Lance sat at the table in the breakfast nook of his kitchen with his laptop open on his left, a pile of papers to his right, and a pad full of scribbled notes in front of him. Though, he had started the day in his home office, he felt the need to find somewhere a little cheerier, somewhere that he could enjoy the bright day even if he was going to spend it inside.

This was the first day in a month that Lance was actually free of any responsibilities to *NSYNC, yet what was he doing? He was sitting at home, alone, pouring over papers for FreeLance Entertainment. I guess it's official, he thought, I have no life!

He stared at the remnants of the sandwich he had made for lunch as he sighed, then his head snapped toward the front door as the bell rang. Lance sighed again as he looked at the pile of papers before him, then back toward the door. Shrugging, he said, "Well, I could use a break anyway."

Lance stood and started for the door as the bell rang again. "Hold on!" he yelled toward the door. "I'm coming!"

As he opened the door, his eyes widened. The young man waiting on the other side smiled crookedly when he saw Lance. "Seth?" Lance said, slightly shocked. "What are you doing here?"

"Hey, Lance," the sandy haired man said. "Would you believe I was in the neighborhood and thought I'd drop by?"

"You're still full of shit, aren't you?" Lance said, laughing. "Get in here, you idiot!"

Seth entered as Lance stepped out of the way, then followed his gesturing hand into the living room. He sat on the couch and Lance asked him if he wanted something to drink.

Returning from the kitchen with two cans of cola in hand, Lance said, "So, where's Lorraine?"

Frowning, Seth took the cola Lance offered. "We..." Seth started, then became engrossed with the can in his hand. He toyed with the top, slowly tracing his fingers around it's rim. When he finally opened it, he said, "We broke up," then quickly took a drink.

"You what?" Lance asked, turning to his friend, while placing his own cola on the table beside the couch.

Seth never looked up as he placed his cola beside Lance's. "We broke up," he said again, shrugging.

"I heard that," Lance said, inching closer to him. "What I want to know is why. You two have been going together since our senior year of high school!"

Seth shrugged, still unable to face his friend. "She found out," he said quietly.

"She found what out..." Lance said, then sputtered to a halt as a possible meaning for Seth's statement dawned. "About.... How?"

"She found some stuff," Seth said, simply. "I kept some around, for when I'm in the mood for that kinda thing."

Lance nodded, then said, "So, she just ended it like that, after seeing some porn?"

"I don't know ... I guess," Seth said, finally looking up into Lance's face. "Beth said she's been sneaking around with Paul Clark for a while now ... that she was just looking for a way out, but I don't know. You don't think gay porn under your boyfriend's bed is enough?" Seth rubbed his hand over his face, as he sank back into the couch.

Reaching over to squeeze his friend's shoulder, Lance said, "God, I'm sorry," before leaning in and pulling Seth into a hug. "I know you probably don't want to hear this, but if she was cheating on you, then you're probably better off."

"I know," Seth said, "it's just...." The sentence dropped, as he let his head fall back onto the back of the couch.

"Afraid she'll out you?" Lance said, a sympathetic frown on his face.

"Yeah," Seth said, tipping his head and shrugging one shoulder. "I just don't know if I can handle it. You had problems when you first told you folks, didn't you?"

"Yeah," Lance said, "they pretty much went ballistic. Then Stacey talked to them ... actually verbally slapped some sense into them." Lance smiled as he thought back to way his sister came to his defense.

"It didn't shock her?" Seth asked, his eyebrows scrunching in question.

"Well, it did a little when she first found out," Lance said, raising an eyebrow. "She had a little more time to adjust, I guess," his eyes took on a faraway look, then he continued, "No, Sis was pretty cool from the get go."

"I thought you told them all together?" Seth said, confusion clearly written across his face.

"Actually..." Lance said, pulling his mouth to the side as he scratched the back of his head. "Well, she kinda stumbled into finding out." Seth gave him an even more curious look. "Stacey sort of ... walked in on the two of us making out in my room one time."

Seth's eyes widened as he leaned forward. He shook his head as he tried to form a sentence, "So she ... she just left and didn't say anything? She's known all along?"

"She asked me about it a few days later," Lance said, again smiling at the memory. "We never really discussed you though, she figured it was your business, not hers. Me, on the other hand ... she had me helping her size up boyfriends." The two burst into laughter.

Seth shook his head, then said, "I can't believe she's known all this time and never let on once. I've seen her around town lots of times."

"She's cool, best big sis a guy could ask for." Lance took another sip of his cola before replacing the can on the table. He looked into the vacant fireplace, then turned back to Seth and said, "So, why did you come all the way out here to see me?"

"I don't know," Seth said, shaking his head with a little shrug. "After it happened, I just jumped in my car and started driving."

"Seth, Florida is a pretty fair clip from Mississippi," Lance said, looking at him questioningly.

"I know," Seth said, glancing up at Lance with a helpless expression. "I drove out of town heading east, and when I reached the on-ramp ... I took it. Don't know what it was ... I just needed to get out of there. Something made me think of you. I got half-way here, before I realized that I wasn't even sure if you'd be here."

Lance chuckled, then said, "Guess you got lucky, huh? So, you're gonna stay here with me, right?"

"I don't wanna impose," Seth said, inching forward on the cushion. "I've got money. I can get a hotel or something."

"Nah, it'll be great," Lance said, playfully punching Seth's shoulder, "just like the old days, hangin' out and talkin' about everyone! Besides, you came all this way, it's just not right that you be alone in a hotel somewhere."

"Thanks, Lance," Seth said, smiling back at him. As he opened his mouth to continue, Seth was interrupted by ringing from the kitchen.

Lance sighed, then rolled his eyes. "Just a sec, I'll be right back," Lance said, standing and jogging into the kitchen. "Hello?" Seth heard him say as the ringing ceased. "Oh hey, Meredith. You all set for tomorrow, lady?" Lance said, rejoining Seth, cell phone in hand. "Yeah, I already talked to San Tau, he's all set for you. You'll love him, he's great, always makin' you laugh and stuff. Oh, and don't forget to tell him to send me those proof sheets as soon as he has them ready. Tell him I wanna see what gorgeous work that sick mind of his has come up with." Lance laughed at her response. "No, don't worry, he won't do you up like he did us in that spread. Besides, your Mom would kill him and me, too!" Lance smiled over at Seth, who was trying to muffle his laughter with his hand. "Okay, bye, girl. Love you, and have fun tomorrow!"

Seth looked over at Lance, a strange, almost disquieting smile on his lips. Lance looked at him, his eyebrows wrinkling in question. "You amaze me sometimes," Seth finally said.

"What?" Lance asked, the questioning look deepening. "Why?"

"I don't know," Seth said, shrugging slightly. "You'd think that most guys in your position would be ... I'm not sure how to put this, but ... well, full of themselves." Lance laughed, as he shook his head. "No, I mean, you're successful, you own your own company ... or two, you talk to people named 'San Tau' ... you have every right to be proud. Not you, though. Every time you come home for a visit, you still go to church with your Gran. You come horse around with us at the mall. You know, some of the jerks back home say you just do it when you're home, play it off like it's nothing. It's not, though, your like this all the time ... same old Lance. You'd even take in one of those jerks from back home, and it's just like old times."

"I try my best," Lance said, smiling. "Of course it helps to have the four other guys there to smack me back down when I need it. Make that five. What was it that Steve said when Joey was gettin' outta hand on the bus? Oh, yeah! 'Joe, Bro ... your farts stink just like the rest of ours!' Actually, he's wrong ... next to Chris' dog's, Joey's are worse!"

Seth nearly fell off the couch, as he doubled over laughing. "Oh, gawd, I think that was a little more than anyone ever needed to know," he sputtered out between gasps for air. At Lance's slightly superior look, Seth said, "Like your's don't stink too?"

"I never said that," Lance said, smugly. "I'm just more polite about it."

"Yeah, mm hmm," Seth said, sarcasm dripping from the words. "This is the guy who used to spend the night with you in a two man tent on weekend camping trips, remember?"

"I've ... grown up since then," Lance said, trying to maintain a straight face. "Look, did you want to spend the night here or at a hotel?"

"Okay, okay," Seth said, raising his hands in surrender. "How far away from your room is the guest room, though?"

Lance's jaw dropped in an exaggerated display of shock, then he pounced on Seth, sending both of them tumbling to the floor. They wrestled for a bit, as if reliving their childhoods, before they were interrupted by the phone once again. "Oh, for Pete's sake!" Lance yelled, falling limply to the floor and allowing Seth to pin his shoulders.

"I win!" Seth cheered triumphantly.

"Yeah, yeah," Lance said, rolling the other man off him. "Saved by the bell is more like it!"

"Hey, did you ever get to meet that Mark-Paul guy like you said you wanted to?" Seth said, grinning evilly as Lance answered the phone.

Lance glared at him, as he said, "Hello," into the receiver. "Oh, hey, Josh!"

"Hey, Lance," JC said. "Not interrupting anything, am I?"

"No, nothing much," Lance replied, flipping his middle finger out toward Seth.

"Good," said JC. "Melissa and I were going out to dinner and were wondering if you wanted to tag along."

"You are?" Lance asked. "No, that's okay, you two go ahead. I had a friend from back home drop in, so I think I'm gonna spend some time with him." He looked over to find Seth sitting on the couch buffing his nails on his chest. "That is if I don't kill him first!"

Seth rolled out a pouting bottom lip, before sticking his tongue out at him.

"Okay, you two have fun," JC said, laughing. "Just make sure no one can connect you to the body, don't know what we'd do without a bass."

"I will, trust me!" Lance said, joining the laughter. "Are you guys staying at Justin's tonight?"

"Yeah, probably," JC said. "Why, giving away our room?"

"Your room?" Lance scoffed. "Melissa's maybe, but yours? I think not!"

JC laughed again, then said, "You know you love me."

"Well, I love Melissa," Lance said, considering for a moment. "I guess it's like guilty by association ... love by association?" Lance shrugged. "Oh, hey! Have you heard from Jus and Mac yet?"

"No," JC said, his cheerful tone falling flat. "Last I heard, they couldn't get a flight out, so they were chartering a plane. I'm not sure whether to be worried or not."

"I'm sure they'll be fine," Lance said, reassuringly. "Most of those charter companies around the airport are great , the label uses them all the time."

"They couldn't get one of those," JC said, "they were all booked up. They rented one themselves and Mac was flying them. He called me from the office to let me know."

"Oh," Lance said, the shared concern creeping into his voice. "Well, Mac's good, I'm sure they'll be fine."

"Yeah, I know he wouldn't do anything to endanger Justin," JC said. "I just didn't need to watch The Weather Channel. They were talking about a storm moving through tonight. It's already starting to look pretty nasty out there."

Lance glanced out his window. The picturesque, sunny morning was slowly turning into a grey, washed-out evening. He could see the darker, more ominous clouds rolling in on the horizon. "Josh, I'm sure they'll be fine," Lance said, not sure who he was trying to convince, JC or himself.

"Yeah, you're right," JC said, still sounding less than convinced. "They'll call in a little while."

"Yeah, of course they will!" Lance said. "Well, you two have fun at dinner."

"Okay,"JC said, a smile coming to his voice, "you two don't have too much fun."

"Right, Josh," Lance said. "Bye, you idjit, your lady's waitin'!"

"Bye, man," JC said, laughing as he hung up.

As soon as Lance hung up the phone, he grinned at Seth, "Now, where were we?" Pitching the cell phone onto the couch, he stood with his hands on his hips.

"As I remember it ... you were losing," Seth said, the smile on his lips unrepentant.

"I beg to differ," Lance said, "I believe we were interrupted, so that pin didn't count." In the blink of an eye, Lance had grabbed Seth and sent him sprawling onto the floor. "Now we'll see who's really gonna win this," he said, as he followed the man to the ground.

The two men wrestled around on the floor, inadvertently tipping over the coffee table in their struggles. The loud laughter and muffled grunts from their play only added impetus to the fray. When they bumped into the base of a nearby table and came close to successfully tipping its contents over upon them, Lance pushed Seth away and got on his knees to catch his breath. "That was a close one," he said, as he stood. Reaching down, he gave Seth a hand up, but instead of letting him stand, he pulled him farther away from the breakables before tackling him and pinning him to the ground. "See if you can get out of this one," Lance grunted, while Seth continued to struggle.

In a lightning quick move, Seth switched their positions and Lance found himself under him. Seth straddled Lance, while holding him to the floor. "Seems you spoke too soon, my friend," Seth said, as he laid his weight over him. Sometime during the tumbling, the excitement had fired Seth's blood and his erection was plainly visible as it strained against his jeans. When he laid himself completely down over Lance to keep him firmly planted for the pin, Lance felt the evidence of Seth's desire pressed boldly against his stomach.

The contact brought an answering electric charge from deep within Lance, and, all too soon, his jeans were feeling very uncomfortable. What had begun as a contest of strength became something altogether different in the space of those few moments. Seth pressed himself down closer to Lance's hot flesh, enjoying the thickness of Lance's staff between his legs. Bringing himself farther down Lance's body, he angled his hips to allow their swollen members to rub against each other while still encased in the fabric of their jeans.

Breath constricted within Lance's chest at the first touch of his friend's manhood against his own. It had been such a long time since he had felt the touch of another man in anything other than a friendly manner, nothing close to the purely sensual way Seth ground his hips into his own.

A low moan escaped Seth. Though this had not been on his mind when he left home, this was something that had haunted his dreams from time to time. His hands moved down over Lance's arms, relearning the contours of his friend's form.

Lance's hands came up to Seth's shoulders and pushed him away a little, then looked into his eyes. The eyes Lance turned on Seth held doubt, though that was quickly replaced by a burning desire as Seth's hand worked down over his chest coming ever closer to his abdomen.

Seth pushed himself off to the side of Lance, laying himself down along his body while his hand continued its mission. With quick little gestures, he pulled the material of Lance's t-shirt up, exposing the skin beneath. As his questing fingers came in contact with the heated flesh, Lance moaned deep in his throat and gave himself over to Seth's touch.

With his fingers tangled in Seth's hair, Lance arched into the sensations. All thought flew as Seth brought his mouth down to Lance's abdomen and began kissing and licking him lingeringly.

Almost automatically, Seth undid the button and unzipped Lance's jeans, then slipped his hand beneath the fabric to rub over Lance's manhood as it strained against his boxers. Seth loved the sounds his touch produced, and escalated them by easing his fingers under the waistband of the boxers before taking Lance's staff in his gentle, though firm, grip. Lance helped his endeavors by reaching between them to lower his jeans and shorts farther down his legs. Seth began a slow rhythm upon the thickness in his hand, while his mouth licked lower and closer to that throbbing shaft.

Lance's hands returned to Seth's hair and back, gripping him tightly as he tried to keep his hips from gyrating beneath the other man's ministrations. Lance quickly helped him to dispense with the shirt that restricted Seth's movements, then ran his hands over the bare skin of his chest and back while Seth returned to his previous endeavor. Leaning up as close as possible, Lance kissed the skin of Seth's shoulder, then gently bit him and ran his teeth over him. The grip of Seth's hand tightened momentarily, then resumed its insistent motion.

As Seth reached the base of Lance's cock with his roaming mouth, he lifted his face long enough to open his mouth and sink it down over Lance. With desire already creating a whirlwind of sensations within him, Seth sucked on him greedily, bringing Lance rapidly to the point of grinding his hips up into his friend's mouth.

Tightening his grip in Seth's hair, Lance pulled his mouth from his staff and pushed him back enough to unbutton and unzip his pants. As Seth leaned back to rid himself of the clinging fabric and his shoes, Lance shed his own pants, shorts, and shoes. Soon, both men were free of their clothes and came back to each other, their hands touching and fondling.

Pushing Seth over to his back, Lance began a trek down his chest and abdomen, while he gave Seth's manhood the same erotic attention that had been given his. When his mouth reached the area around Seth's cock, he brought his mouth down to suck gently on his friend's ballsac. A spasm shot through Seth, and he moaned eloquently. Changing position, Lance took his shaft deep into his mouth, rubbing his tongue against the underside of the member before sucking on it in a slow rhythm.

Seth held Lance's head as it moved up and down over him. He held himself still under the wet heat of Lance's mouth. As Lance increased the pressure of his mouth and the tempo of his motions, Seth felt his control slipping. Urgently, he pulled Lance up and attempted to lay him down beside himself. Instead, Lance knelt next to him. Seth looked into his eyes, then reached for his own jeans. He pulled his wallet from his back pants pocket and retrieved the condom he had there. After opening the packet and firmly sheathing himself with its contents, he knelt next to Lance.

Lance turned away from Seth, leaning over to place his hands on the floor. Coming up behind him, Seth rubbed his hands over Lance's back while he ground his erection against him. Lance opened his legs a bit more, his lower legs on the outside of Seth's. Gently, Seth pushed himself into Lance's opening, stopping occasionally to let Lance grow accustomed to his size. When he was firmly planted within him, Seth began to slowly pull back, then sank deeply within him again.

As the speed increased, Lance pushed himself back on Seth's straining cock. His mind was caught up completely in the sensations running through him. His thoughts went back to the man of his heart, the last man to make his body sing. Images of their lovemaking paraded through his mind's eye, and as his body exploded in ecstacy, he cried, "Rob!"

Seth sank down against his back, leaning his forehead against Lance's shoulder. He slowly rolled off of Lance, coming to rest beside him on the floor before the couch. Seth's head slowly sank back, his eyes closing. Lance silently used his t-shirt to clean himself, then stood and walked toward the back of the house. Hearing him leave, Seth put his hands to his face.

A few moment's later, his eyes still closed, Seth felt Lance standing beside him. He opened his eyes to find Lance offering him a towel. He took it, and after discarding the condom they had used, began to clean himself, while Lance pulled on his jeans.

Lance sat beside Seth in front of the couch, then leaned his back against its base. He allowed his head to drop back onto the cushion, as he stared blankly up at the ceiling.

Seth pulled his jeans on, pressing himself against the base of the couch to slip them over his hips. He bowed his head, shaking it. "I'm sorry," he said, still looking at his feet. "That shouldn't have happened. I never should have come here and bothered you." He stood, buttoning and zipping his pants, then reached for his shirt.

Lance took hold of his arm, then said, "Don't."

Seth looked down at him. "Don't what?" he asked, his eyes speaking of his regret.

Lance sat up, looking at him. "Don't leave ... don't be sorry for being here," Lance said. "It was my fault as much as it was yours. I knew we shouldn't have, but I did it anyway."

"I never should have taken advantage of you," Seth said.

"No," Lance said, pulling Seth back to sit beside him again. "I let it happen, you didn't force me. I'm just glad that you still feel we're close enough that you can come talk to me when something's wrong. We were best friends, I'm sorry we've grown so far apart."

Seth shrugged, then tilted his head over to look sideways at Lance. "We grew up," he said. "It happens. The fact that you're busy as hell all the time, and you live three states away doesn't help much either."

Lance laughed, then said, "You may have a point there."

"Well, I always was the smart one," Seth said, grinning.

"Oh, really!" Lance said, shoving Seth playfully.

"Yeah," Seth said, smugly. "Who was the one who took wrestling, and joined most of the other teams so that he got plenty of girls, plus a free pass into the mens' locker rooms ... and then who went out for chorus?"

Lance bowed and shook his head as he chuckled, then said, "Mm hmm."

"Okay..." Seth said, "you're right. That takes us back to: 'who's the guy that still works at the video store with the girlfriend that just dumped him,' and 'who's a hott pop star who's sold two point something million records.'"

"Actually, the two point something was just in a week, for one album," Lance said, grinning. "Besides, I only sold a fifth of that, I had lots of help. Um, and last time I checked, your family owns that video store, and it's the only one in town, so it pretty much gets all the business."

"I don't believe you," Seth said. "The only guy I know who even comes close to being able to brag, and you're the only one that doesn't!"

Lance just smiled at him, then reached over and put his arm around his shoulders. "I've missed you, man," he told Seth. "Hey, it's getting kinda late. You wanna grab a bite to eat or something?"

"Sure," Seth said, rubbing his stomach, "I am a little hungry." He looked around the room, before he continued. "I think we might better clean up a little first."

"And it might not hurt to get dressed, either," Lance said, looking between their still bare chests.

"Uh, yeah," Seth said. "I hope your can was empty," he said, crawling toward the overturned coffee table.

---

Copyright © 2000-2001 Virtual Phantom ... All Rights Reserved