Date: Sat, 04 Aug 2001 22:58:56 -0700
From: Jeff Kaiser <kaiser_goof@hotmail.com>
Subject: Twist of Fate chapter 18

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *
~Jeff Kaiser~
Author, Twist of Fate

kaiser_goof@hotmail.com
*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

*Yes yes, I know, I'm such a terrible person for not writing, or answering
emails, or all the evil things I've done.  However, I've had to prioritize
things in my life over the past few (8?) months since I last submitted a
chapter, and school, etc. had to come first.

*But alas, all is well!  I'm alive, I'm FINISHED with school (finally), life
is AWESOME, and I'm writing again.

*I want to thank those that have emailed me, and apologize to them for not
responding.  Effective now, I'll be checking my email a little more
frequently, so you can be assured a response.  I'd also like to thank all
the friends I've made through Nifty, and all the encouragement they've
provided for me even when I wasn't writing.  You are too many to name, so
I'll just give ya mad props.

***NOTE:  I've included some snippits from the previous chapter as an intro
to this chapter, but honestly... I had to re-read the whole second half to
remember where I was (it's been that long).  If you really want to pick up
smoothly, AT LEAST go read ch's 16-17 again.

*DISCLAIMER: Yup, the story is about that yucky gay stuff, and about a
certain cutie from a certain boy band.  But it's freakin' fiction... that
means 'not true', and I dare not make any claims or assumptions about his
sexuality (although looking at the cover of NSync's new album, I don't know
how he could be anything other than a flaming homosexual).  With that, I
invite those of legal age to continue reading my little epoc.

*I'd love to get back in touch with folks I've not spoken with forever.  If
you have a sec, drop me a line!  Enjoy the chapter, and stay on my tail to
keep writing, k?

~Jeff
kaiser_goof@hotmail.com

A little peek at what's been going on in Twist of Fate...

*  *  *  *  *
"What did you just say?" JC could barely whisper.  Lance took a deep breath
while closing his eyes, and laid it all out on the line.  Now was the moment
of truth, and he was embracing it.  Lance opened his eyes and looked at JC,
along with the rest of the band in the background.

"I love Billy very much, and Billy is my boyfriend..." Lance took another
deep breath. "and I.........am gay."

*  *  *  *  *
THUD.  Lance and Justin both dropped their travel bags on the floor, and I
locked the hotel room door behind me.  Lance laid down on the bed, Justin
sat in a chair, and I sat down on the edge of the mattress, looking at
Lance.

"So, what happened?" I asked after a moment of silence.  Lance and Justin
shared another glance, and Lance finally spoke up.

"Well...... everyone knows about you."  A small frown appeared and
disappeared from my face, and I nodded.

"Figured."

"And...... everyone knows about me."  This was more of a shock, seeing as I
didn't get that impression at ALL from listening through the dressing room
door.

"Excuse me???"  Lance nodded slowly, and continued.

"And............ everyone now knows about... ... us."

*  *  *  *  *
"Jessica, thank you so much... for everything," Lance said as he stood up
and reached for a hug.  Jessica obliged Lance, followed by hugs from myself
and even Justin.

"Guys, it's my pleasure... I'm just glad I've found some good friends here
on tour.  Besides, I LOVE to hang out with gay people!  We can go shopping
together, and do each other's nails, and try on sweaters, and exfoliate,
and..." Jessica's verbal rampage was cut short with a few smacks from a
near-by pillow, compliments of ME.

*  *  *  *  *
I thought that, eventually, I'd get a phone call or an email or a note
saying that he's found someone else, or that he simply didn't love me
anymore.  But after what he did today?  How he stood up for me, defended me,
and defended US?  No, I KNOW there's a strong love there.  More importantly,
I know that the love is two-way.  Standing there, hugging in that hotel
room, Lance and I were becoming one--not just physically, but mentally and
emotionally.  Lance was mine, and I now truly knew that I was his... and if
I had any say in the matter, that wasn't going to change for a long, long
time.

===========================
And now, the 18th chapter of Twist of Fate:


"I love you, Billy."  With my eyes closed, I smiled and responded.

"I love you too, Goof."  Lance pulled back a little bit, withdrawing his
arms from around my waist.  He reached up towards my neck and face, and my
hands involuntarily retreated to his waist.  I watched him as he was
apparently inspecting my face, perhaps for defects.

"Man, you are so damn cute!"  Lance said.  Without hesitation, I immediately
blushed and looked down.  Lance continued, "especially when you blush!"
Lance's sudden explosion of energy and flirtatiousness caught me off-guard,
especially with the evening he had to endure.  Still, I didn't complain, and
I had to respond.

"Oh yeah, well I'm not as cute as you!" I know, terrible comeback.

"Uh huh!" was Lance's response.

"Nuh uh!" was mine.

"Uh huh!"

"Nuh uh!"

We both rolled our eyes as we realized how pathetic we were acting.  Lance
kept talking.

"You're so cute, you make me want to...... do this..." Lance leaned in and
planted a kiss on my lips.

"I'm okay with that, you know," I responded as our lips parted.

"In that case......" Lance said, right before closing in again and
initiating a nice smooch.  Our lips met and locked, then moved around as if
searching for the right groove.  The kiss was not wild and passionate, but
rather soft and loving.  Our tongues stayed put and our lips worked to
gently caress each other's mouth.  This went on for a few minutes, until
Lance broke off.  I was somewhat disappointed, and began to pout (this pout
session was complete with lower lip out and all).

"Oh, put that away," he said of my lip as he leaned forward to jokingly bite
it.  "If we were to keep kissing, I wouldn't be able to give you that
backrub I owed you!"  I smiled, looking forward to some touchy touchy from
the Lance-meister.

"I'm okay with that, too!"  Lance directed me to the bed, where he made me
lay down on my stomach.  I put my hands together under my head, and turned
so I could see Lance climb up onto the bed.  He seemed to be moving towards
the back of the bed, so I had trouble tracking him and figuring out what was
going on.  However, the pressure on my feet was a pretty clear indication of
what was going on.

THUD.  One shoe hit the ground.  THUD.  There's my other shoe!  Now in my
stocking feet, I got a great view of Lance's back (and backSIDE) as he
swiveled his legs off the bed and removed his own shoes.  He turned back
around to me and raised his eyebrows a few times.  Hehe... I couldn't help
but laugh.

Within moments, I felt a pressure on my butt, and I knew Lance was getting
in position.  I was looking forward to this time, but I had no idea how
wonderful a backrub was going to feel until Lance's fingers actually made
contact with my shoulders and started kneading my muscles through my shirt.

"UUUUUUGHH..." I groaned out, and Lance immediately pulled his fingers off.

"I'm sorry!" was his response.

"NO NO NO NO!!  It was a good uuuugh, not a bad uuuugh.  Don't worry, I'll
tell you if it's a bad uuuuuughh.  Ohh, that felt so wonderful!"  Lance
snickered lightly, and proceeded with his therapy.

Oh, I can't even start to describe how good it felt!  The stress of the past
week on tour, COMBINED with the stress from that night seemed to have
tightened me up into this tense ball of muscle.  His hands were like a
pro's, perfect and relaxing.  Lance started with the muscles in my neck,
then moved down into the shoulder blades.  His fingers rolled and pressed
the flesh back and forth, loosening and releasing weeks of tension.  His
masterful hands moved down into my shoulders and biceps, and I absolutely
turned into jelly.

"Dude, you're tight!  Are you okay?  Feeling any stress lately?"  I tried to
answer him with a straight response (straight?), but only sarcasm came out.

"No no, I've been TOTALLY at peace the last month.  NOTHING big going on in
MY life!......"  Lance groaned his disapproval to my response, but kept
massaging.  After working my arms, he started rubbing the muscles down my
back.  You know, those ones that usually keep you upright and help you bend
when you're calm, but tighten up hard as a brick when you're stressed?

"Uuuuuugh...,"  I moaned.  Lance paused for a second, and I rapidly
clarified in a loud tone.  "Good uuuugh!... GOOD uuuuugh!..." I said with a
strained voice, as if every muscle in my body simultaneously twitched.  OH,
it hurt, but felt SO good.  Come on baby, make it hurt so good, sometimes
love don't feel like it should... OH, SORRY.  80's lyrics flashback there.
MOVING ON...

It felt as if Lance was pressing on my back like he would type on a
keyboard... using all fingers and spreading out the force, not just pressing
all at one spot.  YEP, Lance was hired for GOOD.  "Ya know, I can't really
do my job like this," Lance said, taking his hands off my back.  Surprised
by his sudden comment, I groaned,

"Arrrugh?????"

"Yeah, you see, I'm trying to massage the muscles in your back, but I can't
really see the muscles because... well, your shirt is in the way."  I saw
the mischievous grin on his face, so I played along.

"Oh really?  Well, what do you propose to do about that, Mr. Bass?"

"Well," Lance answered as he stuck his hands under my shirt, "I think we
need to lose this shirt of yours."  Surprised at this newfound forwardness
of my boyfriend, it took me a moment to respond.  However, what options did
I have?
(1) Have Lance take off my shirt and touch my bare skin with his hands, or
(2) ... hmmm, DARN!  Couldn't think of another option!!

"Hey, you're the pro.  If you think we need to lose the shirt, then methinks
it's GONE."  Lance then proceeded to slowly slide my shirt towards my head.

"Lift up your arms," Lance said.  I, of course, willingly obliged.  I placed
my head back on my hands, and caught a glimpse of my shirt being hurled
across the room.  My my my!  I closed my eyes, then felt the wonderful
sensation of Lance's skin on mine.  The backrub continued unabated for about
20 more minutes, during which time Lance managed to roll and knead every
square inch of my back, neck, and arms.  He even massaged my hands.  Oh, it
was heavenly!  I'm just glad I was lying on my STOMACH, versus my back.
We'd have a BIT of a problem if that were the case!

"Okay, all done!" Lance said as he hopped off my back and onto the floor.
He maneuvered himself to the front of the bed, so we were face-to-face.
Well, sorta.  My head was still sideways on my hands, my eyes closed.  I
groggily opened my eyes and turned towards Lance, bummed that the backrub
was over.

"That was sooooo nice... Now I guess I have to pay you back for that, eh?" I
said as I unsuccessfully tried to lift myself up with my arms.

"Nononononono... Not tonight.  I'm sure I probably owed you that.  You've
got the next one, but it'll be some other day.  Right now, I just want to be
with you... and I want to give you something I've been waiting to give you
all day."

"What's that?"

"This..." Lance said as he leaned in towards my face.  His eyes slowly
closed, and I took the cue to have my eyes do the same.  Moments later, our
lips met.  It's amazing how, after a hundred kisses, along comes a kiss that
feels like the first one all over again.  This was one of those.  His lips
were so soft, so perfect.  Not too forceful, not too weak.  This kiss was
commanding, and worthy of a Hollywood camera crew.  I reached up to caress
his neck, and he echoed my motion by moving his hand to rest on my
shoulders.  The sensations were incredible, and having Lance's mouth on mine
drove me wild!  Our tongues began to dance, feeling the texture of each
other's mouths.

"Oh, you already gave me one of those," I said as I broke the kiss
momentarily to catch a breath.  Lance shrugged, and he just looked so
delicious!  I had no choice but to immediately resume.  I created a little
suction on his mouth, and pulled his lower lip into my mouth, sucking on it
gently.  Lance moaned quietly, and I made a note in my "What Makes Lance Go
Crazy" mental notebook.  We continued this spit swapping for a while more,
until Lance had a different idea about our activities.  Lance broke the kiss
and said,

"Come here."  He grabbed my arms and helped me sit up.  Me?  I continued to
play along.  This new side of Lance was driving me crazy!  As soon as I was
sitting up, he gave me a gentle shove, and I fell backwards towards the
pillows.  Once my head hit the pillows, however, Lance wasted no time.  He
was instantly on the bed, picking up the kiss where he left off.  I was on
my back, Lance was on his stomach to my left, and we were engaged in what I
might consider to be the most passionate kiss we've ever shared.  Lance's
left hand was caressing my neck and shoulders, although he occasionally got
sloppy and brushed his hands over my chest.  At one point, his hand rested
over my pecs and I could feel his fingers start to migrate towards my
nipples.  Before I knew it, I had Lance's mouth on mine, and his fingers
gently rubbing my nipples.  I was starting to get intoxicated by the new
sensations, and even more so by this completely unexpected behavior from
Lance.  It took all my will power to do what I did next, but I just had to
know something...

"Who are you and what did you do to my boyfriend?" I asked playfully through
the kiss, causing Lance to pull his head back and look at me strangely.

"What do you mean?"  Lance could see the smile on my face, but could also
sense that there was something going on in my head that inspired a comment
like that.  He took his hands off my chest as I reached down with my arms
and propped myself against the headboard of the bed.

"Well... it's just that... I guess I'm not used to seeing such a... playful
side of you.  All of a sudden tonight, you're goofier than ever, totally
frisky, and... It's not a BAD thing, don't get me wrong!!  I guess it's just
not what I would have expected from you considering the night you've had...
I dunno........."  My voice trailed off as I shrugged and stared at Lance,
seeing if I was making any sense.  He didn't stare back at me as if I had a
third eye in the middle of my head, so I guess I was getting through to him.

Lance opened his mouth to speak, paused for a second, closed his mouth, then
opened it again.  "I think I know what you mean.  I mean, I see it too...
it's weird, but I feel totally energized and excited and happy and... I
don't know, I feel like a huge stress has been lifted off me.  I know that
totally sounds corny, but... people know about me, and about US, and I don't
have to worry about stressing over it anymore.  It's like I'm free now, and
can continue on with my life.  I feel like I was on hold for so long, sorta
like I was frozen.  Tied up.  Chained to something that wasn't me.  I wasn't
myself, I couldn't be.  Now I feel like the real me can come out...
LITERALLY come out."  Lance and I both had surprised looks on our faces from
his diatribe.

"My my, there's a lot going on inside that head of yours," I said, reaching
up and lightly knocking my fingers on his skull.

"Hehe...... That's nothing compared to my thoughts about you... and how much
I want to show you that I love you, and how much you mean to me, and how
happy I am that I now get to show you off to all my friends without being
ashamed, and how wonderful it is that you're here, and how wonderful YOU
are, and what a great kisser you are, and how gorgeous you are... especially
without your shirt on," Lance said as he reached up and squeezed my left
nipple.  I had closed my eyes to listen to his heart-melting words, and I
gasped so hard at the unexpected clamp on the nip that the windows must have
bent inwards from the change in air pressure in the hotel room.

"Gal... geez... oh!" I sputtered out, trying to catch my breath.  "You see,
like THAT!  What is that?  Where did that come from?  You'da never done that
before!"  Lance just grinned widely and snickered an evil laugh.

"Am I hearing any complaints?"  My eyes bugged out and I shook my head
fervently.

"NonononooNONONNONO, not at all!  Nope, not a word from me.  It's just...
different and unexpected."

Lance quickly raised and lowered his eyebrow a few times and said, "Well,
expect the unexpected.  I think I might have a few tricks up my sleeve."

I ran my hands up his arms and just underneath his sleeves, squeezing his
biceps muscle.  Oh, he was so beautiful.  I was rewarded as Lance flexed his
arm muscles, pressing my hand tightly against the fabric of his shirt as his
arm swelled.

"Aoooh!," I said as my eyes rolled back into my head.  He drove me wild by
flexing his muscles while I had my hands on them.  I opened my eyes to enjoy
the sight, and I then realized that there existed a distinct disadvantage
between me and Lance.  I reached around Lance's chest and rolled both of us
over so he was now on his back, and I was on my stomach.

The twist surprised him, and he asked, "What was that for?"  Now the
mischievous look was in MY eye!

"Well my friend, something here isn't very fair...  You see, I'm shirtless,
but you still seem to have yours on."  Staring into his eyes and relishing
this newfound friskiness, I also added, "Plus, you said you have some tricks
up your sleeve... and, well, let's just say that I really want to see those
tricks..."  I finished my sentence by tugging on the bottom of his shirt.

"Oh do you now?" Lance responded, raising an eyebrow.  I nodded slowly as I
slid his shirt up towards his neck.  Lance showed his approval to this
action by voluntarily raising his arms above his head, and closing his eyes
as I slipped his T-shirt past his head and off his arms.  This motion struck
a cord in me, seeing as Lance and I had never really gotten this... how do
you describe it... well, blatantly sensual... I mean, sure we've seen each
other shirtless, and even touched each other shirtless, but... this was far
different.  I was enjoying every moment of it, though.

Some of Lance's goofy energy was starting to rub off on me.  Instead of
tossing the shirt across the room like Lance did, I opened the neck hole and
stuck it on my head, inside out, like an unrolled turban.  Lance took one
look at it and just busted up.

"Salaam, Billy-san," he said.

"Now where was I?"  The answer came as soon as I bowed down to my demi-god,
grabbed his face lightly, used my fingers to close his eyelids, and gently
placed my lips on his.  Lance tried to get some immediate action, but a
slight squeeze from my hands and a retreat of my lips showed him I was in
charge.

"Shhhhhh," I indicated quietly.  Lance understood, and became complacent.  I
moved back into the kiss, this time extending my tongue into his mouth.
Lance's mouth, which had become voluntarily paralyzed, became a great
terrain to be explored.  I ran my tongue across his teeth, pressing it up
underneath his upper lip, brushing it along his upper gums.  Another groan
from Lance indicated that I was doing a good thing, and another mental note
was made.  My tongue continued to explore his mouth, checking out his teeth,
the roof of his mouth, his cheeks, and his tongue.  Unnngh!  There is
nothing like feeling the texture of his tongue when it's just sitting there
in his mouth.  Our activities were definitely getting me excited, and by
Lance's facial expressions, I could tell they weren't the most boring
experiences that he had ever encountered.  Our kiss continued for a while
more, until Lance made another bold move.

"Ya know what?  You'd probably be more comfortable if... you were right
here, rather than laying by my side," Lance said, as he patted his stomach.
He wanted me to lay on top of him as we made out!  Surprised, yet willing to
follow his suggestion, I responded,

"Are you sure?"  A smile from Lance gave me his answer.  I cautiously lifted
my left leg over Lance's waist and slid myself on top of him.  Lance spread
his legs a bit, and my waist and legs slid down into the space formed.
There we were, bare chest to bare chest, face to face, in the most intimate
position to date.  Any complaints?  NOPE!

The kiss-fest continued, with hands flying in every direction.  Lance
wrapped his arms around me, rubbing his hands on my shoulders and back.  My
hands traveled down his sides, feeling his beautiful skin with my fingers.
I managed to raise myself a few inches in order to get my hands in to touch
Lance's chest.  The perfect combination of toned muscle and the SLIGHTEST
layer of baby fat made for quite the sensual, tactile experience as I rubbed
and touched his chest and nipples.  Once, I unconsciously stuck my fingers
below his belt at the hip and tugged gently on his boxers.  This only made
both of us crazier, and I think we both realized we were skating on thin
ice.  Our activities didn't change, however, until Lance, in a moment of
unconscious passion, reached down the small of my back and slid his hands
pretty far into my pants, UNDER my boxers.

We both froze, my hands on his shoulders, his hands on my bare heiney,
looking at each other eye-to-eye.  This glance lasted a long time as we
communicated volumes about what we were thinking.  Lance finally closed his
eyes, almost in defeat, and slowly removed his hands from the back of my
pants.

"I think we need to talk," Lance finally said, his hands finding a safer
location around my back.  I nodded, and shifted my weight, rolling sideways
out of his lap.

"Yeah, I think we should."  Lance sighed, grabbed my hand, looked me in the
eyes, and spoke.

"We've been together for nearly five months, and they've been the best
months of my life!  A lot of that time we haven't been together, and it's
awesome that I now have you here in my life, close to me."  I smiled.

"I know, I feel like joining the tour has made a world of difference for
us... I'm so glad I'm here... with you."

"Well, we're here in a bit of a dilemma... you see, I'm REALLY attracted to
you, Billy.  I mean REEEEEALLY.  You're here without a shirt and you look
gorgeous... I'm here without a shirt, we've got this hotel room all to
ourselves, we don't have to get up early, and honestly...... I......" Lance
seemed to be struggling with his words, but I knew what he was going for.

"Lance, trust me, I know what you're saying.  I'm very turned on by you
right now, and I'm just about ready to devour you! But..."

"Yeah, but... Billy, as much as I...... well, want to do 'something' right
now, I............" I continued his sentence.

"......you're scared about doing something you'd regret......"

"......yeah!" Lance answered.  "and I don't want to do something that would
hurt us, or specifically YOU......"

"...you don't want to wake up tomorrow morning and wish you hadn't done...
whatever it was you might do..."

"...might do tonight......"  Lance's voice trailed off as we both came to
the realization that we were seeing eye to eye on this thing.  I shook my
hand free from his and reached to his face.  Leaning in towards him, I
kissed him on the forehead and said,

"Thank you.  Thank you SO much for caring.  It's one of the many reasons I
love you!"  I slid back down, and had Lance looking at me.

"I love you too, Billy... I love you so much.  I don't want anything to hurt
our relationship, especially this."  Lance then reached forward, put his
hands on my shoulders, and pulled me into a hug.

There we sat, two people that cared for each other immensely, sharing a very
special embrace.  Love can be shown in many ways.  Sometimes, it can be
shown by making 'love'.  Sometimes, however, a stronger statement can be
made by abstaining.  I knew that, for now, at that moment, we had made the
right decision.

"Lance?" I said after what seemed like many minutes of silence.  No answer.
"Lance??" I said a little louder.

"Uhhuh?" He responded groggily.  Apparently, Lance had dozed off!  How
cute...

"As much as I don't want to do this, I think...... well, considering
everything that happened tonight and what the guys are thinking, and the
fact that we're both DEAD tired...... I think I should head over to my own
room......"  Lance sighed in defeat.

"Yeah, I guess..." Neither he nor I were thrilled about the prospect, but we
both knew it would be best, if only for perception.  After a few more
minutes of cuddling, I sat up and slowly rolled off the bed.  "I'll call you
tomorrow and we can figure out what to do about this whole mess," Lance
commented as I searched for my shirt.  "Plus, I'd like to spend some time
with you tomorrow."  I gave him a 'look' and responded,

"Are you kidding??  You're definitely going to see A LOT of me tomorrow.
I'm not going to leave your side!"  Lance smiled and nodded, then himself
rolled off the bed.  With my shirt back on my body, I was ready to go.

"So I'll call you tomorrow?"

"You better!" I said as I reached a hand out.  He took mine, and a quick tug
from me yanked him into a hug.  "I love you, Lance," I said in our embrace.

"You KNOW I love you, too, Billy."  Lance pulled apart and initiated our
good-night kiss before walking us to the door.  "See ya, Doc," he said as he
opened the door.

"See ya, Goof..." I said as I slipped out into the hallway.  We both
hesitated for a moment, but Lance started to slowly close the door.  We
maintained eye contact until the door latched shut.

*  *  *  *  *

CLICK.  The door shut behind me in my own hotel room, and I sighed as I
realized Lance was not to be found in THIS one.  I switched on the lights
and got orientated to the new room.  It was backwards from the room Lance
was in, but it was still pretty simple... bathroom over there, two beds over
here, table and TV over there.  As wonderful as the amenities were, however,
I was only interested in one thing... getting into bed and ending this
roller coaster day.  Glancing again at the TWO beds in the room, I couldn't
help but smile at the fact that Victor ::coughBASTARDcough:: was no longer
rooming with me... EVER!

Noticing that my luggage was nowhere to be found (we went directly from the
venue to the hotel without getting our bags), I realized that I didn't have
a change of clothes, or a toothbrush, or anything.  Shrugging my shoulders,
I didn't really care, since all I wanted to do was sleep.

"WOW!" I said out loud as I looked at the clock.  "2:15am?"  I had no idea
it had gotten so late.  Granted, the show got out late, and we chatted for a
while with Justin and Jessica, then Lance and I... well, YOU know... But...
2:15a??

I just rubbed my eyes as I turned off the lights I had just recently turned
on.  I made a beeline for the bed, and crashed like the Exxon Valdez.  I
thought I'd have trouble getting to sleep, considering the level of
'activity' during the evening.  However, it was enough of a stressful day
that I had no problem closing... my eyes and... falling
right......to......... sle...............

*  *  *  *  *

A loud sound shook me from my sleep.  I wasn't well aware of my location or
surroundings, so it took me a moment to decide if I was still asleep and
dreaming, or if I had actually been brought back into consciousness.  KNOCK
KNOCK KNOCK.  Okay, I was now aware that someone was pounding on the wall...
or was it the door?  Yeah, it must be the door.  I moaned as I rolled out
from under the covers, the cold air from the air conditioner hitting my bare
chest.  I shivered, but continued my trek towards the door.  I assumed it
was the hotel delivering my bags, or Jessica to see how I was doing, or
something like that.  Whoever it was, I wasn't going to be too thrilled
about being ripped from my slumber.  KNOCK KNOCK.

"I'm coming!" I said loudly as I reached the door.  Unlatching the deadbolt
and privacy lock, I opened the door.  Immediately, I was hit with the
intense brilliance of the hallway lighting, and I squinted.

"Hey Billy," I heard, even before my eyes adjusted enough to open them.

"Lance?" I said, blinded.  "What are you doing here?"  I finally got my
eyesight back, and I immediately beheld Lance before me, with the most
pathetic puppy dog look on his face.

"I couldn't sleep..." was his response.

"Awwww.... I'm sorry.  Why didn't you call me?" I asked, concerned about him
but also trying to determine his true intentions for walking down the hall.
Lance looked to the ground, sighed, and made eye contact again.

"Billy, I have you here on tour.  The whole band knows about you, me, and
US.  I don't want to be apart from you if I don't have to be."

*sigh*  "So what are you saying?" I asked with a curious look.

"I'd like to be with you tonight."  My guy looked so adorable!  Without
hesitation, I smiled, reaching into the hall and grabbing Lance by the
forearm.  I gave his arm a squeeze and pulled him gently into the room.  A
kick to the door caused it to latch shut behind us, leaving the hallway
empty once again.


*  *  *  *  *

*Ah, the dynamic duo are at it again.  More to be revealed in the next
chapter!

~Jeff
kaiser_goof@hotmail.com