Sitting on the bench, she gently laid her hands on the keys and began to play. The music drifted through the house, catching the attention of the men playing pool.
“What is that?” Howie looked up from the pool table.
“Tchaikovsky.” Kevin leaned on his pool cue. “I didn’t know Bone owned anything like that.”
“I don’t.” The young man looked at his friends.
Brian smiled as he looked up from the sofa where he was watching the game. “It’s Serenity.”
Three pairs of eyes looked at him in surprise. He shrugged and got off the sofa, following the music to his girlfriend. He leaned against the piano, watching her face as she played—eyes closed, mouth slightly open as the emotions poured out of her.
When she finished, she slowly opened her eyes and saw him standing there watching. At the invitation in her eyes, he moved around the instrument and joined her on the bench. Leaning close, he kissed her gently on the lips, enjoying the tingles of pleasure that raced through his body every time he touched her.
“That was beautiful. I love listening to you play.” He stroked his fingers down the side of her face.
Serenity leaned into the caress, smiling. “Thank you.” Leaning towards him, she whispered in his ear. “I’d much rather be playing you, though.”
He shivered at her words, pulling back to look into her eyes. “I’m suddenly feeling very tired. You?”
She yawned, dropping her head onto his shoulder. “It’s been a *very* long day.”
Rising, Brian took Serenity’s hand and pulled her off the bench. They walked into the game room, catching the attention of the men in there.
“You play beautifully.” Kevin smiled at her.
“Thank you. I understand the same of you.” She smiled at him.
“I don’t know if I’d say that, but I do enjoy it.”
“I’d love to hear you play some time.” She looked at him with interest.
“Any time.”
The couple turned towards AJ. “We’re getting ready to leave. Serenity’s been cooped up in front of a computer for the past three weeks.”
The young man looked at the two of them, understanding filling his eyes. “No prob. I’m glad you guys could make it.”
The three men gave Brian and Serenity hugs before the two of them left to find the others.
“Think they’ll make it to Bri’s?”
“Maybe.”
***Backstreet Boys****Backstreet Boys****Backstreet Boys****Backstreet Boys***
Nick and Allyson were curled up on the sofa watching Aliens. She was glued to the screen as Ripley found the mother alien on the ship, her fingers clenching as she cheered the woman on. He was watching the young woman beside him, enjoying the intense concentration she displayed.
Brian cleared his throat, catching their attention, and Nick paused the movie. “Hey, Frick.”
“Frack, we’re about to head out. We still on for b-ball tomorrow?”
“Yeah, man. Around ten at your house.” Nick stood up and moved towards this friend.
Nick held out his hand to the young woman in front of him. “It was a pleasure to meet you, Serenity.”
“Same here, Nick.”
Allyson slipped up beside them and smiled at the couple in front of her. “Brian, good to see you again. Serenity, it was a pleasure.”
Serenity smiled at the blond couple. “The pleasure was mine.”
A hug between the two men ended the conversation. Brian and Serenity went in search of Meredith, Irene, and Lumien, while Nick and Allyson returned to their movie.
***Backstreet Boys****Backstreet Boys****Backstreet Boys****Backstreet Boys***
There was a lot of laughter echoing through the office. Brian knocked on the partially closed door.
“Come.”
He pushed it open to find the three women perched in front of a computer. “I’m almost afraid to ask what’s going on in here.”
“Just catching up on the latest news. Are you aware that you are the father of Madonna’s son?” Irene looked at the man standing in the doorway.
“I wondered how I ended up in her hotel suite.” He chuckled. “We’re getting ready to head out.”
Meredith stood and slipped between the other two women. She wrapped her arms around Brian, giving him a big hug. “I’m glad you came. Be careful going home.”
She smiled at Serenity, pulling the woman into a hug. “It was so nice to meet you, Serenity.”
Serenity returned the embrace, knowing how sincere the other woman was. “I had a great time. Thank you for inviting me.”
The other women waved as the couple left, their attention quickly returning to the ludicrous rumors floating around the Internet.
Brian and Serenity climbed into his BMW, and she watched him as he backed out of the driveway and headed for his house. “Frick?”
He smiled as he gave her a quick look. “When we started, Nick and I clicked immediately and hung out together all the time. The rest of the guys started calling us Frick and Frack.”
Serenity smiled, laying her hand on his thigh and leaning back in the seat.
“Did you have a good time?” His voice was hopeful.
“I had a very good time.” She could hear the sigh of relief and gently squeezed his thigh in response.
***Backstreet Boys****Backstreet Boys****Backstreet Boys****Backstreet Boys***
The next morning, Lance wandered into the kitchen to find AJ sitting at the kitchen table reading the newspaper and drinking some coffee.
“Cups in the cabinet above the coffee pot.”
“Thanks.” He grabbed a cup and poured himself some coffee, sitting down at the table.
Meredith walked into the kitchen, drinking a bottle of water as she wiped her face with a towel. Leaning over, she kissed AJ on the top of his head and then smiled at Lance.
“How was your run?”
“Good.” She poured some orange juice and sat down at the table, grabbing the comics. “How did you sleep, Lance?”
“Okay. I was expecting a phone call, but I guess JC didn’t get the message.” The blond rubbed the rim of his cup with his finger.
The other two just looked at him with questioning glances. He sighed before he began to explain.
“I called the house to tell them where we were, and one of the Bobbsey Twins answered the phone. When I asked to speak to JC, she told me he was busy. I told her to get him anyway, and she said she’d have him call and then hung up.”
“Bobbsey Twins?” AJ just looked at the man sitting across from him.
“You didn’t tell him?” Lance turned to Meredith.
“Not my story to tell.” She grinned and got up. After rinsing her glass and putting in the sink, she headed for the door. “I’m going to get a shower. Y’all think about breakfast while I’m gone.”
When she left, AJ looked at Lance, smiled, then returned to his paper. Lance continued drinking his coffee for a few minutes before he spoke.
“They’ve weirded out on me.”
He lowered the paper to look over at the other man. “How so?”
“Went out and hooked up with a very questionable group. They started giving us crap about a lot of stuff—me not going out to clubs and Justin not being able to get in legally. Being uninterested in getting drunk and getting laid all the time. One of them…” Lance closed his eyes and didn’t finish the sentence.
Folding up the paper and laying it neatly on the corner of the table, AJ folded his hands and just looked at the young man next to him.
“One of the girls that hangs with them came onto me, pretty strongly. When I turned her down, she started asking if I’d be more interested in one of the guys. She made a lot of jokes when everyone was together. The others laughed.”
“I’m sorry, man. I really am.” Unable to think of anything to make it easier, AJ kept his comments to a minimum and just sat there and tried to offer comfort through silence.
When Meredith walked back into the kitchen, she noticed the heavy atmosphere and looked at AJ, who just shook his head. Walking over to a cabinet, she pulled out her cast-iron griddle and put it on the stove, turning the oven on to pre-heat. Putting a dab of Crisco on the surface, she stuck the griddle in the oven to let it get hot and melt the shortening. Pulling out the ingredients for biscuits, she quickly made up the dough. When the Crisco bubbled, she pulled out the griddle and poured the oil into the bowl and mixed it into the dough. Rolling it out on the floured countertop, she took a juice glass and floured the rim. Moving with practiced ease, she began to cut out the biscuits and laid them on the greased surface of the griddle. She continued folding and cutting until all of the dough was used. Brushing butter on top of the biscuits, she slid the griddle back into the oven.
Meredith moved to the refrigerator and removed the eggs, milk, and bacon. Putting the bacon into a pan to fry, she whipped up the eggs and poured them into another pan to scramble. The two men just watched her move around the kitchen.
Justin walked in a few minutes later and sat down at the table to watch. It didn’t take long before breakfast was ready. AJ got up and poured drinks for everyone, bringing condiments to the table as Meredith put the eggs and bacon on a platter. Lanced grabbed the plates and silverware while Justin picked up the platter of food. She pulled the biscuits out of the oven and placed them in a breadbasket then brought them over to the table.
Sitting down, she bowed her head for a quick prayer, not surprised when the others followed her lead. Everyone grabbed some food, and Justin and Lance both gave their approval of the homemade biscuits, enjoying a little Southern cooking.
“Thank you. My grandma taught me how to make them. You should taste my blackberry cobbler.” She chuckled as she buttered a biscuit.
The meal was eaten in relative silence, and Meredith gave both of their guests discreet glances. When they finished breakfast, Lance insisted on cleaning up and headed for the kitchen sink to rinse the dishes. He loaded the dishwasher slowly, taking a long time to place the few dishes. Justin gave his friend worried glances.
“Got any plans for today, Justin?” AJ’s question caught the young man’s attention, and he swung around.
“Uh, not really. I guess we need to figure out what we’re going to do. I’m kinda surprised they haven’t called out the National Guard since the others haven’t heard from us.”
“I called last night.” Lance’s voice was quiet.
Justin looked over in surprise. “What did they say?”
“Don’t know. Whichever chick answered the phone wouldn’t get JC and said she’d tell him to call me. Haven’t heard back.” The blond let the dishwasher door slam a little.
AJ took that as his cue to leave. He leaned over and kissed Meredith, leaving her with the two young men to help them figure out what to do.
“Can I do anything?” She looked back and forth between them.
“We have to talk to them at some point in time. I’m still afraid it’s going to get ugly.” Justin dropped his head onto his folded hands and sighed.
“Might I suggest you write everything down, lay it out. That way, you can follow the list and not get so distracted. It might help you feel more in control.” She gave them each a soft smile.
They nodded in agreement, and Meredith got up to get them some paper and pens. Lance and Justin wrote down everything that was bothering them, taking time to carefully write out the words that described their feelings. They exchanged lists, and Justin read over his friend’s. When he got to the last item, he looked up sharply.
“Scoop?”
Lance looked up from reading Justin’s list. “Yeah?”
“Why didn’t you say anything?” The younger man pointed out the last item, and the blond pinkened a little.
“You know how fans are always speculating and stuff? Well, that really doesn’t bother me because they don’t know me. I mean, we’ve all seen the stories and seen the discussion lists and laughed. But when JC, Joe, and Chris laughed at what she said, it wasn’t like we were all laughing at it. They were laughing *at* me. That’s what hurt.”
Justin nodded. “I’m so sorry.”
“Me, too.”
They took their lists back and went upstairs to shower and change into clean clothes. When they returned to the living room, Meredith was stretched out on the floor on her stomach in front of the television with the dogs laying around her.
“Can I ask you for another favor, Merry?” Justin sat down and petted JD when the little dog trotted over to him.
“Sure.” She rolled over and looked at him.
“Will you go with us when we meet the guys?”
She grimaced. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea. This is between the five of you, and I don’t know if they’ll feel comfortable talking with an outsider there.”
“Or they could actually sit there and listen instead of blowing us off.” Lance pointed out the other side.
“Where are you meeting them?”
“My office, I think. Even if you don’t actually come inside, if they know you’re outside waiting, I think it would be okay.” Justin’s voice took on a pleading tone.
Looking at them, she nodded her head. “Okay, I’ll come along, but I’m not getting involved unless there’s a threat of imminent bloodshed.”
They nodded, relieved smiles on their faces. Lance picked up his cell phone and dialed the house again. A groggy voice answered, and it took the young man a minute to figure out who was on the other end.
“Joe?”
[Yeah. Who is this?]
Two days and he forgets the sound of my voice? “It’s Lance. Justin and I need you guys to meet us at Freelance at 2:00.”
[Do we have to?] The older man whined, interrupted by a yawn.
“Yes, Joe, you have to. You understand me? Be there at two.” His voice grew more authoritative.
[Yeah, I gotcha. Two at Freelance.]
Lance disconnected the call in the middle of Joey’s “goodbye”. Meredith looked over at the clock, saw that it was only noon, and rolled back over to continue watching the movie. Justin looked up to find The Adventures of Milo and Otis on the big-screen TV, and it almost looked like the dogs were as involved in the movie as Meredith.
The movie finished around 1:15, and the three people got ready to leave. Meredith walked into the office and leaned against the desk while AJ worked on the computer.
“What’s going on?” He looked up at her and frowned when he saw her frown.
“I’m going as moral support. If you hear loud explosions in the vicinity of Lance’s management office, bring backup.”
Standing, he wrapped his arms around her and held her close. “You don’t have to save the world all the time, you know.”
She nodded as she rested her head in the crook of his neck. “I know. But this is just support, so I’ll sit outside and try not to listen to the yelling.”
Leaning back, she reached up and pulled him close for a kiss. They spent a few minutes indulging in the taste of each other before a knock on the door interrupted them. Lance poked his head inside and smiled apologetically.
“We need to get going.”
AJ gave Meredith another kiss and stepped back to allow her to move. She stood and brushed her fingers across his cheek then followed Lance out of the room. When he had reseated himself, he spun slowly in his chair as he thought about the whole situation.
Glad that they didn’t have that particular problem to deal with, he went back to reviewing the song lyrics he had written.
***Backstreet Boys****Backstreet Boys****Backstreet Boys****Backstreet Boys***
The three of them arrived a few minutes early and gathered in the conference room. Lance made a pot of coffee, while Justin paced the length of the room. They had placed their lists in manila folders, which were laying in front of two chairs seated side by side on the other side of the table.
Joey, JC, and Chris strolled in, accompanied by three women wearing more makeup than clothing and two guys who looked as if they were in a daze. Meredith raised an eyebrow as she looked at Lance and Justin, who just shrugged.
“Hey, Meredith.” JC swerved over to hug her, much to the dismay of the nymphet with him.
“Hi, JC. How are you?”
“Good, good. What are you doing here?”
She looked at Lance, who interrupted the conversation. “She gave us a ride over. If everyone not in the group could leave, we can get this meeting underway.”
Meredith stood up and headed for the door. The girls pouted, rubbing up against their dates. The two guys just slumped in chairs.
Joey gave the girl with him a quick kiss. “Aw, c’mon, Scoop. I’m sure whatever you have to say can be said in front of everyone. Lisa’s cool.”
Lisa smiled over at Lance, a smirk of victory plastered across her face.
“Yeah, Scoop. I think they can stay.” Chris seated the young woman with him in a chair next to him. “Meredith, this is Tiffany. That’s Lisa, Corinne, Doug, and Max.”
Meredith nodded at the new faces, her commander’s mask firmly in place. Lance and Justin pleaded for her to stay with worried glances, and she nodded. Taking a seat behind Lance and Justin, she looked across the table at the three other members of ‘N Sync and their entourage.
This is gonna get real bad.
“Here are the rules. We will present our lists, and you will listen. When we are finished, you can speak, but not until we’re finished, and not if you’re going to yell. Justin, would you like to go first?” Lance folded his hands in front of him as he turned to look at his friend.
The youngest band member nodded and opened his folder. Looking down, he composed himself as he read over the list one more time. When he raised his head, his voice was calm as he methodically listed his concerns.
JC was trying to pay attention, but Corinne kept trying to distract him by touching him. Chris and Joey listened, too. When he finished, the three of them kind of chuckled and tried to dismiss his concerns by saying they knew what they were doing and could take care of themselves. They looked at Lance, realizing he also had a list.
Opening his folder, Lance closed his eyes for a moment then began to go over his concerns. They were very similar to Justin’s, with the exception of the last item. Before he read that one, he took another deep breath and launched into how he felt when the others had laughed at him.
“Come on, Lance. We laugh at that stuff all the time.” Chris rolled his eyes.
“Not like this. You *hurt* me with your comments and your jokes. You didn’t defend me to them.” He gestured at the other people in the room. “You egged them on, adding your own comments, too. That was just cruel.”
Lisa raked her eyes over the young man sitting across from her. “Aw, what’s the matter? Can’t Lancey poo take a joke?”
“This isn’t any of your business. Please stay out of it.” He lasered her with a glance, and she narrowed her eyes.
Leaning over towards Joey, she looked up at him with a trembling mouth. Joey wrapped his arm around her, looking over at his band mate.
“I think you owe her an apology.”
Lance raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me? I don’t owe her anything. In fact, I think she owes me an apology.”
Corinne tugged on JC’s arm. “Can we go soon, baby? This isn’t very much fun, and you said we’d go shopping.”
He patted her hand absentmindedly. “Look, let’s just remain calm, okay?”
Joey and Lance were staring each other down as Lisa continued to add fuel to the fire by giving Joey pitiful looks.
“JC’s right. We need to keep calm if we’re going to work this out.” Justin laid his hand on Lance’s arm, trying to coax the blond back into a chair.
“Maybe we all just need a break.” Chris spoke up from his chair.
His four band mates turned to look at him. “We’ve been touring and writing for a long time. Let’s just take some time and get away from each other. I’d like to escape for a little while.”
Tiffany smiled as she laid her arm across the back of Chris’ chair.
“Fine. We’ll take a break, and then we can get together, just the five of us, and discuss this.” Lance sat down heavily in the chair, folding his arms across his chest.
Lisa whispered in Joey’s ear, stroking his thigh as she did it. He nodded briefly. “You know, Lance. I think you’re letting all of this go to your head. Just because you know everything while we’re on tour doesn’t mean you’ve got the right to run our lives off the bus.”
From her vantage point, Meredith could see the red creeping up Lance’s neck. Even she could see the explosion that was about to happen, and she moved to intercept. Standing, she laid her hand on his shoulder, and he took a deep, shuddering breath.
“Perhaps it’s time for this meeting to end.” She smiled at JC, Joey, and Lance, her gaze passing over the others with disinterest.
Lisa looked at the woman, sizing her up. Tiffany, Corinne, Doug, and Max followed her lead and looked to her for what they should do.
“So, Lance, older women are your thing? Can’t handle a sweet young thing, so you’ve moved to a slower speed?” She tapped a manicured nail against her lips as she sneered.
Lance bristled under Meredith’s hand, as did Justin. Even JC, Joey, and Chris were surprised and more than a little worried.
As her eyes paled with fury, a cold smile crossed her lips. She placed both hands on the table and leaned toward the young woman.
“Don’t push me.” Meredith practically whispered the words.
The members of ‘N Sync recognized the calm demeanor from their experience in Sierra Ramon. Unfortunately for Lisa, she greatly underestimated the other woman.
“Or what?” She leaned back in her chair, smiling, as her hand rested on Joey’s arm. When she felt him shift away from her a bit, she looked over to see fear and worry in his eyes. Lisa’s eyes drifted over JC and Chris, seeing the same reaction in them. When she turned back to Meredith, her eyes widened just a bit.
Meredith chuckled softly. “Little girl, I will bury you so deep no one will *ever* be able to find you.”
Justin and Lance both reached out to hold onto Meredith in case she decided to go across the table. JC, Joey, and Chris stood and gathered their group together to leave the room. When only the three of them were left, Lance collapsed back into his chair and covered his face with his hands.
Lisa protested all the way out to the car. “God, Joe. What is wrong with you? What could she possibly do?”
Stopping abruptly, Joey swung her around. “You don’t want to mess with Meredith. She’s dangerous when you cross her.”
“Oh, yeah. Dangerous, uh huh. What’s she gonna do, shoot me or something?” Lisa started to laugh, but her chuckles faded away when she looked at the three men standing in front of her.
“She was with us down in South America, and I saw her kill a man for trying to shoot someone on her team. I’ve heard other stories, too. Don’t cross her, don’t mess with her, don’t go near her.” Chris just looked at Lisa.
“Fine. I’ll stay away. Geez, can we get on with our plans and do some shopping?” She grabbed Joey’s arm again and practically dragged him to the car.
Chris, Tiffany, Doug, and Max followed close behind. JC turned and looked at the building, staring at it for a few moments before Corinne finally pulled him away.
Inside the building, Justin rested his arms on the table and laid his head down on them. Lance stared out the window, and Meredith watched both of them.
“Now what?” She sat down on the conference table and leaned back on her hands.
“We should probably go over and get our stuff. I’m afraid we might not have anything if wait until after they get back from their shopping trip.” Lance continued to stare out the window, chewing on his lip after he spoke.
“Let’s go then.”
She was grateful she had brought the Land Cruiser when she saw the amount of stuff they had to pack. The two men tossed things into suitcases, not bothering to fold or sort. They grabbed personal items and packed them in duffel bags, loading every thing into the SUV. Lance stopped on his way back out after doing a final sweep, his eyes caught by a group photo from happier times. Picking it up, he stroked the glass once and then set it back on the shelf. Locking the door and resetting the code, he climbed into the passenger seat. Closing his eyes, he didn’t open them until they arrived back at AJ and Meredith’s place.
***Backstreet Boys****Backstreet Boys****Backstreet Boys****Backstreet Boys***
Justin and Lance slowly climbed out of the vehicle and followed Meredith into the house.
“You can stay as long as you need to, you know that, right?” She stopped them in the foyer.
They nodded, still silent. Pulling them both in for a hug, she just held them. After a minute or so, Justin’s arms wrapped around her waist. Lance’s arms wrapped around both of them. They stayed in the embrace for a few more minutes until the guys pulled away.
“We need to find someplace to stay.” Lance rubbed his head, sending his hair into disarray.
“Howie can help with that. He found Lu a nice apartment, and Nick, too. I’ll give him a call if you’d like.” She smiled at them.
“Thanks, Merry.” Justin sighed.
“You two look like you could use a nap. Why don’t you go lie down? Dinner won’t be for a few more hours.”
They both nodded and trudged up the stairs towards the guest rooms. Meredith wandered through the house and found AJ outside by the pool with the dogs. He was reading a book, soaking up the winter sunshine while the dogs laid on the cool stone.
Dropping down beside him on the double chaise, she sighed and draped her arm across his waist.
“I didn’t hear any explosions.” He put his book down and rubbed her arm.
“No, no real explosions. There’s this one girl, Lisa. I think she’s the ringleader. The others didn’t look too together and pretty much followed her lead. She was with Joey and really lit into Lance. I thought he was going crawl over the table and go after her.”
“So what’s the verdict?”
“I’m going to call Howie and ask him to find them someplace to live for a while.”
“Oh, shit.”
“Yeah. The other details you probably need to get from them, if they want to share. Suffice it to say, it wasn’t pretty. I think JC’s just kind of drifting. Joey’s in pretty deep, Chris not quite as bad.”
“Hmm. So we should plan on two extra for dinner?” AJ kissed her forehead, listening to her sigh in contentment.
“Anyone else coming?” She nestled closer, enjoying the feel of him pressed against her.
“Irene and Kevin will be here. Kevin said he was bringing dessert. Apparently, Irene’s been teaching him all of these fancy new dishes, and we get to be the guinea pigs.” He chuckled at the thought.
Meredith joined in the laughter. “Can’t be too bad. She won’t let him poison us.”
They settled into comfortable silence, enjoying the quiet couple time.
“Mine?”
“Yeah?”
“If anything like this happens to you guys, I’m gonna lock you in a room and kick your asses until you get your heads screwed on straight again.”
“Thank you, love.”
***Backstreet Boys****Backstreet Boys****Backstreet Boys****Backstreet Boys***
After an hour of lying in the afternoon sun, Meredith and AJ finally got up and started dinner. They worked together, peeling and dicing vegetables for a beef stew. She pulled the roll dough out of the freezer and let it rise so that the rolls could be baked right before dinner.
Grabbing the phone when she finished, she quickly dialed a number.
[Hello?]
“Hey, D.”
[Hi, Merry. What’s up?]
“I need a really huge favor.”
[Name it.]
“You don’t even know what it is. You’re awfully accommodating.” She chuckled as she poured a glass of tea.
[You never ask for a favor unless it’s for a really good reason. Now, what is it?]
“Justin and Lance need some place to stay for a while. Do you have anything open right now?”
[That doesn’t sound good.]
“No, it isn’t, but it’s their story. I just told them I’d give you a call to see if you could help them out. Think you can work a little magic again?”
[Let me call the office in the morning. I’m sure Sheila has some listings. Are they going to want to stay together or separate?]
“I don’t know. My gut tells me they’ll stick together, though.”
[I’ll have her do a list for both and come by tomorrow. Need anything else?]
“Nope, that’s it. You’re a sweetheart, D.”
[That’s what they tell me.] He chuckled in her ear. [Bye, Merry.]
“Bye, D.”
With one thing marked off her mental checklist, Meredith sat down at the kitchen table and pulled out the crossword puzzle. She was still working on it when Justin walked into the kitchen, rubbing his hands across his face. He dropped into a chair and yawned, looking over at her.
“Hey.”
“Hi. How’d you sleep?” She looked at him, setting the puzzle aside for the moment.
“Pretty good, when I actually went to sleep.” He looked around the kitchen, catching a whiff of the stew that was simmering in the crockpot. “Can I help with anything?”
“Maybe when it’s closer to being ready. For now, it’s just a matter of waiting.”
She got up to stir their dinner, and the front door opened and closed.
“Where’s everyone?” Irene called out, and the dogs came running to greet the new people.
She took over petting duty while Kevin carried his culinary masterpiece into the kitchen. He set it carefully on the counter and lifted the cake cover.
“Voila!”
Meredith and Justin ooh’d and ahh’d as they stared at the chocolate confection in front of them. Kevin smiled proudly, showing it to AJ and Lance when they walked into the kitchen.
“Isn’t it pretty?” Irene slid up behind Kevin, wrapping her arms around him.
“It’s simply magnificent.” Meredith grinned as he carefully replaced the cover.
Dinner was a rather humorous affair, with Irene and AJ providing comic relief. Lance and Justin laughed loud and long. Many compliments were bestowed on all of the chefs for their dinner and dessert creations.
After dinner, everyone moved to the living room and sat around and talked for a couple of hours. Lance was the first to give in, calling out goodnights as he headed for bed. Kevin and Irene made their way to the door after hugs with AJ and Meredith and handshakes for Justin.
When it was just the three of them, they relaxed in the living room with the stereo playing softly. Meredith was stretched out on the couch, bolstered by pillows, while AJ was lying between her thighs, his back resting against her chest. Justin watched them, noticing how well they fit together—physically as well as emotionally.
They were a great balance for each other, and he suddenly, desperately, wished for that himself. Britney was away on a promotional tour, and he really felt the need to connect with her. Getting up, he smiled at the couple on the couch.
“I’m going up to bed. I’ll catch y’all in the morning.”
“Night, Justin. Sweet dreams.” Meredith smiled at him.
AJ smiled, too. “Goodnight.”
Within a few minutes, the house was silent. AJ rolled over and laid his hands on Meredith’s chest, resting his chin on them.
“Alone at last.” He bobbed his eyebrows a few times, making her laugh.
She ran her fingers through his curls, enjoying the feel of them against her fingers. “So I see. What are your intentions, Mr. McLean?”
Getting up, he held out his hand to her. “My intentions are to take you up to our bed, love you long and slow, and tell you how much I love you until you fall asleep in my arms.”
Smiling, she placed her hand in his. “I think I’d like that.”
He locked up the front door and turned on the security system. Taking her hand again, he turned off lights as they made their way upstairs to their room.
***Backstreet Boys****Backstreet Boys****Backstreet Boys****Backstreet Boys***
Justin dialed Britney’s cell phone, grimacing as he got her voice mail again. Tossing the phone onto the nightstand, he rolled over and wrapped his arms around a pillow. Closing his eyes, he willed himself to relax and release the stress from the day. Unable to completely forget his hurt when it came to the others, he sighed and waited for sleep. It was a long time coming.
Table of Contents
Chapter Twenty-Nine