Date: Sun, 25 Jul 2004 18:56:26 -0700 (PDT)
From: slpwriter <slpwriter@yahoo.com>
Subject: Nick Lachey: My Everything-72

I'm back with another chapter of "My Everything."

Thanks for all of your support! Without it, I don't
think I could have written this story for this long.

Now on with the story.

First of all, let me just say that this is my first
time writing any kind of fiction like this.

DISCLAIMER: This is a work of total fiction and is
not meant to imply anything about the sexualities of
Nick and Drew Lachey or anyone else mentioned in
this story.

If you are too young to read this, or if
Homosexuality offends you, then please don't
continue any further and leave.

Other 98 Degrees stories I'd like to recommend are.

"Give Me Just One Night" by Unanoche.
"69 with Jeff Timmons" by Zachary Scott Pritt
"Nick Lachey" by Ken.
"98 Degrees Is Hot" by Gay Night
"The Reunion" by RinSong.
"Loving Nick Lachey" by Jordan
"Playing Doctor with 98 Degrees" by Brian
"This Gift" by Sprout

and finally:

"What I feel for you" by Thack.

"What I feel for you." is an awesome story and
Thack, himself deserves applause for all of his hard
work on it.

NEWSFLASH:

It is heard that Nick Lachey has signed a deal with
ABC to star in his own comedy or drama series. Lets
all keep our fingers crossed and hope that we get to
see Nick Lachey do great things as an actor as well.

Before any of that happens, you can still catch Nick
Lachey and his brother, Drew, on "Newlyweds: Nick and
Jessica." The show airs Wednesdays on MTV at 10:00p.m.
Eastern Standard Time (EST) and 9:00p.m. Central
Standard Time. (CST)

 Now, I"ll let you get on with the story.

Enjoy.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I am going back to how I was originally
doing the previous recaps of the last chapter in the
beginnings of the next ones. Trying to do it the way I
did in chapter 71, was too time consuming.


Previously on "My Everything".....

"I never said this before, but I will now." He said,
looking into my eyes as he spoke.

He then reached out and placed both of his hands on
both of my cheeks and cupped my face in his hands. He
looked directly into my eyes. I could see the pain
that was behind them.

"I am so sorry that I hurt you and for everything that
I put you through." He whispered, softly.

It was at moment that I saw a tear slide down Nick's
cheek. Feeling sympathetic, I pulled him into a brief
hug.

"I know you are. I can see it in your eyes." I said to
him. "And I appreciate you telling me that. I've
already forgiven you. You know that."

"Yeah." Nick said as he pulled back, looking down.
"But it felt good to get it out because I never really
showed you how sorry I was."

I nodded, as I watched him, closely. I wanted so badly
to tell him that I loved him, but with the current
circumstances between him and Jessica, it wasn't a
good idea.

Nick didn't need the added stress of having to deal
with that on top of everything else he was dealing
with.

"You have now." I said, running my hand up and down
his back, gently. "And I really do appreciate it."

After saying that, I leaned over and gave Nick a soft
kiss on the cheek.

"So, what do you say we lighten up the mood here?" I
asked, with a smile. "What do you want to do today?
I'm up for something fun."

Nick's mood lightened up immediately and a smile
crossed his face.

"How about you, Danny, Jeff, Jessica, and I go
swimming?" He suggested.

I wasn't sure that was a good idea. Not with Jessica
in the pool too.

"I would like that, Nick." I said to him. "But I'm not
up to being drowned by "Blondie."

Nick snickered at me.

"If by "Blondie" you're referring to my wife, don't
worry. She won't be a problem."

"How do you know?" I asked, frowning.

"She isn't here." Nick told me. "She's not going to be
back for awhile.

Nick got up out of the bed and looked outside the
window. The sun was shining brightly and it was a
beautiful morning for a dip in the pool.

"Well, in that case." I said, getting up out of the
bed and standing up. "Let's do it."

"Excellent." Nick said. "Let's go talk to Danny and
Jeff."

Nick and I left Drew's room to talk to Jeff and Danny.

*******************************************************
AT THE SIMPSON HOUSEHOLD..................

Jessica was sitting on the couch with her mother,
looking down at something on the table. Both of them
were looking very nervous.

"Well, is it ready yet?" Jessica asked. "I need to be
certain that I'm pregnant."

"You've said that at least 10 times in the last couple
minutes." Her mother said, annoyed. "Calm down,
sweetie."

Jessica looked up at her, with a frazzled frown.

"How can I calm down when I have so much writing on
this?" Jessica asked her mother. "Having another child
could be the one thing that could save my marriage."

Tina put her arm around her daughter.

"Don't worry." She said. "Whether or not you're
pregnant, you and Nick will be ok. He loves you very
much. Nothing can ever change that."

"I hope you're right, Mom." Jessica said, looking up
at her. "I really hope you're right."

Tina smiled. "I know I am." She said.

Then she looked down at the pregnancy test that was on
the table.

"I think it's ready now." She said. "Why don't you
look at it and see what it says?"

Jessica picked up the pregnancy test and put her hand
over the results indicator so she didn't see it right
away.

She walked to the other side of the coffee table and
turned back towards her mother.

"Alright, here goes." She said, as she looked down to
see what the results were.

She looked down long enough that Tina couldn't take
the suspense anymore.

"Well?" She urged. "What does it say? Are you pregnant
or not?"

Jessica looked up at her.


**********
CHAPTER 72
**********

BACK AT THE LACHEY HOUSE, THAT MORNING...............

Since it was eleven in the morning, Nick, Danny, Jeff,
and I, decided that we'd have a cook out on the grill
this morning, while we lounged around outside by the
pool.

Nick was cooking hamburgers and steaks on the grill
and I was standing nearby, helping him out, while
Danny and Jeff were applying suntan lotion to their
buff bodies, and sitting in the loungers to tan for
awhile.

As I watched Nick, cook the steaks, I then came up
with an idea.

"Hey, Nick." I asked. "Why don't we invite a few more
guests here for this cook out?"

Nick raised his head and looked at me, a slight frown
on his face.

"Like who?" He asked. "We don't have that much food
for a pool party."

"We don't have to." I said, with a straight face.
"Besides, I'm only talking about two more mouths to
feed. That is if they both agree to come."

"Who are we talking about?" Nick asked, curiously.

"Well, I was thinking: Why don't we invite Ben Affleck
and Matt Damon over?" I suggested. "After all, I
haven't really seen or spoke with them since the day I
left here when I found out about Drew, sabotaging our
wedding."

I stopped, as Drew's name was mentioned. Both Nick and
I were still touchy where Drew was concerned.
Especially when his name was brought up.

"Besides, I really miss them and I think it'd be a
good idea for them to be here." I continued.

Nick smiled.

"That's a great idea." He said. "If they're up to it,
it's ok with me."

He then guestured to the house.

"Why don't you go and give them a call and see if they
want to come?" He suggested.

I was definitely glad to do that. I was glad that Nick
was in a better mood.

"Ok." I agreed. "I'll be back in a minute."

I started to head into the house, until I heard Nick
call my name again. I turned towards him.

"Yes, Nick?" I asked him, wondering what he wanted.

"While you're in there, could you grab some cheese and
the hamburger buns and bring them back out here when
you're finished with your call?" Nick asked me.

"No problem." I said to him. "I'm on it."

I went into the house and walked into the living room
to get the cordless phone. I picked it up off of it's
console and dialed Ben's number.

"Hello?" I heard Ben's voice answer.

"Hey, Ben!" I greeted him. "How's it going?"

"Sean?" Ben asked, as if he wasn't sure it was me. "Is
that you?"

"Yes, Ben." I said. "Who did you think it was?"

"I don't know." Ben said. "What's up?"

"I'm back in Los Angeles." I told him. "I got in
earlier this morning and with no sleep. I got about 5
hours of sleep when I got here."

"Where are you?" Ben wondered.

I'm at Nick's." I replied. "I was calling you to ask
you if you wanted to come to Nick's and eat with us?
We're having a cook out by the pool and thought that
maybe you'd want to join us. And Matt too."

"Really?" Ben asked, sounding interested. "That sounds
like it'll be fun. Who's all there?"

"Just me, Nick, Jeff and Danny are here right now." I
told him. "But, I have no idea where Kandi and Justin
are right now."

"What do you mean?" Ben asked. "You make it sound like
they're missing?"

"They're not." I said. "Someone told me they were gone
this morning when everyone was up. And one way to
start the morning off, after a long plane ride with no
sleep, was with an ambush from Nick's parents."

Here, I rolled my eyes, as I remembered the events
that had happened earlier this morning. Then I fell
into a crabby mood.

"Not to mention Jessica's parents, and "Evil Blondie"
herself." I finished.

I heard Ben start laughing after that. I didn't have
to guess what he was laughing about.

"So, I take it by calling Jessica "Evil Blondie", that
means that you two still aren't getting along any
better, huh?" Ben said, in between laughs.

"Unfortunately, no." I said, sarcastically. "The
little bitch practically tried to rip my face to
shreds this morning when I gave her the finger, after
she said she was going to be sick when she saw Nick
and I, hugging in front of everyone this morning."

"You did what?!" Ben asked, in shock, just before he
started laughing again. "Actually never mind that.
What I want to know is: Did she succeed?"

"Hell, no!" I replied. "She never got a chance to
touch me. I made sure of that."

I then looked at my watch and noticed that the burgers
would be done soon. I needed to get the cheese and
hamburger buns out to Nick so he could start topping
the cheese on the hamburgers and people could start
eating.

"Hey Ben, I really need to get going. I have to get
the cheese and buns out to Nick so he can start
serving the food soon." I told him. "So, are you
coming over or what?"

"I wouldn't miss it for the world." Ben said. "I can't
speak for Matt because he's still asleep. But I will
wake him up and see if he wants to come. Whether he
does or not, I'll be there."

"Alright, man." I said. "I'll see you soon."

I hung up the phone and took it with me, into the
kitchen, where I opened the "refridgerater" and got
out the cheese and the hamburger buns.

I shut the door to it and walked back outside, the
cheese and buns in one hand, the phone in the other,
and walked up to Nick, who was getting ready to take
the burgers off of the grill.

"Here you are." I said, as I set down the cheese and
burger buns on the table beside him. "Cheese,
Hamburger buns, and the phone."

Nick frowned as he took it, wondering why I brought
the phone out too.

"Why did you bring the phone out here?" He asked me,
curiously.

"So that way, it saves one of us from running to get
it every time it rings." I explained, having a good
point for having the phone out here with us.

"Of course." Nick said, patting me on the arm.
"Thanks, Sean."

"No problem, buddy." I said, as I looked him over.

Nick was obviously sweating from standing in front of
that hot grill for a long period of time.

"But you look like you could use some cooling off." I
said, noticing how sweaty he was. "Why don't we soak
in the pool for a while?"

Before I'd finished saying that, Nick had taken off
his tank top, in a flash, exposing his defined chest
and washboard stomach. When I looked down at the
swimming trunks he was wearing, I was shocked.

Nick was wearing the red trunks that he had gotten not
long after we'd gotten married. The ones he said made
his ass look better for my eyes. And boy did they!"

"I remember those trunks, Nick." I said. "And how good
your ass always looked in them."

Nick blushed six different shades of red. I started
laughing when I saw his face. I guess Jeff and Danny
thought it was pretty fascinating too, for they had
come over at that moment.

"Why are you blushing, Nick?" Jeff asked him. "What
did Sean say to you?"

"Sean was just telling me that he remembers how good
my ass looks in these swimming trunks I have on." Nick
said, with an embarrassed look on his face.

Danny looked at me, with a mock-serious look.

"Shame on you, Sean, for flirting with a married man."
He joked.

"So, sue me." I said. "I can't help it if I still find
Nick attractive."

Everyone laughed then, and Nick had to have blushed a
deeper shade of red at that moment.

We were so involved in our teasing Nick that we almost
forgot about the hamburgers. At least until Nick
turned around towards the grill to look at them.

"Damn, the burgers are going to burn!" Nick exclaimed,
as he set about flipping them over and putting cheese
on some of them.

Since Nick was busy with the burgers, I took that
moment to excuse myself.

"Hey, Nick, I'm going to talk with Jeff and Danny for
awhile until you get done with the burgers, alright?"
I told him.

Nick nodded. I could tell he seemed a little
uncomfortable, but I didn't know why.

"Ok." Nick said, quietly. I'm going to be awhile here,
anyway."

I turned towards Jeff and Danny who were standing a
few feet away.

"Well you two, why don't you both go and finish
working on your tans. I'll join you." I suggested.

"Sure." Jeff said, looking from me to Nick and
frowning.

Jeff, Danny, and I both turned and walked over to the
loungers. I slowly sat back into one and started
applying sunscreen to my body so I wouldn't get
sunburned later.

As I was doing that, I saw Jeff and Danny both looking
at me from their loungers.

"What, guys?" I asked, wondering what they were
staring at me like that before.

I saw Danny look back at Jeff and I saw Jeff nod at
him. Then Danny turned back to me.

"We saw the way you were flirting with Nick earlier
and we were just wondering what that was all about?"
He said to me.

"Come on, you guys." I said, defensively. "A little
flirting never hurt anyone before. I couldn't really
call it flirting."

"Then, what would you call it?" Jeff asked me. "He
didn't seem all that happy about it. Or was I reading
him wrong?"

"Nick happened to be wearing those red trunks that he
got when he and I were still together." I said to the
both of them. "I was just shocked that he still has
them after all this time. I thought that he would have
put everything that reminded him of me away, or gotten
rid of it."

"Sean, that's not the point." Danny said. "What we're
wondering is something totally different."

Now he'd lost me. I frowned in confusion at I cast a
glance back over at Nick who was taking some
cheeseburgers off of the grill and setting them down
on plates, nearby.

"What's that?" I asked, as I looked back at Danny.

Danny looked back at Jeff again, then back to me.

"I've seen the way you look at Nick sometimes and I
have to wonder if........."

Danny broke off right then. He was unsure if he should
say what was on his mind.

"Go head, Danny." I urged him. "say what's on your
mind. I can take it."

"Alright." Danny said. Then he looked me right in the
eyes. "You still love him. Don't you?"

Now, I was trapped. I looked over at both Danny and
Jeff and noticed that they both believed the same
thing. That I was still in love with Nick. But I
couldn't just tell them that it was true. I didn't
want Nick getting wind of it.

But I was saved at that moment by the pool gate
opening and Ben Affleck walked in, along with Matt
Damon. They were both wearing their swimming trunks
and they both were wearing sun shades.

I chose that moment to make my escape.

"Ben! Matt! What's up?" I said, getting up and rushing
over to them.

I swooped Ben up in a hug first. I was glad to see
them both. Especially after the way I'd left them a
while back when I left Los Angeles before.

"Hey, Sean." Ben said as he returned my hug. "How have
you been?"

"Yeah." Matt threw in, as I released Ben and hugged
him. "We both have been worried about you since the
day you left so suddenly without saying goodbye to us
in person."

"I know." I said, sadly. "And I feel really bad about
that. How can I make it up to you guys?"

"Just don't leave like that again." Ben said,
seriously. "You had us worried to death."

"Don't worry, I don't plan on doing that again." I
said.

"Good." Matt replied, with a grin. "See that you
don't."

Just then, Nick's voice rang out.

"Alright, Everyone, lunch is served!" He said, loudly.
"Let's eat!"

We all headed towards Nick and the table to get some
food.

******************************************************
BACK AT THE SIMPSON RESIDENCE................

"Jessica, come on!" Tina urged her. "The suspense is
killing me! Are you pregnant or not?"

Jessica was looking at her mother for a few seconds
and then her face broke into a grin.

"Yes!" She squealed. I'm pregnant! Again!"

"Oh, Honey, that's fantastic!" Tina crowed, excitedly,
as Jessica leapt into her arms. "I'm so happy for
you!"

Jessica's face faltered a little. I guess it was
because she was wondering how Nick was going to take
the news.

"Well, I don't think I should celebrate just yet." She
said. "I still have to tell my husband. I wonder how
he's going to take it."

Tina released Jessica and looked her in the face.

"I'm sure Nick will be thrilled, sweetie." She said.
"Why wouldn't he be?"

Jessica thought about it for a moment. Even though she
was happy to be pregnant again, even she knew that
there were circumstances that would prevent some
people from sharing her good news.

"Well, for one thing, the timing isn't exactly good."
She said. "Especially after the fight Nick and I had
about Sean, earlier this morning."

"Speaking of Sean." Tina said, with a serious look on
her face. "How do you think he's going to react to
this?"

"Oh, I'll find out soon enough." Jessica said, as she
turned and walked over to a table nearby.

She grabbed her purse and turned back to her mother.

"Can you watch Nicole for a few more hours?" She
asked. "I'd like her to stay here for awhile just in
case things don't go well at home."

Tina agreed.

"Sure, I'll watch her." She said, with a smile on her
face. "I just wish I could be there to see Sean's
reaction to this. And now that I think about it, your
getting pregnant might be just the thing to get Sean
out of our lives once and for all."

"I hope you're right, Mom." Jessica said, as she
opened the door. "I'll call you later."

"Ok. Bye sweetie." Her mother called after her, as she
shut the door behind her.

Jessica walked to her car and got into it. She started
the ignition and adjusted her mirrors. After that, she
got out her lipstick and compact and started dolling
herself up a bit to be presentable for Nick when she
gave him the good news.

"It's showtime." Jessica said, as she applied her
lipstick and put everything away.

She then backed out of the driveway and started
heading back home to Nick's.

******************************************************
BACK AT THE LACHEY RESIDENCE...................

"Nick, I have to hand it to you." Ben said, as he took
another bite of his cheeseburger. "You make an
excellent chef."

"I try." Nick said, trying to sound modest about it.
But nobody was buying it.

"Nick, come on." Matt said, around his food. "You cook
well and you know it."

Nick smirked as he sat back in his chair and closed
his eyes for a moment.

"Thanks, Matt." He said. "Sean used to tell me that
same thing. Right Sean?"

Nick didn't get a response from me because I hadn't
heard him.

"Hey!" Danny said, trying to get my attention. "Sean,
did you hear what Nick just said right now?"

I turned towards Danny, thinking I'd heard him say
something just now.

"I'm sorry, Danny. What did you say?" I asked, when
I'd finally snapped out of it.

The guys all took a good look at me. They definitely
could see that I wasn't myself right now.

"Are you alright?" Matt asked me. "You not acting at
all like yourself right now?"

I frowned at him, in confusion.

"What do you mean?" I asked him, wondering what he was
thinking.

Matt looked at Nick and then back at me.

"Well for starters, you haven't said a word since we
sat down to eat." He told me, as he was looking down
at something.

"And you haven't even touched your food." He added.

I looked down at my cheeseburger and saw that Matt was
right. I hadn't even touched my food since I got it. I
then placed it on the table beside me.

I guess I'm not hungry right now." I said, as I got up
out of my lounger. "Right now, I can't stop thinking
about Justin and Kandi."

Everyone else wondered the same thing at that moment.
Justin and Kandi hadn't been seen all morning. It was
almost noon and we hadn't heard from either one of
them yet.

"Why don't you call Justin, Nick?" I suggested to him.
"I would feel alot better if I knew what was going
on."

"So would I." Nick agreed, as he reached for the
phone. "I'll do it."

Everyone kept quiet as Nick dialed Justin's cell phone
number. Nick waited for a response.

"Hello?"

Nick sighed in relief when he heard Justin's voice on
the line.

"Justin, thank god I got ahold of you." Nick said to
him, feeling relieved. "Where the hell are you and
Kandi? We haven't seen you all morning ever since we
got up and we're getting worried. Is everything
alright?"

Nick didn't get a response right away from Justin. He
could hear Justin breathing on the other end of the
line.

"Justin, are you there?" Nick asked, making sure
Justin was still on the line.

"Yeah, Nick, I'm here." Justin replied, his voice
sounding strange. "Actually things are pretty intense
right now for Kandi and I. We have something to tell
you, but I'd rather wait until we both get home to
tell you, guys."

Nick could hear the strange tone in Justin's voice. He
knew something was wrong. He could feel it.

"Justin, what's wrong?" Nick asked him. "You sound
terrible. Talk to me, man."

"I have to go, Nick." Justin said. "I'll talk to you
and the rest of the guys, later."

"No, Justin! Wait!" Nick called out.

All he was met with was the dial tone, indicating that
Justin had hung up.

"Damn it!" Nick said, worriedly, as he set the phone
down. "Justin hung up on me."

Everyone, including myself, looked at Nick in concern,
wondering what Justin had said to him, during that
phone conversation.

"What did Justin say, Nick?" Ben asked him. "Did you
find out where he and Kandi are?"

Nick shook his head.

"No." He replied, looking around at all of us. "All he
told me is that things are intense with him and Kandi
right now. He said he'd tell us all about it when they
get back."

Everyone looked around at each other, all of us
thinking the same thing. Now we all knew for sure that
something was wrong. This was the first time anything
was wrong with Justin and Kandi.

As long as I'd known Justin and Kandi they hadn't had
a fight in their relationship, ever. Well, at least in
the time I was with them before I was banished from
their lives, they hadn't.

All I knew was that I wanted to be alone at the
moment. I had alot on my mind right now. And it wasn't
just Justin and Kandi.

I stood up.

"Guys, I'm going to get out of here." I said. "I need
some time to myself."

I walked away, leaving the guys sitting there in
shock. They looked at each other, wondering what was
going on.

******************************************************
BACK AT THE POOL.............

"What was that all about?" Nick asked, looking after
me.

Danny frowned. "I don't know." He said, getting up.
"I'll go and talk to him.

"Wait a minute, Danny." Jeff said, as he started
getting up also. "I'll come with you."

Danny shook his head.

"No, Jeff, stay here." He said, reluctantly. "I need
to talk to Sean alone. We haven't had a chance to
talk, just the two of us, for a long time."


"Ok, sexy." Jeff said, sitting back down, then
motioning for Danny to come to him. "But before you
do, give me a quick kiss first."

Danny grinned at Jeff's request. He was more than
happy to honor that one. He leaned down towards Jeff.

"With pleasure, handsome." Danny murmured, as his lips
met Jeff.

Jeff put his hand behind Danny's head and pulled him
in for a deeper kiss.

After Jeff was satisfied, he let Danny stand up again.

"Don't be long, stud." Jeff said, with a smile. "I
still want to have fun with you in the pool."

"Not to worry." Danny grinning. "We'll have plenty of
time for that. Right now, I'm going to talk to Sean
for a minute. I won't be long."

Danny turned and walked in the direction that I had
gone.

Nick frowned as he watched Danny go, wondering what
was wrong with Sean.

Then, he turned back to the rest of the guys.

"Well, you guys, is anyone ready for a dip in the
pool?" He asked, everyone around him?

"I am." Matt said, standing up. "Let's do it."

Ben, Matt, and Nick got up and started heading for the
pool. Matt and Ben both jumped in. Nick turned around
to see Jeff, still sitting in the lounger.

Jeff, are you coming?" Nick asked him. Jeff shook his
head.

"Not right now." Jeff said. I'm going to wait for
Danny."

"Ok." Nick nodded. Then he looked at Jeff and noticed
how worried Jeff was, by the expression on his face.

"Don't worry, Jeff." Nick said, softly. "Sean will be
alright. I think he just has alot to sort though,
that's all. He hasn't exactly had the best time right
now."

"After all, he didn't get any sleep, during the flight
here, he had a confrontation with our families, had to
deal with Jessica's bitterness and insults, as well as
the fact that before he left Orlando, he and Jake had
a fight about me."

Now, Jeff was intruiged. He sat up in his lounger.

"Sean and Jake had a fight about you? He asked,
curiously. "What about?"

Nick walked over to the lounger, next to Jeff, and sat
down on it.

"It's a long story." Nick said, as he sat back in the
lounger.

"Hey, I've got all the time in the world, man." Jeff
said, laying back in his lounger, as well. "Let's hear
it."

******************************************************
INSIDE THE HOUSE: IN THE LIVING ROOM.......

I was sitting on the sofa in the living room, just
looking around the room, trying to hold back my tears.

My eyes fell upon Nick and Jessica's wedding photo,
sitting up on the mantle and I took it down and looked
at it.

I studied Nick's face and saw how happy he had been in
that photo. The way he was smiling in that photo was a
smile that only Jessica was able to bring out in him.
He'd never smiled like that for me ever. He shared a
bond with Jessica that I would never understand. After
all they had years of history, compared to Nick and I,
who had only shared months together.

I sat the picture back down and looked over some of
the others that were placed there.

I came across one of Drew and Nick together with their
arms around each other. They were both dressed in
their tuxedos and they were both beaming with joy.

I was so engrossed in the photo, that I didn't hear
anyone come into the room.

"Sean?"

I jumped in surprise and spun around to face the owner
of that voice: Danny.

"You startled me." I said, as I put the photo back
onto the dresser. I turned around to face him.

"Are you alright?" Danny asked. "You left rather
suddenly."

I saw the concern that was written on his face and for
a moment, I caught a glimpse of the best friend that
he once was to me, before I realized that we could
never be that close again.

"I just have alot on my mind, Danny." I said. "I'm
worried about Justin and Kandi right now, as well as
other things."

"Like what?" Danny asked. "Talk to me, man. I want to
help you."

I looked him in the eyes and took a deep breath before
I said what was on m mind.

"You know," I started saying. "I look at you and I see
the best friend that I once had. But now, when I look
at you, all I can see is the man who turned his back
on his truest, best friend that he ever had. Our days
of being best friends are over."

I probably should have said all of that the way that I
did, for Danny's concerned expression turned to hurt
almost instantaneously.

I took that moment to continue talking.

"Danny, I'm sorry if that hurts you." I said to him,
sympathetically. "I'm not trying to hurt you. I'm just
trying to be honest with you."

Danny nodded, as he started to wipe at a tear that was
starting to come out of his eye. He didn't say
anything, so I decided to go on.

"Remember, I told you before that there are no
gaurantees that I'd be able to fully forgive you for
what happened. I'm trying to get past it. But it's
easier said than done."

"I understand." Danny said, as he wiped the tears
away, only to have more of them replace the ones he
did.

"Danny, don't misunderstand me here." I said, putting
a hand on his shoulder. "I'm not saying that we can
never be friends again. Anything is possible. But our
relationship will never be what it used to be. Sure
we'll probably be good friends in the future, but we
won't be as close as we used to be."

"I know." Danny said, as he moved in closer to me and
pulled me in for a hug. "And I can live with that as
long as we are friends in some way. But I just want
you to know that I still love you as much today as I
ever did when we were best friends."

I pulled back from Danny's embrace and I wiped away
his tears, now feeling bad for what I had said, now
that I'd seen what it had done to him.

"Danny, I know what I said hurts you." I told him.
"But I promised you that I would always be honest with
you, even if it hurts you. All I'm trying to do is let
you know how I'm feeling."

"And I appreciate that, despite how much it hurts me
to hear it." Danny replied, as he turned away and
looked out the window nearby.

"Danny, I"m ready to give you an answer to your
earlier question if I"m still in love with Nick or
not."

I saw Danny nod, but he didn't turn around. At that
moment, I could feel my own waterworks start within me
just from remembering how my love for Nick burned
within my heart.

"And the answer is: Yes." I finished.

Danny spun around and looked at me, the shock written
all over his face.

I could feel the tears threatening to fall, but I
willed them away. I was trying to be strong. But I
wasn't sucessful.

"It's true." I said to Danny, as the tears started
streaming down my face. "I love Nick so much and yet,
I can never tell him that."

Danny came over and pulled me into his arms, offering
me comfort if I chose to take it.

I collapsed into his arms as I let it all out.

"Promise me you won't tell anyone what I told you,
Danny." I said to him. "Especially Nick. He doesn't
need to deal with this, on top of everything else he's
going through right now."

"Shh," Danny soothed as he held me tight. "I won't
tell anyone. Not even Jeff if that's what you want."

I lifted my head and looked up at him.

"I'm sorry I put you in this position, Danny." I said
as I wiped at my wet face. "If you're not comfortable
with this, then just forget I told you any of this."

"Don't worry about it, Sean." Danny whispered. "I can
handle it. Besides, If this is one way i can prove to
you that you can trust me again, than so be it."

I breathed a sigh of relief as I hugged Danny harder,
as my way of showing my gratitude.

"Thank you, so much." I said to him. "But I want you
to know that if things start to get tense between you
and Jeff because of this, then you can tell him about
my secret. But only if you have no choice."

"I understand, Sean." Danny said. "And thank you for
giving me a chance at least to try to make up for my
mistakes."

I nodded.

"I've already destroyed two brothers who's bond I
thought could never be broken by anything or anyone."
I said to Danny, sadly. "The last thing I want is for
the same thing to happen with you and Jeff. I know how
much you love him."

"Sean." Danny said, putting his hands on my shoulders
and gently massaging them. "Don't worry about me and
Jeff. We'll be just fine. And don't blame yourself for
Drew and Nick's relationship being broken. It's not
your fault. It was Drew's fault. He's the one who
betrayed both you and Nick."

Now I was the one to protest that.

"But Danny." I started. "Indirectly, I'm the cause of
Nick and Drew being at odds with each other. I swore I
would never tear the Lachey family apart and, without
meaning to, I did."

I turned away and looked back at the photos of Nick
and Drew, as well as the photo of Nick and Jessica at
their wedding. At that moment, another photo caught my
eye.

I picked it up and looked at it. Drew and Nick were in
the photo and Drew was holding Nicole in his arms.

"Now, I have to wonder if I really am trouble for
everyone involved in this family?"

"Sean!" Danny exclaimed in shock. "How can you say
that?" You've never been trouble for anyone. You know
that and I know that. Even Nick knows that."

I set the photo back down and turned back to Danny.

"I don't want to talk anymore." I said. "Why don't you
and I go back out there and join the guys in the pool?
It might help take my mind off of things."

Danny smiled.

"That's a great idea." He said. "Come on, let's go."

He then put his arm around my shoulders and we walked
back outside to the pool area.

Unfortunately, I was about to have an unpleasant
surprise in store for me.

********************************************************

BACK OUTSIDE AT THE POOL.............

Danny and I walked back to the pool and saw that Jeff
and Nick were sitting back in the loungers and they
both were deep in conversation.

"Hey guys." I greeted Nick and Jeff as I walked up to
them and took a seat in the lounger beside Nick and
lay back in it. "You both look like you were having a
pretty serious conversation."

"Yeah, babe." Danny said as he took a seat right in
Jeff's lap, which almost toppled Jeff's lounger over.
"What were you two talking about?"

"Baby, be careful." Jeff said, as his hands went
around Danny's waist and started playing with Danny's
rock hard abs. "You almost knocked the lounger and us
over."

"Sorry, Sugar." Danny said, apologetically, using one
of Jeff's popular nicnames. "What were you and Nick
talking about just now?"

Nick decided to be the one to answer that.

"Actually, I was telling Jeff all about what happened
back in Orlando with Sean and Jake before I came back
home." He said, as he looked over at me.

As soon as Jake's name came up, I thought back to how
I'd left things with him. I'm sure he was probably
going to be worried when he found out that I was not
at home today.

"What are you talking about?" Danny asked, looking
from Nick and Jeff, then back to me. "What happened
between you and Jake?"

"We had a fight.' I told Danny, as I walked over to
the table nearby.

I grabbed some iced tea and poured it into a glass.
Then I set the pitcher back down and walked over to
the lounger beside Nick and sat down.

"I told Jake and Michelle that Nick and I used to be
married and that's when they realized that Nick was
the same Nick that had disowned me, along with the
rest of you."

"How did they take it?" Jeff asked me.

"Not good." I told him. "Jake started laying into Nick
and I couldn't take it anymore, so I told him to butt
out."

"You did alot more than that, Sean." Nick said, sadly.
"You hurt Jake when you said that I'd been there for
you whenever you needed me, and you couldn't say the
same about them. That had to hurt."

"I know it did." I said to Nick. "But hopefully Jake
has cooled down by now and he'll realize that I didn't
mean a word of what I said. Then, we can make up and
be best friends again."

I caught a glance at Danny's face right before he
turned away. I could tell that my last remark had hurt
him. But more than that, I think he was jealous of
Jake replacing him as my best friend.

"Would you all excuse me for a moment?" Danny asked.

And with that, Danny started walking away towards the
house, leaving Nick and Jeff, astonished. I, on the
other hand, knew exactly what had happened.

"I'm going to go and see if he's alright." Jeff said,
getting up and walking after him.

I sat back in the lounger and took a sip of my iced
tea. I set it back down beside the lounger and turned
back to see Nick, looking at me, strangely.

"What is it, Nick?" I asked him. "What's that look
about?"

Before he could answer me, I heard the pool gate
opened and Jessica bounced through it.

"Hey guys, I'm back!" She said, cheerfully.

She walked over to where Nick was sitting and sat down
next to him, on his recliner. She then pulled him into
a hug.

"I'm sorry about the way I acted, earlier this
morning, Baby." She apologized to him. "I promise I
will behave better from now on."

I watched the two of them hugging, and I saw Nick look
up at me, a frown on his face. My look mirrored his.

I looked over at Jeff and saw him give me a "What do
you think she's up to?" look.

I shrugged my shoulders, as my way of telling him that
I didn't know what was going on with her. She was
obviously happy about something.

"Well, Babe, that's great and all, and I do accept
your apology." Nick said. "But I'm curious as to what
brought on this change of attitude?"

Jessica looked at him, grinning from ear to ear.

"I have some news." She said.

Just at that moment, Ben and Matt had gotten out of
the pool and had walked over just in time to hear
Jessica say she had news.

"News about what, Jessica?" Ben asked her.

Jessica took both of Nick's hands in hers and then
blurted it out.

"I'm pregnant, Nick." She confessed. "You and I are
going to have another baby."

******************************************************
BACK INSIDE THE LACHEY HOUSE........

"Danny, what's going on?" Jeff asked, as he shut the
door behind him and followed Danny into the living
room.

When Danny turned around, Jeff gasped when he saw his
face. It was wet with tears.

"Baby, what's wrong?" Jeff asked, as he walked over to
Danny and put his arms around him. "What are you so
upset about?"

Danny hugged Jeff back, tightly.

"It's not that big of a deal, Sugar." He told Jeff. "I
just felt a little hurt and jealous when Sean said he
was going to make up with Jake and then they'd be best
friends again.

Jeff released Danny and then wiped his tears away.

"I think you just need to be patient with Sean." Jeff
said as he caressed Danny's jawline with his thumb.
"He'll come around. It's just going to take some
time."

Danny smiled.

"Thanks, Jeff." Danny whispered to him.

Jeff frowned. "For what?"

Danny then brought one of his hands up to Jeff's cheek
and caressed it, lovingly.

"For being there for me and for giving me hope again
that things will turn out alright for me."

Jeff nodded. Then his hand came up and rested on top
of Danny's hand, which was still rested against his
cheek. He pulled Danny's hand down and kissed it.

"I will always be there for you, Danny." Jeff
whispered to him. "I love you and that will never
change. I hope you always remember that."

"I will, Sugar." Danny said. Then he leaned in and his
lips met Jeff's at that moment.

Their gentle kiss started to build up and become alot
more. Danny slid his hands down Jeff buff chest, down
his washboard abs, and then he came to Jeff's waist
where he groped Jeff's rapidly growing member.

"I'd be careful, stud." Jeff said, his breathing
getting heavy with lust. "If you keep this up, we're
going to start something that we won't be able to
finish."

Danny looked back up at Jeff and Jeff could see the
desire in Danny's eyes. Danny leaned in, as if he was
going to kiss Jeff again, and stopped, his lips just
inches from Jeff's.

"But I'm such a strong finisher." Danny whispered,
seductively.

"I know you are." Jeff said, with a lusty grin. "But
we have to get back outside. We'll have plenty of time
for that later."

Jeff turned to head back outside, but found that he
couldn't move because Danny hadn't let go of Jeff's
hardon.

"But I want you now, Sexy." Danny murmured, locking
eyes with Jeff. "Right now."

After saying that, Danny upped the ante a little to
see if he would get his way. He gave Jeff's crotch a
few playful strokes.

Now Jeff was almost starting to give in to his
desires, but once Danny jerked his hard member a few
times, he lost all his restraint right then and there.

"Fuck it!" Jeff swore, as he was overcome with lust.

He jerked Danny close to him and ravished Danny's
lips, as he kissed Danny back with an animalistic
passion.

Danny threw his arms around Jeff's neck and jumped up
on him, wrapping his legs around Jeff's waist, as he
continued to kiss Jeff back with a fiery passion of
his own.

Jeff started walking, with Danny wrapped around him,
upstairs to their room.



To Be Continued........?

Well, that's it for this one. I hope you all enjoyed
it!

"What happens next? Oh, if you only knew!"

Stay tuned.

slpwriter@yahoo.com