Date: Tue, 7 Aug 2001 02:26:06 -0400
From: Sprout <sprout_0813@hotmail.com>
Subject: This-Gift-12

	HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO DREW! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO DREW! HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR DREW!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! That's right, my man Drew Lachey is now 25 years old...
aww, I'm so proud of him! Oh, and it's JC's birthday too... Happy Birthday to him
too.

	So, the rumour ain't no rumour, Jessica and Nick are no longer together.
So, that gives me the chance to get with either Jessica, or Nick. Ain't I lucky...
cause you know they both want my sexy ass. It's only a matter of time.

	I truly recommend that y'all buy *NSYNC's new album Celebrity, it's got
some pretty damn sweet tracks. Besides, y'all better support my Poofu and JuJu.
And if y'all haven't yet, go out and buy Jessica Simpson's Irresistible. It's an
incredible album and y'all just gotta trust me on that one. And if any of y'all
STILL haven't bought Revelation, you're lost!

	I gotta say *THANK YOU* to MH, cause if it weren't for him, you
wouldn't be reading this story in a legible format. I owe him a lot,
and I can never express all my gratitude towards him. You're the
bestest! (And you know I mean it!)

	I just wanna say thank you to two special people: Jordan and Marie. Both
of y'all helped me through this trying time by listening and offering me good
advice. Thanks. J, I love ya sis!

	Just wanted to say a HUGE thank you to two of my best friends in the
world. Yeah, the sickeningly sweet and incredibly amazing couple: DLS and Matt.
You're both old biddies, but I wouldn't wanna have it any other way. I love
y'all.

	I gotta give mention to a story, Kevin & Justin, written by Pete.
I fell upon it by having the same editor (go figure), and can't get
enough of it. C'mon Boo, it's been *FOREVER*, when's the next chapter
coming out?

	Another story I gotta give mention to is My Everything. Y'all should know
ANY story that has to do with 98 Degrees, usually gets seen by my eyes. Slpwriter
deserves props for all his hard word, and y'all should check it out.

	So this is fake, I don't know the guys or their sexual preferences. Any
similarities are purely coincidental, and I'd love to hear about them.

	In case I don't get to post again before the month of August is finished,
which we all know will most likely happen, I have to say a few Happy Birthdays
to a couple of special people. So, Happy Birthday to Karen on the 3, Drew and JC
on the 8, DLS on the 20, Kyle on the 23, and last but certainly not least My
little Jeff and even myself on the 29. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ALL OF US!
Enjoy and write me: bigdaddycool_0813@hotmail.com

Much love y'all,
Drew

*********************THIS GIFT -- Last Time*****************************
In the bathroom, I stripped Drew of his blood-soaked clothes, revealing
his beaten body. He had several lacerations but nothing too serious; nothing
that wouldn't heal without stitches. His ribs appeared to be bruised and his
flinches when I went to touch them only proved my hypothesis correct. I began to
wipe the blood up with a warm cloth while Drew stood there wobbling back and
forth.

	"Drew, how could you be so stupid. You could've been killed... I could've
lost you!" I screamed somewhat silently at him.

	"I wanted to hurt you... like you hurt me." He whispered.

	"I think you've done more than that..." I trailed off.

	The rest of the cleaning was done in silence, nothing said between the two
of us. We were safe in our own thoughts and we both knew a decision about
something had to be made, and made soon.

	"Drew,"

	"Andrew," we both said in unison.

	"You go first," I suggested.

	He didn't argue. "Andrew, I love you, and I know you made a mistake, but
you still hurt me so much that words don't do justice. I think...

*********************THIS GIFT -- Chapter 12****************************


	"You think we should what?"

	"I think we should take a break. I mean, in light of what's happened these
past couple of days, I think we should honestly just take a break and see where
we stand." Drew offered.

	"What do you mean 'in light of what's happened'?" I agitatedly asked.

	"Well, you kissed my brother for Christ's sakes. That's what!"

	"And because of one little thing like that, you're ready to give up on the
best thing that will ever happen to you?"

	"One little thing? One little thing! Andrew, you kissed my fucking
brother. I don't know about you, but that's a pretty fucking big thing to me!"
Drew was livid now, pulling out the cuss words.

	"You got married... to a girl. You never once told me you were going to get
married. How the fuck do you think I felt then, eh?  How would you feel if you
heard over the news that your boyfriend got married? I felt like shit. Do you
even *know* the thoughts that were going through my mind when I heard that? Of
course not, and why's that? Because you never even bothered to give me a simple
phone call."

	"We've already talked about this. That wasn't my fault." Drew grabbed the
cloth from my hand and began to tend to his wounds himself.

	"Oh, we've talked about this?" sarcasm clearly dripping from my tone. "I
must've missed it; when was this? YOU COULD'VE SAID NO! You didn't have to marry
her!"

	"And I hear that you kissed Jeff, too. How was that? Satisfying enough for
you, or are you gonna go and try Justin, too?"

	I froze. 'How the fuck does he know about Jeff?'

	"Yeah, Jeff. You thought I wouldn't find out? Jeff told me, himself. See,
unlike you, Jeff's a respectable man who came forth and told me he kissed you.
But you don't kiss and tell... ain't that right? Cause I'm sure I wouldn't have
found out about you and Nick had I not walked in on you. You're nothing but a
slut. Kissing up on whoever you want." Drew was just getting plain mean now and
like fuck if I was going to let him get it all.

	"So, what's Lance kiss like? I always thought he'd be one of those gentle
ones. You know, the kind who likes to take it slow; savour the flavour of your
tongue so they can remember it long after you've finished kissing. Mind you I
thought you were the greatest guy on earth, and I've been proven wrong there, so
maybe I could be mistaken. How exactly does Lance kiss? Slow and sensual, or is
it fast and furious?"

	Drew didn't say anything.

	"At a loss for words? Tsk tsk tsk. You'd think for someone who screams so
much when he gets head, he'd be quite the talker. Was I wrong about that one,
too? Fuck.... I'm just losing it all here, aren't I? Calling me a slut... the nerve
of you. You're such a fucking hypocrite! You want a break? That's fine... I'll be
in Canada. Look me up whenever you're in the area."

	Turning about, I opened the door and slammed it shut behind me as I headed
for my room. Grabbing whatever little I had with me there, I walked out the
front door with no one to stop me. I was glad, actually. That meant no one would
prevent me from walking away from this when I truly had to. See, it wasn't the
hectic schedules that kept me from having a loving relationship with a celebrity
— it was just the celebrity himself.

	I knew where I was going — how to get there from here was another story. I
decided my best bet would be to start walking down the street -- it had to lead
somewhere, right? Trying desperately to recall which way I ran to the other
night, which lead me nowhere, I headed in the opposite direction. I didn't want
to end up in the same place again.

	Sure enough, I took the right direction; I found a strip mall with a pay
phone. Walking up to the phone, I grabbed the phone book, and quickly thumbed
through it until I found what I needed: City Line Taxis Inc. After dialling the
number, explaining my whereabouts and waiting for the cab to arrive, I was
finally standing in front of a ticket counter in LAX.

	After explaining that I needed to get to Canada as soon as they could
possibly get me there, the ticket lady — Allison — pulled some strings and
found me a flight that was scheduled to leave in the next ten minutes. With no
baggage to check, there was no way I could miss it. After profusely thanking
Allison while paying for my ticket, I proceeded to make my way to the gate the
plane was leaving from.

	While sitting in my seat waiting for the plane to take off, I couldn't
help but remember a time when I wouldn't step foot on a plane. Not only am I
afraid of heights, but the amount of horror stories I've heard about planes
would be enough to make the pilot nervous.

'Great, I really don't need to think about that now... breathe in, breathe
out... it's alright. It's gonna be alright.' I had to give myself a mental pep
talk — flying definitely wasn't for me.

The stewardess began her introduction to our flight as the engines
started up. The vibrations were enough to startle me. 'And I'm all alone this
time.' I thought, 'God, Nick, I need you!'

"Where the fuck did that thought come from?" I asked myself quietly.

The gentleman beside me glanced over as I gripped the armrests for dear
life. "You alright, son?"

"I'm... fine. I'll be fine. Thanks." My head was clouded over with new
thoughts. I hadn't said goodbye to Nick. I didn't get to tell him I was leaving,
I didn't get to tell anyone for that matter... Even though I know Drew would pass
along the message, I'd much rather they had heard it from me since... well Drew
and I didn't leave on good terms.

'You just have to wait until the plane takes off, then you can make a
phone call. I just hope you get a hold of Nick before Drew does.' It kinda
freaked me out how my mind talked to me, but I was getting used to it.

With a quick check to make sure my seatbelt was indeed fastened, I leaned
back in my seat exhaling a breath I never knew I was holding. The plane backed
away from the ramp, heading for the runway. In a short time we'd be airborne and
I'd be making a beeline for the phones. I've never wanted a plane to get in the
air as bad as I had at that moment.

After what seemed like years, the plane was safely in the air with the
seatbelt light shut off. Like I had promised myself, I unbuckled my seatbelt and
quickly made my way towards the phones. Pulling a credit card out of my wallet,
I swiped it through the machine giving me access to the phone.

'What's Nick's number? Ahh! What's the number!?' I mentally chastised
myself for not writing it down when he had told me. 'Ah, fuck it.' I finally
decided to just call the house instead. I knew the number, and Nick would
probably be home, and if not I'd leave a message for him to call me.

After dialling the number, it rang a couple of times before it was
answered. "Hello?" Sweet! It was Jeff.

"Jeff!" I exclaimed with obvious relief. "My man, can I speak with Nick?"

"Sure." I heard Jeff scream for Nick. "So, where ya at?"

"Flight 6258 en route to Canada."

"You're what!?" Jeff screamed into the phone. "How? Fuck how, why?"

"Oh, so Drew didn't tell you yet?" I was clearly shocked. "I thought he
would've loved to rush and tell you the news."

"What news would that be?"

"We're no longer together. He decided it wasn't worth his time and broke
it off." I explained.

"Oh, D. I'm sorry."

"Sorry 'bout what?" I heard Nick ask in the background.

"Oh, here's Nick, fresh out of the shower." I could here some shuffling
around and Nick asking Jeff what was wrong. "Ask him." I heard Jeff say.

"Baby? What's wrong?" Holy mother of fuck! Nick sounded so hot.

'Did he just call me baby? He did! He called you baby! You're his baby!'
my mind was doing flips.

"Baby? D? Ya there?" My silence wasn't helping his worries.

"Y-yeah, I'm here... sorry. Just thinking." I offered.

"'Bout what? And where are you?"

"I'm on my way home, Nick. I just wanted to tell you myself." Why was this
so hard for me?

"What? Why?" Nick was having the same reaction as Jeff.

"Drew and I broke up. He thinks that we need to take a break and see where
we stand on things. So, I'm breaking away."

"But... what about me?" The pain in Nick's voice was almost enough to make
me parachute off the plane and run back to L.A.

"We're still going to talk. We're still friends. I just need to get away
from Drew for now, that's all."

"What can I say that'll make you come back?" I didn't expect this from
Nick, it was totally shocking me.

"Nick... please. Just understand that I need this. I'll come back and
visit."

"Visit... yeah." Nick was suddenly very mysterious.

"Nick? What's up?"

"Oh, nothing. I gotta go, I'll talk with you real soon, k?" Now I was
really curious. One minute he's trying to get me to come back, and the next he's
rushing me off the phone. Weird?

"Nick?" I asked only to be met by the dial tone.

Replacing the phone, I leaned against the wall as tears fell down my
cheeks. "Why's this so hard?!" I demanded.

"I can help you with that..." A beautiful blonde sitting in a near-by seat
offered. Apparently I shouldn't have said that being so close to the restrooms.

"No... really... I wasn't talking about that..." I was blushing hard. She just
kept looking me up and down checking me out.

"It's alright you know. She doesn't have to know." Great, someone was
trying to get with me on a plane. Just my luck.

"Um, *he*, he doesn't have to know. Honey, you ain't got what it takes to
make me happy." I was as flamey as I could get, and possibly stand. Hopefully my
gayness would be enough to change her mind.

"Oh. Alright then." Simple as that.

With a sigh I left the wall heading back for my seat. The best way to
spend a flight is sleeping, and that's exactly what I planned on doing.

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

	After finally touching down in Ottawa, I couldn't have been more relieved
to actually be home. The wait for a taxi was short and within half an hour, I
was on the front stoop to my house.

	Unlocking the door, I walked in heading straight for the shower. I wasn't
dirty or anything, I just don't like the feeling I have after getting off a
plane and somehow a shower seemed like the only way to rid myself of that
feeling.

	With my shower complete, and my stomach grumbling, I scrounged around in
the fridge for some munchies. 'Gotta go shopping,' I noted mentally. 'Get me
some of those green apples... orange juice... mmm, some chicken.' My thoughts
suddenly had me hungrier than I had been originally and decided that I would
call for some pizza.

	Taking a seat on the couch, I picked up the cordless phone and began to
dial the number noticing it beep a couple of times beforehand letting me know
that I had voice messages. After placing my order, and being told "Forty minutes
or it's free," I pressed the link button and dialled for my call answer service.

	"You have 13 new voice messages. To check unheard messages press 1-1." I
hated that automated voice message thing. I mean it sounded so impersonal —
which it was — but at least sound more... human. I pressed 1-1 like I was asked,
and listened to all the messages. Two of them were from my mother, four from
work, and the rest were several old friends.

	With that done, I had nothing else to do but watch TV. 'Was it always this
boring and lonely?' I began to wonder. With music being such an important part
of my life, I tuned into Much Music (Canada's music station) to catch a few
videos while waiting for the pizza to arrive.

	After the first two videos, the doorbell rang. 'Quick this time. I'm
impressed.' I grabbed the pizza, tipped the delivery boy, and then chowed down
in front of the tube. The pizza wasn't the best I've had, but it hit the spot
for the time being. Blink 182, Sugar Ray, Snow, Sugar Jones, Pink... oh! "Is that
my men?" Again, I was talking to myself — a regular occurrence these days. "Why,
yes, I believe it is!" I was all smiles as Nick, Drew, Jeff, and Justin flashed
on my screen. It was a video that I hadn't seen yet, one for their new album.
Just a sneak peak, the VJ Rick had said, so I was glued to my screen.

	The rest of the night was uneventful. Nothing at all that special
highlighted by me catching a sneak peek at my man's latest work. With a catchy
beat like that, it was part of what promised to be a great album.

	Come nightfall, I was exhausted. I hadn't exactly had the greatest day,
and wanted nothing more than to go to sleep and forget about the whole
thing. As I lay in bed, I began to sing myself to sleep. "Give me just one
night. Una Noche..."

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

	DING DONG.

	"What the fuck?" I turned onto my right side and glanced at the alarm
clock on my nightstand. "3:51. Who the fuck is at my door this late at night?
Who the fuck knows I'm home, for that matter?"

	Either way, I slipped out of bed and into some boxers. I had begun making
my way down the stairs when the door bell rang again. "I'm coming!" I said
rather harshly as I rubbed the sleep from my eyes. "I'm coming," I repeated to
myself.

	When I finally made it to the door, I unlocked it and swung it open
unceremoniously. "What!" I exclaimed, pissed that I was disturbed during a — for
once — peaceful sleep.

	On the other side of the door Nick stood, eyes wide with shock at my harsh
welcome. "Um... hey, D?" He offered.

	"Nick? What are you doing here?"

	He shrugged. "I came to visit?" It was more of a question than a reason,
like he was unsure of whether or not he was welcome.

	"Come in," I moved enough to give him room to pass me and enter the house.
Flicking on the light, I grabbed his duffel bag allowing him to remove his
shoes. "Ok, I can see that you're here to visit... but... um, why?" I didn't really
comprehend why he was here, especially so soon after I'd left.

	"You left so soon... we didn't even get to talk about... um... us." It was so
adorable how nervous he was.

	"Oh, Nick." I sympathised. "I figured by your reaction that there was no
need to talk... that, well... um..." I stammered.

	"That it was a mistake?" Nick offered.

	"Yeah, I guess you could call it that... was it?"

	"Can we talk about this later? Cause honestly, I'm damn tired. I had to
take the red eye to get here." Nick looked tired, too — I'm such a bad host.

	"Sure, I'll grab you a towel so you can take a shower or whatever you need
to do, k?" I said, getting up to fetch him the towel. Nick was two steps behind
me following me up the stairs.

	I made my way into the bathroom, opening the towel closet to retrieve a
washcloth and towel for Nick. As I closed the door and turned towards Nick, I
couldn't help but notice his beautifully sculpted body. Nick was standing before
me clad only in his boxers and the image wasn't going to let me fall asleep
anytime soon.

	"Um..." I began, "damn." I whispered as I continued to gawk.

	"Like what you see?" Nick joked.

	As a response, I blushed a deep crimson and walked past him, pushing the
towels into his chest. "Clean yourself up."

	While Nick showered, I lay in my bed thinking about what I had seen —
hoping the tent in my boxers wasn't too obvious. Lying there, I faintly heard
Nick's beautiful voice as he sung in the shower. Straining to hear the
words, I finally placed the song. "It's raining, it's pouring, and the old man
is snoring." I couldn't help but suppress a giggle — it was adorable.

	The shower clicked off, signalling the end of Nick's shower. For some
reason I suddenly became nervous, yet I couldn't quite place why. It was only
Nick — my best friend. 'Only you've kissed him... and liked it.' My mind
supplied.

	Nick chose that moment to poke his head in my door. "So, where'm I
sleeping? My bed?" He was referring the guest room that he always used to sleep
in when he was here.

	"Yup, yup." I suddenly remembered that I had to dress the bed, so I
reluctantly got up off my lazy ass to retrieve the bedclothes from the linen
closet. "Just lemme dress your bed and you'll be all set."

	Nick watched from the sidelines as I tucked the sheets around the bed. It
wasn't until I looked in the mirror on the dresser that I noticed he was
checking out my ass. "Take a picture, it'll last longer." I laughed.

	He snapped out of his little reverie, "Uh, what?"

I had to laugh at his cluelessness. "Never mind, it's ready." I tapped the
bed for emphasis.

Nick pulled back the covers and climbed in. "G'night," I said reaching for
the light switch on my way out the door.

Just as I had clicked the light off and walked out into the hall, Nick
whined "D!"

"Yeah?" I sighed, returning to his room and flicking the light back on.

"I'm lonely." Of course he just had to give me the puppy eyes. I hated
when they did that — they both knew I couldn't resist it.

'Damn Lacheys' I cursed to myself as I turned the light off and made my
way into the bed alongside him. "Goodnight, Nick."

"Mmm. Goodnight, D." Nick sighed placing his right arm over my abdomen as
he snuggled closer placing a gentle kiss to my left shoulder. It wasn't long
before I had crashed again.

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

	The sunshine coming through the open curtains and shining down on my face
was enough to rouse me from my slumber. Opening my eyes, it took me a couple of
minutes to place my surroundings. After realising I was in my guest room, it
didn't take me long to remember falling asleep in Nick's arms... only Nick wasn't
in bed with me.

	Getting out of bed, I left the covers at the foot of the bed and walked
downstairs to find my night time visitor. Sure enough, I heard his voice flowing
from the kitchen. As I neared the kitchen his conversation became more clear,
and it was then that I could hear him talking... with his mother?

	Listening a little longer, I was sure it was his mom. Perhaps it was the
"Yeah mom, I'm in Canada. No, Drew's not with me" part. Damn, talk about feeling
guilty. Now he's talking to his mom about being with me when his brother's not.
That's gonna start some talk. But hey, Drew's the one that didn't want to
continue on, right? It was his loss, not mine.

	Walking into the kitchen, I headed straight for the fridge so I could grab
myself a glass of OJ. Nick, still on the phone glanced in my direction with a
smile on his face. "Yes mom, I'll be careful." He rolled his eyes while I
chuckled silently. Raising the orange juice with my hand, I silently asked if he
wanted a glass as well. He did. Grabbing a glass, I poured it and set it in
front of him just as he finished up with his mom.

	He exhaled a big breath, "You know how mothers are... always protective and
shit." I just nodded the affirmative. "So, how'd you sleep?"

	"Surprisingly good." I admitted. "For the day I had yesterday, I wasn't
thinking that it'd be as good a sleep as it was."

	"That's cause the big, buff, and sexy Nicholas Scott Lachey kept you
company all night." He tried to make himself look bigger by holding in his
breath and puffing up his chest.

	"Don't," I said, pushing on his chest as I grabbed a seat next to him.
"You're buff enough, no need to fake it. And... thanks."

	"It ain't no problem. You know it ain't like I wanted to sleep alone...
besides, you make a great pillow."

	I had to smile at that, remembering how it felt to have his head on my
shoulder. It had been a while since I've felt that close to someone. Thinking
back, it was evident that my relationship with Drew was on a downward spiral. We
hadn't had intimate moments like that much these days.

	"So. Can we talk about why you're here now?" I asked.

	"I came to bring you back. D..."

	Nick was cut off by the ring of the telephone. Since he had just been on
it, he still had it in his lap. As much as I'd love to, I wasn't about to grab
it from there. "Hello?" Nick asked as he picked it up. "Drew? Yeah, he's here...
just a second." Nick's face contorted in confusion.

	Passing the phone to me, he shrugged not knowing who it was on the phone.
"Hello? Oh, hi Amanda. How's it going? Wh-what do you mean? But it's not like...
but..." I sighed. "I understand. I'll be by to pick my things up. I'm sorry, too."

	I pressed the 'talk' button, ending my call and slowly placed the phone on
the table. Shaking my head, I ran my hands through my hair and let out a
frustrated groan. "I can't believe this!"

	"Believe what?" Nick was worried.

	"I just lost my job. It appears that Amanda had left on vacation, and
while she was gone, the higher ups had replaced my position not knowing my
reasons for my absence. Even after she told them, they said there was nothing
they could do... I lost my job." I explained.

	"That fuckin' sucks ass. Are they even allowed to do that?" He asked.

	"I'm sure they can't, but I really don't care. I was tired of working
there anyways. I'll just find another job." I said simply, knowing how hard it
would be. I hadn't had to look for a job in years... boy this was gonna be
interesting. 'You don't even know where your resume is!' my mind supplied. Oh
yeah, this was *definitely* going to be interesting.

	"I'm sorry D..." Nick was truly sorry, I could see it in the way his facial
features softened. "Well... I guess now there's nothing keeping you here, right?"

	I glared at him. "You're incredible you know that?"

	Again Nick was confused, apparently he's not so bright in the morning.
"Why?"

	"Because I just *lost* my fucking job, and you're worried about getting me
back with you so you could probably get in my pants. You amaze me each day.
FUCK!" I screamed exasperated. I stood up angrily from the table, "I'm taking a
shower."

	"Uh... ok?" I continued to find it incredibly cute how Nick always said
things like a question when he was afraid or nervous. It was enough to almost
make me turn around and just plant a big wet one on his lips... *almost*.

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

	After my shower, I dressed to pick up my belongings left at my workplace.
I knocked on the door to Nick's room. "Come in."

	I pushed the door open and my breath caught. Nick was topless, getting
dressed after just coming out of the shower. I could still see the droplets of
water run down his pecs and move pass his navel into the waistband of his
boxers. "Just getting dressed." He explained as if I couldn't tell.

	"Um, I was just going to go pick up my belongings and shit from work... did
you... did you wanna come?" I asked, trying to focus on the question at hand.

	"Sure." He smiled and I almost melted. "Just let me get dressed, k?"

	"I'll wait for you in the living room." With that said, I entered the
living room and turned on the radio. Grabbing a seat on the couch, I reached for
the remote on the coffee table to switch my stereo to CD mode. After pressing
some buttons, my desired CD started to play and *NSYNC started blaring out of my
speakers — so I was in an *NSYNC mood, sue me.

	Knowing all the words to the song, I belted along with the fellas. I
didn't sound anywhere *near* as good as them, hell I was fucking *horrible* but
I was having fun and that's all that mattered. As I was in the middle of 'Just
Got Paid' Nick stood in the doorframe smiling. His smile was amazing, Not just a
smile, but a truly happy smile that caused his luscious lips to spread
completely across his face and expose his pearly whites. He shook his head
gently, silently laughing at me and my little show.

	"What?" I asked with mock hurt.

	"You're such a kid." He laughed.

	"Jealous?" I asked.

	"Fuck no! I'm all man, you're just a boy."

	I frowned.

	"But you're such a pretty boy." He said while pinching my cheeks and
placing a quick peck on my lips.

	That was enough to shut me up and bring a lopsided grin to my face. I was
completely in shock; that was the last thing I expected... to be kissed by him on
his own accord. The last kiss I initiated. Nick just didn't spark me as the kind
to make a move.

	"You driving, or you want me to?" He asked as I turned my back to him to
lock my door.

	"You can if you wanna."

	"Sweet." He had rented an Explorer from one of the car places at the
airport, and coincidentally it was my favourite colour: red. Since I had worked
at the airport, and Nick had to have come from the airport I felt there was no
need to give him directions.

	"I don't mean to press or anything, D," Nick began, and I knew where he
was taking this.

	"Yes! I'll come back with you, alright? Can we just drop it?" I really
didn't want to talk about it. I was really stressed at the moment. I was going
to be saying goodbye to a big part of my life. Hell, I worked at the airport
since before Maria, and that seemed so long ago.

	At the thought of Maria, I felt like shit. I hadn't been to visit her in a
while, and I really did need to talk to her. "Nick. Can we go visit Maria after
this?" I asked, sounding like a little lost boy.

	"Sure," was all he said as he placed his hand on top of mine on my knee.
Somewhat subconsciously, I turned my hand over, intertwining our fingers.
Glancing over, I noticed Nick smile causing me to smile too.

	"Oh! I almost forgot!" Nick said as we came to a stoplight. "There's a bag
in the backseat. It's yours. And no, it's not from me." I passed him a
frightened look. "Oh, no... it's not from Drew either."

	"Then who's it from?" Suddenly my curiosity was getting the most of me.
"What is it?"

	"Just check it out."

	Leaning in between the seats, I grabbed the bag and opened it. Seeing a
box inside, I pulled it out; a cell phone box. Opening it up, I pulled out the
cell phone, powering it on. 'Telus Mobility' flashed across the screen. I was
still curious as to who it was from. Looking through the box all I found was the
booklet for the phone, and a phone number scribbled on a piece of paper.

	Being quite the detective that I am, I figured I was meant to call the
number. So, dialling the number, I pushed the 'talk' button and placed the phone
to my ear listening to it ring.

	"Hello?" I asked as the ringing stopped.

	"Hey! Guys, he's got it!" It was Justin Timberlake. "Yo, D, sup man?"

	"Not much... you?"

	"Aww, nuttin' man, jus' chillin' like Bob Dylan." I had to laugh at that.
He had his ghetto times, and I had to admit, I liked it... It brought the
ghettoness out in me.

	"So what up wit' da phone?" I asked.

	"Jus' a present. We wanted ya to have it. 'Sides, we wanted to ask ya if
you'd peep our next single. See if it be cheese or not."

	"Sweet." What else could I say? It was simple enough, yet it displayed how
anxious I was to hear it.

	"A-ight, I'ma gonna put ya on speaka'." I waited for him to put the phone
on speaker and could tell he had done it when I could hear the others guys
clearly.

	"Sup guys?" I asked, earning a round of replies similar to "not bad".

	"Here we go, a-ight." It was just before they began to sing that I
couldn't help but feel special. I mean I was going to be the first person
outside of the five of them who would hear this song.

	"I'm sick and tired of hearing all these people talk about
What's the deal with this pop life
And when's it gonna fade out
The thing you've got to realise
What we're doin' is not a trend
We got the gift of melody
We're gonna bring it to the end..."

	I continued to listen right down to the last "Pop" holding a breath and
not missing a beat. It was a truly unique song... almost not like a song at all.
It was different, and I loved it. "Yo, J, dat's gonna be cheese a-ight!"

	"Sweet. Thanks D."

	"It ain't no problem."

	"Well, D, we've gotta jet, we have an interview we gotta do in like, what?
Ten minutes? We'll talk to you later." This time it was Lance. Damn how deep did
his voice get?

	"Sure Lance, catch y'all later..." I said adding "And Chris, make 'em laugh
for me."

	"Will do." He assured me before the call ended.

	Placing the phone in my lap, I couldn't help but smile. I was the *first*
person to ever hear that song. Damn did I feel special! "What did they want?"
Nick asked, waking me from my thoughts.

	"They wanted me to hear their new single, see if I liked it or not." I
explained.

	"Ooh, do I wanna know?" Nick winced. "They *are* competition after all."

	"It's gonna put the money in the bank. If that's just a sample of the rest
of the album... damn!"

	Nick pulled into the parking lot, and surprise, surprise, he just had to
get one that was kilometres away from the freakin' airport. "Do you always do
this?" I just had to ask.

	"Always do what?"

	"Park so far from the place you're going to? I mean it's like a gazillion
degrees outside and now I have to do a fuckin' marathon to get to the building."
I joked.

	"I'm sorry. Yeah, I always park far away; it's easier to be
inconspicuous." He explained.

	"I see," I rolled my eyes, "Because it doesn't matter if you're far from
the airport or not. It just makes the distance to the get-away car farther.
You *do* know that, right?"

	"Why, D, are we out of shape?" He asked playfully.

	"Not all of us are as buff as you, bitch!" I retaliated.

	"Ooh, that stung." He laughed. Just as our trek was nearing an end, he
glanced over at me. "You know, I like to see you work up a sweat." He wiped his
finger along my forehead, bringing it to his mouth and licking my sweat off his
finger. "Kinda turns me on."

	"Oh, please!" I offered, entering the airport and into the air
conditioning.

"Sweet mother of Jesus it's hot out there!" He exclaimed, as the air
conditioning swept over him.

	"Well duh! Ain't that fuckin' smart is he?" Some woman who was walking
behind us offered. The voice sounded familiar... a little too familiar, I just had
to turn around. "JEN!"

	"Drew! How're you doing?" We had to embrace each other, it had been a
while since I had seen her... damn, exactly how long have I been off work? No
wonder they were firing my ass.

	"Not bad, could be better. I'm just coming to pick up my things and go on
my way." I explained.

	"Oh... and I was joking." Jen said, while grabbing Nick's arm, meaning her
comment about him earlier.

	"It's no problem," Nick dismissed, "It's actually the truth."

	"WAIT! You're... um... what's his name!?! From that band... Drew! Help me out!"
Jen was just a little in awe of this Adonis standing before her.

	Leaning over a little, I whispered in her ear "Nick, from 98 Degrees."

	"NICK!" She exclaimed. After noticing more than a couple of glances
turning to our direction, she pulled him into a tight embrace, burying his face
in the crook of her neck to hide him from the wandering eyes. "It's been so damn
long!"

	I had to admire her quick thinking. I wasn't exactly in any mood for Nick
to be recognised since I was just fired and all, so it was much appreciated.
"So, why don't you come with us... get Drew his things." Jen offered, pulling Nick
with her and still trying her best to keep him covered.

	Once we were behind that legendary 'Employees Only' door, she finally let
up on Nick. "Um... thanks." Nick was suddenly blushing and I couldn't help but
wonder why. Sure Jen was attractive and all, but to be blushing... damn he's not a
ladies man at all.

	"No problem, Nick. But you know now you owe me a favour... I'll let you know
when I'm gonna cash it in." She joked.

	"Anytime," he replied. Yup, he was flirting... trying to at least. Jen
wasn't biting, she had a man, and a very controlling man at that. Nick's
attempts were not going to get him anywhere.

	"Well some of us *do* have to work unfortunately, so I'll be seeing y'all
later. Drew... good luck, eh?" She gave both of us a kiss on the cheek, from which
I noticed Nick blush a little redder.

	As soon as Jen was out of earshot, and around a corner so Nick could stop
staring, I couldn't help but laugh. "Easy tiger!" Nick looked at his feet. "Stop
blushin' man... and I thought you wanted me." His head shot up, eyes locking with
mine. I just shook my head with mock seriousness. "I hate to be the bearer of
bad news, but she's got a man."

	"I wasn't into her..." our eyes met again as I looked at him with a 'Mmmm-
hmmm' smile. "Okay, I wasn't into her *much*, is that better?"

	"We can work on it." With that said, we headed down the hallway and down
the stairs to the locker room. I never really kept that much stuff in it all at
once, but I hadn't cleaned it out in over two or three months so there was a
shit load of things in there.

	As I unlocked and opened the door, my belongings began to tumble out of
the locker. "You always this messy?" Nick asked.

	"No, usually I swallow... I don't like the mess." I was so serious when I
said that Nick froze. It was as if he was in awe of a masterpiece. His lips were
slightly parted... oh damn those lips... 'Stop looking at them, Drew, stop looking
at them. Oh fuck, he just licked them... Drew... look away, look away, look *away*'
I was mentally chastising myself. Stupidly, my eyes were locked on those pretty,
delicious, luscious, cocksucker lips of his. Slowly we moved closer, my eyes
still on his lips until they touched mine and we began a fiery kiss.

His tongue begged entrance to my mouth, licking my lips and teeth, hoping
for a taste of my tongue. Finally, opening my mouth, a new sensation occurred as
his tongue battled mine. It was survival of the fittest and me with my new
tongue-ring didn't quite know how to work my tongue. Nick wasn't complaining,
instead he was moaning into the kiss, as our tongues made love. His hands came
up and felt their way up my spine, walking their way into my hair where they
pushed me harder into his mouth. Damn this boy was not only strong, but fucking
sexy while he was doing it... Jen, eat your heart out.

	His hand soon roamed back down my spine, reaching my ass. As he grabbed a
cheek with each hand, he slowly began to grind his hardness into mine. Why did I
wear jeans again? It fucking hurt! The heat between us escalated as he slipped
his hands down the back of my pants grabbing my bare ass. Oh shit this was hot!
Suddenly the door opened and we jumped apart, scrambling to gather my shit off
the floor and out of my locker doing anything so it would look like we weren't
doing anything suspicious.

	An employee walked in reading a newspaper, not even looking up, going
straight for the john. With a sigh of relief, we both grabbed all the important
stuff I had, leaving the rest for whoever wanted it, and headed to the office —
I had to sign release papers.

	As I approached the door, a dreadful feeling came over me. I hated this
office now; I didn't work here. It was like the first day all over again. I
knocked on the door somewhat timidly. I waited for the door to open like a
little lost child. Finally, the door opened, and there was Amanda looking back
at me with a sympathetic expression. I knew she didn't want this, but it was out
of her hands now.

	"Come in," she gestured opening the door further. "I don't think we've
met... are you by any chance... um... Drew?" she asked Nick, shaking his hand.

	Nick laughed nervously, "No, that'd be my little brother. I'm Nick."

	Amanda turned away from Nick to look at me mouthing "He's a hot
motherfucker!" I couldn't help but smile.

	"Yes, Amanda, Nick's one hot motherfucker... you should see him *without*
the shirt." She immediately turned several shades redder. I couldn't help but
laugh.

	"Asshole," she mumbled. "So, let's get these papers signed, alright?" She
asked with a sigh.

	I sat down across from her desk, Nick sitting beside me. She opened a
thick folder that was sitting on her desk — my folder — and searched around for
the papers she needed. "You know, Drew." She began. "You've got the thickest
folder. I don't think anyone's ever put this company through so much shit and
stayed here." I had to laugh at that cause it was a miracle I was there as long
as I was. "Despite all of that, it's a shame to see you go, you're the best
worker that we have here..." She left it off for my own interpretation, though I
knew she was just trying to tell me she'd miss me.

	"I fought for you, I got you a nice settlement." She added. "I wasn't
going to settle for anything they wanted to give. I couldn't express how
valuable a worker you were to the company, and after showing them your file,
along with many other people speaking up in your honour... they couldn't really
argue. But, even then I bitched them out until they raised it more. As nice a
settlement as it is, you still deserve more. I'm sorry I couldn't get it any
better than it is. Just know I tried."

	I was touched that she went through all the trouble for me. I couldn't
have asked for a better manager, really. I was truly going to miss this place.

	After signing the papers and going through the details, Nick and I got up
and left. As we were walking back up the stairs, a thought suddenly came to me.
"Nick, can we go back, like, right now?"

	"You sure?" Aww, there he was with the cuteness again.

	"Yeah, I'm sure... let's go return the rental, and catch the next flight
available." Nick shrugged obviously not wanting to argue.

	After returning the rental we went to the ticket booth to ask for the next
available flight to Los Angeles. Fortunately, it was a friend of mine working
the counter so she didn't mess around and got us on the first flight leaving.
"Alright, the flight leaves in about twenty minutes, so if you've got baggage,
check it in like, now. Other than that, you're good to go."

	"Thanks Avery, you know I love you, girl!" I gave her a big hug, a kiss on
the cheek and quickly made our way to gate 24A. Sure, the flight didn't leave
for another twenty minutes, but I wasn't about to miss this flight.

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

	Back in LA, I have to say that that flight was the worst I've ever been
on. The turbulence was nauseating and I just didn't like the way we were
treated. Basically neglected. Had I paid full price for my ticket, I would've
complained.

	Finally back at the dream house, I walked in, kicked off my shoes and made
my way to the bathroom. I had to piss something fierce. I did my business,
washed up, and walked out. Walking down the hall, I passed Drew's room. The door
was slightly ajar, so I peered in to see that it was empty. Gathering courage, I
opened the door, and quietly slid onto his bed, grabbing up a pillow and
smelling the faint odour that was Drew. I missed that smell.

	I zoned myself out, just smelling Drew and thinking back on old times
when, "What the fuck are you doing?" Uh-oh... busted.

TBC...

	ONCE AGAIN, HAPPY BIRTHDAY DREW AND JC!