They talked most of the night and fell asleep in each others arms on the couch in the TV room. As soon as the sun came up, they stopped for breakfast and the girls all shared their mutual good news. When they got ready to board for the rest of the trip, the girls got on their own bus so they could get their things together for their arrival. Lance kissed Elaine before she got on the bus and assured her that he would miss her.
As soon as Lance got on the bus, he grabbed his cell phone and dialed in a number. "Yes, this is Lance Bass, I want that article ready for tonight. I want it delivered at the arena at 5:30 this afternoon and I want it delivered to NO ONE but me. I will notify Security. Thank you for getting on this ASAP."
When he was through with that call, he dialed his house in Orlando and his father answered the phone. "Dad, I did it. You were right, she is the one."
"I take it you're talking about Elaine, son?"
"Yes, sir. She wants me Dad, not the pop star, she wants me."
"I don't want to say it, but, I told you so...So, she's agreed to be your girl and take all the garbage that goes with it, huh?"
"Dad, I was so scared when I talked to her early this morning. I was so afraid that she wouldn't want me, but you know what? She's been in love with me for a while and was just waiting until she was old enough not to scare me off," he laughed.
"So, are you going public, or are you keeping it quiet?"
"We're doing a special for her birthday tonight and all the announcements will be made then."
"All the announcements? What announcements?" asked Jim.
"Well, there's Elaine and I, Lynne and Justin, Rickii and JC and Joey and Kelly are engaged."
"Sounds like you guys are going out in style. Do you want me to tell your Mom or do you want to do it?"
"Would you Dad, I've got a ton of things to do before we pull in. Is everyone there?"
"Yeah, Stacy is here, but Ford couldn't make it."
"Okay, would you make sure that the rooms are ready for the girls for me? They will be staying until we can find them a place to live."
"Will do, Son. See you in a few hours."
Lance hung up and went to his bunk to make sure he had all his stuff together for when they arrived at the studio. He wanted to be able to transfer to the vans quickly so they could get home. The most important thing was to have some time with Elaine before tonight. He had just seen her and already, he missed her. He missed being able to see her and touch her. As her image floated through his mind, he picked up his cell phone and dialed her number.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Sugar. What cha doin'?"
"Sitting here in my bunk getting my things together and realizing how much I miss you."
"I wish I could hold you right now."
"I wish you could hold me, too. Oh Lancelot, I love you so much."
The sound of her voice saying those words, "I love you," was like a soothing rain. He quickly scanned his brain and realized he had yet to tell her how he really felt. "I love you, too, Sugar. Do you have any idea how happy you have made me? Baby, you're my life."
"What time are we supposed to get into Orlando?"
"I think around ten or eleven. Why?"
"Just wondering how much time we would have before the show tonight."
"Sugar, we will make time to be together. I don't ever want to let you go."
"Lance...say it again."
"What Baby?"
"Say, 'I love you.'"
"That's easy. I love you, Elaine. I love you with all my heart."
"Lance....what are the fans going to say?"
"Honey, I don't care what they have to say. I love you. I want you in my life. It's you I want to share my life with."
"Sweetie, I know you care what they think, you always have."
"Elaine, that was yesterday. Don't get me wrong. I love our fans, I appreciate all they have done for us. But, baby, they don't keep me warm at night. They don't give me encouragement when I'm down. They're not there to share all the good things with...they're NOT you."
If she could have been near him just then, she would have held him and never let go. His words of love were so touching and so sincere. He loved her. This was her dream come true.
"Lance, I understand what you are saying, but these are 'fans' and they love you in their own way. You've got to be very careful how you do this. Honey, you guys are announcing that the rest of the group is out of contention as dating material. You've got to lay the ground work carefully."
"Beautiful and smart, too. How did I get so lucky?" Lance laughed.
"Just born under a lucky star I guess." They talked for a long time. Before they knew it, they were on the outskirts of Orlando. "Honey, we've got to get off the phone and get our stuff together."
"See you in a little bit and then we'll be home. HOME, that sounds so good, now," dreamed Lance. "I love you, Sugar."
"I love you, Lancelot. See ya soon, no wait! Are you still in the bus ahead of us?"
"Yeah...why...oh.. I know. Go girl." He jumped out of his bunk and ran back to the back of the bus and Elaine ran to the front of her bus. They reached the windows at the same time. She was so close, but yet so far away. Elaine moved to the steps of the bus and put her face against the window. She held her hand up with the universal sign for 'I love you'. "I love you, too, Baby," Lance said into the phone.
The buses pulled into the back, secured lot at JIVE records. The vans were ready to take passengers and luggage to their destinations. There were lots of family members there to greet the guys as they got off the bus. JC and Justin had decided that they would go home in the vans and then drive over to Lance's house to get together and discuss how they would handle the announcements that night.
There were fans lined up along the fences in back to welcome the guys home. There were signs and presents for the guys. JIVE had arranged for a large box to be placed at the fence for everyone to place their gifts in. They would be distributed to the guys later.
Everyone gathered what they could and headed for the vans. Elaine had her smaller bag and ran for the van that Lance had told her to go to. Lynne and Rickii followed right behind her. The girls sat and waited for Lance to join them.
Some JIVE executives and Johnny Wright were talking with the guys about some figures on album sales. Lance kept looking toward the van and fidgeting with his ring and wanting to get home. Finally, the talk was over and Lance confirmed with Justin and JC that they would be over as soon as they could. He ran for the van and sat next to Elaine and put his arm around her and kissed her. "God, I've missed you. Where have you been?" he grinned.
"Right here waiting for you."
As the vans pulled out, everyone waved at the vans and the guys waved back to the fans. Lance still had his arm around Elaine as they went through the gate. All the fans were excited at seeing the guys back home, with the exception of one fan near the gate who noticed the look Lance was giving the girl at his side as they drove through the gate.
The vans made the rounds of everyone's houses and dropped people and luggage everywhere. The minute Lance and Elaine walked into his house, his Dad grabbed them both and hugged them. "Welcome home, Son, and welcome to you young lady," Jim just gushed and grinned from ear to ear. He stood back and looked at them together. The look on Lance's face said it all, he was happy for the first time in a long time. Jim took Elaine's hands in his and looked deep into her eyes. "Elaine, thank you for making my son happy. You don't know what it means to have him 'back' with us like this. Son, you look like you could just bust."
"Well, hey to you, to, Dad. Where's Mom?"
"She's in the kitchen, where else."
"No, I'm not, Lance, honey welcome home," cooed Diane. "I hope you don't mind, but I started dinner because I know we wouldn't have that much time before tonight."
"Justin and JC are coming over to spend time with the girls and we're going to discuss the announcements tonight," Lance informed his Mom.
"Oh, there's plenty for everyone, you just won't have as many left overs now," she laughed.
Diane turned to Elaine and gave her a hug. "Jim told me about you and Lance. I'm going to be honest, I don't know how good an idea this relationship is, but, I trust my Son's judgment and until you prove him wrong, you'll have no problems from me. Fair enough?"
"Fair enough, Mrs. Bass," confirmed Elaine.
"She's respectful, I like that, but Elaine, you can call us Diane and Jim.
"Thank you, Mrs., ah, Diane," she felt funny doing that. "May I help you with anything in the kitchen?"
"You're not working in the kitchen right now, you go and relax and get your things put away. You're in Lance's room until we leave, and Lance, you're sleeping on the sofa in the family room."
Lance did a mock clicking of his heels together and fired off a "Yes Ma'am!!"
He and his Dad carried luggage up the stairs and the girls carried the lighter stuff. Everyone got washed up for dinner and shortly after they came down, Justin and JC arrived. They had the best meal they had been able to eat since the retreat.
After dinner, the three couples went into the family room to talk about tonight's doings. They decided that they would let Joey make his announcement first. Then they would talk to the fans and tell them how they felt about the girls. They decided they would have the special number for Elaine's birthday before they did the news breaking.
After they felt everything was set, they went out for a walk in the garden. Lance wanted to show her his surprise. As they got closer to the rose garden, he slipped behind her and covered her eyes. When they got closer, Lance asked her to sniff the air and tell him what she smelled.
"Well, we're in the rose garden, so, I smell roses, Lancelot," she teased.
"Funny, honey. Stop and sniff here in particular."
Elaine leaned forward and the sweetest fragrance ever filled her nostrils. "Oh my Lance, that is heavenly. What is it?"
He dropped his hands and she was looking at the most beautiful lavender roses she had ever seen. They were a deeper color than she had ever seen in the roses. "Oh Lance, that is the most exquisite rose I have ever seen. When did you get them? They are beautiful."
"I'm glad you like them, they're for you. Happy Birthday, Sugar."
She looked at Lance as though she did not believe he had done this. She stepped in front of him and put her arms around his neck. "You are the most amazing man I know. Thank you for my roses and you put them in your garden. Guess I'll have to come over often to see them when I get a place."
"First of all, it's OUR garden and you can have anything here that you want. Second, I don't want you to visit our garden, I want you to stay here with me. I've thought about it and why should you and the girls have the added expense of an apartment or house when school starts?"
"But Lance, people will talk about us 'living together' and I don't want people thinking that about us. I'm not that kind of girl," she grinned at him.
"The other girls will be here, too. What are they going to say then, that we have orgies here?" he laughed.
"Actually, there will be some people who will think just that."
"What if I have a guest house built on the back of the property for you and the girls to live in. That way you will be protected by the fence and security. You know, you and Lynne and Rickii will have to have your own security now, don't you?"
Elaine looked at him with a blank look on her face. "You must be joking," she said unbelievingly. "Us, need security guards. That's ridiculous. We're not the STARS."
"But, you are the STAR'S girlfriends. There will be fans that love you and there will be fans that hate you. Those are the ones we have to protect you from." He put his arms around her waist and pulled her to him. "Sugar, I am so afraid of losing you, now that I have you. I know that you would NEVER intentionally hurt me, but if something were to happen to you, I would die. Baby, you're my heart, you're my life." He kissed her and held her close.
Being in his arms was the closest thing to heaven she could imagine. Being in his arms, she felt safe. She never wanted to leave this haven of solitude. As much as they hated to, they started back to the house. As they got near the patio, the others joined them. Lance looked at his watch and it was getting close to time to go for sound check and Meet and Greet. Also, Lance had to be there for the delivery at 5:30.
The guys told the girls not to worry about dressing for the show. There would be a limo to bring them to the TD Waterhouse Arena in time for wardrobe and makeup to get them ready. The girls screamed with delight at the thought of being made up for the concert by professionals. They were so excited.
The guys were going to drive themselves to the arena, so Lance went to grab a hat and his keys. As he started for the garage door, Elaine told him she wanted to walk him out. He stopped dead in his tracks and looked at the others as if in a panic. Lance thought fast. "Baby, I forgot my sunglasses up on the dresser in my room, would you grab them for me and meet me out front?"
"Sure sweetie, I'll be right down." Elaine ran up the stairs to his room.
"That was close. Lynne, you make sure she doesn't go through the garage, but out the front door."
"Sure thing Lance. We'll see you shortly," smiled Lynne as she went to the stairs to make sure they went out the front door.
