Date: Thu, 03 Jul 2003 08:27:17 -0500
From: music teacher <musicteacher2002@hotmail.com>
Subject: "This is the Night" chapter 7

Disclaimer:  I have an overactive imagination, the result of which is this
story.  I do not know Clay Aiken or any other celebrities mentioned in this
story, and I do not intend to imply anything about their true sexualities.
Simply file this in the "Wouldn't it be nice...?" portion of your mind.  Also,
if you are under legal age to be reading this sort of stuff (18 in most
areas), then leave now.  All the rest of you who ARE of age, please enjoy my
little mind trip away from the land of reality.

***

CHAPTER 7

***

Clay and I just kind of walked open-mouthed back to the limo.  We couldn't
believe we'd seen Lee with RYAN SEACREST!!!!

"Did you have ANY idea that was going to happen?" Clay asked me.

"None at all!" I said, still shocked.  "I mean, Lee has always thought he
was hot, and I saw them talking at the party, but...but...wow!"

"Yeah...I never had any idea Ryan was gay!"

We rode back to my apartment building.  Clay accompanied me inside (he told
the driver that he had left his cell phone in my apartment).  Once inside,
we immediately started laughing about what we had seen at Lee's house.

"Oh, man, Lee has got some explaining to do!" I said.

"And you're going to tell me ALL the details, right?" Clay said excitedly.

"Hmm...I dunno...what's in it for me?" I said with a smirk.

"Oh, I think we can work something out," said Clay as he walked toward me.

"I'm listening..."

"Well, it doesn't *exactly* involve talking..." he said, pulling me to him.
He leaned down and kissed me deeply, our mouths opening and closing in
perfect rhythm.  I licked at his lips, and he opened his mouth further to
let my tongue inside.  I ran my fingers through Clay's hair as we kissed.
As we got further into it, we both began to moan.  It was the deepest, most
intense kiss we had shared yet.  We slowly but surely pulled apart, but Clay
kept his arms wrapped around me.  I laid my head on his shoulder and we just
stood there, enjoying each other's company.  I buried my nose into his neck
and took in his scent.  Whatever he was wearing that night (and I made a
mental note to find that out) was permanently etched into my brain.

"I love holding you like this," Clay said.

"Mmm, me too.  I could stay like this forever," I told him.

"Me too," he said, though I sensed there was more coming.  "But..."

"No...no buts...heh, well, maybe just *one*..." I said, playfully grabbing his
ass.

"Hey now!" Clay said, backing up and laughing, "I wish I could stay, but I
have an early morning tomorrow.  Besides, don't you think it's taken me long
enough to find my cell phone?"

"Oh, yeah," I grinned sheepishly, "I guess you should get going."  I gave
him one more kiss, and he left.

"Call me tomorrow!" he said over his shoulder.

"You bet!"

I tried and I tried to get to sleep that night, but I kept tossing and
turning.  Every time I closed my eyes, I would get the mental image in my
head of Lee and...and...HIM!  I don't know what it was, but something about Ryan
just bugged me.  I just didn't trust him.  I didn't *like* the fact that I
felt this way, but I'm usually right about these things.  The only thing
was, how was I going to tell Lee?  He was going to be SO HAPPY about this,
and I wanted nothing more to be happy for him.

But I couldn't.

I finally drifted off somewhere around 4:00.  All too soon, I was woken up
by the phone.

"Hello...?" I answered groggily.

"OhmygodohmygodohmygodOHMYGOD!!!!"

"Good morning, Lee..." I said, still not quite awake.

"I'm glad you're up, because I'm coming over!" he said.  Before I could tell
him that he had, in fact, woken me up, he had hung up.  So I dragged myself
out of bed.  I figured there probably wasn't time for a shower before Lee
got to my apartment, so I changed into some clothes, put on a pot of coffee
(I don't drink it, but figured maybe Lee might want some - though he was
obviously wide awake), and started reading the paper.  Sure enough, before I
could get through the front section, there was a knock at my door.

I opened it, and Lee stood there with the biggest grin I've ever seen on his
face.  He walked in and sat down on the couch.

"Alright, spill," I told him.  His enthusiasm was almost contagious.

"Well, we started talking at the party, and he was just SO NICE.  He's
funny, he's smart - I know a lot of people think he's dumb, but he's not -
and he has a great personality.  We just clicked, you know?  I know this is
really insane, but I haven't connected with anyone like that in SO LONG.  We
got separated after a while, but he found me later talking to Jim Verraros.
I think he was actually jealous!  He asked me if I wanted to go on a walk,
so we walked outside for a bit.  At one point, he just stopped me, told me I
had the most beautiful eyes he'd ever seen, and kissed me!  I was in
HEAVEN!"

"Wow..." I said.  Despite my reservations, I was getting caught up in the
story.

"So we kissed for a few minutes, and he asked me if I wanted to leave.  I
told him that we could come back here.  I wanted to come find you to tell
you I was leaving, but his limo was right there.  He wanted to get out of
there right away.  So we went to my place and OH...MY...GOD!!!"

"Good, huh?"  I asked, smiling.

"The best I've EVER had!!" he said.

"HEY!!" I said in mock hurt.

"No offense, of course.  It's just....WOW!  Those eyes!  That body!  Those
nipples, those abs, that cock..."

"Whoa, whoa..." I stopped Lee before he got *too* into his flashback.

"Heehee, sorry..." he said, blushing.

"It's OK," I said.  "So was this a one-time thing, or is it going
somewhere?"

"Well, I gave him my phone number, and he is going to call me.  We'll see!"
Lee held up his crossed fingers.

"Well, good, I hope it works out!" I told him.  I was telling the truth.  I
honestly hoped Ryan would call.  I was skeptical, though.  I *really* wished
that Lee hadn't left the ball in Ryan's court to call.  Like I said, I'm
usually right about these things.  I just hoped that this wasn't one of
those times.

Lee and I talked some more over breakfast, and then he went home -
apparently he hadn't gotten very much sleep last night (wink, wink).  Since
Clay was busy all day with an interview and photo shoot, that left me free
to take care of stuff around the apartment.  The problem was, there wasn't
much to take care of!  I did a load of laundry, washed some dishes, and
checked my email, but after that I was out of ideas.  I sat down on my couch
and flipped through channels on the television until I found an old movie
that I hadn't seen in a long time.  I guess my own lack of sleep from the
night before caught up with me, because I soon found myself fighting a
losing battle to keep my eyes open.

I woke up about an hour later to the sound of my cell phone ringing.  I
looked at the called ID and smiled.

"Hey gorgeous," I answered it.

"Why hello to you, too!" Clay said.

"What's up?" I asked.  "I thought you were busy all day."

"So did I.  But the interview didn't last as long as I had thought.  Turns
out the article is mainly for promotion of next season's show - they're
doing capsule interviews of a bunch of us.  Right now we're getting ready to
do the photo shoot.  You wanna come by and watch?"

Like I was really going to turn down the chance to see my man looking all
sexy for the cameras.  "Sure, sounds great!" I told him.  Clay gave me
directions to the photo shoot, and I told him I'd be there as soon as I
could.

I found a parking spot in front of the studio where the shoot was taking
place and waked in the front doors.  A receptionist at the front desk gave
me directions to where I needed to go.  It was a big building, however, and
I ended up getting a little turned around.  Eventually, I found the right
place.

Before I went in, I peeked in the window just to see what was going on.
What I saw was a flurry of activity - the photographer making sure his
camera had film; his assistants running around making sure there was extra
film available when needed; the lighting people setting up lamps; Paula
Abdul flirting with Clay...

Wait a minute...WHAT?!?!

I watched some more.  Paula and Clay were sitting next to each other in
makeup chairs, and they seemed to be deep into conversation, enjoying each
other's company very much.  No problem - they're friends, right?  Just then,
Paula got up, leaned over, and whispered something into Clay's ear.  As she
did this, she ran her finger down his arm and left her hand on his waist.
Clay blushed at whatever she had said to him.  He then said something back
to her, smiling and winking as he did.

Uh oh.  He winked.  Definite Clay flirtation signal.  That did NOT make me
feel good.  I opened the door and walked inside.

"Hey, Randy!" I turned and saw Kimberley Locke standing there.

"Hey, girl!" I said, giving her a big hug.  "How are you?"

"I'm good, how are you?"

"Well, at the moment, I don't know," I told her honestly.  I pointed over in
the direction of Clay and Paula.  "Do you know what's been going on there?"

"You know, I have no idea," said Kim.  "She's been all over him today, and
last night at the party, too!  I mean, Paula is definitely a touchy-feely
kind of person, but this is a bit much even for her!"

"And, is it me, or is Clay flirting back?" I asked, hoping I sounded
incredibly stupid.

"What?  No..." she said.  "Um, hello?  Earth to Randy...Clay's GAY.  You're his
BOYFRIEND."

"Well, yeah, I know, but I just can't help but think..."

"Randy, you're being paranoid," she said.  "Trust me."

I sighed.  "OK," I said.  I thanked Kim and told her to call me sometime and
we'd get lunch or something.  Then I walked over to where Clay was getting
his makeup done.  When he saw me, he immediately got up, much to the dismay
of the makeup artist.  That was OK, though - he looked like he could use a
little break to pull the corncob or whatever it was out of his ass.

"Hey!" he said.  "Glad you could make it!"

"No problem.  Looks kind of hectic at the moment," I said, looking around.

"Well, that's all the prep work at the beginning.  Once we actually get
started, it runs like clockwork.  Hey, I want to introduce you to Paula.
Paula, this is Randy."

"Nice to meet you," I said as cordially as possible.

"You, too!  Clay talks about you all the time!  I feel like I know you
already!" she said.

"Thanks," I said, blushing.  "He's always been very complimentary of you,
too."

"Well, isn't he just the sweetest!  Hey, I have an idea.  Why don't the two
of you come over to my place for dinner tomorrow night?"  offered Paula.

Wow, I thought, maybe I really did misjudge that conversation!  After all,
she seemed to know about Clay and I, and she even invited us to her house!

"We'd like that," answered Clay for the both of us.  We made plans, and then
the photo shoot began.   The next hour or so was filled with activity, but
just as Clay had said, it moved like clockwork.  Before I realized it, Clay
was ready to leave.

When we got back to my apartment, Clay crashed on my couch.  "What a day,"
he said, stretching.

I sat down next to him.  "Yeah, but you looked like you were having fun," I
told him.

"Well, it's all still pretty new - still very surreal, you know?" he said.

"Yeah," I said.  "But you're a natural.  Even Paula said so."

"Really?" he said, blushing.

"Yeah, she and I chatted a bit more when she wasn't needed in the shots.
You know, I'd say she has a thing for you..." I teased him.  He blushed
deeply.

"Nah...you don't think...really?" he asked.  He had kind of a faraway look in
his eye that troubled me.

"Yeah," I said.  I nudged him in the ribs with my elbow.  "But you're MY
man, right?" I said, smiling.

"Huh?"  He kind of shook his head, like I had interrupted his thoughts.
"Oh...yeah."

"Clay?  Is something wrong?" I asked.

"No, sorry, I was just thinking..." he said.  Then he smiled and wrapped his
arms around me.  "Don't worry.  You are the ONLY one for me."  He kissed me
on the cheek.

"Good," I said, leaning into him more.  We spent the rest of the afternoon
talking, and then he had to go.

"So, I'll pick you up tomorrow at 7:30?" I asked him.

"Sounds great.  See ya then!"  He leaned in, and we kissed goodbye.  It
ended all too quickly, and he was out the door.

***

The next evening, I arrived at Clay's house exactly at 7:30.

"You're late," he said with a smirk as he opened the door.

"Hey, it's summer," I said, smiling, "I think I get to lay off the `teacher
time' for a little while."

"Oh you think so, huh?" he said as he kissed me on the cheek.

"Yep!" I said.  "That's my story and I'm stickin' to it!"

"Alright, well, let's go then.  I just need to grab something real quick.
I'll meet you at the car."

When Clay returned to the car, he carried with him a bottle of wine.

"Oh, that was very thoughtful!" I said.  I mentally slapped myself for not
thinking of that.

"Well, it was no big deal - I just thought we should bring something," he
said.  We drove to Paula's house, which was absolutely gorgeous.  Hell, her
driveway was probably as big as my apartment!  When we walked up the path,
Paula opened the door and greeted us warmly.

"Hi!!  Come on in!  Glad you could make it!" she said.

"Thanks for inviting us," I said.

"This is for you," said Clay.

"Why thank you so much, Clay!" she said, a little *too* enthusiastically.
"Your mama raised you right, didn't she?"  Paula gently laid her hand on
Clay's chest.  My uneasiness immediately returned.

We sat down in her living room (which was *definitely* bigger than my
apartment) and had drinks.  Paula and I each had a glass of wine, while Clay
had water.  I sat down on the leather sofa, and Clay sat next to me,
grabbing my hand as he did, which left Paula a spot on the love seat not too
far away - or so we thought.  Instead...

"Mind if I just skooch in between you two?" she said, as if we had a choice,
with her almost literally pushing Clay and I apart with her hips.  "Ahh,
there we go," she said when she sat down.

We chatted for a short while we waited for dinner...or should I say, Paula
chatted with Clay, effectively freezing me out of the conversation.  And oh,
the touching, the giggling, the staring...Needless to say I was VERY glad when
it was announced that dinner was ready.  As we walked to the dining room, I
tried to shoot Clay a look that said, "What the hell is going *on* here?!"
Clay, however, was oblivious, and kept right on chatting with Paula.

Dinner wasn't much better.  It was harder for Paula to ignore me when I sat
right next to Clay, but that didn't exactly deter her.  Clay, finally
sensing my frustration, at least tried to bring me into the conversation a
few times, but to no avail.  By the time the meal was over (and it was quite
delicious, I had to admit), I was fuming.  I quickly excused myself to use
the restroom.  I sat in that bathroom for ten minutes, trying to calm myself
down.  I did everything I could think of - deep breaths, counting to ten,
splashing cold water on my face, you name it.  When I had finally calmed
down enough, I left the bathroom.  It took me a little bit, but I was able
to remember the way back to the dining room.  When I got there, I saw Clay
and Paula...

Kissing.

***

Well, that's Chapter 7!!  Think this spells trouble for Randy and Clay?  It
just might...  Yeah, you guys probably hate me right now don't you?  The only
thing I can tell you is to have faith - I will not let you down!  If you
still have doubts, or comments of any kind, please email me at
musicteacher2002@hotmail.com  Let me know what YOU would like to see happen
- who knows, it just might influence me!

Now for the "Thank You" portion - Lee, as always, for being my editor and
friend.  This chapter took a leap of faith on his part, but he was wonderful
as always!  Also, thanks to everyone who is emailing me.  I really
appreciate the feedback!!