Before reading this story, check out One More Day!

Not That Different

By: Mindy

©2001

CHAPTER 1

Macey Jenkins smiled as she opened the envelope of pictures from her recent trip to New York City. The first picture, one she had taken while standing on top of the World Trade center, brought the memories of the trip flooding back. She let herself get lost in the moments as she flipped through the pictures slowly, examining each one carefully, letting herself remember the times surrounding each picture. Three days earlier, she'd gotten home from a whirlwind vacation of a lifetime. She had been chosen to spend a weekend with the men of NSync in New York City. What had been advertised online as a ‘weekend of a lifetime’ had really been just that… although the weekend ended differently than anyone involved thought it might have. The guys had been called out suddenly to re-do a photo shoot required for their new album and they'd had to leave without saying goodbye. Losing her last day with NSync and not being able to say thanks and goodbye to them had hit her pretty hard at first. She left New York early and flew home that night. But as the days passed, Macey finally began to be a little more ‘adult’ about the situation; she realized that there was nothing to be upset about… she'd gotten to meet five people that she never thought she'd even be in the same room with. She got to spend time and party with them, seeing a side of them that very few fans ever got to see. And most importantly, she got to see that they were real people… people who were truly deserving of all the fame and fortune that had come their way.

As she got to the last picture, she laid back on her bed and smiled, closing her eyes. When she opened her eyes, she looked at the picture again. "I forgot all about that," she thought to herself. The picture was of her and Lance in the middle of Times Square. Justin had snapped it while neither Macey nor Lance were expecting it and the result was an incredibly good candid shot of the pair. They were both laughing, their eyes shining, and Lance had his arms wrapped around Macey from the back. For just a moment, she could feel the warmth of his arms around her and let herself get caught up in what she had begun to feel for the famous singer.

"Whatever," she sighed, sitting the picture on her bedside table and getting back up to continue working on the resumes she needed to send out early the next morning.

Two days later, Macey looked over her shoulder as she switched lanes on I-465 as she traveled around Indianapolis. She reached for the volume on her radio as the familiar strains of NSync's "POP" came on the radio.

"Why you wanna' try to classify the type of things that we do?" she sang along loudly with a smile on her face. Her ringing cell phone jerked her out of her performance and she hit the talk button before she reached for the volume on the radio. When NSync was singing at a reasonable level, she finally said hello. Joey's girlfriend Jen's laughter greeted her on the other end. Macey and Jen had become good friends in the short time they'd spent together in New York City and they'd talked virtually every day since Macey had returned home and Jen resumed life on the road with NSync.

"What are you laughing at??" Macey asked, beginning to laugh herself.

"You crack me up Macey," Jen told her, her smile evident even through the phone.

"I do my best… what's up Jen?"

"Nothing much. I'm just chilling while the guys do soundcheck and thought I'd call and say hello. Just see how you're doing," Jen explained.

"I'm doing alright, I suppose," Macey said, carefully switching lanes again while trying to talk.

"Just alright?"

"Yeah… been stressed out about finding a job and I miss you guys," Macey admitted.

"We miss you too," Jen responded sincerely.

"How are things going?" Macey asked, changing the subject.

"Good actually. We're trying to get everything together for all the upcoming promo for the album since we're doing it early since the guys will be touring when the release date actually hits," Jen explained.

"I cannot wait to hear this damn album," Macey spat out randomly.

Jen just laughed and said, "It's almost here, I'm sure you'll survive Macey."

"Whatever you say Jen, but I'll have you know that I've just about worn out my POP single. Whenever I get fed-up with resumes and all that crap, which is all the time, I put it in."

"How did that interview you had yesterday go?"

"It was alright… I'm not really sure I want to go to that school though, so we'll see what else comes up. I swear, I need a vacation," Macey moaned.

"So take one," Jen offered.

"I just did…to New York… remember?" Macey laughed.

"So take another one… to Las Vegas," Jen suggested.

"Oh yeah, I'll fly out tomorrow," Macey rolled her eyes.

"No, not tomorrow, silly- July 27th," Jen told her.

"What the hell are you talking about Jen?" Macey asked.

"Welllll…. I was hanging out with the guys last night… and we were talking…" Jen drug out.

"You hang out and talk to the guys every night, bitch, get to the point," Macey admonished her.

"Alright! Damn!,” Jen laughed, “The conversation turned to you because I said that I'd just gotten off the phone with you and everyone was saying what an awesome time New York was… so we thought it would be really cool if you could fly out and come to Challenge for the Children in Vegas with us," Jen finished, clearly excited.

"Are you serious?" Macey asked in amazement.

"Definitely. I mean, we all feel horrible about having to leave New York, so it's a chance to make it up to you- do it the right way," Jen explained.

"You guys don't have to make anything up to me… I had a blast in New York," Macey interjected.

"We know we don't have to… but we want to. And it's not only that Mayce- we had a blast with you," Jen reiterated.

"I'd love to- I wanted to before I ever went to New York, but I can't afford to go to Las Vegas," Macey told her.

"Yes you can… it's on us- you'll be coming in as a VIP," Jen informed her.

"God Jen… I want to," Macey sighed.

"So do it- it'll be a blast!" Jen encouraged her.

"I'll think about it," Macey said.

"Think about it my ass!!!! You need to come!" Jen almost yelled at her.

Macey laughed and replied, "Just give me a few minutes to think about it and check my schedule. What are the dates again?"

"July 27th,28th, and 29th … we'll be there on the 26th though, so you'd have to fly out then," Jen told her.

"Ok, I'll call you later and let you know," Macey promised.

"You're coming Macey!" Jen laughed.

"Probably so," Macey admitted.

"Awesome… listen, I've gotta' run. They just finished the soundcheck and we're gonna' go do some shopping, but I'll talk to you soon," Jen said.

"Ok… talk to you soon… and hey Jen," Macey started.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

"No problem Mayce… call me later," Jen finished.

"Bye Jen," Macey said, hanging up the phone.

A minute later, Macey's phone rang again. She glanced at the Caller ID and saw Jen's number.

"What'd you forget???" Macey laughed.

"What???" Lance asked.

"Oh, hey! I thought you were Jen," Macey explained.

"Nope, it's me," he answered, a smile in his deep voice.

"Well this is a surprise," she said honestly. Although she'd talked to him briefly when all the guys called her the night she came back from New York, the last person she expected to be ringing her phone was Lance Bass.

"Why? I told you Sunday night I'd call you, didn't I?" he asked.

"Yes, yes you did," Macey smiled.

"Well then, why are you surprised??" he joked, half serious.

"Uhhh, I don't know," Macey admitted, "So what's up?"

"Jen said you didn't know if you were coming to Vegas or not," he explained.

"Yeah, I just need to think about it for a few minutes and check my schedule," she told him.

"Well, I just wanted to help you make up your mind," Lance responded.

"And how's that?" she laughed.

"You're coming. Decision made," he told her resolutely.

"Oh, I am??" she asked, laughing.

"Yes, you're coming," he informed her.

"Hey guys, Lance is making Macey come over the phone," Justin yelled, laughing his ass off.

"Did he just say what I think he said?" Macey asked from the other end.

"Yes he did," Lance answered, laughing.

"Tell him I'm going to kick his ass," Macey laughed in spite of herself.

"Well in order to kick his ass you're going to have to come to Vegas," Lance reminded her.

"Ok, fine… I'll be there," Macey gave in, not that she really ever would've decided otherwise.

"Awesome!!!" Lance yelled.

"She's coming?" Macey heard Jen say in the background.

"Yes!" Lance answered, a cheer erupting from the group in the background.

"Thanks for calling Lance," Macey said sincerely, feeling extremely good about the response from the rest of the group when they heard she was coming.

"Hey, no problem… it's good to hear your voice," Lance answered quietly.

"You too," Macey responded, feeling once again a twinge of something for him and then immediately trying to dismiss it.

"Ok, they're pulling me away, so I'm going to go," Lance told her.

"Alright… I'll talk to you soon Lance," Macey smiled as she ended the call.

"Bye sweetie," He answered.

"Bye Lance."

And with that, the stage was set again….

CHAPTER 2

JULY 26, 2001

Macey reclined her seat and closed her eyes, listening to Justin's voice singing "Gone." "God, I love this album," she thought, smiling. The last few weeks had been a whirlwind for her. Between trying to find a job and get ready for this trip, her life had taken on a very chaotic tone. She sighed and opened up her eyes, staring out from her window seat into the dark night. A glance at her watch revealed that they were almost to Vegas. She'd been on the plane for two and a half hours, leaving roughly 45 minutes until she touched down in Sin City.

She glanced into the seat next to her and saw that Christine had fallen asleep. After missing out on the first trip to New York, there was no way that she was missing this again. Macey smiled, glad that her friend was finally going to have her dreams of meeting NSync come true.

Thirty minutes and six songs later, the pilot's voice came over the intercom, asking the passengers to prepare for landing. Christine woke up immediately, the excitement shining in her eyes.

"I cannot believe this Macey," Christine bubbled.

"I hear ya'," Macey agreed, taking a deep breath as she thought about the upcoming weekend.

"You're going to talk to him… you know that, right???" Christine hedged.

"Yeah…" Macey answered hesitantly.

"Mayce," Christine began.

"I know, Chris, I know… But come on, it's Lance. And I'm me… and what the hell would he want to do with me?"

"Macey, do we really need to go through this again? Come on, you know damn good and well that the boy cares about you," Christine argued with her.

"I know," Macey sighed, wishing she knew more about what the hell was going on with her and Lance.

"He calls you from the road, what, every three days?? And with his schedule, that equates to like four times a day for a normal guy," Christine laughed.

"Maybe so, but still…"

"But still nothing, girl… go for it- you deserve it," Christine added as the plane touched down.

Macey and Christine walked down the corridor leading them out into the Las Vegas airport. They emerged into a crowd of waiting people. Macey's eyes searched the crowd and suddenly she heard a loud, "MACEY!!!!!" She spun at the sound of Jen's voice and ran towards her friend, laughing as they grabbed each other in a huge hug.

"I cannot believe you're finally here!!!" Jen exclaimed when they finally released each other.

"Me either!!" Macey laughed, "And this is Christine."

The two shook hands warmly as they exchanged hellos.

"Are you ready for this?" Jen asked as they walked through the airport to baggage claim.

"Definitely," Christine and Macey answered at the same time.

"Do the guys know we're here?" Macey asked.

"Nope. I told Joey that there's some stuff I needed to catch up on and that I'd see him in a little while," Jen explained, "Lance is probably going to die when he sees you. They all think you're going to fly in tomorrow."

"Awesome," Macey replied, excited about surprising the guys with an early arrival.

An hour later, luggage stored safely in their suite at the MGM Grand, Macey and Christine hurriedly got freshened up as Macey and Jen caught up. When the two were finally ready, Jen made a quick phone call to security to find the whereabouts of the guys.

"Well that makes it easy," Macey heard Jen say.

Jen snapped her phone shut and announced, "They're all upstairs in one of the suites, just hanging out… well, except Chris, who's at Rum Jungle, but we'll see him later." Macey smiled at her reflection, smoothing her black skirt as she took a final look in the mirror before heading out the door behind Christine and Jen.

Together the trio made their way upstairs.

When the elevator doors opened, Todd greeted them with a smile.

"Right down the hall on the left ladies," he directed them.

"It seems like yesterday that we were doing this for the first time Macey," Jen laughed.

"Yep… and it's probably still better that we're 20-somethings that would die to meet them instead of teenies that would die to meet them," Macey responded with a grin.

"Definitely," Jen agreed, knocking on the door, which popped open with Lonnie's smiling face in the doorway.

"HEY GIRLS!" He yelled, stepping aside and allowing them to enter.

Macey and Christine stopped just inside the door, letting the scene around them sink in. The room was crowded with people laughing, talking, and drinking.

"Oh my God there's JC," Christine breathed in, grabbing Macey's arm as she spotted JC sitting on a couch far across the room, surrounded by people.

Justin was engaged in a heavy discussion with Melinda in a corner off to the girl's left. Joey was standing near the back of the room, talking with several of the dancers and nursing a beer.

Macey unconsciously searched the crowd for Lance. When she finally spotted him, her heart leapt for a moment. She looked at his face and took a deep breath. She hadn't expected such a strong reaction when she saw him for the first time. She looked to see who he was talking to and her heart dove straight back down. He was leaning almost into the lap of a beautiful blond, his hand resting on her thigh as she laughed flirtatiously at something he said.

Just then, Justin glanced up and noticed the girls standing at the door.

"HOLY SHIT!!!" he yelled, spotting Macey and leaping off the couch. He ran directly to her, grabbing her in a huge bear hug.

"I thought you weren't going to be here until tomorrow?" Justin asked, releasing her.

"We decided to surprise you," Macey explained with a huge grin covering her face.

"And who's this??" Justin asked, smiling at Christine.

"This is my friend Christine," Macey introduced them.

Just then, Joey reached the door and gathered Macey into a big hug.

"What are you doing here Mayce???" he inquired, looking from Jen to Macey and back again.

"It's a surprise!! She came in a day early!" Jen explained, laughing at the thoroughly confused look on Joey's face.

"A surprise it is!!! What's up Macey????" JC asked as he joined the group and gave her a quick hug.

"Nothing much. Just excited to be here," Macey admitted, looking around for Lance.

"And this is Macey's friend Christine," Jen said as Christine extended her hand to JC and Joey.

"So are you anything like Macey?" Joey asked, putting his arm casually around Jen.

"People say we're a lot alike," Christine answered with a smile.

"Cool, then you'll fit right in," Joey told her.

"Awww, thanks Joey," Macey kidded, giving him a mini-hug.

"Lance must not realize you're here," Justin threw in, searching the crowd for Lance and rolling his eyes when he saw where the other member of the band was located.

Macey looked back over to where she'd seen Lance earlier and tried to look away, not wanting to see him all over someone else. "At least I know I was right," Macey thought.

Justin walked towards Lance as everyone else moved into the room, talking excitedly. Macey glanced back towards Lance and Justin just in time to see Justin pulling Lance off the couch. Lance pulled away somewhat angrily and Justin held fast to his arm. Justin said a few words and Lance immediately looked toward the door. Macey looked away quickly, not wanting Lance to see her watching him.

Moments later, Lance was by Macey's side.

"Macey…. You're here," he slurred, obviously shocked… and obviously drunk.

"Yep, I'm here Lance," she answered awkwardly, standing up to greet him.

He reached for her and she stepped towards him, letting him gather her into his arms in a long hug. The rest of the group just looked on until JC finally said something to jump start the conversation.

"It's so good to see you… I can't believe you're here," Lance said, pushing a stray hair from Macey's cheek.

"It's a surprise… we came in early," she explained quietly.

"Let's sit down," he blurted out suddenly, plopping onto the couch and pulling Macey onto his lap in one big swoop.

"Alrighty then," Macey laughed as she flew onto Lance's legs.

Lance motioned for another drink and within a minute, a waiter appeared at his side with a mixed drink of some kind.

"What do you want Macey," he asked, looking into her eyes.

"Nothing, I'm fine," she smiled at the waiter.

"Nah, come on, have a drink," Lance prodded her.

"Lance, she said she's fine," Joey threw in.

"Fine… what's everyone else drinking?" Lance asked, the waiter taking down the others' requests and disappearing to go get their drinks.

Macey glanced back over at the blond who had all of Lance's attention earlier and felt a twang of sympathy for her. She was leaning back into the couch, staring at them, obviously dejected. When she noticed Macey looking at her, she shot her a glare and stood up from her couch and stormed out of the room. Everyone but Lance, who was oblivious to basically everything and everyone else at the party, watched her go.

An hour later, jetlag began to hit Macey in a major way and she yawned and moved to get up from Lance's lap.

"Where ya' going?" he whispered.

"To bed… I'm exhausted," she replied.

"Can I join you?" he said into her ear.

"Not tonight, Lance," she answered, sliding off of his lap and standing up.

"Why?" He asked, giving her puppy dog eyes and trying unsuccessfully to get her to sit back down.

"Because you're drunk off your ass," Macey told him in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear.

"I think it's time to call it a night," JC jumped in. The exchange between Macey and Lance hadn't been heard by everyone, but it was clear that Lance was trashed and Macey was upset.

"I'll see you all in the morning," Macey told them, mustering a smile before she said to Christine, "Are you gonna' stay here for awhile?"

"Actually I'm pretty tired too, so I'll just head upstairs with you," she responded.

"You can stay if you'd like, I'm just exhausted," Macey told her.

"Nah, it's fine… it was great to meet you all," Christine said brightly.

Everyone said goodnight as Christine, Macey, and Jen walked out the door.

"Where ya' going?" Macey asked Jen.

"Just walking you upstairs," Jen replied.

"Thanks," Macey said, flashing Jen a halfhearted smile. They walked in silence to the girls' room. When they got upstairs, Christine let them into the room and Jen stopped Macey just inside the door.

"Macey- he didn't know you were coming," Jen reminded her, seeing in her eyes that Macey was hurt and disappointed.

"I know Jen," Macey replied, trying to keep the tears from welling in her eyes, "It's just not the reunion I envisioned," she admitted.

"I know sweetie, but don't let it ruin the weekend," Jen said, hugging Macey, "Get some sleep and forget about it."

"I'll try," Macey promised.

"Night Christine," Jen called out from the door.

"Night Jen," Christine answered, peeking her head around the corner to wave goodnight.

"Night Mayce," Jen said pulling the door closed behind her.

CHAPTER 3

Macey tossed and turned under the sheets, wishing for the sleep that would not come. She rolled over and looked at the clock; 4:42 AM.

"Jesus," she muttered, smashing her pillow beneath her head. Christine's even breathing revealed that she was long lost in sleep. Macey closed her eyes and breathed in and out deeply, trying to relax her mind and body. An hour later, she was still awake. The sun was beginning to peek through the bottom of the blinds and Macey sighed and stepped out of bed. Pulling her t-shirt tightly around her arms, she walked to the window and pulled the curtains back slightly to look out onto the Vegas strip. She leaned her forehead onto the glass and sighed in exhaustion.

"Mayce???" Christine said sleepily, turning toward the slightly open window.

"Yeah?" Macey answered, not turning around.

"What are you doing awake?" Christine inquired as she glanced at the clock.

"Can't sleep," she replied, finally rotating to face Christine.

Christine sighed and looked at her friend as her eyes began to focus.

"Are you ok?" she asked, pulling herself up on her elbows.

"Mmmm… good question," Macey answered, trying to fight the exhaustion she was feeling that was making her want to collapse.

"Aww, Macey, it'll be ok," Christine assured her, patting the bed covers next to where she was laying. Macey took her hint and walked slowly to the bed, sitting down and sighing.

"I just can't believe last night went the way it did. I mean, I can totally understand that he was drunk when we got here. Hell, I planned on getting drunk while we're here, but the thing is, I totally didn't expect to see him all over someone else the moment I walked in," Macey started.

"He was drunk, Macey. We all do things that we wouldn't normally do when we're drunk," Christine reminded her.

"I'm totally aware. However, if I were to ever be with Lance, would I constantly be worried about what he was doing in a weak moment?"

"But you aren't with him right now Macey. You've never even told him how you feel about him. So how is he supposed to know that?"

"But if he cares about me as much as you and Jen say, would he be doing it now anyway?" Macey argued.

Christine sighed and continued, "You don't have to be so negative. What did Lance do the moment he saw that you were there?? Come directly over to you and never even so much as glance back at that girl."

"I know, Chris. I just had a very disillusioning night when it came to Lance last night," Macey admitted.

"So you're going to not sleep, exhaust yourself even more, and ruin your weekend over one night that didn't go quite as planned?" Christine asked her.

"Ok, once again, you're right," Macey gave in, "I'm not going to let it ruin my weekend. But it's not my fault that I can't sleep. I think I'm gonna' go for a walk and see if I can work out some of this tension."

"Go for a walk?" Christine repeated, looking at the clock and then at Macey's pajamas.

"Just down to the casino," Macey explained, standing up and pulling off her tshirt and sweats and replacing them with the clothes she'd worn on the flight in the night before that had been discarded onto the floor when she was getting ready.

"Want me to come with you?" Christine offered.

"Nope… go back to sleep. I'll be back soon," Macey assured her.

"Be careful," Christine advised as Macey walked towards the door.

"Will do," Macey promised, opening the door and walking out into the hallway.

Downstairs, she wandered around the nearly empty casino. At 6 AM, there were few people gambling and Macey ambled through the huge room aimlessly. Sitting down at a slot machine, she began to plunk in quarters. A hand on her shoulder made her jump and she turned around in surprise.

"I thought that was you. What are you doing here???" Chris asked with a hint of surprise and confusion in his voice.

"Hey Chris," Macey smiled, happy to see him. She stood to give him a hug and he squeezed her tightly before releasing her and sitting down on the stool next to her. Macey followed suit and sat back down.

"So what ARE you doing here?" Chris asked again.

"We flew in early," Macey explained simply.

"That's cool… did you see the rest of the guys?"

"Yeah," Macey answered.

"You don't seem too happy about that. What's wrong???" Chris asked, sensing immediately that something wasn't quite right.

"Nothing…" Macey lied.

"Well, something must be wrong or you wouldn't be sitting alone in a casino at 6 O'clock in the morning," Chris noted.

"You're here alone," Macey reminded him with a smile.

"I'm just on my way in… we were over at the Rum Jungle and then did some gambling. And besides, we're not talking about me right now," Chris shot back with a smile.

"Nothing's wrong," Macey tried again.

"Whatever," Chris said in his best valley girl impression, making Macey laugh, "Why don't we go have some breakfast and you can tell Chris all about it???"

"The breakfast part sounds good," Macey agreed.

"So come on, let's go," Chris hopped up and offered Macey his hand.

Together they walked across the hotel to the Studio Cafe. Grabbing a corner booth, Chris, Macey, and Chris' security, Randy, sat down and ordered quickly.

"So what's up Macey?" Chris asked again.

Macey sighed and debated about telling Chris what the problem really was. She went back and forth in her head so long that Chris finally spoke again.

"You CAN talk to me, Macey. I'm not going to say anything to Lance."

"Who said this had anything do with Lance?" Macey said quickly… too quickly.

"And who else would it have anything to do with?" Chris threw back, knowing he was right.

"I don't know," Macey admitted with a sigh. She thought for a moment and then continued, "Last night was interesting."

"How so?"

"Well, we flew in and Jen met us at the airport. She was the only one who knew we were coming. So we went back to the hotel and got ready and went upstairs where everyone was," Macey began the story.

"Doesn't sound bad so far," Chris smiled.

"That was about the end of the good part," Macey sighed.

"So what happened?"

"We walked in and everyone was totally shocked to see us. Joey, JC, and Justin all came over to say hi immediately," Macey told him.

"What about Lance?" Chris asked, confused.

"Lance was too wrapped up in the blond he was pawing to notice that anyone had come in," Macey answered, a lot more bitterness creeping into her tone than she would've liked.

"I see," Chris nodded, sensing her pain.

"So Justin pulled him off of the girl, about which he was none too happy, and told him that I was here. And Lance came over, drunk, and says hi. Everything was ok for a little while until I said I was going to bed," Macey continued.

"And what happened then?" Chris inquired, almost afraid to hear the answer.

"He wanted to come with me, which wouldn't have been a problem," Macey let slip out.

Chris laughed in spite of the situation because of Macey's inadvertent admission. She looked at him for a minute and then laughed too. Moments later, they were serious again as Chris added, "but he was drunk."

"Right," Macey affirmed.

Chris sighed and looked at Macey intently. She couldn't hide what she was feeling and Chris could read her easily.

"Macey, I probably shouldn't be getting into this because Lance is a brother to me and I consider you a good friend, but let me tell you one thing," Chris started and Macey looked him in the eye.

"Lance is not perfect. None of us are. He does things that are stupid just like every person and he has to deal with the things he does. But Lance would never intentionally hurt you. He does care about you, I know that much. I'm sorry he was drunk last night when you got here, but Lance drunk isn't an uncommon occurrence," he told her, rolling his eyes at the blunt truth he'd just thrown out, "However, he's a good person. Give him a chance."

Macey looked at Chris, surprised by his words…and by the fact that he was being serious for a change. Unsure of what to say, she just looked down and whispered, "Thanks Chris."

"Don't thank me…" he told her, "Just remember what I said."

"Will do," she answered, looking back up at him.

The two finished their breakfast, switching to a lighter topic, and walked out into the casino together. They got to the elevators and Chris hugged Macey again as the two went their separate ways.

"See ya' later?"

"Of course," Macey confirmed with a smile, "And hey Chris?"

"Yeah?"

"What the hell is up with your thank yous???" Macey laughed as she stepped into the elevator.

He just laughed as the doors shut and his own elevator opened.

Macey hit the button for her own floor and smiled at her exchange with Chris. She slipped back into her room minutes later and was surprised to find Christine awake.

"Where have you been???" Christine said anxiously.

"Downstairs, why?"

"I've been worried about you. You left like two hours ago."

"I'm sorry. I thought you'd be asleep. I ran into Chris and we went to breakfast," Macey explained.

"I went back to sleep, but I woke up and you still weren't back and I was worried," Christine said.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you worry," Macey apologized as she collapsed onto her bed.

"Tired?" Christine laughed at Macey, who was trying to crawl under her blankets.

"Exhausted," Macey admitted, turning over to face her friend.

"Get some sleep and I'll wake you up in time to make lunch," Christine promised.

"Ok…. Night Christine," Macey managed to get out before drifting off into a restless sleep.

CHAPTER 4

Lance rolled over and groaned as his body began a full on assault on him as revenge for his drinking binge the night before. He closed his eyes and wished the room would just quit spinning for a moment as he tried to get his bearings. For a minute, he thought the incessant pounding he heard was his heartbeat exploding in his head, but as his mind settled down, he realized that there was someone at the door of his room. He tried to stand and had to steady himself, the effects off all the alcohol he'd consumed the night before not quite done playing their games with him yet. He willed his eyes to focus as he stumbled to the door and looked out the peephole before pulling the door open.

"What do you want?" Lance grumbled as he opened the door and fell against the doorframe.

"We need to talk," a very pissy sounding Chris informed him as he pushed into his room.

"Can't this wait??" Lance yawned, turning around slowly and letting the door fall shut behind him, "What the hell time is it anyway?"

"It's about 7:30," Chris answered shortly.

"So what the hell are you doing in my room at 7 AM?" Lance inquired, half pissed off, half too exhausted to be truly pissed as he stopped at the bathroom and relieved himself.

"I told you. We need to talk," Chris repeated.

"About what?" Lance nearly yelled as he walked out of the bathroom, stubbing his toe on the door, a loud, "FUCK!" echoing through the room.

"About what the hell your drunk ass pulled on Macey last night," Chris spat out.

"Macey?" Lance asked, confused. In his hung-over state, he vaguely remembered Macey being there the night before, but he couldn't remember why or anything that had happened.

"Yeah… Macey… the girl you've been bugging the shit out of all of us talking about for the last month since we left her high and dry in New York City. The girl who flew her ass 3000 miles out here to see your sorry ass," Chris reminded him.

"What about her?" Lance asked, still confused.

"Ok, you need to sober up real quick Lance," Chris told him.

"What happened last night?" Lance inquired, rubbing his eyes, hoping that it would somehow release the cobwebs that had such a strong hold on his brain.

"She flew in early to surprise everyone," Chris filled Lance in as lights of recognition began to flash in Lance's eyes.

"Yeah, she came up to the suite," Lance remembered.

"And where were you when she got there?" Chris asked.

"I… I… I don't remember," Lance admitted.

"Let me refresh your memory," Chris began, "From what I've gathered, your already drunk ass was pawing all over some blond, who I'm assuming is Aleisha, given the propensity the two of you have to suddenly become nice and friendly when alcohol enters the picture, and that was what greeted Macey when she walked in."

Lance thought about it for a minute and let out a slow breath, followed by a low, "Oh Shit," as he realized that he had been sitting with Aleisha when Macey walked in. "But then Justin came and got me," Lance remembered slowly.

"AFTER you nearly punched him for pulling you off of Aleisha," Chris threw in, "And then you finally decided to go talk to Macey."

"We were sitting on the couch together, but she left all of the sudden," Lance recalled, still unsure of why Chris was so pissed at him.

"So why did she leave all of the sudden Lance?"

"She was tired… she said… I think."

"She was tired, very good. And she said she was going to bed. And you, being the quintessential southern gentleman, asked if you could join her," Chris finished the story.

"I did what?" Lance almost choked on the glass of water that he'd just taken a drink out of that had been sitting next to his bed from the night before.

"You heard me," Chris said simply.

"Fuck," Lance groaned again, "Jesus, what did I do?"

"You fucked up."

"No shit," Lance shot back, still extremely irritable, yet sobering up very quickly with Chris' news. "Is she still here?"

"Yeah, she's still here. She didn't sleep all night and I found her sitting in the casino at 6:00 in the morning. So we went to breakfast, where I finally convinced her to tell me what was bothering her, and she did, which is what I just told you," Chris explained.

"Does she hate me?" Lance asked, rubbing his hands on his face, wishing he could erase the night before.

"Amazingly enough, no. She's just hurt as all hell," Chris answered.

"Shit," Lance sighed again.

"I spent the last hour and a half blowing sunshine up her ass about you, in hopes of giving your sorry ass an iota of a chance with her again… although why I bothered I'm not sure," Chris told him.

"Thanks Chris," Lance said sincerely, glancing at his friend with bloodshot eyes.

"I'm pissed at you now, but I don't hate you," Chris finally cracked a hint of a smile.

"Where's she now?"

"Probably in her room… like I said, she hadn't slept all night and she said she was going to go get some sleep," Chris informed him.

"I should probably let her sleep then," Lance sighed, knowing his chances of going back to sleep himself were little to none.

"Yeah…" Chris agreed, rising to leave, "I'll see you later Lance."

"Ok," Lance said, laying back on his bed.

"Hey," Chris called out as he turned to leave the room.

Lance pushed himself up on his elbows, looking at Chris, "Yeah?"

"She's a good girl. If you really care about her, don't fuck this up," Chris said, turning once again and walking down the short hallway to the door.

Lance listened to him leave and laid there in silence for a moment.

"I won't… I won't…" he promised aloud to the empty room.

CHAPTER 5

Lance sighed listlessly and flipped the channel on his TV for the 26th time in the last 30 seconds.

"Damn I hate TV," he groaned, wondering how hundreds of channels could still wield absolutely nothing to watch. Not that his mind was on the television anyway. He grabbed the Sprite from the table next to him, taking a long drink and trying to rid himself of the cotton mouth that just would not go away. His thoughts wandered to Macey again. A glance at the clock told him that it was only 6 minutes after the last time he'd checked and she still wouldn't be awake. Chris had left his room only two hours earlier, although it seemed like an eternity to Lance. His massive hangover was just beginning to subside, making sitting up a slightly easier task, which was good considering he had to be at a barbecue in three and a half hours.

His phone rang and he jumped, grabbing it before the shrill noise could hammer into his head again.

"Yeah?" he greeted the caller.

"Where the hell are you?" Joey's voice came over the line, his annoyance evident.

"What are you talking about?" Lance asked, confused.

"You. Me. Interview. On the Line. Twenty Minutes ago," Joey reminded him in short sentences.

"Shit," Lance sighed again, wishing he could curl up into a ball and disappear for a few hours.

"Are you coming or not?" Joey asked.

"Yeah. Where are you?"

"In Melinda's suite. The interviewer is on hold waiting for you," Joey snapped.

"I'll be right there," Lance promised, slowly rolling out of bed and thaking God for small favors that this was a phone interview. Lance's mind wandered as he thought about Joey's phone call.

"He must be hungover too," Lance thought, trying to account for Joey's shortness with him. Usually it was the other way around, with Lance calling up Joey to remind him of things that were inadvertently forgotten.

"Oh well, I don't know who pissed in his Wheaties," Lance mumbled as he stepped into the elevator and went upstairs quickly to complete the interview.

Twenty-five minutes later, the interview was complete and Lance leaned back in the desk chair, shutting his eyes and taking a series of long deep breaths.

"Under the weather?" Joey asked sarcastically.

"What is your problem?" Lance shot back, his eyes popping open as he challenged his bandmate.

"I don't have a problem, Lance," Joey returned, rolling his eyes.

"Obviously you do. Spit it out, Joe," Lance said flatly, lacking the energy necessary to argue at that given moment.

"Let's just say your little performance last night didn't bring out your best side," Joey told him.

"What performance?"

"Figure it out Lance. But do me a favor. Don't go screwing with people that I consider my friends," Joey finished as he rose to leave the room.

"What in the hell are you talking about???" Lance nearly yelled, sick of what he saw as a little game Joey was playing.

"Macey, Lance. Just leave her alone."

With that, Joey slammed the door of the hotel room, leaving Lance sitting in a stunned silence.

Walking down the hall, Joey cursed himself for blowing up at Lance like he had. He'd promised Jen that he'd be cool about it, but when she'd told him about Lance's drunken proposition to an already hurt Macey the night before, he forgot all about being civil to Lance. He thought back to their initial meeting in New York City. Although they'd only spent a few days together, he felt a sort of protectiveness about Macey. Joey remembered promising Jen that Lance was not out to hurt Macey... he only hoped that promise held true.

"I should probably apologize to Lance," Joey sighed, making a move to turn around when his phone rang.

"Hello?" he answered, stopping as he grabbed it from his belt.

He smiled as he heard his girlfriend's voice.

"I was just on my way upstairs... I miss you too," he said with a grin. Listening for a moment, he knew his conversation with Lance would have to wait for the moment.

"I'll be right there," he promised Jen, heading back to his room with a smile on his face.

Lance sat in a stunned silence as he thought about Joey's words. He and Joey very rarely fought and the encounter had given him a strong slap in the face by reality.

"What the hell did I do?" Lance groaned, putting his head in his hands.

"Please don't tell me you're going crazy. That's one thing I cannot deal with right now," Melinda joked as she walked into the room to find Lance talking to himself.

"Hey Chicken," Lance greeted her, looking up.

"You look like hell."

"Thanks," he threw back sarcastically, reaching up subconciously to feel his unshaven face.

"No problem. What's going on? How'd the interview go?" she inquired as she rummaged through a stack of papers.

"Fine," Lance said shortly, his mind a million miles away from the interview.

"Everything ok with you and Joe?" she asked innocently, glancing sideways at him.

"Yes. No. I don't know."

"Well, here's my advice. Whatever's going on, take a shower. Shave. Get ready for the barbecue. Then go and have fun. The crap will work itself out," Melinda offered, turning to leave, requisite papers in hand.

"I hope so," Lance sighed, leaning back in the chair and looking at her in the eye.

"Everyone makes mistakes Lance. Don't beat yourself up too much. Just do what you can to make up for it and move on," she advised, smiling an acknowledgement that she knew a lot more about the situation than she'd let on.

"Thanks," he granted her a smile as she walked out the door.

Sighing, he pushed himself up out of the chair and walked out of the room. A quick call to Lonnie gave him the information he needed and he walked by Macey's room, pausing to listen at the door for any signs of life inside.

He almost fell into the room when it opened in front of him.

"JESUS!" Christine cried out, surprised.

"Sorry!" Lance apologized, catching himself on the doorframe.

"Looking for Macey?" she asked him, trying to weigh her feelings about him. She was upset about the way he'd treated Macey the night before, but she could also tell by looking into his face that he was having a rough morning.

"Yeah," Lance admitted sheepishly as Christine pulled the door closed behind her.

"She's still sleeping. She had a rough night," Christine explained.

"I heard," Lance answered, looking down.

"I didn't mean-" Christine said immediately, realizing that she may have been pouring salt into an open wound with her inadvertant comment.

"No, it's ok," Lance stopped her, "You must be Christine." He offered his hand, hoping they hadn't been introduced the night before and he just couldn't remember.

"It's nice to meet you again," she giggled.

"Sorry... last night is kind of a blur," he blushed, cursing the alcohol he'd consumed.

"Don't apologize. It's ok," she laughed.

"Are you guys coming to the barbecue?" Lance asked her.

"Yeah, I'm waking Mayce up in time to get there. We'll probably try to catch a ride over with Jen," Christine told him.

"Well, I guess I'll see you guys there," he said slowly, looking at the door one more time.

"Yep," Christine answered, starting down the hallway with him towards the elevators where she pushed the down button and he hit the up.

"Take care," she offered as she stepped into the elevator.

"Yeah, you too," he replied with a smile as the doors closed in front of him.

In her room, Macey rolled over and listened intently. She swore she'd heard Christine scream, but no one answered when she called her name. Hushed voices came from the hallway and Macey tried desperately to make her mind function enough to make them out. She struggled with her uncooperative body as she tried to climb out of the huge bed.

"Fuck," she whispered, as she tripped over her shoes, sending herself flying into the tv.

Massaging her arm, she walked towards the door and looked out the peephole. Seeing no one, she pulled open the door and glanced down the hallway just in time to see Lance step into the elevator.

Walking into his own suite, Lance wished he could just see Macey before the barbecue. The last thing he wanted was to see her for the first time in a crowd of people. He had no idea how she'd react to him and didn't want to have to explain himself to her in the midst of reporters and crew and God only knew who else would be there. A glance at his watch told him that talking to her beforehand just was not going to happen. He grabbed a pen and sat down at the desk in his room and started to doodle aimlessly on a piece of hotel stationary. He jumped as the phone rang loudly right next to him.

"Hello?" he answered, grabbing it on the first ring.

"Oh hey," he said, disappointment showing in his voice.

"Sorry Mike, I was just hoping it'd be someone else."

"Yeah. I can be ready. I'll meet ya' here in 30 minutes then?"

"Cool. See ya'," Lance finished as he hung up the phone with a sigh.

He walked slowly into the bathroom and stripped his clothes off, stepping into the shower, hoping the hot water would take away the remnants of the lingering hangover. Twenty minutes later, he stepped out of the shower and ran a towel through his hair, leaning his head to one side letting the water drain out of his ear. He felt a little better, a little more alert if nothing else. He quickly got ready and made a fast phone call downstairs before picking up his backpack when a knock sounded on the door. He grabbed the paper he'd been doodling on and headed out the door. Five minutes later, he and the guys were out a backdoor of the hotel and on their way to Sam Boyd Stadium.

In her room, Macey was just sliding into her black tank top when she heard a knock on her own door. She pulled the shirt down and yelled, "Coming!" as the person knocked again. She opened the door without looking and gasped when she saw the person standing before her.

"Macey Jenkins?" the bellhop asked.

"Yeah..." she said uncertainly.

"These are for you ma'am. Where would you like them?" he asked, walking into her room with an overwhelmingly gorgeous boquet of pink and white roses.

"Just on that table please," Macey answered, pointing to the dressing table near the window.

He sat them down and smiled at her, bidding her a "lovely day" as he nodded and left the room.

Macey stared at the beautiful flowers and slowly walked over to remove the card sitting on the top. She opened the envelope and glanced immediately to the end of the short note included with the flowers.

"Love, Lance."

The two words hit her like a ton of bricks. She wasn't sure she'd read it right, so she looked again and sure enough, surrounded by a mess of doodles and squiggles was the signature.

She looked to the flowers and began reading the short note from the top.

"Macey, I wanted to talk to you this morning but didn't want to wake you up. I'm sorry about last night. Honestly, I don't remember much of what happened, but I know you left upset. Can we start the weekend over? We'll talk later. See you at the stadium. Love, Lance."

She sat the note down thoughtfully and sank into her bed, staring at the flowers. "So he knows I'm upset. Yippee shit," she thought to herself, wondering exactly who and how much had been told to Lance about the night before. She slid off the bed and hurried to get her makeup ready in time to meet everyone downstairs. As she was finishing up, Christine re-joined her and Macey heard a loud, "Oh My God!" as Christine noticed the flowers gracing their room.

"These are beautiful Macey," Christine exclaimed, leaning over to breath in the sweet smell of the roses.

"Yeah, they are," Macey agreed flippantly.

"Whoa, where's this attitude from?"

"I don't know. I just wish I knew what the hell was going on with him," Macey sighed.

"I saw him today," Christine said casually.

"WHAT?"

"He walked by to see if you were awake. We talked briefly," Christine continued.

"And?" Macey prompted her.

"He feels bad, Mayce," Christine said softly.

Macey sighed and looked at her watch, "We've gotta' go."

"So let's go," Christine said, smiling brightly as they walked out of the room.

"I just wanna' have a good time here," Macey told her friend as they walked down the hallway, "No repeats of last night."

"I don't think you'll have to worry about that. Just don't be too hard on the guy," Christine advised.

"Christine- you're talking about me. And Lance. When I see him, do you honestly think I'm going to be able to be hard on him?"

The two looked at each other and busted out laughing at Macey's choice of words.

"Ok, bad choice of wording, but you know what I meant," Macey laughed.

"Uh-huh, I know exactly what you meant," Christine chided her with a grin.

"Whatever," Macey said, rolling her eyes as she laughed.

"What's so funny?" Jen asked as they approached the group waiting to leave for the stadium.

"Macey's worried about Lance's hard on. Or something like that," Christine joked, busting into laughter again.

"Ok then...," Jen answered, laughing at their antics.

Everyone headed out into the waiting Challenge for the Children vehicles in a large group, piling in.

"You ok?" Jen asked as they got settled.

"Peachy Keen," Macey answered, smiling at her friend.

"Just have fun this weekend," Jen advised.

"Oh I will," Macey promised, hoping beyond hope that she was right.

CHAPTER 6

Macey watched the Vegas strip glare in the bright sunlight as the Suburban they were riding in made it's way to the highway. Around her, everyone was chatting away and Macey felt herself slide into a little cocoon as she let her thoughts wander.

"Still tired Macey?" Jen asked, jerking her from her thoughts several minutes later.

"Whaa?... yeah," she answered softly, offering a small smile. She heard a familiar tune on the radio and she leaned forward to make it out. "Can you turn this up a bit please?" she asked, leaning back and listening to the tune.

"It could be for anything... I didn't ask for money or a mansion in Malibu. I simply wished for one more day with you," Macey sang along softly, remembering the last time she'd listened to this song.

"Hey Macey, isn't this that song you were telling me about?" Christine asked, listening to the lyrics.

"Yeah, this is it," she confirmed and continued to sing. A few minutes later, the group was pulling into the parking lot of Sam Boyd Stadium where a crowd was already beginning to form for the soundcheck that would take place that afternoon.

"God it's hot," Jen noted as their driver rolled down the window to flash the VIP pass.

"No shit," Macey agreed, sighing at the heat that they'd surely be out in all day.

The hot air hit them in the face as they unloaded from the car.

"It's a dry heat my ass," Macey said aloud, remembering what everyone in Indiana had told her before she left. Everyone within in earshot laughed and grunted their assent. They trooped the short distance to the grounds where Planet Hollywood had set up a barbecue luncheon for the guys and their guests. The afternoon seemed to be in full swing, people all over talking and eating. Jen scanned the crowd immediately for Joey and spotted him quickly.

"I'm gonna' go talk to Joe, coming with?" Jen asked Macey and Christine.

"I think I'm gonna' walk around, but I'll catch up with you guys in a little while," Macey promised, smiling at Jen.

"I'll join you if you don't mind," Christine answered Jen, noticing that JC and Chris were also sitting at Joey's table.

"Of course not," Jen smiled at her, "You'll be ok Macey?"

"Yes," Macey told them in a slightly condescending tone.

"Sorry, just checking," Jen apologized as they walked away.

"It's fine. I'll see ya' in a few," Macey threw back, offering a smile as a peace offering. Jen and Christine made their way across the crowd quickly as Macey headed in the opposite direction. She smiled at people she recognized as she wandered around the crowd. She couldn't quite decide whether she wanted to run into Lance or not. Moments later, the decision was made for her.

"Hey you," she heard him say from behind her.

She stopped and turned around to face him. Macey had never been one to believe in those soap-opera-ish moments where time stands still and your heart skips a beat, but if she'd ever experienced anything like it, this was it.

Lance was standing inches away from her wearing jeans and a grey sleeveless Abercrombie and Fitch shirt. She noticed immediately how toned his arms had become and she could barely see his chest where the shit was hanging off kilter. Leather sandals and his infamous sunglasses completed the ensemble and Macey had to work not to gasp out loud when she saw him. The sun was reflecting in his hair as he reached up and unconciously ran a hand through the blondish brown locks. He was barely tan, his skin a mixture of tan and red, as if he had been out in the Vegas sun a tad too long already that morning.

"How ya' doing?" he asked, a hint of tension in his voice.

"Aren't you hot?" she replied, letting the first thing that came to her mind come out of her mouth.

He laughed and stepped closer to her, "Mmmm... a little, but when you're onstage outside every night, you get used to it. And this is a dry heat- not too bad really."

Macey spat out her usual response, "Dry heat my ass. It's hot as hell here."

Lance laughed even harder as they fell into step together, walking toward an empty picnic table off to the side of the food.

"Hungry?" Lance asked as they passed it.

"Not really. Or just not in the mood to eat, maybe," Macey replied.

"Fair enough," he said, waiting for her to sit down before he took a seat next to her. They sat in the sun for a few moments, neither of them saying anything.

"Macey, I want to apologize," he started, breaking the silence. She angled to face him, not saying anything and waiting for him to go on. He started to speak and then hesitated again, as if to organize his thoughts or words.

"I... I didn't know you were gonna' be here last night," he started, pausing again and looking at her through his sunglasses.

"I'm not really sure what to say. I mean, had I known you were going to be in town, I definitely wouldn't have drank as much as I did before you got there," he continued, a sheepish grin covering his face. Macey couldn't resist smiling along with him.

"But seriously. I heard that I said some, uh, not so gentlemanly things before you left. And I'm sorry," he told her sincerely, reaching out to touch her hand.

She sighed and looked away from him, unsure herself of what to say. They remained quiet for a minute before she smiled and turned back toward him.

"I know you didn't know I was going to be here and I guess I overreacted... I just didn't expect things to go the way they did last night," Macey explained to him, "But I know you're a big boy and have every right to relax and party when you have some downtime."

"Thanks Mayce," he sighed, obviously relieved that she had, at least in some small way, offered her forgiveness for the night before.

She just smiled back and replied, "And thanks for the flowers."

"No problem," he grinned, "Should we start the weekend over?"

"Sure," she laughed, unsure of what he had in mind.

"Stay here," he told her as he got up and walked several feet away from the table before turning back around and walking back toward her. Suddenly he stopped, pulled his sunglasses down on his nose and yelled with a wink, "MACEY!!! YOU'RE HERE!"

She laughed in surprise as everyone turned at the noise just in time to see Lance come flying over to where Macey was sitting and sweep her up in a huge hug that pulled her off the seat. Swinging her around, he hugged her tightly as she laughed.

"People are looking at us," she told him.

"Who cares??? When did you get here???" he asked excitedly.

"I just got in," she played along.

"That's cool... It's been way too long," he continued.

"Yes, yes it has," she agreed, smiling on both the inside and outside as she and Lance continued to have the reunion she'd envisioned in her head before coming to Vegas. Confused, people finally turned back to their own conversations, leaving Macey and Lance to themselves. Across the party, Justin, JC, Christine, Joey, and Jen all laughed at the pair.

"Guess this means she's over it?" Justin guessed.

"Or he's charmed her for the moment," Jen threw in.

"He's wearing the sunglasses, she's done," Christine inadvertently said aloud.

"Huh?" they all said at once.

"Nothing, nothing," Christine tried to cover, knowing Macey would kill her if she told them about her inability to resist Lance in the "fuck me" sunglasses.

"Come on Christine, you can't do that and then not spill it," JC chided her.

She shook her head, but after much prodding, finally let the cat out of the bag, "Macey just has a thing for Lance in sunglasses," she explained, leaving out the affectionate title they'd give those glasses.

"Ahhh, I see," Joey grinned, "We'll have to remember that and pass it along to Lance."

The rest of the group laughed and went back to their previous conversations. An hour later, Melinda addressed the crowd and thanked everyone for joining them.

"I guess that's our cue to get off our butts and go do something else," Lance sighed, leaning back on the table on his elbows and wishing he didn't have to go do the preshow interviews he knew were scheduled.

"And our cue to leave," Macey filled in.

"Leave? You're not leaving are you?"

"Well, until soundcheck," she answered.

"Oh, I thought you meant leaving all together," he told her.

"Nope, you can't get rid of me that easily," she smiled at him.

"Good," he replied as he stood up. He stretched and Macey stood there awkwardly, unsure of what to say. He pulled his arms over his head and Macey smiled as his shirt went up slightly, revealing a small section of his stomach, along with his boxers peeking out from his waistband.

"What?" he asked.

"Nothing, nothing," she answered, shaking her head in embarrassment at being caught.

"Whatever," he smiled, pausing before taking her hand and pulling her close to him in a tight hug. The move surprised her and she felt stiff for a moment before she let herself relax in his arms. She didn't even notice the stifling heat as she hugged him back, letting herself feel emotions she'd tried to pretend didn't exist for so long.

"I'm glad you're here. I missed you," he said honestly, squeezing her again before releasing her.

"Me too," she said shyly, looking down, unsure of what to do, say, or feel right at that moment.

"Hey Lance! Ready to go??" Justin yelled from across the way with a wave to Macey.

"Yeah," he yelled back as he and Macey headed over to join the group. Chris offered Macey a smile of encouragement as they reached everyone as if to say, "See, I told you everything would be alright."

"Hey Mayce," Justin grinned, jogging over to hug her before they took off.

"Hey Justin," she answered, smiling as she hugged him quickly.

"We'll see ya'll after soundcheck," Joey said, kissing Jen quickly before the guys trooped off to their interviews.

Lance squeezed Macey's hand one last time and smiled at her as he joined the rest of the guys as they walked away.

"OK, what the hell is going on???" Jen grabbed Macey and demanded information.

"I don't know!!!" Macey answered quickly.

"What do you mean you don't know?? You're pissed at him when you get here, then he jumps up and starts yelling and you guys hug, and now he's holding your hand?" Jen recapped.

"Thanks for the play by play," Macey kidded her as the girls starting to walk back outside, looking for something to do in the time they had to kill.

"Come on Macey," Christine moaned, "What's going on?"

Macey quickly ran through the conversation she and Lance had, Christine and Jen both listening intently.

"So I don't know what's going on, really... but things are good," Macey finished.

"Good," Jen said, a smile covering her face.

"But damn him and those damn fuck me sunglasses! I never had a chance!" Macey threw in suddenly.

Christine and Jen busted out laughing as the trio made their way out into the hordes of people waiting in line for soundcheck.

CHAPTER 7

Macey, Jen, and Christine walked slowly out into the crowds of people that were gathering outside of the stadium.

"What the hell are all these people doing here already?" Macey asked, glancing at her watch which read 1:35.

"I guess they're here for soundcheck," Jen replied, shrugging her shoulders.

"This many people here already for soundcheck??? How many are going to soundcheck?" Christine asked.

"Well, between MSN, the fan club people, Nabisco, Verizon, and sponsors, I heard LaraBeth saying there was gonna' be like a million people here," Jen filled them in.

"So I see," Macey nodded.

"You guys may want to tuck those," Jen advised.

"Tuck what?" Macey asked, confused.

"Your passes," Jen said, patting the VIP pass which now laid under her shirt.

"Why?" Christine asked as she obliged and tucked the tag under her blue tank top.

"Because they're family VIPs, and as you guys probably know, the fans, as well as the media, know just about everything. So they see the three of us walking around out here with family passes, but we're obviously not family, and so starts the rumor mill- especially if they see us with one of the guys later," Jen explained.

"It's amazing what people know," Macey sighed.

"It's amazing what people know that they shouldn't," Jen agreed, emphasizing the shouldn't, "When Joey got hurt during rehearsals, I was in LA trying to help get everything together for the video shoot the next day. I had turned my cell phone off because the reception was shitty in the building and forgot to turn it back on when we left. I got back to the hotel, plug in my laptop, and read about my boyfriend getting hurt on the internet. It's just insane how word gets out and spreads," Jen went on, shaking her head.

"It is so hot out here," Christine noted after a moment of silence, wiping away sweat that had begun to form on her forehead.

"It's ridiculous," Macey agreed, "I cannot imagine standing in that line." The girls stared at the soundcheck line which seemed to snake down and around ramps forever and was growing by the minute.

"It's just so damn hot, and there isn't any shade," Jen agreed. They continued their walk, laughing at the conversations they heard going on between the fans as they waited in line.

"Ok, I don't know about you all, but I'm all for going inside and finding some AC… somewhere in this place has got to be air conditioned," Jen suggested.

"Let's go," Macey agreed. Together the trio headed back to the building and pulled out their passes, smiling at the guards as they moved away to let them through.

"That just feels so weird," Christine said with a grin.

"What?" Jen asked.

"To walk through a security gate with a VIP pass at an NSync show," Christine told her.

"I hear ya… it's like, 'Ummm… hello, who am I and what have ya'll done with my real life because I know this isn't happening to me," Macey added.

"You'll get used to it," Jen promised, "I was the same way. It's awesome in some ways, but it has it's downsides too."

"Care to fill me on the downsides because right now I'm not seeing any problem whatsoever with this," Macey laughed.

"The fans hating you because you have what they want. Getting separated from the guys and having to deal with hooking back up with them and worrying about their safety and even a pass won't get you near them. Constant media-"

"Nevermind. I don't want you to fill me in," Macey cut her off.

"Don't get me wrong. I wouldn't trade it for the world, but it's not all sunshine and roses, especially for the guys," Jen sighed, revealing a small inside look at the 'real' world of NSync.

"Speaking of the guys," Christine butted in and pointed inside a small glass room. The guys were sitting with their backs to them, answering questions to an interviewer. Lonnie was watching the door and smiled, offering them a nod.

They waved back and paused, watching the backs of the guys' heads move as they swiveled to look at Justin, who had evidently began to answer a question, judging by the way he was moving his hands in the air while he spoke.

"They're so animated," Christine observed.

"I wish we could hear what he's saying," Macey added.

"Wanna' sit in?" Jen asked.

"Can we?" Macey asked hopefully.

"Probably, we'll see," Jen answered, tapping on the glass lightly to grab Mike's attention as he stood guard at the door, his back to them, watching the guys. He turned slightly and acknowledged the girls.

Jen motioned to the three of them and pointed inside the room, asking the silent question.

Mike held up one finger for them to wait and looked over at Melinda staring at her until he caught her eye. When she looked back at him, he nodded toward the girls and pointed from the three of them to the inside of the room.

Melinda's single nod gave them the ok to come inside and Mike slowly and silently unlocked and opened the door, letting Jen, Macey, and Christine into the room.

"You three can sit right back here," Mike whispered to Jen pointing to a row of empty chairs along the wall. The girls tiptoed quietly to the chairs and sat down without a sound, much to Melinda's delight.

"...believe everything that's happened. It's incredible to look at how far we've come. I mean, how do you comprehend something like this?" JC was saying as Macey tuned in to their conversation.

"And how do you handle relationships?" the media representative asked.

"The best way possible," Justin answered honestly.

"And how is that Justin? I mean, for all of you, are you in relationships? Is it tough?"

"Well of course it's tough, but that doesn't mean you can't do it. You have to work hard to make something work if you want to make it work, and that's for any relationship, but being on the road and leading the types of lives that we lead makes keeping any relationship stable extremely hard," Joey answered honestly.

"And are you involved with someone, Joey? Are you trying to make it work?" he asked.

"Yes and yes," Joey grinned.

Jen smiled as she heard her boyfriend refer to her.

"JC?"

"Yes, I'm in a relationship," he said simply without elaborating.

"And Justin, you're with Britney?"

"Yeah," he answered, the smile in his voice evident.

"And what's that like?"

"In some ways I think it makes it easier because each of us understands what the other person is going through. In other ways it makes it harder because both of our schedules are crazy, so it makes spending time together even harder," Justin responded.

"Chris?"

"Nope… I'm a free maaaaaaan," he answered as the interviewer laughed.

"And Lance, you've been awful quiet… how about you? We never hear anything about you in a relationship?"

"That's because I'm not," he said simply.

"And why is that, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Because I don't have time. Even if there was someone I was interested in dating, which there isn't at this time," he clarified, "I wouldn't have the time to devote to her. Between FreeLance, A Happy Place, and these guys and everything we do, there's just not time for a relationship," he responded resolutely.

"You mentioned FreeLance and A Happy Place, care to tell us about those?"

Lance went on to the next subject as Macey zoned out. Lance hadn't said anything she hadn't heard a million times before, but for some reason, his words hit her like a ton of bricks. Jen glanced at her and noticed her solemn expression of confusion and laid a hand on her leg, grabbing her attention.

"You ok?" she mouthed.

Macey nodded without attempting a smile and drifted off once again. She wasn't quite sure which had hit her harder, Lance's firm statement that there was no one he wanted to date right now, or the fact that he wouldn't and couldn't make time in his life for a relationship. Her mind fought a fierce battle. On one hand, she knew that Lance had to say that... his private life was his own and it was much easier to keep the image that there's absolutely no one in the picture. But on the other hand, it still stung to hear him say what he had... to rip apart any notion or thought that he really did care about her the way she'd began to let herself care about him. For just an instant, she felt his arms around her the way she had that afternoon when they'd hugged and tears welled in her eyes thinking of the stupidity she'd displayed in even beginning to believe that in some bizarre alternate reality, Lance could be attracted to her.

"Jesus, get a freaking grip, Macey," she berated herself silently. She knew in her head that there was not a chance in hell she would ever be with Lance... she'd known that since the day she met him, since long before that really.

She looked up and glanced around the room one more time. For the hundredth time that afternoon, she wondered how in the world she'd gotten there, what cosmic force was thrown out of allignment that allowed her to somehow end up in this exact place at this exact time. She looked at the guys and her gaze stopped on Lance. His words echoed in her head, 'Because I don't have time. Even if there was someone I was interested in dating, which there isn't at this time,' and she knew that she'd been kidding herself all along. She would never truly belong in Lance's world and anything else she let herself believe was simply an illusion.

CHAPTER 8

"Thanks very much for your time," the interviewer offered as he stood to shake hands with Justin, Lance, JC, Chris, and Joey.

"No problem," Lance answered as he stretched his back, reaching his arms high above his head. He turned sideways to work out a kink in his side and he saw Macey, Jen, and Christine sitting there.

"HEY!" he said in surprise, turning to come over to them and almost tripping on his chair in the process. "How long have you been here??" he asked as he made his way over to them, followed quickly by the rest of the guys.

"A while," Christine answered, offering a smile.

"Hey you," Lance whispered to Macey, trying to slide an arm around her.

Macey smiled a small smile and sidestepped his advance, saying instead to Jen, "Hey… should we be getting outside for soundcheck?"

"Yeah, we probably should," Jen agreed, with a glance at her watch. Macey and Christine had yet to go to a soundcheck party, so they were going to sit on the field with the fans and experience it that way.

"I guess that means we'll see you after soundcheck then," Joey said, kissing Jen's forehead.

"Guess so," she answered, hugging him to her.

"Have fun guys," JC told them with a wink.

"We will… I'm so excited that the weekend is finally getting started," Christine bubbled.

Her excitement was met with smiles from everyone but Lance. He was staring at Macey thoughtfully, wondering what in the world had happened in the hour and a half since the barbecue. She was staring down at the ground, not meeting anyone's gaze.

"Shall we?" Jen asked, motioning toward the door.

"Sure," Christine answered as Macey threw in a halfhearted, "Yep."

"Bye guys," Macey said, looking up and giving a little wave, carefully avoiding Lance's eyes.

Everyone offered their goodbyes and the girls headed out into the hallway and started toward the field.

"You OK Macey?" Jen asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Macey answered in that "I'm really not fine but I don't want to talk about it" voice.

"Girl, you need to cheer up," Christine advised her, "This weekend is supposed to be fun."

"No shit, snap out of it bitch," Jen teased her, a grin covering her face.

Macey couldn't help but smile and she smacked Jen lightly as they all laughed and made their way out onto the field just ahead of everyone else beginning to trickle in for the soundcheck.

After an excruciating wait in the blazing sun to get everyone filed onto the field, the guys made their entrance. Macey forgot about her troubles and reverted back to fan mode, screaming and yelling with the best of them as JC, Lance, Chris, Joey, and Justin appeared on the stage. From their vantage point about 10 rows back on the catwalk, the girls had the perfect view. Macey heard herself singing along as the guys belted out her favorite song, "This I Promise You." When they got to her favorite line, she felt the tears well up in her eyes as always.

"I've loved you forever, in lifetimes before, and I promise you never, will you hurt anymore," JC sang, "I give you my word, I give you my heart, this a battle we've won. And with this vow, forever has now begun."

Macey sighed and looked up and saw Lance standing right above her. He sang right to her as the rest of the guys joined JC with, "Over and Over I fall... when I hear you call..." He did his signature move of rolling his hand and patting his heart and Macey thanked God that she was wearing sunglasses so he couldn't see the tears in her eyes. He winked at her before he moved on down the catwalk as they finished the song. She smiled in spite of herself and laughed when the guys lined up right in front of them to answer questions. They waved and laughed at the girls, playing with them as they waited for the people asking questions to get ready. They were the standard questions and Macey, Jen, and Christine watched the guys closely as they ran through the standard answers. Macey reached down and grabbed her bottled water. She took a big drink and spit it everywhere when she heard someone ask, "What kind of socks do you wear?" All of the guys looked down and tried not to laugh at Macey who was choking on her water in laughter.

Christine and Jen began to laugh too, partly at the question and partly at Macey's response.

"What kind of socks do you wear?" Macey choked out, still laughing.

"What kind of question is that???" Christine laughed, turning around to look at the girl who'd asked.

"From her, I'm not surprised," Jen whispered as she caught a glance of the girl, making Macey and Christine laugh even harder.

The questions continued without incident, until JC was asked what he would be doing if he weren't here right now and Justin answered for him, "Spanking you." The trio of girls lost it again and Justin sent them a little cocky smile, quite proud of himself.

"That was good...gotta' give him credit... that was good," Jen laughed.

Minutes later, the questions were over and the guys were singing POP. Macey, Jen, and Christine danced along with them and the rest of the fans, enjoying their time to let loose and have fun. As they finished up, the girls sat in the sun and watched everyone leave the stadium, smiles on their faces.

"Have fun?" a voice from behind them asked. They turned to see Mike walking up the catwalk toward them.

"Of course," Christine grinned.

"Good," he smiled back, "Wait right here."

The girls talked amongst themselves, working out a plan for the afternoon. Minutes later, the guys reappeared, walking down the catwalk toward them and sitting down, legs hanging over the side.

"Nice moves ladies," Justin complimented them, referring to their POP dance steps.

"Thanks Ju," Jen threw back.

"So what's the plan now?" Joey asked.

"We wanna' go shopping!" Jen bubbled.

"Oh God," Chris laughed, remembering the New York shopping experience.

"Do you shop like they do?" JC asked Christine.

"Yep," she responded, drawing groans from the guys.

"Greeeeeeeat," Lance laughed.

"So you guys are coming with?" Jen inquired, surprised.

"We'll have to check, but I think we can sneak away for a couple of hours before we have to be back here for the pre-party," Joey told her.

"Awesome!" she exclaimed, excited that she'd be able to spend some time with him that afternoon.

"Wanna' sit here while we go see what's up?" Joey asked the three of them.

"Sure," Macey agreed, her mind reeling with the information that Lance and the rest of the guys would be joining them for the afternoon. She wasn't sure she could handle being that close to him right then.

"We'll be right back," Lance offered, looking at Macey, still confused by her actions earlier that day.

The guys trooped backstage in search of Melinda and security while the girls stretched their legs.

"I don't think I'm gonna' shopping," Macey told Jen and Christine after a moment.

"WHAT?" Jen blurted out, "You were the one who was so excited about shopping!"

"I'm just really tired," Macey said without any confidence.

"Macey, come on, you've gotta' go with us. Lance will be there!" Christine prodded her, trying to help.

"I know he'll be there," she sighed, once again fighting back tears that sprung out of nowhere.

"Macey, this is ridiculous," Jen began, getting irritated with Macey's constant mood, "We brought you here to have fun and you're refusing to do that. I know last night sucked, but Lance apologized and that's all he can do. What do you expect from him?"

"It's not about last night," Macey whispered.

"Then what is it about? Because we've done nothing today that you should be so wishy-washy about," Jen exploded.

"Just forget it Jen. I'll go shopping," Macey gave in, trying to hold the tears back.

"No, don't go if you're gonna' act like this all day, it'll just ruin it for the rest of us who want to go and have fun," Jen spat out.

In her head, Macey knew Jen was right, but she couldn't seem to snap out of whatever funk she'd gotten herself into when she heard Lance's words during the interview. She sat in silence for a minute, contemplating explaining why she was so upset. In the end, she decided against it, knowing how stupid she'd sound for ever believing that she had a chance with Lance at all in the first place.

"Come on Macey," Christine said soothingly, putting an arm around Macey, whose tears had begun to fall despite her will to keep them inside.

"I'm sorry Macey," Jen offered when she saw her friend's tears. "I just don't want this weekend to be ruined."

"It's ok... I think I just need to be alone for awhile to try to figure some things out," Macey braved a small smile.

"No, we'll come with you," Christine insisted firmly.

"No, please... I love you guys, but this isn't anything you can help me with- go out and have a good afternoon. I'll get one of the vans to take me back and I'll meet up with you at the hotel to get ready," Macey promised.

"Macey-" Jen began, trying to dissuade her.

"Seriously... please... for me... I'll be fine. Just tell the guys I don't feel good and went to lay down please. I'll see you in a couple of hours," Macey made up her mind resolutely and slid past Jen and Christine in the row.

Christine grabbed her hand as she was leaving the aisle and stopped her, "Be careful."

"I will," Macey answered, walking quickly away before anyone else could try to stop her.

The guys' voices drew Jen and Christine's heads back towards the front. JC, Lance, Joey, Justin, and Chris were all laughing and joking as they headed back to the girls.

"Where's Macey?" Justin asked immediately.

Lance looked up instantly, searching the row for her.

"She... she wasn't feeling good, so she's going back to the hotel," Christine offered hesitantly, knowing how contrived the answer sounded.

"What? She was fine a minute ago," Joey argued.

"She's leaving," Jen sighed, nodding her head toward the back of the stadium where Macey was jogging up the steps that led into the concourse. Lance started to go after her, jogging down the catwalk.

"Lance, don't," Jen stopped him.

Ignoring Jen, but knowing he couldn't catch up, he yelled her name into the hot air of the stadium.

Hearing Lance's voice behind her, Macey hesitated for a moment, breaking her rhythm and almost causing her to fall on the steps. Wanting desperately to turn around, she fought it, ignoring his voice and continued to run away.

CHAPTER 9

Macey made her way onto the concourse and looked around in confusion. In her haste to get away, she hadn't even thought about how she was going to find a van or a way back to the strip. She wandered through the concourse looking for a face she recognized and then stepped back into the stadium, looking down at the stage. Feeling defeated, she walked slowly down toward the field, watching the massive stage grow closer as she moved toward the field.

A lone guard stood near the field and he eyed her and then seemed to catch a glimpse of her pass and decided she wasn't harmful, moving along to another area. Macey sighed and sat down, just taking everything around her in. It was almost eerily silent inside the huge stadium. She enjoyed the silence, knowing that in a matter of hours, the place would be a mass of fans and sound, all there to see the five people she'd been lucky enough to get to know over the summer. Unable to avoid it, her thoughts meandered to Lance. She almost laughed aloud when she thought about the fact that two months earlier, it was JC who'd occupied her thoughts so often.

"It's funny how things change," she said to herself, wondering how and why she'd been brought together with not only JC, but Lance, Justin, Chris, Joey, Jen, and the rest of the NSync family. She could analyze it all she wanted, but she thought she'd never really understand the how and whys that evolved around the events of the summer. Lance's face entered her mind and she wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry.

"I don't even know him," she muttered, laying her head down on the seat in front of her, letting her tears fall onto the hard metal beneath her. "What was I thinking???" she asked herself over and over, unable to understand why she'd even begun to believe that she could ever be with him and why it seemed to hurt so much.

A hand on her back made her jump and she jerked her tearstained face up to see Todd standing beside her.

"Here you are," he said lightly, as if not to shatter the silence that surrounded them.

"Huh?"

"The guys asked me to keep an eye out for you. No one was sure where you went when you left and we knew you hadn't gotten a ride back, so they asked me to see if I could find you wandering around," he explained.

"Are they still here?" she inquired.

"No, they left. I think they're going shopping or something," he filled her in. She nodded her head and tried to gulp back the tears that would't stop falling. Once she'd let them come, it was as if she was powerless to stop them.

"Care to tell me what's wrong? I'm a damn good listener," he offered, sitting down on the step next to her. She sat there in silence, not answering, just looking out over the field and trying to catch her breath.

"Is that a no?" he smiled.

"I don't know," Macey whispered, torn.

"Look, I don't know what's wrong. But I see you and you're not happy and that's not cool. I don't know you very well, Macey, but I like you. If you need a friend, I'm here," he said sincerely.

Macey paused and thought about his words. "Have you...." she began and then stopped, trying to gather her thoughts, "Have you ever wanted something that you know you can't have? And you're not really sure why you want it? Or when you started wanting it so badly? Or why it even matters?" she asked him.

"We all want things we can't have, Macey. I want to win the lottery, but I can't seem to do it," he replied. "Although I don't think this is what this is about."

"No, I don't want the lottery," she smiled.

"So what is it? I can't help you if all you do is talk in hypotheticals," he told her.

She sighed and took a deep breath. 'What do I have to lose?' she thought to herself before starting in.

"Before this summer, I never thought I'd even meet the guys. I've been a fan for a long time and I've done my share of trying to get to them, but to no avail. Then I got the phone call from Kerry telling me that I'd won that contest. So I went to New York expecting a good time there and nothing more, because after all, I was just some fan from Indiana who got lucky," she explained as Todd listened intently.

"But then all of the sudden, I was a part of their world, which is something I never, ever expected to happen. I started to care about them as people, which I thought I did before, but not the same way. Does that make any sense?" she asked, confused herself about what she was trying to say. Todd nodded his assent without speaking.

"And not only did I start to care about them, I started to care too much. I let myself believe that I could truly be a part of their world," she whispered as tears came back to her eyes.

"You ARE a part of their world, Macey," Todd comforted her.

"I'm on the fringe of their world, Todd... but I want more now. Not more from THEM, really- they're my friends and that's all I can ask of JC, Chris, Justin, and Joey," she went on.

"But Lance?"

"I don't know what it is about Lance. For some reason I... I want more," she admitted aloud for the first time, turning her head to look at his reaction.

"Why is that so bad?" he asked.

"Because he's Lance Bass. He doesn't have the time to be with anyone right now... and even if he did, why would it be me? I'm a fan... I'm someone who got lucky enough to meet up with them and they're nice to me, beyond nice to me. I've got what every girl in America wants and I'm grateful for that, don't think I'm not. But when it comes to Lance, it hurts because I know I'll never have more," she finished, tears falling once again.

"Macey..." Todd sighed, unsure of what to say, "I don't know what to tell you and I definitely don't have the answers. I don't know how Lance feels. But I can tell you this. Yes, you started as a fan, none of us can deny that. But you never acted like a fan, you've always acted like a friend. And they let you in, which is something incredibly special, not because they're NSync, but because it's not very often that we find real friends in this world. Don't push any of them, especially Lance, away. Be their friend and let them be the same to you. And whatever happens beyond that is meant to be. Don't look at him as Lance Bass of NSync- that's how the world sees him, that's how the media and the fans see him. But to his friends, he's just Lance. Don't push him away," Todd repeated as Macey digested the information.

"God, I'm an idiot," she sighed.

"Why?"

"Because I started all of this and I've been acting like a dumbass," she said, thinking back to her disappearing act minutes before.

"Hey, it's ok," he said, putting an arm around her, "just let it go and have a good time this weekend. Our time in Vegas has only just started."

"Thanks Todd," she whispered, reaching around to hug him tightly. She'd never expected to find a friend in him, but once again, life surprised her in a way that she'd never seen coming.

"Mmmm-hmmmm..." he answered before adding, "They went to The Forum Shops, ya know."

"In Ceasar's Palace?"

"Yeah... and I think there's a van getting ready to head that way. Wanna' hitch a ride?" he winked.

"Sure," she answered with a smile, standing up and walking back up into the concourse with him, letting him lead the way to the outside doors where their vehicles were waiting.

"Remember Macey, don't push yourself away," he advised once last time before he shut the door, locking her inside. She waved goodbye and sat in silence on the ride to the hotel. She slid down the mirrors in the back and did her best to touch up her makeup. When they arrived, she thanked the driver and hopped out. Grabbing her cell phone, she dialed Jen's number and hoped she'd pick up.

"Hello?" Joey's voice answered.

"Hey Joey," she replied, smiling when she heard his voice.

"Hey Macey, you ok?" he asked immediately, obviously concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine, where are you?" she replied over his muffled, "It's Macey," to someone in the background.

"We're... ummm... we're... somewhere in the Forum shops, where are you?" he responded.

"Standing outside the Forum Shops," she explained.

"You gonna' join us?"

"Yeah, if that's ok," she answered.

"Of course... I'll tell ya' what. Just come inside and head to that big toy store, what's it called..." he paused and waited for an answer from the group, "FAO Schwartz... that's it.. and we'll have someone meet you there."

"Ok, I'll be there in a couple minutes," she promised.

"See you soon Mayce," he said.

"Bye," she said as she hit the end button on her phone.

She walked inside the Forum Shops and headed toward the huge wooden horse that marked the entrance to the toy store. She looked around when she got there, not seeing anyone she recognized. A touch on her shoulder suprised her and she spun around, coming face to face with a baseball hatted and sunglassed Lance.

"Hey," he said softly, looking at her red eyes and tearstained face that she couldn't quite hide with the little make-up she had in her purse.

"Hey," she replied, suddenly unsure of herself again.

"I'm glad you're here," he offered honestly.

"Me too," she smiled, putting them both at ease.

They stood there quietly for a minute, both unsure of what to say. Finally Lance broke the silence, saying, "Everyone else is down at a shoe store. Jen and Christine are going crazy," he grinned.

"Why doesn't that surprise me?" she laughed as they fell into step beside each other, being followed closely behind by Mike.

"Because you're just as bad," he commented.

"HEY!"

"Don't hey me! I saw you in New York," he reminded her. They continued the short walk to meet up with the rest of the group, Macey willing herself to calm down and just relax.

"Excited about the weekend?" he asked.

"Yeah... thanks a lot for bringing me out," she offered, realizing that she'd never really gotten to say thank you to him.

"Hey, no thanks necessary, I wanted you to be here," he said, flashing her a smile that threw her off guard once again. 'Calm down Macey... he's just a friend... like anyone else...' she told herself silently.

"Well, I still appreciate it," she responded as they met up with everyone else.

Jen jumped up from her perch in a chair and gave Macey a huge hug, whispering in her ear, "You alright?" before she pulled away.

Macey nodded and hugged Jen back before greeting everyone else. The afternoon went on smoothly, the guys sitting back and watching and laughing as the girls went crazy once again in the stores. They carted Macey, Christine, and Jen's bags for them and even made a few purchases themselves before the time to leave approached.

When Mike butted into their fun to remind them of the time, everyone sighed aloud. "I'm sorry folks, but if we're gonna' get you back in there safely, we need to go now," he told them.

"And we're off," Joey sighed, wishing they could just be normal tourists in Las Vegas for a change.

"It's ok, we'll see you at the show," Jen promised, trying to make it a little easier to end their time as 'regular' people.

"Sounds good," Justin threw in, as he started to follow Mike back to the waiting vehicles that were parked just outside the doors. Everyone said their goodbyes quickly, Jen, Macey, and Christine getting ready to head back to the hotel to change for the evening and the guys heading back to the venue.

CHAPTER 10

Back in their hotel, Macey, Christine, and Jen congregated down by the pool to take a few minutes of downtime before getting ready for the show.

"Now this is the life," Christine sighed as she layed in a lounge chair.

"I'd agree if it were about 25 degrees cooler," Macey answered, wiping her forehead with the handtowel she'd brought along for just that purpose.

"You really do not like hot weather, do you?" Jen laughed, reminded of Macey's constant diatribe about the temperature in Vegas.

"Nope... if God meant it to be this hot where I am, he'd have put me in hell. This is just not cool," Macey commented.

"Never go to Mississippi, then," Jen advised.

"But then you can't go home with Lance," Christine added.

"Great... one more reason he and I will never be together," Macey blurted out before she could stop herself.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jen asked, glancing sideways and looking at Macey over her sunglasses.

"Nothing," Macey tried to avert the question.

"Nothing my ass, I thought you were going to talk to him while you were here. Now what's this all about?" Jen pressed.

"I've just realized that he and I will never be together, that's all," Macey explained, trying to sound nonchalant.

"What are you talking about Macey?" Christine asked at the same time Jen said, "Why?"

"I just... I just know that it would never work out."

"Are you saying this because of last night, Mayce?" Christine asked.

"No, not at all.." Macey answered honestly.

"Then what?" Jen threw in.

"Because we're just too different... and he said today that he didn't have time to be with anyone and that there's no one he'd want to be with. And we live in two completely different worlds," Macey rambled on.

Jen sighed in disgust, "You know what Macey? You're probably right. You never will be with him... but not because you shouldn't be or couldn't be. Because you can't seem to realize that maybe, just maybe, it would work. And until then, you're right- you are too different. But don't put it off on him."

Macey sat back in silence, not knowing how to respond to Jen. There rang a certain amount of truth in her words, but Macey's mind had been made up. She didn't want to get hurt again and believing that what Jen said was true would only open the door to that hurt.

"She's right May," Christine said softly.

Macey didn't respond and a silence fell over the trio of girls as they layed in the sun, each thinking their own thoughts. Thrirty-five minutes later, Jen glanced at her watch and sat up.

"We've gotta' get ready. I told Joey we'd be there early because the guys wanted to hang out before the show. A bunch of the celebrities are coming in tonight and we're hosting a party beforehand," Jen informed them.

They quickly gathered their belongings and headed upstairs.

"Jen, listen," Macey started as the elevator rose to their floor, "I'm not trying to be difficult or ruin the weekend."

"Then don't be and don't," Jen said right back to her.

"It's not that easy," Macey sighed.

"Yes it is. Make up your mind that you're going to have fun and just let all of this go. I don't know why you're so down about Lance. Things are cool... just let loose and have fun," Jen told her.

"I'll try," Macey promised.

"Good... now are we getting ready in my room or yours?" Jen smiled.

"Ours. That way only you have to move your shit," Macey decided.

"Fine...but tomorrow night, you guys are moving your crap into MY room," Jen said.

"We'll see," Christine laughed as they stepped out into the hallway.

"See ya' in a few. I'll shower and be down," Jen said as she headed down to her room.

An hour later, the girls were all showered and ready to go. The tension between them had dissipated and they were all in high spirits as they headed downstairs and out to the vehicles that were shuttling them all over town that weekend.

"Excited?" Jen asked Macey and Christine.

"Like you wouldn't believe!" Christine answered with a grin.

Jen's cell phone rang just then and she grabbed it as she smiled at Christine and Macey.

"Hello?... Hey sweetie... Yeah, we're on our way....... Well, tell him we'll be right there," Jen said with a glance at Macey, "Yes, we're in the car now... I know, we're on our way," she went on, rolling her eyes at Macey and Christine, who were trying not to laugh, "I said we'll be right there, we can't make the car go any faster... Ok, love you too... Bye," she finished, snapping her phone shut.

"Joey?" Christine asked.

"Good guess... the party's in full swing I guess. Everyone's waiting for us, Lance wanted to know where Macey had disappeared to, and blah blah blah," she laughed.

They continued their chatter as they drove through the thick traffic trying to get to the stadium. Their car finally pulled up to the VIP gate after flashing their tags several times and the girls jumped out, ready to get inside and see everyone. Jen led them through the corridors quickly as they made their way to backstage.

"Have you been here before?" Macey asked.

"No, but once you've been in these places a lot, they're all pretty much the same," Jen explained just as they got to the door they were looking for. Jen pushed it open and the sound hit them before they could even see inside.

"Welcome to the party," Joey, who was standing right by the door, said as he grabbed Jen into a huge hug.

"Hey Joe," Macey greeted him with a smile.

"Hey Macey," he said, releasing Jen and pulling Macey in for a quick hug.

"Is it always this crazy?" Macey asked.

"Nope, never... just because it's Challenge and a whole bunch of people are here," Joey explained.

"Ahhh, cool," Christine answered, looking around.

"Oh my God," Macey whispered, suddenly looking as if she was ready to pee her pants, or explode, or both.

"WHAT?" Jen, Christine, and Joey all asked at once.

"That's Jordan Knight," Macey half whispered, half squealed, trying to keep her voice down.

Joey busted out laughing at Macey's teenie-bopper reaction and said, "Yes, it is..and if you're really nice, I can get you an introduction."

"I so did not know he was going to be here!!!!!" Macey bubbled excitedly.

"Sorry, we should've warned you," Joey laughed.

"Are you keeping all these lovely ladies to yourself, Joey?" someone Macey recognized, but couldn't quite place, asked as he walked up to them.

"Yep, monopolizing the ladies," Joey affirmed with a grin, "Macey, Christine, this is Jermaine... and you know Jen," he introduced them.

"Nice to meet you," Jermaine offered, shaking Christine and then Macey's hands.

"Nice to meet you too," Christine answered, smiling at him and then looking around in awe at the people all around them.

"How have you been Jen?" he asked, directing his attention to her.

"Good, good," she told him as they began to talk.

"We're gonna' wander around," Macey butted in quietly with a little wave.

"Ok, we'll see you soon," Jen answered, flashing them a grin.

Macey and Christine walked away and into the crowd.

"Holy shit Macey- that was Jermaine Dupri!" Christine whispered, grabbing Macey's arm.

"Can you believe this?" Macey asked.

"Believe what?"

Macey spun around at the sound of Lance's voice.

"Hey Lance," Christine smiled as she turned around.

"Nothing," Macey said, offering him a smile.

"Keeping secrets from me Macey?" he asked, tickling her.

"Me??? Never," she joked.

"Whatever..." he threw back, rolling his eyes.

"Don't whatever me," Macey admonished him.

"Yeah, don't whatever her!" JC threw in as he walked up.

"Hey JC," Christine greeted him.

"Hello ladies," he said, flashing them one of his infamous grins.

"Is this everyone who's gonna' be here for the weekend?" Macey asked as the four of them walked through the room to a couch on the far side.

"Oh, not at all... actually this is only a few. Most everyone is flying in tomorrow afternoon or night," Lance explained.

"Awesome," Macey smiled, looking around the room.

They sat for several minutes, people milling by and talking with the guys and then wandering away again. Before long, it was time for JC, Lance, and the rest of the group to get ready to hit the stage.

"Well, I guess we'll see you after the show," Lance smiled at Macey.

"Yep," she grinned, the excitement she felt before every concert beginning to surface.

"Have fun Macey," Lance said as he hugged her quickly.

"You too... have an awesome show," she offered.

"With you here, how could I not have an awesome show?" he asked.

She just smiled at him, that feeling coming over her once again.

"I'll catch ya' later," Lance hugged her again before he walked away with a wave.

Jen came up behind her and said in her ear, "He's hot for you girl."

Macey just laughed as she said, "Yeah. I hear ya' talking."

"Seriously... even Joey says it. Lance is like Mr. Hollywood and even with all of these people here, you had his attention 110%, so..." Jen trailed off.

"We'll see," was all Macey would say before the girls headed out with the rest of the group to get into the stadium before the guys hit the stage. Jen led them down a flight of stairs and onto the field.

"I thought we were sitting in VIP?" Christine asked as they walked past the VIP area near the end of the catwalk.

"Well... we were... but then I talked to the guys about it, and we thought you'd enjoy the view from up here better," Jen said with a smile.

"From up where?" Macey inquired.

"Up here," Jen answered with a nod toward the front of the field.

"Oh my God, Jen... where are we sitting???" Macey asked.

"You'll see," Jen held back, enjoying their reaction as they continued to walk forward through the crowd. She led them to the fifth and sixth rows, motioning them all the way down through the row to the catwalk seats. Macey was sitting in the fifth row, with Christine right next to her on the catwalk in the sixth row. Jen had taken her place right next to Macey.

"This is absolutely incredible!!!!!" Macey almost yelled as she looked up to the stage which was right before her.

"Like it?" Jen asked, obviously pleased with herself.

"Like it??? JESUS JEN!" Christine answered in excitement.

"We thought you would," Jen grinned as she saw Mike coming her way and waved him over.

"Hey Mike," she yelled as he got closer to the trio.

"Hey ladies, ready for the show?" he asked, smiling.

"HELL YEAH!" Macey shouted with a grin.

"Here, these are for you," he offered, handing each of them a bright orange wristband.

"What's this?" Christine inquired.

"Just an extra security precaution... in case you can't get backstage after the show," he explained with a wink at Jen that Macey and Christine didn't notice as they were fighting to get their bands fastened.

Suddenly the lights dimmed and the crowd exploded in screams.

"Enjoy the show," Mike yelled over the crowd as he waved and walked to his spot on the catwalk.

"Good Morning Class," came Joey's familiar video opening. The girls laughed at the antics of the guys' opening sequence and minutes later, Joey, Chris, Justin, Lance, and JC appeared on the back stage, live and in person.

"I love this! I love this!" Macey yelled to Jen and Christine as Justin belted out, "Sick and tired of hearing all these people talk about..."

Jen smiled at Macey and Christine, glad they were going to have such a good time that evening and hoping it would continue throughout the weekend. The guys came down the catwalk, searching for Jen, Christine, and Macey along the side as they strutted by. Justin winked at them as he saw them screaming with the rest of the fans and in spite of herself, Macey jumped up and down like a little girl. Justin saw her reaction and had to do his best not to bust out laughing while singing the song. The show went on and Macey sighed when Lance began to introduce "God Must've Spent." Throughout the concert, each of the guys made it a point to give the three girls a little extra attention.

Macey thought her cheeks would split from smiling so much when the familiar strains of "This I Promise You" began.

"I will not cry. I will not cry. I will not cry," she repeated to herself.

"You aren't going to cry are you?" Christine leaned over and asked her, knowing Macey's history with the song.

"I'm gonna' try not to!" she promised. Amazingly, though the tears filled her eyes, she made it through with her make-up and mascara intact.

The girls laughed with the rest of the crowd when Chris bopped Justin with a huge boxing glove as they were standing right in front of them. Chris leaned down and smacked Macey and Christine lightly on the head too as Justin headed back up onto the stage to begin the ever popular, "It's Gonna' Be Me." The girls ate up the attention and danced to the pumping beat that pounded out of the speakers. They yelled with the best of them during the audience contest, screaming "YA'LL KNOW THAT WE CAME TO ROCK," as loudly as they could, until they were blue in the face.

Jen, Macey, and Christine made the most of the show, letting go of their status as "friends" of the guys and becoming fans once again, letting loose and having a blast. During Up Against the Wall, Jen grabbed Macey and Christine's hands and motioned for them to follow.

"Where are we going???" Macey asked as they waited for Christine to navigate her way through the aisle beside them.

"You'll see," Jen promised with a grin, not saying anything else.

When Christine reached them, Jen began to head up the aisle as Christine yelled to Macey over the music, "What's going on???"

"No idea, she won't tell me," Macey informed her, following Jen as she walked to the side of the stage.

A large group of girls had gathered and Christine noticed that they were all wearing the same orange wristbands as Mike had given them earlier.

"What's going on???" Christine yelled to Jen, holding up her wrist.

Jen just smiled as Mike appeared, motioning for the three girls to come to the front of the group.

"Follow me out and choose your spot, then let everyone fill in around you," he advised them.

Macey and Christine, still utterly confused, did the only thing they could do and followed Mike and Jen up the stairs.

"Holy shit!!!" Macey yelled as the bright stage lights hit her eyes and someone handed her a disposable camera as she walked out onto the stage as the guys sang "Celebrity."

Christine's mouth dropped open as she realized what was going on. The girls chose a spot right in the middle of the rope and began to snap pictures with their cameras.

"I cannot believe this. I simply cannot believe this," Macey whispered to herself as she watched Lance make eye contact with her and head her way. He stopped a couple of feet from them and started dancing, making faces at them as they laughed and danced along with him. When Chris joined him, the hilarity factor rose even higher and Macey, Jen, and Christine were almost doubled over in laughter. As they continued to sing, Chris went farther down the row, paying some attention to the girls standing beside them. Lance approached the rope even closer and turned around with his back to the picture snapping girls, dancing against the rope right in front of Macey. She was standing close enough to feel his body moving, slightly touching hers, and she began to play along, dancing with him and enjoying the attention.

When the time came for the guys to head out down the catwalk, Lance turned slightly and smiled at Jen and Christine. With a wink at Macey, he was gone, leaving the girls standing there waiting to be herded off with the other lucky Celebrity fan paparazi.

"OH MY FREAKING GOD!!!" Macey screamed as she and Christine jumped up and down when they got to the bottom of the steps and were ready to head back to their seats.

"Thank you sooo much!!!" Christine said to Jen, pulling her into the hug that had formed between the three girls.

"Thank the guys... it was their idea," Jen smiled as she led them back to their seats. Macey sighed and stood in awe, watching NSync sing "Falling" on the back stage and wondering what could possibly top that night.

CHAPTER 11

"Baby Bye Bye Bye!" Justin, JC, Lance, Joey, and Chris sang one last time before heading up the stairs and into the covered cages that would enable them to make a quick getaway from the show.

As they disappeared, Jen motioned to Macey and Christine to follow behind her and the trio took off at full speed heading to the SUV's that were waiting to shuttle everyone back to the strip.

"Where's the fire?" Christine joked as they hustled through the long hallway that led out back to the exit and entrance they had been using at Sam Boyd.

"I just want to beat the crowd," Jen explained as they hit the door and fell out into the hot air of the July night, "It can be absolute hell to get out of these places and I don't want to get stuck in two hours worth of traffic."

Macey and Christine nodded in agreement as they hopped into the waiting car.

"MGM?" their driver asked.

"Yes," all three girls answered in unison. The driver laughed, "I guess that's a yes."

Macey, Christine, and Jen laughed with him and Macey sat back with a huge sigh, "Ok, that would have to rank right up there in the top 10 most amazing nights of my life."

"Same here... I cannot believe we got to be onstage," Christine agreed.

"I'm still in shock. Not only is the show awesome, but on a purely fan basis, just about every dream I ever had about an NSync show came true... well, minus Lance dedicating "Falling" to me, but hey- ya' can't have it all," Macey beamed.

"I'm just so glad you had a good time tonight," Jen smiled at them.

"You know you liked being up there too!" Macey chided her.

"You're right, you're right. I'll admit it- it's awesome being up there with the guys and being the envy of like every girl in the stadium," she grinned.

"Yes, yes it is," Christine affirmed.

They talked all the way back to the hotel, the conversation bopping back and forth between the show, the weekend plans, and what they were planning on wearing that night.

"I still wish I'd bought that damn outfit today," Macey sighed, thinking back to the 'perfect' outfit she'd found at the Forum Shops that afternoon.

"You should have, you looked kick ass in it," Jen agreed.

"Thanks," Macey smiled,"but that's like my clothing budget for the entire year."

"Same here," Christine nodded.

"But you still looked kick ass," Jen told her.

"Oh well... maybe I'll go home and find some faux leather pants and a butterfly shirt there that aren't like $2000," Macey said.

"Go Pleather!" Jen kidded her.

"Hey, at least I can afford pleather!" Macey laughed.

"Here we are ladies," the driver interrupted, slowing to a stop at the back door of their hotel.

"Thanks so much," Christine smiled as they got out, Macey and Jen adding their thank-yous as well.

The girls made the familiar walk through the casino and up to their rooms to get ready for a night out on the town.

"Where are we going again?" Macey asked Christine as she stepped out of the shower and into her white Tommy Hilfiger wrap.

"I think Jen said RA," Christine answered.

"Cool," Macey said, turning on her hair dryer and beginning the long process of beautifying herself.

Christine quickly joined in, carefully and meticulously doing her hair and make-up. The girls worked in silence, both lost in their own thoughts of the upcoming weekend.

A loud knock on the door startled both of them and Macey nearly took out her eyeball with an eyelash curler.

"DAMN IT!" she yelled, cursing herself at the same time she prayed that her now teary eyes wouldn't ruin the eye makeup job she'd done.

"You alright?" Christine asked as she went to answer the door.

"Yeah, if I don't lose an eye..." Macey answered, looking in the mirror to ensure no damage was done.

"Hey you!!!!!" Macey heard from the doorway.

"Jus!" she mumbled under her breath, tossing the eyelash curler aside and heading out of the bathroom.

"Hey Mayce!" Justin greeted her as she appeared from the doorway.

"Hey Justin... what's going on?" she replied, smiling at him.

"Nothing much, just checking to see if ya'll are ready. Lance tried to call, but no one answered, so we wondered if you'd done a disappearing act on us again," he grinned.

"Nope, we're here," Macey answered, sticking her tongue out at Justin as she glanced at the phone, "Whatta' ya' know Chris? We have a message."

"Must've rang when the hairdryers were on," Christine reasoned.

"Probably so," Macey agreed as she headed over to listen to the message.

"Nice outfits ladies, are you wearing those to the club?" Justin kidded them.

Macey immediately looked down self-conciously.

"I totally forgot I was wearing a robe," she mumbled.

"Me too," Christine added, her face turning a bright shade of red.

"I'm just joking," Justin assured them with a grin, "Listen, I'll leave you alone. I'm getting ready to ride over with Brit... she just got here," he added, his face beaming.

"Awesome Justin," Macey grinned, excited just to see him so happy.

"So we'll catch ya' there," he promised, turning to walk toward the door.

"Bye Justin," Christine yelled as the door closed behind him.

"I cannot believe we just had an entire conversation with Justin Timberlake, IN our hotel room, while we're wearing robes," Christine said in disbelief.

"No Shit..." Macey laughed as she pushed the star and then one keys to listen to their messages.

"Hey Macey...Christine... It's Me," Lance's deep voice filled the line, "I was hoping I'd get to ride over to RA with you, but you're gone... so I guess not.. but I will see you there right??? Ummm... yeah... well... I guess I'm gonna' go ahead and go, but I can't wait to see you guys, so, uh, I'll talk to you there.. See ya," he finished, the message clicking to an end.

Macey sighed as she hung up the phone.

"Lance?" Christine inquired.

"Yep," Macey told her.

"Anything exciting?"

"Not really, just making sure we were going to RA."

"I really do think he likes you Mayce," Christine told her sincerely.

Macey sighed yet again as she rifled through her closet, "I don't know Chris... there's just so much involved and I just.... I don't know."

Another knock on the door interrupted their conversation and this time Macey went to answer.

"You two ready?" Jen asked as Macey pulled the door open.

"Almost... just need to change clothes," Macey told her, stepping aside to allow her into the room.

"Nah, you should just go in that. Easy access for Lance," Jen kidded her.

"Whatever bitch," Macey laughed as she returned to her closet.

"Hey Jen," Christine called out from the bathroom.

"Hey," Jen answered with a smile.

"You look awesome," Macey told Jen, who was dressed in a tight black mini-skirt and a form-fitting silk tank top that tied behind her neck and showed off every area that should be shown.

"Thanks," Jen smiled.

"Jesus, what to wear???" Christine moaned.

"Just grab something...and hurry," Jen laughed, eager to join Joey and the others at the exclusive party.

Twenty minutes and six outfit changes later, Macey and Christine were ready to head out to the club to party the night away.

Several cameras snapped as they stepped out of the car before the fans gathered around the red carpet entrance realized that a member of NSync was not present in their vehicle.

"Damn...this is crazy," Christine said in amazement, looking at all the prying eyes that surrounded and hunted them down as they walked down the red carpet unstopped.

"If looks could kill, we'd have died a thousand deaths back there," Macey commented as they walked into the dark club.

"This place is awesome," Christine shouted over the blaring music, looking around at the trendy bar.

"Yeah it is," Jen agreed, weaving her way through the crowd that was unusually thick, considering it was supposed to be a private party.

The trio finally arrived at the back area where the guys were lounging and talking with friends and family that were steadily arriving for the weekend.

Macey unconsciously searched the area for Lance, a slight smile coming to her face when she spotted the back of his head.

"I'm gonna' talk to JC and Chris," Christine said and headed towards the pair who were sitting in a corner with some people that she vaguely recognized, but couldn't place.

Jen had found Joey and they were heading toward the dance floor. Macey looked around and quickly made the decision to see what Lance was up to. Walking his direction, she made eye contact with several people, smiling as she weaved through the crowd. She approached the couch Lance was sitting on with friends and slid her hands around his face, covering his eyes and whispering, "Guess Who?"

He jumped slightly as she touched him and then instinctively brought his hands up to cover hers. His skin was soft to the touch and for just a moment, visions of his hands on other parts of her body crept into her head, causing her to blush and look down at the floor.

The person sitting to Lance's right turned around slowly and eyed Macey with an evil glare. Macey recognized her as the girl from the night before and she tried to pull her hands away as the girl mouthed, "BITCH," soundlessly.

"Hey, I didn't guess!" Lance laughed as he turned around to see Macey, who was trying to turn away.

"I.. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt," she stuttered, thrown off not only by the blonde's presence, but by her insult as well.

"Interrupt?? What do you mean??" Lance asked, grabbing her arm as she turned from him.

"I didn't know you were..." she trailed off, unsure of how to answer.

Lance hopped up and turned around, sitting on his knees on the couch, pulling Macey closer to him. He glanced at Aleisha and suddenly it clicked in his head what the problem was.

"You weren't interrupting anything," he whispered to her, once again putting his hand to her face and lifting her chin to look into her eyes, "Come here." He nodded towards the side of the couch, telling Macey to come around to the front. From her seat next to Lance, Aleisha fumed. Macey did her best to ignore her as she held Lance's gaze and walked around the couch, carefully avoiding Aleisha's spiked heels.

"Macey, this is Justin, Jayme, Heather, Todd, and Aleisha, all friends of mine from the crew... Everyone, this is Macey," he introduced her as he pulled her down onto his lap.

She sat down in suprise, smiling at everyone as she answered their chorus of "Hello!"

"Nowhere else to sit," Lance whispered to her with a wink.

"She can have my seat. I think I have something to do," Aleisha said suddenly, overhearing Lance. She jumped up and stalked away without another word.

"Alrighty then," Heather said with a laugh, watching Aleisha push her way over to Justin and Britney.

Macey started to move to the empty spot and Lance put a hand on her back, stopping her.

"You're fine," he smiled.

She smiled back self-consciously and willed herself to breathe and settle down as the conversation continued around her.

"You look great," Lance whispered to her, his hot breath tickling her ear. She shivered and he slid a hand up and down her back, "You ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she answered him with a smile, hoping she sounded more confident and less confused than she felt.

"Good," he smiled, leaving his hand resting on her back as he re-joined the conversation with his friends.

Macey let her thoughts wander and they instantly wandered to the feel of Lance's hand on her back. She fought to keep control of her emotions, not wanting to ruin the night by worrying, but not wanting to let herself lose control and fall any farther than she already had for the man who's mere closeness in proximity was causing her to have trouble thinking clearly.

"Want to dance?" Lance asked.

Macey hesistated, knowing what grinding with Lance on the dance floor could lead to.

"Come on, Mayce," he pushed, looking into her eyes.

Unable to resist, she nodded and stood up, taking his hand as he nodded to his friends and led her through the crowd.

"MAYCE! LANCE!" voice from across the room called.

They both turned to see Kerry rushing towards them.

"MACEY!" she yelled when she got near them, engulfing Macey in a huge hug.

"Hey Kerry!!!" Macey smiled, hugging her back.

"I haven't seen you since New York! You look great!" Kerry complimented her as she backed away.

"Thanks, you too!" Macey bubbled.

The ringing of Lance's cell phone interrupted their reunion and he frowned at Macey in a silent apology as he opened it up.

"Hello?" he answered. "Hey mom, where are you???" he asked, a look of concern coming over his face. He listened intently, glancing at Macey a couple of times in the process, as he sighed and rubbed a hand over his eyes. "Ok, I'll call you right back, let me get back to the hotel." He closed the phone and turned to Macey.

"I'll catch up with you guys later," Kerry told them quickly, sensing that it was her cue to exit. Lance led Macey off to the side slightly and began, "Mayce, I'm so sorry, but there are some problems back home that I need to help deal with... my parents were supposed to be here tonight, but obviously they're not," he tried to explain quickly, "Can I have a raincheck on that dance?"

"Sure," she answered, worried about his family problems, but unable to keep the disappointment from showing in her eyes.

"I'll make it up to you," Lance promised, leaning forward and without hesitation kissing Macey's lips softly.

"It's fine," she said again, her mind reeling.

"I'll see you soon," he promised, squeezing her hand as he turned to leave.

"See you soon," she mumbled.

Lance darted through the crowd to Mike, talking to him quickly before the two of them headed out the door.

"What in the hell just happened???" Macey asked herself quietly as she slid through the crowd of people to Christine, Chris, Melinda, Lara Beth, JC, and friends who were laughing and joking together across the room.

"Hey guys," she butted in.

"Hey Macey! Join us!" JC requested, smiling at her and scooting over to make room for her to sit.

"Thanks, but I think I'm gonna' head back," she told them, "I just wanted to let you know."

"Everything ok?" Christine said immediately at the same time Justin asked, "Where's Lance?"

"Everything's fine and Lance had to go back to the hotel for something... something's wrong at home," Macey filled them in.

"Well you can stay Mayce," JC told her.

"I know, but I'm still exhausted from getting no sleep and it's catching up with me. I don't want to be tired as hell all weekend long," she explained, glad she could come up with such a plausible explanation so quickly.

"You sure?" Melinda asked.

"Positive," Macey affirmed.

"I'll go back with you Macey and check on Lance while I'm there," Chris said, standing up.

"Ya' coming back C?" JC asked.

"Probably... I'll see ya' guys soon," he answered.

"See ya'll tomorrow," Macey added, giving a little wave.

"I'll see you in a little while Mayce. I'll be back to the room soon," Christine told her.

"Take your time. Have fun," Macey grinned at her.

Everyone else exchanged goodbyes with Macey as Chris promised to be back soon and together they left the club and made the quick trip back to MGM.

Macey hugged Chris goodnight and wandered upstairs. Confused as ever, she changed quickly and slid beneath the soft sheets of her bed. She told herself again and again that she and Lance were only friends, but her heart and his kiss told her that maybe... just maybe... she was wrong.

CHAPTER 12

Macey stirred as she heard the door to her room open and close.

"Hello?" she mumbled, waiting for a light to come on and illuminate the room.

"Hello?" she called out again, this time a bit louder.

"Hey Macey," Christine's voice came through the darkness, "Sorry I woke you."

"It's ok," Macey mumbled with a glance toward the clock which read 4:57 AM, "Damn it's late."

"Yeah," Christine giggled, the effects of the alcohol she'd consumed still showing.

"Have fun?" Macey asked with a smile.

"Mmmm-hmmm, JC is HOT," Christine spat out.

"Yes, he is... what's going on there?" Macey inquired.

"Oh nothing," Christine sang out as she pulled off her clothes.

"Yeah, sure," Macey kidded her.

"Seriously, nothing, but damn..." Christine trailed off as she hunted for her pajamas in the darkness.

"You can turn on the light, you know," Macey offered.

"Nah, it's ok. I can make it without it," Christine said as she located her pjs and slid into them.

"Did Chris come back?" Macey asked.

"Yeah, he and Lance showed back up about an hour and a half after you left," Christine answered.

"Lance came back???"

"Yeah, he was hoping you'd still be there," Christine informed her, "We were going to call you, but since you said you were tired and needed sleep, we didn't."

""I see," Macey said, "Did he have fun?"

"Did he hang out with anyone else you mean?" Christine laughed.

"Well...yeah," Macey admitted.

"Nope, just with us. He drank quite a bit, but stayed with us the whole night. Came back with the rest of us. Alone," she explained.

"I see," Macey sighed.

"No reason to worry, he was a good boy," Christine giggled.

"I didn't mean-" Macey started as Christine cut her off.

"Yes you did and it's ok to care Mayce."

The two fell into silence and Christine's even breathing soon told Macey she had fallen asleep. She soon followed suit, collapsing into a dream filled sleep.

At 9:47, the phone jangled a loud ring, jerking both Macey and Christine out of the dreams they'd been immersed in. Christine grabbed the phone, reacting more quickly than Macey managed to and grumbled a barely audible, "Hello?" into the receiver. She listened for a minute and then asked, "What time is it?" Macey turned over and listened to her friend's end of the conversation.

"By 11? I don't think so... ok, what's Jen doing? Ahhh, I see... so Mayce and I are on our own?..... Ok, we'll see you guys at the arena around 2 or so... Bye Joey," Christine finished as she hung up the phone.

"Joey?" Macey asked, still half asleep.

"Yeah... they were wondering if we were coming to the press stuff or not. I said not- it starts at 11," Christine filled her in.

"Good call, my ass is not getting out of bed quite yet," Macey sighed, turning over and smashing her head back into her pillow.

Thirty minutes later, Macey sighed as she pried her eyes open and looked up at the ceiling. After trying unsuccessfully to get back to sleep after Joey's call, she was finally giving up. She glanced at Christine who was sleeping peacefully, a slight smile covering her face.

"Wonder who she's dreaming about," Macey thought to herself, a smile coming to her own face. She silently crawled out from under the covers and snuck into the bathroom.

"God I look like hell," she mumbled as she pulled her hair back into a green scrunchie. She washed her face quickly and grabbed her swimming suit from the shower rack where she'd hung it the day before.

Heading back out into the main room, Macey slid a pair of shorts and a T-shirt over her swimming suit. She penned Christine a quick note to let her know where she was heading and grabbed her towel from the bed where she'd thrown it. She ambled down the hall in a slight daze, thinking once again about Lance. The elevator opened and she stepped in and hit the button for the lobby. She headed toward the gift shop, looking down at the floor self-consciously.

"Note to self," she thought, "Don't wear shorts, a t-shirt, and sandals into the lobby of a hotel in Vegas."

A tap on her shoulder made her jump and she spun around to find JC standing next to her, followed closely by Todd.

“You guys have got to quit doing that! You’re scaring the shit out of me!” Macey exclaimed.

“Huh?” JC said, confused.

“Nothing…nevermind…”

"Not going with us to press?" he asked, changing the subject with a smile, looking at her outfit.

"Going for a swim actually," Macey answered, "Christine's still sleeping."

"Sleeping or passed out?" he laughed.

"Ummm…. Maybe a little bit of both???"

They laughed together as Macey fell into step beside JC.

"You gonna' go say hi to everyone?" he asked.

"Everyone?" she joked, looking JC up and down, "You got a colony of ants in your pants?"

"They're all waiting outside smartass," he rolled his eyes.

"Uh, no… not looking like this," she told him, looking down at her flannel shorts and Tri-Sigma Rush 1998 shirt.

"Whatever, don't worry about it…come on," he decided for her, grabbing her arm and pulling her toward the back door, not giving her much of a choice in the matter. They walked through the door and Macey squinted in the sunlight. JC pulled her toward the waiting van.

"Mayce!" Jen announced, jumping out to greet her,

"Hey Jen," she smiled, looking over to Lance who was just stepping out of the van. He was wearing khaki shorts and a green Abercrombie and Fitch shirt along with those damn sunglasses.

"Good morning Macey," he said lightly, putting a soft hand on her back.

"Hi Lance," she smiled.

"Thought you weren't going with us?" Jen commented.

"I'm not," Macey answered, "JC just grabbed me to come say hello before ya'll left. I'm going to buy some sunscreen and then to the pool."

"Can I come?" Lance joked.

"Now there's a loaded question," Macey smiled, unable to stop herself.

"Well then!" JC laughed as Lance blushed a bright shade of red.

"Sorry, just couldn't help it... it was too easy, Lance," Macey kidded him.

"I know, I know, easy target," he conceeded, pushing slightly on her back in affection.

"Time to head out," Melinda yelled from inside the van as she studied a long list of to-do's before the game.

"I guess I'll see you guys at the Skills thing then," Macey smiled as she stepped backward to allow the crew to hop into the waiting van. They all bid her goodbye as they walked over to the vehicle and piled in. Lance looked back and flashed her a grin as he shut the door, waving goodbye as he sat down on the seat. Macey waved back with a smile as she turned and walked back into the hotel.

An hour and a half later, after a refreshing dip in the pool, Macey headed back upstairs. She slid the key into the door lock and heard the shower running and Christine belting out, "..doin what we like, can we say the same for you???" Macey laughed as she began to sing along with Christine.

"What am I going to wear???" Macey groaned, pulling open the drawer in which she'd placed all her clothes for the week. She tossed clothes in every direction as she searched for something decent.

"Dang, did your closet throw up??" Christine marveled as she stepped out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around her body and another around her head.

"Nothing to wear," Macey sighed, picking up a blue tank top and discarding it quickly.

"You've got plenty to wear, Mayce, just pick something," Christine advised.

"Yeah yeah yeah," Macey grumbled, finally settling on a baby pink sleeveless polo and a pair of khaki shorts. She grabbed the clothes and took her turn in the shower, getting ready quickly. She and Christine chatted as they did their hair and make-up quickly, ready to head out for the day. By 1:00, they were ready, walking out into the hot air of the July day. They strolled down the strip, watching the fountains at the Bellagio before jumping into a cab.

"Thomas and Mack arena please," Christine requested as the cabbie nodded and pulled out into the street. Minutes later, they'd arrived. The girls exited the cab and walked up the stone steps leading to the main doors. They pulled their tickets from Macey's small bag and smiled at the lady taking tickets at the door.

"Where to now?" Macey asked, looking around as they wandered into the building.

"I guess just down to the floor," Christine answered, glancing at their tickets which read "Corporate Floor."

"Sometimes it's just awesome to have friends in high places," Macey grinned as they continued their descent down to their prime courtside seats.

The girls sat down in their seats and scanned for people they knew. They spotted Lara Beth running around frantically, trying to get things done before the event began.

"Looks like she's a little behind," Macey noted, nodding toward Lara Beth.

"Just a bit," Christine agreed as they looked on. Melinda had appeared and things slowly began to take shape.

"Wanna' go see what trouble we can get into?" Macey grinned, looking at her watch and realizing that the guys would be out of their press obligations.

"Of course," Christine laughed as the duo stood up and walked around the court to the opening into the tunnels.

"May I help you ladies?" a venue security guard asked.

"Sure," Macey smiled at the young brunette guard. She flashed her pass and he studied it carefully.

"I'm sorry, but I don't believe these are valid here," he said hesitantly, as if he were new to the job and afraid of doing the wrong thing.

"Really???" Macey answered, turning the pass around so she could get a better look at it.

"It's what Todd and the guys told us to use," Christine explained.

"Todd?" Andrew, as his ID tag read, asked.

"Todd... Cheif of Security for NSync," Macey filled him in. Andrew studied the girls carefully, clearly debating on whether or not to believe their credentials.

"Macey! Christine!" came a voice from behind him. The girls glanced up and smiled as Lonnie came ambling down the hall, "The guys are back here, come on back."

Andrew stepped aside, clearly embarrassed at questioning the ladies.

Christine smiled at him graciously, "Thanks for doing your job," she said sweetly, a look of relief coming across his face.

Lonnie grinned at them as they jogged up to him and fell into step beside him as they wandered around backstage.

"What up guys???" Macey yelled as she walked into the makeshift green room where everyone had assembled. Joey, Chris, JC, and Justin laughed as she and Christine entered.

"Not much G," Justin threw back with a grin.

A large crowd had gathered in the room, most of whom Macey and Christine recognized but didn't 'know.' They headed toward the refuge of Chris' group, which seemed to be the least sparse, most friendly looking.

"Hey girl, missed you last night," Chris greeted Macey as she approached.

"Needed my beauty sleep," she told him with a half-smile.

"How're you feeling today?" Chris chided Christine.

"Doing pretty good," she responded sheepishly with a half smile.

"Good... do you guys know everyone?" Chris asked them, nodding to the mix of celebrities standing around with him.

"Nope," Macey smiled, looking around.

"Well then... these two are Macey and Christine," Chris informed his group, "and here we have Trevor, Taye, Willa, Frankie, and Beverly," he introduced everyone in the round.

Macey and Christine smiled and gave little waves to everyone as they went around. For the millionth time, Macey wondered how in the hell she had gotten to where she was at that moment in time. With introductions done, everyone went back to their conversations, Christine talking with Beverly and Trevor. Macey looked around the room, checking out the scene and looking for Lance. He was nowhere to be found and she slid away from the group, smiling at Chris as he caught her eye as she walked away.

"Looking for someone?" she heard JC ask behind her as she passed him.

"Just wandering," she lied with a grin, fooling no one.

"Well wandering isn't here," he yelled after her, the people standing around him laughing.

She turned around and marched back over to him. "You think you're so damn cute, don't you Mr. Chasez????" she joked.

"Mmmm.....well... maybe," he joked back.

"You pop stars and your egos..." Macey sighed. She looked at JC and broke into a grin, unable to keep a straight face.

"He's just unbearable sometimes," Dave laughed.

"I hear ya'," Macey smiled.

"I'm Dave," he offered his hand and Macey leaned forward and took his hand.

"I'm Macey," she replied.

"Ahhhh, so you're the infamous Macey????" Dave realized.

"Don't know about the infamous," she retorted, giving JC a "what exactly have you guys been saying about me" look, "But the Macey is true enough."

"Well, it's nice to finally meet you," he finished.

"You too," she replied, "I'm gonna' go say hey to Justin... haven't seen him today."

"Have fun... and if you run into that wandering guy, tell him I need to talk to him," JC laughed. Macey stuck her tongue out at him as she walked away, crossing the room to where Justin was talking with Tom Arnold.

"Hey you," she said, grabbing his arm as she walked up.

"Hey Mayce," he greeted her, a smile lighting his face.

"Where's Britny?" she asked immediately, looking around the room.

"She's hanging out with her family- checking out some of the sights," he explained, looking back and forth from Tom to Macey before introducing them. They chatted for several minutes before Macey excused herself and headed back over to Christine and that group.

"Have fun Mayce?" Christine asked her as she approached.

"Of course," she smiled, "Have you seen Jen?"

"She had to run some errands," Chris filled in.

"Thanks," Macey answered, looking around Christine's back to smile at Chris.

A few minutes later, Melinda rushed into the room, "Hey everyone!!" she yelled, trying to smile through her stress.

"Thanks for being so patient. I think we're about set up out there, so if you'd like to go ahead and get ready to head out, that would be great," she instructed them before heading back out the door.

Everyone began to migrate toward the door, Justin leading the way.

Macey and Christine took their time and made their way out to the court slowly. They grinned at Justin, who had already appeared on the court and was shooting hoops. Taking their seats, they looked on in awe as people began to mill around.

"How did we get here?" Christine asked.

"Good freaking question," Macey replied.

"Where's Lance?" Chris inquired, wondering if Macey had found him at the gathering.

"No idea. JC said he wasn't here, but didn't mention where he'd disappeared to. I didn't see Jen either," Macey noted.

"Hard telling where they're at," Christine shrugged. Minutes later, the activities began and Lance, Joey, JC, Chris, and the rest of the celebrities appeared on the court to begin to show their "skills."

Macey and Christine wanted to die laughing as they watched Lance try to pedal a tricycle, JC defend a goal against sumo dressed girls, and Joey pull his pants down for his stylish slam-dunk. At that, Macey looked to Jen, who was standing on the sidelines shaking her head in embarrassment while trying not to laugh. When they began to take their turns in the dunk tank, Macey grinned and told Christine, "I'm not missing this... let's get closer." Christine laughed in agreement and the two quickly headed down the court. They made their way to a small area just to the left of where the dunk tank was located and sat back and watched with a grin.

Lance climbed in and Macey's face carried a priceless expression, "Now this is something I'd pay lots and lots of money to see," she whispered to Christine. When he fell into the water, Macey and Christine screamed and laughed with the best of them. Macey caught Lance's eye as he was climbing out and he grinned and nodded towards the tunnel area. She nodded understanding and waited a second before following him.

"I'll be right back," she told Christine, who was watching the next victim climb into the tank.

"Alright," Christine answered distractedly.

Lance was standing just inside the tunnel waiting for her.

"Hey Mr. Bass," Macey greeted him.

"Hi Macey," he answered, walking toward her with a mischevious grin on his face.

"What's that look for???" she answered, looking at his wet shirt which did nothing to hide his muscular chest and arms.

"Oh nothing, it's just good to see you," he replied as he opened his arms and grabbed her into a huge, tight hug.

"LANCE!!!!" she yelped as felt the front of her clothes become soaked.

He wiggled against her, getting her even more wet, and held her tighter as she tried to pull away.

"Hey, none of that back here!" JC laughed as he walked into the tunnel.

"Wanna' help???" Lance asked JC, who was just realizing what Lance was doing.

"Don't have to ask twice," JC replied and ran up to them, grabbing Macey from behind, soaking the back of her clothes too.

She wriggled between them and somewhere in the back of her mind, 'Damn...it's a Lance/ JC sandwhich" popped into her head and she busted into laughter.

Puzzled at her sudden outburst, JC and Lance backed away and watched her laugh out loud.

"Uhhh... what's so funny?" JC asked, smiling at her.

"Nothing...nothing," Macey choked out, looking down at her wet clothes, "But I'm gonna' kill you both."

"Whoa! It's a wet T-shirt contest and I wasn't even invited!!!" Joey commented as he walked into the tunnel.

"Shut up Joey!" Macey yelled at him with a grin.

"What'd they do to you Mayce??" Jen asked her friend as she entered the area behind Joey, Christine following.

"They surrounded and soaked me!" Macey laughed, JC and Lance looking extremely proud of themselves.

"Come on… get out of those clothes before you all get sick," Jen smiled, nodding toward the back of the arena. The group trooped together back to the dressing rooms where Macey followed Jen, who handed her a baby blue 'Heroes and Legends' shirt to put on.

"Thanks," Macey offered, sliding into the shirt.

"Don't think I have any pants," Jen sighed, looking around in futility.

"It's ok... I'll survive, I just have to kill Lance," Macey grinned.

"Nah, you won't... when you get back to the hotel, all will be forgiven," Jen promised.

"What's that supposed to mean???" Macey asked.

"Nothing...nothing..." Jen said, refusing to say anymore.

"HEY! You done in there yet???" Joey's voice yelled from outside.

"Men..." Jen sighed and then laughed, pulling open the door and walking out.

"Pat got hurt in the dunk tank," Joey filled them in.

"WHAT?" Jen blurted out.

"He like broke his hand or something... I'm taking over Emcee duties," he grinned.

"Oh Lord," Jen rolled her eyes with a smile, following her boyfriend outside and down the hall. Macey and Christine trailed them back out onto the court and took their ringside seats once again to watch the Obstacle course.

An hour later, they were headed back to the hotel. The guys had gotten held up to do more press and Macey, Christine, and Jen left ahead of them to get some primp time in before they had to make their appearance at Olio's.

"So what's this business about the hotel and all being forgiven?" Macey asked Jen.

"I told you nothing," Jen lied, obviously hiding something.

"Whatever..." Macey said.

"You'll see..." Jen compromised, smiling at her friend.

"So what's going on tonight?" Christine asked, changing the subject.

"Well... we're going back now and then to Olio's for the celebrity auction. Pretty much everyone will be at that. Then the guys are going on the scavenger hunt, but I'm pretty sure that's just for celebrities. After that, there's a late night party at C2K," Jen explained.

"Sounds like a good time," Macey noted.

"I'm sure it will be," Jen agreed as they pulled up to the MGM. They trooped through the lobby, stopping to plunk a few quarters into slot machines before heading upstairs.

"So we'll see you in awhile at Olio's then?" Christine asked Jen as she and Macey stepped out of the elevator.

"Yeah... around 7 or so," Jen answered.

"See ya'," Macey added as the doors closed and Jen disappeared with a wave.

The girls walked down the hall to their room and slid the key into the lock, opening the door. Macey threw the plastic key down on the table and looked into the room.

"What the hell????" she gasped, seeing two beautifully wrapped boxes laying on their beds.

"What is this???" Christine wondered aloud, hopping over to the beds.

Macey grabbed a card from the top of the box which read, "Macey" at the same time Christine snatched up her own.

Macey recognized Lance's handwriting from the note on the roses he'd sent the day before and she carefully slid her nail beneath the envelope's flap, forcing it open.

She smiled at the pink rose on the outside cover of the card and opened it.

"Macey... just wanted to say I'm sorry about the disappearing act last night. Can't wait to cash in that rain check for the dance tonight. This is just a little something to make sure you enjoy your evening with us tonight at the club. I'm so glad you're here... we're gonna' have a blast. See you soon. Love, Lance," she read silently.

"What does your say???" Christine asked as she scanned her own card. Macey recited Lance's words aloud and then looked to Chris. "And yours???"

"Christine, It's awesome to have you here with Macey. Sorry you had to miss NYC. Welcome to the world of NSync. Love, Lance."

"God he's sweet," Macey sighed.

"So what are they????" Christine wondered aloud. The two girls looked at each other and without a word began to rip into the beautiful wrapping paper. Christine got into hers first and let out a long breath of air as she said, "Oh my God..." She reached into the box and pulled out the black dress she'd fell in love with the day before while she, Macey, and Jen were shopping. "I can't believe it..."

Macey knew before she saw it what was lying in the box. She pulled back the tissue paper and smiled. She didn't say a word as she picked up her 'dream outfit,' the black leather pants and sequined butterfly shirt.

"How'd he know???" Christine wondered.

"Jen...how else- they were both gone today," Macey put the pieces together.

"I'll tell you one thing Macey- you need to get ahold of that boy and don't let go. He's definitely a keeper," Christine told her.

Macey looked down in silence at the $3000 outfit she was holding in her hands and contemplated Christine's words.

"He IS incredible," she agreed finally, once again finding herself in a world of contradictions that played in her mind. She knew that he was the perfect man, but whether or not she was the 'perfect enough' woman was the one question she couldn't answer.

CHAPTER 13

"Damn, look at all these people," Macey said in amazement as she and Christine walked through the corridor of the MGM Grand and approached Olio's, "This is insane."

"Yes, it is," Christine agreed, looking around for the break in bodies to signal the entrance to the trendy restaurant. The pair made their way through the crowd to the doorway as Macey commented, "What's even more insane is that two months ago, we would've been on the other side of the rope."

"I know...funny how life changes, huh?" Christine added as a black suited man smiled and asked, "Names please?"

"Macey Jenkins," Macey answered at the same time Christine said, "Christine Tarron."

"Straight down the red carpet and to your right ladies," he instructed them with a smile after consulting his guest list. Christine and Macey thanked him and walked slowly down the red carpet, smiling at those standing on the other side of the rope, many of whom weren't smiling back. Eyes were on them from every angle and they could see the whispers of those watching.

"It's amazing how hostile some people can be," Macey whispered as she and Christine turned the corner and looked into the restaurant over the small wall that separated their walkway from those who were dining.

"And they don't even know who we are... I can't imagine being a girlfriend," Christine said thoughtfully.

"Well even Jen didn't mention anything about her and Joey when we met. She was afraid of how I'd react," Macey commented.

"Well, hostility or not, I'm really liking my life about right now," Christine laughed as they entered the large room that would house the auction.

"I hear ya'," Macey agreed absentmindedly, her thoughts turning to what it would really be like to be with Lance.

"There he is," Christine whispered, breaking into Macey's thoughts.

"Lance?"

"No, Jordan Knight," Christine explained trying to point without being obvious.

"Holy shit, It IS Jordan," Macey grinned, "We might just have to go say hi."

The room was still mostly empty, with only a few early arrivals sparsely scattered at the tables. The girls sat down at a table and Macey sent Jordan a little wave, hoping it would entice him to come and talk to them. Minutes later, more guests began to arrive and Macey and Christine sat back and watched as they filtered in. Slowly, the room began to fill with everyone from security to sponsors to family.

"Oh my freaking God, is that Lynn Harless??" Macey spat out when she caught a glimpse of a Justin's mom across the room, almost spitting out her drink.

"Where?" Christine asked, scanning the room.

"Over there- tight dress, corn rows, black man attached to her arm," Macey said quietly.

"Dear God, it is... what in the hell is she wearing????" Christine laughed.

"I'll answer that if you can tell me what in the hell possessed her to do that to her hair!" Macey threw back.

The girls were still laughing when Jen walked up, sitting down next to them with, "What's so funny???"

"Oh, we're just trying to figure out what the hell kind of trailer Justin's mom crawled out of," Macey joked.

Jen just rolled her eyes and responded, "Your guess is as good as mine, Jesus..."

"Where are the guys?" Christine asked.

"Well, there's Chris right now," Jen pointed out, nodding across the room to where Chris was entering, "Joey's on his way down. Don't know about JC and Lance. Justin's with Britney," she filled them in.

"Speaking of Lance," Macey said, her facing breaking into a grin, "I cannot believe you guys did that!!!!!!!!!"

Jen smiled at her friend, "It was Lance's idea. I mentioned on the way to the game this morning that he would've busted something if he could've seen you in this outfit you tried on yesterday and... after press we made a quick run."

"We about died when we walked into the room and opened them," Christine grinned.

"Well, just have fun tonight," Jen advised, standing up as Melinda motioned to her, "I've gotta' run, but I'll see you all in awhile."

"Bye Jen!" they chorused as she walked away.

"Let's mingle," Christine suggested, pushing her chair back. She and Macey made their rounds of the room, checking out the silent auction items and greeting those they'd already met over the weekend.

"I wish I could afford some of this stuff," Christine said wistfully, looking at the autographed On The Line script laying on the table.

"Think they'd have us arrested if we stole it???" Macey joked.

"Ummm... probably not," Christine laughed.

"We could always just grab it and make a run for it. With all those people out there, they'd never find us," Macey added.

"Good plan...ya' ready???" Christine continued.

"How about we eat first and commit theft later?" Macey suggested.

"It's a deal," Christine agreed, the two of them moving on through the room and heading back to their table. By the time they made their way back, the guys had arrived and the scene was crowded and high energy. Macey's eyes trained the room for Lance, seeking him out. She spotted him sitting at a table with Emanuelle Chiriqui, Trevor, and Beverly Mitchell. She studied him in silence, watching his eyes light up when he looked at Emanuelle and how he laughed with them. Feeling very small, she picked up her drink and took a long sip.

"Why the sad face?" Christine cut into her thoughts.

"Huh?" Macey asked, jerking at the sound and almost spilling her amaretto stone sour.

"You've done like a 180 since we sat down. What's wrong?" Christine inquired.

"Nothing, I'm fine," Macey tried to smile.

"Don't do this again, Macey, what's wrong?" she pressed.

"Look at him," Macey gave in, "He looks so happy."

Christine followed Macey's eyes and saw Lance laughing and talking at a table across the restaurant.

"So he's happy... this is a BAD thing?" Christine wondered.

"He's happy with them, Chris- I don't fit into this world," Macey sighed.

"Ok, stop right there Mayce- number one, this is not the time or the place to have this discussion and you are not going to do this again tonight. Number two- yes you do. You're here, invited by Lance himself, and if you'd quit doubting yourself, you'd fit in just fine. Just relax and have fun," Christine told her.

Before Macey could respond, JC approached their table, "This seat taken?"

"Of course not, have a seat," Christine answered.

"Get all dried off Macey?" JC asked, an evil grin covering his features.

"Yes, thank you very much," Macey laughed.

"How are you Christine?" he asked.

"Good, good," she smiled, loving the way he leaned toward her when they talked.

"Good... By the way, Lance is looking for you Mayce," JC informed her.

"What?"

"He was looking for you when he came in, but got sidetracked. You should go say hi," he suggested, nodding towards Lance's table.

"Maybe I will," Macey smiled, starting to stand up when Pat O'Brien took the mic and began the auction.

"Or maybe I won't," she reconsidered as people began to gather into the main room, making moving around impossible.

"Oh well, just talk to him later," JC smiled as the auction began.

An hour later, everything was auctioned off and the celebrities had begun to mill around. Macey stood up and almost knocked over a thin girl in a silver space outfit carrying ice cream cones.

"Would you like a gelatto?" she offered.

"Ummm, sure," Macey accepted, picking up a pink cone off the tray as JC grabbed a yellow one and Christine took one also.

They tasted the desert and JC's face lit up, "Damn this is some good shit," he said seriously. Macey and Christine agreed and watched the girls all over the room, hurrying to pass out the ice cream as quickly as possible. They could barely get the cones out fast enough to keep the crowd from chasing them back to the stand outside where they were dishing it out.

"Now HE likes that stuff," Macey cracked up and nodded towards Mike, who was carrying a cone in each hand.

"Gives new definition to double fisting it, huh?" JC laughed.

"Hey guys," Lance approached, smiling with an ice cream in his hand, his other arm around Emanuelle's waist.

"Hey Lance," they all answered in unison, Macey studying him and Emanuelle together.

"Don't think you've met Emanuelle," he introduced her, "Em this is Macey and Christine."

"Nice to meet you," Emanuelle offered her hand after disentangling herself from Lance.

"Nice to meet you too," Christine replied and shook her hand, Macey following suit.

The two sat down, Lance next to Macey. He reached over and squeezed her hand as he got comfortable and she was amazed at how just that small touch could make her heart beat faster. Impulsively, Macey leaned between the two chairs, putting her arms around Lance and hugging him tightly, all the while trying not to get her ice cream in his hair.

"Whoa! What's this for?" Lance whispered as he squeezed her tightly to him.

"I owed you one...for the gift up in my room," she explained as she pulled away from him, "Thank you so much."

His eyes lit up as he asked, "So you like it???"

"LIKE IT??? I love it!" Macey bubbled.

"And I love mine too...thanks Lance," Christine added.

"What'd you do?" Emanuelle asked.

"Nothing much... I just heard about some clothes that they found yesterday that they loved, but didn't buy, so Jen and I ran and picked them up today as a suprise," Lance explained.

"That is so sweet," she smiled at her co-star, "But I'm not surprised."

"He wants you to think he did it with pure intentions, but the truth is, he just wanted to see them in the outfits," JC laughed. Lance blushed and gave JC an "I swear, I'm going to kill you," look.

"See, he won't even deny it," JC added.

"Well, whatever the motives, I love it," Macey came to his rescue.

"Good," he smiled, his face still red.

A loud voice over the mic grabbed their attention.

"Ok everyone, we'll be starting the scavenger hunt now, so if everyone would like to pick up their envelopes, we'll go ahead and get started. This is for the celebrities only and remember that all teams must ride in one car and stay together throughout the night. You must get proof of your endeavors and everyone must participate," she paused as celebrities began to approach to claim their envelopes.

"Looks like it's time to go," Lance sighed as he, JC, and Emanuelle pushed back their chairs.

"So we'll see you at the party tonight, right???" JC asked.

"Of course," Christine answered, hugging JC as he reached for her.

"Have fun," Macey smiled.

"Always... see you tonight," Lance hugged her tightly.

"It was nice to meet you," Emanuelle said again, offering another handshake before they walked away.

"You too," Macey smiled, shaking her hand.

"We'll see you later," Christine said, smiling as she, too, shook Em's hand.

The trio headed away from the table as Lara Beth said over the mic, "For friends and family, you can meet up with the celebs at the other end after the scavenger hunt. So we'll see you down there. Good luck to everyone and have fun."

Macey and Christine sat back and waited for everyone to head out of the crowded room.

"I saw you got to talk to Lance," Jen said to Macey as she plopped into the chair next to Christine.

"Yeah, he and Emanuelle came over," Macey replied.

"Don't even think what you're thinking Macey," Jen advised without looking at her.

"What???" Macey asked, confused.

"Lance and Emanuelle have nothing going on- they're good friends," Jen told her resolutely.

"Did I say anything else?"

"Didn't have to," Jen answered, looking Macey in the eye, "But I know you and I can read your tone like a book and that's what you were letting get into that little head of yours... but you can forget it because they're just friends."

"Whatever you say," Macey said with a grin, wishing she could contradict Jen about how she'd been feeling, but she knew she wasn't that good of a liar.

"It's C2K tonight, right?" Christine asked.

"Right... I guess the guys will be there between like 11 and midnight, so we're on our own until then. God I'm glad this auction's over," Jen sighed, grabbing another ice cream cone from a space invader that was passing the table.

"Wanna' do some gambling before we go get ready???" Macey asked them with a smile.

"Sounds good to me... we really haven't gotten to gamble much since we got here," Christine agreed, standing up with Macey and Jen to walk out of the restaurant. They headed into the MGM casino and then out the doors to check out other hotels nearby. They ended up playing slots at New York New York while letting the time pass.

"Where are the drink people???" Macey asked as she finished off her third amaretto sour since they'd sat down.

"Hitting it hard tonight are you Mayce?" Jen glanced at her.

"Mmmm... maybe... I could use a night to let loose," she answered with a grin.

Three drinks later, Jen looked at her watch, "Damn, it's already 10:00, we've gotta' go get ready."

"Damn," Macey replied, pulling her last pull on the machine, "Come on- Big Money! No Whammies!" she yelled.

The machine dinged and bells and whistles went off as the wheels came to a stop.

"Holy shit Macey! You hit the jackpot!!!" Jen yelled in excitement.

"Oh My God!" Christine jumped up and down.

"How much did I win???" Macey asked in awe as she watched the lights swirl about her machine.

"Hell, I don't know," Jen answered, looking at Macey's combination of a red, white, and blue seven and compared it to the machine, "You won $1,000 Macey!"

"I won a thousand dollars!!! I won a thousand dollars!!!!" she screamed, people looking and laughing from all over the casino.

"Congratulations miss," a scantily dressed NY NY employee laughed as she walked up and entered a code into Macey's machine, "Follow me this way and we'll get your payout for you." Macey smiled at Jen and Christine as they all trooped over to the cashier's window where Macey collected her winnings.

"Drinks on me guys!!!" she laughed as they walked away.

"Uhh, Mayce, the drinks are free," Jen laughed.

"Well, we'll stop and buy some not-free ones!" Macey replied.

"I think you've had enough for awhile Macey," Christine joked, only half serious.

"Awww, come on Christine! I'm just having fun!" Macey smiled at her friend.

They stopped in their hotel and grabbed a foot long margarita before heading up to their rooms to get ready.

"Come on Jen, bring your stuff down and get ready with us!" Macey suggested.

"I thought it was YOUR turn to get ready in my room!" Jen argued.

"But then two of us would have to move stuff.. and I don't think I can carry all my shit down there," Macey giggled.

Jen looked at Macey and concluded that she just might be right, "Fine, I'll be down in a few minutes. I can borrow make-up, right?"

"Of course," Christine replied as she and Macey stepped out of the elevator.

"See ya in a few," Macey waved.

She and Christine ran down the hallway to their room, laughing as they opened the door and made a bee-line for the bathroom to begin to get ready for the evening. Jen knocked and Macey let her in as she took a long drink of her margarita. The girls helped each other with hair and make-up and as they finished, Macey took a step back from the mirror and studied their reflections.

"Damn we look awesome," she grinned at her friends.

Jen looked into the mirror at the three of them and had to agree, "You're right. It's been a long time since I've looked this good, and you look awesome!"

"I'm so excited," Christine added, grabbing Macey for an impulse hug.

"We all just look kick ass," Macey said as she hugged Christine.

The girls quickly went into the large room and began to get dressed for the evening. Careful not to mess up the meticulously done hair and make-up, they stepped into their outfits for the evening. Macey sighed as she slid into the leather pants Lance had bought that day.

"Can you help me?" Macey requested, holding up the strings to the butterfly shirt she was putting on.

"He's going to die when he sees you Macey," Christine promised as she looked at Macey and helped her tie the string behind her neck. The shirt left little to the imagination. Her tan stomach and shoulders were completely revealed, the sequined butterfly's wings covering only what was necessary.

Macey sighed and answered, "We'll see," as she turned in front of the mirror to study the open back of the shirt, a single string across the middle of her back and one around her neck the only things holding it on.

"You two look incredible too," Macey smiled, looking at Jen's tight two piece black mini-dress and Christine's black dress, compliments of Lance.

"Thanks," they replied in unison, laughing as they stepped into their shoes.

"Are we ready???" Jen asked, snapping the clasp shut on the diamond bracelet Joey'd given her earlier that year.

"I think so," Macey replied, randomly touching a stray hair that had fallen out of her french twist.

"Let's go!" Christine finalized, the three girls walking toward the door and out into the night.

A short ride later, they were walking through The Venetian, marvelling at the beauty of the elaborate hotel. "Damn, look at that line," Macey commented as they approached the club.

"Thank God for VIPs," Jen smiled as they entered a smaller line near the front of the club.

"They're good, and they're good!" Todd pointed out Macey, Jen, and Christine, along with a small group of guys behind them, to security as they made their way to the front and into the club after getting wristbands from the bouncer.

"Upstairs ladies," Todd directed them with a wink at Macey.

The girls carefully made their way up into the VIP area and walked through the mass of people into an even more carefully guarded room which held Justin, Britney, Joey, Lance, JC, Chris, and many of the other celebrities attending the weekend's events.

"What's up with the two rooms?" Christine asked Jen as they walked through the crowd.

"I guess they gave away some 'VIP' passes to hotel guests and sponsors and radio winners and such, so they're breaking it up to give the guys some privacy, although they're supposed to mingle out there too," Jen explained as they got to Joey and Lance's table.

"How was the scavenger hunt???" Jen asked as they approached.

"Good... damn, you three look hot!" Joey smiled, his eyes lingering on Jen's tight dress.

With this, Lance looked up from his conversation and a slow grin slid across his face as he took in Macey's carefully crafted appearance. He stood up to greet them and hugged Jen and Christine quickly before coming around the table to hug Macey.

"You look amazing," he complimented her softly as he hugged her tightly, her bare skin warm to his touch.

"Thanks," Macey glowed, enjoying the fact that he couldn't seem to take his eyes off of her. Everyone sat down and drinks were ordered as they began to unwind from the hectic day. People came and went from the table, everyone stopping by to say hello to Joey and Lance before going to dance or get a drink or whatever the case might have been. It was 1:30 AM before they knew it and everyone was feeling slightly tipsy from the alcohol consumed in the hot club.

Macey closed her eyes as the room began to spin slightly. "Whoa..." she mumbled, tightening her grip on the arms of her chair.

"You ok?" Lance whispered to her.

"Mmmm-hmmmm," she answered, opening her eyes slowly, "I think I need another drink."

"You sure about that Mayce?" Joey asked.

"Positive," Macey replied, smiling at them, the alcohol she'd been drinking since early evening showing in her eyes.

"Why don't we go grab a couple of drinks and go dance," Lance suggested.

"I like that idea," Macey agreed, taking his outstretched hand as she stood up from the table and began to walk away.

"Watch her," Jen mouthed to Lance as they left the table. Lance nodded his understanding and grabbed her hand, pulling her close to him and saying, "Don't run away from me!"

"Don't worry, I won't," Macey flirted, Lance eating it up as they made their way through the crowded room into the more open of the VIP areas.

"The same?" Lance asked her as they approached the bar.

"How about a Fuggedaboutit," Macey requested.

"What the hell is that???"

"Something some girl at Olio's was drinking- I don't know what it is, but it's fruity and has lots of alcohol in it," Macey giggled.

"Alright," Lance smiled at her before ordering Macey's drink and a Rum and Coke for himself.

They downed their drinks quickly and headed out to dance.

"I don't know if I can keep up with you," Macey told him as they stepped onto the dance floor.

"I never dance in these places, and you did just fine before," Lance reminded her of their night out in New York, "Just move with me and you'll be fine."

"My pleasure," Macey agreed, putting her arms around his neck as he pulled her body close to his. They began to move together and Lance sighed as he put a hand on her bare back and pulled her within an inch of him. Their bodies moved together, the two of them not saying a word as the music pounded a hard beat in their ears. Macey let her mind go and slid one of her hands into the back of the waistband of Lance's jeans.

He looked at her in surprise, glad the inhibited Macey he'd seen on so much of this trip was gone, at least for now. Two songs later, they headed off the dance floor to take a much needed breather and get another drink.

Macey clung to Lance as they walked to the bar and she giggled when he fed her the cherry out of her drink.

"Thanks," she smiled at him, her eyes glazed over. Lance downed his drink and ordered another, Macey following suit.

"You two having fun?" JC asked as he and Christine wandered up to the bar together.

"We're having a blast," Lance answered, pulling Macey to him.

"You having fun?" Macey asked Christine with a laugh.

"Yeah, we're having a good time," Christine smiled at her friend, "You Ok Macey?"

"I'm wonderful...we're going to go dance again," Macey assured her and then gulped the rest of her drink before pulling Lance away to the dance floor.

"I guess we're going to dance," he laughed as he looked at Christine and JC with a smile, offering a little wave with his free hand as Macey dragged him back to the dance floor.

"Do you like dancing with me?" Macey drunkenly asked Lance as he put his hands on her hips and pulled her near him.

"Do I like dancing with you? Do you need to ask that question Macey?" he responded in her ear.

"Well I did, didn't I?" she giggled.

"Let me show you how much I like dancing with you," he answered, pressing his body to hers and beginning to move with the music.

She slid her arms around his neck and pushed against him, a soft sigh escaping from his lips as he felt her body make even closer contact with his own.

"Damn Macey," he whispered as she turned around and began to grind her ass into him. He put his hands on her stomach and pulled her tightly to him, forgetting about the audience all around them.

They danced together for several more songs, their bodies and attitudes alike getting hotter and hotter with each passing minute.

"That looks dangerous," Joey noted from the sidelines where he and Jen were taking a break and sipping drinks.

"Well, I'm glad Macey's not worrying about anyone else, but uh, they do have an audience, and from the looks of it, the two of them could do anything at any time," Jen commented.

"Should we say something?" Justin asked, catching the end of Jen's comment as he and Britney walked up, hand in hand.

"I don't know..." Joey pondered.

"What are we pow-wowing about?" JC asked as he and Christine headed off the dance floor.

Jen glanced at their intertwined hands and smiled at Christine as Justin answered, "Whether or not to break it up between Macey and Lance out there."

"They're both drunk aren't they?" Joey asked the obvious.

"Macey was drunk when she got here, and Lance has caught up quickly," Christine answered.

"Let's keep an eye on them and if they get any worse, we'll have to stop them... there are fans here," Justin pointed out.

"Sounds like a plan. Jen and I will take the first shift on 'Operation Keep them from dropping to the floor and doing it right here and now," Joey laughed.

"JOEY!" Jen spit out her drink as she smacked her boyfriend and then laughed in spite of herself.

Still out on the dance floor, Lance looked into Macey's eyes and recongnized the look he'd seen only once before in the club in New York.

"Now do you know if I like to dance with you?" he whispered, his breath hot on her neck.

"Mmmm-hmmmm," she responded, tightening her grip around his neck and continuing to grind against his body. The song ended and they stopped moving, but didn't seperate. Their breathing was heavy and Lance wasn't sure he was in any condition to move off of the dance floor.

"I need a drink," Macey said finally, looking into Lance's eyes.

"Same here," he agreed, taking her hand and positioning her in front of him, holding her around the waist as they made their way to the bar.

"Having another round?" Joey interrupted them.

"Yeah," Lance answered as he ordered a bahama mama for Macey and another rum and coke for himself.

"How about a water?" Joey offered a bottle to them.

"I think we'll be fine, thanks," Lance told Joey as he accepted the drinks from the bartender and laying a $50.00 bill on the bar as a tip.

"Thanks," the bartender said gratefully, picking up the money and smiling at Lance.

"No problem," he repsonded before turning his attention to Joey, "Now what did you say?" he asked as he handed Macey her drink and slid his free arm around her waist, running his fingers slowly across her back.

"I just thought you might like some water," Joey reminded him.

"Oh, thanks... just leave it on the table, we might drink it later," Lance answered, leaning down to kiss Macey's shoulder.

"I need to pee," Macey said suddenly, turning towards Lance and almost spilling her drink.

"I'll grab Jen to take you," Joey offered, motioning to Jen to come join them.

"I'm ok, I can make it on my own," Macey contradicted him, stepping away from Lance and falling against the bar.

"Sure you can..." Joey grinned as Lance grabbed her again.

"What's up?" Jen asked as she reached them.

"Mayce here needs to make a trip to the ladies' room," Joey informed her.

"Ahhh, ok, come on Mayce," she coaxed her, taking Macey's hand.

"You're not leaving are you??" Macey asked Lance.

"I'll be right here," he promised, leaning down to kiss her, pulling her back to him as he pressed his lips against hers.

"Ok, guys, let's get Macey to the bathroom," Jen interrupted, pulling Macey away from Lance.

"I'll be back," Macey giggled giddily as she and Jen made their way through the room to the bathrooms near the back of the balcony.

"You ok Macey?" Jen asked as Macey stumbled toward the bathroom.

"I'm wonderful Jen, how are you???"

"I'm good," Jen laughed at her.

"I just have to pee," Macey told her.

"We're gettin' there, Mayce, come on," Jen replied, opening the door to the bathroom and getting Macey inside.

Back at the bar, Lance and Joey made their way over to a table and sat down.

"You and Macey look awful cozy out there Lance," Joey said carefully.

"Mmmm.... yeah," Lance answered, a grin covering his face.

"Just don't screw it up Lance," Joey warned him.

"Screw it up?" Lance asked.

"With Macey."

"I won't...she's having a good time," Lance promised, missing the intention of Joey's remark.

"Ok Lance," Joey sighed, giving up as Jen and Macey came back from the restroom.

"Feel better???" Lance asked, standing up to meet them.

"Yep, where's my drink?" Macey replied, smiling at Lance as he handed her the bahama mama.

"Ladies and Gentleman, this will be our last dance for the evening, so grab your partner and get out there...and make the most of it," a loud voice came out of nowhere.

"Damn, last dance??? What time is it???" Lance grumbled, trying unsuccessfully to look at his watch.

"Almost 5," Jen told him.

"Ahhh, well let's go get one more in," Lance said in a voice even deeper than usual, pulling Macey to him. They moved back out onto the dance floor and within seconds had returned to the heated position they'd been in before taking the last break. Their bodies looked like one as they clung to each other and moved in unison, the sexual tension eminating from them.

"At least it's the last song," Joey sighed, looking at the duo.

"What are we gonna' do with them?" Jen asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, we're taking them back to the hotel, obviously, but then..." Jen trailed off.

"They're adults, Jen, we can't control what they do," Joey reminded her.

"True, but they're both drunk," Jen added.

"And maybe that's what they need to bring them together," Joey responded.

"I hope so...." Jen answered, looking out onto the dance floor.

CHAPTER 14

"Does this mean we have to go?" Macey giggled as the lights came up in the club and the few remaining occupants began heading toward the stairs that led down to the exits.

"I think so," Lance murmured, kissing her lightly.

"Time to go, guys," Joey announced.

"Awww, no fair," Macey pretended to pout.

"Let's go back to the hotel," Lance whispered into her ear as he propelled her from the dance floor.

"Where's everyone else?" Macey asked as she and Lance climbed into the vehicle with Jen and Joey.

"They went back awhile ago," Jen filled them in.

"Without saying goodbye???" Macey asked, quickly distracted by Lance kissing her neck.

"You two were occupied," Joey answered, glancing over his shoulder at them and quickly turning back around.

In minutes, they had arrived back at MGM.

"Lance, look, the sun's coming up!" Macey giggled as they stepped out of the car. He stopped and looked for a moment and then looked back at Macey.

"You're beautiful, do you know that?" he told her as he studied the way her hair shone in the morning light.

"Lord," Joey grumbled, "Let's go guys... it's late and we've gotta' be somewhere in like five hours."

Macey and Lance clung to each other as they stumbled through the lobby, Jen and Joey leading the way. People recognized Lance and stared although he and Macey were too annebriated to notice in the least. They got to the elevators and Joey pushed the button, trying to ignore the girls who were staring into the opening by the elevators, stopped from invading upon them only by Lonnie and Todd, who were standing guard. The doors opened and Joey and Jen stepped into the elevator and turned and waited for Macey and Lance to follow.

"We'll take the next one," Lance told them with a little wave goodbye.

"Night guys, be careful," Jen offered as she and Joey stepped into the elevator.

"Night Jen," Macey answered distractedly without looking at her friend. She was laying back onto Lance who was standing behind her kissing her neck and shoulders lightly, still unaware of the audience behind them. Another set of elevator doors opened and Lance slowly pushed Macey into the elevator and hit the button for his floor on the second or third try.

"Alone, finally," he whispered to Macey as he pushed her against the back of the elevator and slid his hands around her back, kissing her deeply.

Unable to resist him, she ran her hands through his hair and pulled him closer to her. She parted her lips and his tongue slid inside, meeting hers with an intensity neither of them had felt before.

They didn't hear the doors open and it took Randy clearing his throat twice before Lance broke the kiss and turned his head to see his security standing in the elevator doorway trying not to look at the couple.

"Hi Randy," Lance muttered as he backed away from Macey and held her hand as they walked from the elevator. They barely made it to his room before Macey grabbed him and pulled him to her. Offering no resistance, he let his door slam behind him and slid up against the wall with Macey, letting his hands go all over her body as he kissed her lips and neck over and over again. Breathing hard, he backed away slightly and took her hand, leading her into the main room of his suite. He stepped away and studied her, her brown hair beginning to fall down, her cheeks flushed from the heat between them and the alcohol coursing through her body. She reached for him silently and looked deep into his green eyes as she began to unbutton his shirt. With all the buttons undone, she slid her nails down his chest, watching him shiver as she neared his belly button. She slid the shirt off of his broad shoulders and took a step towards him, letting one hand trail lower and one slide up around his neck, pulling him into a deep kiss that led both of them onto a path there was no turning back from. The tension that had been building between them came to a breaking point as Macey whispered, "Make love to me Lance...."

"Macey," he whispered, as he picked her up and laid her down on the bed.

CHAPTER 15

Macey felt a slight tickle on her neck as she tried to pull herself out of the coma-like sleep she'd fallen into. She sighed through the fog that clouded her brain as she became aware of someone else's presence.

"Morning Macey," Lance whispered as he kissed her ear and slid his arm around her, pulling her close to him.

"Mmmmm...." she whispered softly, the previous night's events coming back to her in bits and pieces. The tremendous amounts of alcohol she'd consumed at C2K were still present in her system and she let herself drift into Lance's warmth. She cuddled up against him and breathed in deeply, drifting back to sleep.

Lance looked at Macey sleeping next to him. For once, he didn't feel a sense of guilt or a twinge of wrong-doing on 'the morning after.' He smiled at the unaware Macey, wondering how he'd gotten so lucky as to finally have her with him. After a long night of partying, the two of them had ended up in his room, and although it was initially alcohol induced, led to an experience that was nothing short of incredible for both of them.

Macey had finally given into sleep and alcohol, but Lance was unable to do the same. He simply laid next to her and studied her every feature, wanting to sleep, but not wanting to forget how she looked and how he felt at that moment. For him, it was as if something special had finally happened... as if the distance that separated them had finally been closed and whatever had been brewing between them since that first day in New York finally became something real.

He gently slid his hand back and forth across Macey's bare stomach as his mind drifted back to just hours before.

"Make love to me Lance," she'd whispered. He whispered her name as he picked her up and laid her onto the soft bed. It was an internal battle for Lance... wanting her so desperately, but wanting to savor each and every moment- every sensation that her closeness was bringing to his mind and body. He slid his hand down her body, smiling as she shivered and moaned his name. Lance lowered his mouth to hers, silencing the soft moan as he fluidly turned their bodies sideways to untie the shirt she was wearing. He quickly slid it over her head and stared down at the beautiful body lying beneath him. Moving from her lips, he kissed his way downward, lightly kissing her neck and and then collarbone, letting his fingers trace different regions of her body. He began to kiss her breast, and he smiled as she sighed in pleasure. Macey ran her fingers through his hair, pulling his head closer to her body.

Lance knew how to please a woman and he was taking his time with Macey, giving special attention to each and every sensitive spot he knew she had. He slowly unbuttoned the leather pants and she lifted her hips to allow him to pull them quickly from her body. He kissed her ankles as he slid the slick pants onto the floor, making his way back up the bed slowly. He returned to her lips and smiled down at her.

The ringing phone jerked Lance out of the memory and he leaned over Macey, kissing her cheek gently before grabbing the telephone. He pulled the cord over her head, careful not to tangle it in her hair and laid back down on his pillow as he answered, "Hello?"

"Lance?" his mom's voice came on the line.

"Mom! Hey..." he answered absentmindedly, Macey's naked body and the condition his thoughts of the night before had put him in distracting him greatly. Macey stirred and turned toward him, looking at him with glazed over, half-closed eyes. She smiled slightly and snuggled against his chest.

"Good morning. Did I wake you??" Diane asked.

"Ummmm, yeah," he responded.

Macey giggled as she trailed her hand up Lance's thigh and found that he was already hard. She slid her hand between their bodies and took him into her hand as he bit his lip to keep from moaning into the phone.

"Are you ready for breakfast?"

"Breakfast?" he asked, confused, his attentions now miles away from the phone call, "Where are you?"

"We're in our room, getting ready to meet you for breakfast," his mom answered brightly.

"What??? You're in town??? I thought you wouldn't be here until the game," he sputtered as Macey kissed his chest.

"We caught an earlier flight so we could see you beforehand. Just get up and throw a hat on, we'll be there in a few minutes," she informed him.

"Ummm, Mom, I'm really really tired. I mean-"

"Lance, we never see you anymore. I know you're tired sweetie, but your dad and I have to fly out again early this evening. Please meet us for breakfast," she nearly pleaded with him. Lance knew she was right. With his hectic touring schedules and everything that had been happening with FreeLance and the movie, he hadn't seen his parents together in over a month. With the game that afternoon and everything else going on, breakfast would very well be the only one on one time he'd have with them.

"Ok... but give me a few minutes to get up and dressed," he gave in.

"Great! We'll see you in five minutes," she responded, "Love you."

"I love you too, mom," he answered, sighing as he leaned back over Macey to hang up the phone.

"Good morning," she laughed, pulling him down into a deep kiss. Sensing his resistance, she pulled away, "What's wrong?"

"Umm, Mayce, you have to go," he told her quietly.

"What?" she asked, confused.

"My parents are here... they're on their way up here. You have to go," he repeated, knowing his words sounded much worse than he meant them to.

Macey backed away from his body and looked him in the eye.

"So you're kicking me out?"

"No, Macey, no," he sighed, reaching for her and cringing as she pulled away from him.

"Then what are you doing?" she asked again, her voice rising.

"Macey, I want you to stay here with me. I want to lay in bed with you all morning, but my parents are here and they're on their way up to my room and I don't-" he tried to explain.

"You don't want them to see that their perfect little boy isn't so perfect???" she cut him off.

"No, Macey- they know I'm not perfect," he tried to reason with her. Given the fact that she was still in a very drunken state, reasoning was not her strong point at the moment.

"I guess I'm just an embarrassment to you... good enough for a one night fuck, but not good enough to show to mom and dad," she yelled, jumping out of the bed and looking around for her clothes.

"Macey, No!" Lance responded loudly as he got out of bed also and tried to pull Macey into a hug.

"Lance, don't!" she cried as she jerked away from him.

"Macey! Listen to me... I don't want my parents to meet you this way- not here, not like this. That's not what I want them to think of you," he explained.

Ignoring his words, she continued to search for her clothes.

"Here, wear this," he sighed, picking up a pair of sweats and abercrombie t-shirt from his drawer.

"I don't want your clothes," she spat out, tears running down her face.

"Macey," he whispered, moving to her again.

Giving up on finding all of her own clothing, she grabbed the ones he offered from his hands and pulled them on quickly.

Lance had no choice but to stand there and watch her. He wanted so badly to tell her to stay, to lay back down, take her into his arms, make love to her. But he didn't stop her and tell her to stay. He knew his parents weren't naive enough to think he never slept with any of the women he ran into on tour, but Macey was different. She wasn't just some random groupie and he didn't want them to see her that way the first time they met her. He knew their opinion of her would never recover if they saw her in this shape, in this situation, and he didn't want that.

"Mayce..." he began, making one last effort to make her understand before she ran out the door, "Listen, Macey," he said again, his voice rising, grabbing her arm.

She jerked her head up and looked into his eyes. Tears streamed down her face as she looked up at him. Too annebriated to see the heartbreak in his eyes, she only saw what she wanted to see.

"Listen to what Lance??? Listen to you try to tell me that it's ok that you don't want your family to know you're with me? Listen to you calmly ask me to leave and tell me that it's for my own good??? Fuck that... I should've known better than to do this. I should never have trusted you- I was never anything more than just a fuck, was I?" she screamed at him.

"That's NEVER what you were," he told her firmly, releasing her arm as she pulled away.

"Yeah...I hear ya' talking," she muttered as she turned and stalked toward the door.

"Macey please..."

She hesitated one more time and turned to look at him, standing alone in the center of the huge room, his eyes begging her to understand.

"Stay away from me Lance," she choked out, turning and running out into the hallway, the door slamming behind her.

In the room, Lance felt tears come to his own eyes.

"Shit...." he muttered, sinking to the bed and hanging his head, rubbing his eyes.

In the hallway, Macey hit the down button at the elevator for the fifth time. Sobbing, she started to rush in when the bell sounded and the door finally opened. Not seeing the well-dressed couple exiting, she almost knocked the woman down.

"Oh, excuse me," Diane Bass offered, looking at the girl, concerned.

"Are you ok, miss?" Jim asked her.

Unable to meet their eyes, Macey muttered a quick, "Yes..." before hitting the button for her floor and watching the doors close, leaving Lance's parents looking at her.

"I wonder what happened to her," Diane said as they made their way to Lance's room.

"No idea, but she didn't look very good," Jim replied, knocking on Lance's door.

"Just a minute," Lance yelled from inside. He quickly grabbed a pair of jeans and threw them on, wiping a tear from his cheek angrily. Pulling a shirt over his head, he jogged slowly to the door and pulled it open to reveal his parents standing there before him.

Him mom took one look at him and pulled him to her in a tight hug, "What's wrong Lance????"

"I'm just tired, mom," he lied, hugging his dad as soon as his mom released him, "Come on in. I've just gotta' get my shoes on."

Together they walked into Lance's room. His parents stood quietly as he grabbed his tennis shoes and pulled them on, fighting with the laces which were tied in double knots.

"Damn it," he cursed.

"Lance..." Diane reprimanded him.

"Sorry," he muttered, finally winning the battle with the shoelace. He started to stand up when a glittering on the floor caught his eye. Macey's shirt was lying there next to him. He paused for a moment and then pushed himself up from the bed.

"Ready?" he asked them.

"Sure," Jim answered, looking at his wife in concern as they walked out of the room.

As Lance tried to make it through his breakfast with his parents, Macey sat on her bed and sobbed. Christine had already left to have breakfast with JC, a note laying on the desk that read, "See you at Challenge. Hope you had an amazing night," a smiley face next to Christine's name.

Macey's head was pounding from her hangover and yelling match with Lance. She berated herself over and over, unable to believe that she'd let herself get into that situation, knowing that they'd never be able to be together. She ran to the bathroom and heaved violently, sicker than she'd been in a very, very long time. Her tears continued to fall as she layed on the cold tile and wished she could die.

CHAPTER 16

Two hours later, Lance was dragging himself back into Thomas and Mack Arena. Making his way to the locker room, he pulled on the jersey, shorts, and warm up pants that Melinda had handed him when he stumbled through the door fifteen minutes late.

"Lance!!!!" Joey yelled when he pushed open the door and saw his friend sitting on a bench.

Lance didn't respond to Joey's, "Soooo, how was your night???"

"Lance?"

Without saying a word, Lance turned to face Joey.

"That's not a good look, what's wrong???" Joey asked.

"It's fucked up Joe," Lance sighed.

"What's fucked up? Where's Macey?" Joey asked, looking around the locker room as if she were going to pop out of a locker.

"I don't know...at the hotel probably," Lance sighed, looking down at his hands.

"Lance, what happened?" Joey asked again, looking over his shoulder as the door opened and JC walked in.

"What's up guys???" he greeted them brightly.

"Lance has a problem," Joey answered JC, nodding to him.

"I can leave. Christine just asked me to come and see if Macey showed with Lance because she hasn't heard from her," JC explained.

"I don't know where Macey is," Lance whispered.

"Shit... what's wrong?" JC sat down. Lance slowly and quietly told them the story. He knew it sounded bad to have asked Macey to leave, but he also knew that his reasons were pure and in the long run, had she understood, it would've been for the best.

"Damn Lance," Joey said when he finished.

"So you don't know where she's at?" JC asked.

"No, I went to breakfast and tried to check on her before I left, but she wouldn't answer her door. I don't know where she's at," he answered, finally looking up at his friends.

Joey bit back an, "I told ya' so," as he looked into Lance's face. A mixture of exhaustion, confusion, and sheer pain played across it.

"Well, I hate to be the master of the obvious, but we've gotta' go out there and play a game, Lance. So suck it up, don't worry, and we'll get all this worked out with Macey soon enough," JC suggested.

"Yeah...something tells me it won't be quite that easy," Lance responded, grabbing his jacket as he walked past them and out of the locker room to face the crowd outside.

"Something tells me he's right," Joey admitted to JC, the two of them following behind Lance and heading out to the court.

Christine began to worry when she saw Lance come out of the locker room alone, looking like he'd just lost his best friend.

"Lance!" she called, trying to get his attention. He kept walking, lost in his own thoughts.

"Hey Chris," JC jogged up to her, "You might want to call and check on Macey."

"Why? What's up?"

JC quickly explained the situation and Christine groaned. "Jesus, that girl is not having a good weekend. I'll head back and check on her."

"Why don't you just call and check before you leave? The game's ready to start and she could be on her way here," JC offered.

"Ok," she agreed, pulling her cell phone from her purse and dialing the hotel, quickly requesting their room when the operator answered.

On the sixth ring, Macey's mangled, "Hello?" came on the line and Christine closed her eyes and sighed at the sound of her friend's voice.

"Hello???" Macey asked again.

"Hey Mayce, it's me," Christine said, glancing at JC with a worried look.

"Hey," Macey whispered.

"You ok girl?"

"No..." Macey answered honestly, choking on her sobs.

"I'll be right there," Christine promised.

"No, please...don't come back here now. It won't do any good. Stay and watch the game," Macey pleaded with her.

"Mayce, you need me. I'm on my way," Christine tried again.

"No Christine- stay. I need to be alone honestly, and you came here to see Challenge," Macey argued.

"So did you..."

"No, I came here for Lance," Macey admitted, crying openly.

"Macey, I'm coming back."

"Stay...come back after the game. I'll still be here and maybe by then I'll be a little more together. Please stay for the game," Macey begged her friend.

"Fine," Christine gave in, knowing Macey really probably did need to be alone, to sleep if nothing else, "But I'll see you right after the game."

"Bye Chris," Macey said as she hung the phone back in it's cradle and collapsed back onto her bed.

Christine clicked her phone shut and looked at JC.

"She OK?" he asked, walking with Christine to the courtside entrance.

"No, not really," she told him honestly.

"You staying for the game?" he inquired.

"Yeah, she wants to be alone right now, but I might leave early," Christine filled him in.

"Well, enjoy it," JC tried to smile as they began to announce the players, "Looks like I've gotta' go."

"Have a good game," she hugged him quickly and then walked around the court to the opposite end of the arena so she could exit and go out into her seat. She smiled when she emerged into the arena and saw the guys hard at work playing ball. Justin and JC were running down the court and she couldn't help but grin as Justin went in for a layup and made it, pumping his fists in the air.

Christine let herself get caught up in the game along with the rest of the crowd. Only her frequent glances at Lance reminded her of her friend sitting in the hotel room.

Just before halftime, Jen made her way over to Christine's seat, "Hey girl! Where's Macey?"

"You haven't heard??" Christine asked as the buzzer to end the first half sounded.

"Ummm, no," Jen responded.

The two sat down in their chairs and Christine began to fill Jen on the morning's events.

"And when I called her, she begged me to stay here because she needed to be alone," Christine finished.

"Damn it," Jen sighed, "I knew we shouldn't have let her go back with him last night. I knew something would go wrong."

"It's not your fault, Jen... it's just a big ass mess," Christine sighed.

"So what are we gonna' do?" Jen wondered aloud as Ludacris began his halftime performance.

"No clue. Put them in a room and make them work it out???" Christine suggested.

"If that would take care of it, I'd try it, but something tells me Macey isn't going to deal with this that easily," Jen said.

"You're right. I just feel bad for Lance. He wasn't trying to hurt her. I think she was just so drunk that she couldn't understand why he was asking her to leave. Just a tough situation all together," Christine added.

"Well, we'll see what's up when we get back to the hotel," Jen said resolutely, laughing at the guys, who were up and dancing to 'What's Your Fantasy.'

The second half finally began and the girls sat and watched, enjoying the game as they laughed at the skills, or non-skills as the case was for many of the celebs, as the game went on.

Lance sat on the bench and sighed, looking across the court to where Jen and Christine were sitting, Macey absent from the game. Another brick of guilt was added to the wall as he realized that Macey was missing the one event she'd really come to see.

"You ok, L?" JC asked, sitting down next to him and throwing a towel around his own neck.

"Not really," Lance told him honestly, turning his head to look at JC.

"It'll be ok, man, you'll get it worked out," JC promised him, putting a hand on his shoulder and looking back out at the court.

From the stands, fans began to chant, "Lance! Lance! Lance!"

Lance sighed and looked down at the floor.

"Come on, pull it together for them," JC told him, looking to the fans who were screaming Lance's name.

With a sigh, Lance gave in and stood up as the section erupted into screams. The sound brought a smile to his face as he checked into the game. He played for several minutes, willing his body to just make it back and forth up and down the court. He took a shot, the ball falling miserably far from the basket, and waved at the crowd as they yelled their support anyway.

"He looks like shit," Christine noted to Jen.

"Yes he does... Something tells me he's not taking this any better than Macey," Jen felt for him as he sat back down on the bench.

"It would suck to have to be here and be happy after all the shit that's happened this morning," Christine thought aloud.

"It's like that too often for them- even when they feel like shit or just want to be alone, they have to be 'on' for the crowds and fans. It's really hard on them," Jen commented, watching the action on the court as she spoke.

Christine looked on in silence, waving when JC winked at her on his way down the court. When the final buzzer sounded, the Knights had taken the game and the teams were out on the court celebrating. After several pictures had been taken, the celebrities began to head backstage and Christine and Jen tried to make their way across the court. Fans were pouring down from everywhere, trying to get closer to the court, where Justin was still signing autographs.

"That's useless," Jen sighed, nodding at the hordes of people who were blocking the way to the exit that would take them closest to where they would find the guys. Stepping outside onto the concourse, the girls trooped around to the other side and then went back down into the tunnels, working their way towards the locker rooms.

"Hey Emanuelle," Jen smiled at her as they met in the hallway.

"Hey Jen...and..." Emanuelle paused, searching for Christine's name.

"Christine," she filled in.

"Christine. I'm sorry, I've just met so many new people this weekend," she apologized.

"That's fine," Christine smiled.

"You coming to the party tonight??" Jen asked.

"No, I'm heading out now. Just said goodbye to Joey and Lance. Have you seen him today??? Is he doing ok?" Emanuelle asked.

"Mmmm.... things are just a little crazy. He'll be alright though," Jen assured her.

"I guess that's good. It was nice to see you Jen..and nice to meet you Christine," Emanuelle finished as she began to walk away with a small wave.

"See ya," Jen said as they walked away.

They made their way to the greenroom, where JC, Justin, Joey, Chris, and Lance were sitting and waiting for Christine and Jen to appear. Justin and Chris were just being filled in on the morning's events as Lance sat with his eyes closed, leaning back in a chair.

"So where is she now???" Justin was asked when the girls walked in.

"Back at the hotel," Christine filled in.

"Hey guys," Joey smiled.

"Hey," they both answered at once.

"So what are we doing now???" Chris asked.

"Going back, I guess," JC said with a glance at Lance, who was looking rather green, "You ok Lance?"

"Huh??? Yeah, I'm alright," he told them, opening his bloodshot eyes and looking around at everyone, "I just need sleep and to work this out with Macey."

"Well, let's head back so you can do both," Joey suggested as everyone stood up and started out through the venue, making the obligatory stops to say goodbye to many of the celebrities that were heading out directly from the game. After an hour of pleasantries, the group finally escaped to a vehicle, where they piled in and sat back in silence. When they arrived at the hotel, the group escaped in through a back door and headed up the elevators in peace.

"I'm gonna' go try to talk to Macey," Lance told them quietly as he hit the button for her floor.

"I'll just hang out with you guys upstairs then, if that's ok, until you're done," Christine offered.

"That's fine with us," JC agreed as Lance added, "Thanks."

"Good luck, Lance," Justin threw in as he stepped out of the elevator and headed down the hallway toward Macey and Christine's room.

Stopping at her door, he took a deep breath, and knocked lightly.

Waiting several minutes, he knocked again and finally heard someone moving around in the room.

"Did you forget your key????" Macey asked hoarsely as she pulled open the door, expecting to see Christine standing there.

Her eyes fell upon Lance and she started to stay something, words catching in her throat.

"Can I come in?"

Macey didn't answer as she stepped away from the doorway, letting the door fall closed behind her.

"I guess that's a yes," he muttered, grabbing the door before it shut completely and walking into the room. Macey was sitting on the bed, her legs crossed indian-style, still wearing the sweats and t-shirt he'd given her that morning.

He studied her as he pulled a chair up to the bed and looked at her tear-stained face. She looked like the shadow of death, her skin a greenish color and her eyes bloodshot. The t-shirt and sweat pants swallowed her and she had her arms wrapped tightly around her body, as if trying to pull herself into a cocoon.

"Macey, I...." he started at looked up at her face, stopping as he saw a single tear fall from her eye. "Please don't cry...not over me," he pleaded.

She looked up at him with a look of pain that burned into his soul and began to speak. "Not cry over you? Is that possible?" she whispered, "Lance... I understand what you did this morning. I really do. I'm sorry I acted the way I did- it was stupid and childish and I was still drunk. I'm not proud of the way I threw a fit," she continued.

"Macey, it wasn't-"

"Please, let me finish, because what I have to say isn't easy, and if I don't say it, I might not have the courage," she cut him off, making sure he was silent before she went on, "I understand that you didn't want your parents to see me... us.. that way. And it's really sweet of you to care about how your parents feel and how they would perceive me. And I understand that now," Macey whispered through her tears, "But the thing is, Lance, I've known all along, ever since day one that you and I could never be together. We're too different."

Lance started to disagree and Macey silenced him with a look.

"Lance, let's be realistic here. You're a star. I'm some nobody from Indiana. You spend 300 days a year on the road and I spend 300 days a year in the classroom. Your world is full of business and music and movies and mine is full of students and grades and lesson plans. I've got tons of time to dedicate to someone and you've got no time to dedicate to someone," she went on.

"Macey-"

"No, Lance... we both know I'm right. I'd give just about anything to be able to say it would work, but there's just no way. I guess in a weird way, I'm just happy that we had last night... one night where it did work," she trailed off, tears streaming down her face.

"It doesn't have to be one night Macey. You can't tell me that you didn't feel something last night? That it didn't mean something to you more than just a one night fling?" Lance argued.

"You're right. I can't tell you that, Lance... I'd be a liar if I did. But can you tell me that this is going to work out between us??? That you and I, who lead just about as opposite of lives as possible, will somehow come through this together? Because I don't think you can tell me that, Lance. And I can't handle letting myself fall more and more for you and then losing you again and again," she cried.

"So you're not willing to try? You're too scared to even see??" he whispered, shaking his head.

"Trying for something that has a chance is one thing, but trying for something that's doomed from the start is another," she answered.

"Damn it Macey! It's not doomed!!!! Why can't you see that??? Why can't you see that I'll do anything in my power to make this work!" Lance exploded.

"I know that Lance...and so would I. But we're too just too different- what's in our power to change isn't enough to make it happen... we're just from two separate worlds," she said again.

Lance sighed and looked at the carpet. After a minute of silence, he looked up at her, "You know what Macey? I don't know what else to do. I can't change my life. I can't change who I am or what I do. And you can't change any of those things about yourself either. But when I fell for you, I fell for all of that- who you are, where you live- what you do. And I'm sorry that I fell for someone that's so different from me- but did you even for a moment consider that maybe that's WHY we fell for each other? That maybe it would take two people so different coming together to make it work? Can I promise that it will be easy? Hell no, but nothing ever is. Can I promise that I'm willing to try?... Yes... and now all I can do is to ask you to make that same promise to try- to not give up on us so easily..." He trailed off and looked at Macey. She sat silently, taking in his words. Finally, she looked up into his eyes and whispered, "No, Lance... I can't promise that."

"Then I guess this is it then. You said you were glad we had last night, and up until this moment, I would've agreed in a heartbeat... but why did you let me see something so beautiful, so meaningful, only to tell me I could never see it again? Only to tell me that I could never feel those things again," he stopped, unable to go on.

"You will feel those things Lance... the right person for you will make you feel those things again," Macey choked out the words.

"I don't know, Mayce... and at least I can live with myself knowing that I tried, that if I don't feel those things again, it wasn't my own fear that kept me from feeling true love..." Lance paused and stood up, "I just hope you can do the same."

With that, he was gone. Macey listened to the door snap closed behind him and collapsed backward onto the bed. She clutched his shirt, breathing in the familiar smell as she sobbed, her heart breaking once again.

"Why, God, why???" she cried out, just wanting to know why he'd given her something she couldn't keep. Every word Lance said to make her believe they could make it work was followed by a contradiction in her mind. She'd so firmly made herself believe that it could never work that she couldn't tear down that wall to let the hope inside. Her mind and body felt as though she'd been locked inside a cell, able to see what would make her happy, but unable to ever truly grasp it because she didn't have the key to let herself into that world.

Macey knew he was gone... she knew that it was by her own choosing that he'd left, never to return to her life in the same way. And she knew, without a doubt, that she'd never feel pain like the pain she felt that moment.

CHAPTER 17

Lance stepped out of the elevator on his floor and stopped, leaning against the wall.

"You ok Lance?" Mike asked as he watched from his post near the elevator doors.

Lance just nodded and opened his eyes with a sigh. "Life's screwed up, you know that???"

"Why's that?"

"It just is... I mean, all of this, what's it all for?"

"All of what??" Mike asked, confused.

"The fame... the money... all of it. Why does it matter?" Lance sighed, closing his eyes again and biting back tears of exhaustion and frustration.

"Lance, I think you need some sleep," Mike advised, sidestepping the issue at hand.

"Mmmm... I guess you're right," Lance agreed. He gave Mike a half smile and headed down the hallway. He heard laughter coming from JC's room and figured he should at least stop and tell Christine he was back. He knocked on the door and leaned on the doorframe, waiting for them to open.

"That's not a good look," JC said, the smile disappearing from his face when he saw Lance standing before him.

"Can you just tell Christine that I'm back?"

"Sure, wanna' come in???" JC offered, stepping aside.

"No thanks. I just wanna' sleep," Lance told him.

"Don't I get a goodbye Lance????" a female voice called from inside the room.

"Is she leaving?" Lance asked JC.

"Yeah, J's taking her to the airport soon," JC answered.

Lance sighed and JC moved aside, letting him enter the room.

"Bye Brit," Lance said as he came into the main portion of the room where Justin, Britney, Christine, Joey, and Jen were lounging.

"Bye Lance," she responded, standing up and walking to him with open arms.

He hugged her tightly and she squeezed him back, whispering, "If it's meant to be, it'll work out L."

"Thanks... I hope so," Lance sighed, pulling away from Britney and looking at his friends.

"Things not go well?" Jen guessed.

"You could say that," Lance told them.

"What happened?" Justin inquired.

"Basically, Macey says we're too different and she won't even try. There's nothing more I can do," he explained quietly, his eyes cast downward.

"Did you tell her how you feel about her?" Britney asked.

"I tried... and all she says is that it doesn't matter because no matter how much either of us care, we're too different for this ever to work out," Lance went on, tears forming in his eyes again.

"What is wrong with that girl????" Jen sighed, wishing she could understand Macey's fear.

"Mayce has been through a lot," Christine began, and then stopped, not sure if she should continue.

"What do you mean?" Lance asked, his attention riveted on Christine.

"Well... I don't really know the whole story... but Macey was engaged awhile ago. He treated her like shit from what I gather from the few times she's talked about it.... even hit her a few times, possibly, although I don't know much about it. They broke up about five months before the wedding because Macey caught him with another woman," Christine explained.

"Macey was engaged?" Lance asked, trying to process what Christine was telling him.

"Yeah. They were together for like seven years," Christine told him.

"That sucks, but... damn, now that she's found something better, why won't she just accept that?" Jen wondered aloud.

"Because she doesn't see herself as worthy of anyone better. From the time she was 15 until she was 22, she went to hell and back with this guy. And I think she's just still stuck in the mindset that maybe she was to blame...that she did something to deserve it," Christine pondered and then went on, "I think Macey's just completely torn right now. She wants to be happy and wants to believe it would work and she looks at you and sees someone who, on the surface, has it all...so why would someone like you want to be with someone like her? For so long, nothing has worked for her and she just doesn't want to be hurt again. It's too much of a risk to take that chance," Christine sighed and looked at Lance.

"That's some heavy stuff," JC said lightly, breaking the silence that had fallen on the group.

"I don't know... I mean, I know Mayce pretty well and that's the only explanation I can come up with," Christine shrugged her shoulders.

"So what do I do?" Lance asked from the perch he'd taken on the arm of a couch.

"I don't know what you can do, Lance... this seems to be more about Macey herself than you," Justin commented.

Lance's cell phone ringing cut through the room and he let out a long breath as he glanced at the display and answered, "Yeah?"

"Oh, hi Mom... yeah, I'm on my way back, I'll see ya' in a minute... Love you too," Lance flipped his phone shut and turned back to the group in the room, "Gotta' go... my parents are getting ready to leave."

"Tell 'em bye for us," JC requested, eyeing Lance as he stood up and swayed slightly, "and get some sleep, man."

"I'll try. Have a safe flight Brit. I'll see ya'll later," he told them, turning to walk out of the room.

Their good-byes echoed behind him, but he didn't hear the words. Lost in thought, he left the room and slowly made his way to his own suite where his parents were waiting. He slid the key into the lock and realized as it took all of his strength to push the door open just how tired he really was.

"Hey," he greeted his parents as he tossed his key down on the desk.

"Lance, are you ok??" Diane asked him worriedly, seeing the sunken look on his face and the way it seemed to take effort for him to even move.

"I'll be alright," he sighed, sitting down on the bed and not looking at them.

"What's wrong, son? You haven't been yourself all day," Jim asked.

"I'm just tired. It's been a long week with the CD release and challenge and everything," he told them.

"You've been through weeks like this before, Lance, and you don't usually handle it this way. What else is going on?" his mom pressed.

Unable to keep it inside any longer, Lance broke into tears, the exhaustion and pain from his confrontation with Macey catching up with him.

In a moment, his parents were by his side, surrounding him on the bed.

"Lance....what's wrong honey?"

"I just... there's a girl..." he started, not sure how to explain.

"A girl? What girl?" Diane tried to follow.

"Remember the girl who won the trip to New York with us?" Lance sniffled, trying to regain his composure.

"Casey?" his mom asked, trying to remember.

"Macey," Lance corrected her.

"Ok, Macey, so yes, I remember you've mentioned her a few times," Diane encouraged him to continue.

"Well, in New York, we had a really good time and really hit it off, but we had to leave early-"

"That was when the CD booklets had to be re-done, right?" Jim interrupted, trying to remember his son's crazy schedule.

"Yeah... and we had to leave and Mayce and I never really had a chance to talk, but we've talked on the phone and stuff," Lance rambled.

"This all sounds great, sweetie, so what's wrong?" Diane encouraged him to go on.

"Well, she's here this weekend... and it made me realize that I really do care about her a lot, but..." he trailed off.

"But what?" Jim asked.

"But she won't give us a chance. She says we're too different for it to ever work out and she's just giving up on it," Lance finished simply, not wanting to get into the whole drawn-out story.

"Why does she think that?" Diane asked, reaching to wipe a tear from Lance's cheek.

"She came up with a whole list of things," Lance sighed.

"I'm sorry Lance," his mom offered, pulling him to her and hugging him tightly.

"She must really be something for you to get this worked up about her," Jim said lightly, putting a hand on Lance's back.

"She's incredible... sweet... beautiful... funny... caring..." Lance went on.

"So are you going to give up?" Diane asked.

"You don't understand, mom. She won't try," Lance answered.

"I don't know, Lance... but if she's really all that you say she is, she seems worth the effort," Diane smiled kindly at her son, who for the first time in a very long time, seemed utterly lost.

"I don't know..." he sighed.

"We have to catch a flight, Lance," Jim broke in, "Do you want us to change it?"

"No, you don't have to do that," Lance answered.

"Are you sure?? We don't mind at all if you need us sweetie," Diane offered.

"No... I'm flying out at 1 anyway, so I'm going to sleep til then," Lance assured them.

"Well... just trust in God that everything will work out the way it's meant to," Diane told him as she pulled her only son to her and hugged him tightly.

"Thanks mom," he responded, "I Love You."

"I love you too, Lance," she whispered, kissing his cheek as she pulled out of the hug.

"Take care of youself," Jim said worriedly, hugging Lance as they stood up to make their way to the door.

"I will," Lance promised, "Have a safe flight home. Call me when you get there."

"We will, honey... get some sleep," Diane said again as they walked out of the room.

"Bye... love you," Lance called as he watched them walk down the hallway. He stepped out of the doorway and let the door fall shut behind him. Walking to the bed, he contemplated picking up the phone and calling Macey, but decided against it. Nothing he could say over the phone would change her mind and he didn't think he could handle another confrontation like the one they'd just had. With a sigh, he pulled off his shirt and fell onto the bed.

Downstairs, Christine slid her own key into the door of the room she and Macey shared and walked in. The sound of running water greeted her and she walked farther into the room, sitting on the bed and turning on the TV as she waited for Macey to finish her shower. Minutes later, the water turned off and she heard Macey moving around.

"I'm back," Christine called out.

"Hey," Macey called back, her voice hoarse from crying.

"You ok?" Christine asked.

"I'm alive," Macey answered, appearing in the doorway in a robe, her hair dripping wet.

"You look like hell," Christine blurted out, unable to stop herself.

"Thanks," Macey grimaced as she walked into the main room, seemingly oblivious to her hair dripping water all over the place.

"Are you going to put your hair in a towel?" Christine asked as Macey walked by her and water droplets flew onto her and the bed.

"Shit, I forgot," Macey sighed, her hand flying up to her head as she felt the wet strands of hair all around her face. Giving Christine a sheepish look, she walked into the bathroom and returned a minute later with her hair in a towel.

"How ya' doing?" Christine asked.

"Shitty..."

"So I heard."

"You talked to Lance?" Macey spun around to face her friend.

"Yeah, he came back up to tell us that he was back," Christine said simply, "Why are you being so hard on him, Mayce??"

Macey stopped rummaging through her drawer and stood completely still. Moments passed in silence as Macey thought about Christine's question.

"I just can't do it Chris," Macey began to cry as she turned to face her.

"Do what???"

"Put myself through that. It would never work out and the more I care, the more I'll get hurt in the long run," Macey answered.

"You don't know that," Christine reminded her.

"Don't know what??? Any fool could see that it's doomed from the start," Macey spat out.

"You're wrong Macey... the only person who can see that this relationship is doomed is you."

"Then maybe I'm the only one smart enough to realize how different Lance and I are," Macey challenged her.

"Or maybe you're the only one too scared to even try," Christine threw back, unwilling to back down.

Unable to answer her, Macey sunk down onto the bed and whispered, "I don't want to fight..."

"Me either, Mayce," Christine agreed, her voice taking on a soothing tone, "I just don't want to see you give up someone so wonderful because you're afraid."

Macey didn't answer, instead, she put her head in her hands and began to cry. "I just can't do it...."

Christine sat on the edge of the bed and rubbed Macey's back as she cried.

"Look Macey... why don't you just try to forget about it for a little while? I told JC we'd come to the party at Planet Hollywood-"

"No way...look at me!" Macey argued.

"Dry your hair, put on some make-up, and you'll be fine," Christine told her, "But you need to get out of here. The guys are leaving tonight and unless you want to have another abrupt ending with them where you don't get to say goodbye, I suggest you get your ass in gear and get up and ready."

Macey took a deep breath and asked, "Is Lance going to be there?"

"I have no idea. His parents were leaving, so he left to tell them goodbye, but I don't know what his plans for tonight are," Christine answered honestly.

"I probably should go...at least say goodbye and thanks to the guys," Macey thought aloud.

"Yes, you should," Christine affirmed.

"Jesus, what a weekend," Macey said as she pushed herself off the bed and headed into the bathroom to dry her hair.

"You can say that again," Christine muttered, starting to get ready for the evening herself.

CHAPTER 18

Two hours later, Macey and Christine were stepping out of a cab and into the doors of the Forum shops at Ceasar's Palace. Macey smiled sideways at Christine as they trooped through the mall, headed for Planet Hollywood.

"I'm glad you came," Christine smiled back at her friend, the two of them turning the corner.

"JESUS!" Macey said, dumbfounded at the crowd that had gathered outside of the restaurant.

"It never ceases to amaze me," Christine shook her head as the girls walked up the red carpet and began to make their way down to the entrance.

"That's the girl that was with Lance this morning!!!!" Macey heard someone say loudly next to her.

"Which one???"

"The one with the long brown hair... he was all over her!!!" the first girl nearly yelled.

"Lord," Macey groaned as she felt a million eyes on her.

"THAT was nice," Christine laughed as they got inside the building.

"Yeah, reaal nice," Macey agreed sarcastically.

The duo flashed their VIP tickets and walked through the velvet rope and into the main party room of Planet Hollywood. Tables were set up with candles and champagne buckets all around them and the girls looked around in a circle for somewhere to sit.

"Christine! Macey! Over here!" Jen called out to them, motioning them to a booth in the back corner.

They made their way through the doorway and up the small ramp leading back to the table where Jen was sitting alone.

Macey made eye contact with and smiled at a pretty girl with long blonde hair sitting at the table right next to Jen's.

"Hi," she said lightly as she passed.

"Hi," the girl answered, smiling.

"What are you doing here all alone?" Christine asked Jen as the girls joined her in the booth.

"Joey's with Brianna... they're bringing her tonight and he went to pick her up," Jen explained.

"Really? Brianna's going to be here???" Macey reiterated, excited.

"Yeah... and Kelly too. Woo Hoo," Jen rolled her eyes with a slight smile.

"How's that situation?" Christine asked, interrupted by a waiter asking for drink orders.

"I'll have a amaretto stone sour,"Jen requested.

"And I'll take a Bacardi Sour," Christine smiled.

"Just a diet pepsi please," Macey asked.

"I'll be right back ladies," the cute waiter smiled and made his way through the crowd to get their drinks.

"Taking it easy tonight Mayce?" Jen teased.

"Ummm, that would be a yes," she smiled, leaning back into the booth and closing her eyes.

"I'm glad you decided to come though," Jen told her, leaning over and placing her hand on top of Macey's.

"Thanks," Macey opened her eyes and looked around the room, "There are a lot of people here."

"Mmmm, yeah, I guess. A lot of the celebs have already left though, so not everyone will be around," Jen added, glancing around the room herself, scanning the crowd to see who was left.

Back at the MGM, Lance rolled over and groaned when he heard a knock on his door. Willing the person to go away, he ignored it. When they knocked again, he gave up on sleeping through the interruption and rolled out of bed.

"Maybe it's Macey," he thought to himself as he ran a hand through his hair as he pulled open the door.

"Or maybe not..." he said aloud.

"What?" Todd asked, confused.

"Nothing. What's up Todd?"

"We're heading to Planet Hollywood, ya' ready?"

"I'm not going."

"Not going?? Lance this is your party, man, you've gotta' show," Todd tried to persuade him.

"Look, I'm not going. I'm tired," Lance told him again.

"Tired or avoiding a certain someone?" Todd said gently.

Lance sighed and looked down at the carpet. After standing there for two minutes in silence, Todd finally gave in.

"What do you want me to tell them?"

"Just tell anyone who asks the truth- I'm sleeping."

"OK, if you need anything, just call- don't go out on your own," Todd warned him.

"I'm going to go back to sleep Todd," Lance groaned, moving to shut the door.

"Don't forget we're out of here by 2," Todd reminded him through the closing door.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Lance sighed, turning away and heading back to his bed.

At Planet Hollywood, a commotion near the side door drew the attention of everyone as Joey walked in with Brianna and company. Jen smiled as she watched him make his way through the room, showing off the baby to those he knew.

"Hey sweetie," he smiled at Jen, handing the baby carrier to her to sit in the booth next to where he would be sitting.

"Hi baby Bri," Jen whispered to the baby as she undid the strap inside the carrier and pulled the beautiful child out of the seat.

"Oh my God, Joey, she's beautiful," Macey breathed as she saw Brianna's dark black curls and beautiful features.

"Thanks," Joey answered, his face glowing.

"HEY! There's my girl!" Joe Sr. nearly yelled as he got to the table, followed closely by Phyllis, Janine, and Kelly.

Everyone crowded in to allow them to sit down and Jen passed the baby to Joe, who kissed her forehead and began to bounce her up and down. The baby laughed and everyone's attention was riveted on the child.

Macey glanced at Jen and noticed a conflicted look on her face, which quickly changed to a smile when she realized Macey was studying her.

The waiter arrived with another round of drinks and placed them on the table, taking orders from everyone else who'd arrived.

"Drinking tonight Jen??? I guess you two aren't taking the baby home," Kelly casually commented.

Jen's face took on a dark look and Joey slid his hand onto her knee under the table, squeezing to keep her from sending back a biting remark.

"She's just having a drink Kelly, don't start this again," Joey said evenly.

The others at the table remained awkwardly silent at the exchange until Brianna's laughter cut through the silence.

After a few minutes of introductions and polite conversation, Macey and Christine excused themselves to go get something to eat and mingle through the crowd.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Macey offered as she backed into someone as she walked from the table.

"No problem, I wasn't watching either," Jordan Knight said with a sheepish grin, "I'm Jordan."

"Hi... I'm Macey," she answered with a smile that she prayed didn't reveal the giddiness she was feeling inside.

"Nice to meet you," he said as they walked toward the food table.

"Same here... have you enjoyed the weekend?"

"Yeah, it's always nice to see these guys again. Never a dull moment," Jordan laughed as he picked up a tortilla to make a fajita.

"You can say that again," Macey agreed.

"So are you here with the guys too? I've seen you around a lot," Jordan asked.

"Yeah, actually I met them a couple months ago through an online contest of all things, and we just kinda' hit it off and they offered to bring me out for Challenge," Macey gave him the condensed version of the story.

"Cool... so you and Lance are close, huh?"

"What?" Macey nearly dropped the piece of bread she was holding at the mention of Lance's name.

"Lance just mentioned you the other day... I didn't put you together as that person until you mentioned the contest you won," Jordan explained.

"Oh, I see..." Macey trailed off, "Well, looks like we're at the end of the line, it was nice meeting you."

"Nice meeting you too Macey.. I'll see ya' around," he smiled with a little wave as he walked back toward his table.

"Woo woo, Jordan Knight," Christine teased as she approached Macey from the back.

"God he's hot," Macey sighed, smiling at her friend as they walked back toward the booth they were sharing with the Fatones. Seeing that it was full, they walked back out into the larger area, heading towards Trevor's table, which had a few empty spots.

"These seats taken???" Christine inquired as they got to the edge.

"Absolutely not," Trevor grinned, motioning for them to sit down.

"This is my girlfriend, Ashley," Trevor introduced them.

"Hi Ashley, I'm Christine," she answered, extending her hand.

"And I'm Macey, nice to meet you," Macey said next, following suit.

Within minutes, their booth had filled up with Ken, Dave, and their dates all crowding into the large circular table.

"Another round of drinks?" a waiter offered and everyone accepted gratefully.

As JC, Justin, and Chris arrived, Macey, Christine, Trevor, and friends finished dinner and sat back and laughed and talked, relaxing after the long weekend.

Macey glanced across the room and noticed Justin sitting alone in a large booth at the center of the room.

"Can I get out guys??? I need to go talk to Justin," she asked, smiling an apology at making everyone move around. They manuevered around to let Macey out and she offered a, "I'll be back soon," as she made her way to Justin.

"Hey Macey," he said softly when she stepped up to his table, "How ya' doing?"

"I'm alright," she shrugged.

"Have a seat," Justin patted the seat next to him.

"Care if I sit up here?" she asked, hopping onto the back of the booth and sitting slightly above him.

"No, but can I ask why?" he laughed.

"Just keeping an eye on Christine. She's already reeeeeeaaaallllly happy," Macey replied.

"Ahhh, I see," Justin grinned.

"Did Brit leave?" Macey asked, looking around and seeing no signs of his girlfriend.

"Yeah, I just got back from taking her to the airport," Justin answered, a sadness settling into his eyes.

"But you'll see her again soon, right?" Macey asked.

"Yeah, I think so. It's just hard to have to let her go so often, ya' know?" he admitted.

"I know what ya' mean," Macey agreed, glancing over her shoulder to where Jen, Joey, and the rest of his family were still sitting.

"Heard from Lance?" Justin asked casually.

"No," Macey answered softly, her eyes falling immediately to the ground.

"I don't want to ruin your night by bringing this up Macey, but... damn.... what are you doing??"

"Justin... I... I don't know," Macey sighed.

"Do you care about him?"

"Of course I do," Macey said immediately.

"Then why the hesitation?"

Macey's answer was cut off by a young woman's cough. Justin and Macey looked at her and she smiled, a little unsure of herself, "Can I put my purse here???"

"Sure...whatever..." Justin answered, smiling back and looking out at the crowd that had formed out on the dance floor. Dancing just near their table was a large group of ladies. Every so often, one of them would glance his way, only to look away shyly when he met their eyes. He had to smile at that and was still grinning when he turned back to Macey.

"I just don't know what to do Justin," she sighed again, studying her nails.

"Mayce,I-" he began, the ringing of Macey's cell phone cutting him off.

"Can you hand me that please?" she asked, pointing to her purse.

"Sure," Justin answered, grabbing her bag and handing it to her, allowing her to grab her phone just before the ringing stopped.

"HELLO?" she nearly yelled into the phone, trying to talk over the noise.

"Macey?" she heard the familiar voice of her mom on the other end.

"Mom?"

"Hey sweetie... we've been worried about you. We haven't heard from you since you left," her mom, Lauren, said.

"Just a second mom," Macey said into the receiver as she leaned over to Justin, "It's my mom. I'm gonna' go talk to her for a few minutes... I'll be back though," she promised.

"Leaving???" Chris asked, approaching as Macey was standing up from the booth.

"Yeah, but I'll be back," she smiled.

"Ok, I'll be here," he responded with a grin.

Macey made her way to a back corner where the music wasn't quite so loud and put the phone back up to her ear. "Still there??" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm here. Where are you?" her mom inquired.

"At Planet Hollywood. It's the final party," Macey explained.

"Having fun?"

"Yeah, I guess," Macey answered.

"That doesn't sound real positive, are you ok honey?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Macey lied.

"You can't fool me Macey... what's wrong?" her mom pressed.

"Nothing," Macey tried to cover, but the tears had sprung to her eyes and she was biting her lip to stop them from falling.

"Is it Lance?" she asked, knowing that her daughter had feelings for the singer before leaving for the trip.

"Yeah," Macey whispered, turning away from the crowd even more to hide her tears.

"What happened?" her mom asked anxiously.

"He... he wants... he... he likes me," Macey stuttered.

"So why is that a bad thing???" she asked the same question everyone seemed to have.

"Because he's out of my league mom. We're so different that it would never ever work. It's like we're from two completely different worlds," Macey whispered through her tears.

"Macey Jane... listen to me. There is NO ONE that is out of your league. You are a bright, beautiful girl. And I'd say that even if you weren't my daughter. If he likes you and you like him, don't sell yourself short. He's lucky to have someone like you, regardless of how great you think he is," her mom said adamantly.

"I don't know, mom," Macey sighed.

"Well I do, and like I said, he's not out of your league," she repeated.

"Ok, mom, ok," Macey took a deep breath and tried to relax.

"When are you coming home?"

"Tomorrow."

"Well, we'll talk about it then, but just be safe and have fun," her mom advised.

"I'll try," Macey promised.

"Ok.... we love you sissy."

"I love you too mom, thanks for calling," Macey managed a small smile as she hung up the phone.

She sighed as she slipped her phone back into her purse and stood up to head toward the bathroom. Looking down as she zipped the purse shut, she ran into the same girl she'd seen earlier sitting at the table near Joey's.

"God, I'm sorry- I just keep running into people tonight," Macey apologized.

"It's ok," the girl answered as she studied Macey, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'll be ok," Macey tried to smile.

"Well, here's a tissue," she offered.

"Thanks...ummm," Macey searched for a name she didn't know.

"Jenn," the girl filled in.

"Thanks Jenn," Macey repeated.

"No problem... I hope you feel better," she smiled as she walked away and Macey headed toward the restroom.

Macey studied herself in the mirror and tried to do the best she could at fixing her make-up. As she worked on her mascara, Jen walked in the door.

"There you are!! You ok?" she asked worriedly.

"Yeah... my mom just called and that kind of started the flood gates," Macey explained.

"Awww, I'm sorry sweetie," Jen said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"I LOVE THAT DRESS!" came a voice from behind Jen.

She turned to face a thin woman in a jean skirt who was looking in a mirror behind the two girls.

"Thanks," Jen smiled, looking down at the black dress she'd grabbed from her suitcase and thrown on.

"It's so hard to decide what to wear to things like this... I mean, I bought this skirt, but I left the tags on because I'm not sure I like it $1500 worth," she went on.

"Oh... it's nice," Jen answered, trying not to laugh as the woman grabbed the tags out of the back of her skirt, proving her point.

"Oh, thanks...." she answered, turning back to her mirror.

"What would she say if she knew this was a $16.98 dress from Target???" Jen whispered to Macey, both of them busting into laughter.

"I dunno'," Macey grinned, turning to walk out with Jen.

They headed onto the main floor to check out the dance area.

"Is that Jermaine Dupri??" Macey asked, motioning to the DJ area.

"Yeah, he spins," Jen said simply.

"Cool... have you seen Christine???" Macey asked, changing the subject.

"She's out there with JC," Jen nodded toward the dance floor where Christine and JC were having a fine time grinding away.

"Whoa... ok, what's up with Bobbi?" Macey wondered.

"Don't ask us," Jen shrugged, heading toward the table where Justin and Chris were sitting.

"Hey guys," she said, plopping down next to them.

"Hey," Chris answered, leaning over and pretending to bite Jen's neck with his fake teeth.

"What the hell???" Jen yelped.

They all busted out laughing as Chris slid the teeth out of his mouth.

"Nice Chris," Jen rolled her eyes and then laughed in spite of herself.

"You ok, Mayce?" Chris asked, noticing her red eyes.

"Yeah," she replied with a smile.

"Do either of you know that girl?" Chris asked.

"What girl?" Jen inquired.

"That one right there. The blond in the black dress," he explained.

"Ummm, Chris, I hate to be master of the obvious here, but that describes about 18 people out on the dance floor right now," Macey pointed out.

"Right here...dancing next to the girl in the black skirt and sleeveless shirt," Chris narrowed it down for them.

"Oh... I met her outside the bathroom. Her name's Jenn," Macey told him.

"She's cute," he grinned.

"She's really sweet too," Macey smiled.

"I just might have to talk to her later," Chris added.

"Have fun," Jen rolled her eyes and laughed at her friend.

"Oh, God...what's going on now???" Justin said randomly as Joey took the stage.

"Who knows???" Jen groaned.

"We want to thank you all for coming tonight... it's awesome to have everyone here to help us support such a worthy cause," Joey began, his mic cutting out as he went on.

"Jesus...why do we have him do this?? He keeps talking like he's saying something fucking profound," JC noted to Christine, rolling his eyes as his bandmate continued to talk and talk and talk.

Christine giggled as the video screen behind Joey lit up and an image of JC, Shar Jackson, Trevor, and several other celebrities popped onto the screen.

"Oh my God," JC moaned, dropping his head.

The crowd busted into laughter as they watched the group lip sync to Britney's "Ooops, I Did It Again." Onscreen, they slid into old-school 80's dances and JC did his best impressions of them while standing next to Christine in the crowd on the dance floor.

"What is this???" Macey asked, wiping tears of laughter away from her eyes.

"This is from the scavenger hunt last night," Justin explained, cringing as his own face appeared on the screen.

"Now THIS I've gotta' see," Chris laughed as Britney, Justin, and others began their rendition of 'The Brady Bunch.'

As the video ended, the crowd at Planet Hollywood erupted into cheers and laughter.

"Now, please just let them burn those!!!" Justin groaned, his face an unusual shade of red.

"Awww, come on Justin, that's funny as hell," Macey laughed.

"Yeah, because you're not in them," he grinned.

"Well...maybe," she admitted.

"I'm gonna' run check on Christine," Macey said, starting to get up from the table as Joey approached.

"I think she's in good hands," Justin assured her, nodding towards a booth were she and JC were getting rather friendly.

"Damn," Chris whistled under his breath.

"As long as they know what they're doing," Justin sighed, looking up at all the fans lining the balcony above the dance floor.

"I don't think they can be seen from up there," Jen looked, catching Justin's eyes as he looked upward.

"I don't either," Macey agreed, looking back into the booth JC and Christine were occupying.

"Thank goodness for small favors," Chris grinned.

"What's up guys??" Joey asked as he walked up behind the booth.

"Nothing much," Jen answered, flashing him a smile.

"Hey, I've got a present for you Macey," Joey said suddenly.

"And what would that be?? A million bucks???" she joked.

"Uhhh, no... but... I heard it through the grapevine that you wanted one of these and this one didn't get picked up at the auction last night, so I covered the cost and just took it for you," Joey told her, grabbing something out of a bag he'd sat on the floor and handing it to Macey.

"What is it??" she asked as she reached for it.

"Check it out," he replied with a grin.

"Oh my God, Joey...this is awesome," she smiled, running her hand along the front of the signed 'On The Line' script he'd placed in her hands.

"Not a big deal. I figured you'd like to have it and could use a smile," he said graciously.

"Thanks Joey," she glowed, leaning up out of the booth to give him a long hug.

"You're welcome," he answered as he hugged her tightly, "I'm gonna' go check on Brianna. I'll be back soon." He smiled at Jen and walked back toward their hidden table.

"JUSTIN!" a loud voice from behind them suddenly bellowed out.

"Dear God," Jen muttered inaudibly as Lynn came waltzing up to the table.

"Hey mom," Justin smiled.

"Hi sweetie... what are you doing up here???" she smiled.

"Here, you can have my seat... I think I'm gonna' go to the restroom," Jen offered, standing up and allowing Lynn to take her place.

"I'm heading that way too," Macey said quickly, trying not to laugh at the cornrows in Lynn's hair.

The two girls scooted away, leaving Justin, Chris, and Lynn at the table.

"I swear she's got a trailer parked outside the MGM somewhere," Jen whispered to Macey, the two of them laughing hysterically. They walked past Joe Fatone, who was telling a group of girls about how he was the original, 'Dirty Pop.'

"OH MY GOD," Jen laughed and nearly spat out the drink of alcohol she'd just taken.

"Their families crack me up," Macey grinned.

"Wait til you get to know all of them... it's easy to see where the guys get it," Jen smiled.

"Do you really have to pee?" Macey asked.

"No, I just didn't want to sit there with Lynn," Jen admitted, "I think I'm gonna' go sit down with Joey."

"That's cool.. I'm gonna' head out soon, I think," Macey smiled at Jen.

"No, you can't Mayce... this is it!! We're leaving tonight and I won't see you again!" Jen suddenly realized.

"Damn... the weekend has just been so crazy," Macey sighed, thinking back on the events that had occurred.

"I really wish you'd work it out with him Mayce," Jen said sincerely.

"Me too, Jen...but it's just not meant to be," Macey whispered, tears forming in her eyes again.

"I don't agree, but... I'm not you," Jen sighed deeply.

"Well... I really am tired and I think it's time for me to call it a night. I guess this is goodbye for now. Call me when you get to Florida. I'll see you guys in a few weeks in Indy," Macey promised Jen as the two hugged tightly.

"I'll miss you Macey," Jen told her friend, squeezing her in the hug.

"I'll miss you too," Macey began to cry.

"Hey, what's going on here????" Joey asked, walking up to the two girls.

"Mayce is leaving, so we won't see her again," Jen explained, dabbing at her eyes.

"Why you leaving early Macey? We'll be here for another hour or so," Joey inquired.

"I'm just tired, Joey," she explained.

"Going to talk to Lance?"

"I don't think so..." Macey's voice trailed off.

"You should," Joey advised.

"Maybe sometime soon...but not tonight," Macey said quietly.

"Well...it's your call," Joey said resolutely, "It's been awesome having you, Macey.. you have to come back out with us again soon."

"Thanks for everything, Joey," Macey offered, letting herself be pulled into a long hug.

"I'll miss you," he whispered to her.

"I'll miss you too," she replied, her heart heavy as she had to say goodbye.

"Take care of yourself," he released her and looked at her face.

"I will," she promised, "And you take care of yourself and Jen too."

"Of course," he smiled, backing away.

"I'll talk to you soon Jen," Macey waved at her friend, who had moved into Joey's arm. The pair stood and watched her walk toward the dance floor to say goodbye to the others.

"Think she'll talk to Lance?" Joey asked.

"Even though I wish she would, I really don't think it'll happen," Jen admitted with a sigh.

"Hey guys, I'm heading out," Macey told Justin and Chris as she walked up behind them.

"Why so soon Mayce???" Justin asked.

"I'm just tired... need to say my goodbyes while I can still handle it," she admitted.

"Awww, come here kiddo," Justin grinned, pulling her around the booth and sitting her down and hugging her tightly.

"I'm gonna' miss you," she said, pulling out of Justin's hug and smiling at him and Chris.

"We'll miss you too... when will we see you again?" Chris asked.

"In a couple weeks. I have tickets for the Indy show," Macey explained.

"Awesome... so we'll get you hooked up with passes and everything for that show," he offered.

"Thanks... and thanks for everything this weekend," Macey added.

"It was our pleasure," Justin assured her.

"You guys rock, you know that???" Macey grinned.

"Well... we try," Chris laughed, "Hey ya' know what?? I've gotta' grab some stuff at the hotel. I'll just go back with you."

"You don't have to do that," Macey said.

"Yes, I do... otherwise all of my clothes are getting left in Vegas," he grinned.

"Ahhh, ok...well, let me say goodbye to some people," she said, hugging Justin again before standing up to leave. Chris and Macey made their rounds saying goodbye to people. JC and Christine were making their way across the dance floor when Macey met them in the middle.

"Hey guys, I'm leaving," she told them, giving Christine a "you're gonna' explain all of this later" look.

"Why Mayce????" Christine asked.

"I'm just tired and the guys are leaving soon anyway and I need to take a break from all of this," Macey explained.

"Well... goodbye then, I guess," JC smiled at her, opening his arms and hugging her as she whispered, "Bye JC."

"I'll see you soon, right??" he asked.

"Yeah, in a couple weeks in Indy," she responded.

"Ok, then, you can go," he grinned.

"Thanks for everything."

"I'm just glad you came," he answered sincerely.

Macey flashed him a smile and hugged him quickly one last time before backing away.

"I'll see you later tonight," Macey waved to Christine.

"See ya' Mayce," Christine answered, a giddy smile on her face.

"Ready?" Macey asked Chris, who was standing up next to the booth, talking to Justin and Lynn.

"Yep... bye Lynn, take care... I'll see ya' in a little while Justin," Chris said, taking Macey's hand and beginning to lead her away from the table.

"It was nice to meet you, Lynn," Macey smiled and then turned to Justin, "Bye J," she said one last time, glancing at Chris who was pulling her away.

"Bye Macey!" he waved as she and Chris disappeared into the kitchen to escape through a back door.

Safe in the Expedition heading back for the hotel, Chris turned to Macey.

"So, are you going to say goodbye to Lance?" he asked.

"Chris..." Macey sighed, not wanting to have this conversation yet again.

"I'm just asking a question," he grinned sheepishly.

"It's a lot more than that and you know it," Macey turned to face him.

"Well, isn't there a lot more at stake here than just a simple goodbye?" he countered.

"Probably so," Macey finally agreed.

"So what are you going to do?"

Macey sat in silence for a few minutes and then began to speak softly.

"I can't say goodbye to him Chris. I can't see that look on his face again... I can't handle being around him. And I doubt he even wants to see me again."

"I doubt that's true," Chris disagreed.

"I think we said all the goodbye we needed to say when he left my room earlier."

"But is it the goodbye you want to leave with?"

Macey pondered her response before answering, "No... but it's the one I HAVE to leave with."

Chris let out a deep breath as the car pulled to a stop outside the hotel.

He and Macey stepped out in silence, walking into the hotel without saying a word. They both stepped off at Macey's floor and walked to her door.

"Take care Macey," Chris hugged her tightly.

"You too, Chris," she responded, hugging him back, almost afraid to let go of him, afraid to let go of her last tie to the weekend.

"Sure you won't go talk to him????" he tried to persuade her.

"You know I can't," Macey answered, looking down at the floor.

"No, I know you WON'T," he tried again.

"Chris, please..."

"Ok, I'm sorry. I just hate to see it end this way," Chris sighed.

"Will you tell him I said goodbye?"

"No, you need to tell him yourself," he stood his ground.

"Chris! Please..." Macey nearly pleaded with him, tears falling from her eyes for the umpteenth time that day.

"I'll tell him goodbye for you Macey," he finally agreed, wiping a stray tear from her cheek.

"Thanks for everything," she said, hugging him tightly one last time.

"No problem... I guess we'll see you in a couple weeks," he answered, stepping away, "I've gotta' go... I've got to get packed and get to the airport."

"Have a safe flight. Take care," Macey waved a little wave as she slid the key into the lock and then turned to face Chris.

"We will... Bye Macey."

"Goodbye Chris," Macey said in a small voice, watching him turn and walk down the hallway to the elevators. He waved again before stepping inside the doors.

Macey pushed open her own door and walked into the huge empty room. She felt a weight in her hand and looked down at the 'On The Line' script she was holding.

"Don't cry...don't cry..." she admonished herself, willing the tears not to fall. But fall they did as Macey laid down and cried not only for the goodbyes to good friends she'd just had to say, but for the unspoken goodbye that had broken two hearts that day.

CHAPTER 19

Macey let out a long, deep breath as she rolled over onto her back and sat up, looking across the room and out her window to the bright lights of the strip below. Her mind was reeling as she stood up and walked to the window, laying her head on the cold glass and letting her tears fall onto the pane.

"Why is life so screwed up?" she asked herself again and again, looking to the lights for the answers, but seeing only twinkling brightness in response.

"I've gotta' stop this," she said aloud, stepping away from the window and wiping her tears on her already wet sleeve. She strode across the room and grabbed the first shirt she could get her hands on. She froze as she studied the green t-shirt she was holding- the shirt Lance had given her that morning. Tossing it aside, she went for her drawer, pulling out a long sleeved baby blue Adidas shirt and tearaways. Macey washed her face and changed clothes, settling into her bed and hitting the TV remote. Sound blared into the room and Macey cringed at the noise, hitting the power button quickly, silence once again filling the space.

"At least I've got some reading material," she muttered, standing up and grabbing the script Joey'd given her that evening. Purposely avoiding looking at the front cover where Lance's signature sprawled across the center, she opened to the first few pages and began to read.

A few floors above, Lance slammed his hand on the snooze button on his alarm, groaning as he peeled his eyes open and glanced at the digital display in the darkness. Before any other thoughts could register, Macey's face popped into his head. He laid back and stared at the ceiling in the darkness. He smiled into the nothingness as he pictured her standing high above New York City on top of the Empire State Building. He saw her profile as he'd seen it during AIDA, a single tear falling down her face as she felt the power of the story unfolding on the stage in front of them. He remembered her excitement at all New York had to offer. He heard in his mind the energy in her voice when she'd agreed to come to Las Vegas. He thought back to her sheepish grin when he'd drawn all eyes to them at the pre-show picnic when they had a 'proper' reunion. His mind drifted away as he remembered the touch of her skin... the taste of her lips... the feel of their bodies together. Lance let himself be carried away in the memories they'd already shared and the incredible night they'd spent together.

"TOOK A WHILE TO GET ME HERE, AND I'M GONNA' TAKE MY TIME," the alarm blared, jerking him from his reverie. He pushed the 'OFF' button and felt his cheeks flush involuntarily as he adjusted his boxers. Taking deep breaths, he slowly slid out from the blankets and let his eyes adjust to the low light before turning on a bathroom light to illuminate the room just enough to allow him to see to begin packing. He started with the drawers, pulling clothes out and tossing them into huge Adidas bags that were laying in the bottom of his closet. Finishing the dresser, he headed to the closet, giving a little more attention to the hanging clothes as he folded them semi-neatly and placed them in bags. Having finished everything he could with the little light he had, he flipped on the main lights and began to pick up the miscallaneous items littered around the room. He grabbed his CD player and tossed it into his carry-on bag, along with his passes and wallet. He snatched up his copy of the tour itenirary and pushed it down among his other papers inside the large pocket of the bookbag. He quickly shut down and unplugged his laptop, locating the case and maneuvering the computer inside. He glanced around the room and began to pick up the stray clothing items that had been tossed aside when he was on the run. He mindlessly grabbed something from the floor and stopped in his tracks. Macey's shirt was there in his hands, his mind instantly creating a picture of her as she'd looked the night before. He sighed as tears came to his eyes and he rummaged around the room, finding her pants sticking out slightly from beneath the bed.

"I cannot do this," he reprimanded himself, wiping a tear from his own face and neatly folding the clothes, sittting them on the bed, unsure of what to do with them. Lance continued getting everything together, walking through the bathroom and tossing everything into his shower bag when a knock sounded on the door.

He jogged to open it and Todd's face registered relief when he saw that Lance was up and around.

"You're up, Good," Todd said as he walked inside the room.

"Yeah, almost ready," Lance answered, returning to the bathroom and stuffing the last of his personal items into the bag. He walked into the main room and began zipping shuts bags of different sizes and shapes that he'd piled onto the bed.

"Umm, Lance... is there something you want to tell me?" Todd smiled at him as he picked up Macey's shirt and pants from the bed.

"Those are Macey's, shithead," Lance grinned as he tossed a bag at Todd, who dropped the shirt and caught the luggage just in time from keeping it from slamming into his chest.

"Gonna' take them to her?" Todd asked casually.

"Is she here?"

"I don't know," Todd answered honestly, "She was at the party earlier. I saw her talking to Chris and Justin. But she disappeared a little while before I left to come back to get you. Don't know where she went."

"I see," Lance replied.

"So are you going to take them to her?"

"I don't think so," Lance sighed.

"Why?"

"Because it'll only create more of a problem," he thought aloud.

"You're not even going to say goodbye?"

"We did say goodbye today," Lance said softly.

"And that's how you're going to leave things? You're going to give up on her?" Todd pushed.

"That's what my parents said," Lance replied.

"So maybe we're right," Todd offered.

"Or maybe I should just leave well enough alone. She made it abundantly clear that she doesn't want to try it between us. The last thing I want is to go downstairs and get into another fight with her, in the middle of which, I have to say 'Oh, sorry... duty calls...gotta' catch a plane' and leave it like that. That'll only make things worse," Lance responded testily.

"Maybe you're right," Todd consented as he helped Lance drag his bags off the bed and onto a luggage cart, "Is this everything? We've gotta' go."

"Yeah, this is it," Lance sighed, glancing back at the clothes laying on the bed.

"Let's move it out then," Todd instructed, pushing the cart out into the hallway and radioing downstairs for help.

"Hey Todd... will you take these to her please?" Lance held out the clothing.

"I can't Lance, I've got shit to do," Todd groaned.

"Please..it'll only take a minute. Get me down into the van and then just run 'em back up to her. Please?"

"Fine. Let's just get you to the airport," Todd agreed.

With the help of a bellman, they got downstairs and out the back doors relatively easily.

"What are you doing here?" Lance asked Chris as he pulled himself into the car, threw his carry-on bag onto the seat and shut the door behind him.

"I had to get some stuff ready, so I came back with Macey," Chris said casually.

"Macey?"

"Yeah, she left the party early," Chris explained, carefully monitoring Lance's reaction, "She asked me to tell you goodbye."

"So she is here," Lance said, looking up at the huge hotel as Todd pulled the door open.

"I'm gonna' run this stuff upstairs," he told them, holding up Macey's clothes, "We're gonna' go ahead and send you two to the airport. Mike will meet you right outside the van and then I'll be there soon."

"Ok, thanks Todd," Lance smiled at him as she shut the door and the van began to pull away.

"What's he got?" Chris inquired.

"Macey's clothes. She left 'em in my room last night," Lance explained.

"And you couldn't take them to her yourself?" Chris eyed Lance.

"No."

"Whatever, Lance..." Chris rolled his eyes.

"Look, don't start-"

"Fine, I won't start," Chris cut him off, "but I don't want to hear you moan and groan about how much you miss her and shit."

"Look, this is not my fault. I tried and she made the decision," Lance argued.

"And you just let her go," Chris answered calmly, looking Lance in the eye. They locked gazes for several seconds before Lance looked out the window at the passing lights of the Las Vegas Strip.

Minutes later, they arrived at the airport, Mike meeting them as promised and escorting them through the terminal to their gate. Lance didn't even notice the small crowd of fans that had gathered as he passed his ticket to the attendant and walked down the corridor, stepping into the plane.

Macey jumped when she heard a knock on her door. She carefully sat the script down so she wouldn't lose her place and glanced at the clock, wondering who it could be. She peered out the peephole and saw Todd standing before her door.

"Hey," she smiled as she opened the door.

"Hey Macey," he greeted her.

"Come on in," she invited him, stepping aside.

"I can't... I've got to get to the airport. We're flying out in just a little while, but Lance asked me to bring these to you," he explained, holding out the leather pants and sequined shirt.

"Oh..." she whispered, slowly reaching out and removing the items from his hands.

"Ya' know Macey," he began hesitantly, "I know it's a little late for this trip... but remember when I told you to not push him away?"

"Yeah," she whispered, silently counting the number of tiny squares in the carpet pattern.

"I meant that," he told her, reaching out and tipping her chin up so that she was looking him in the eye, "Sooner or later you need to work it out. Don't lose something that you yourself said you wanted so badly because you're scared. Don't push him away."

"Thanks Todd," Macey said, mustering a small smile.

"No problem. I've gotta' run, but hopefully I'll see you soon," he winked at her.

"I hope so," she replied, stepping into her room with, "Bye."

"Bye Macey."

He disappeared into the hallway and Macey tossed the clothes onto her floor, wishing away the memories they brought to the surface. Picking up the script again, she continued reading.

"You all know Jackie... let me introduce you to the newest member of our creative team, Kevin Gibbons," she read. Her eyes followed the lines as the story unfolded.

"That's why I, we, came up with something so fabulous. Let me present to you what we believe will be Rebok's newest campaign," Macey read Jackie's lines.

"BITCH..." Macey said aloud as she read into the script and realized that Jackie had stolen Kevin's advertising idea. Unable to put the script down, Macey continued, playing with her hair as she read Kevin's reaction.

'(Kevin storms into the copy room, throwing his jacket and folder onto the countertop and jerking out the ads to begin making copies)

Kevin: (to himself): Why didn't I say anything???.... (hits button on copier)... Why didn't I SAY anything?.... I know why... because I'm afraid to take a chance... (Copies are still being made, the light illuminating Kevin's face as we hear his thoughts) 'Sitting on the sidelines all my life... Why am I so scared??? Always afraid to take a chance..." (afraid to take a chance echoes as 'On The Line' song begins to play.) We see Kevin's face change as he picks up a marker and begins to make flyer to find mystery girl.

Macey stopped reading and sat the script down. Swirling in her head were a million thoughts.

"Don't push him away."

"Why am I so scared???"

"He is NOT out of your league."

"Sitting on the sidelines all my life..."

"But when I fell for you, I fell for all of that- who you are, where you live- what you do..."

"Or maybe you're the only one too scared to even try..."

"Afraid to take a chance..."

"I really wish you'd work it out with him Mayce..."

"But is it the goodbye you want to leave with?"

"At least I can live with myself knowing that I tried, that if I don't feel those things again, it wasn't my own fear that kept me from feeling true love..."

"So scared to take a chance..."

Macey looked around the empty room. Her heart pounding, she grabbed her keys and ran for the door of the hotel room.

"Don't be gone yet.. don't be gone," she pleaded with no one in particular as she darted through the lobby and outside, hailing a taxi.

"McCarran Airport, Please," Macey instructed hurriedly.

On the plane, Lance leaned back into his seat as JC stumbled through the door of the plane, the last of the guys to arrive. His eyes followed him as he plopped down into one of the first class seats, dropping his bag into the seat next to him. Lance sighed as he put on his headphones to drown out the noise all around him. He hit play on his walkman and tried to relax as the sounds of his burned country CD filled his head. His grip tightened on the cd player as he recognized the tune.

"She said we're much too different...we're from two separate worlds, and he admitted that she was partly right..."

Lance felt the tears come to his eyes once again as he thought of Macey.

"Seven dollars," the cabbie said to Macey as she pushed open the door of the cab. Throwing a $20 bill over the seat, she spat out, "Keep the change," slamming the door shut and running into the airport.

Over the intercom, she heard announced, "This is the final boarding call for all passengers on Flight 649, direct flight to Miami."

"SHIT!" Macey yelled, searching the flight boards for the gate from which the flight was leaving. Finally finding it, she broke into a full run to the gate. Four minutes later, she arrived, out of breath, at the gate.

She looked around frantically, only to see the door to the corridor leading to the aircraft shut with a red velvet rope draped across the entranceway.

Macey felt a sob rise in her throat as she walked to the window, watching as the jetliner taxied away from the terminal. She put a hand on the glass, and whispered, "Lance...." as the tears fell from her eyes. "I'm too late," she sighed, watching the plane until it lifted off into the night, carrying her dreams and heart with it. "I'm too late..."

CHAPTER 20

Turning, Macey walked from the gate, trying not to break into full sobs until she was out of the airport and safely into a cab. "Just drop me anywhere on the strip please," Macey asked the cab driver. She blocked out the noise and lights around her as she cursed herself for waiting too long.

"Is this ok, miss???" the cabbie asked.

Macey jerked her head up to see the familiar green and gold of the MGM above her.

"Perfect," she whispered, handing him money and stepping out of the taxi.

She slowly walked into the lobby and to the elevators, her mind repeating over and over, "I'm too late...." Her head down, she went to the elevators and pushed the up button. She didn't notice Jordan Knight walk by her as he stepped out of the elevator and she stepped in. He turned and started to say her name, but her falling tears stopped him as he silently watched the doors close and the elevator began to rise. Macey stepped out of the elevator and walked the familiar trek to her room. Sliding her key into the lock, she pushed open the door and held her breath. Something inside of her was holding out on the notion that Lance might not have gotten on the plane, that he'd be sitting inside her door, waiting to tell her that he wouldn't give up.

She glanced into the empty room and sighed, her heart tearing even further apart as she walked through the suite alone, as if she'd find him hiding somewhere among their clothes or makeup. When her tour of the hotel room was complete she sank down into the bed and let her tears fall onto the blanket. She wanted to run away... to get away from Vegas and the hotel and all the memories of the last few days. Sitting up, she knew that she had to get away... everywhere she looked, she saw his face, his smile, felt his hands on her body.

"Where the hell am I gonna' go?" she muttered aloud, as she pushed herself from the bed and began taking clothes out of the dresser drawers. Unable to answer her own question, but wanting desperately to escape from her world of memories, she continued to pack in a daze.

Macey didn't even hear the door open as she made her way into the bathroom and started organizing makeup into a huge bag.

"What the hell?" she heard a voice say in the main room.

Poking her head out the door, she saw Christine standing there.

"What are you doing?" Christine asked drunkenly.

"I'm leaving…"

"Leaving? Where the hell are you going to go at 3 AM on a Sunday morning?"

"I don't know…." Macey sighed, walking back into the bathroom to finish throwing her share of the bathroom into a bag.

"Mayce," Christine said, coming into the bathroom, "You can't run away from him."

"I'm not running away from anything," Macey argued heartlessly, knowing her words sounded as false to Christine as they did to herself.

"Bullshit Macey," Christine blared out.

"Look- I just can't be here, ok??"

"Why?"

"Because it hurts."

"What hurts?" Christine asked.

"Being here knowing that he's gone," Macey began to cry.

"But you pushed him away," Christine argued.

"I tried to catch him. I tried to say I'm sorry but he was gone… the plane was gone," Macey sobbed, walking to Christine and laying her head on her friend's shoulder.

"God Mayce, I'm sorry…" Christine sighed, putting her arms around her friend, "I wish there was something I could do."

"Me too…." Macey agreed, pulling away and wiping her eyes.

"But leaving now isn't going to do any good Macey," Christine told her quietly.

"Maybe I can change my flight," Macey sighed.

"At this time??? I don't think so. Why don't you just get some sleep and it'll all work out in the morning," Christine suggested.

"Maybe you're right," Macey relented finally, sitting back down on the bed and dropping the bag she had in her hand.

"Yes, I'm right," Christine giggled.

"Ok… spill it…what's up with you and JC??" Macey changed the subject.

"Holy shit…." Christine sighed, a smile coming over her face.

"Come on… what's going on?" Macey pushed, jumping over to Christine and giggling with her as the two gossiped about JC.

"But what about Bobbie?" Macey eyed her friend.

"Good question… I think there's trouble in paradise," Christine laughed.

"Hell yes there's trouble in paradise- hell, Bobbie's ass better get a new life raft with the way JC is all about you girl," Macey told her.

"We'll see…" Christine sighed.

The two talked into the morning hours, Macey trying to hold herself together. She finally fell asleep, collapsing onto her pillows, thoughts of Lance at the fringe of her mind.

Macey jerked her eyes open and looked at the bedside clock which read 9:28. She reached for the telephone book, sitting up in bed as her eyes adjusted to the dim light in the room. She got up from the bed and walked towards the window as she juggled the phonebook and flipped the pages. Sitting down next to the window, she pushed back the curtains and picked up the desk phone. Dialing the airline number, she sighed and rubbed her eyes as she listened to the seemingly endless recordings and hit the buttons that would lead her to an operator.

"We're sorry. All of our customer service representatives are assisting other customers. Please stay on the line and our call will be answered in the order received," Macey listened and groaned. The phone clicked and a familiar song began to play in the background. The tune clicked in Macey's head and tears filled her eyes.

"In his heart's defense he told her what they had in common was strong enough to bond them for life. He said look behind your own soul and the person that you'll see just might remind you of me… I laugh…I-"

"Good Morning and thank you for calling American Airlines, This is Gina, how may I help you?" a friendly voice finally asked, cutting off the song in mid-sentence.

"I've had a change of plans and I'd like to leave Las Vegas early… I need to change my flight please," Macey choked out, fiddling with the edge of the phone book.

A half an hour later, the necessary arrangements had been made and Macey doodled as she wrote down the new flight information. Macey stood up and stretched, glad she'd done most of her packing the night before.

"Christine.. Christine…" Macey shook her friend.

"What??" she groaned, rolling over and trying to make Macey's face come into focus.

"I'm leaving," Macey told her.

Christine jerked up out of the bed, "WHAT?"

"I'm leaving…" Macey said simply, staring at her friend without saying anything else.

An hour later, Macey was standing in the lobby of the MGM with Christine, waiting for a bellhop to arrive downstairs with her luggage.

"I'll miss you," Christine hugged her tightly.

"I'll miss you too Chris," Macey said as she hugged her back.

"Have a safe flight... good luck with everything," Christine offered, backing away from her friend.

"Thanks. I'll call you as soon as I get there," Macey promised.

"You'd better. I'm leaving this afternoon for home, so leave me a message if you can't get me."

"Of course…and you should think about coming to the Indy show…" Macey prodded her with a smile.

"Mmm…maybe…" Christine grinned.

"You'd get to see JC," Macey reminded her in a sing-song voice.

"I'll think about it," Christine laughed, hugging Macey one last time.

"Ok… I'll see you in a couple of weeks then," Macey winked as she pulled away and stepped toward the door.

"We'll see… Bye Mayce," Christine waved.

"Bye Christine…" Macey answered, waving to the bellboy who was approaching with her luggage. They walked out the door and Macey thanked the valet who hailed her a cab quickly and began loading her luggage into the trunk.

"I'll be right back," she told him. She wandered out of the shelter of the overhang and looked onto the strip. She looked at all the buildings one last time as her mind wandered. A minute passed and suddenly Macey jerked herself out of the memories, turning and walking back to the taxi. She handed the valet a tip and climbed inside, thanking him as he pushed the door shut behind her.

"Where to Miss?" the driver asked, smiling as he looked back over the seat.

"The airport please," she replied, looking out the window as Macey's mind drifted back to Lance.

Macey checked in for her flight quickly, checking the luggage at the curb and walking into the airport with an hour left until her flight. She wandered through the airport, stopping to grab souvenirs for her parents and cousins in the gift shops. Walking into the music store, Macey smiled at the huge poster of NSync hanging above her. She browsed through the CDs, grabbing a couple for her flight. Her eyes fell upon the country section and she smiled as she walked over and located the one she was looking for.

An announcement for her flight came over the intercom and Macey hurried to the counter and quickly paid for the CDs. She smiled at the clerk as she grabbed her bag and walked through the airport, looking for her gate. She made her way onto the jetliner and settled into her seat.

"I can't believe it's over…" Macey sighed, looking out the window as the plane lifted off the ground and the city of Las Vegas was left behind her.

Hours later, Macey stretched and stood up out of her seat as the captain thanked them for flying American Airlines. She grabbed her bag from beneath her feet and waited as the passengers in front of her exited the plane. She finally stepped out into the lobby of the airport, sighing as she wished someone was standing there waiting to meet her. She looked up and for a split second, imagined Lance's face before her, his arms outstretched. She shook her head and his image disappeared. Alone, she walked through the airport to pick up her luggage.

Macey grabbed a seat on a bench next to the luggage area and pulled out her cell phone. Clicking through the memory, she selected Jen's number and hit send. Minutes later, Jen's groggy hello resounded into the phone.

"Hey Jen," Macey laughed.

"Hi Macey, What's up?" Jen asked, beginning to wake up.

"I just got off a plane," Macey explained, "and I just wanted to call and check and see if you all got to Miami safely."

"Yeah we're here," Jen told her.

"Good… just checking."

"Is that all you wanted?" Jen asked.

"Yeah…" Macey began and then trailed off.

"What else Mayce?" Jen prodded her.

"Is Lance there?"

"Here in my bed, no…" Jen laughed.

"You know what I mean bitch," Macey grinned.

"Yes, he's here in the hotel. We had flight problems and crap and just got in a little while ago. Everyone's exhausted," Jen explained.

"Ok… well, I'll let you go," Macey said as the luggage began to circle around the conveyor belt.

"Call him Macey," Jen suggested.

"I'm gonna' do something," Macey promised, standing up and walking over and taking her place among the other passengers from her plane, "I've gotta' go though, my luggage is here."

"Ok, I'll talk to you later," Jen said and hung up her phone. Macey pulled her suitcases from the luggage belt and walked out into the hot sunlight. She grabbed a book from her backpack as the cab driver loaded her bags into the trunk of his cab. Sliding into the backseat of the cab, she gave the driver the address and sat back and closed her eyes.

"We're here," the cabbie announced. Macey had been so lost in thought that the drive across town hadn't even registered in her mind. Her eyes popped open and she looked out the window and sighed, stepping out of the cab and looking around, wishing that she were back in Las Vegas with Lance by her side.

CHAPTER 21

Inside, Macey walked down the hall, lugging her bags. She sighed as she dropped them in a doorway. Taking a deep breath, she knocked loudly on the door before her. Waiting, she fidgeted with her cd player that she was holding in her hands. She knocked again and heard his low voice echo through the door, "I'm coming! Just a sec..." Her heart began to race as she thought about what might happen when he saw her. Would he turn her away in anger? Would he even want to see her again. Suddenly, she wasn't sure coming here was such a good idea... all of the old feelings were back and she realized that she had made a mistake. She looked sideways for a place to run and hide, but her doubts were cut short as she heard him just on the other side of the door, removing the chain lock.

He pulled open the door and their eyes met. Instantly she wanted to grab him into her arms and never let go.

"Macey...." Lance whispered, staring out of his door in awe at the woman standing before him.

"Hi Lance," she replied awkwardly, unsure of what to say.

"What are you doing here???" he asked in amazement.

"Can I come in?" she requested in a soft voice.

"Oh, God, Yeah...come in, please," he answered, moving aside as she walked by him. He grabbed a couple of bags off of her shoulder as she passed, lessening her load.

"Thanks," she smiled as she walked into the room and dropped the rest of her bags next to his on the floor. He followed suit and reached for her hand. He was afraid it was a dream, afraid that Macey really wasn't standing before him inside his hotel room in Miami. When he touched her, she didn't disappear though and he realized that she was truly standing there with him.

"I can't believe you're here," he whispered.

"Do you have a CD player???"

"What?" he asked, confused.

"Do you have a CD player in here?" she asked again.

"Yeah, I think so," he answered distractedly, gesturing to the huge cabinet that held a small stereo, along with a TV and VCR, "But what are you doing here? I thought you said-"

"Shhhh," she cut him off, leading him to the bed and motioning for him to sit down as she walked to the CD player, "Just listen."

Lance followed her with his eyes as she put a CD into the stereo and pushed the play button, moving the CD to track three.

The music began to play and she walked back to the bed and sat beside him in silence.

"She said we're much too different, we're from two separate worlds and he admitted she was partly right. But in his heart's defense he told her what they had in common was strong enough to bond them for life. He said look behind your own soul and the person that you'll see just might remind you of me. I laugh. I love. I hope. I try. I hurt. I need. I fear. I cry. And I know you do the same things too, so we're really not that different, me and you."

Lance looked into her eyes and began to speak as the music continued. She placed a single finger on his lips as the cd played on. She looked back into his eyes, praying he'd understand all that she was trying to say.

"Was it time, or it was truth? Maybe both led her back to his door. And as her tears fell at his feet, she didn't say, 'I love you,' what she said meant even more..."

As Collin Raye sang the song, Macey began to speak along with him, whispering the words, "I laugh. I love. I hope. I try. I hurt. I need. I fear. I cry. And I know you do the same things too... so we're really not that different, no we're really not that different, me and you."

Tears fell from her eyes as the song came to an end. He reached for her with both arms, pulling her to him in the dark room and holding her close.

"I'm so sorry," she told him over and over.

"Macey, it's ok," he assured her, stroking her hair, still not quite sure she was really there.

"I tried to catch you last night," she began, but this time, it was Lance who stopped her with a finger to her lips.

"And I never should have gotten on that plane... but you're here now. And that's all that matters."

With that, he brought his lips to hers. Macey felt all of the anxiety, fear, and doubt left in her body disappear as Lance kissed them all away. She pulled him closer and kissed him deeply, the two of them falling back onto the bed in each other's arms. They laid there for hours, blocking out the outside world and concentrating only on what mattered- the two of them. Lance and Macey. Together.

EPILOGUE

"So you tried to catch us at the airport?" Jen reiterated as everyone sat around a huge table in the hotel restaurant. Lance had called them all and asked them to meet him for dinner. Macey's presence was an incredible surprise to everyone and they were all eager to hear how she'd ended up in Miami.

"Yeah, but I got there right as the plane took off," Macey answered.

"That sucks," Justin threw in as he took another bite of his pasta.

"Yeah," Macey shrugged, looking down at her plate, "I wasn't too happy."

"So how did you know where to find us?" JC asked.

"Well, when Todd brought me my clothes last night, he had written me a note with all of the this hotel's information on it, telling me to call Lance... to not push him away," she trailed off as she looked to Lance and their eyes met. After a moment of silence, she cleared her throat and continued, "So when I called to change my flight to an earlier flight home, I just changed it to here instead. And I already had the hotel name and number."

"And you called Todd when you got here and found out Lance's room number, right?" Chris supplied.

"Yeah," she smiled.

"So that's why you called me this morning to make sure that we were all here???" Jen realized.

"Right... I was at the airport here in Miami," Macey grinned.

"You're a sneaky one," JC laughed.

"I just didn't want me being here to be a big deal. I just wanted to talk to Lance and get everything worked out," Macey explained.

"And did you?" Justin asked seriously.

"Yeah, I think so," Macey smiled, looking to Lance.

"Yes... Yes we did," Lance affirmed, leaning over and kissing her softly.

"All together now, 'Awwwwwwwwwwwwwww," Chris kidded them.

"Awwwwwwwwwwwwww," everyone echoed in unison, laughing.

"I'm just glad you're together," Jen told them, a smile covering her face.

"Yeah, it's about time," Joey added.

"Well, I think it's gonna' stay this way for awhile," Lance grinned, squeezing Macey's hand.

"Me too," Macey agreed, looking around the table at the people who'd become some of her best friends, her eyes stopping on Lance. She knew it wouldn't be an easy road, but he- they- were worth the bumps that were sure to come up along the way... and when it came right down to it, once Macey stopped being scared, she knew that they really weren't that different..."Me too....." she whispered again, holding Lance's hand and knowing she was right where she was meant to be.

The End

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