Chapter One

  "I can't believe I was assigned to this trip," Lonnie pouted as he stared out the window of the van and looked at the snowy caps of Colorado. "Why couldn't I be assigned to Justin! I mean he went to the Bahamas for cryin’ out loud."
  JC reached up from the backseat and shook his bald head. "Don't sweat it, Lonnie. You'll have a blast!"
  "Yeah, freezing my ass off sounds so much fun," he mumbled and then moved his head out of his reach. He then turned around and looked a the three of them. "Do any of you guys even know how to ski?"
  Joey shrugged. "I kind of got the hang of it during Snowed In. But I could use a little more practice."
  Lance chuckled. "Joey you could hardly stand for more than five seconds."
  "Snowboarding is hella hard, that's why I'm sticking with two skis this time."
  "I wouldn't be talking, Lance," JC said he shifted in his seat. "Weren't you the one that ran into a tree?"
  Lance eyed him. "I was distracted."
  Joey laughed. "That's right, some snow bunny skied past you and gave you a dashing smile. The dork was too busy blushing that he ran right into the tree."
  "Yeah, yeah," he mumbled. "Don't remind me, it wasn't one of my most finer moments."
  JC and Joey just chuckled one last time before the van was quiet again. The snowflakes were lightly falling from the sky, as their van made their way up the hill to the ski resort. They had just finished their second leg tour, and the guys wanted a break before they went home to their families. Justin decided to spend it at the beach, and Chris went off to spend time with Dani.
  It was JC's idea to go up in the mountains and ski, just because he loved this time of year and he certainly didn't want to go to the beach in December. He knew that Lance and Joey weren't doing anything, so he practically begged them to go on this trip. JC cocked his head and looked back to see the van that was following them.
  "Lonnie," JC sighed. "Did we have to bring extra security guards. I mean, how can we relax when we have big burly men surrounding us twenty-four/seven."
  "C, ya'll are going to a popular ski resort in Aspen. Get a grip on reality."
  He sighed as he looked out the window. "Yeah, I know. It just sucks."
  Joey nudged him. "Don't worry about it. They're just coming to guard our doors. We only have to deal with Lonnie all the time."
  "Lucky me," he sighed. "How the hell am I suppose to keep up with you guys on skis?"
  "You don't have to ski, Lon," Lance said as he saw Aspen come into view. "Just hang out at the bottom of the mountain and we'll keep in touch through the walkie-talkie."   "Yeah, and no one will recognize us with all our gear on," Joey said. "Unless you want to try? I would pay money to see you ski."
  "Yeah, I bet you would," he said. "We're almost there guys. When we get there I want you to go straight to your rooms and you CANNOT leave until we've inspected the area."
  The three of them rolled their eyes. "Yes, Daddy," they all charmed at once.
  Lonnie muttered under his breath as he turned around. "Why did I ever take this job?"

  Sydney slammed the phone down and let out a frustrating groan. "Where the hell is he??"
  Georgia eyed her as she plopped her down on the couch in their condo. "Syd, calm down. I'm sure he just stepped out for a second."
  She sighed as she sat down next to her. "But he said he'd be home waiting for my call. I knew I shouldn't of come on this trip. I mean we just got back together, we need time together."
  "Syd, Brad was the one who said to go on this trip with us, so stop worrying."
  Sydney rested her brown hiking boots on the coffee table and chewed her lip. "But he's all alone right now, what is he gonna do...."
  "He's a big boy, Syd," Georgia said as she pulled her curly hair back in a ponytail. "Just relax and try to enjoy this trip."
  "This place is cool!" Michele said as she trotted down the steps. "We each have our own bedrooms. I like that, cuz ya never know who we'll run into."
  Georgia laughed as she watched Michele plop down in the leather chair in front of them. "Very good point, girl."
  Sydney rolled her eyes and then stood up to walk to the window. "Well, I surely won't be meeting anyone here."
  Georgia and Michele exchanged annoyed looks. She had been acting like this the moment she left him and it was getting on their nerves. He controlled her almost, and they did NOT like it. It was great that she loved him so much, but she needed to go out on her own every once in a while. That was what this trip was for, but neither of them told her that. "Syd," Georgia said as she walked up to her. "This trip is going to be the time of your life, just wait!"
  She smiled slightly. "I know, I'm being a pain and I'm sorry. I promise I'll try to have a good time."
  "You're not gonna try," Michele said as she got up and joined them. "You ARE going to have a good time."
  She smiled. "I know I will. It is pretty here."
  Georgia looked out. "Yeah, and we got a really private area of the resort. Not a lot of condo's are over here."
  "Just one other condo," Michele said as she slid open the glass door and walked out to the balcony. "That one there."
  The two of them followed her out there and peered at the identical condo to theirs. It was right to the left of them and their balcony was only about ten feet away. "I wonder if someone is staying there," Sydney said.
  "Who knows?" Georgia said. "I hope..." She stopped talking when they heard the sound of tires crunching beneath the snow. The three of them ran back inside and then trotted up the stairs to the second floor and peered out the front window. Two gray vans pulled up and stopped in front of the condo next to theirs. "Wow, must be a party," Michele mumbled.
  "Woah, hello!" Georgia said when she saw a man crawl out. "This is looking good, ladies."
  Sydney's hazel eyes fell on the man who was arching his back. He was a little far away to see him clearly, but she could tell he was handsome. She watched him walk to the back of the van and then pull out his bag and swung it over his shoulder. He was laughing about something the blonde haired guy had said and then all of the sudden grabbed him and threw him in the snow.
  They all laughed. "They're cute," Michele said as she watched the blonde get up and dust the snow off of him.
  Georgia laughed when she saw the other guy with the dark hair and goatee push the blonde back down after he got up. "They sure like to pick on the blonde."
  "You guys," Sydney said when she watched the man in the gray turtleneck throw snow at the big black man. "There's something familiar about them."
  "HOLY CRAP!" Michele yelled. "That's...That's Lance from NSYNC! I knew he looked familiar."
 "Oh, my," Georgia said. "And that must be Joey and JC?"
  "That's JC all right," Sydney said quietly as she watched him disappear inside. She knew he looked familiar, and she was surprised she didn’t recognize him sooner. She had a copy of their CD, something she kept to herself really. She only listened to at night, before she went to bed and it was JC's voice that captured her. She would close here eyes and just fall asleep to his voice.
  "Are you a closet fan, too?" Georgia asked.
  Sydney looked at her. "A closet fan? Well, I guess so. I DO have their CD."
  Georgia giggled. "Me too."
  Michele laughed. "Me three!"

  "Wow, this is perfect!" JC said as his eyes roamed the condo. "I didn't know we were going to be in something like this. I thought it was going to be like a hotel."
  Lonnie roamed the place. "Me too, this makes me feel a lot better. Very secluded."
  "The other condo's are further down the road," one of the security gaurds said to Lonnie. "So they should be pretty safe and shouldn't be bothered."
  "What about that condo next to us?" Joey asked as he started to pull out groceries they had just bought in town.
  "Yeah, I just sent Greg over there to check on it," Lonnie said.
  JC pulled out a bag of Fritos and hopped on the counter as he ripped them open. "I bet it's someone that wants nothing to do with us," he said with a mouthful.
  "I hope so," Lance said as he started helping with the groceries.
  Greg walked through the door and stomped on the mat, before entering the condo. He ran his hands through his wet hair from the snow and let out a chilly sigh. "Damn, it's cold."
  "Who's over there?" JC asked before he popped in another chip.
  He cleared his throat. "Uh, three girls."
  The three of them both froze in the middle of their action. JC hand was still in the bag, holding a chip. Lance was in the middle of pulling out the milk, but paused, and Joey just stood there with a grin on his face. "This is SO not good," Lonnie said with a sigh.
  "They seemed really cool about it," the guy said. "I told them what was going on here and to try to stay away and let them have their privacy, and they understood."
  "How old are they?" JC asked as he finally pulled out the chip.
  He shrugged. "I'd say early twenties."
  "Damn," Lonnie cursed when he saw Joey's grin. "Don't you go do anything stupid, like think."
  "Lon, I am truly insulted by that," he said, but just grinned when he gave him a stern look.
  "We're here to have a good time and relax," JC pointed out. "So if we run into them, so be it. Let's just stick to the game plan and have a good time."
  Lance patted him on the back. "Good point. I'm going to unpack."
  JC looked out the window. "Well, it's obviously too late to hit the slopes today, I say we just relax and hit the hay early."
  "I won't argue with that," Joey said as he followed Lance up the stairs, but then stopped and turned back to Greg. "Hey, where they good looking?"
  Greg rolled his eyes. "Joey," he warned.
  "Hey, I'm just asking," he said innocently.
  "Yeah, sure you are big guy," JC said as he slapped his back while he passed him up the stairs.
  "Well?"
  He cleared his throat. "Yes, they were very pretty."
  He smiled. "Me like the sound of that."

  Late that night, Sydney woke up to the sound of her cell phone ringing. She darted up from the bed and ran over to where she was charging it. "Yeah, hello?" she answered quickly.
  "Well, hey there sweetheart!"
  "Brad?" she said in shock. "Do you know what time it is?"
  He cleared his throat. "Yeah, babe...sorry about that."
  She sighed as she threw on her coat and slippers, before walking down the stairs. She didn't want to wake them up. "I tried to call you," she said as she opened the door and walked out. The cold air swept over her body and she hunched over.
  "Yeah, I was out," he said.
  She waited for him to finish, but when she didn't she sighed. "Out where?"
  "None of your business," he mumbled.
  "Are you drunk?"
  "So what if I am. You left so I went out with the guys."
  "Relax, I'm not mad, sweetie."
  "You better not be, since you don't have the right."
  "Brad, please not now," she said as she walked to the railing and studied the snow that glistened from the moonlight. "I miss you."
  "Do you now?" he teased softly.
  She smiled. "Of course. Thanks for being understanding about me leaving you."
  "Babe, I think I can manage without you for a week."
  Her heart ached at his words. It wasn't exactly what she wanted to hear. She would have liked to hear. It's going to be hard, but I know you need this trip. Or Í'm going to miss you terribly, sweetie, but somehow I'll managed to survive the week without you. But she knew he wouldn't say anything like that, because he wasn't the type of guy that shows his affection with words. And she was fine with that.
  "You still there?" he asked annoyed.
  "Yeah, I'm here," she said. "I'm outside and it's freezing. How's the weather in Tampa?"
  "Hot," he mumbled. "What else?"
  "Yeah," she laughed softly. "Well, I guess I'll let you go. Thanks for calling."
  "Sure," he mumbled. "I'm going to pass out on the couch here in a minute. I'll call you when I can."
  "Okay," she said. "I lov...." She stopped talking when she heard a click and he was gone. She cursed softly as she clicked off her phone. Why the hell was she here? She should be at home with him, he was mad at her, she could tell in his voice.
  "Nice night, huh?"
  She gasped at the sound of the male voice and turned toward it. Her eye's widened when she saw JC standing on his balcony, bundled up in an oversized ski jacket. His arms were crossed against his chest and he was constantly bouncing up and down to keep warm. "A little cold for me," she finally said.
  He grinned slowly and his teeth gleamed in the moonlight. "Just a little," he teased. "Who were you talking to so late."
  Her eyebrows rose. "I think someone like you would understand the importance of privacy."
  He just grinned wider. "Boyfriend?"
  She gave him a stern look, but when she saw his goofy grin she couldn't help but smile. "Yes, my boyfriend."
  He nodded. "Was he in a hurry?"
  She cocked her head. "You always this nosy?"
  He just kept on grinning. He was already standing out here when she walked out. He had heard her voice, before he saw her and when he did the sight of her was too good to look away. Her light brown hair was rustled from sleep, her cheeks were red from the cold, and her coat practically swallowed her body. He knew he shouldn't have ease dropped on her conversation, but he couldn't help it. If that was her boyfriend, he already knew he didn't care for him much. She did not crack one smile when she was on the phone with him. "I guess I am," he finally said.
  She ran her fingers through her tangled hair. "We're just going through bad times right now, but it'll work out."
  "Well, if he makes you happy then I hope so. What's your name?"
  "Uh...Sydney...Sydney Johnston."
  The corner of his lips lifted. "A pleasure to meet you Miss Johnston," he said with a wink. "I'm sure we'll bump into each other again."
  She opened her mouth to say something, but when she couldn't speak she closed it. He just chuckled, before walking into his condo. She wrapped her arms around herself and bent over as her insides were turning. Those blue eyes of his were deadly, she thought with an unpleasant sigh. Those eyes could capture just about any woman. "Hell, he could wake a woman up from a coma with those eyes," she mumbled out loud. "Get a hold of yourself, Syd," she said out loud before opening the slide door and stepping inside.
  When she got in her bed and closed her eyes, she started to think of Brad, but for some reason, JC slipped in her mind right before she fell asleep.

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