Five
“Joey
Fatone.” JC smiled at the businesslike tone of Joey's voice. He worked for a
catering company, and he was a totally different person while in the kitchen at
work.
“Hey,
Joe…you gotta second?”
“Yeah,
hold on. Yo, Ted, gotta take this call!” Joey yelled to a coworker. “Lemme go
into the office.” JC heard the scuffle of Joey's feet, and a door closing.
“Okay, what's up?”
“Are
you okay?” JC asked. He heard something else in Joey's tone as well.
“Uh,
yeah, sure,” Joey said evasively.
“It's
Justin, isn't it? What's wrong?” JC asked, immediately concerned. He still
loved Justin in a special way, even though he knew that Joey and Justin were
made for each other.
“Nothing,
Jayce. I don't wanna air our dirty laundry out in public,” Joey said. “What did
you want to talk about?”
“Fatone,”
JC said in a warning tone. “Spill.”
Joey
sighed. “Remember how I thought that all this crap about doctors and surgery
was that Justin didn't trust it? That he thought it could cause permanent
damage or whatever?”
“Yes,”
JC replied. “I always thought that was kinda odd. Justin never seemed to have
problems with trusting doctors before.”
“It's
not that he doesn't trust them. It's a lie,” Joey said, sighing. “He was lying
to me. I saw some papers lying around yesterday, addressed to his mom. He
must've had the doctors send them to her so she could read them for him. He
didn't want me to see them.”
“And?”
“I
finally called her last night after he went to bed. It's the money. The surgery
is so expensive that he doesn't want to do it.”
“How
expensive?” JC asked. Joey named a figure that actually made JC shiver. “Damn.”
“We
could do it, you know? I mean, he can't be on my insurance or anything, because
of state law and such, but I could pick up a second job, or even borrow the
dough from my mom. We could make payments or something.”
“He's
too proud to do that.”
“I
know. God, it just makes me wanna slap him and hug him all at the same time. He
doesn't want to put us in debt, but yet he can be so cheerful about never
seeing a damn thing again.”
“I'm
sorry, Joe,” JC said sadly. He wasn't sure what to say.
“Anyway,
just a fair warning in case things seem weird tonight. He has no clue that I
know or anything, so don't say, okay?”
“Of
course I won't,” JC said. “That's why I called, actually. About tonight…”
“Don't
even tell me you can't come,” Joey said. “I'm making this kickass cake for
Justin. It has little basketballs on it that he can feel with his fingers and
then eat.”
“It
amazes me how he can love that sport so much when he can't even see it,” JC
said, laughing. “I can't believe you're not cooking, though. I LOVE your food.”
“Thank
you,” Joey said modestly. “But I wanted something special. Justin loves that
place, so I thought I'd create the restaurant at home for him.”
“And
for you and Nick,” JC reminded him. “Anyway…I wondered if I could bring a
date.”
“A
date?” Joey asked, laughing. “Has hell frozen over?”
“Shut
up.”
“Is
he hot?”
“I
think a lot of people would say yes,” JC said. “Is it a problem?”
“Of
course not. We want to meet your new man.”
“He's not my new man,” JC said, hanging up
on Joey's laughter.
“Excuse
me, Mr. Chasez?” A hotel employee approached JC as soon as he entered the
hotel. “I have a message for you from Mr. Bass.”
“Oh?”
JC said, his heart dropping into his knees. He just knew it was all too good to
be true.
“He
didn't want you to have to bother coming up to the penthouse, so he's waiting
for you in the lounge,” the man said. “Through those doors.”
“Oh!”
JC said happily. “Thank you.”
He
went into the dimly lit lounge. He searched the dark room for Lance, but was
having a hard time finding him. “Josh,” a low voice said, and he whirled
around. “I was hiding in the corner,” Lance said, smiling almost shyly. “You
look great.”
JC
blushed. He had stared at his closet for an hour before deciding on simple blue
jeans and a pink shirt. Chris teased him constantly about wearing pink, but he
liked the color. “Thank you,” JC said. “You do, too.”
“I
stole this from the set, actually,” Lance admitted, looking down at his grey
sweater and black jeans. “I loved the way it felt, and I had it on in a scene,
so…here it is. I had the hotel wash it quick, though, so it's not all covered
in sweat and makeup.”
“I'm
sure no one would have noticed,” JC said.
“Ready
to go?” Lance asked. JC nodded and they headed for the front door.
“Mr.
Bass?” The manager of the hotel hurried over.
“Yes,
Mr. Clarke?” Lance gave him a winning smile.
“I
was wondering…are you sure you don't want one of your security guards to go
with you? Mr. Richardson said…”
“Mr.
Clarke…” Lance held up a hand to quietly interrupt him. “I appreciate the fact
that you've obeyed all the commands that my assistant has given you. But, if
you don't mind, I'd like to make a REQUEST of you.”
“Of
COURSE, Mr. Bass,” the man said immediately.
“I'm
requesting a few things. First of all, please don't tell Mr. Richardson where
I've gone. I'm going to give you a telephone number, and you're only to use it
in an EXTREME emergency. I mean like someone dying or the hotel burning down.
Understand?”
“Yes,
sir,” the manager said, giving Lance a strange look.
“And
YOU'RE the only one I want using it. Mr. Richardson tends to do a bit too much
worrying, and it often interrupts any kind of good time I'm having,” Lance told
him. “Josh, can you give him the number for your friend?”
“Of
course. I, uh, actually have one of Joey's business cards.” JC dug through his
wallet and handed it to the manager.
“Mr.
Clarke, if Mr. Richardson asks, he can leave a voicemail on my phone, but I'll
have it turned off. Tell him I'll see him at lunch tomorrow, okay?”
“Yes,
sir. Have a pleasant evening, sir,” Mr. Clarke said, finally moving aside.
“Do
you have to go through that ALL the time?” JC asked as they stepped outside of
the hotel.
“If
I want a nice evening, I do. Usually I don't even bother. I'm normally too busy
to have a life,” Lance said. “Should we hail a cab?”
“Actually,
it's only about six blocks from here. It's not too cold out…do you feel safe
walking?”
“That
would be nice,” Lance said, smiling. JC tightened his thick winter coat around
him, and they started walking to Joey and Justin's apartment.
