Two
“Well,
hell, look what the cat dragged in,” Chris said with a grin when he walked into
his living room and saw Lance on the sofa. “How're they hangin', Bass?”
“Chris.”
Lance reached up over his head to give Chris a high five. He had forgiven Chris
for leaking his whereabouts months before, because he knew Chris hadn't meant
it in any kind of malicious way. He loved the way Chris hung on Nick's every
word, and enjoyed hearing about Chris' latest declarations of love. “When's the
wedding?”
“J
and J first, not me,” Chris protested. He flopped onto a chair. “Where's your
artistic half?”
“Up
in the shower, he says. I think he's probably cleaning his bedroom.”
“That
place is a freakin' monastery to begin with,” Chris said, shaking his head.
“So…to what do we owe this surprise visit?”
“I'm
whisking Josh away for a vacation to France,” Lance said, frowning slightly.
“He said he's excited…is he?”
“Duh,”
Chris said, and Lance beamed.
“I
mean, I don't really know him all that well yet. It's crazy. I love him so much,
but I hardly know the guy.”
“A
month in a country where you don't know the language should remedy that,” Chris
said.
Lance
blushed slightly. “Actually…I'm quite fluent in French.”
“Really?”
Chris said, laughing. “Another talent.”
“I'm
not all that talented,” Lance said modestly.
“Anyway…how
long will you be gone?”
“A
month. I have the house starting on Monday…I hoped Josh could just pretty much
drop everything and come with me.”
“He
can. I'll look after things here, and Brian pretty much runs the shop, anyway,”
Chris said. “He'll panic, he'll call home a lot, but he'll be able to go with
you.”
“Good.”
Lance leaned back and closed his eyes.
“You
WILL be able to be contacted, though, right?” Chris asked. Lance's eyes flew
open. “I mean…this whole wedding thing with Justin and Joey…Justin will need to
call JC every five minutes to freak out.”
“The
wedding? When?” Chris quoted a date. “Aw, shit. Is it that time already? Time
flies.” Lance rubbed at his forehead, suddenly exhausted. “We'll definitely be
where Justin or anyone can call, okay? As long as you're not giving out our
number to every person you see,” Lance teased. Chris had the decency to blush.
“I
don't hear water running. Why don't you go up and shower. I need to clarify
some stuff with JC if he's gonna be incognito for a month.”
“I think I will.” Lance grabbed his bag and
headed up the steps.
“This
doesn't look like showering,” Chris said from JC's doorway. JC jumped.
“Well…I
needed to straighten up a bit.” JC looked around the immaculate bedroom.
“Whatever.”
Chris rolled his eyes. “Listen…I put a call in to Dmitri's. They'll deliver
your dinner at seven. I'm gonna crash at Nick's tonight.”
“Chris…”
Chris
waved a hand. “He's your boyfriend who you haven't seen in ages. You want to be
here alone. You don't want to be at a restaurant, or slaving over a stove for
dinner. Just chill with him. Get to know him.”
“Thanks,
Chris,” JC said, touched.
“In
real life, though, I'll be across the street. One hand on the telephoto lens,
the other on the cellphone, calling the National Enquirer,” Chris said with a
grin. JC threw a shoe at him.
