Nine

Joey stood in the front doorway of the large house, watching Lance work. Lance had done the small minor repairs first, and now was up on a ladder, inspecting the roof of the garage. Joey rubbed his beard thoughtfully as he watched Lance.

“Morning, Joe,” Howie said, walking up behind Joey.

“You're up early,” Joey commented.

“I had an easy night,” Howie said with a grin. “Regulars never stay over.”

“True,” Joey said, nodding.

“Hey, listen…my brother called this morning, which is why I'm up. Do you care if he comes out for a day or two?” Howie asked.

Joey turned to look at him. Howie's brother, Alex, visited now and then, and Joey liked him. He had no problems with Howie's lifestyle, and stayed out of the way when he was there. “The room we usually give him is where we have Lance,” Joey commented.

“I know. He can sleep with me,” Howie said.

“Sure. I don't mind. But I need you to keep working. With Drew not feeling well and some of the others dropping in and out lately, I'm running on a low staff.”

“Sure, Joe, no problem,” Howie said quickly. “Alex is just on his way back out east…he's been in Seattle, so he thought he'd stop in.”

“Sure, Howie.” Joey clapped Howie on the back. “You're lucky to have a family member who would visit you.”

“I know,” Howie said softly, turning to walk away. “Oh, he'll be in this evening sometime, okay?”

“Yep.” Joey heard Howie walk away. He turned back to watch Lance, sighing deeply. He wondered how in the world he had ended up running a whorehouse for gay men in the middle of nowhere. And it was a strange mix of a whorehouse and boarding house. He felt like some sort of den mother sometimes. Joey looked at Lance again, his heart hitting his shoes. This was going to be harder than hell. 

Joey's day had started just fine. He had almost forgotten the phone call he had received late the night before. He was used to late calls, though; some clients preferred to keep things as discreet as humanly possible. But this particular phone call had knocked the wind right out of him.

“I had a request to make,” JC Chasez said. Then he stopped.

“Yes, Mr. Chasez?” Joey said politely.

“I don't know…okay. I was interested in one of your employees.”

“Justin again?” Joey asked with a smile. “I'm glad you were pleased with him.”

“I was immensely pleased with him, Mr. Fatone. I see why you said he's so popular. But…it's not him.”

“Okay,” Joey said slowly.

“It's another employee…I think his name is Lance?” 

“Guess what?” Howie said at lunch. “Alex is coming to visit. He'll get here tonight.”

“Great!” Nick said, beaming. He loved Howie's brother. He was a lot of fun, and sexy as well. Not to mention that he was gay also, and now and then he was known to pay for a bit of action. “He's so much fun.”

“You would know,” Justin muttered. He had “worked” for Alex only once, and hadn't enjoyed it.

“You're just mad because Alex didn't come back to you asking for more,” Nick taunted, laughing.

“Hello, my brother here,” Howie reminded them. “Anyway, thought y'all would like to know, since he'll be staying up with me.”

“Watch out for him,” Justin said to Lance in a low tone. “He's creepy. Seriously. He'll pounce on you, especially if he knows how innocent you are.”

Lance blushed and looked down at his plate. Justin almost made it sound like a bad thing. “Well, uh, I stay in my room most of the time anyway,” Lance said in a low voice.

“I know. I didn't mean anything bad,” Justin promised. Lance looked up at him and smiled.

Joey stood up from the table. “Justin…Lance…when you're done eating I need to see you both in my office.”

“Okay,” Justin said, looking at Lance, who shrugged.

The two men finished their lunches quickly, curious to see what Joey wanted. Joey motioned them into the office and they sat down. “I got a call last night…an odd call.”

“It wasn't…it wasn't my family or anything, was it?” Justin asked nervously.

“No, Justin. Nothing's wrong with your family,” Joey said reassuringly. “Actually, it was about Lance.”

“Me?” Lance said, staring at him. “But no one I know…I mean…no one knows I'm here.”

“It was JC Chasez,” Joey said. It was Justin's turn to stare.

“What does JC Chasez want with Lance?” Justin said. As soon as the words left his mouth, his eyes widened. “You're kidding.”

“No, I'm not,” Joey said softly.

Lance blinked. “What are you two talking about?”

“JC Chasez asked for you. Asked to…uh…hire you,” Joey said.

Lance laughed out loud. “Okay, guys, is this some kind of weird initiation thing? New kid in the house, make him freak out?”

“No, Lance,” Joey said gently. “JC Chasez wants to pay for your time.”

“Pay for what time?” Lance said, his voice rising slightly. “I don't…I never…”

“For fuck's sake, Joe, Lance hasn't even had his dick sucked before!” Justin said almost angrily. Lance's face flamed and he stared at his shoes. “He's a fucking cherry.”

“I know that, and I told Mr. Chasez that. I made a point of saying that it wasn't why Lance was working here…that it wasn't like the handyman job was some kind of thing on the side. Mr. Chasez said he realized that, and that he didn't care. That he was interested in Lance.” Joey's brown eyes were dark as he looked at Justin. “And I think you need to apologize to Lance for what you said.”

“I was only stating the truth,” Justin said. “But I'm sorry, Lance.”

“He IS telling the truth,” Lance whispered. “I can't.”

“Justin, Mr. Chasez DID say that he enjoyed his time with you, and that you were worth every penny and then some. But he's…interested…in Lance.” Joey turned his gaze to Lance. “I told him I'd get back to him, Lance. I couldn't say yes or no on your behalf without talking to you first.”

Lance's hands were shaking as he clasped and unclasped them. “I…I wouldn't know…I never…”

“I thought Justin could help you out,” Joey said. Justin snorted.

“I'm not some kind of training whore, Joey.”

“For God's sake, Justin!” Joey snapped. “You're being a real asshole. Push your jealousy aside for one damn second, okay? This is crazy, I know it. And I don't know what to do about it. Part of me is saying that I'm your employer…both of you. I can make Lance do this, and I can make you help him, or I can fire you both. But the human being inside of me wanted to just hang up the damn phone last night. I don't want to force you, Lance.”

Justin took a look at Lance. “Shit, Lance, I'm sorry. I just…wow.”

“Yeah, wow,” Lance said weakly. He looked at Joey. “Was he offering you a lot of money?”

“He said whatever I charged, he'd pay,” Joey said, and Justin sucked in a breath. “And of course you'd get a cut of it. And you'd only work with him, Lance. No one else. It would be discreet and quiet and only if you want it.”

Lance thought for a long moment. Someone like Justin made it seem so easy. And it wasn't like Lance wasn't attracted to the singer…he was. And the fact that someone like JC Chasez wanted someone like HIM was a big charge to his battered ego. If Justin would help him…

Lance looked at Justin. “Will…will you help me?” Lance whispered. “You can tell me what to do…what to say…”

“I can't believe you want to do this,” Justin said, shaking his head. “But yeah, I'll help you, if it's what you want.”

“It's what I want,” Lance said quietly, then repeated the words more firmly. “Call him back, Joey, and tell him…uh…tell him yes.”

Ten