They arrived at the venue early afternoon. After lunch came a round of interviews ranging from teen magazines to MTV to overseas correspondents wanting to know *NSYNC’s reaction to the first show. Did they deem it to be a success? Were there any bloopers? Were the fans responding well to the new songs? You name it they asked it, and the guys, being the pros they are, grinned their way through the entire thing, giving them the answers they wanted.
With the afternoon’s promotional work finished they were all free to do their own thing (providing they stayed within the venue grounds) for a couple of hours before sound check.
“You look deep in thought,” Lance commented as he stood in the entrance to the dressing room.
JC’s eyes moved to the figure in the doorway, but his head remained resting against the back of the couch. “Hmm,” he replied lazily.
Lance pushed away from the door and pulled up a chair, swinging his leg over to straddle it and resting his arms comfortably on the back. “What’s up?”
“Just thinking.” He’d been ‘just thinking’ for the last thirty minutes and it wasn’t getting him anywhere. “Where are the others?”
“Playing ball.”
JC nodded. “And Maddy?”
Lance looked at him strangely. “I have no idea…probably doing her job.”
“Right.” Stupid question. From the way Lance looked at him he might as well have asked where the tour’s chef was. “Are you two…like…dating?” The question slipped out before he could stop himself. If Jamie had heard him, after he’d warned her to keep out of it, he’d never hear the end of it. He had to admit, her curiosity was beginning to rub off on him.
“We’ve been on dates…but that’s about it.”
“But you like her…right?”
Lance chuckled. “What is this, twenty questions? Yeah I like her.”
“But not enough to date her?”
“Who wouldn’t wanna date her? She’s fun, intelligent…”
“Cute,” JC supplied.
“I would’ve gone for hot, but that too,” Lance smirked. “Maddy understands that I don’t want a commitment right now. I’ve got too much stuff going on with FreeLance, and now with this movie, too.”
“So what… she’s your friend with benefits? Your standby date?” The words held no particular conviction, JC was just trying to get his head around the situation. Lance, though, looked as if he’d been kicked.
“Shit, Jace, way to put it!” he cried. It was obvious Lance believed he was being accused. “I enjoy spending time with her and so I do just that from time to time. I don’t lead her to believe it’s any more than that,” he said in his defence. “She knew the score from day one.”
JC let out a loud sigh. When he’d began his line of questioning it hadn’t been his intention to upset Lance. Unfortunately he’d spoken without thinking. “Sorry, man. It’s Jamie, she’s got me all riled up about some stuff.”
Accepting the apology, Lance allowed a small smile. “See, that’s why I’m single; women are trouble.”
“You’re telling me,” he chuckled. “So now I know you aren’t involved with Maddy I can tell you what’s on my mind.”
Lance arched an eyebrow with interest. “Shoot.”
JC sighed deeply. “Jamie accused Justin of having not-so-friendly thoughts about Maddy.”
“You’re kidding.”
“I kid you not.”
Lance ran his hands through his hair, trying to get his head around what he’d just been told. “But he’s still with Britney, right? Or am I totally out of the loop?”
“Oh he’s still with her all right.”
Lance’s brow furrowed. “And she told Justin all of this?”
“Uh-huh. Which is why I’m running interference between the two right now.”
“Do you think there’s any truth in it?” he asked, frowning.
He paused for a second, contemplating his answer. “No, but she’s got me all paranoid now and I can’t help looking for something.”
The power of suggestion, he had found, had a huge effect on how a person perceived every touch, word and reaction. So much so that he’d found himself analysing everything either Maddy or Justin did or said.
There was a knock at the door and the pair of them turned, JC immediately looking guilty when he saw who it was.
“You left your cell on my desk. It’s your mom,” Jamie said, holding the phone out to Lance.
He jumped up quickly, taking the phone and thanking her before he made a quick exit.
Jamie slowly closed the door and faced JC with her hands on her hips. “You are so busted, Mister,” she said, strolling towards him.
“You heard that, huh?”
“Most of it.” She smirked. “I knew you thought something was going on.” She gave him her best I-told-you-so look.
JC looked at her wide-eyed and open-mouthed. “Where in that conversation did I say that? I said you got me paranoid.”
“Which means you weren’t certain that there wasn’t something going.”
“You’re twisting my words here, Jamie,” JC said in a warning tone. It was typical Jamie. She was an expert at turning things around to her own benefit. It was why she was so good at her job, getting them out of countless sticky situations.
“I’m just making a point. If you were so certain that Justin was devoted to Britney you wouldn’t even have bothered to look. But you did,” she added with satisfaction.
“Can we change the subject?”
“Now I’ve made my point…” She shrugged. “I guess so.”
JC pulled her down to sit on his lap and softly kissed her. When he drew back a few seconds later she licked her lips. “You know I’m onto your game here, buddy. You think you can shut me up with those lips of yours.” Her eyebrows rose at his innocent look. “Well it ain’t gonna work every time—“ Her eyes slid to his lips, “But I’m gonna make an exception just this once.”
Without warning Jamie pushed his shoulder and he easily fell back onto the couch as she crawled over him. “You’re being really unprofessional today,” he teased.
“Shut up,” she told him, covering his mouth with hers.
So he was right; she was being unprofessional. But the other guys were playing basketball and the dressing room was a no go area to everyone else. She figured they were safe for a while, and JC certainly wasn’t complaining.
Her elbows rested either side of his head as his hands slid down to her hips, pressing her closer to him. They were beginning to forget where they were when the door flew open suddenly and there was a scream. JC and Jamie flew apart only to see Chris standing in the doorway, his hands over his face, jumping up and down. “Virgin eyes! Virgin eyes!”
“CHRIS!” Jamie yelled interrupting his little display.
He peeped out from behind his hands. “Yeah?”
“You better run old man, and you better run fast.”
Lance slipped his phone back into his pocket. He barely noticed as Chris ran by, shouting about someone killing him. They were all too used to Chris’s dramatics, and if someone had threatened to kick him around a little the chances were he deserved it.
As he rounded the corner he came to an abrupt halt. What he saw probably wouldn’t have made him look twice normally, but after the conversation he’d just had he was looking at it through different eyes, just as JC had.
Justin tossed Joey the basketball he held as he wrapped his arm around Maddy’s neck and squeezed water from his water bottle down her neck. Maddy shrieked and tried to get away, pushing at his chest, but Justin held her closer, chuckling whole heartily.
It was still true, he didn’t want a commitment. But he liked Maddy…a whole lot, in fact, and the question was did he want Justin to move in on her just because he wasn’t ready?
Chances were they were just friends, and they would remain that way. But was he willing to take that chance?
Maddy’s eyes fluttered open as the bus’s engine stopped. It was funny, it had become
oddly reassuring over the weeks, the hum of it easily sending her to sleep, and now it seemed, waking her up, too. She chuckled sleepily to herself as she snuggled deeper into her pillow. Her own personal alarm clock.
Seconds later she heard the ‘whoosh’ of the bus doors opening, the driver probably going for a walkabout to stretch his legs a little.
Maddy gazed into the darkness of the bunk for several minutes until finally, realising she wasn’t going to immediately drift back to sleep, she pulled the curtain of her bunk open and rolled out.
Crouching on the floor of the bus she felt around blindly until she found her Nikes, slipping them on over her socks. Having worn sweats to bed she felt adequately dressed to step off the bus without drawing too many stares.
She walked to the front of the bus, being as quiet as she could, hoping nothing had been left in the aisle the night before, as she couldn’t see a thing.
She took a peek at the clock next to the wheel—four thirty—before hopping down the steps to take a look around. Another rest stop not unlike any of the others they had stopped at in the last couple of weeks was what she was met with. There was only a few other people who had left the comfort of their bunks—a roadie having a cigarette and a couple of drivers talking.
It seemed three of the buses had stopped—the others were on staggered departure times so a Pop Odyssey procession did not occur.
Maddy wrapped her arms around herself as the cold night air made her shiver. It was good to get a little fresh air in her lungs after the recycled air of the bus.
Her head shot to the left when a loud whisper interrupted the silence of the night. “What are you doing up?” Lance asked coming towards her.
Maddy’s hands self-consciously flew to her hair, trying to tame the hair that had escaped from her ponytail. “I woke when we stopped. Thought I’d come see where we were.” She looked around. “Which begs the question—where are we?”
Lance’s eyes scanned the area. Three buses, a few cars… They could’ve been anywhere. “Not a clue,” he finally chuckled.
“So why are you up?” she asked, throwing his own question back at him.
“Been awake for about an hour,” he shrugged. He’d been running the Maddy/Justin scenario over and over in his head. Frankly, the possibility of a relationship at the moment scared the life out of him. Now faced with a little competition he didn’t know what to do. At the moment it was a case of have your cake and eat it too. Perhaps it had been unfair of him to settle into this extremely casual…thing that they had going on, but it had suited him and he had thought she felt the same way.
Until now.
Now he thought back he could recall numerous occasion Jamie had hinted that maybe Maddy was looking for more. Had he just chosen to ignore that before? Or had he really been that oblivious.
But given the choice, Maddy would surely choose the commitment-friendly Justin over the commitment-phobe Lance.
“Joey’s snoring,” he lied, when she looked at him expectantly after a long pause. “I was trying to catch up with some work when I saw you out here.” Lance tucked his hands into the pockets of his pants and gazed down at her. “So how are you enjoying it?”
“The tour? It’s a lot of fun. Everything happens at a ridiculous pace but that just makes it all the more challenging. Beats sitting at a desk all day.”
Lance nodded and cleared his throat. “I’ve been meaning to ask you—and I understand if it’s too short notice—“ He paused.
“Go ahead,” she urged.
“Day after tomorrow I have a business dinner for Freelance. It’s with a couple of people from Meredith’s record company. I know it’s probably not your thing, mine neither, but do you want to be my date? I mean if you’re not busy, that is.”
She raised her eyebrows in surprise. Parties with his friends and even a family gathering, but now it seemed she was being catapulted into the big stuff. “I have a meeting between five and seven, but I’m free after that. So sure—if you don’t think I’ll show you up or anything.” She knew what some of these record executives were like. As well as being a lot older than her they also had a tendency to talk over people’s heads.
He waved away her concerns. “We’ll wing this thing together. So it’s a date?”
She nodded. “Looks that way.”
He smiled. “Cool… Oh, it’s kinda dressy,” he added. “If you need something new just send the bill my way.”
“I’m sure I’ve got something.”
Maddy’s gaze moved as she spotted the driver about to board the bus. “I’ll be right in,” she told him.”
He nodded before disappearing inside.
“I better go,” she told Lance.
“Me too.” He shuffled awkwardly for a moment before he leant forward and brushed his lips across her cheek. “Thank you, Maddy.”
“No problem,” she murmured as he turned and jogged back to his bus.
She climbed the steps of the bus and smiled at the driver. “Thanks for waiting, Tom.”
The man chuckled heartily. “Those boys would have my head if I left you.”
She slid into the seat behind him. “Mind if I join you for awhile? I don’t think I’m going to get any sleep for awhile.” She had too many things to think about—Lance’s sudden attentiveness for one.
“I don’t mind at all. In fact the company would be good.”
“How much longer?” she asked as he started the engine.
Tom chuckled as he checked his mirror. “You sound like my kids. I’d say about six hours.”
Maddy groaned. “Ways to pass the time… Fancy a game of eye spy?
Thursday night.
At quarter past seven there was a knock on the door. Maddy swung around and looked from her watch on the dresser to the door and back again. “Damn,” she muttered under her breath. He was early and she wasn’t ready.
She glanced around frantically, not knowing what to do. She cursed when there was a second knock and headed to the door, at the same time trying to reach the zip at the back of her dress. Jamie had promised to come help her get ready, but she’d been a no show.
When there was a third knock she had no choice but to open the door. There she’d hoped to look perfect for him and now Lance was going to have to zip her up. Great start to the night.
“Whoa! Where are you going dressed like that.” The black dress was simple and elegant, but it hugged her in all the right places. It dipped slightly in the front, not enough to look provocative, but enough to keep a guy guessing. And the straps…they would be easy to slip…
Justin shook his head, trying to clear the thoughts away.
“Justin, it’s you,” she sighed in relief. “I thought you were Lance.”
“I was gonna ask who the lucky guy was, but I think you just told me.”
“Yeah. Um…can you do me a favour?” she asked awkwardly.
“Sure.”
“Can you zip my dress up?”
“Er…sure.” He hadn’t realised she was unzipped until she turned and he saw an expanse of golden skin bared. She had managed to get it zipped to her waist but had snagged it on a piece of the material.
She could feel the warmth of his hand through the silky black material as he settled one hand on her waist and the other on the zipper. When his fingers brushed her skin her back arched.
“So where are you guys going?” he asked trying to concentrate on the task at hand. As his eyes travelled up her spine it was obvious that she wasn’t wearing anything underneath—at least on the top half. He sucked in a breathed, feeling hot all of a sudden, and with fumbling fingers hurried to finish the job.
“Dinner. It’s for FreeLance.”
“Sounds like fun,” he said, sarcasm evident in his tone. “There. All done,” he announced, taking her hand and twirling her around. “You shall go to the ball,” he grinned.
She stood on tiptoes and brushed her lips across his cheek. “Thank you, Justin.”
“You’re welcome.” As she turned and walked across the room his hand flew unconsciously to his cheek. His fingertips touched the spot where her lips had been. It felt all tingly!
“Shit,” he whispered.
“I’m sorry?” Maddy asked, turning.
His eyes grew wide. “What?”
“Did you say something?”
“No!” he cried frantically.
She smiled. “Okay.”
He watched as she stepped into the bathroom then plopped down onto the bed with a sigh. He hit himself on the forehead. “Stupid!” he hissed.
What was he thinking? He had a girlfriend!
He pressed his palms to his eyes until he was seeing red dots. With a sigh he dropped his hands to his sides.
He would’ve blamed it all on Jamie…but the tingles! She couldn’t have predicted them, and certainly couldn’t have caused them.
“How do I look?”
Justin raised his head from the bed and watched her as she held her arms out and twirled full-circle. She’d added a pair of diamond drop earrings and applied a pale pink gloss to her lips while in the bathroom. Her make-up was natural for the most part—her cheekbones accentuated by a dusting of rosy blush, and her eyes seemed to shine even brighter thanks to a little mascara.
“Presentable?”
He shook his head. “Beautiful.” His eyes bulged as soon as the word left his mouth, wondering what had possessed him to say it…other than the fact that she looked just that.
Her head ducked shyly at his words as she tried to hide the blush creeping up her face, and fortunately for him missed his strange reaction. “Thank you.”
Justin was thinking it was time to make a quick exit before he said or did anything else to humiliate himself when his thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door.
“Could you get that?”
Justin dragged himself up from the bed. “Sure,” he sighed. He opened the door, looked up and down at the visitor and looked over his shoulder. “Mads, there’s a penguin at the door, should I send him back to the zoo?”
Maddy giggled. “Hi, Lance!” she shouted.
Lance pushed Justin out the way. “Hey—wow you look good.”
Justin crossed his arms across his chest and leant back against the wall. “Too late, I already told her,” Justin inserted smugly.
“I think a girl can handle more than one compliment a night.”
Justin looked between the pair. “Yeah, well I think I’ll leave you two to it. I’m gonna go bug James and C.”
“See you tomorrow, Justin. And thank you for—“
“No problem. Night, Maddy. Lance, bring her back in one piece, okay?”
Lance rolled his eyes. “Listen to him going all big brother on you.”
Maddy grinned. “Nah he’s way cuter than my brother.”
Justin chuckled and backed towards the door. “Have fun guys…just make sure you don’t fall asleep in your soup.”
When Justin was gone Lance turned to her with a sigh. “You know he’s probably right. I’ll forgive you if you want to back out.”
“Don’t be silly. Now how are we getting there?”
“I have a car waiting outside for us.”
“Then what are we waiting for?”
Justin strolled down the hall and stopped outside JC’s and Jamie’s room, raising his hand to knock on the door. As he waited he saw Maddy and Lance head off in the opposite direction. When the door opened he arched an eyebrow when he was met with a towel-clad JC.
“What kind of kinky shit did I interrupt this time?”
“You can come in, Justin! JC’s just been playing with himself in the shower!” Jamie shouted from inside the room.
Justin pushed past JC and found Jamie sprawled across the bed watching a movie. He moved towards her and bounced onto the mattress next to her. “You not putting out again, James?”
She waved her hand and reached for her popcorn. “Nah, he pissed me off. Want some?” She offered the bowl to Justin.
“Thanks.”
JC stood with his hands on his hips. “Hello? I’m standing right here!”
“Dude, go put a shirt on or something.”
JC heaved a big sigh, looking put out. Justin waited until JC had entered the bathroom before he spoke again. “Why didn’t you go help Maddy get ready?”
“Oh so you’re talking to me now, huh?”
“Jamie,” he warned.
“Okay,” she sighed. “How do you know about that, anyway?”
“I just had to zip her freaking dress, that’s how! She said you were supposed to go down to her room.”
Jamie shrugged. “I was.”
“So what, you dip out on your friends now to watch Hallmark?”
“Maybe I didn’t want to do the enemy any favours.”
Justin paused a second, trying to figure out what she meant, laughing humourlessly when he realised. “Not this again. Since when is Lance the enemy?”
Jamie pushed herself up into a sitting position. “Okay, maybe enemy is taking it too far. But you know where I stand on this.”
“Jamie, one word—Britney.”
Jamie looked at him sympathetically. She knew she’d made him question things he’d never even thought about before.
“Okay I’m going to take Maddy out of the equation for the moment. Maddy doesn’t exist for the next five minutes, okay?” He rolled his eyes but nodded. “Justin, when I first met you you couldn’t stop talking about Britney. It was Britney this, Britney that.” Her face twisted in distaste. “Frankly, it was very annoying.” She paused and looked at him pensively. “But lately you don’t mention her, and I can’t remember the last time either of you made an effort to visit one another.” She reached out and touched his shoulder. “Now you can tell me to mind my own business—you’ve done it before—but tell me that seems right to you.”
Justin laid back and crossed his arms behind his head. He was silent for a long moment before he finally answered. “I can’t.”
“I’m sorry, Justin.”
Chapter 6
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