Date: Sun, 3 Sep 2006 20:01:29 -0500
From: Michael Johns <demonmbj87@gmail.com>
Subject: The Way You Do 1 rewrite

The legal stuff: This is a sexually explicit story (at times) involving
homosexuality.  By continuing to read, you affirm under penalties of
perjury that you are not a minor or in the company of a minor and are
entitled to have access to sexually explicit material.  The content and
opinions expressed in this story do not imply anything with regard to the
sexual preference of any member of 98 Degrees or other celebrities named
herein.  This is a work of fiction entirely.

Author Notes: This is my first story that I have ever posted. I hope you
enjoy reading it as much as I loved writing it. Please send comments and
critiques. You are what keep us writers alive. Flames will be laughed at
then deleted unless you have anything useful to help with my writing.

----------------------------------------------------------

Prologue

I have always lived a safe life. I was always the one not taking chances.
I, also, kept my family in the dark about my sexuality. I thought that
moving to St. Louis might change who I am. My social life did change thanks
to my best friend Leah. I first met her at my job at the Four Seasons
hotel. After the first hour with Leah on the job, we bonded instantly. I
didn't even have to tell her that I'm gay; she said she knew without
asking. She had me going out to clubs and trying to meet people. She had me
taking more risk than I ever had taken, but with all the people I was
meeting, there was something missing. My soul yearned for something more. I
knew what it needed, my soul wanted someone to spend the rest of my life
with. However, there was a problem, I was too afraid and shy to find that
someone. It wasn't until my 24th birthday that my life changed and I met
the man of my dreams - my soul mate. This is our story.

Chapter 1

***St. Louis, MO; Michael Lambert's Apartment*****

"Michael...Michael."  Michael heard a voice whispering in his ear.

"Go away, I'm trying to sleep." Michael grumbled. As soon as the words left
his mouth, someone jumped on top of him screaming, "Wake up, Michael!"

"Alright, Leah I'm up!" he screamed at her.

"About time, I have been trying to wake you up for an hour." His best
friend, Leah, stated. "I know it's your birthday, but I won't let your
sleep in, so get up, and get ready. We are going to have fun today."

"Alright, alright, just make sure the coffee is brewing when I get out of
the shower." he yawned. Before he got to the shower, the phone began to
ring.

"Hello?" Michael answered the phone not even looking at the caller id.

"Um... Hi, is Leah there?" spoke the dreamiest and sexiest voice he had
ever heard.

"Ummm," he stammered, "yeah, may I ask who is calling?"

"Tell her it's Sprout." he said.

"Okay," Michael spoke as he covered the mouthpiece, "Leah, some guy named
Sprout is asking for you." he shouted. As soon as the name Sprout left his
mouth, Leah was screaming down the hall, snatching the phone, and shoving
him into the bathroom.

`Okay, it must be a new boyfriend.' Michael said to myself. `I wish he
wasn't though, just once I wish I could find someone.' He thought as he
finished his shower 30 minutes later. He had walked out of the bathroom
feeling refreshed at the same moment Leah hung the phone up.

"Michael, you wouldn't believe who just called me." She said while pulling
me into a bone-crushing hug.

"Well, you can tell me after you let go Leah." Michael spoke as he gasped
for air.

"Whoops," she said while giggling, "well, four of my best friends from
Cincinnati are in town for about three weeks, and we'll be showing them the
time of their lives. I can't believe our luck. First, it's your birthday,
and now this. I'm so jealous."

"Whoa, first, I don't know your friends. Second, they don't know me.
Finally, I thought we were going out to have breakfast before we go have
fun." Michael said.

"In the opposite direction, first, we are, second, you know my friends, and
finally, we are going to have some company with us for the whole three
weeks and they sort of know you." She said with a grimace at the end.

"What do you mean they sort of know me, Leah?" he exclaimed.

"Well, you see, as you know, I always take a break from work to go home for
Christmas to spend time with family and friends. Well, they spend the same
time with two of the guys' family, and I go to see them for Christmas since
I've been friends with two of them." She tried to continue, but Michael
interrupted her before she could finish.

"What does that have to do with them sort of knowing me Leah?" He demanded.

"Hold on, I'm getting to that. Yikes, you didn't have to bite my head off.
Anyway, it was at Christmas last year that we talked about you again. I
haven't mentioned you to them for about a year and I was planning not to
this year, but it didn't turn out that way. I was just talking to them
about what was going on here and your name just sort of slipped out, and
after they heard your name I was bombarded with questions about you."  She
spoke quickly. "I only told them as little as I could." She quickly added.

"What did you tell them?" Michael asked, suddenly becoming nervous.

"I told them that you were from Louisiana, and we became friends the first
day we worked together," then she said the one thing that Michael was
nervous about, "I, also, said that you were the sweetest, cutest, and
greatest guy ever, and that any guy in the world would be lucky to have you
in their life." She said with a smile on her face. While she was smiling,
Michael had begun to drink some orange juice. After she finished that
comment, he had spit out all of the juice he had in his mouth, and a look
of pure terror crossed his face.

"You told them that I was gay without asking me about it!" Michael shouted.

"Yeah, I didn't think that it would be a problem and they kept asking
questions. I don't like to lie to them, so I told them the truth.  I should
tell you that none of them have a problem with you being gay or gay people
in general." She calmly spoke to me.

"Why do you say that they don't have a problem with gay people? I mean they
could be hiding the truth from you." Michael nervously spoke as all of his
insecurities from high school began to rise.

"Because two of the guy's cousin's are gay, and if my suspicions are
correct, one of the guys is too, and will tell you by the end of the three
weeks." She quickly retorted.

As Michael began to calm down, he thought, `what a way to begin my
birthday,' but he quickly learned that was not the biggest surprise left
that day as Leah began to speak again.

"You better hurry up, if we are going to meet two of the guys for
breakfast." She said with a smile

"Hey, you didn't tell me we were going to meet them." Michael shouted as
Leah was already out the door.


    *********Lambert-St. Louis International Airport: Earlier that
day**********

Drew Lachey was waiting impatiently on the plane to land, and for everyone
to get off. It was bad enough that he didn't go to the bathroom on the
plane, but he couldn't wait to see Leah and her friend. Ever since last
Christmas, Drew really wanted to meet Michael. Drew had told Nick that he
really wanted to see him because Michael had filled the gap in Leah's heart
after he had ended their engagement. However, Jeff and Justin knew the real
reason why Drew wanted to meet him. After Leah told them about Michael,
Drew felt that he really needed to meet him.  Drew felt that Michael was
someone he could talk to other than Jeff and Justin. They know one of
Drew's secrets that he hasn't told anyone else. They know that he was
gay. Drew hadn't been able to tell anyone that because he was afraid of
what will happen with his family if they knew, and their fans would
decrease if they knew. Drew had seen what happens to some people when they
come out and are disowned by their family; he didn't want that to happen to
him since they are all that he had right now.

As the group gathered their luggage Drew had started to dial the number
Leah gave him to reach her on her off days.

"Hey Sprout, who are you calling?" asked Nick.

"I'm calling Leah to tell her we made it here, and want to know if she
wanted to meet for breakfast." Drew told him.

"Yeah, that's a good idea. Be sure to ask her if Michael's with her
though. I think all of us want to meet him." spoke Jeff.

"Well, you three can go meet them for breakfast, but I on the other hand
want to get to the hotel and go to sleep," yawned Justin

"I have to agree with Justin, guys. You and Jeff go see Leah and
Michael. We'll meet them later today or sometime while we're here." said
Nick.

"Okay, your guys loss, more food for me and Sprout," Jeff readily agreed,
"So what are you waiting for? Call them."

Drew finished dialing the number Leah gave him and waited for someone to
pick up.

"Hello." answered the most angelic voice he had ever heard.

"Um... Hi, is Leah there?" Drew stammered as he tried to regain his breath
as Jeff saw his face blush.

"Ummm... yeah, may I ask who is calling?" the angelic voice asked.

"Tell her it's Sprout."  Drew told him hoping Leah told him about them
instead of keeping it a secret like she always does.

"Okay," he spoke as he covered the mouthpiece and then shouted, "Leah, some
guy named Sprout is asking for you." After he said Sprout, Drew heard the
familiar scream as Leah came to the phone.

"Oh my god, Drew I can't believe you finally called, it's been only a few
months since I last talked to you and the guys. Where are you?" She asked
in one breath.

"Well, we are in St. Louis for three weeks, and there is only one person
who could help us have some fun in this city." Drew replied with a grin.

"Alright, you guys chose a great day to come. It happens to be Michael's
birthday, and I know all of you can help make this one memorable."

"Today is his birthday?" Drew asked, shocked. The rest of the guys looked
just as shocked as he did. Just knowing it was Michael's birthday made him
even more nervous to make a good impression.

"Yeah, Michael just got in the shower and we were planning to go out for
breakfast before we have a fun-filled day. Hey, I just got a great
idea. Why don't you and the rest of the guys meet up with us for breakfast
and come spend the day with us?"  Leah cheerfully asked.

"Well, great minds do think alike, that was what I was calling for, to see
if you two wanted to meet Jeff and me for breakfast and spend the day with
us." Drew told her as she began to laugh.

"Sure, but what about Nick and Justin? Why aren't they coming with you?"
She asked sadly.

"Well, Nick and Justin are really tired and they wanted to get some sleep,
but they will meet up with us later in the day."

"That's good. I really want Michael to meet all of you. I can't wait to see
his face." She giggled.

"I guess that means you didn't tell him about us, and he might freak out or
something." Drew laughed.

"Yeah, but it will be a good surprise for him. So here is the plan, meet us
at The Four Seasons restaurant in about one hour." She spoke still
giggling.

"Gotcha, we'll be there waiting. See you in an hour." Drew told her with a
smile on his face.

"Bye," she said as she hung up.

"Well, guys, I guess you will be meeting Michael sooner than we thought."
Nick grinned. Nick was right. Drew was about to meet Leah's best friend
that he had heard all about, and he was nervous to meet Michael. Drew kept
asking why he was so nervous to meet him all the way to the hotel.

To Be Continued

Well that's the first Chapter of "The Way You Do". As said before, please
send comments, critiques, and any ideas to help keep us writers alive. You
won't believe what happens next. Michael