“Can you tell me where to find Detective Ramirez?” She smiled at the young man sitting at the desk.
He returned the smile and pointed her to the back of the room. “Last desk on the left.”
“Thank you.” Meredith headed towards the back of the room and stopped in front of a desk.
“Detective Ramirez?” She looked at the man sitting at the desk staring intently at the computer screen.
He looked up and his eyes widened at the sight of the woman standing in front of him. Standing, he smiled at her. “Can I help you?”
“I’m Meredith Davenport. I understand you have two gentlemen here I’m supposed to pick up.” She shook the hand he held out.
“Right. They’re in one of the interrogation rooms. We didn’t want to put them in general population for fear something might happen.”
Nodding, she chuckled. “Can’t imagine why you’d think that.”
He indicated that she should precede him out the door. Crossing the threshold, he turned to his left and headed down the hall. Stopping in front of a door, he opened it and allowed her inside.
When she walked in, the two men jumped up.
“Meredith.” The word contained relief, anxiety, fear, and worry.
She stood there for a minute and just stared at the two young men. “You know, I would have expected this from Joey, maybe even Chris. But you two?”
Their heads hung low in shame. Justin finally looked up at her then looked at the detective. “We didn’t mean to start anything, honest. It all just sort of blew up and things happened before we could stop them.”
Lance looked at his friend before looking at Meredith. “I’m very sorry, Meredith. We wouldn’t have called you but we couldn’t think of anyone else we both trusted.”
Sighing, she shook her head and looked at Detective Ramirez. “Are they free to go?”
He nodded. “Yeah. We’ve taken all the statements, and they’ll have to pay damages, but the owner decided not to press charges. You can take them home.”
“Thank you, Detective.”
He opened the door, and the two young men wandered out into the hallway. Meredith followed them, with Ramirez bringing up the rear.
“Ms. Davenport?”
She turned to look at the detective. “Yes?”
“This is gonna be completely off the wall, but I was wondering if you might be available for dinner some time.” He tucked his hands into his khakis as he looked at the beautiful woman standing in front of him.
“Thank you for the invitation, but I’m with someone.” She smiled to lessen the rejection.
He nodded. “I figured you were, but I’d hate myself if I didn’t try.”
She chuckled. “Thank you though. And thank you for taking care of these two.”
“No problem.” He smiled back at her before looking at Justin and Lance. “You two stay out of trouble, you get me?”
They both nodded vigorously, anxious to escape the building. The three of them walked downstairs and out to the parking lot.
Climbing into the Land Cruiser, she sat there for a moment after she started the engine.
“Are you mad at us?” Justin peered over the back seat.
Sighing, Meredith shook her head. “No, not really. Sorry that it escalated to the point you got dragged down to the police station, but things like this happen. You guys just have to be more careful because of your position, that’s all.”
She headed out of the parking lot and down the street. “Where can I drop you off?”
Neither man spoke for a minute. Concerned, she spared them a quick glance. “Okay, what’s going on?”
“We sorta had a disagreement with the others.” Lance rubbed the armrest on the door, not looking at her.
“About?”
“They have been treating us like children for the past three weeks. Hello?! We are adults. We’ve been in this business for years, and now they’re pulling this shit?” Justin slapped his hands over his face.
Meredith pulled into a park entrance and parked the SUV. Turning off the engine, she turned in her seat to look at her two passengers. “I think I need more information than that.”
Lance looked over at her. “I don’t know what happened. A few weeks ago, Chris, JC, and Joey started this ‘we’re older than you so we know better’ crap. It’s been one thing after another, and it never ends. I mean, I’m the one who can tell you on any given day of our tour what’s going on and who’s doing what, yet because I’m the next to youngest, they’ve started treating me like a child. You’ve seen Joey and Chris. Can you honestly tell me they act more mature than me?”
She bit her lip then looked at Justin. “And they’re doing the same thing to you?”
“Oh, yeah, only it’s worse because I’m not actually *allowed* to drink in public, ya know? They’ve been laughing and teasing me a lot lately about being a kid and not legally allowed into clubs. Geez, Chris gave me my first beer when I was 15.”
Lance chuckled at the thought. “And you threw up after you chugged it and didn’t take another drink for three years.”
“That’s beside the point. I don’t know what happened, but I’m getting sick and tired of this treatment.” Justin folded his arms across his chest and leaned back in the seat.
“Which leads me back to my original question. Where do you want to go?”
“We were all kind of staying with JC until we went back on tour. I sold my house here, since I was planning on getting a house in Nashville, and Justin’s kind of floating since Lynn and Paul are in the process of moving.” Sighing again, he leaned against the headrest.
“I don’t want to go back there right now. I’m afraid of what might be said.” Lance looked back at Justin before looking at Meredith.
She nodded slowly and started the engine. Heading out of the parking lot, she simply turned the SUV towards home. She parked the Land Cruiser and got out of the car, stopping when she realized the others were still sitting in the vehicle.
Opening the passenger door, she looked at Lance. “You planning on sitting here the rest of the day? I’m sure the contingent of fans down the street would enjoy the speculation.”
He looked down the street and groaned as several girls started waving. Sighing, he climbed out of the vehicle and waved back. Justin climbed out, and there were more waves. He returned them, trudging after the other two. When they entered the house, Stasi came over to smell them before settling back down on the floor. The two Yorkies bounced around their feet until Meredith petted them. They headed back to Stasi and curled up around her.
She led them into the kitchen. “Hungry?”
“I could eat.” Justin leaned against the counter as Lance sank down into a chair at the table.
“Lance?”
He had dropped his head onto his arms, and she took his grunt as an affirmative. Sticking a couple of burgers into the microwave, she warmed them up and slid them onto buns. She dug out the bowls of side dishes and set them on the table, along with the condiments.
Justin grabbed the plates while she poured some tea for the three of them. She sat down with them as they prepared their sandwiches and added other things to their plates. The music from the patio drifted in to them, and Lance looked outside.
“I’m sorry we interrupted your party.” He picked at his food as he slowly ate.
“It’s cool. We were just hanging out and enjoying the beautiful weather.”
Irene walked into the kitchen, and if she was surprised, she didn’t show it. “Hi, guys.”
“Irene.” Lance gave her a wan smile, as Justin just waved his hand because he was chewing.
She smiled at them as she grabbed some more drinks out of the refrigerator to put in the cooler outside. When she finished settling the cans under the ice, she headed back towards the pool.
“She’s back, and she’s not alone.” She stopped by AJ’s chair on her way to her own.
“How did they look?”
“Subdued, not to mention a few bruises.”
“Hmm.” He nodded at her before he stood and made his way to the house.
“What’s going on?” Kevin moved to the side of the pool as Irene sat down on the edge.
“Justin and Lance are in the kitchen, looking a little worse for the wear.” She ran her fingers through his hair, separating the long strands and tucking them behind his ears.
“Guess we’ll find out later what’s going on.”
“Guess we will.” She smiled down at him before sliding into the pool.
***Backstreet Boys***
AJ walked into the kitchen and headed for the refrigerator. He grabbed a bottle of water and turned around to look at the table.
Lance and Justin both sat there, not looking anything like their usual happy selves. They each sported a couple of bruises, and their clothes were a little tattered around the edges.
“Hi, guys.” He sat down next to Meredith, leaning over to kiss her jaw.
“Hey, AJ.” Lance smiled before looking back down at his plate.
“Hey, man.” Justin nodded before staring out the window.
“You guys get enough to eat? Meredith made enough for an army.”
They nodded in response to his question.
“Yeah, thanks. We really appreciate it.” Lance played with his napkin before wadding it up and dropping it on his plate.
AJ looked at Meredith, who shrugged. “You guys coming outside to hang by the pool? It’s pretty sweet outside.”
Meredith stood up. “C’mon. Some sunshine might do you good.”
Under their urging, their guests followed them outside after taking their dishes to the sink. When they got outside, they were surprised to see three women they didn’t know.
“Lance. Justin.” Brian smiled at the two men as he continued rubbing lotion into Serenity’s back.
The young woman looked over at the two men before looking back at Brian. “Are they in a band, too?”
Despite their unhappiness, Lance and Justin couldn’t help laughing at her question. “We’re in the group ‘N Sync.”
She chewed on her lip for a minute. “Sorry. I’m sure I’ve heard your music on the radio, but I don’t own any of your records.”
Serenity held out her hand. “Serenity Bluefeather.”
“Lance Bass.”
“Justin Timberlake.”
After the round of handshakes, they turned to look at the other strangers. Lumien stepped forward.
“Lumien Washington.”
“Weren’t you at the office with Meredith the other day?” Lance shook her hand, as did Justin.
“Yeah. I’m Howie’s bodyguard.” She grinned as she nodded towards the man still playing in the pool.
“Really? You don’t look like a bodyguard.” Justin looked her over.
“Don’t let the package fool you. Not only do I run with the big dogs, I put ‘em back on the porch.” She chuckled as she continued heading towards a lounge chair.
The two men just stared after her before they were faced with Nick and Allyson.
“Hey, guys.” He looked at them, reaching out to shake their hands.
“Nick.” Lance smiled at the blond couple.
“This is Allyson Devereaux.”
She smiled and extended her hand to greet each of them.
“You’re not a bodyguard, are you?” Justin cocked an eyebrow as he looked at her.
She laughed. “No, I’m a math professor at UCF.”
“Math professor?” Lance looked back and forth between Allyson and Nick.
“Yeah. Nick ran into me one day on campus, and there you go.”
“I ran into her literally.” He chuckled as he draped an arm across her shoulder.
The two members of ‘N Sync just smiled as they sat down on lounge chairs and soaked up the sunshine. The conversations began again, and the two men just relaxed as the people moved around them.
***Backstreet Boys***
Justin slowly opened his eyes and looked into Meredith’s smiling face. “I realize it’s November, but you still need some sunscreen.”
He took the bottle and squeezed out some lotion, smoothing it over his face and arms. Lost in thought, he continued to rub even after the sun block had been absorbed.
“Justin?”
Shaking a bit, he looked up into her face. “Yeah?”
“Wanna talk about it?”
Sighing and chewing on his lip, he looked over at Lance. “Has Scoop had some?”
“Yeah, he has. You don’t have to, if you don’t want. I’m not gonna force you into anything.” She patted his arm and stood up.
“Merry?”
She looked down at him, arching an eyebrow.
“I’d like to talk about it.”
Taking his hand, she led him through the kitchen, where they stopped for some iced tea, and down to the office she and AJ shared. Pushing him down onto the sofa, she sat down next to him.
“I’m not really sure who started it. A few weeks ago, JC, Joe, and Chris went out to this club. Now, usually I can manage to get in to whatever club we’re going to, but this is where I live, and I figured it would probably not be a good thing to make a big deal, ya know?”
She nodded, silently urging him to go on with his story.
“Well, they met some people; people who are on the fringe of the music scene, probably trying to break into the business. A couple of them in the group are some real honeys, and I guess they turned the guys’ heads with the attention. Anyway, this group started hanging out at JC’s. Of course, Lance and I weren’t at the initial meeting, but there’s just something about them. I mean, we meet a *lot* of people who are only interested in us for what we have to offer. For the most part, we’re really good at spotting them. I don’t know how this group got by the censors, but they are bad news.”
He chewed on his thumb for a minute. “They started razzing on me because I’m still not legal and can’t really get into those places. They razzed on Lance because he chooses not to go. I mean, if his date wants to go, he will, but he doesn’t spend a lot of time there unless he goes to make sure everyone gets back okay.”
Meredith took a sip of her tea. “I don’t understand. You guys are so close, how did they get in there and separate y’all? That doesn’t sound like the guys I met in Virginia.”
“I’m not sure where those guys are anymore.” Justin leaned back against the sofa cushion. “Ever since we got home, things have been off. We’ve been working on the album, and a lot of the time, things were going great. We’re all contributing, and it’s been good. But when these people came on the scene…”
She patted his shoulder. They both looked up when they heard Lance.
“It’s like there are pods somewhere, and our real friends are trapped in them.” He joined them, settling into the overstuffed chair in the corner.
“You know, these kinds of people get a foothold by playing on insecurities. How would they do that with the guys?” She looked back and forth between the two men.
“Dunno.” Justin sipped more of his tea.
“Well,” Lance began then stopped.
“Go ahead, Lance. Maybe if you two talk it out, you can figure out a possible reason and how you’re going to talk to them.”
“Not that we aren’t important, but JC and Justin do get a lot of attention because of the vocals. If they played to Chris and Joe in that respect, they might be able to get in.”
Justin winced a bit. “Scoop’s right. As for JC, he just broke up with his girlfriend, and he’s feeling pretty down. A pretty face and a willing body would go a long way towards driving away the memories.”
“Sounds like you guys need to sit down somewhere neutral and talk about it. If you don’t resolve this, there could be some real problems.”
The young men nodded. Meredith looked at them. “Now, what happened to you two last night?”
Lance groaned and covered his face with his hands. “I got pissed and decided that they weren’t the only ones who could go out and party.”
“And you?” She swung her head to look at Justin.
“Couldn’t let him go alone. Besides, I wanted to prove something, too. We got into this bar, had a couple of beers, got a little loud, and managed to tick off some of the locals. We ended up out on the sidewalk, and I don’t know who threw the trashcan through the window of the bar.”
Meredith winced. “Not good.”
Lance sighed. “No, it wasn’t. We did manage to hold our own until the cops got there, though. They found out who we were and put us in that interrogation room to keep us out of sight. They finished processing us around 9:30 this morning. We tried calling the guys, but couldn’t get an answer. Justin’s mom is out of town, so she’s out. No way were we calling our managers. We figured we’d hang out until the 12-hour holding period was over, pay our fine, and get the hell out of there. Curly remembered your phone number. It was getting a little unnerving with those two-way mirrors.”
“I’d just like things to go back the way they were, ya know? Is that too much to ask?” Justin looked at his friends.
“Things are constantly changing, Justin. You can’t stop them, you can only adapt. You guys work this out, and you’ll be that much stronger.”
“And if we don’t?” Lance looked at her.
She shrugged and grimaced.
“That’s what I was afraid of.” He sat back in the chair.
Meredith stood up and grabbed her glass. “You’re welcome to stay here as long as you like. We can go over and get some things if you need them.”
“We’re gonna have to think about it for a little while.” Lance looked at Justin, who nodded in agreement. “Thanks, Merry.”
“You’re welcome. I’ll be downstairs if you need me.”
She walked out and closed the door, giving them a chance to talk in peace. Walking into the kitchen, she found AJ digging around in the refrigerator for a snack. She moved up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist.
“Things okay with those two?” He patted her hands before scooping out some potato salad.
“Don’t know. I told them they could stay here for a while if they need to. I’m afraid if they get together with the others right now, things will be said that can’t be taken back.”
“Ouch.” He winced as he closed the lid on the Tupperware bowl.
Releasing him, she stepped back to allow him to return the bowl to the refrigerator. Grabbing her hand and his plate, he walked out to the patio and pulled her down to sit next to him while he ate. Nick wandered over and sat down on the chair next to them.
“All’s well with the competition?”
He kept his eyes on Allyson as she played a game of Marco Polo with Howie, Brian, Irene, Kevin, and Serenity. Lumien was lying on a chair, enjoying the sunshine.
“I don’t know, to be honest. Guess we’ll know when they know.”
Turning to catch her eye, he studied her face for a moment and realized she was wearing her “commander’s” face. “Guess so.”
***Backstreet Boys***
Lance and Justin sat there in silence for twenty minutes.
“So, you wanna go back to JC’s or stay here?” Justin turned to look at his friend.
“I don’t know if I’m ready to talk to them yet. I’m afraid I’ll say something that I’ll regret, and that will hurt us so bad we won’t be able to recover.” The blond rubbed his temples as he tried to figure out what to do.
“Me, too. Maybe we should just go get some clothes and hang out here for the night.”
“I’m not sure I even wanna go back to get clothes.”
“Scoop, we need clean underwear, and I’d really like to get out of this.” Justin looked down at his clothes, suddenly realizing how long he had been wearing them.
“Why don’t we just go to Wal*Mart? There’s one not far, we buy some clean underwear, couple pairs of shorts, some t-shirts, and we’re good to go.” Lance warmed up to the idea, rattling off things they would need.
“You want *us* to go to Wal*Mart? Are you insane?” Justin looked at his friend, wondering if he had lost his mind, too.
“Okay, okay, we’ll ask Meredith to do it.”
“I’m not sure I want Meredith buying my underwear.”
“Justin, it’s either that or go back to the house.” Lance gave the other man a pointed look.
Throwing up his hands in surrender, Justin let out a huge sigh. “Fine, we’ll ask Meredith.”
Leaving the office and heading downstairs, they looked around until they found her out by the pool. Sitting down on a chair next to her, they gave her pitiful looks.
“Oh, no, what do you two have planned?”
“We have a favor…”
“A big favor...” Justin grinned.
“...to ask.” Lance nudged the young man and turned back to Meredith, smiling widely.
“I’m listening.” She arched an eyebrow as she waited for the favor.
“If we give you clothing sizes and stuff, can you go to Wal*Mart and get us a couple of things? We don’t want to go back to the house until we have to, even for clothes.” Lance pushed out the request with one breath then held another as he waited for an answer.
She looked at their hopeful faces then looked at AJ. Even though she couldn’t see his eyes, she could tell they were twinkling with laughter.
“Sure. I can do that.”
Heaving sighs of relief, they started spouting off sizes.
“Hang on, hang on. Let me get a sheet of paper.” She got up and went in to grab the notepad by the phone.
Nick walked up to the three men, having heard the conversation. “Make sure you guys specify what kind of underwear you want or you’ll end up with briefs.”
Justin looked up at the other man. “You’re kidding.”
“No, man. I showed up at her house unexpectedly and didn’t bring a change of clothes. She went out the next morning to get me some, and she brought back white briefs. I hadn’t worn those in years. Let me tell you, they aren’t as comfortable as they used to be.”
He jumped when Meredith smacked his ass. “Munchkin, go play.”
“Yes, Mom.” He hung his head and walked back to the pool.
When Lance and Justin caught a glimpse of his face, they saw the smile and couldn’t help smiling themselves.
“Okay, now give me your sizes again.”
***Backstreet Boys***
Meredith wandered through the store, grabbing shirts and shorts, throwing in a couple of swimsuits for good measure. Laughing as she reread the specific instructions on what kind of underwear to buy, she picked up the packages and headed for checkout.
Pulling back into the driveway, she got out of the Porsche and headed into the house. Petting the dogs for a minute, she headed for the laundry room to toss their clothes into the washing machine. Poking through the laundry basket, she found a couple of pairs of drawstring shorts that she figured would work. Grabbing them, some t-shirts, and the underwear packages, she walked back into the kitchen and dropped the items on the kitchen table.
Everyone had gone back outside to enjoy the rest of the sunshine. AJ and Kevin were back at the grill, cooking some steaks for dinner. She walked over and kissed AJ, leaning in to smell the steaks.
“Smells great, mine.”
“Thank you, love.” He kissed her again before she headed over to their newest guests.
“Clean underwear on the table. I’m washing the other things, but I found a couple of pairs of drawstring shorts that should work for you, as well as a couple of t-shirts. Towels are in the bathroom closets, take your pick of which one you’d like to use.”
They practically raced each other to kitchen, thanking Meredith with a hug and a kiss on their way. She chuckled as she watched them then took one of the chairs they had abandoned.
“You know, I could earn some serious money telling the National Enquirer that I’ve bought underwear for members of the Backstreet Boys *and* ‘N Sync.” She looked over at Irene, who was reading on another lounge.
“I think you’d get more money if you told them you’d seen one of them naked.” She didn’t even look up from her book.
“So could you.” The older woman chuckled.
AJ, Nick, and Kevin just looked at the two women and shook their heads.
***Backstreet Boys***
Before he got into the shower, Lance dialed JC’s house.
[Hello?] A husky female voice answered the phone.
“Is JC there?”
[Who’s calling?]
“This is Lance.”
[He’s busy right now.]
“Get him unbusy then.”
[I’ll tell him you called.]
The dial tone buzzed in his ear, and he just stared at his cell phone. Clicking it off, he tossed it on the bed. He headed for the bathroom and took a long, hot shower, taking time to really enjoy the pulsating heat on his shoulders.
***Backstreet Boys***
Two freshly showered young men appeared thirty minutes later and sat down with the group to eat dinner. Any discomfort was washed away in a matter of minutes as they were quickly pulled into conversation.
“Talked to mom and dad today, Reeny.” Meredith took a bite of her baked potato as she looked at her sister.
Irene flushed. Kevin looked at her. “What’s going on?”
“They were sorry they didn’t get a chance to meet you when you were there a few weeks ago.” Meredith just looked at her sister, smiling and blinking her eyes.
He looked at his girlfriend. “Why didn’t you say something?”
Irene shrugged. “They were leaving when you were coming in. It would have been a hit and miss, and I didn’t want them to meet you in airport with dozens of screaming fans surrounding you.”
He nodded. “Yeah, that wouldn’t have given us much time to talk.”
“Never fear. They’re going to be in D.C. around the time of your concert. I’ll make sure they get tickets.” Meredith continued to eat, ignoring the looks Irene, Kevin, and AJ gave her.
The rest of the group smirked, but kept their comments to themselves.
“Album coming along?” Brian looked over at Justin, who was watching everyone with wide eyes.
“Uh, yeah. Thanks. We’re doing what you guys did, getting more involved in the actual writing.” He focused on his plate as mention of the album brought his problems to the forefront of his mind.
Brian sensed his discomfort and turned his attention back to the general conversation.
The group continued to ask questions of Serenity and Allyson since they were the new people in the group. In return, the two young women were treated to stories of things that happened on the road during the promotional tour and some of the things that happened during the Navy training. Lance and Justin talked about the bet and watching Meredith perform Bye, Bye, Bye. Everyone laughed as Justin described paying off the bet by doing the chores at Meredith’s house that weekend.
Dessert was a mixture of cake, cookies, and ice cream, with everyone fending for themselves in the kitchen. People wandered around as everyone spread out through the house. Lance and Justin turned in early after getting their clean clothes from the laundry room. They thanked Meredith and AJ for their hospitality and said goodnight to the people who had welcomed them in with no questions.
Table of Contents
Chapter Twenty-Eight