The alarm clock jolted Rachel awake. She reached over to slap the snooze button, but she hit air. She reached farther over and still felt nothing.

"Stop it." A deep, grumbling voice said next to her. Rachel jumped and opened her eyes. She looked over and realization dawned on her. 'I'm in Lance's room.' Lance pulled her closer and he tucked her under his arm. "Go back to sleep." He whispered, kissing Rachel's shoulder.

"We can't. The alarm went off." Rachel stared up at the ceiling. "Lance? Are you awake?"

"No."

"Yes, you are!" Rachel giggled. "Why am I in your room?" The last thing she remembered was them talking and laughing. They talked about everything last night, everything but their relationship and the kiss. They talked about what had been happening at home with their families, they reminisced, talked about the other guys in the group, other celebrities. Everything. Rachel had a lot of fun.

"You fell asleep, you big nerd. Well, we both did." Lance sat up. "Ugh, we gotta get up. As much as I don't want to, we have to." He walked into the bathroom and a few moments later, Rachel heard the shower start up.

The phone rang in Rachel's room, and she ran to pick it up. "Hello?" She answered, breathlessly.

"Hey! Were you sleeping?" Justin's voice asked through the phone.

"Nah. I was in Lance's room and I heard the phone, so I had to run in here."

"We're in New York tonight, and I guess we're all going out to a club. You coming with us?"

"Sure, why not? I haven't been out clubbing with you guys in a long time. It'll be fun!" They talked for a few minutes and then hung up the phone. Rachel walked into Lance's room to let him know that they were going clubbing later. He was bent over his suitcase, in his towel.

She took a deep breath. "Uh..." Rachel waited for him to turn around. "We're going clubbing in New York tonight." She walked in the room and stood in front of him.

"Okay. Do you know where my gray pullover shirt is?" Lance asked, absent-mindedly.

"Yeah. JC wore it yesterday." Rachel stepped back and looked him over.

"Son of a -" Lance was cut off by Rachel. "Hey! Watch it." She raised her eyebrows at him.

"Ya know something? You've got a real nice body. You wanna know what the perfect guy is?" She asked, softly. Rachel stepped forward, a little closer to Lance.

His face was flushed. "Sure. Enlighten me."

"Well, he's got a nice body." Rachel ran her hands over his stomach. "His hands are beautiful and strong. They'll make a girl feel so safe, by just holding her or touching her." She brought one of his hands up to her mouth and kissed the back of it gently. She had no idea where this newfound courage was coming from. Lance swallowed hard. "He has these awesome muscular shoulders." Rachel whisked her lips against the smooth skin on his shoulders. "He listens to everything I say." She whispered in his ear. "He has really soft hair. I have to be able to run my fingers through it." Rachel stroked the back of his head. "He has to have beautiful and smooth skin." She rubbed his cheek, softly. Lance trembled under her touch. 'Oh my God.' "His eyes have to be able to move me. He can look at me and know exactly how I'm feeling and what I'm thinking. I can see the same in him, his thoughts and his feelings. My whole life can be seen in his eyes and his life in mine. His eyes express the same love and emotions that I'm feeling." Rachel swallowed and looked into his eyes. Lance lazily looked back at her. His eyes gave her permission to follow through with her actions. "He has to have this amazing and beautiful voice. I could listen to him breathe, talk, whisper and sing all day long. It's deep and husky and speaks with so much tender love, care, and appreciation. In his words, he tells me I'm his best friend and we'll be together forever. He tells me he loves me." She finished in a whisper, hovering over his lips. "He tells me to kiss him."

"Kiss me." Lance replied. Although Rachel had barely finished her sentence, he had already answered her. She smiled, knowing this kiss would be better than last night's. She brought her lips up to his, resting her hands on his chest. Lance waited for her permission to continue. She pushed his mouth open with hers and brought her hands up to the back of his head. Rachel wrapped her fingers in his hair and massaged the back of his head.

Lance's eyes shot up in surprise. He didn't expect her to be so direct and to take charge. He clung to the back of her shirt as he deepened his pressure. The pleasure and the feelings that overtook him were more intense than anything he had ever felt before. He tilted his head at a different angle and Rachel deepened the pressure this time. She pulled Lance tighter against her and smiled at his surprise. He pulled away after a few minutes of the intense kissing. "Wow." He breathed heavily.

Rachel leaned against his chest and hugged him close. Lance rested his chin on the top of her head and ran his hands over her shoulders and arms. Their breathing slowed down after a few moments, and Rachel spoke for the first time. "We're going to get in a lot of trouble if we keep doing this."

"We definitely need to talk about things, but now is not the time. We've gotta hurry and get ready. We have to get on the bus in like twenty minutes." Lance sighed, regrettably. He really wanted to talk and discuss their confusing and newfound feelings.

"Okay. Maybe we'll talk tonight?" Rachel questioned, hesitantly.

Lance nodded, agreeing. "I'm going to get ready. I still have to shower." Rachel smiled up at Lance and turned away.

"Do...do you need any help?" Lance asked, looking at the floor. He glanced up, mischief in his eyes.

Rachel snorted with laughter. "Oh yeah. Am I that transparent? I didn't think you could see that I needed help showering and washing my hair. Are you up for the challenge baby?"

"Oh yeah. I could make you scream, baby." Lance wiggled his eyebrows.

"Scream? I hope you're not referring to pleasure. Because I'm thinking of screaming in fright." Rachel smirked at him.

"Go get in your shower. You smell bad." Lance cracked at her.

"Oh yeah. My smell didn't matter to you a few minutes ago." Rachel grinned at the sudden redness in his face. "See ya on the bus." When Lance was sure she was in the shower, he flopped back on the bed. He stared at the ceiling, thinking and daydreaming about the newfound possibilities in their relationship.

next

tami stinks. that was one HUGE block of text and i had to fix it. *grumble*