The limo arrived at the party shortly after. "Are you ready to dance, hot mamma?" Chris winked at her. "Remember, I'm first!" He hopped out of the limo, waving and smiling at all of the fans.
Rachel laughed and shook her head in wonder. "That boy..." She trailed off, watching the guys get out. Lance held out his hand and guided her out of the limo. The cheering seemed to stop for a second and it started back up again. Rachel waved and smiled at the fans. They returned the gesture, nobody seemed to mind that her and Lance were there "together." Rachel could feel Lance visibly relax and could tell he was already beginning to enjoy himself.
They were escorted into the party and found their table. "Ready to get jiggy?" Chris held out his hand to Rachel and she shrugged her shoulders at Lance.
"Go ahead!" Lance pushed Rachel out of her seat and Chris dragged her to the floor. "For the love of Pete, dance NORMAL!" She yelled at Chris. He was flailing his arms around, doing a dance that looked like a cross between the hokey pokey and the chicken dance.
Chris laughed and stopped. "I'm just playin' Rae." He looked at her seductively and she swallowed hard. Chris danced closer to her and rested his hands on Rachel's hips. "Justin's not the only one with the awesome moves."
"Christopher, I have one thing to say to you." Rachel yelled over the music in his ear. "You can be damn sexy when you try. I think I may be dancing with you a few more times tonight." He spun Rachel around in a circle and brought her back to his chest. They continued the grinding and swaying.
"Yeah, baby! Yeah!" Chris did an imitation of Austin Powers. "Do I make you horny, baby? Do I?" He laughed at Rachel's embarrassed and shocked expression.
After the dance, they headed back to the table. Chris' hand guided Rachel back through the crowd. They were intercepted by a few other artists in the business and he stopped to chat with them. "Chris, I'm going to go back, okay?" She tugged on his sleeve. He nodded his head and Rachel started to walk back.
"Oops. I'm sorry!" Rachel exclaimed as she ran into a man that was a bit taller than her. She looked up and her mouth fell open.
"It's alright. I'm Marshall, but most people call me Eminem." He stuck out his hand. "I saw you dancing out there with that guy and you looked real good."
She blushed. "Thanks, I'm Rachel. Nice to meet you." She shook his outstretched hand. "Good luck at the awards in a couple of weeks." Rachel tried making conversation, but he kept looking at her in a way she didn't like.
"Who are you here with?" Eminem asked her, demandingly. He stepped closer to her and Rachel looked around his shoulder for Chris.
"Umm..." She paused before answering. "I'm here with Lance Bass." Her voice wavered with nervousness.
He could detect her apprehension. "Who's that?" Eminem asked, with a puzzled look.
"He's in *NSYNC..." Rachel trailed off, noticing the disgusted look on the rapper's face. "I'm here with the other guys from the group too."
"Oh that's nice. Are you doing anything after this party? Do you want to go back to the hotel with me and my crew?" He asked forcefully, putting one of his hands on Rachel's waist.
"No. Thanks anyway. Listen, I kinda have to get back to my table." Rachel stuttered, feeling Eminem getting closer, his hand tightening on her waist. His other hand wound around her back. "It was nice talking to you." She started to walk away.
At the same moment, Lance noticed her discomfort and saw Eminem's closeness. He started to walk across the room.
Eminem pulled her hard against his chest. Rachel struggled to push away from him. "Let go of me!" She shouted. He held on tighter and brought his face down to her ear. "LANCE! Help!" Rachel screamed for her best friend.
"When your ready for a real man, come find me." Eminem whispered in her ear. She felt dirty. His hands rubbed all over her body. His hot breath misted across her neck. Rachel tried to pull away again.
Lance walked up and gently took Rachel out of the performer's arms. He stood chest to chest with Eminem. "Back off. She's with me!"
"Yeah, that's the problem. She's with you. She should be with a real man, somebody who can perform. I do mean that in more ways than one." Eminem winked at Rachel, making her feel nauseous.
Lance saw red with his insinuation. He grabbed Eminem by the throat and shoved him up against the bar. "If you look at her one more time, you won't even have a chance to think about performing. If you know what I mean." Lance snarled at him.
Two guards instantly stepped between the angry men. "Let him go, Mr. Bass." The guard took hold of Lance's arm. "Mr. Mathers.You'll have to leave."
The rapper looked snidely at the couple. "This party was lame anyway!" He snapped and slammed out of the building. Rachel breathed a sigh of relief. Lance stepped up close to her; she blinked and wrapped her shaking arms up around his neck.
"I was so scared." Rachel whimpered into his neck. Lance tightened his arms around Rachel. "Shh.. Nothing is going to happen to you. Not anymore, I promise you that." He kissed her cheek.
He pulled her onto the dance floor; a slow song was playing. "Lance, I don't want to do this." Rachel cried, silent tears running down her face.
"Rae, it's just you and me baby. Nobody is going to hurt you in any way. I promise." Lance leaned his forehead against hers, wiping away her tears with his thumb. "Don't give up. Don't let that ass ruin your night."
Rachel shook her head and buried it in his shoulder. His arms instinctively tightened around her. Lance could feel her shaking. "Do you wanna go, sweetie?" He asked her quietly. He pulled back and held her face in his hands, staring into her eyes. Rachel didn't even have to answer, it was in her eyes.
Lance nodded his head and held her hand. They walked back to the table. "Guys, we're going to leave. Rachel is ready to go." He took his jacket off the chair and handed it to her. Rachel pulled it on and wrapped it tightly around her.
Chris looked up at Rachel. "I'm really sorry, Rae. I shouldn't have left you..." He trailed off, his eyes full of apology.
"Oh, Chris. It's not your fault." She smiled and dropped a kiss on the top of his head. Rachel turned and started to walk away.
"Hey, Dude." Justin grabbed Lance's arm. "Is she going to be okay? She seems really shaken up."
Lance looked around him, worry evident on everyone's face. His mind wandered back to the night a few years ago. "I don't know, J. I don't know."
"You did good Lance. Don't feel bad; you got up when you noticed what was going on." JC nodded at Lance. The others agreed with him.
"Go get your girl, buddy." Joey said looking up briefly from his drink. Lance said good-bye to everybody and walked towards Rachel. Only when he reached her did he hear Joey's words again."Go get your girl." Joey's words repeated in his mind.
"My girl. My girl. My girl." Lance thought over and over again. He enjoyed the sound of it.
