Lance stared at the stack of Pink Floyd CDs Justin had given him for his birthday. He finally looked at his friend, arching an eyebrow.
“Hey, man, I’m just trying to broaden your horizons. Get you away from all that country crap.”
“I like that country crap.” Green eyes rolled in response.
He opened the gift from Meredith that arrived a few days earlier. Her gift included a new organizer, a Mont Blanc pen with his initials engraved on it, and a book on effective time management. Justin took one look at it and started laughing.
“Man, she’s got you pegged.” He quickly danced out of the way of Lance’s hand as it headed for the back of his head.
He took the next gift, shaking it carefully. He gasped when he saw the original pen drawing of The Cat in the Hat. Looking up, he just stared at BJ.
“Irene helped me find it.” She smiled at him.
He held it close to his chest and grinned happily. “Thank you so much!”
They looked at each other shyly, unsure of what to do. BJ leaned forward and kissed Lance on the corner of his mouth. Pulling back, she smiled. “You’re welcome.”
He dug into the box his mother sent, his cheeks a little pink from the kiss. He laughed at the new Palm Pilot and business software his family had sent. Then he saw the envelope at the bottom of the box and reached for it, sliding his finger under the flap to open it as he laughed at Justin trying to steal a bite of cake from BJ’s plate.
His laughter stopped as he opened the card and looked at the signatures. Justin looked over and frowned.
“Who’s it from?”
“The guys.” The older man laid the gift cards to the side as he read the birthday wishes from JC, Chris, and Joey.
The two men were silent, and BJ sighed as she stood and began to clean up the remnants of cake and ice cream. Lance gathered his gifts and took them to his room. Justin shrugged at BJ before heading out to the backyard.
In his room, Lance rubbed the frame that contained his Dr. Seuss drawing, a gentle smile gracing his face. He knew that BJ’s gift was definitely the best one he had received.
**~~**
Lance tasted the spaghetti sauce then added a little more oregano. BJ sniffed appreciatively when she walked into the kitchen, and he smiled. Grabbing another spoon, he scooped up a bit of the sauce and blew on it before guiding it to her mouth. Her lips parted, and she accepted the spoonful.
“Mmm, that’s wonderful.”
“Thanks.” He turned back to the stove and covered the sauce.
When BJ turned around after grabbing the milk jug from the refrigerator, she found herself pressed against Lance.
“Oops.” She grinned.
He grinned back at her, and she felt her heart flip flop. Biting back the gasp of surprise, she stepped to her right and put the jug on the counter before retrieving a glass.
“Want some?”
“Sure.” Lance headed for the cookie jar to get some of the cookies he had made the day before.
They met at the table, settling down into their chairs with sighs. He handed a couple of cookies to her before accepting the glass of milk. In between bites and sips, they cast shy glances at each other. When blue eyes met brown, they each stopped moving and just stared. He leaned forward, ready to kiss her, when the front door slammed and Justin called out from the foyer.
Startled, they sat back and returned to their cookies and milk as the younger man danced into the kitchen. He chattered about the movie he had seen, and Lance and BJ tried to pay attention to him without paying attention to each other.
**~~**
There seemed to be a conspiracy brewing. Every time Lance and BJ got a moment alone together, something or someone would interfere. It wasn’t until three days later they got the chance to spend some quiet time together while Justin was out playing basketball with some kids he had met at a court near the base.
BJ sighed in pleasure as she leaned back against the sofa arm and stretched out her legs.
“Can I get you anything?”
She looked up into smiling green eyes and shook her head. “I’m good, thanks.”
He nodded and sat down on the floor beside the sofa to watch the movie on the television. About thirty minutes into the movie, he felt her fingers run through his hair, and he shivered at the touch.
“Does this…I mean, is this okay?” Her voice trembled just a bit.
Lance turned and looked at her, seeing the uncertainty in her eyes. When he first met BJ, he saw a young woman who was making the best of an unfortunate situation. Now, he saw a young woman looking at the possibility of something wonderful and feeling scared.
Taking her hand, he brought her fingertips to his mouth and kissed them. “I like it when you do that.”
She smiled, as if something had been lifted, and he felt his heart thump faster in response. When he turned around to finish watching the movie, he held on to her hand as it rested against his chest.
**~~**
“You wanna go to the grocery store with me?” Lance popped his head into Meredith’s office and looked at BJ.
The young woman looked up from her e-mail and pursed her lips. “Sure, sounds good.”
She stood up and followed him out of the office and down the hall. Picking up her purse, she slung it over her shoulder as Lance tossed keys in the air. They headed for the grocery store near the house, parking fairly close. When they walked into the store, Lance pulled out a cart and dug the list out of his shorts pocket.
The store was having its monthly sample day, and there were cooks on practically every aisle. Every time they rounded a corner, food was being pressed into their hands. So they munched their way down the aisles, sampling the pasta and the pizza and the chicken and the baby quiches and the brand new flavor of Kool-Aid, topping it off with a sample of Blue Bell ice cream.
Throughout the entire trip, as they added groceries to the cart, they talked and laughed and shared dreams they had as children. By the time they were in the check-out line, Lance was staring at BJ with a curious smile on his face. As they strolled out to the car, she tilted her head and looked at him.
“What?”
“I think that was a successful first date.” He started placing bags in the trunk.
BJ just looked at him before getting into the car while Lance returned the cart to the corral. When he climbed into the driver’s seat, she turned slightly to look at him.
“What?” His eyes opened wide.
Grinning, she leaned close and pressed a kiss to his lips. He brought his hands up to cup her face, holding her still as he took his time to thoroughly enjoy the caress. When they parted, they looked at each other for a moment, and then BJ chuckled.
“Yeah, that was a successful first date.”
**~~**
Justin walked into the house, tossing the keys onto the counter and whistling as he grabbed a beer from the refrigerator.
“Oh my God, what did you do to your hair?” Lance stared at his friend, completely taken aback by the buzzed head.
The other man shrugged. “Got tired of the curls, and I wanted something different. Something to show that I’ve changed.”
Lance continued walking into the kitchen and sat down at the table. “Yeah, I know. We’ve changed so much in the past six months, but I’m better. And I know I’m stronger.”
“Yeah.” Justin sat down as he nodded.
BJ walked in from the patio and stared at Justin. Walking towards him, she ran her hand over his hair, stroking it gently. For a moment, Lance felt jealousy race through him at the way she touched his friend.
“It’s so soft.” She gave him one last pat before she walked to the refrigerator for some juice.
“I like it.” BJ pulled out a chair next to Lance and sat down.
“Me, too.” Justin ran his hand over the soft bristles and chuckled.
**~~**
“You gotta admit, this is kinda weird.” BJ sat on the steps in the pool, watching as Lance swam laps.
He stopped in the shallow end, moving to sit beside her. “Why?”
“I’m pregnant, with another man’s baby, and you want to be my boyfriend.” She shook her head slowly.
Reaching out, he took her hand, twining their fingers together. “You know, for a long time, I lived my life the way others thought I should live it. What to wear, how to talk, what to say, who to date. Not anymore. I like you, a lot. I like the way you make me laugh, and I like how you love your family, and I like watching you cheer on your favorite team during a baseball game. And I like it when you hold my hand while we’re watching TV, and I really like it when you kiss me.”
BJ smiled and blushed softly, and Lance reached out to lift her face to meet him.
“I like *you*, BJ, and I want to be with you.”
She sighed and leaned against his shoulder. “You know, I really thought I loved Sam. He was my first real relationship. But when he took the money from my mother and left, I realized how wrong I had been. Part of me cringes when I think back to some of the things he did or said, and I think I was blinded to him because he didn’t seem to care about who I was related to. You two are as different as night and day, you know?”
She looked into clear green eyes and smiled. “I like listening to you talk about growing up in Mississippi, and I like listening to you sing country songs just to annoy Justin, and I like it when you make me pancakes.”
Leaning forward, BJ kissed him. “And I like it when you hold my hand during scary movies and when you pull out my chair and when you smile at me. And I really, really just like sitting next to you.”
They stared at each other for a moment before leaning forward for another kiss. Justin stood in the window and watched, smiling.
**~~**
JUNE
Justin peered over BJ’s shoulder as she assembled all of the ingredients on the counter.
“Whatcha doin’?”
“Making cookies. Wanna help?” She looked over at him.
Nodding, he followed her instructions as they mixed all of the ingredients together. She smacked his hand as he snuck a few chocolate chips.
“What?” His eyes opened wide with innocence.
“That’s much more convincing when you don’t have chocolate on the corners of your mouth.” She went back to gradually adding the chocolate and butterscotch chips as she mixed, trying to hide the smile.
They spooned cookie dough onto cookie sheets and put them in the oven to bake. She handed the bowl to Justin, who grinned delightedly as he sat down at the table and began to scrape the bowl.
When Justin pulled the cookies out of the oven, Lance watched as they each took one to taste. He stood in the doorway and studied the two of them, sighing with contentment. BJ heard him and looked up, smiling at him, and he felt his whole body tingle in reaction.
“Hey.” He strolled into the kitchen.
“Hey, baby. Wanna taste?” She finished chewing as she spoke.
Surprising the other two, Lance leaned forward and kissed her, his tongue sweeping into her mouth and tasting the sweetness there.
“Wonderful.” He pulled back and grinned at her delighted expression.
Justin just looked at the two of them, a pained grimace on his face. “There is *way* too much sugar in this room.”
BJ and Lance chuckled as she broke apart a cookie and pressed it between her boyfriend’s lips.
**~~**
Lance accompanied BJ to her next sonogram, smiling at the technician who was running the equipment. He took the gel and smoothed it across the young woman’s belly, smiling as she giggled.
“That is so cold.”
Touching his finger to it, he just looked at her. “It’s not that bad.”
“Yeah, not after you’ve already rubbed it on my skin and it’s warmer.” She shook her head at him as the other woman chuckled.
Moving the wand, she brought the picture of the baby up on the screen, pointing out body parts as the baby moved slowly in the womb.
“Do you want to know what it is?” She smiled at the young couple.
Lance just looked at BJ, an eyebrow arched in question. She looked back at him then looked at the screen.
“Yes, I want to know.”
The lady smiled. “It’s a boy.”
BJ reached out and touched the screen with her finger. “Hey, baby.”
Lance took the offered towel and wiped the gel off BJ’s skin. He helped her off the table, and they walked toward the check-out desk.
BJ got another tape and more pictures, this time on disk, so she could send them to people. They made their way to the car and headed for the mall so that BJ could pick up some more clothes. Lance helped her out of the car and held her hand as they walked through the stores. Stopping in a maternity store, BJ walked through and picked up a few things to try on. Lance sat down in the one of the chairs provided and thumbed through a magazine until she finished. As he looked around the store when he finished reading, he caught sight of a dress and got up to look at it. He took it up to the register and looked at the sales clerk.
“The woman who just went into the dressing room, do you think this would fit her?”
The lady smiled. “Do you know what size she picked up?”
“I think it was a six.” He shrugged.
“The beauty of this dress is that it expands as you get farther along in your pregnancy. If it’s long enough, it should be okay.”
He nodded and pulled out his wallet. “Can you go ahead and ring this up, but slip it into her bag? I want it to be a surprise when she gets home.”
“Sure thing.”
Ringing up his purchase, she set it aside just as BJ walked out of the dressing room. Approaching the register, the young woman handed over all of the summer wear she had picked up. After it was paid for, Lance grabbed the bag and took BJ’s hand as they continued shopping.
They stopped at a Baby Gap and laughed a lot as they held up little outfits. They stopped in the Disney Store, and Lance insisted on buying a Winnie-the-Pooh.
“Every child needs one in his life.”
BJ couldn’t say no to the smile on his face.
Getting back to the house, BJ headed for her room to put away the bear and some of her makeup. Pulling the clothes out of the bag to wash them, she saw the dress. Afraid for a moment, trying to figure out how it got in there, she saw the receipt attached to the tag and looked at it. Smiling, she hung up the dress then picked up her clothes to wash them. After putting them in the washing machine and turning it on, she headed towards the den.
Lance was standing at the window, looking out over the pool. She slipped up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist. Chuckling, he rested his hands on hers as she squeezed.
“Thank you for the dress.”
“Will you wear it tomorrow night and go out with me?” He turned around to face her, wrapping his arms around her as well.
“Yes, I will.”
“Good.”
Looking down at her, he was stunned by the incredible beauty looking back at him. Bringing one hand up, he cupped her cheek and leaned forward. BJ closed her eyes, her mouth opening in anticipation of his kiss. There were no fireworks and the earth didn’t move, but that kiss felt so right that they were simply amazed.
That night, she e-mailed sonogram pictures to Nick, Meredith, and the rest of the guys. As she walked back to the den, she grabbed a glass of milk and some of the chocolate chip cookies she and Justin had made earlier that day. Entering the den, she sat down on the sofa next to Lance, nestling into his side as he draped an arm across her shoulder. They did it automatically, and Justin glanced at them before turning away to hide his smile.
**~~**
The next morning, BJ woke up when she heard the phone ring. Figuring it was for one of the guys, she rolled over and draped a leg over one of the pillows surrounding her. There was a knock on the door, and Lance poked his head in.
“Beej? It’s for you.” He approached the bed, trying not to stare as her nightgown rose along her thighs.
Reaching out, she took the phone from him and smiled. He smiled back and left the room, giving her one last appreciative look.
“Hello?”
[Hey. I just saw the picture. So that’s my niece or nephew.] Nick’s voice was excited.
“Nephew.”
[Wow. Really?]
“Yep. Now I can start thinking of names.” She tucked one arm under her head as she lounged on the bed.
[Mom said to tell you she’d call you later. She and AJ are helping Denise move some things around in her house.]
“Sounds like fun.”
The two of them chatted for another hour before Nick had to leave for a meeting.
[I’ll call you next week. Take care of yourself. Love you, little sister.]
“I love you, too, Nick. Try not to give Mom or Allyson too much grief.”
[Who, me?] He laughed loudly. [Bye.]
“Bye.” She clicked the phone off and laid it next to her on the mattress.
There was another knock on the door.
“Come in.”
Lance walked in, pushing the door closed before walking over to the bed. “How’s O-town?”
“Good. Everyone’s been enjoying the two weeks of free time.” Reaching out, she pulled him close.
He sat down on the bed next to her, brushing his fingers over her shoulder where the strap of her nightgown would have been had it not fallen. Looking at him, strands of hair covering her eyes, she smiled sweetly.
Lance leaned down, kissing her softly as she wrapped a hand around his neck and buried her fingers in his hair.
“I love you.” He whispered the words against her lips.
Looking at him in surprise, she was stunned for a moment. The clear green eyes gazing back at her held the promise of a love that had no bounds.
“I love you.” The words fell from her lips without thought, as right as anything she had ever done in her life.
Sitting up, she leaned forward, pressing herself against him as they kissed. BJ sighed with pleasure as he gently kissed her neck and her shoulder. Tilting her head back, she allowed herself to revel in the sensation of his tongue licking across her throat. He lowered her to the bed, easing himself down beside her as they continued to kiss.
Lance brushed his hand across her breast, and BJ gasped. Pulling away quickly, he looked into her eyes.
“It’s okay.”
“But…” He looked at her, afraid he would hurt her.
Reaching out, she took his hand and cupped it to her breast. “It’s just sensitive. I like it when you touch me.”
He kissed her again, his tongue brushing against hers as he let his hands drift across her body. Sliding his leg between hers, he gently rubbed her inner thighs with his own as he pulled her closer and slid his hands up under her gown.
An insistent knocking broke them apart, and they stared at each other, disappointment written across their faces
“BJ?” Justin’s voice was slightly muffled by the door.
“Just a minute.” She kept her eyes on Lance as she called out.
Pulling away, she smiled at him. “We’ll finish this later.”
A slow, easy grin spread across his face as he rolled off the bed and went to the door. Justin stepped back when Lance opened it, his eyes darting back and forth between the two.
“Uh, BJ, the phone’s for you.”
She rooted around in the covers, finally discovered the phone under the pillows. “Thanks, Curly.”
Lance turned around before he left, smiling and winking at her. She smiled back and blew him a kiss.
Table of Contents
Stories by Gabrielle