Date: Sat, 30 Sep 2000 12:26:25 -0400
From: Kathrine <storykath@operamail.com>
Subject: How Can You Love Me, chapter fourteen   (gay/celebrities/boybands)

Legal disclaimer: this is fiction. This story does not imply anything about
the sexual preferences of the members of NSync, nor their personal
lives. Don't read this if you're underage or if this is illegal where you
are.

Authour's note: sigh...what's gonna happen in next chapter was supposed to
be in this chapter, and it all should really have been happening about two
chapters back...  Confused? Me too. I had estimated about fifteen chapters
before this story would be finished, now I'm up to twenty. Oh well...  I
want to say hi to Casey, for always sending me great feedback, you're the
best!  And to Dayse and Michie for being my test subjects for all my
stories, you rock, girls!  And Tommie, I want more story from you!
Schuyler, keep up the good work!  Let's see, thanks to the gang at the
chatroom and the slash lists, especially the before-mentioned and
Angel-face, Rach, CJ, Locke, Jeannie and all the rest. I will stop rambling
on now and let you get on with the story.

Feedback is always welcome at storykath@operamail.com
Love and looneytunes from Kat.

Chapter fourteen:

Justin couldn't take it anymore. His neck, his skin was on fire. If he
stayed so close to Lance for one more minute, he was going to drag him on
top of the table and kiss him breathless no matter who was watching. Chris
was still talking to the blonde girl, he seemed to know her. JC and Joey
had taken off on their own, Justin didn't even need to guess what they were
doing.

Quickly he leaned over to Lance and whispered in his ear: -I'm going back
to the hotel...wanna come with me? Lance looked at him and smiled. -Of
course. After hearing that Justin nearly pushed his way out of the booth,
reaching behind for Lance's hand when he didn't follow fast
enough. Suddenly he felt nervous, excited, scared, thrilled, ecstatic...all
at once. He wasn't sure what this would lead to, but he had to tell Lance
that he had fallen in love with him.

-We have to tell the others that we're leaving, Lance remembered and made
Justin stop. Justin took a closer look at Lance, who seemed to be a little
nervous too. -Ok, Justin agreed, suddenly he was all shy again, very aware
of the fact that he was still holding Lance's hand. -You go find the
lovebirds, he said, -I'll go tell Chris. That made Lance pout. -Why do I
have to track down JC and Joey? Who knows what they may be up to? he
whined. -Because I'm too young to witness them getting all freaky-deaky
with each other, Justin laughed. He winked at Lance. -Maybe they'll even
give you some ideas? -Justin! Lance said, his cheeks taking on a red
colour. Justin turned away to find Chris, as usual he was blushing himself.

By the time Justin had reached Chris and Allie's table, they were holding
hands. Justin practically skidded into a full stop, wondering if he was
interrupting something. But Chris smiled at him. -Justin, I'd like you to
meet Allie, she's a friend from back home.  While still holding on to one
of Chris' hands, Allie shook hands with Justin.  -Nice to meet you, Justin,
she said and gave him a smile. -You too, Justin answered.  -So you know
Chris here, and you aren't ashamed to let people know? He had her giggling.
-Chris is totally sweet, Justin, once you get to know him. He annoys the
heck out of me sometimes, but most of the time he's a sweetheart. She took
both of Chris' hands again, and they smiled at each other.

-Ahm, we're gonna head back to the hotel now, Justin said. -Lance's off to
find JC and Joey. -I'm going to stay here for a while longer, Chris
answered, his eyes not leaving Allie's. -Ok, Justin said smiling. Chris
definetely seemed to be having a good time.

Lance was on his way back, with JC and Joey in tow. -I found them! he told
Justin.  -And they were even behaving themselves too!-We always behave! JC
protested.  -Well, most of the time anyway... Joey smiled at him. -You'll
always be my bad boy, Josh. JC gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. -Just
you wait till we get back in the car, I'll show you just how bad I can be!
-Oh please, Justin sighed, -wait till you're back in your own room, `kay?
Seeing the two of you go at it, will probably turn me off forever. Seing
the smile on Joey's face, Justin knew he should never have said
anything. Turning to JC, Joey stated that they would have to
wait. -Because, he said, very innocently, -if Justin's not ever gonna be in
the mood again because of us, Lance is going to be very, very angry with
us...

Now Justin decided it was a good time to leave. -JC, control your
boyfriend, he said, faking a frown. JC smiled. -Why? I like him out of
control. Joey listened to JC and Justin get into a pretend-fight, both
laughing. Part of him wanted to get out in that car so badly, so he could
go back to the hotel to be alone with JC. The other part of him was
terrified. He had given this a lot of thought, and he did want this. If he
could go through with this, his past, meaning Jim, wouldn't have such a
hold of him anymore.

-Where's Chris? JC asked. -Chatting to some girl named Allie, Justin said
over his shoulder as they were getting ready to leave. -He'd come along
later. Joey stopped putting on his jacket. -Allie? he asked. -She's here?
-You know her? Justin turned to him. -Sure I know her! Joey answered. -I'm
just going over to say hi, ok?  Before anyone could answer, he was going
over to Chris and Allie's table. She got up as she saw him and and gave him
a warm hug. A couple of minutes later, Joey was back, grinning
widely. -Hmmm, JC teased, -should I be jealous now, Teddybear? -If I made a
move on her, Chris would kill me, Joey answered. -Besides, I've got you,
why would I need anybody else? -Shall we go? Lance asked when it seemed
that Joey and JC had gone off into their own world again, smiling and
staring into each other's eyes.

-We shall, Justin answered, and managed to get all four of them out of the
club and into the waiting car. -Joey and JC can cuddle in the backseat,
I'll send the car back for Chris whenever he decides to come back, and you
and I... -Yeah, Lance said.  Justin wasn't sure what he was answering to.

As soon as they were inside the car, JC leaned over and gave Joey a
kiss. Joey pulled him closer and they snuggled up in one corner of the
backseat. Justin was in the frontseat, next to the driver. He turned around
a bit so he could talk to the three others. -Y'all think there was
something going on between Chris and that blonde chick? Joey smiled
softly. -I wouldn't be surprised. She wasn't just his childhood-friend, you
know... She was his first love, they were together for years.  They were?
JC asked. -Why haven't we heard about this before? -Because it was a bad
break-up, Joey explained. -They got into different colleges, and decided
that they didn't want a long-distance relationship. So they split up, and
Chris is really not comfortable talking about it. -I hope they sort things
out, Lance commented from his corner. -She seemed like a sweet girl. -She
is, Joey smiled, -and she is the perfect match for Chris. They're both
insane.

-Aww, that's cute, JC said, -how come you know her then? Joey
shrugged. -I've talked to her on the phone a couple of times...Chris and
Allie kept in contact even though they didn't stay a couple. And I have met
her back home at Chris' mom's too.  JC cuddled up closer to Joey. -Hope
they can work it out this time...you think he still has feelings for her?
-Very much so, Joey answered, hugging JC to him. -Don't think Chris ever
really got over her...

Lance looked over at JC and Joey and smiled. He couldn't help it, but they
were just so cute together. Now it seemed like all the bad stuff never had
happened, but they couldn't afford to forget about it. It wasn't really
gone even if they had managed to push it away some. He turned back and
found Justin smiling at him. Obviously he was thinking the same thing, JC
and Joey were now kissing, retreating into their own little place of the
car.

Jutsin could hear some mumbled words and soft laughter from JC and Joey
along with the very obvious fact that they were still kissing. He wanted to
be that taken with a relationship, he wanted to be able to let go of the
world around them like that and not need anything else than each
other. Most of all, he wanted Lance. Shyly he let his eyes meet Lance's
again. They always held such intensity, his light green eyes always made
Justin feel like he was on a rollercoaster out of control. For a moment
Justin lost himself in Lance's eyes, then he looked away again. Would he
still have the courage to go through with this tonight? Sometimes he
thought he could read more than just friemdship, more than just flirting,
from Lance, but he wasn't sure...

JC didn't notice the way Justin and Lance looked at one another. At that
moment he would probably not have noticed if the complete Russian Circus
marched through the car. All he could care about, all he wanted to care
about, was the way Joey kissed him and how good his hands felt on JC's
body. The thought of what Joey had said in the restroom of the club still
lingered in his mind though. He couldn't lie, he wanted this to happen. And
with the way Joey kept touching him, it was soon going to be the only thing
he could think about.

No longer caring about the three other peple in the car, JC placed himself
in Joey's lap, one knee on each side of him. Joey let his arms encircle
JC's waist, pulling him closer.  Leaning down, JC let his lips find Joey's
again, sweetly and slowly.  Underneath him Joey parted his lips, allowing
JC to deepen the kiss. Joey's hands drifted down on his body and JC felt
the warmth as an electrical surge through his skin.

-We're here, Justin spoke up as the car pulled up in front of the hotel.
-Damn, JC whispered against Joey's lips. -Think they'll mind if we just
stayed here for the night?  -I really don't want to move either, Joey
answered, -but we might be more comforatble in the bed. Besides, it's not
enough room here for me to do what I want to do to you...  JC
grinned. -Ahm, I don't think I can move right now, Joey... I'm
kinda...oooh!  -Yes, you are, Joey smirked after letting his hand rest on
JC's groin, feeling the hardness against his palm. -And if we go real fast,
I don't think any of them would notice any of us and our...current state of
mind...  Climbing out of the car, JC made sure to get as close to Joey as
possible in the process. All the way outside, he gave Joey a little
wink. -I'll race ya! He took off running for the entrance, Joey right
behind.

Justin and Lance didn't talk much on the way to their hotelroom. Sneaking a
few glances at Lance, Justin's hands were shaking as he unlocked the
door. What did he say, what should he do? He reached for the door knob and
the door didn't budge.  After trying the lock again, Justin still couldn't
get the door open. -Damn door, he mumbled, just the presence of Lance was
enough to make him a trembling bundle of nerves.

A hand reached out and took the key card away from him. -You're holding it
the wrong way, Lance said, -relax, curly. Justin let Lance open the
door. The darkness inside was inviting, Lance stepped into the
room. Turning, he realised that Justin wasn't following him. -You coming?
he asked gently, seeing how nervous Justin was.  -Yeah, Justin answered,
still looking at the floor. Taking hold of his hand, Lance pulled him into
the room. -You can use the bathroom first, he said, -run along, little one.
That brought a smile to Justin's face. -I'm not little! he grumbled, while
thinking about the first night he spent in Lance's arms. He went into the
bathroom as Lance turned on some lights. Suddenly he felt a whole lot
better.

Looking at himself in the mirror, he nearly laughed at his own
reflection. His face was slightly flushed, his blue eyes wide. -Sheesh, he
though, splashing some cold water on his cheeks. -I got this far, I'm
telling him tonight...I think. His hands were still slightly shaking as he
finished up in the bathroom. He was actually going to share a bed with
Lance, the whole night through...

The room was only half-lit when Justin came back in. -Your turn, he told
Lance.  The skin on his bare arms and legs heated as Lance looked at him
and smiled before he went into the bathroom. The bed-covers were cool
against Justin's skin as he got into the bed. They had gotten a room with
only one bed...Justin caught himself wondering if that was a coincidence or
something else. The bed was more than big enough for two though. And he was
going to share it with Lance...

Justin's heart was beating so hard that he was afraid he was going to pass
out. His thoughts was one giant mess again. What exactly did he want out of
this night?  He wanted Lance. He wanted to tell Lance that he loved him,
that he wanted him close, that he... Lying in bed, with his back to the
bathroom door, Justin wished Lance would hurry up. This was killing him.

The alcohol in his systems efficiently dampened his intentions to not rush
things, and all Justin could think about was how good Lance's touch had
made him feel. And that he wanted Lance to continue what he had started
back in the club. The bathroom door opened and a stream of light fell into
the room. It was shut back in as Lance closed the door behind him and went
over to the bed. Without speaking he laid down behind Justin, wrapping a
strong arm around Justin's waist, holding him close.

All of a sudden Justin felt calm again, and the nervousness
disappeared. They weren't going to rush things, but that didn't mean that
they couldn't fool around just a little.  Justin's heart-rate went straight
back up when he felt the warm, moist pressure of Lance's lips on the back
of his neck. Shivering under the sensual touch Justin asked: -Lance, what
are you doing? Lance's voice sounded a little amused when he answered: -I'm
just kissing you goodnight, Justin... -Ok, Justin whispered back.
-Goodnight, Justin, Lance then said and snuggled up to Justin, leaving
Justin in a state of both confusion and desire.

Then a smile formed on his face. Quickly he turned around in Lance's arms.
-You've got it all wrong, he said matter-of-factly. -This, he leaned in
over Lance, -is how you kiss someone goodnight. Before Lance could answer,
Justin kissed him on the lips.  Taking advantage of the surprise, Justin
held Lance down, while parting his lips with his tongue. When he let his
tongue slip inside Lance's mouth, he tasted like toothpaste, beer and just
incredibly sweet. As Lance recovered from the shock, he responded to
Justin, kissing him back. They embraced each other tightly as the kiss
intensified. Justin knew if he was going to get back at Lance, he had to
pull away right now.

He withdrew some, looked down at Lance and smiled. -That, he stated, -is
how you kiss goodnight! Then he turned back around, trying very hard not to
laugh.  -Tease!  Lance said, holding Justin close to him again. -You too,
Justin answered. -But it was a good kiss, Lance continued, planting a
little kiss on the side of Justin's neck. Now Justin could feel the slight
bite from Lance's teeth, then Lance cuddled back up closely to him and
whispered goodnight. -Goodnight, Justin answered. He didn't really want to
sleep, but the warmth from Lance's body next to his and the buzz from the
beers made him feel sleepy. The feel and sound of Lance's deep, even
breaths, fanning his neck, soon lulled him into a peaceful slumber. His
last coherent thought was the realisation that he never did get to tell
Lance he loved him. But that would have to wait until the morning...