me soon. His mouth moved to my stomach as he massaged my clit through the fabric. My hips jumped off the bed at his touch. Damn, I was still dressed and he had this effect on me. He unbuttoned my shorts and slid them off slowly. I laid there in just my panties and he was hovering over me taking in my body.

“You are so beautiful, Cindy. I’ve never seen anyone as beautiful as you.”

“Please, Chris, I need you to touch me.” I whispered. I ran my hand over the bulge that had formed in his pants. He breathed in deeply and leaned down to kiss my mound through my panties.

“Oh, God, Chris, you’ve got to stop teasing me!” He looked up at me and the little sparkle in his eyes was adorable. He slid my panties down my legs and threw them on the floor. He parted my thighs and rubbed his thumb across my clit.

“UGGH! Oh, shit!” I screamed. He leaned down and ran his tongue up my slit and around my clit in little circles. I was about to explode already. He entered me with one finger, then another and pushed them in and out of me slowly while he continued to suck on my clit. This slow pace was killing me. I was going out of my mind.

“Jesus, Chris, I need you inside me now!”

“Baby, you have no patience at all, do you?”

“Hell, no, not right now I don’t!” I pulled his face up to mine and kissed him hard. I tugged on his pants trying to get them off him.

“Slow down, baby, we’ve got all night.” He said.

“Please just get these off!” Finally the pants were off and I was stroking his engorged cock. I pulled him on top of me and he entered me slowly. I immediately began thrusting upwards trying to take in more of him. He was a nice size and felt wonderful in me.

“Baby, you feel so good. Faster, baby, please.” I moaned in his ear. He obliged me and sped up. I was on the edge and when he reached between us to massage my clit I exploded.

“Oh My God! UGH, Chris! Shit!” I screamed. He came right after me.

“Oooooh, baby, mmmmmmm!” He panted. “God that was wonderful.”

“Yes it was. We should’ve done that a long time ago!” I said.

“You’re right about that!” We snuggled up together and fell asleep.

I woke up with the sun beaming in through the balcony door. ‘Another beautiful day in paradise’ I thought. I looked over on the other pillow and saw Chris watching me.

“Oh, you scared me. I thought you were still asleep. Since when are you so quiet?” I asked him.

“Since I’m getting to watch this beautiful creature in my bed wake up to a brand new day. I didn’t want to disturb your morning thoughts. So, what were you thinking anyway?”

“What a beautiful day it’s going to be.” I grinned at him. He pulled me close to him and hugged me tight. I was loving this feeling. It has been so long since I felt like someone cared for me.

“So, what are we gonna do today? I vote we stay right here allllllll day long.” He sighed.

“No, we’re not going to do that! I wanna go to the pool and get some sun. Can’t come to the Bahamas and not get some sun.”

“Aw, man, you’re gonna make me lay out by the pool?”

“Well, you don’t have to come, you can stay here while I check out the pool action.”

“Oh, no you don’t! You don’t go anywhere without me from now on!”

“Excuse me?” I countered.

“I mean, I don’t want anybody getting their hands on my woman.”

“Your woman, huh?”

“Yeah, I mean, if you wanna be.” I don’t think I’ve ever seen him look cuter than he is right now.

“Of course, I wanna be. I do need to know if we’re going to tell everyone else, though. Is this going to be a public relationship?”

“I don’t do private relationships. That’s Justin’s job. Nobody cares if I’m dating someone or not.”

“That’s not true. You have tons of fans who are gonna hate my ass.”

“Well, I happen to love your ass.” He said as he gave it a pinch.

“HEY! That hurt!” I wiggled away from him. “I’m going to take a shower then head to the pool with or without you, babes.”

“What about the shower, can that be with me, too?” He grinned a silly grin and I had to laugh.

“Would you order us some breakfast, please? I can’t function without breakfast.” I gave him my signature pout and he melted.

“What can I get you, princess?”

“Oooh, I like the sound of that!” I ducked as he threw a pillow at me. “Just some pancakes and orange juice will be good.” I headed through the connecting door to my room.

I took my shower and french braided my long auburn hair to get it out of the way. I put on my new fuschia bikini. I looked pretty good, I thought. Chris is gonna love this suit. I threw on some shorts and a tank top and headed back to his room. Breakfast had just been delivered and Chris was freshly showered too. I walked over and gave him a good morning kiss on the cheek. He pulled me down in his lap and laid a sloppy wet kiss on me.

“Ewwwwww, what was that?” I screeched.

“Just a gooey mornin’ kiss, baby. You didn’t like it?” He raised his eyebrows.

“Um, sure I did, baby.” I answered as I wiped the slobber off my mouth. “Let’s eat! I wanna get outside.”

“Yes, ma’am, your wish is my command.”

“Ooh, I like the sound of that. I’ll have to remember that one for later!”

We ate our breakfast and headed down to the pool.

On the way through the lobby we ran into Johnny. Chris said he needed to talk to him for a minute and would meet me at the pool. When I got there the guys were all there.

“Hey, guys!” I said.

“Hey!” they all said in unison, except for Lance, as usual. He didn’t even acknowledge my existence. He just laid there with his eyes closed and headphones on his head. At that moment, I realized he was lying there shirtless, with a sheen of sweat covering his body. I caught myself staring and shook off the feelings running through my body. ‘Jesus, how can any one man be so perfect?’ I thought to myself.

“Where’s Chris?” Justin asked.

“Oh, he’s talking to Johnny. He’ll be out here in a minute.”

“K. Where were ya’ll last night?” JC questioned.

“Chris took me sight-seeing around the resort and then down to the secluded lagoon ya’ll filmed that video at.”

“That place is awesome!” Justin grinned. “But hey, that place is really romantic. What went on down there, young lady?” He teased. I wasn’t about to say anything about Chris and I until he said something.

“He threw me into the lagoon, that’s what happened!” I laughed and so did they.

“Sooooo, nothing else happened?” Joey threw in.

“What’s going on? Why the 20 questions, huh? Don’t ya’ll have anything better to do?”

“No, our women aren’t here and you are, so you get harassed.” Joey teased.

“Sure, pick on the girl, no problem. You forget I work very closely with Chris, so I’m immune to the teasing.”

“And just how close doooooo you work with Chris, Cindy, huh?” Justin wiggled his eyebrows.

“UGH! I’m going over here to get some sun. I think you’ve had enough. You’re getting heat stroke or something.” They all laughed again.

I turned and walked over to an available chaise and took off my tank top. I removed my shorts and folded the clothes up.

“Oh My God!” Justin yelled. I jumped.

“What?!” I said.

“Look at you! Who knew that body was under there? I didn’t know. JC did you know? Joey? Hell, does Chris know? I bet he knows! Damn, baby, you fine!” I was blushing like crazy at this point.

“I didn’t know. You’ve been holdin’ out on us!” Joey laughed. “Damn, girl!”

“Regina, Regina, Regina!” JC chanted with his eyes closed. I had to laugh at that!

“Yeah, JC, you better watch it or I’m gonna tell her you were looking at another woman.” I teased him.

“I can’t wait ‘til she gets here tomorrow. I miss her so much.” JC loved Regina very much and I just knew they would be getting married soon. She worked for Jive Records and was flying in for the charity show tomorrow. She and I were very good friends. She knew I would watch out for her man while she was gone. No hootchies allowed near him if I was around.

I glanced over at Lance and he was staring at me. He licked his lips and I melted into a puddle.

“What the hell!” I heard Chris say from behind me. I turned around to see what was wrong. “What the hell are you wearing?!” He yelled at me.

“Excuse me?!” I yelled back.

“You are NOT staying down here dressed in almost NOTHING!” I had never seen him like this.

“You don’t own me, Chris. I’ll dress however I like, whenever I like!” I said through gritted teeth. By now, everyone at the pool was looking at us.

“What’s goin’ on here?” Justin whispered to JC.

“Looks like somebody’s jealous and a little bit infatuated.” JC whispered back.

“Cindy, I’m sorry. It’s just....I mean....I....shit... you look fucking amazing and I don’t want anyone else looking at you.” Chris said quietly.

“I’m glad you like what you see, Chris, but I’m not going to go inside or put my clothes on because you say so.” I was still fuming.

“I don’t know what came over me. I’m sorry. I....I don’t know. Forgive me, please?” Oh, the puppy dog eyes.

“Just don’t let it happen again. I’m no one’s property.” I was still a little upset about the public display. Chris leaned over and kissed me. I was shocked he did it there in front of everybody. I put my hands on his waist and he pulled me into a hug.

“Whoa!” I heard Justin say. I couldn’t help but grin in the middle of our kiss.

“You have successfully ‘outed’ us, Mr. Kirkpatrick.” I looked at him apprehensively.

“Yeah, I guess I did, didn’t I? I really didn’t plan on doing it that way. I thought maybe at dinner tonight or something. Oh well, it’s done now so we’ll deal.” He shrugged it off.

“HELLOOOOO?!?!?! Earth to Cindy and Chris. What the hell was that?” JC asked with a huge grin on his face.

“Um, Jace, honey, do I need to talk to Regina and make sure she’s treating you right? That was a kiss.” I loved to tease JC.

“Duh, I know that! I mean, when did this happen?”

“Right after he threw me into the lagoon last night.” I looked at Chris and he kissed me on the shoulder.

“Now, you all better get one last look and then get your eyes off my woman.” Chris stated.

“Yeah, man, whatever! You gonna poke our eyes out if we look? I kinda can’t help it, you know?” Joey just couldn’t leave it alone.

“I’ll kill you!” Chris headed towards Joey. Joey got up and tried to run but Chris caught him. They wrestled over to the edge of the pool and both fell in.

“Oh, this is priceless! Why don’t I ever have my camera when I need it?” I was laughing hysterically at this point. Chris motioned to Justin and before I knew it, I was in the pool, too. We splashed around for a while and I got out to let the boys play. After all, I was here to get some sun. I started putting sunscreen on my legs, arms and stomach.

Lance still had not moved from his original position in his chair. God, what an asshole. He needed a woman or something. His attitude just gets worse and worse. ‘Wish I could be that woman,’ I thought to myself. ‘What the hell am I doing? Chris is right there and he’s wonderful and sexy and loving....and possessive, apparently. UGH!’ I must be nuts. I laid back in the chair and closed my eyes.

After a while I heard the guys get out of the water. Chris walked over and splattered me. The water was cold and I jumped. I sat up and he straddled the chair behind me and grabbed the sunscreen.

“You wanna turn over now? Don’t get too much sun on the front. I wanna be able to touch you tonight and if you’re burned I won’t be able to.” He whispered in my ear and sent chills down my spine. I leaned back on his chest and turned to whisper in his ear.

“Whatever you say, boss.” I flicked my tongue out over his ear and he moaned.

“Baby, don’t do that or I might have to take you right here!” His eyes had gone dark again. I knew I’d better stop the teasing or some things would pop up unexpectedly. He pushed me off his chest and started rubbing my back with the sunscreen. He got up off the chair and told me to lie down. I laid down on my stomach and put my hands up to rest my face on. My head was turned facing Lance. Once again he was watching me. He watched Chris rubbing the lotion up the back of my legs. When we made eye contact he quickly got up, walked over to the pool and jumped in.

‘Yeah, cool yourself off, Mr. Basshole,’ I thought to myself. ‘Why does he upset me so bad?’

We stayed by the pool a little while longer. We were all getting hungry. Lance had gone back inside soon after jumping in the pool. Good riddance. He can definitely put a damper on a good time. The guys never comment on what a prick he is to me. Maybe it’s just me and nobody else notices. Is it so hard to just be nice to someone? What am I saying? I don’t talk to him either. I can’t! He makes me tense and I make him ill. Haha! I’m definitely cracking up.

“Hey, baby, you wanna go get something to eat?” Chris asked.

“Mmmm, yeah, I’m starving.”

“Let’s go over to that little diner. They won’t mind how we’re dressed.” Chris got up and put his shirt on. I grabbed my shirt and shorts.

“Hey, ya’ll, we’re going to get something to eat. We’ll see you later.”

“Bye, now. You kids don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!” Joey yelled after us.

“Well, that leaves it wide open then doesn’t it, Joseph?” I giggled.

“Yeah, it does. Mind if I watch?” He shot back.

“When is Ronda coming? Something’s gotta be done about him, and soon!” I told Chris.

“He’s a walking erection. Dickhead!” Chris laughed.

We ate and went back to the room to relax. I headed for my room to shower. I turned on the water and stripped out of my clothes and bathing suit. I took my hair out of the braid and brushed it while the water heated up.

I stepped into the warm awaiting spray and let it beat down on my head and face. It felt so good. I didn’t hear him come in, but I felt hands come around my waist and rest on my stomach.

“Ooooooooh, shit, Chris. You scared the hell outta me!” I turned around and he was at full salute.

“I couldn’t let you shower alone again today. The visual running through my head of you in here was too much.” He sucked my lower lip into his mouth and bit down on it.

“Chris...” I sighed. I grabbed the soap and started rubbing it all over his chest and arms, massaging his skin.

“Woman, you are driving me crazy.” He growled. I turned him around and continued soaping his back and butt. I moved down to his legs and feet. He turned back around and I was face to face with his swollen member. I rubbed the soap down his length and dropped it into the tub. I began massaging the soap all around his dick. He was unable to speak at this point. I moved my head to the side so the water would rinse him off. When the soap was gone, I leaned over and circled the head of his dick with my tongue.

“Oh, shit, Cindy!” He grabbed a handful of my hair. I licked up and down the underside of his shaft, teasing him mercilessly. Finally I took him into my mouth and massaged him with my tongue.

“Jeeeesus!” he panted. I continued to work on him. He was thrusting into my mouth faster and faster. I knew he was close. Suddenly he pulled me off him and lifted me to my feet. He spun me around, pushed me up against the shower wall and entered me hard. I wrapped one leg around his waist and tried to keep my balance.

“Damn, baby, you feel so good.” Chris moaned in my ear. I bit down on his shoulder and then sucked on his neck. “I’m coming, baby, I can’t wait any longer.”

“Come, baby!” I panted. He came and continued to thrust into me. He reached down to massage my clit and I came, too. “Oh, yeah, baby!” He kissed me passionately and kept me pressed to the wall. I didn’t think I’d be able to stand at that moment anyway. After a few minutes he pulled out of me and bent down to get the soap. He began soaping me up all over and paid special attention to my swollen core. He slid his soapy fingers all around, in and out of me. I came again.

“You are so beautiful.” He said and kissed me softly. I rinsed off and we stepped out of the shower. He wrapped me in a towel and kissed my forehead. After drying off we laid down to take a nap before the dinner festivities began.

The whole group had dinner planned tonight. Johnny and I and a few others on the management team were there, too. Tomorrow was the big charity show. Challenge for the Children in conjunction with Make A Wish was flying a bunch of terminally ill children down to the Bahamas to meet NSYNC and see a small, intimate show. This is another reason I loved being associated with these guys. They gave back so much to their fans, children, and the people around them. It was so easy to love them all. The dinner was business, but we had a great time discussing the events for the next two days.

The guy’s anonymity at this resort was over as the press and the children had already started arriving. We were photographed many times during dinner. Those two quiet days were very nice while they lasted. The guys had learned to take their down time seriously and milk it for all it was worth. Those days were few and far between.

Dinner was over and Chris wanted to walk along the beach. I thought it wasn’t a good idea since there were lots of fans here now. He wanted to anyway so he dragged me outside with Lonnie close behind. He seemed so serious.

“I want to talk about this relationship.” He stated, matter-of-factly.

“Um, okay.” I was a little apprehensive

“I want us to be together tomorrow in public at all the events. I want everyone to know you are mine. How do you feel about that?” His eyes were so intense.

“I want whatever you want. If you’re ready to go public, I’m with you. I know it won’t be easy. I also don’t want this to interfere with the press the charity will get tomorrow. That’s what this is all about, not who’s dating who now.”

“You’re right. Should we downplay it?”

“I’m totally new at this. You tell me. I’ll do whatever you want.” I smiled at him. “I know you’re mine and I’m yours so whatever you think is best.”

“Well, you’ll be by my side the whole time anyway because you work for me, so maybe we should leave well enough alone for now. But just for the record, I wanted to go public tomorrow!” He pouted. I giggled and kissed him sweetly on the lips.

“I’m tired and tomorrow will be nuts so can we go back to the room now?” I whined.

“How tired are you?” He poked me in the side.

“Oooh, don’t! You know I hate being tickled! I am really tired, but I might could be persuaded to stay up a little while....”

“Let’s go!” He grabbed my hand and ran across the sand. Lonnie sighed and jogged behind us.

We got ready for bed and snuggled together and watched tv. I was very content and happy. I haven’t been happy in a long time.

~~~~~~~~~~~

JC was lying on his bed watching tv, too. There was a knock on his door. He sighed and got off the bed.

“Justin I told you I’m not staying up all night playing video games...” He stood open mouthed for a second then grabbed Regina and spun her around the room.

“Baby, put me down!” She squealed.

“You weren’t supposed to get here until tomorrow morning! God, I’m glad to see you!” His eyes were glowing with love.

“I wanted to surprise you and there was a flight today so I jumped on it!”

“Now you can jump on ME!” He grinned like a little kid on Christmas. “I have missed you so much. I love you, baby!” He took her face in his hands and kissed her tenderly. The kiss intensified quickly and he started pulling at her blouse.

“Hang on, baby, I’m not going anywhere. You’ve got me here all night.” Gina told him.

“I know, but I can’t wait to see your beautiful body again. I want to kiss every inch of you.”

“Oooh, you’re right, let’s get this party started!” Regina growled. She pushed him backwards and he fell onto the bed. She straddled his hips and began unbuttoning her blouse. JC laid back, put his hands behind his head and licked his lips in anticipation.

Once the shirt was removed, she undid her bra. When she pulled it off her double D’s poured out. JC immediately sat up and took one nipple in his mouth.

“Oh, JC, damn! I missed your mouth baby!” He just moaned onto her nipple sending an electric charge through her body. She pulled at the bottom of his shirt and he released her nipple just long enough to let the shirt pass over his face. He then latched back on to the other one. Regina ground herself into his huge bulge. Once again he moaned.

“Baby, we’ve gotta get the rest of these clothes off you.” He spoke, barely above a whisper. He tugged on her shorts and she stood up to let them fall to the ground. When she looked up he had already removed his pants and boxers. He grabbed the waist of her panties and slid them down her legs. He lifted one leg to remove the panties and licked up the inside of her thigh. He repeated this torture on her other thigh. Her knees almost buckled. JC moved her over to the bed and laid her down.

“I love you so much, Regina.”

“I love you too, Josh.” JC kissed her with a passion and tenderness like she had never felt before. Then he moved his mouth to her neck and down her collar bone. He continued on a path all over her breasts and stomach just like he said he would. The palm of his hand grazed her mound and she thrust her hips up to meet his touch.

“You like that, baby?” He murmured as he licked around her belly button.

“Oh, yes, baby, touch me.” She panted. He slid his fingers between her folds and into her wetness.

“Oooh, you did miss me, huh, baby?”

“Mmmmmmhmmmmm.” Was all she could muster at the moment.

He lowered his head and began to tease her clit while his fingers continued their movement. She bucked against his face. He grinned and continued his assault. He felt her walls begin to tighten around his fingers so he knew she was almost there. He sucked hard on her clit.

“JOOOOOOOOOSSHHHHHH, OOOOOHMIGGOOOOOODDD!” she screamed.

While she was still convulsing from the massive orgasm he thrust himself into her.

“UUUUGGGGGGHHH! Baby, I love how you feel inside me.” Regina’s voice was raspy.

“You feel so good. I could stay like this forever.” Regina’s heart melted. JC slammed into her at breakneck speed. ‘What stamina’, she thought. Soon she felt the burning sensation in her stomach and knew this was going to be another world record orgasm. JC could feel her clamping down on him again and it threw him over the edge. He shot his load deep inside her and she climaxed again. The screamed each other’s names and he collapsed onto her breasts.

“I love you so much, Regina. Don’t ever leave me again, please.” He said. Regina looked up at him and there were tears in his eyes. “I want to marry you, baby. I don’t ever wanna be away from you again.” Tears poured out of Regina’s eyes. She had dreamed of marrying him for a long time but never really thought it would be possible.

“Oh, Josh, I can’t believe this. I didn’t think you could ever make me love you more than I already did. I can’t describe how I feel about you. There are no words.”

“I know, angel, I know.” He slid out of her and walked over to his bags.

“What are you doing?” She asked.

“Hang on, I ‘m looking for something. Aha, here it is.” He walked back over to the bed and knelt beside it.

“Regina, I want more than anything in this world to spend the rest of my life with you. If NSYNC ended tomorrow that would be alright as long as you were still with me. If all the fame, fortune, acclaim was gone, it would be fine, as long as you were by my side. Please say you’ll be my wife. I love you.” She was hysterical by this point. She fell to her knees in front of him and took his face in her hands.

“JC, I’ve loved you since the first time we met. I’ve always dreamed of being your wife. I never thought you would want me, but you do. I have never been so happy in all my life. Yes, I will be your wife. I will love you til the day I die and into eternity.”

It was JC’s turn to be hysterical now. He opened the box in his hand and showed her the 4 carat princess cut diamond with trillions on each side.

“Oh, God, it’s the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.” JC slid the ring on her finger.

“You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen, future Mrs. Chasez.”

“I like the sound of that!” They sealed it with a kiss and climbed back on the bed. They laid together for the longest time in silence, just staring at the ring and each other. Eventually they drifted off into a blissful sleep.

Another breakfast meeting was planned to start off the big day. Chris and I walked hand in hand to the resort conference room. Chris kissed me on the cheek and headed into the meeting. I didn’t have to be in it so I figured I’d eat something. I looked over at the breakfast bar and saw Regina.

“Reg! Ohmigod you’re early!” I screamed as I ran up behind her. She put her plate down quickly and hugged me. “I’m so glad you’re here. Being the only chick in this insane asylum is getting the best of me.”

“Sure it is. You know you love it!” She giggled.

“Well, maybe a little.” I grinned.

“Soooooo, what’s up with you and Chris? Don’t tell me I saw him holding your hand and looking at you like a little ‘ole puppy dog?” She crossed her arms and tapped her foot. “Come on, girl, spill!”

“Well, we’ve been ‘together’ for two days. It happened when we got to this magical place.” I said, waving my hands around the room.

“I hear ya about this place being magical” Regina said putting her left hand up to the side of her face.

“Holy shit! What the hell is that?” I screamed. She was grinning like a Cheshire cat and then started bouncing up and down. “It’s HUGE! You could fry an egg on that bitch!”

“You are killing me!” she laughed. “He asked me last night! I showed up early and knocked on his door. We had some killer sex and then he asked me! Girl, he got down on his knee and asked me while he was nekkid!”

“Oh my God! I have a visual of JC now that I could do without.” I teased her. I grabbed her and hugged her tight again. “I couldn’t be happier for you. This is wonderful. Do we have a date yet? Am I in the wedding? What color are the horrible bridesmaid dresses gonna be?” I babbled uncontrollably.

“Slow down, girl. Okay, what were those questions again? Haha! No, we haven’t set a date yet, of course you’ll be in the wedding, and the ‘horrible’ dresses will probably be maroon. You know how I love that color.”

“Okay, maroon I can deal with. Just don’t put my ass in pink or mint green, okay?!” I ordered. She hugged me again.

“I still can’t believe it. I’ve been looking at my hand all morning. How did he know I love princess cut stones?” She pondered aloud.

“He’s your soul mate. He just knew.”

“So, is Chris your soul mate, Cin?”

“Uh, I don’t know. This is all so new. He treats me great, well, most of the time. He’s so loving and tender...” I faded off.

“What do you mean most of the time? It’s only been two days. What happened? What did he do?” Regina started to get upset.

“Well, yesterday we were out at the pool. He stayed back to talk to Johnnie so he didn’t see my bathing suit ‘til he came out and I had taken my shorts off already. He yelled ‘what the hell are you wearing’ and caused a big scene.

“Oh, hell. And let me guess, you tore him a new one?”

“You know it! Nobody tells this little black duck what to do!” We laughed at my reference to Daffy Duck, one of our favorite Saturday morning habits. “Anyway, he apologized and all was well with the world, mostly.”

“Girl you keep throwing in the odd words to make me crazy don’t you?” she frowned.

“Let’s finish getting some breakfast and we’ll sit down and talk.” I headed over to the bar. After we filled our plates we found an available table in the restaurant.

“You know how I can never talk to Lance, right?” I questioned.

“Yeah, you still not over that?”

“Nope. Don’t know what it is. And he’s such a prick.”

“I know what it is. He’s a sexy motherfucker and you know how you are with those types. They make you nuts.”

“That’s true. But you’d think after two years of seeing him practically every day I’d get over this.”

“You just need to fuck him and get it over with!” she said with a perfectly straight face. I was drinking my orange juice and almost sprayed her with it.

“I can’t believe you just said that! I’m dating Chris now. Can’t go around fucking anybody else.”

“Oh, so you and Chris have done the nasty, hmmmmm?”

“Yeah. I figured why wait since we’ve known each other so long. It sure was good, too! He knows how to take his time and do it right.”

“Ewwwww, now I have a visual of Chris I didn’t’ need. You mean he wasn’t swinging from the chandeliers and cracking jokes the whole time?” Regina teased.

“No, I was surprised the most by that. He was so serious and sweet and sexy...”

“Okay, gross, that’s Chris we’re talking about. I’m just kidding. I’m so happy for you.”

“Oh, I did catch Lance staring at me while Chris was rubbing sunscreen on me yesterday. He licked his lips then got up and jumped in the pool.” I got a chill just thinking about it again.

“Shit, you’ve got them all wanting you, huh?”

“Yeah, even your man gave me a cat call in my new bikini! I told him I was gonna tell on him and I did. Haha!” It was my turn to tease her. “He loves you so much. I’m so excited we’re gonna have an NSYNC wedding!”

We laughed and talked until the guys got out of their meeting. They spent most of the afternoon meeting the children and playing around with all of them. The concert that night was wonderful, as they always are. Watching that small audience of children with the bright eyes and huge smiles was so rewarding to the guys and all of us associated with them.

We came back to the states the morning after the charity show. It was really hard saying goodbye to paradise but Chris promised he’d take me back there sometime just me and him. He’s such a doll.

The tour started up again and we were back in the buses. We were traveling with three buses now and the people on each bus changed daily. Regina and JC asked if they could have a bus to themselves while she was with us. We all were happy to oblige the newly-engageds. None of us wanted to deal with their sickening sweetness. Really they were so precious. Joey and Steve were on one bus. Justin and Chris always shared a bus. Lance had an argument with Joe and was on our bus. That was really uncomfortable. I tried to steer clear of him at all costs but it was a bus after all and impossible to stay away.

Chris and Justin were playing video games in the TV room. I was sitting on the couch reading a book and Lance was just sitting there watching them play. Chris got fed up with losing to Curly and came over to the couch. He laid down and put his head in my lap. I continued to read while I ran my fingers through his hair.

“Mmmmmmmmm, keep doing that, baby. I’m gonna take a little nap, okay?” he yawned.

“Okay, Sweetie.” I said. Lance let out a big sigh and walked out of the room. ‘What the hell is his problem now?’ I thought to myself. ‘Does he have to make the whole world miserable just because he is?’

Chris dozed off and I was bored with my book. I wasn’t about to challenge Justin to a game of anything. I was very competitive and didn’t like to lose. Everybody loses to Justin. He is perfect at everything just like people think. I decided to go get a snack and go over our schedule for the week in peace and quiet in the front of the bus. I made a pit stop in the bathroom first then headed out the door to the kitchen area. When I got past the bunks almost to the kitchen I ran right into Lance. My face hit him in the chest.

“Oooh, I’m sorry, Lance, excuse me.” I said.

“No problem.” He said in a monotone voice and started to walk away. ‘Prick.’ I thought once again.

Just then, the bus slammed on the brakes and sent us toppling to the floor in a heap. I was on my back and he was on top of me. I couldn’t move. I just stared at him.

“What the hell happened, Rusty?” Lance yelled at the driver as he was getting up off me.

“Damn pick-up in front of me dropped some cargo and I almost hit it!” Rusty said. “Sorry about that. Ya’ll okay back there?”

“Yeah, we’re okay, dammit.” Lance said back to him. He reached down to help me up and I noticed he was bleeding from his temple.

“Oh, God, Lance, you’re bleeding!” I squealed. “Bleeding a lot!” He put his hand up to his head and grimaced. “Here.” I grabbed a paper towel from the roll. “Put this over it and go to the bathroom. There’s a first aid kit in there.” I pushed him toward the middle of the bus.

“What the fuck just happened?” Justin came out of the back room.

“Rusty’s tryin’ to kill us.” Lance growled.

“He almost hit something that fell out of a truck. Lance hit his head on the table. I’m gonna bandage him up. Is Chris okay?”

“You know better than to ask that. He didn’t even move. He could sleep through a hurricane.”

“True. Okay, let me get this bleeding stopped.” I pushed Lance into the bathroom and told him to sit on the toilet seat.

“You need any help?” Justin asked.

“No, Sweetie, I’m good here. Thanks, though.” He winked at me.

“Okay, Hon, you take care of him for me.” He raised his eyebrows and popped me on the butt.

“Hey!” I said and popped him on his. He jumped and grinned that signature grin that all the girls melt over. “Outta here, Timberlake!” He went back to his video games.

I turned back to Lance and he was frowning. “Does it hurt bad?” I asked him.

“No!” He sighed heavily. ‘Prick!’ My favorite word for him. I grabbed a wash rag and wet it. I started cleaning the blood trail off his face. When I got to the cut area I moved his hand and took off the paper towel. It was still bleeding pretty bad.

“This looks bad, Lance. Might need stitches. There are some butterfly bandages in here. I’ll fix it up best I can.”

“Fine.” he stated. Ugh! The thought of him bleeding to death while I laughed played through my head. I got out the antiseptic and a cotton ball.

“This might sting a little.” I said as I applied it to the cut.

“Sssssssssssshit!” he said.

“Oooh, I’m sorry, I told you it might sting a little.” I blew on his temple to help. He cut his eyes to look at me. I stopped blowing. I had moved up close to him and didn’t realize his knee was between my legs. The bus swerved and I grabbed the wall. His bare knee rubbed my inner thigh and a jolt of electricity ran through my body. My breath caught in my throat. I stepped back and grabbed the antibiotic cream.

“Can I ask you something, Cindy?” he questioned, not looking at me.

“I guess so.” I didn’t have any idea what he’d say next. I applied the Neosporin to his cut.

“Why do you hate me so much?” I don’t think I’ve ever heard him sound so sad.

“Hate you? I don’t hate you, Lance. How could I hate you?”

“You have such a great relationship with all the guys, and now this thing with Chris, but you never say two words to me. What did I ever do to you?” He looked at me because I had stopped working on his cut. His eyes pierced through my soul.

“I...um...I....you never....I mean it’s not you, it’s me.” I stammered.

“What the fuck does that mean?”

“I can’t talk to you about this.” I said quickly and started digging around in the first aid kit for the butterfly bandages. He grabbed my hand.

“Look at me. What is it?” My stomach was doing somersaults and I thought I was going to throw up. “Come on, tell me.”

“Look, I was a huge fan before I got this job. I was a little star struck at first seeing ya’ll all the time. I got over it with everyone except you.”

“Why me? I’m a nice guy, easy to talk to.” He looked puzzled.

“Well, oh God, I can’t believe we’re talking about this. You were always my favorite, my obsession, okay. There, I said it! Are you happy now? I can’t form complete sentences when you’re around!” I turned around to try to get out of this small, confined space. I couldn’t breathe. He stood up, grabbed my arm and turned me back around.

“Okay, that’s a good start. Please don’t leave. I need you to finish bandaging me up.” He sat back down. My hands were shaking. I didn’t know how I was going to put these bandages on him. I managed to pull the little tabs off them and cover his wound. I could feel his breath on my arm and shivered involuntarily.

“Done, I hope it doesn’t leave a scar. You may want to have someone look at it when we get wherever we’re going. Stitches might be needed.” I tried to walk away again and he stopped me.

“Thank you. Looks really good.” He was looking at the bandage in the mirror. He smiled so sweetly I thought I had died and gone to heaven.

“No problem. It’s just my maternal instincts, I guess. I’m really good in medical emergencies and other crisis situations.” I laughed nervously to keep from bursting into tears and looked down. He put his finger under my chin and lifted it. Those eyes entranced me.

“I wasn’t thinking of you in a ‘motherly’ way just now.” I couldn’t breathe.

“Hey! What’s goin’ on?” Chris’ voice brought be back to reality. I whipped my head around.

“Hey, baby.”

“Justin told me what happened. Lance, you okay, man?”

“Yeah, Cindy took charge and fixed me right up.” He smiled down at me. ‘Oh, God, get me out of this mess!’ I prayed silently.

“Well, if you’re through with her, I need some lovin’.” Chris grabbed me around the waist and pulled me out of the bathroom. Lance and I continued to hold our gaze until I was out of sight. Chris threw me into our bunk.

My mind was still reeling from the close encounter of a Bass kind. Chris was kissing all over me and I couldn’t think straight. Every time I closed my eyes to try to get into what he was doing I could only see Lance.

Chris started stripping me and I just laid there. He didn’t even notice I wasn’t really into this right now. He stuck his fingers into me and moaned.

“Baby, you’re so wet already.” If only he knew why I was so wet. He would hate me. This was the first time we had tried doing it in a bunk. Not much room to move around. Chris pulled me over on top of him and I lowered myself onto his erection.

“Mmmmmmmm, yeah, baby.” He sighed.

“Shhhhhhhhh.” I whispered. Other people might not want to hear this, Chris. I kissed his neck and began to ride him slowly. I closed my eyes and imagined being two bunks up riding Lance.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Lance watched Chris throw me into his bunk. ‘Fuckin’ lucky bastard.’ he thought. He crawled into his bunk and laid on his back with his hands behind his head. ‘What I wouldn’t give for her to be in here riding me...’ He closed his eyes and felt himself getting hard. No matter how quiet I was trying to be, Chris has no shame. ‘Damn, doesn’t he know I don’t wanna hear that?’ He unbuttoned his shorts and began to stroke himself. He heard us pick up the pace and moved his hand faster up and down his shaft. ‘Oh, Cindy, if you only knew what I feel for you.’ Seconds after he heard our final grunts he came all over his stomach. “Shit!” He whispered.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Chris and I dressed and he dozed off. I couldn’t sleep. Finally we got to Chicago. Justin knocked on the bunk and told us to get up.

“We’re here sex fiends!” He yelled.

“Oh, God, Justin! Shut up!” I yelled back.

“Heehee! Cindy is embarrassed, Cindy is embarrassed!” He chanted, dancing down the aisle.

“I’m gonna kill him. Ya think the fans would miss him?” I asked Chris.

“Nah, they’d still have me.”

“Oh, yeah, and that’s the same.” I shot back. He pouted and I kissed his lips. We went into the hotel to drop off our stuff. We had to go right back out to the venue for sound check. I hate these close call trips. There were a few fans outside the hotel and the guys obliged them all with autographs and pictures. They were all really concerned with Lance’s head and I saw him point to me on several occasions. I assumed he was telling them about my Florence Nightingale abilities. That made me smile. What the hell am I going to do about all this?

We continued to travel every day, city to city. Joey and Lance made up so he was back on their bus. I missed seeing him but it was better this way. I could actually breathe now.

Chris continued to shower me with affection and I continued to pretend nothing was wrong, for a couple of weeks at least. Lance and I had not spoken since the bus incident.

One night after a show, Chris was dragging me to the bed. He’s so hyped up after a show he has to wind down by fucking my brains out. Something I used to not mind, but now...

When we were finished, he pulled me into his arms and sighed. “I love you, Cindy.” My eyes flew open and I froze.

“Oh, Sweetie, thank you, but...I....um”

“Don’t. Don’t say it if you’re not ready, baby. I just had to. I’ve been wanting to tell you for a long time.” I propped my chin on his chest.

“You know I care deeply for you, Chris, I do. I was hurt really bad before and I’m not good at trusting people anymore. I don’t know if I ever will fully trust again.” This was all true but not the real reason I didn’t love him. I couldn’t love him if I was in love with someone else. Oh my God! I screamed inside. Why can’t I just forget about Lance and be with Chris? He loves me. He’s so good to me. We didn’t talk any more about anything that night.

Chris tells me he loves me every five minutes now. He is the sweetest man to ever grace this planet and I’m an idiot.

Two days later in another city, Chris and the guys went ahead to the venue to do sound check. I stayed in the room. I was getting more depressed my the minute and didn’t want to be around anyone. I was lying on the bed still in my tank top and lounge pants I had slept in. There was a knock at the door.

“Geez, can’t people just leave me alone.” I said to myself. I looked out the peep hole and saw Lance pacing back and forth in front of my door. He was looking at the ground and wringing his hands. I opened it and he stopped. He started at my feet and looked all the way up my body until he met my eyes. My whole body burned.

“Chris isn’t here, Lance. I thought ya’ll went to the venue already.” I was confused.

“They did, I didn’t. I told them I had something very important to do and I’d be there in a little while. Can I come in?” I moved to the side and let him into the room.

“What’s going on, Lance?” I had that familiar inability to breathe again. He didn’t speak but walked toward me and put his hands on my face. I was dumbfounded. He moved in close and claimed my mouth with his. My knees buckled and I grabbed his arms for support. He licked across my lips and I parted them for him. His tongue scorched the insides of my mouth. I had never felt such a powerful kiss. Our tongues danced together for what seemed like an eternity. Then he broke the kiss and stepped away from me.

“Oh, God, Cindy. I’ve wanted to do that forever.” He licked his lips and waited for me to respond.

“Me, too.” was all I could come up with. I whispered it so softly I didn’t know if he heard me or not.

“I couldn’t take it anymore. I had to do something about it.” I stepped toward him and wrapped my arms around his waist. I put my face on his chest and squeezed him. He wrapped me up in his arms and kissed the top of my head. We swayed back and forth to an unheard tune.

I looked up at him and he lowered his mouth to mine once again. This time the kisses were intensified and filled with more passion than I thought was humanly possible. He led me the short distance to the bed and laid me down without breaking the kiss. He was hovering over me and lowered his body to cover mine. My entire body was aflame. ‘How can one person evoke this kind of response out of me?’ I asked myself. My mind was cloudy. Lance’s mouth moved to my throat then down between my breasts. I ran my fingers through his blonde spikes. His hands went to my waist and lifted my tank top. I wasn’t wearing a bra since I was still in my pajamas. His mouth claimed my nipple and I moaned in pleasure. ‘What am I doing?’ I questioned myself again. The clouds were lifting a bit and I thought of Chris.

“Lance?” He continued sucking my breast and moaned.

“Hmmmmm?” Oh my God, what that moan felt like!

“Lance? We can’t do this.” I whispered pulling on his hair to get him off me. His eyes were a dark amber color, filled with passion and need.

“Cindy, please. I need you so bad.” He whined. He grabbed my hand and placed it on the bulge in his pants. “See how bad I want you?” He was huge. I couldn’t remove my hand from him. I started rubbing my palm up and down him. His eyes rolled back in his head. “Please don’t tease me, Cindy, I have to have you, baby.” He growled in my ear. I felt the vibrations in my toes. I undid his pants and released him. God, he was huge! I stroked him up and down then ran my fingertip across the head. He inhaled sharply and took my mouth with his again.

His hand snaked into my lounge pants and under my panties. When his fingertip came in contact with my clit I squealed “Oh, God!”

“You’re so wet for me, baby. Let me make love to you.” His voice was even deeper now, if that is possible.

“Lance, we can’t. I can’t do that to Chris. We have to stop.” He increased the speed of his fingers on my center. I, in turn, increased the speed of my stroking. We stroked each other furiously. My walls began to tighten on his fingers and his breathing became erratic. He shot his stickiness onto my stomach as I came all over his hand.

“LAAAAAAANCE!” I screamed.

“Oh, fuck, Cindy!” he growled. He buried his face in my neck and continued to massage my clit. “Oh, baby, that was almost a religious experience.” He moaned into my ear.

“We shouldn’t have done that, Lance, but, damn, I’m glad we did.” He lifted his face and smiled at me. He withdrew his hand from my pants and I felt an incredible sense of loss. He licked my juices off his fingers and sighed.

“What happens now?” he asked me sincerely.

“What do you want to happen, Lance?”

“You shouldn’t answer a question with a question, my love. I’ll tell you what I want to happen. I want you to be mine. I’m so in love with you I can’t think about anything else. Chris is one of my best friends and I want his woman. That is so wrong, I know, but I can’t help it.” He frowned.

“I want you too, Lance. Chris told me he loved me the other day and I couldn’t tell him I loved him back. I couldn’t tell him because I’m in love with you.” My eyes teared up. He wiped the tears away.

“I know you care about him, though, and neither of us want to hurt him....but...”

“Yeah, but I’m not happy with him and that will only hurt him in the long run. I can’t be what he deserves. I also have a job to think about though. I don’t want to lose my job but how can I work for him if I hurt him like this to be with you. We’d be flaunting it in his face 24/7.”

“Even if you lose your job, you’d still be here with me, so we can’t NOT flaunt it in front of his face if we want to be together.” He had a point there.

“God, Lance, I’ve never had to do anything like this before. I’ll talk to him tonight. Are you sure you want me, I mean, really want me? Please swear to me you’re serious about this.”

“I don’t know what the future holds, but I do know that I love you and I just wanna be with you for however long you will let me.”

“No one has ever made me feel like you just did with those words.” I cried. “I love you, Lance Bass.” I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him down to me. We kissed softly for a moment then I remembered reality. I broke the kiss and looked at my watch. “Uh oh, you have like 30 minutes to get to the Meet & Greet!” I jumped up and ran to the bathroom to clean up our mess.

“They don’t need me at the Meet & Greet, baby. They’ll have the other guys.” He was still lying on the bed when I walked back into the room.

“Listen, Mister, if I was still just a fan and I had a M&G pass, I would’ve been there just to see you. I would’ve been soooo upset if My Lance wasn’t there.” I teased him.

“Ugh! Okay, okay, but only for you, baby.” He grinned and sat up on the edge of the bed. He hugged me to him and buried his head between my breasts. I ran my hands through those spikes I loved so much.

“You’ve gotta go. I still have to get ready so I’ll be there later for the show.” I tried to pull away from him.

“Mmmmmmmm,” he whined. I laughed and pushed him away. He got up and I followed him to the door. He turned around and kissed me softly. “I love you, Cindy.”

“I love you, Lance.” He opened the door and was gone. I fell to my knees and cried. I was so filled with emotion. My ultimate dream was about to come true, but I was going to have to seriously hurt my best friend and current lover in the process. My life has never been simple...

I dressed in tight black pants, a skimpy red snakeskin top and boots. We were having an after party tonight. I usually didn’t get all dressed up like this for their shows but I felt sexy today and wanted to look it. Chris would probably fuss at me for looking so good. I don’t know what Lance will think. I went to the venue and wandered around backstage. I ran into JC and Regina.

“Hey, guys.” I said, grinning big.

“Well, hello, hottie!” JC said. Regina popped him on the back of the head. “Ow, baby, she is a hottie, but you’re MY hottie.”

“Nice recovery, Chasez!” I added.

“Baby, you know I love you.” JC kissed Reg sweetly.

“Ewwww, gross!” I teased.

“Well, you’re in a great mood. What’s up with you anyway?” Regina questioned.

“I’ve gotta tell you all about it during the show.” JC pouted.

“Tell her NOW, ‘cuz I wanna hear!” He whined.

“Um, how ‘bout NO!”

“Oh, alright. But you know she’ll tell me when I get her alone later.” He raised his eyebrows at Regina.

“I know, and then it will be fine, just not now, okay, Jace?”

“Okay, Sweetie. I’m gonna go get dressed. Love you, baby!” He kissed Regina quickly and ran off.

“Hyper man still treating you perfectly I see.” I teased her.

“Of course, now what’s going on?”

“Cindy, there you are!” Chris came running up to us. “You look amazing.” He said looking me up and down. I was surprised but figured he learned his lesson about telling me what to wear. I saw Lance in the hallway behind him. Chris tried to kiss me on the lips and I turned my face. He connected with my cheek. “Hey, lips, I want lips!” He whined.

“Lipstick baby. I don’t think it’s your color. You’re already made up for the show. I don’t think this color will go with that shirt.”

“Damn!” He said, laughing. I kept looking over at Lance. He was just leaning up against the wall with his hands in his pockets. He was looking down at the ground but looked up and met my stare. ‘How can one man be so fucking sexy?’ I wondered.

“Well, we gotta go get started. Ya’ll gonna hide back here or come watch?”

“We’ll be watching, I just need to talk to Reg for a minute first. Have a great show. Break a leg!” I hugged him tightly but I was looking at Lance over his shoulder.

“Let’s go, Chris, we gotta hackey.” Lance reminded him.

“I love you, Princess.” Chris whispered in my ear.

“I know.” I whispered back. He ran off to join Lance and the guys.

I sat down and told Regina about my afternoon and everything that had happened. She was in shock.

“Oh my God, you had him there and didn’t fuck him!?” She kills me.

“No! I just couldn’t go that far. Not without breaking up with Chris. I just couldn’t.”

“I understand. I was just fuckin wicha!” We laughed.

“I gotta tell ya, I’ve never had sex that was better than what we did today. I can’t wait to do it all with him. Did I mention he’s HUGE?!”

“Yeah, a couple of times, actually.” She smirked. “I’m not jealous though, cuz little Joshie isn’t so little.” She raised her eyebrows and sighed.

“Once again, more about Jace than I ever needed to know. I could’ve gone my whole life without knowing that!” We laughed until we cried then calmed down to go watch the rest of the show from the wings.

Another wonderful show came to an end. The guys were off for a couple of days so they had an after-party planned for tonight. This just prolonged the agony I was in. I needed to talk to Chris but I couldn’t to it at a party. So, I just put on my party face and made due. They had chosen a small local club for the night. A local told us it wouldn’t be very crowded so the guys could have a little bit of privacy there. He was right. It wasn’t too crowded. Some of the girls freaked a little when we all walked in. That’s going to happen no matter where they go. Famous or not, recognized or not, these 5 dudes get the attention.

Chris was all over me. Hugging, kissing, holding me close. He pulled me immediately to the dance floor. “Crazy” by K-Ci & JoJo was playing. He sang it softly in my ear. I felt like dirt. Lance sat at the bar and watched us. ‘God, please let this night be over quickly.’ I silently prayed.

The next song was “Get It On Tonight” by Montell Jordan. Chris grabbed my hips and began to grind into me. I tried to dance with some feeling but it was killing me. I looked toward the bar where Lance was sitting. He wasn’t there. I scanned the crowd and spotted him dancing with some local blonde hootchie. My heart felt as though it was being ripped out of my chest. They were grinding together. Her skirt was riding up her thighs. She was all over him and he didn’t seem to mind. I looked away and continued my dance with Chris.

When the song was over, I told him I needed to go to the bathroom and get a drink. He went to sit down with Justin. I walked past JC and Regina at the bar and grabbed Reg’s hand.

“Come to the bathroom with me.” I ordered her. She shrugged at JC and followed me.

“Did you see him? What the fuck is he doing?! I can’t take much more of this!” I yelled.

“Well, Cindy, you are grinding away on Chris right in front of him. Don’t you think that’s hurting him a little bit?” She asked.

“I don’t know, I guess so. I didn’t think about that. What if he doesn’t really care about me. What if it’s all a game to him and I lose my best friend tonight because of it?” I cried. I was terrified.

“Don’t think that way. Pull yourself together and get back out there. Hopefully we won’t be here much longer and you can get all this over with.”

“I’ve got to talk to Lance and see what he is feeling right now. I have to before we leave here.”

“Okay, so go and talk to him then.” She smiled.

“Thanks for listening to all my shit, Reg. You’re the best, you know that, right?” I hugged her.

“Yeah, I know. I’m the shit!” We laughed. I touched up my makeup and headed out the door. Lance was back on his stool at the bar. His back was to me. I walked up next to him and propped my elbows on the bar. I waited patiently for the bartender to take my order.

“What’ll it be?” He finally asked.

“Amaretto sour, please.” I answered.

“Coming right up.” Lance turned and looked at me. I kept staring forward.

“Having fun?” I asked him with no expression on my face.

“Not really, no. I’m having to dance with local skanks because I can’t dance with the woman I love. She’s out there grinding on someone else.”

“Lance, I’m so sorry. I didn’t want to let him know anything was wrong until we get back to the hotel. Didn’t want to ruin everyone’s night.”

“The only thing that can ruin my night is if you don’t choose me.” He was staring into his drink. I wanted to hold him so badly. The bartender came back with my drink.

“That’ll be $4.50.” He said. I placed my money on the bar and Lance put his hand over mine. Electric shocks ran through me at his touch.

“I’ll get this. You go back over there for now, okay. And can you do me a favor? Try to tone down the dancing. You’re driving me nuts over here. Someday you and I will dance. I promise you, it’ll be worth the wait.” His eyes burned into my soul.

“I’ll count the days.” I walked away from him and back to Chris. He pulled me down on his lap and kissed my neck.

“What’s wrong with Scoop? He’s sitting all alone.”

“Dunno. He was dancing a while ago.” I said nonchalantly.

At about 2 a.m. everyone decided to call it a night. We piled into the vans and headed for the hotel.

No one bothered us in the hotel lobby. I guess all the teenyboppers had curfews. We all rode up in the elevator together. We said our good-byes out in the hallway and everyone entered their rooms. I glanced quickly at Lance and he smiled as Chris dragged me into the room.

The man is relentless. As I said before, he needs little or no sleep so he’s always ready to go. I sat on the edge of the bed to take off my boots. He jumped on the bed behind me and began untying my top.

“Wait, Chris.” I grabbed the strings and tied them back.

“Oh, no! I’ve been waiting all night to get you out of that damn sexy outfit.” He grabbed them again. I jumped up off the bed.

“I said wait! I need to....um....we need to talk.”

“Uh oh. What did I do?” He rolled his eyes.

“Chris, this is serious. I need you to listen to me for a minute, okay?” I sat back down on the bed beside him.

“Okay, baby, I’m sorry. I’m listening.” He gave me his full attention.

“Where to start. Um...You know you’re my best friend, right?” He nodded. “And I would never want to do anything to hurt you?” He nodded again.

“But you’re fixing to aren’t you?” His eyes grew sad.

“Yeah, I am. You keep telling me you love me and I keep telling you I’m not ready. That’s not really one hundred percent true. I am ready to love again, but I know it can never be you.” He lowered his head and sighed.

“It’s Lance, isn’t it? You’re in love with Lance?” His eyes met mine and I’ve never seen so much hurt in someone. My heart ached from the pain I was causing him.

“Why would you say that?” I asked him with tears in my eyes.

“Because it’s always been Lance. I knew why you couldn’t talk to him. You were crazy about him. You told me, remember? When you first started working for me. I knew he was crazy about you, too. I also knew if the two of you ever actually talked it would remove all chances for me. I thought I could make you love me before that happened, but I guess not. When did you finally talk to him? Wait, I know, in the bus when he hit his head, right?” All I could do was nod.

“I saw the look in his eyes when I found you two in the bathroom. I knew at that moment I was going to lose you. It was just a matter of time. That’s why I’ve been so clingy. I wanted to savor every moment with you before you left me.” He was crying hard now.

“Chris, I am so sorry. I wanted to make it work with you and it was. Like you said, though, once we talked and our feelings came out, I knew what I would have to do.”

“Did you sleep with him? Is that where ya’ll were today instead of sound check?” I shook my head.

“No, I didn’t sleep with him.” Guilt washed over me for what we did do. “I couldn’t do that before I talked to you. He did come to see me today and told me he wanted to be with me. What I’m doing now is bad enough. I couldn’t live with myself if I betrayed you like that behind your back.”

“I also saw him watching us dance. And I saw you watching him dance with that chick. It was obvious what was going on.” He grabbed my hand and kissed the palm. “I love you so much, but I know I have to let you go. You are still my best friend, though, and I don’t want to lose you completely.”

“That won’t hurt you too much? To see me with him every day? To have to work with me every day?”

“I won’t lie, it’ll be extremely hard to look at you every day and know I can never have you. But, I don’t want you to go away. I need you. I can’t function in my everyday life without you working with me and being my best friend. Just promise me you won’t give me any details about you and him, okay?” He smiled through his tears.

“I can handle that. I just want you to tell me if you can’t handle me anymore, okay?”

“Deal. Hey, any chance for a farewell lovemaking session tonight?” He raised his eyebrows. I knew he was trying to make light of the situation even though he was in pain.

“Chris!”

“It was worth a shot. I’m sure he’s waiting for you, isn’t he?”

“God, I hope so. If that skank is in his room there will be a murder tonight.” Chris laughed out loud at that one. He pulled me close to him and kissed the top of my head.

“I love you, Cindy. I’ll always be here for you. You tell Scoop I’ll kill him if he hurts you.” Again with the humor. I knew this was tearing him up inside.

“Thank you, Chris. You have no idea what your friendship and your love means to me.” I kissed his tear stained lips. They were quivering. I felt a tear slide down my cheek and he brushed it away with his thumb.

“Oh, I think I know.” He hugged me again and then backed away from me. “I suppose you want to go to his room now, huh?”

“Yeah, I think so. I’ll hurry and get out of your hair.” I ran around getting my stuff packed back up. When I was through I walked over to him. He was lying on the bed watching me. I bent down and kissed him one last time on the lips. He pulled me down to him and deepened the kiss. I allowed his tongue access to my mouth one last time. I knew this was good-bye. When he broke the kiss there were tears in his eyes again.

“Good-bye, Princess.” I couldn’t say anything. I picked up my suitcases and walked out of the room.

I walked a few doors down to Lance’s room. I was crying hysterically at this point. I knocked and rested my forehead on the door frame. Lance opened the door and looked concerned.

“Please, God, tell me you still want me?” I cried. He grabbed my suitcase out of my hand and pulled me into the room and into his arms. I dropped my backpack and purse and buried my face in his neck.

“So, it’s over, huh?” He asked.

“Yeah. God, I’ve never had to do something that difficult before. It was terrible.”

“Was he really mad?”

“No, that’s what was weird.” I looked up at him. “He knew it was you.”

“He did?” He was stunned.

“Yeah, he said he always knew that if we ever actually talked, we’d figure it all out and he’d lose me. Kinda explains the problem he had with that bikini I was parading around you wearing in the Bahamas.” I smirked.

“No, shit. It was all I could do not to grab you by the hair, caveman style and drag you off to fuck the living daylights out of you.” He laughed.

“Oooh, nice visual Mr. Bass. Is that what I have to look forward to, caveman style?” I teased him.

“Maybe. Bet you can’t wait to find out, can ya?” I love his Southern drawl.

“You’re right about that! So what say we get started right now?” I ran my hands up and down his chest. I felt his nipples harden under his t-shirt.

“Oh, man, it’s gonna be a loooong night, my love.” His eyes were already that dark amber color again. I reached my hand behind his neck and pulled him down to my mouth. His kisses were torture. I could just kiss him all night long, but I knew there would be much more to come and I wasn’t going to miss it for the world.

He lifted me up in his arms and carried me to the bed. He laid me down and pushed a knee between my legs. I spread them willingly and he settled between them. Even though we were both still fully clothed, I was more aroused than I have ever been in my life.

Lance removed my shirt to reveal my black lace bra. He smirked at me.

“What, baby?” I asked.

“This for me?” He said.

“Of course.” I grinned back. He bit at a nipple through the lace and I arched my back. He reached behind me to unhook the bra and my breasts were released.

“Beautiful, you’re so beautiful, my love.” He whispered. His breath on my skin made me come unglued. I grabbed the hem of his t-shirt and pulled it over his head. I ran my hands over his chest and he closed his eyes.

“Please touch me, Lance.” I begged. He took one nipple into his mouth and sucked hard on it while pinching the other.

“Oh, yeah, baby, mmmmmm.” I moaned. He licked a path down my body and dipped his tongue into my belly button. “Ugh! Shit, that tickles!” I said. He chuckled and I fell a little deeper under his spell. He unbuttoned and unzipped my pants and slid them down my legs leaving me only in the lace panties that matched the bra.

“Wow.” was all he could come up with at the moment. It was my turn to smirk sexily at him. He grabbed my panties and tugged on them. I lifted my hips so he could slide them off. He grabbed one of my legs and sucked on my inner ankle bone. He smiled at my sharp intake of breath. He nibbled up my calf to my knee. When his mouth got to my lower thigh right about the knee I thought I would explode. ‘I’m freaking out already and he hasn’t even touched me where I want him to yet. This man is amazing!’ I screamed inside my head. He continued up my thigh to my center. His breath was hot on my clit and my body was screaming for him to continue. He licked all around but never ventured where I was dying for him to go.

“God, please, Lance! Stop teasing me!” I growled through gritted teeth. He continued with his own agenda, ignoring mine. Then he looked up and our eyes met. He lowered his mouth to my clit and licked across it. “UUUUUUUUGGGHHH!” I screamed. He sucked my clit into his mouth and I came instantly. “Oh, Gooooooood, Lance!” My body shook all over. He moved down to lick up my juices that were now flowing like a freaking river.

“Mmmm, so sweet.” he mumbled into my center. Oh, that voice of his. It made my toes curl. As he continued lapping up my sweetness his thumb began to massage my clit again. This was insane. It wasn’t long before I came again from the constant stimulation.

“Jesus! Oh, Shit!” I screamed. I saw him crawling up to me licking a path up my body. I was still convulsing when he slammed completely into me. “OOOOOOOOOOHH!” I screamed. I had not even noticed him get undressed. The man is a pro.

“You okay, my love?” He asked sweetly.

“You better believe it, please don’t stop!” I answered breathlessly. He began to move in and out of me and I felt a sensation I had not known before. He was the biggest man I had ever been with. There was no pain, but he was touching every part of me. He ground into me and circled his hips hitting everything inside me.

“You feel so good. I can’t believe we’re finally together.” He grunted.

“I love you, Lance.” I whispered.

“Me too, my love, me too.” He whispered back then claimed my mouth with his. He pulled away from our kiss and put my ankles up over his shoulders. Just when I thought he couldn’t go any deeper into me he thrust even further into my center.

“Damn, Lance, you’re killing me!” I growled.

“Am I hurting you, baby?” He looked worried.

“No! This is soooooo good.” I answered in between pants. “Faster, baby!” He slammed into me faster and faster. Suddenly he slowed and rolled us over so that I was on top. I started to move and he grabbed my hips.

“Wait! Baby, don’t move.” He said.

“Baby, please, I need to move. I started wiggling on him.”

“No! I don’t wanna come yet. I want this to last. Please just give me a second, okay?” I giggled and leaned over to kiss him. This felt so perfect. I was licking his ear and sucked his earlobe into my mouth. He thrust up into me.

“Oh, are we back?” I teased.

“Yeah, we’re back, baby. Ride me!” He ordered. I began to grind down onto him. He bit his lip and moaned. After a few minutes of that fast pace, he sat up and grabbed my face with his hands. I wrapped my legs around his waist. We rocked back and forth gently. He kissed my cheeks, my eyelids, my forehead. “God, I love you.” He said. Tears burned my eyes. I had never felt so complete. The next thing I knew he had flipped me over onto my hands and knees and entered me from behind. I rocked back onto him and he grunted. He reached around and found my clit and I screamed his name. My walls began to tighten around his huge dick and it was more than he could take. I felt him shoot his sticky load into my depths. He continued slamming into me as another orgasm wracked my body. He pulled out of me and turned me around. We laid down together and he pulled me to him. I kissed his chest and laid my head down on him. We laid quiet for a few moments catching our breaths.

“Well, now I know what people mean when they say they had Olympic sex.” I said.

“Olympic sex? Never heard that one before, baby, but I guarantee ya we just won the gold!” He chuckled and I reveled in the vibrations of his chest. “Please stand for the National Anthem and awarding of the medals.” He announced. We laughed so hard we cried.

I looked up at him. “I love you, Lance. Thank God we finally found each other out.” I smiled.

“I can’t believe we wasted two years we could’ve had together.” He frowned.

“Well, we never have to be apart another minute.” I stated.

“Right! I don’t intend to waste another second. Life is too short. I just wanna be with you. Nothing else matters to me. I love you so much, Cindy.”

“I love you, too.” I laid my head down on his chest and fell asleep, smiling.

“Ohmigooooooood, JOSH!” Regina screamed and collapsed onto JC’s chest.

“Baby, it just gets better and better every day.” JC grinned and kissed her head. “Did I just hear someone yell Lance’s name? He must have that blonde from the club in there with him, ya think?”

“Oh, geez, I hope not! I hope it’s who I think it is!” She was grinning ear to ear.

“What are you talking about, baby?” JC was so slow sometimes.

“I’m hoping it’s Cindy in there he’s making scream.” She lifted her head to look at him.

“Cindy? Why would she be with Lance? She’s dating Chris.” JC looked so puzzled Regina had to laugh.

“Bless your heart.” She said. “You’re not very observant, are you, Sweetie?”

“C’mon, Reg, what’s going on?” He whined.

“You know Cindy wanted to talk to me tonight, right?” He nodded. You could almost see the wheels turning in his head. Then the light bulb appeared. “Eureka!” Regina was laughing hysterically at JC at this point.

“So, you mean that’s why they never would talk to each other? They were hot for each other and neither one would do anything about it?” Regina nodded her head.

“Very good, baby.” He started tickling her and she howled with laughter. Then he suddenly stopped.

“What about Chris? He loves her so much. Oh, man, this is gonna be bad.”

“Could be. She was gonna break up with him tonight. I’m hoping she did and that’s her in there. She was worried about Lance dancing with that ho at the club.”

“Ho? Well, she was all up on Chris, what was Lance supposed to do?”

“Typical male response. It’s okay, I know, and that’s what I told Cindy. But you’re right. Tomorrow could be really bad with the three of them together all day. She didn’t want to lose her job either, so I don’t know what’s going to happen.”

“Chris loves her but he also relies completely on her. She’s great at her job. Damn, this sucks, ya know? It does kinda explain Lance’s attitude lately though.” He reasoned.

“Yeah, it does. We’ll just have to pray it all works out for everyone. I sure am glad I have you and always will.” She snuggled close to him and he sighed happily.

“Me too, baby girl, me too. Goodnight.” She leaned up and kissed him goodnight.

“G’nite, baby, I love you.” She whispered.

“Love you more.” He whispered back.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chris laid in his bed and sobbed. His body shook violently.

“Why do the women I love always leave me?” He cried. He could also hear the lovemaking going on two rooms down. “Damn hotels with paper-thin walls.” He said aloud. “Time to hit the mini bar!” He jumped up out of bed and pulled all the bottles from the bar. “Maybe I will be able to blur this image of you and Lance fucking, Cindy!” He yelled.

I rolled over and the morning light was shining into the room. I stretched and reached for Lance. I patted the bed beside me and no one was there. I sat up and looked around the room. He was sitting in the chair watching me with a big grin on his face.

“What?” I asked. I realized I was naked and felt self-conscious all of the sudden. I pulled the sheet up over my body.

“Oh, don’t do that, baby.” He said as he got up to walk over to the bed. “I was enjoying watching you sleep. Lying there naked and beautiful. You’re breathtaking.” He bent over and kissed my forehead. “I could spend the rest of my life just looking at you.”

‘Could he be any more perfect?’ I thought. I just smiled at him and pulled him down on top of me. I kissed his shoulder and he moaned. He tried to kiss me and I turned my head.

“I’ve got morning breath, baby, I need to brush my teeth so I can give you a real kiss.” I licked up his neck and shoved him to the other side of the bed. He grabbed for me as I ran to the bathroom.

“You’re gonna pay for that!” He said.

“Oooh, I can’t wait!” I yelled back. I brushed my teeth and heard a knock on the door. When I came out of the bathroom there was a table full of breakfast food in the room. “When did you order this?” I asked.

“When you were sleepin’.” He drawled.

“You’re kidding? You talked on the phone and everything and I didn’t wake up? That’s not like me, I’m a very light sleeper.” I frowned as I thought.

“Musta been worn slap out from all that good lovin’ you got last night, babe.” He walked over to me and captured my mouth with his. God, this felt so good. His tongue was like velvet.

“Mmmmmmm. Musta been. I’m looking forward to lots of great sleep after lots of great sex from now on.” I turned to get some breakfast and he popped my butt. “Hey!” I giggled.

“I love that ass, baby.” He walked up behind me and pressed himself to my butt.

“We’ve gotta get ready to go, Sweetie. As much as I’d like to go another round with you, we can’t.” He pouted and slumped down in the chair.

“Am I gonna have to quit this damn group so I can have sex with my woman any time I want to?” I just looked at him and he smirked. His beautiful green eyes danced. God, I love this man. We ate our breakfast quickly and I took a shower. Lance had taken his before I got up. It didn’t stop him from wanting to join me. I managed to have one by myself, much to his dismay.

We got ready to go and headed out of the room. The guys had some radio station promos to do today. I really needed to talk to Chris about one of them. I was terrified. Lance and I walked hand in hand down the hall chatting and laughing. Other doors started opening and I saw JC and Reg behind us. She grinned big and gave me the thumb’s up. JC looked confused. I smiled at them.

When I turned back around, Chris had come out of his room. God, he looked like hell. He was wearing sunglasses, but I could tell his eyes were puffy. Guilt washed over me. I dropped Lance’s hand. I glanced at him and he looked hurt. I gave him an “I’m sorry” look and turned my attention back to Chris. He was walking toward us.

“It’s okay, Cindy. You can hold his hand. You’re his now.” He kissed me on the cheek. Lance was looking down, not making eye contact with Chris.

“Hey, Scoop, it’s okay. I’ll be okay.” He stuck out his hand to Lance and he reluctantly shook it. “You’re still my bud and I love ya. Did she tell you what I said?” He asked him.

He was being way too nice about all of this. Maybe I didn’t mean as much to him as I thought.

“N...no.” Lance stuttered.

“I told her to tell you if you hurt her I’ll kill ya.” He smiled weakly.

Lance smiled back at him and said “I would never hurt her, Chris. I love her more than anything in the world.”

“I know how you feel, buddy, I know exactly how you feel.” He looked at me and I started to cry.

“Cindy, don’t. Come here, okay?” Chris grabbed my hand and walked me away from Lance and the rest of the group. “Don’t do this to yourself, Princess.” God, I can’t believe he’s still calling me ‘princess’. “I am having a hard time with this. Harder than I thought I would, but I want you to be happy. You’re happy with him?” He gestured toward Lance.

“I am.” I sobbed.

“Then get back over there and make him happy. Okay?” I nodded and started to walk away. I turned back around and hugged him tightly.

“I am so sorry about all of this, Chris, I really am.”

“I know, baby.” We heard the elevator ding, signaling its arrival on our floor. I pulled away from him and despite the glasses could see the glistening of tears in his eyes.

“Do we need to talk about the Fuman interview you’re doing today or are you ready for it?” I asked him as we boarded the elevator.

“I’m good. I’ll be fine. You don’t have to come if you don’t want. You can stay with Lance.”

“Is that what you want me to do?” I asked him.

“Yeah, I think it would be a good idea to have some distance between us today.”

“Okay, then. Let me know if you need anything. My cell will be on.” We exited the elevator and headed for the vans. They had so many promos to do they were splitting up. Chris made sure he was in the other van and went to the promo spots we weren’t at. It was the best thing, I guess. I still wasn’t sure he was really going to be okay. I had never seen him like this. He didn’t crack one single joke or pull any pranks that day.

That was the drill for the next few weeks. Chris drank himself to sleep every night. He looked like shit every morning. He stopped shaving and fixing his hair at all. He wouldn’t even shave on show nights. The make-up and hair girls had washed their hands of him. He was hateful and rude to everyone who worked for them, including me. I wasn’t dealing well with this whole thing either. All day long I was in total stress and guilt mode. Every time Chris looked at me it ate a little more of my soul away. I tried not to let it effect the time I had alone with Lance. It did, though. I wasn’t sure how much longer I could go on like this. He was being a total shit to Lance as well. They used to be so close and it was all my fault. The guilt consumed a little more of me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Good morning, Branson! This is Kandy and you’re listening to KACL, Branson’s Pop Connection. You’re all in for a big treat today because we have Chris Kirkpatrick from *NSYNC here in the studio. I gotta tell ya, I’m excited! Let’s get right down to business, shall we?

“Hi, Chris. It’s great to have you here at KACL. You and the guys have a huge following here in Branson. How are you and how’s the tour going?”

“I’m fine. We’re all fine. The tour’s fine.” He said coldly.

“O...K....great. You’ll be performing here tomorrow night. What’s the new tour like?”

“We sing. We dance.”

“Great. Looking forward to it.” ‘Damn.’ Kandy thought to herself. ‘This is bad! I thought he was the funny one.’

“Okay, peeps, we’re going to break for some commercials and come right back with Chris Kirkpatrick from *NSYNC.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I was listening to his interview because he didn’t want me to be there with him. It was funny how I could be his personal assistant and hardly ever have to talk to him. We used to spend most of every day side by side. Now I used my laptop to print out a schedule and handed it to him in the morning at breakfast.

“Oh, shit!” I said out loud. The guys were all sitting across the room talking to a press agent.

“What’s wrong, baby?” Lance walked toward me.

“You won’t believe this. Chris is doing that live interview over at KACL and he’s being a total prick on the air.”

“So what else is new? He’s always trying to get a laugh.” Lance looked puzzled.

“No, you don’t understand. Nobody’s laughing. He is torturing this deejay.” The other guys had walked up behind Lance. I turned up the radio so they could hear.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kandy tried to make small-talk with Chris during the commercials. “So, don’t like interviews much, huh?”

“Oh, I don’t give a shit.” He said to her. “Look, I don’t wanna be here so get this damn thing over with, okay?” He slouched back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest.

“Okay.” She answered. ‘What a diva!’ She thought.

“Branson, we’re back. This is Kandy and I’m still here with Chris Kirkpatrick of *NSYNC. They have a show here tomorrow night and I hope you have tickets because it’s been sold out for months.

“So, Chris, what is going on for you beside the tour right now? I know you have the clothing line, management company? How’s everything going with that?”

“Everything’s fine. Working hard with my artists.”

“Great. Can we expect any singles from them soon? I’d love to get some advanced copies and get it on the air for you.” She was trying so hard to be upbeat.

“Nope.”

“Well, will you let us know when you do? We love to support up and coming artists.”

“Sure.” He stated with absolutely no emotion.

“We’re all looking forward to seeing the show tomorrow night. I know it’ll be wonderful. Thanks for stopping by, Chris.”

“Uh huh.” Was all he said.

“Here’s *NSYNC with ‘This I Promise You’ on KACL.”

~~~~~~~~~~

“Damn! He just fucked us royally!” Joey said.

“No kidding.” Lance added looking at me. I was on the verge of tears once again.

“He goes NOWHERE by himself ever again!” JC stated.

“You got that shit right, Jace.” Justin said.

~~~~~~~~~~~

“Thanks a lot, Chris.” Kandy stated sarcastically. “Sure was great getting to meet and interview you.” She rolled her eyes. “You’ve got real issues! I’m sure your fans just loved that attitude of yours!”

“Like I give a shit.” He said as he was walking out of the room.

“Asshole!” Kandy yelled after him. “Man, what a snob! Who knew? I always heard they were so sweet. Damn if I’m going to that show tomorrow now.” She said to her program director.

“You will go, Kandy. I need you there.” He told her.

“Shit. Okay.” She agreed.

When Chris got outside the studio he pulled the flask out of his pocket and took a big swig.

Later that night, we were back in our hotel room. Nobody had spoken to Chris after the interview from hell. He was nowhere to be found. We had an off night and decided to just hang out in the room. Lance and I needed some “quality” time together. It had been one hell of a day.

“Hey, where’s the remote?” Lance asked.

“How the hell should I know? Have I had time to watch the fucking tv?” I yelled at him. The minute it came out of my mouth I regretted it. Damn, my stupid ass! He sighed heavily and ran his hand through his hair. He grabbed the room keycard off the dresser and headed for the door.

“Lance, baby, I’m......” the door slammed behind him. “sorry.” I finished. Shit! What am I doing? I berated myself. I paced back and forth in the room. I don’t know where he’d go. Probably down to the bar. The bar, fans, all willing to become a diversion for the night. “No, he wouldn’t do that to me.” I reasoned aloud. “Oh, God, please don’t let him do that to me.” I cried.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BAM! BAM! BAM! Chris heard someone beating on his door. He had already had one bottle of Jack Daniels and was working on another one. “Get lost!” he slurred. The beating continued. “I said, get the fuck away from my door!” He managed to yell audibly. Still more banging. “That’s it, somebody better be dead!” He said loudly as he dragged himself out of the bed. “Who the fuck has the nerve to keep knocking...” he opened the door. Lance was standing there. “What? Is something wrong in paradise, pretty boy?”

Lance pushed into the room and grabbed Chris by the front of the shirt. He slammed him into the wall. Chris was too drunk to do much to stop it. “Chris, this shit has GOT to stop!” Even in his drunken state, he knew he had never seen Lance this angry.

“Get the fuck off me, man!” He pushed on Lance’s chest to no avail.

“I mean it! You’ve gotta snap out of this shit! You’re bringing everyone down with you.”

“Good! My plan is working!” Chris countered. He didn’t see it coming but felt the sudden pain as Lance’s fist came in contact with his jaw. “FUCK!”

“Don’t make me hit you again you stupid motherfucker! Things don’t always go like we plan but you can’t just shut down and ruin your life and everyone else’s around you!” Chris had slumped to the ground and was feeling his lip. He tasted blood.

“And I thought you were such a girl, nice shot, Scoop.” Chris grinned evilly. Lance lunged at him again but was held back. He turned his head and saw JC and Justin holding him.

“Lance, dude, stop it!” JC begged.

“I’m gonna fuckin kill him, Jace, let go!” Lance squirmed, trying to get free.

“No, you can’t kill him! You gotta relax, man.” Justin added.

“He is ruining all our lives. Am I the only one who gives a shit about the state of this group? He’s determined to ruin our careers. You think the fans are gonna stand for the shit he pulled today?”

”No, you’re not the only one who cares, Lance. This is not the way.”

“Well, talking to his stupid ass hasn’t worked. I don’t think he’ll be happy until we’re all as miserable as him. I gotta tell ya’ll, I’m fuckin’ THERE!”

“Oooh, Lancey is mad! Everybody behave. Don’t wanna upset his happy little world.” Chris said.

“Shut the fuck up, Chris!” Justin screamed. “Lance is right. You really did it this time. How could you speak to that deejay like that? She was just doing her job. If you didn’t want to do the interview, one of us could’ve gone.”

“You can’t ever pull that shit again.” Joey commanded.

“Whatever, Joe.” Chris walked to his bed and laid down. He turned on the tv and turned the volume up to drown out their discussion.

“What are we gonna do about him, guys?” JC asked.

“I don’t know, Jace, but I can’t deal with him anymore.” Lance fumed.

“You have a bigger reason to be pissed and we understand that.” JC said.

“Do ya’ll? Cuz I don’t think ya’ll do. Cindy just bit my head off when I asked her where the remote was. There’s no reason we should be fighting. I love her so much. She loves me too, but he’s sucking the life right out of her.”

“You walked out on her to do this didn’t you?” JC asked.

“How did you know that?” Lance was surprised.

“Just a guess, my friend.” JC grinned. “Go back to her. I think you’ve successfully blown off some steam. We’ll stay here with Chris so he doesn’t drink himself to death.”

“Okay, man. I hope ya’ll can help him. I’m beyond helping anybody. I can’t even get on with my relationship because of all this. I can’t lose her, guys. She’s my life. If I had to choose between ya’ll and her right now, I’m not really sure what my choice would be. I think it would be her.”

“Let’s not think about that right now, dude.” JC looked scared. “No choice like that has to be made right now. Just go be with her. TALK to her. Love her. You can get through this. Just look what me and Reg have been through. I can’t believe she still puts up with me but she loves me. Cindy loves you more than anything. I know that’s a fact.” JC grabbed Lance and hugged him. “I love you, man. Now get the hell outta here!” He ordered.

“Yes, sir.” Lance smiled. “I love you too, bro.” Lance glared over at Chris for a moment and headed out the door.

I was going nuts in the room. I had to get out. I heard voices down the hall but didn’t want to know what was going on. I had my own problems.

“Cindy?!” I heard Regina call me. I stopped and turned around.

“Hey. What are you doing wandering around at this hour?” I asked her. “Jace send you out for a midnight snack?”

“Why are you making small talk with me when you’ve obviously been crying?” She blasted at me.

“Uh, well, don’t need to pass my bad vibes onto you. You’ve got the perfect life, the perfect relationship, the perfect everything. My life is shit!” The tears began again.

“Come on, we’re going downstairs to talk. Alone.” She grabbed my arm and dragged me to the elevator.

As we waited for the doors to open I said, “Reg, you don’t have to do this. I’ll be fine. Go back to JC.”

“He’s doing something with the guys right now. I won’t be gone long. I just need to make sure you’re okay.” She had that determined look on her face so I knew not to cross her.

“Okay, let’s go sit somewhere.” I finally agreed. We stepped into the elevator and headed to the lounge. The waiter took our orders and left us alone.

“Spill, chick!” Damn, Regina is feisty these days.

“I just tore into Lance for no reason and he left. He walked out on me. I don’t know where he went. He’s not down here.” I said as I looked around for him. “What if all this has completely gotten to him and he doesn’t want to deal with me anymore? I feel like a blithering idiot. I’ve never needed anyone before. I take care of myself. God, Reg, I need him so badly I almost can’t breathe. I don’t know where he is.” I rested my forehead in my hands and the tears flowed yet again.

“Well, he couldn’t have gone far and wouldn’t have. He’s not stupid. There are fans everywhere.” She reminded me.

“Yeah, true, but he was really pissed. I’ve never seen him that angry before.”

“Look, you know he’ll come back eventually. His stuff is in the room.” She grinned, trying to lighten me up. It didn’t work. “Just go back up there and wait for him. He probably just didn’t want to fight with you and needed to cool his heels somewhere. Did you check Justin or Joey’s rooms?”

“No, I couldn’t think. I just had to get out of the room.”

“C’mon, let’s go back upstairs. I want you to get ready for bed and wait on him. Hell, he might be back in the room now wondering where you are.”

“God, I hope so, Reg.” I sighed.

We walked down the hall and stood outside my door.

“Chin up, my friend.” Regina said. “I have faith that this true love with overcome this obstacle and any other that rears it’s ugly head.” She hugged me and turned to go.

“Reg?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks. I owe you......big.”

“I know. And one day I’ll come to collect.” She winked at me and headed down the hall. I stood looking at the door to our room. I inhaled deeply and inserted the keycard.

I opened the door and noticed the room was dark. ‘I know I left lights on in here.’ I thought to myself. When I stepped further into the room I saw him. He was sitting in a chair facing the window. There were candles lit all over the room. Soft music was playing in the background.

“Lance?”

“Come here.” He said.

I walked slowly to where he was sitting. The room smelled of vanilla and strawberries, my two favorite scents besides his. I put my hand on his shoulder and he shivered. He took my hand and guided me around in front of him. He grabbed my other hand and just stared up at me. I had tears in my eyes already and he had not breathed a word.

“Don’t cry, my love.” His voice was raspy. “I’m so sorry I walked out on you. I know why you were so upset.”

“I...”

“Shhhhhh, baby. I know you didn’t mean to snap at me. This whole situation has been building and it was time to do something about it.”

“Wha....what did you do?” I was afraid to ask.

“I had a little talk with Chris. Well, my fist did.”

“Ohmigod! You hit him!?” I fell to my knees in front of him. “What happened?”

“He was being his normal smug, asshole self and he was drunk. I hit him once then the guys pulled me off him. I don’t think it did any good. He won’t remember tomorrow anyway.”

“Maybe he will. Baby, I can’t believe you hit him.” I put my head in his lap and he ran his fingers through my hair.

“I had to do something. I can’t continue to live like this. WE can’t live like this. I want us to be together forever. This stress is tearing us apart. I told the guys if I have to leave this group, I’m going to be happy with you. You mean more to me than all this.”

“Oh, God, you didn’t?” I cried. “Please tell me you’d never give up your dream for me?”

“YOU are my dream. YOU are my life. Without you the rest of this is just pointless. I don’t have to do this anymore. I have other businesses. I can get out now and we can be together.” He was crying now. I leaned up and kissed away his tears.

“I love you, Lance, and we WILL get through this. But you don’t have to quit. Please don’t make any rash decisions in the heat of anger. Just promise me that?”

“I’d promise you anything, you know that, right? I’d give you the moon if I could go up there and get it for you.” I kissed his salty lips and giggled at his cheesy line. He grinned too.

“You have already given me everything I could ever want.” He pulled me into his lap and kissed me with such passion I thought my chest would explode. He broke the kiss and stood up with me in his arms. He let go of my legs and I stood up next to him. He began to sway to the music I had forgotten was playing. The song was “Open Arms” by Journey. One of my favorites of all time. How perfect was this song for our situation?

....we sailed on together....we drifted apart...but here you are by my side.

“I told you one day we would dance.” he whispered in my ear.

“Yes you did, and you were right. It was worth the wait.” I could no longer take the heat that was radiating off his body. I pulled him to the bed and laid him down. I crawled onto the bed on and lifted his t-shirt just a little. His stomach sucked in when my mouth made contact with his belly button. I ran my hands up his sides, pushing up his shirt as I went. I licked and kissed a trail up to his nipple. As I sucked on his chest he reached up and pulled his shirt all the way off. He pulled me up to him and sucked my tongue into his mouth. We moaned in unison. He pulled my shirt over my head and we were forced to break our kiss momentarily. Our mouths met again immediately. He tried to roll me over.

“Mmmm mmmm, it’s my turn to tease you, Mr. Bass.”

“Oh my goodness.....mmmmmmm” he moaned as I licked back down his goody trail. I stopped to undo his pants and slid them down his legs. As I crawled back up he looked up at me. I ran my fingertips up his inner thigh and brought them to rest next to his throbbing erection. I watched his face as I softly touched him. I ran my fingertips over his balls and up his shaft. “Shit, Cindy, God damn!” He grabbed handfuls of the comforter.

“Oh, I haven’t even gotten started, baby.” I growled. I lowered my head and flicked my tongue over his tip. His hips bucked off the bed and he grunted. I grasped his shaft softly and ran my tongue all the way around his head.

“Fuck!” he yelled out. I was licking him like an ice cream cone now. I could tell I was driving him insane. I lowered my mouth onto him and took in as much as I could. I heard his sharp intake of breath and smiled inside at the pleasure I was giving him. I began to move my mouth up and down on his cock and slid my hand up and down him as well. The dual pleasure was driving him insane. I felt him get harder and I knew it was almost time.

“Baby, I’m......gonna.....” He grabbed my hair to pull me off him but I didn’t budge. “Baby! Fuck!” He shot his load down my throat. I continued sucking until he was empty. He pulled me up to him forcefully. “Oh My God!” He mouthed before ramming his tongue into my mouth.

I sucked on his tongue as his hand found it’s way between my legs. He rubbed me hard through my jeans.

He broke the kiss long enough to speak, “Gotta....get.....these.....off.” he panted. He was shaking so I helped him unbutton and unzip me. He jerked the material away from my body and was inside me before I knew what hit me.

“Ooooooh! Lance!” I screamed. He pounded into me. I could think of nothing but the intense pleasure he was putting my body through. I met him thrust for thrust as we came close to our climaxes.

“Open your eyes, my love.” He said to me. “I want your eyes open when you come. I want to look at you.” That was all it took to start me on my way. My entire body began to spasm. He grabbed my hips and slammed into me as hard as he could. I managed to keep my eyes open as an intense orgasm rocked my body. He came seconds after me as we continued our motion.

“LAAAAAAAAANCCEEE!” I screamed.

“Ooooooooh, Cindy, God, I love you.” He breathed.

“Mmmmm, you promise?” I said, rubbing my hands up and down his chest.

“Yes, I do.” He panted. He lowered himself onto my body and buried his head in my neck. “Forever.” He whispered.

RRIIIIIIIIINGGGG! RRRIIIIIIIIIINGGGGGG! ‘Ugh! Who the hell is calling in the middle of the night?!’ I thought to myself. RRIIIIIIIIIIIIINGGGGGGG! I stirred a little and realized what was happening. I lifted my head off Lance’s chest and reached over for the phone.

“What?!” I growled.

“Morning, Princess.” Chris’ perky voice radiated through the phone. ‘Damn, he’s still calling me Princess.’

“Chris?” I questioned.

“Yeah, it’s me. You up yet?” Who was this guy and what had he done with the moody, psycho Chris we’d all come to expect these days?

“I am now. What’s going on?” I asked, yawning the sentence.

“Can you come to my room when you get ready? I have some stuff to go over with you and it needs to be today.”

“Um...yeah...sure. I need to get showered and dressed. Is that okay?” I was very apprehensive about this little ‘meeting’.

“Of course. That’s why I called so early. Don’t go back to sleep, though, I really have to get some stuff done this morning, okay?”

“Okay, sure. I’m up now. I’ll be down there in about 30 minutes.”

“K, see ya then!” He hung up.

I hung up the phone and rolled over onto my back. I didn’t notice Lance was awake and had heard my half of the conversation.

“What did HE want?” He asked. I jumped.

“Baby, you scared me. I didn’t know I woke you. That was so weird. He wanted me to come down to his room in a few minutes to go over some stuff. He wouldn’t be more specific. What do you think he wants? To fire me, maybe?” I was getting more tense by the second.

“Dunno, my love, but that could be a great thing.” He pulled me over to him and kissed my neck.

“I love my job, Lance.” I reminded him.

“I know, but this whole thing is whacked.” He said.

“Whacked?” I laughed at him. “You been hangin wit da fellas a little too much, baby. Startin to sound like Justin.” I jumped as he tickled me.

“Oh, yeah, well it is whacked!” Then he got serious. “Should I go with you? I mean, what if he’s planning on ambushing you when you’re alone in his room?”

“Thanks for putting that fear into my head now, baby, I really appreciate it.” I teased but I was really feeling a little apprehensive about being alone in a room with him. “He sounded like the old Chris. What does that mean, I wonder?”

“I’ll go with you if you want.” He offered.

“No, I’ll be fine. If I don’t come back for a while come looking for my body, k?” My sarcastic fear response.

“If he harms one hair on your body, I’ll kill him. I think he knows that now.” He puffed up like a rooster over his previous night’s escapades.

“You’re such a stud, Mr. Bass. I don’t know how you live with yourself.” I teased.

“It ain’t easy bein’ me.” He drawled. God he was precious. We laughed and joked around a little longer, then I got up to shower.

I was putting the finishing touches on my hair when Lance walked up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist. “I love you, you know?”

“I know.” I answered

“Just makin’ sure. If he’s being so nice, he’s not gonna steal you back from me is he?” He really looked serious.

“Sure, there’s always that possibility.” I teased him. He didn’t think it was funny. Now he looked scared. “Baby, I was just teasing. I don’t love Chris, I never loved Chris, and I never will. I LOOOOVE YOU!”

“Promise?” He pouted and pulled me into his arms.

“You got some cheese to go with that whine?” I giggled.

“I got your big cheese right over here.” I squealed when he tried to pick me up and sit me on the dresser.

“I have to go, baby. Please let go. You know I’d much rather be here playing with you but I have to go see what my future holds. Keep your fingers crossed that your little ‘talk’ did some good.” I kissed him quickly on the lips and headed out the door with my agenda and laptop. “Love you!” I blew him a kiss from the door before it closed behind me.

“Love you, too.” He whispered after the door closed.

I took a deep breath and knocked on Chris’ door. I closed my eyes and thought ‘please, God, make this go okay.’

Chris opened the door with a huge grin on his face. His eyes were no longer bloodshot and he had shaved. His hair was perfectly spiked and his clothes weren’t wrinkled.

“Morning, again Princess!” He said happily. I just stood there on the threshold looking at him in disbelief. “Come on in.” He motioned me into the room.

“Chris?” I know I looked freaked out by the sudden transformation.

“It’s okay, Cindy. I’m okay. Your man has a hellova right hook, though. Look at my lip.” He poked it out with his tongue. I couldn’t help but smile. I missed my Chris so much. “Come over here and sit down. I won’t bite...well...unless you’d let me.” He wiggled his eyebrows. I just cut my eyes at him and smirked.

“What’s this all about?”

“I wanted to apologize to you first and foremost for my attitude and actions. I’m a fucking idiot and I know that now.” He looked down at his hands.

“Chris”

“No, let me finish, okay?” I nodded.

“Everything Lance said to me last night was true. I was bringing everyone down with me. Jesus, I can’t believe the way I treated that poor deejay. She must hate me. And the fans who were listening. I can’t take any of that back.

“What I’ve done to you is my worst fuck-up ever. I’m sure you and Lance hate my guts but I had to apologize. I dunno what came over me. Well, yeah, I do, YOU came over me. I couldn’t seem to function without you being mine, 100%.”

“And this miraculously changed overnight?” I asked sarcastically.

“Yeah, it did. Lancey packs a wallop for a pretty boy. And Justin stayed with me all night and just talked to me. He’s really smart for a stupid kid. He wouldn’t let me drink anymore and forced coffee in me.” He sighed. “But seriously, I’m going to try my best not to backslide. I want you to be happy. I would prefer you being happy with me, but I have to get over that, and I guess I will with time.”

I reached for his hand and he pulled away. “Don’t, okay? I can’t handle your touch right now, sweetie.” He looked at me with those puppy dog eyes.

“Sorry.” I whispered. “I still consider you my best friend, Chris, and I can’t stand the thought of losing you completely. So, we’re going to work on this every day.”

“Yes ma’am!” He saluted me. “I’m gonna talk to Lance later, too. I hope we can get things back the way they used to be.”

“I know he wants that, too. If I have to leave my job here to make that happen I will. You two were fine before I came along and fucked everything up. It’s all my fault.”

“Stop it! You can’t help who you love any more than Lance or I can. I don’t want you talking like that. I’ve seen the way you look at him and the way he looks at you. It’s the real thing, as much as I hate it, it is.” I pouted at him.

“Don’t give me the pout, young lady, or things here could get heated.” I had to giggle at him. “I might have to jump your sexy bones.” I knew he was hurting and trying to cover it up so I stood up to leave. I wanted to end his pain, if only for a little while.

“I’m gonna go take care of some things. Page me if you need me. Ya’ll are free this morning for a change.”

“Probably because nobody wants to interview us anymore after my stunt yesterday.”

“Stop beating yourself up. All will be well with the world, you’ll see.” I smiled at him and left the room.

I walked a couple of steps away from his door and slumped against the wall. It was as if a huge weight had been lifted off me. I hoped it would continue.

I walked back down to our room. Lance was on the bed leaning against the headboard and on the phone when I entered. He was shirtless, wearing just his jeans, no shoes. The jeans were unbuttoned. His hair was wet and he was stroking it with a towel. ‘Damn, he’s beautiful.’ I thought. I wanted to straddle him so bad at that moment. He looked up with a concerned look on his face. I gave him the okay sign and grabbed the phone book. He went back to his conversation. I think he was talking to Meredith by the sound of it. I found what I was looking for and dialed the number.

“KACL.” They answered.

“Yeah, I need to speak to Kandy, please. This is Cindy Jones, Chris Kirkpatrick’s assistant.”

“Oh, um.” He stuttered.

“Please let me talk to her. I just want to apologize for yesterday.” I pleaded.

“She’s on the air. Hang on a second.” Before I could answer he put me on hold.

“KACL, this is Kandy.” The voice on the line said.

“Kandy, this is Cindy, Chris’ assistant. I just wanted to personally apologize for his behavior yesterday.”

“You don’t need to apologize for him. He’s a big boy. If he wants to treat the press and his fans to that kind of a display it’s not your fault.” She wasn’t being rude, but I could hear some resentment in her voice.

“I know that, but I am partly responsible. I won’t get into that right now, but I did want to make sure you’re still coming to the show tonight.”

“I didn’t want to, but my program director told me I HAVE to.” She chuckled.

“Good for him! Look, I will definitely make it worth your while though. I’ll leave your name at the will call for backstage passes. Come back there early and I’ll get you into the meet & greet and hopefully a quick interview with a couple of the guys. How’s that sound?”

“Well, it sounds awesome as long as Chris isn’t one of those guys!” It was my turn to laugh.

“You’ve got a deal. He won’t harass you, I promise.”

“Great. I guess I’ll see you there. I gotta go, commercials are almost over.”

“K, bye, see you tonight.”

“Bye.” I hung up the phone and noticed Lance watching me.

“That was sweet, baby. I’ll give her a little interview if you want.” He walked over to kiss me on the forehead.

“As long as it’s only a little interview you give her.” I replied sternly. “Thanks, baby. I appreciate it. Gotta clean Chris’ mess up a bit.” I kissed the back of his hand.

“So, what happened with Chris? You don’t look upset at all.”

“You won’t believe this. He ‘seemed’ back to normal, well normal for Chris. He shaved!” I grinned. “He looked wonderful and sounded wonderful. He’s still hurting, but apologized and said everything you said to him last night was true. He was being horrible and it was going to stop. He wouldn’t let me touch him, though.”

“Well, I don’t want you to touch him either.” He chuckled. “You’re only allowed to touch me.” I brushed my fingers over his naked chest. He sighed deeply. “You’re not starting something we won’t have time to finish are you?” He had his hands on the chair’s arms on either side of me. He lowered himself down to me and snaked his tongue out to taste my lips.

“Mmmmmmm, you taste so good, my love.” He whispered faintly. My heart was beating like a drum at this point.

“Uh... I.... think.....we.....” I tried to speak between his kisses. “We......have.....um..... time for a ‘quickie’. I finally got out.

“Wellllll, if that’s all we have time for, baby...” he grabbed the waist of my jeans and removed them so fast my slides when flying off my feet. He grabbed my knees and slid my ass to the edge of the chair. He knelt before me and ran his tongue up my slit. I pushed my center toward his mouth. “Mmmmmm, baby you’re so wet already.” He said as he tasted me.

“I’m always wet for you baby.” I panted as I grabbed two handfuls of his wet hair. It didn’t take me long to scream his name. The man could do incredible things with his tongue. He lifted his head off me and slid his jeans down his hips. He didn’t bother to stand and remove them but entered me quickly and deeply.

“Oooooooooh, Lance, shit!” I screamed. He was pounding into me so hard I thought I would tear in half.

“You like it hard like this, baby girl?” He grunted.

“I like it any way you wanna give it to me.” I growled between thrusts.

“Now that’s what I like to hear!” I didn’t think he could speed up any more but he did. My senses were on overload. God, the feelings he evoked in me. We had never gone at it like this. It was almost primal. “UUUUUUGGGGGGH!” he thrusted one last time and I felt his warm stickiness fill me.

“Oh, God! That was amazing!” I breathed in his ear and wrapped my legs around his waist.

“You’re amazing.” He licked the sweat off my neck and I kissed his shoulder.

He slowly pulled out of me and I felt the dreaded emptiness. I wish he could stay inside me forever. He pulled me up from the chair. It was all I could do to stand on shaky legs. I squatted down to grab his jeans still puddled around his feet. I pulled them up his muscular thighs and over his now soft manhood. I buttoned and zipped them while leaving kisses around his belly button.

“I love you, Cin.” He grabbed my hands and pulled me to my feet again.

“Love you too.” I sighed and wrapped my arms around his waist.

“Damn, we gotta get to the venue. They’re probably waiting on us.”

“They’re gonna just have to wait. Where the hell did my shoes fly off to?” We laughed and looked around. One was on the sofa on the other side of the room and the other was in the corner. I grabbed my pants and headed to the bathroom to clean up.

When we got to the venue we went our separate ways. The guys had to do the sound check. I wandered around backstage checking on the complimentary goods, making sure everything they always requested was there.

“Excuse me?” Kandy said to the woman at the Will Call window.

“Yeah?” She wasn’t very friendly.

“I am supposed to have a pass to get in there. My name is supposed to be on some list.”

“Yeah? You and every other female in this city.” She hissed. Kandy glared at her. “What’s the name?” She asked in a monotone voice.

“Kandy Stein from KACL radio.”

“Oh, here it is. Special VIP pass, too. Just go to that door over there and they’ll let you in.” She pointed to the venue doors.

Kandy walked to the door and looked into the glass. She saw a security guard and tapped on the glass. He glanced over to her and she jiggled her pass. He walked over to let her in.

“Hi.” She said to him. “I’m supposed to find Cindy Jones.”

“Um, I think I just saw her over in the toy room.” He said and started walking.

“Toy room?”

“Yeah, the guys have video games and stuff set up. They have to be here so early and believe me, they bore easily.” He chuckled.

“Captives, I guess.” She added.

“Yep, pretty much. Aha, there she is.” He pointed into the room at me. I turned and saw a beautiful woman with Eric. I saw him point and she smiled and walked towards me.

“Cindy?” She questioned.

“Yes?”

“I’m Kandy, from KACL radio.” She held her hand out to me.

“Hey!” I shook her hand. “Glad you made it so early. Lance has already promised me he’d give you an interview. I haven’t asked the others yet.”

“So, this is the Toy Room.” She looked around at all the ‘toys’.

“Yeah, they’re just a bunch of kids, really. Gotta have their toys. So, would you like to go watch the sound check?”

“Sure, that’d be great! I’m pretty new at this deejay thing so I’m still a little star struck with celebs who I’ve been around.” We wandered out to the front few rows and sat down.

“They’ll be through in just a little while then Lance can be all yours, but just for a little while.” Lance winked at me as he sang ‘God Must Have Spent’.

“Uh huh.” She teased.

“What?” I grinned broadly.

“I saw that. Something going on here I can report on?”

“Hmmmmm, well, we haven’t really discussed letting that info out just yet.” I thought out loud.

“But something’s definitely going on with somebody up there.”

“Just that one.” I grinned looking at Lance.

“Your secret’s safe with me. But I gotta tell ya, you are one lucky lady to have him looking at you that way.”

“Ya think?” I smirked.

“Yeah, I think!” We both giggled. I really liked her already.

“You’re right. I am a very lucky lady.” We made small talk while they sang.

Chris didn’t have his contacts in so he couldn’t tell who was sitting with me. “Lance, who’s that sitting with Cindy, I can’t tell?”

“The deejay chick from KACL, you know the one?” Lance said.

“Oh, God. What’s she doing here?”

“Cindy invited her to try to mend things with us and her station.”

“Damn, I feel like an asshole. I gotta apologize to her. I can’t believe I acted like that.”

“I know, man, it’s okay. No major harm done.” Lance shrugged his shoulders.

“Lance, I’m really sorry, man. I apologized to Cindy this morning and wanted to talk to you too. I know I was a real dick and I hope you can both forgive me.”

“Nothing to forgive, really. I know the effect she has on me. I can’t imagine what I’d do if I lost her now.”

“You’re a true friend and I’m sorry I wasn’t one for the last few weeks. Thanks for kicking my ass last night, too. That was great.” They both laughed and Lance patted Chris on the back.

“Through thick and thin, bro. We’re friends.” He told him. “I gotta go. I promised Cindy I’d give the chick an interview. He walked towards us.

“Oh, here comes Lance.” I told her.

“Oh my God!” She was really nervous. I thought it was cute.

“Hey, baby.” He said to me, giving me a little kiss on the cheek.

“Hey, Sweets. This is Kandy.” He held out his hand and she held out a shaking one to him.

“Nice tah meetcha.” He said in his beautiful southern drawl. Kandy giggled. “Let’s go sit down somewhere.” Lance told her. “See ya, babe.” He winked at me.

Chris walked over to me. “Oh my God, Cindy, why did you invite her here? I already feel like an ass and now she’s here.”

“She’s not going to bother you, Chris. She’s gonna talk to the other guys and see an awesome show, that’s all.” I explained.

“I have to talk to her too.” He stated.

“Well, okay, if you’re gonna be nice to her. She was really hurt yesterday.”

“Shit, I know. I feel like a huge dickhead. That’s why I gotta fix it. You think she’ll talk to me?”

“I don’t know.”

“Okay, when Lance gets through with her I’m gonna do it.” He decided. He watched me watching Lance and his heart hurt. “You really do love him, don’t you?” He asked me.

“What? Oh, uh, yeah, Chris I do.” I hated to hurt him more.

“I can see it when you look at each other. I see another *NSYNC engagement before long. He can’t stand the thought of ever being without you.” He leaned against the wall and crossed his arms in front of him.

“Oh, I don’t know about that. We haven’t been together long.”

“But would you marry him if he asked?” ‘Lord, why the 20 questions?’

“Chris!” I whined. “Why are you asking me this stuff?”

“Cuz I wanna know if you’re happy.” His eyes were so sincere.

“I am. I truly am. And, yes, if he asked me to marry him, I would in a heartbeat.”

“Good. All is well with my world, then. Well, except that I need to apologize to Kandy.” He frowned. “Hope she doesn’t hit me. Got enough of that last night.” He teased me.

Lance and Kandy got up and started walking back towards me. She saw Chris standing next to me and stopped dead in her tracks.

“What’s wrong?” Lance asked Kandy

“Um, I really don’t wanna have to deal with him ever again.” She gestured towards Chris.

“Oh, um, I think it will be okay now, Kandy. He’s in much better spirits today.” She still looked apprehensive. Chris saw her standing there and headed her way. She visibly tensed and Lance reassured her by placing his hand on her shoulder. “I won’t let him talk to you that way again. It’ll be fine, okay?” She nodded and took a deep breath.

“Hey, Kandy.” Chris said quietly, looking downward.

“Hello.” she replied in almost a whisper.

“Is it okay if I talk to you alone for a minute? Please?” He begged.

“Um, sure, I guess.” She nodded at Lance and he walked over to me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“You think he’ll be nice?” Lance asked me when he got to my side.

“Yeah, he said he wanted to apologize to her. I think it’s fine.”

“Good, let’s go shoot some pool or something.” He grabbed my hand and we headed back to the Toy Room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chris walked toward the chairs and Kandy followed. He motioned for her to sit and he sat with an empty chair between them. He leaned over with his elbows on his knees.

“I know this doesn’t mean much to you, but I have to do this. I have to apologize for being such an asshole yesterday. I’ve never done anything like that in my life and I’m so, so sorry.” He looked up at her with his big, brown eyes. She just stared back at him.

“I know it’s no excuse, but I’ve been dealing with some stuff in my life and not doing a very good job at it. I’ve been drinking way too much every day and treating everyone around me like shit.” He ran his hand through his spiky hair. “Anyway, I couldn’t leave town without telling you that. I feel horrible about it.”

“Apology accepted.” Was all she said. He looked up at her again and she smiled slightly. He grinned from ear to ear and his eyes sparkled.

“Thank you. I’m gonna make it up to you, I promise.”

“That’s not necessary, Chris. Just put on a hellova show for me tonight, okay?”

“No problem!” He said. They talked and laughed until it was time to get dressed for the show.

“They’re getting ready to let the people in. You better get outta here, Chris.” Called one of the security guys.

“Okay, man. Thanks.” He yelled back.

“You want to come backstage and watch or watch from here?” He asked her.

“I’ve never seen the show, so I want to get the whole experience out here with the fans.” She giggled.

“Great! I want you to be right over here somewhere so I can see your reactions. You gonna scream for me?” He teased.

“Nah, I think I liked that curly headed one, what’s his name? I’ll scream for him.” She shot back at him.

“Figures. Damn Thrustin Justin steals all the women.” He pouted.

“Have a great show, you crazy fool.”

“I plan to. Hey, make sure you hang around after. We’ve got a party tonight. I’d love for you to come.” He looked at her with those eyes again and she felt something flip in her stomach.

“O-okay, I guess I can do that. I, uh, have to be at work at 5 a.m. though.” She stuttered.

“We won’t keep you out too late.” He wiggled his eyebrows and smiled at her. “I’ll see ya later. Enjoy the show.” He waved as he ran backstage.

He ran past me and slid to a stop. “Hey, make sure she has a perfect seat out there, okay?” He asked me.

“No prob, boss.” I replied.

I went out to stand with Kandy. It was always great to watch someone who had not seen the guys perform before. They never cease to amaze everyone who witnesses their energetic shows. She was dancing around and screaming like a teeny-bopper. I just laughed and joined in with her. Chris kept looking our way. I could tell he wanted her to have a wonderful time and when he saw her his face lit up knowing she was.

We made our way backstage after the show was over.

“Ohmigod! That was incredible! I am sooooo a fan for life now!” Kandy giggled. She was still dancing around.

“Another convert to the church of *NSYNC.” I told her.

“You better believe it!” She said.

I saw Lance coming towards me wiping his sweaty face with a towel. “Hey, babe.” He said as he kissed me on the mouth. I could taste his saltiness and it turned me on so bad!

“Ooh, baby, I think you could use a full body tongue bath.” I growled into his ear.

“Damn, don’t say such things out in public! Remember the whole caveman thing?” I nodded and raised my eyebrows at him. “Well, I’m having that fantasy again.” I leaned over and nibbled on his neck.

“Later, baby. And bring your big club.” I backed away from him and gave him a sexy glare.

“UGH! You WILL pay for that later!”

“Promise?” I asked innocently.

“Oh, hell yeah.” His eyes were so intense.

“Go shower, baby. We’ve got some dancin’ to do.” He kissed me on the cheek again and ran off to the dressing room. I didn’t notice that Kandy wasn’t standing there anymore. I surveyed the area and found her talking to Chris. They were both talking so fast I had to laugh. I think she might be as hyper as him. God help us. I’m thinking this could be really good though. Maybe she can get his mind off me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“God, Chris, that was so amazing. I can’t believe I’ve never seen your show before. I can tell you I won’t miss any more that are anywhere in this vicinity.”

“Good, then I’ll see you again and again.” He flirted.

“I guess you will.” She flirted back.

“Well, I’m gonna go shower and change. You’re still coming to our party, right?”

“Yep, at least for a little while. I will have to sleep sometime tonight.”

“Okay, if you feel you must.” He grinned and told her he’d be out in a few minutes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I walked back over to Kandy. She was starry-eyed and I had to laugh.

“What?” She asked innocently.

“You’re either star-struck or you’ve got a crush. I’m still trying to figure out which it is.”

“I dunno what you’re talking about.” She spat out quickly.

“Calm down, calm down. It’s all good, girl. Enjoy your evening. I can tell you right now, if you’re going to be with Chris tonight, you’ll have a wonderful time.”

“You work for him, but you are also good friends, right?” She questioned.

“Yeah, we are. We’ve been through a rough few days here but I think we’ll make it through.”

“You dated didn’t you?” She put two and two together.

“Um hm. He is wonderful, but I didn’t love him. I had a thing for Lance for years. It just happens we figured out he had a thing for me too. It was an accident but I’m so glad it happened. I hurt Chris pretty badly and he’s recovering. I’m telling you this because I don’t want you to get your hopes up too high with him. This is a rebound situation and I don’t want you to get hurt.” I looked at her sympathetically as her bubble burst.

“Thanks for telling me this, Cindy. I was kinda hoping we’d get to know each other a little better tonight.”

“And you will. Even if nothing else happens, you’ll make a good and true friend in him. He is an amazing man.” I smiled.

“Well, I’ll be happy with whatever happens tonight. He makes me laugh and I haven’t been laughing much lately.”

“He’s a lunatic, that’s for sure. Your side will be hurting from laughing after this night is over.” I warned her. We sat around waiting for the guys to come out. Regina had gone home for a couple of days to work on wedding arrangements, so it was nice to have another woman around to talk to. She and JC had decided to get married in 5 months.

We went back to our hotel. The guys had rented out the hotel’s club for the night. The party was a blast. We danced our asses off. There was hardly a time when we weren’t all on the dance floor. We had not had so much fun in a long time. I wish Regina had been there. JC was miserable without her but I tried to keep him out there with us anyway.

“Reg will be happy to know how well you’ve been taking care of me.” JC said as we slow danced together.

“Awwww, she knows I got her back.” I told him.

“You’re a great friend to both of us. God, I can’t wait to marry her!” His eyes just danced when he talked about her.

“I know you can’t and she can’t either. It’s going to be the most beautiful ceremony ever. I know I’m gonna bawl my eyes out.”

“Oh, I hope I won’t be able to see your face, then cuz I don’t wanna lose it. I might have to laugh at you!” He giggled.

“That’s Mature, Chasez!” I teased him. We laughed until Lance interrupted us.

“Hey, what are you doing to my woman, JC?” He grinned.

“Oh, she’s found the perfect man in me. Too bad for you. I’m gonna marry her and Regina, we're moving to Utah, and you’re just S.O.L.” He winked at me.

“Nope, ‘fraid not! She ain’t marryin nobody but me.” He blurted out. JC and I stopped dancing and looked at him. “Uh, I mean, uh, not right now or anything, but um, someday.....probably.....if, oh, to hell with it.” He said as he threw his hands up in defeat. I winked at JC and stepped from his grasp. He took his cue and left us alone. I snaked my arms around Lance’s neck and kissed him deeply. He pushed his tongue into my mouth and I moaned at the taste of him. We began to sway to the music. The rest of the world seemed to melt away when we were together. I didn’t know it but Chris was dancing with Kandy right behind Lance and he was watching us.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Chris? Chris? Earth to Chris?” Kandy waved her hand in front of his eyes.

“Huh? Oh, sorry.” He said to her.

“Look, I’ve had a really great time with you tonight but I need to go home. 4 a.m. comes pretty quickly.” She lowered her eyes and pulled away from him.

“Aw, do you really have to go?”

“Yeah, I really need to. This was great. Thanks for making yesterday up to me.” She grinned at him.

“I really am sorry about that, Kandy. I dunno what got into me.” He frowned.

“Well, I do. Love. Cindy told me you have fresh wounds courtesy of her and Lance. I hope you can overcome them soon. Good luck to you.” She leaned into him and kissed his cheek. She started to walk away from him and he grabbed her elbow.

“Hey, can I call you? I really would like to keep in touch. I wish I had more time to stay here and get to know you better. I think we could be really great friends.”

“I’d like that, Chris. A lot. Call me at the station any time.” She smiled and walked toward me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lance and I were still locked at the lips when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I broke the kiss and Lance whined.

“Kandy, hey. Are you leaving?” I asked her.

“Yeah, gotta work in just a few hours. Sucks to be me right now. I’d love to be able to stay and party with ya’ll.”

“Well, we’ll see you again, I’m sure.” I told her.

“Yeah, and Chris said he wanted to call me.”

“Really? That’s good, don’t you think?” I was a little surprised.

“I guess. But I have to tell you, he wasn’t paying attention to me just now. He was watching ya’ll making out over here.” I sighed.

“He’s still hurting. Like I said before, just be his friend and see what happens. I’m not so great. He’ll get over me soon enough.” I smiled at her and gave her a hug. Lance also leaned down and hugged her. She was a beautiful lady and totally sweet. “Hope we see you again real soon.” I called out as she was walking away.

“Me too.” She said as she waved good-bye to us.

I glanced around to find Chris. He was staring at me. When I caught his eyes he dropped his quickly and turned around. He headed to the bar and I headed back to Lance.

“You okay, my love.” Lance asked me sweetly.

“Yeah, just still worried about him.” I said weakly.

“I know, me too. Today was a good day though, don’t you think?” I nodded in agreement.

“Can we go now, Sweetie? I’m tired.”

“Sure. Let’s tell everyone we’re outta here.” We said our good-byes and left the party.

As we continued our tour around the country, Lance and I got closer every day. He had become a cherished friend as well as my lover. Things were going well with Chris, too. We were better able to talk and joke around without the tension that had surrounded all of us. Chris called Kandy frequently as did I. She was trying not to get her hopes up about what was happening between them. I didn’t want to encourage her either. I still felt connected to Chris. Maybe I was a little jealous he might be moving on. I know I can’t have it both ways. There were things with Chris that I didn’t have with Lance. Maybe I would someday.

It was time for the Grammy’s. The guys were going to be off for a week and rehearsing for their performance in L.A. Regina arrived and was buzzing about wedding plans. We had lunch together that Sunday afternoon, just the two of us.

“Girl, this wedding is seriously creeping up on us!” I giggled.

“I know! I don’t think I’ll ever get all this stuff done! What am I gonna do if this wedding sucks?! JC can’t have a sucky wedding? Why is he marrying me? I’m a freakin’ mess!!” She was freaking out. I had to laugh at her. I grabbed her hands across the table.

“Stop it! You’re the most organized person I know. Well, besides me, anyway! And anal! It’ll get done and it will be total perfection. You know I’ll help you any way I can.” I offered.

“Oh my God! I can’t believe this. I almost forgot! How stupid am I?” She ranted again.

“What are you talking about?”

“Oh, Cindy, I should’ve done this a long, long time ago. I need to ask you something...” She stopped.

“What is it, Reg?”

“Will you be my maid of honor?” She looked like I was going to hit her or something. Tears filled my eyes.

“Of course I will, silly! Oh my God this is great! I’m so glad you asked me. And why did you look at me like that? You knew I’d say ‘yes’, right?” I giggled and wiped the tears from my eyes. She was crying now too.

“I guess I knew you’d say yes, but I should’ve asked a long time ago.” She pouted.

“It doesn’t matter now. All that matters is I have to stand up for you and wear some God awful dress! This is wonderful!” She rolled her eyes at me.

“Look, I only know what color I want. You pick out the dress you like for you and the other bridesmaids you have to help me with, okay?”

“It’s a deal! When do we shop!?!?!” I was so excited.

“Well, Vera Wang is here to dress the Grammy folks and she brought lots of her wedding gowns with her.....Wanna go look?” She was grinning from ear to ear.

“Absolutely!” I squealed.

“I had hoped you would. I have an appointment with her. JC got it for me. Sure is nice to have some pull, isn’t it?” She teased.

“Yeah, it is. Let’s get through eating. I’m ready to go!” I told her.

“Oh, by the way, what color is the dress gonna be?” I asked apprehensively.

“Maroon or some sort of burgundy color. It’ll be fall, so I want dark, vivid color.”

“That will be beautiful. Lucky for you I look good in maroon.” I smirked at her.

After eating we headed over to Vera’s temporary shop. She was very nice. We had not met her before. The dresses she showed us were outstanding. Reg had an idea of what she wanted and explained it to her. She pulled out three for her to try on. I waited impatiently as she put the first one on. I wasn’t paying attention when she walked back out. I was looking at all the dresses myself, wishing it was my wedding I was planning.

“Hello? Cindy?” She called me.

“Yeah, sorry, oh Regina, that is beautiful!” I beamed.

“I think so, too, but it’s just not ‘the one’, you know?” She frowned.

“It’s okay, the first one isn’t supposed to be ‘the one’. I reassured her. “Go try on another.”

“Be right back!” She skipped off to try another. My mind went back to the wedding I had dreamed of. Vera caught me daydreaming.

“Are you planning a wedding, too?” She asked me.

“Just my fantasy one. I’m not planning on getting married anytime soon.” I said sadly.

“Why? Aren’t you dating Lance?” How did she know that, I wondered.

“Yeah, I am. But we haven’t been together that long. I would marry him in a second if he asked, though.” I smiled.

“Just come back to see me when you’re ready, okay?”

“I will, believe me. These dresses are incredible.” I praised her. “Oh, and I guess I need something to wear to the Grammy’s too. I haven’t gotten anything yet. Can I look around while I wait for Reg?”

“Sure! Let me show you what I see you in.” She grabbed my hand and took me to the formal gowns. “I think something with red in it will be perfect on you.” She flipped through the racks of dresses. “Size 7, I would say?” I nodded. “Here we are. What do you think of this one?”

“Oh, Vera, it’s amazing!” I told her. It was a boustier top in red satin with an elaborate design in black beads. The tight skirt was the same red satin underneath with black lace and beading all over it. It was a very slim skirt and slit up to the thigh. “I don’t know if I can wear something slit like that.” I grimaced.

“Why not? You have a beautiful body.” She said. “Why don’t you try it on?” She handed the dress to me. I walked toward the dressing area and Regina walked out in the second dress.

“Okay, that one is better than the first!” I looked her over. “Even fits you perfectly.” She had her nose wrinkled up as she spun around in front of the mirrors.

“I just don’t like it. What if I can’t find anything I like?”

“You’re paranoid. Go try the other one while I try on this dress for Thursday night.” I held up the hanger.

“That’s gonna be great on you. Red is your color.”

“It’s cut too low and too high. Don’t think I can pull it off, but we’ll see.”

“I’m gonna put on number 3.” Regina said.

I had grabbed some black heels to wear with the dress. I walked into the mirrored area and my jaw dropped.

“Wow!” Vera said. “And you thought you couldn’t pull it off!” She teased. “Look how it hugs every curve of your body. Lance is going to die!” She pulled my hair up off my neck and let a few tendrils hang down. “You’re beautiful. If he didn’t want to marry you yet, he will after seeing you in this!”

“Yeah, right!” I countered. “It does look pretty hot, doesn’t it?” I grinned. “What the hell! You only live once, right? I’m going to the Grammy’s with the man I love and he’s gonna look totally hot. I think I’ll fit nicely on his arm in this.” I put my chin up and spun around again.

“Cindy, ohmigod! That dress is killer!” Regina yelled. I turned and saw her in the third wedding gown.

“Oh, Reg! Come look at yourself!” I ran over and grabbed her, pulling her to the mirror. She stared at her reflection and tears formed in her eyes.

“Cindy, God, this is it! This is my wedding dress.” I began to cry as well and we hugged each other tightly.

“It accents all your features beautifully, Regina.” Vera told her. “Here is the veil I designed for that dress.” She put it on her head and pulled the fingertip veil over her face.

“JC is going to melt when you walk down the aisle to him.” I stated, tears running down my face.

“And Lance is gonna melt when he sees you in that dress Thursday night.” She shot back.

“Well, I guess we’ve got our work cut out for us then don’t we? Gotta melt all the men!”

We changed back into our clothes while Vera wrapped up our goodies. We thanked her profusely for everything and headed back to the hotel.

“Can you keep the wedding dress in your room until I go back home, Cin? I can’t take a chance on Jace seeing it.”

“No problem. Maybe Lance will get the hint!” I winked at her.

“Have ya’ll talked about the future at all?” she asked.

“Nope, not at all. It’s kinda day by day with him. He never stops telling me he loves me though. Or showing me.” I wiggled my eyebrows at her. She giggled.

We went our separate ways when we got to the floor of our hotel.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Hey, angel!” JC got up from his chair to help Regina with her packages. “Did you buy everything in L.A.?” He teased.

“Nooooooo, not everything, but I did get my wedding dress!” Her eyes sparkled as she looked into his.

“Where is it? I wanna see!” He looked around.

“No way, Mr. Chasez! You can’t see me until I walk down the aisle to you.”

“Aw, c’mon! You can’t possibly be any more beautiful to me that day than you are right now.”

“Flattery will get you nowhere!” She kissed his lips quickly and tried to move away from him to unload her bags.

“Where do you think you’re going? I’ve been missing you today. I need some love.” He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her to him. “I love you, my future wife.” He bent down and claimed her mouth with his. He lifted her and she wrapped her legs around his waist.

She broke the kiss and said, “I love you too, my future husband.” She covered his mouth with hers again and he moved them over to the bed. He made slow, passionate, gentle love to her then fell asleep in her arms.

We shopped even more the next three days while the guys were rehearsing. I found the perfect bridesmaids dresses and Reg loved them too. They were going to get married in L.A. so we went to caterers, florists, bakeries, the works. We were having the best time.

On Wednesday we walked back into the lobby and I saw Kandy at the check-in desk.

“Kandy?” She turned and smiled brightly.

“Hey, girl! How are you?” She hugged me tightly.

“I’m great. Why didn’t I know you were coming?” I asked her.

“Oh, Chris just invited me yesterday so I had to hurry and pack and get something to wear. He asked me to be his date tomorrow night.”

“Wow! Aren’t you excited?!?!” I squealed.

“Yes, I am!” Her face was glowing. “Are they here?” She asked.

“Nope, still rehearsing.” I looked at my watch. “They should be back around 4 or so. We can all have dinner. That is, unless Chris has plans for you that include seclusion from the rest of us.” I giggled at her blushing face.

“I don’t know about that. I know what you’ve told me and I know I’m just a rebound, but we’ve gotten to know each other pretty good on the phone. We’ve had some really long, really serious conversations. I’m glad we’re at least friends. We’ll see what happens.” She smiled sweetly.

“Well, he deserves someone wonderful like you. I hope things go like you want them to.” I told her. I was glad that I could say that and not feel the least bit jealous. Was I finally moving on from this nightmare? Maybe so.

She got her key and we headed up to our floor. I went to her room with her and we chatted until we heard the guys in the hallway.

We went to the door and into the hall. I saw Lance first. He grabbed me and lifted me up. “Hey, baby!” He spun me around and finally put me back on my feet. He kissed me hard on the lips and I giggled.

“What’s with the PDA, baby? Not normally your style.” I teased him.

“Just missed my love, that’s all. You’re usually at least around somewhere every day. This has been murder.”

“Awwwww, so sweet!” I pecked him on the lips. “What’s the plan tonight? We all going out or what?”

“I want you all to myself. Can we stay in?” His eyes begged me.

“What happened to the party guy who went out every night?” I kissed him again.

“I found a reason to stay in.” He licked his lips and smiled down at me. Damn he’s killing me here!

“I love you!” I told him.

“Me too, my love.” He answered.

“God, gimme a freakin’ break here will ya?” Joey piped in. “Ya’ll are so disgusting!”

“Shut up, Joe! You’re just jealous!” I poked him in the stomach.

“Ow! Nu uh, no I’m not.” He pouted. “Ronda will be here sometime tonight, I hope.” He grinned a big cheesy grin.

“Good! You need servicing!” We all laughed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kandy stood against the door to her room watching Chris walk down the hall. He was cutting up with Justin and had not spotted her yet. Justin saw her first and elbowed Chris and pointed towards her. Chris’ eyes lit up and he ran over to her. He hugged her tightly to him and she giggled.

“Hey, Kandy girl!” He whispered.

“Hey.” She whispered back. She noticed everyone looking at them so she pushed open her door so they could be alone.

“I’m so glad you could get away to come see me.”

“I’m not here to see you, I’m going to the Grammy’s!” She teased him. He pouted. “Awwww, just kidding.” She poked at him playfully. He grabbed her hands and pulled her against him. She was putty in his hands. He bent down and brushed her lips with his. She let out a sigh and closed her eyes. He captured her lips tenderly and massaged them with his. Her arms snaked around his neck and pulled him closer to her. Her mind was reeling as his tongue parted her lips. The kiss was slow and soothing. Suddenly he broke the kiss.

“I’m sorry, Kan. I shouldn’t have done that. I was about to get carried away in the moment here.” He looked at the ground.

“It’s okay, Chris. I didn’t stop you, did I?” He looked up at her.

“Well, no. But I don’t wanna rush anything. You know what I’m coming off of here. I don’t want to hurt you if we’re not ready for this.”

“That’s very sweet of you, but I’m a big girl. I can handle it. I know what you’re dealing with and I understand.” She walked over to the couch and sat down. “So, what’s the plan for tonight.”

“I think we’re all having dinner together. Is that okay?”

“Sure. I wanna spend time with everyone. They were all so nice to me last time I was around.”

“Cuz you’re great, that’s why!” He smiled and held her hand. “Well, I’ll let you relax a bit and get ready to go out. Nothing fancy, just dinner, okay?” He walked to the door.

“Thanks again, Chris. I’m really looking forward to tonight and tomorrow night.”

“No problem, Sweetie, I’m really glad you’re here.” He winked and left the room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Everyone went out to eat but Lance and me. We ordered in and got a movie on pay-per-view. Nice, lazy evening. We didn’t even make love. We just talked and laughed and held each other close. It was amazing. We were getting closer every day and I was reveling in it. I worshiped him and he seemed to feel the same way. Still he never mentioned the future. Just day to day or weekly plans. Nothing long-term. I tried not to let it get to me and I never asked him why. I didn’t want to rush him or pressure him in any way. Life with him was wonderful and I didn’t need to be rocking the boat.

Grammy day was here. We slept late then spent the latter part of the morning getting ready to go. We had to be at the Staples Center at around 4:00. Lance did have some press to do that morning with the rest of the guys. I was relaxing in a huge bubble bath when he came back in.

“Hon, where are ya?” I heard him call out.

“In here, baby.” I answered. He walked into the bathroom and grinned broadly.

“Well, well, well, what have we here?” He rubbed his hands together and I smiled sexily at him.

“Why don’t you come in and find out?” I propositioned. His eyes turned amber and he began unbuttoning his shirt. I started humming a porn film tune and he cracked up. “Don’t stop, baby. Talk it all off!” I egged him on. He began to sway his hips back and forth as he slid his pants off. I was half giggling and half having palpitations over this sexy man. My sexy man. I could see his erection pressing against his boxer briefs and I licked my lips. Finally, after what seemed like hours, he was fully unclothed. He stepped into the hot water and kneeled down. He leaned over me and I spread my legs. He pressed his body to mine. His hardness was resting on my mound and our slick chests were rubbing together. He stuck out his tongue and licked my lips. I wrapped my legs around the backs of his thighs and pulled him closer to me. I took his tongue into my mouth and moaned in pleasure. God he tasted so good. He moved his hips which caused his erection to graze my clit.

“Ooooh, baby.” I moaned again.

“You like that, honey?”

“Mmmmmhmmm.” I bit down on his neck.

“Baby, that feels good.”

“Lance, I need you right now, baby.” I rolled my hips up and his tip fell down to my entrance. I pushed forward and he slipped into me. “Mmmmmmmmm, oh hell yeah.” I growled.

“You’re so wet, baby, what were you doing in here without me, huh?” The look in his eyes was so animalistic.

“I was thinking of you, of course.” I told him. He increased his thrusts and growled my name.

“Cindy, fuck, I love you so much!” He panted.

“Love...you.” I breathed between thrusts. Finally we both reached our release. Once we came down from our high we noticed we had sloshed most of the bubbles and water onto the floor. We giggled and he hugged me tightly to him.

We had to get ready quickly now since we lost track of time. Lance got dressed and looked amazing, as always. He was wearing black leather pants, white dress shirt, and black leather blazer with small red designs in it. He chose it because of my dress but he had not actually seen it yet. He walked down the hall to Justin’s room while I finished getting ready.

I finished my face and hair. I had put it up like we had done at Vera’s and curled the tendrils around my face and neck. I was proud of myself. I did it without help! I pulled on the dress and shoes and looked at myself in the mirrored closet door. ‘Pretty damn good.’ I thought to myself. As I was admiring my handywork the door opened.

“Holy shit!” Lance said.

“Tell me that’s a good thing, please?” I asked.

“Oh, hell yeah! I....oh....my....God, you look fucking amazing!” He walked toward me and touched my face like I wasn’t real. He pulled me close to him and kissed my collar bone. I could feel his excitement through the leather.

“Baby, you’ll have to calm down. We’ve gotta go in a few minutes.” I pushed him away from me.

“Oh, sure, but I tell ya what, you’re gonna get it when we get home tonight!”

“Oooh, I can’t wait. You gonna spank me?” I joked.

“You bet your sweet ass I am, doing this to me. You should be ashamed of yourself and I’m gonna make you pay.” Damn, I was all hot again. The things this man does to me.

“I’ll be counting the hours, babe.” I told him as we walked out the door together.

Everyone looked wonderful. Kandy wore a royal blue dress that made her eyes look amazing. Chris was puffed up like a rooster when she was on his arm. We had an awesome time and their performance was incredible, as usual. I think we hit every after-party in town. When we got home, we were too tired and drunk to play. We undressed completely and just held each other all through the night.

~~~~~~~~~~

Chris and Kandy were laughing and dancing down the hallway.

“Shhhhhhhhh.” She told him. “People are sleeping.”

“So!” He said loudly.

“Chris!” She whispered. She pulled him into her room. “You have got to be more quiet or we’ll get kicked out of here.”

“They won’t kick me out, I’m Chris Kirkpatrick!” He yelled.

“Then I’ll just have to shut you up.” She said as she pulled him to her for a kiss.

“Whaaaaaa...” he started to say but was stopped when her lips met his. “Mmmmmm. I’ve wanted to do that all night.” He was whispering now.

“Me, too.” She slid his jacket off his shoulders and it fell to the floor. Her hands went to the top button and worked her way down. Chris was speechless as he watched her face. ‘She is so beautiful’ he thought. Then it hit him, she was drunk.

“Wait.” She didn’t stop unbuttoning him. “Wait, Kandy, you’ve been drinking. I don’t want you to do this and regret it later.” He grabbed her hands.

“It’s okay, Chris, I’m not drunk. I’m perfectly sober now. I want you. Do you want me or not?” She licked his bottom lip and sucked it into her mouth.

“Of course, of course I want you. I REALLY want you, Kandy.” He grabbed her face and attacked her mouth. She melted into him. He turned her around and kissed her neck while unzipping the dress. It fell into a puddle on the floor and she was left standing there in her bra, panties, garter belt, hose, and pumps. He was so turned on by the garters he stopped for a moment, unable to continue. She noticed he stopped and turned to see what happened. She met his eyes and he snapped out of his daze. “You are immaculate.” He whispered. She felt a lump in the back of her throat but she swallowed it down. She pulled him toward her by his belt loops and removed his pants. He took her hand and moved toward the bed. He sat on the bed and pulled her to him. He kissed her stomach and ran his hands up to her breasts. She threw her head back and moaned. He reached around and freed her breasts. They bounced in front of his face. He took one nipple in his mouth and massaged it with his tongue. Kandy tangled her hands in his spiky hair and pressed him closer to her. She straddled his lap and sat down on him. He moaned as she ground herself on his hardness. He couldn’t take her torture any longer so he flipped her over onto her back. He unhooked her stockings and slit them slowly down each leg. She was writhing on the bed at his touch. He removed the garter and slid her panties down as well. She watched him through half-closed lids as he took in every inch of her body. “Damn.” Was all he could come up with.

He kneeled on the floor and pushed her knees up and apart. He didn’t tease but went straight for her center. When his tongue touched her opening she screamed and bucked her hips.

“Oh, God, Chris!” She squealed as he tongue fucked her quickly. He reached up and pinched her clit between his thumb and forefinger. “UGGHHHHHH!” She moaned. Chris smiled at the pleasure he was giving her. He moved up and sucked her clit into his mouth and bit down on it. “CHRRIIIIIIIIIIISSS!” She screamed her release as she gripped the sheets. He cleaned up all she had to offer and moved slowly up her body, licking and tasting her as he went. When he reached her mouth she grabbed him and kissed him so forcefully it took his breath away. He couldn’t wait any longer and slid off his boxer briefs.

He positioned himself at her opening but looked into her eyes for permission. She nodded and whispered, “Please, Chris, I need you inside me.” He needed no more encouragement. He slid slowly into her and began his rhythm. She circled her hips slowly around him and he loved the sensation it was giving him.

“Baby, that feels soooooo good.” He flipped her over and never missed a beat. “Ride me, baby, keep doing what you were doing.” He grabbed her hips and she circled on his dick, making him touch every part of her. He was getting close so he began to thrust upwards harder into her. She put her hands on his chest for leverage and began bouncing quickly on him. He could feel her tightening around him and was ready to explode himself. He reached down and brushed a thumb across her clit and that was all she needed.

“Oooooooh, shit, Chris, I’m coming!” She panted. She continued to bounce on him until she felt him come inside her. She slowed her pace and lowered her head to kiss his chest. She stayed on top of him and didn’t let him pull out.

“That was.....oooh, I have no words for what that was.” Chris said, still trying to catch his breath. He tangled his hands in her hair and pulled her face up to his. “Are you okay, baby?” He asked sweetly.

“Mmmmmmhmmmmm, I’m great.” She gazed at him with a silly grin on her face. Finally she slid off him and he whimpered at the loss.

“Where ya going?” He said sadly.

“Just right here beside you, baby.” She snuggled into him and sighed.

“I could get used to that.” He said quietly and they drifted off to sleep.

The day after the Grammy’s I was discussing some Fuman business with Chris. He had a silly grin on his face and wasn’t concentrating at all.

“Hey?! What is your problem? You don’t want to work? Fine, I can find something else to do.” I was only half serious because I saw how he had looked at Kandy the night before.

“Oh, uh, I’m listening.” He stuttered.

“No you’re not. What’s wrong?” I prodded some more.

“Oh, nothing much, except that I am SOOOO over you!” He grinned so big and cheesy I thought I would fall off my chair in a fit of laughter.

“Is that so, now?” I was laughing hysterical by this point.

“Yep. Sorry, babe, but I’m no longer pining away for you.” I leaned over and hugged him tightly.

“Chris, I’m so happy for you. Now we can truly move on with our lives.” I felt a single tear run down my cheek. I pulled away from him and he wiped away the tear.

“Now we can just be great friends without that tension between us. I know it’s been there and I know you’ve been worried about me. Thank you for worrying about me.”

“Of course I worry about you. You’re my best friend. That never changed. I love my best friend!” I hugged him tightly again. Someone cleared their throat. I looked up and saw Lance.

“Am I interrupting anything here?” He looked like he wasn’t sure if he wanted to know the answer.

“Just Chris telling me he is sooooo over me. Isn’t that great?!” I jumped up and planted a kiss on his lips.

“Yeah, great.” Lance stated apprehensively, looking down at Chris.

“It’s true, man. I’m done. I have another obsession now and her name is Kandy. Are we through here, Cin, ‘cuz I need a Kandy fix?”

“Oh, I guess so.” He pecked me on the cheek, popped Lance on the arm and danced off singing ‘I’m cravin’ for ya, I’m missin you like candaaaayaaaayy.”

“He ain’t right, you know that?” Lance said as he pulled me into his arms.

“I know, but ya gotta love the little retard.” I grinned.

“So, it’s finally really over?” He asked.

“I do believe it is.” I told him. He nodded and we wandered off to steal a few minutes alone.

The wedding day had arrived. We had so much fun getting ready. The groomsmen and JC had entered the church and were standing at the altar. I could see Lance from my spot in the bridesmaid line. We were waiting to walk down the aisle. God, he looked amazing. ‘What a beautiful groom he’ll make someday.’ I thought to myself. ‘Sure hope I’m around to be the bride.’

The music began to play and the first maid was sent. There were five including me. The other maids had walked and now was my turn. The coordinator gave me the signal and I started down the aisle. I looked up and saw JC. He was so sexy and grinned cheesily at me. I stifled a giggle and averted my eyes. Unfortunately, they were caught in Lance’s stare and I almost couldn’t walk anymore. His eyes burned into me. I felt my body get flushed and had to look away from him as well to keep from blushing. I felt as if the entire church could see the sparks happening between us. Finally my walk was over and I took my place at the altar. I couldn’t look at Lance so I focused on the flower girl making her way down to me. She was Regina’s niece and looked precious. She ran the last half of the distance down the aisle and skidded to a stop beside me. Everyone in the sanctuary laughed. I motioned for her to turn around and look at Regina.

When JC saw her standing on the other end of the church next to her father, I saw his sharp intake of breath. He was mesmerized. As they started down the aisle I noticed he had begun to cry. That was all I needed. My tears began to flow as well. Doesn’t take much for me to cry. Seeing a man cry does it quicker than anything. Regina looked exquisite. I saw a glimmer of tears in her eyes as well. She never took her eyes off her prize.

I performed my maid of honor duties without flaw. ‘I’m getting really good at holding someone else’s bouquet.’ I thought. The ceremony was very spiritual and very beautiful. After the pastor pronounced them man and wife we filed out of the church accompanied by a groomsman. I didn’t get to walk with Lance as Tyler was his brother’s best man. I still couldn’t get over how hot he was in those tails. I’d have to show him later just how hot I thought he was.

The reception was a huge party. Food and alcohol flowed for hours. There was a band and we danced the night away. All the guys got together and sang a song to JC and Regina. JC also sang a song he wrote for the occasion to Reg. She cried all the way through it. I did, too. Like I said, doesn’t take much for me, but the song was beautiful. The party wound down and I went to help Reg change clothes. They had a flight in a couple of hours to Hawaii. We chatted away then rejoined JC and the gang. We saw them off by throwing rose petals at them.

We headed back to our hotel in silence. I was so tired. It was a wonderful day but I was exhausted. Once in the room I kicked off my shoes and headed toward the bathroom.

“Baby?” I turned to look at him in that tuxedo. “Where ya going?” He asked.

“Um, I was just gonna get out of this dress and all this makeup.” I answered as I started walking back to the bathroom.

“Could you wait just a second?” He asked shyly.

“What’s wrong, baby?” I turned around.

“Come here.” I walked slowly toward him. ‘Oh, God, he wants to break up. This is the big kiss off. He saw the wedding and knows he doesn’t want that with me so this is it. It’s over.’ I was freaking out.

He sat on the edge of the bed and pulled me down beside him. He took my hand into his lap and rubbed my fingers nervously.

“What is it, Lance? I gotta tell you, you’re really scaring me.”

“Oh, no! I didn’t mean to scare you, Sweetie. I’m just nervous.” He stood up and paced back and forth in front of me. “I wanted this to be perfect. The perfect time, the perfect place, but nothing seems to be good enough. I have to do it now because I can’t take it anymore.” He was still pacing.

“Lance, honey?” He stopped and looked at me sitting there. His eyes glimmered in the little bit of lamp light in the room. He got on his knees in front of me and rested his hands on my knees.

“Cindy, I don’t know when it happened, but I realized some time ago that I couldn’t possibly live my life without you in it. Back when Chris was being such a shit I told them I’d leave the group if that’s what it took to be happy with you.” I started to speak but he put a finger up to his lips to shush me. “Let me finish, baby.” I nodded. “I can’t stand being away from you for a single minute of the day. When we’re working and you’re not there, it kills me. I just have to be able to see you, even if I can’t touch you or hold you. Your smile is my nourishment. I know this is some corny stuff, but I have to say it because it’s how I feel.” I was crying now. He ran his thumbs across my cheeks. “I love you more than anything in this entire world and I want to spend the rest of my life showing you just how much. Every day and every night for as long as I live. Please tell me you feel the same about me? Please, please tell me you will be my wife and make me the happiest man in the world?” He pulled a velvet box out of his pocket and opened it. I tried to speak but choked out a sob. It was a huge marquise diamond with small diamonds graduating in size all around the band. I looked from the ring to his eyes. He looked so scared, like he wasn’t sure if I’d say yes. Was he nuts?!

I touched his face and nodded my head. “Yes.” I whispered. It was the best I could do with the free flowing fountain pouring out of my face. I cleared my throat and tried again. “Yes, Lance, I want to be your wife. I really never thought you’d ask me. I was beginning to wonder. We never talk about the future. I love you so much I can’t breathe when you’re not around. I want to spend my life showing you how happy you make me.” He was crying now, too. I dropped down on my knees and kissed him softly. He took the ring out of the box and broke the kiss. He slid the ring onto my finger and it fit perfectly.

“All my love is wrapped up in this ring. I want you to remember that every time you look at it.” He said huskily.

“I love you so much, Lance. Words can never be found to tell you how much.”

“I know, my love, I know.” He kissed me passionately and stood, pulling me up with him. He picked me up into his arms and carried me to the bed. He laid me down softly and covered my body with his. We laid like that for a long time just kissing each other and holding each other. No words were necessary. The feelings and emotions we were feeling were unexplainable. He made love to me so tenderly that night I thought I had died and gone to heaven. Our life together had just begun. I couldn’t wait to see where our paths would take us.

The End

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