“Hey.” Joey was quiet, pulling his suitcase behind him.
Justin turned around, his eyes hidden by sunglasses as he surveyed his friends. A tentative smile graced his face as he looked at the two men.
“Hey. Your plane’s early.”
Chris shrugged, sticking his free hand into his pocket since he wasn’t sure what to do with it otherwise. “Yeah, surprise.”
“Got everything?” JC straightened.
At their nods, he led his band mates out the door and toward the Expedition. Justin climbed into the driver’s side after unlocking the doors. Chris and Joey put their luggage into the back and climbed into the backseat.
“Are we gonna stop and grab some dinner? I’m hungry.” Joey looked out the window as he spoke.
“Lance put chili on this morning before he and BJ went shopping.” Justin looked up into the rearview mirror for a moment before returning his eyes to the road.
“Lance cooked?”
JC started to laugh. “Oh, God, you guys have no idea what Lance can do.”
Joey and Chris looked at each before turning back to look out the windows. They pulled up in the garage and got out, the two newcomers pulling their luggage behind them as they entered the house.
“Hello?” JC called out as he entered the kitchen.
They heard splashing and looked out to see Lance in the pool splashing BJ as she sat on the side.
“You guys wanna change and join them?” Justin looked at the three men, who nodded their assent.
“Where do we stick our stuff?”
Justin and JC shared a quick look before the younger man headed down the hall. “I’m in the first room. JC’s in the fifth.”
“What about Lance?” Joey headed toward the end of the hall.
“He’s in the master bedroom with BJ.”
“Uh huh.” Chris just nodded before heading into the third bedroom.
“This is going to be interesting.” JC looked at Justin, who shrugged.
He gave his boyfriend a quick kiss before they disappeared into separate rooms to change. The four men wandered toward the backyard, stepping out onto the patio. As they came into view of the pool, they saw Lance press BJ against the side of the pool and kiss her, her hands coming up to cup his face as he gripped the pool edge.
“Hey, no squishing BB.” Justin tossed a beach ball into the water, splashing them.
Laughing, the couple separated. Lance looked up at Joey and Chris, holding out his hand to shake. Before their argument, he would have hugged them without reservation, but the five men needed to get that closeness back before anything like that would be allowed.
“Hey, guys. Have a good trip?”
“Yeah, it was, although they didn’t really feed us on the plane. Justin said you made dinner.” Joey sat down on the edge of the pool, trying not to stare at BJ too much.
“Yeah, it’s probably ready if we want to eat before we get back in the pool.” He headed for the ladder while BJ headed for the steps at the shallow end.
The five men watched as she gracefully climbed up the steps and took the towel Justin offered her. “Thanks, J.”
As she headed for the bedroom, she smiled at Lance, winked at Justin and JC, and nodded at the other two. Disappearing into the house, Joey and Chris turned their eyes back to Lance.
“So, man, what’s up?”
Lance smiled. “Not much. Just working on FreeLance stuff, buying baby stuff, planning my wedding.”
Everyone but Justin dropped their jaws in shock. Justin grinned and hugged Lance. “How’d she like the ring?”
“She loved it. Thanks, J.” He turned back to the others. “You guys ready to eat?”
Nodding dumbly, they followed the other two into the kitchen, their minds still on the fact that Lance and BJ were getting married. BJ showed up a few minutes later, dressed in a wraparound skirt and snug t-shirt. Her hair was loosely braided, and she glowed.
Justin was by her side the moment she stepped into the room. “Let’s see it.”
Laughing, she held out her hand and flashed the diamond. “I understand you helped.”
“Well, yeah. Just ‘cause I wanted you to say yes and put him out of his misery.” He hugged the young woman, chuckling as the baby kicked.
“Yeah, yeah, BB. I’m not ignoring ya, man. Just gotta give props to the mom first.” He patted her belly before letting her move fully into the kitchen.
JC stopped her next, giving her a gentle hug. “Congratulations, BJ. I wish you two all the best.”
“Thanks, JC.” She returned the hug, and he jumped in surprise.
“What was that?”
Giggling, she held his hand to her belly, and he felt a rapid thump thump as the baby kicked. “Pretty cool, huh?”
He nodded, his eyes wide with wonder. “Yeah!”
She looked at the other two men she had seen in magazines but never met. Holding out her hand, she smiled. “Hi, I’m BJ.”
“Chris.” “Joey.”
They all shook hands, and BJ moved to the refrigerator to grab condiments for dinner. Justin poured shredded cheese into a bowl, while JC stuck spoons into everything else. BJ put chips and crackers on the table as Lance ladled up bowls of chili. The group sat down at the table to eat after JC got drinks for everyone.
The conversation was a little stilted at first, but the conversation gradually lightened as the guys talked about people in Orlando they all knew and took shots at the Backstreet Boys, while BJ defended them and threw out some zingers of her own.
JC and Justin did the dishes while the other four moved into the den. Justin made sure everyone else was gone before he leaned over and kissed the other man.
“I’ve wanted to do that all afternoon.”
The older man smiled. “I know.”
They finished the dishes quickly and joined the others, who were watching a movie. Actually, BJ and Lance were paying attention to the movie while Joey and Chris were switching their attention between the television and the couple on the sofa. After he and Justin sprawled on the other couch, JC looked over to see Lance in his usual position against the arm of the sofa while BJ was nestled between his legs and leaning back against his chest. He had his knees pulled up, his feet kind of tucked beneath her, and she rested her hands on the back of his thighs. When he felt the soft thump, he looked down to find Justin’s head on his lap, a pillow beneath it. Grinning down at his boyfriend, he winked and then turned his gaze towards the movie.
After the first movie ended, JC and BJ got up to get ice cream, telling the others to pick out a new movie while they gathered dessert. He pulled out the ice cream while she gathered bowls and spoons.
“Is this such a stretch for them?” BJ let JC scoop the ice cream since it was still pretty frozen.
He looked at her for a moment then looked back at the bowl he was filling. “I guess. Lance hasn’t been openly affectionate with girlfriends in the past, and seeing him with you is kind of surprising. It’s good though. I can see how happy he is when he’s with you.”
She nodded. “I’m happy, too.”
He finished scooping ice cream and put the carton back in the freezer. Dropping the scoop into the dishwasher, he followed BJ into the den. They distributed the bowls and got comfortable to watch the next movie.
When it finished, Justin looked over at BJ and grinned. She laughed and sat up, letting Lance slide from behind her as he, Justin, and JC settled on the floor next to the sofa. Chris and Joey watched with confusion.
“Hey, BB, it’s Uncle Justin. I know we’re a little late.” The baby thumped beneath his hand, and he chuckled. “Everyone’s a critic. But, hey, we’ve got some new people to join us tonight, so let’s see what we can come up with okay?”
Looking up at BJ, he tilted his head and waited for her. She grinned and bobbed her eyebrows.
“No, we’re not doing a Backstreet song.” JC shook his head.
“I was gonna ask for Just Got Paid.” She stuck out her tongue at him, leaning back as he reached forward to grab it.
Justin looked at the other two men. “You gonna join us?”
Chris and Joey looked at each other before moving to the sofa.
“Do I get dance moves, too?” She looked at the five men.
Justin dropped his head before he stood up and moved to the stereo, putting in their CD. Clicking over to the song, the music filtered through the speakers as they sort of arranged themselves in the middle of the floor. Justin started singing, and the guys improvised on some of the moves. On the “booties shaking” line, BJ reached out and smacked Lance’s ass, much to Justin’s amusement.
The further they got into the song, they more they loosened up. Joey turned around to find Lance grooving his way down to the floor in front of BJ, his hips rolling forward, and he almost forgot the words. JC sang his lines as he and Justin danced around the room, and Chris felt his heart ease as they just had fun with the song and being together. When it ended, Justin reached over and clicked the CD off, smiling at BJ.
“Happy?”
She nodded. “I’d like one more song, though.”
He quirked an eyebrow as he waited.
“I want to hear Red Strokes.”
The young man groaned and shook his head, dropping onto the floor in front of her. He leaned close to her belly and settled his hand there as the others dropped down next to him.
“Daddy will sing country. You really don’t want to hear Uncle Justin sing country, do you?”
The baby thumped against his hand, and Justin hung his head low. “You’ve been hanging around this kid too much, Lance.”
Lance just grinned as he looked at BJ. He leaned close to her, smiling at her as he began to sing. The other four watched as he poured his love into the song, stroking her face with his fingers. When he finished, he kissed her softly, grinning against her lips as she smiled.
“Thank you, baby.”
“My pleasure.”
Looking around at the five men, she nodded slightly and held out her hands. Lance helped her off the sofa, wrapping his arms around her and pressing his nose against her neck.
“’Night, baby.” She kissed him softly then whispered to him. “good luck.”
He kissed her again, patting her belly softly. She smiled at JC, hugged Justin, and smiled at Joey and Chris. When she left the room, the five men looked at each other before spreading out around the room.
“So.” Justin tented his fingers and looked through them at the others.
“So.” Chris looked around, his gaze landing on Lance.
“Something you want to ask or something you want to say?” The blond leaned back against the sofa and laced his fingers behind his head.
“I just…I mean.” Chris leaned back and closed his eyes. “I just want to know where we went wrong.”
Lance bit his lip to refrain from spouting off and looked over at Justin and JC. The two men looked back at him, shrugging softly.
“We could start with what prompted you to start hanging out with those sycophants.”
Chris winced and Joey covered his eyes with his hand. Sighing, the older member of the group closed his eyes for a moment.
“I was angry. Some people said some stuff that really ticked me off, and it made me wonder if I was really necessary to the group. Tiffany, Lisa, and the others just happened to be there at the right time. They fawned over me, they sucked up to me because of what they could get, and I liked having that much attention paid to me. I knew, deep down, that they weren’t really interested in me, but at the time, it was all I saw.”
Looking around at his friends, he rubbed his temple. “I’m sorry I fucked this up and let it pull us apart. We always said we’d be there for each other, and I let them come between us.”
Lance nodded then looked at Joey, who looked at him briefly before turning away.
“I’m sorry, Poofu. I know Lisa was a bitch, and I know I didn’t defend you, and I’m so sorry. I let my dick run my life. She was all over me, and she said all the right things. Pumped up my ego pretty good. I’m surprised I didn’t have a ring through my nose the way she was leading me around.”
He folded his hands together and rested his arms on his knees as he leaned forward. “I’m sorry, Curly, for letting her pick on you and give you shit. You didn’t deserve that, either of you. I needed a good, swift kick in the ass, and it took a long time for me to get it.”
“Who did it?” Justin looked at his friend.
“My mama finally straightened me out, then I kicked Lisa to the curb after she talked down to her. No one messes with my mama.” His brown eyes glistened with tears as he apologized to his friends.
Lance bit his lip, knowing he would eventually forgive them but unwilling to let go right then. Sighing, he rubbed his face.
“It’s gonna take a while for us to get this back into a groove. I think I’ve become stronger, and I know that will mean good things for us, but it will take some time.”
Joey and Chris nodded. JC looked at Justin, who nodded slowly.
“I need to say something, too.” He took a deep breath. “I’m sorry, Lance, for pushing you away and ignoring you when you were trying to talk to me. I was caught in my own problems, and I just didn’t want to see yours…or Justin’s.”
JC reached out and took his boyfriend’s hand, feeling Chris and Joey’s eyes on them. He turned his head to look at his friends.
“The reason I lost it for a while is because I realized that I’m in love with Justin.”
Two sets of brown eyes opened wide, blinking slowly as they looked back and forth between the two men on the other sofa. Justin smiled.
“And I’ve loved Josh for a long time, but I didn’t think it would ever happen so I locked it away and dated Britney.”
The two men remained silent, continuing to look back and forth.
“I think they’re in shock.” Lance smiled at JC and Justin.
“Looks like it.” The older man agreed as he continued to look at the other two.
Lance stood and stretched. “Well, now that we’ve made our first steps towards getting this whole show back on the road, I’m going to bed. ‘Night.”
He patted Joey and Chris on their shoulders before winking at JC and Justin. Justin stood up, tugging on JC’s hand.
“Josh and I are going to bed. We’ll see you guys in the morning, okay?”
Chris and Joey nodded slowly, still trying to reconcile all of the information in their heads. When only the two of them remained, they sat there for several minutes before they looked at each other.
“Were we even around during this time?” Joey looked at his friend with wide eyes.
“Not sure, man. I need to go to bed before my head explodes.” Chris stood up and walked towards his room, Joey following behind him.
As they reached their rooms, they noticed that JC’s bedroom door was open, and that the bed was still made. They looked at each other, shook their heads, and walked into their rooms to try and get some sleep.
**~~**
Chris wandered toward the kitchen the next morning, stopping abruptly when he saw JC kiss Justin. The two men separated as they grabbed coffee and juice and sat down at the table.
“Morning.”
“Hey, Chris.” Justin smiled as he flipped through the paper and sipped his orange juice.
The older man didn’t say much, just smiled as he poured a cup of coffee and joined them at the table. Lance wandered in, rubbing his hair.
“You get the pool?” He looked over at Justin.
“Yeah, it’s done.”
The blonde headed for the refrigerator and pulled out some eggs and bacon, putting them on the counter before pulling out other items to make omelets.
“What do you guys want?”
“Bacon, tomatoes, cheese, onions, green pepper, and mushrooms.” The younger man didn’t look up from the sports page.
“You just gonna sit there or are you gonna help? ‘Cause I gotta tell ya, I’m seriously considering just tossing the raw eggs at you.”
Justin laughed as he got up. “Yeah, right, Lance. I’ll just sic BJ on you.”
“Sic me on who?” She walked into the kitchen, smiling at the four men in the room.
She grabbed a tomato and began dicing it, switching to peppers when she finished. Justin grabbed the bacon and slipped it into the frying pan. Joey wandered in and sat down, pouring some coffee into a cup from the pot sitting on the table.
BJ flipped the CD player on, pressing the play button. She didn’t know what CD was in there, but they usually put something in while they were working in the kitchen. As the music started, she grinned and slid her eyes towards Justin. He bit his lip to keep from laughing and kept cooking bacon.
When JC heard the music, he looked at Justin and BJ then turned his attention to Lance. Chris and Joey followed his eyes as they started moving a little to the music. JC almost rolled onto the floor when Lance began singing along.
Bawitdaba da bang a dang diggy diggy diggy said the boogy said up jump the boogy
The two remaining men at the table just stared in shock as Lance moved his head and shoulders in time with the music as he sang along. Chris looked at Justin, who was grinning broadly before he began to move to the song. BJ’s head started bopping as the three of them made omelets.
“He’s singing Kid Rock.” Chris looked at JC.
“He’s dancing to Kid Rock.” Joey looked at Chris.
JC just laughed again. “You should see him dance to Crazy Town.”
Joey and Chris looked at each other and shook their heads. Breakfast was a more relaxed affair than dinner, and they talked comfortably with each other. BJ could see the less guarded expressions on Lance and Justin, and she relaxed, too.
When the dishes were done and the guys had spread out through the house, she grabbed the grocery list and finished it before heading to her room for her shoes. Joey appeared in the doorway to the kitchen as she gathered her list, her purse, and the car keys.
“Need some help?”
She looked up at him for a moment. “Sure. Let me tell Lance we’re leaving.”
He nodded and stepped aside to wait for her. BJ walked into the office to find Lance going through some papers for new artists he had signed.
“Joey and I are going to the store. Need anything in particular?” She leaned against the desk.
He smiled up at her, resting his hand on the side of her belly. “Can’t think of anything. Be careful.”
“I will.” She leaned down and kissed him, lingering for a moment against his lips.
“I think we should take a nap later.” He grinned when she pulled back.
“Sounds good to me.” Winking, she stood up and walked out of the room.
Joey and BJ walked out to the Lexus and climbed inside. She backed out of the garage and headed for the grocery store. They parked and headed into the large building. Grabbing a cart, she let him push it as she directed him down the aisles. Standing in front of the Jell-O, she perused the flavors.
“What are you looking for?” He pushed the cart back and forth as he leaned on it.
“Wild Cherry. It’s Justin’s favorite.” She bent down and grabbed a couple of boxes. Looking at him, she smiled. “Do you have a favorite you want to pick up?”
He shook his head. When she rose, he followed her to the next aisle where she picked up some peaches for Lance. As she moved down her list, she would ask him every so often if he wanted anything in particular, and he always shook his head.
Checking out, he watched her write the check and smile at the cashier before they took the groceries out to the car. Joey loaded everything into the trunk, pushing the cart into the corral before climbing into the cool interior of the car.
“Are you okay?”
He was startled by the question. “Yeah. Why do you ask?”
“I just get the feeling being this quiet isn’t normal for you.” BJ chuckled before pulling out of the parking space and leaving the lot.
“Just thinking about the way Justin and Lance are. They’ve changed so much, and I missed that.”
“Is it really that drastic a change?”
Looking out the window, he waited a moment before replying. “Maybe it’s more the fact that I haven’t really seen or spoken to them in so long that it all appears like they’re totally different people.”
She nodded. “I can see that. I imagine you’ve changed for them, too.”
He snorted. “Yeah, and it wasn’t for the better.”
“But that’s not the case anymore, is it?” Looking at him briefly as she parked the car in the garage, BJ waited for an answer.
Joey looked at her, seeing the compassion and understanding in her eyes. “No, it’s not.”
They got out of the car and grabbed a couple of bags before heading into the house for more help.
After putting the groceries away, Lance looked at BJ and smiled. Taking her hands in his, he backed down the hall towards the master bedroom, his deep chuckles melding with her higher-pitched giggles.
Chris was walking toward the kitchen when he saw them disappear into the bedroom. Grabbing a beer, he headed for the patio. Joey, Justin, and JC were lounging in the pool, when the older man joined them.
“I just saw Lance disappear into the bedroom with BJ.”
Justin chuckled. “Nap time.”
“He takes naps with her?” Joey looked over at his friend, a little surprised.
“Back when she first moved in, she took naps in the afternoon ‘cause she was tired. After she got into the second trimester, she wasn’t tired anymore, but that’s when she and Lance hooked up. I really don’t think they’re sleeping.”
“You know, seeing him like this is a little weird.” Chris dropped down to the side of the pool and put his legs in the water.
“How so?” JC splashed Justin a little, chuckling as he moved out of the way.
“He’s not usually so open with his affections, and he’s been pretty touchy-feely with her. It’s just kind of a 180, I guess.” He looked at the two men in front of him. “And the two of you aren’t acting like usual, either.”
“You mean you want us to get all touchy-feely in front of you?” Justin climbed onto a float and moved closer to the wall.
Joey grimaced. “I’m not sure I’m ready to see that.”
“I saw you guys this morning.” Chris spoke up, peeling the label off his beer.
Justin and JC looked at each other before turning back to the older man. JC tried to catch his gaze. “And?”
He shrugged. “It was a little different, but not gross or anything. It’s just that when you were with Sherry and Brit, you guys were very open with your affection.”
“I think it was just my way of trying to remind myself of who I was with, rather than who I wanted to be with.” Justin turned his head to look at JC, smiling gently.
Chris and Joey stared at him, a little surprised to hear him speak with such openness. JC grinned back, reaching out to gently tap Justin’s nose.
“So, how long do these naps usually take?” Joey wanted to lighten the atmosphere and figured that since Lance wasn’t around, he was fair game.
“Depends.” Justin shrugged.
“On what?”
“How horny they were when they went into the room.”
“Eeeuuwww. Not a visual I wanted.” Chris stuck his fingers in his ears after setting down his bottle.
The other three men laughed.
**~~**
Lance hooked up the baby Doppler, and they listened to the heartbeat echo through the speaker. BJ grabbed the phone and dialed Nick’s cell phone.
[Hello?]
“Hey, big brother.”
[Hey. What’s going on?]
“Just wanted you to hear something.” She held the receiver close to the speaker and let the heartbeat echo through the phone.
[What is that?]
“Brennan’s heartbeat.” She grinned at Lance as he kissed her fingertips.
[Brennan?]
“Brennan Nickolas.”
Nick was silent for several moments. [Wow.] His tone was hushed with wonder.
BJ looked up at Lance, and he nodded.
“Um. I wanted to tell you something. Lance asked me to marry him.”
[When’s the wedding?]
“Probably in September. We wanted to wait until you were free.”
[I’ll be there. Can I talk to Lance for a minute?]
Her eyes opened wide and she looked over at him before handing him the phone.
“Hello?”
[Thank you for not hurting her.]
“I love her too much for that.” Lance grinned at BJ, and she grinned back with joy.
[Well, another boy in the family will be good. Kind of evens up the odds.]
“Just remember I’ll be married to your sister, so you know whose side I’m gonna be on.”
Nick just laughed. [Can I talk to BJ again?]
“Sure thing. Thanks, Nick.” Lance handed the phone back and motioned that he was going to leave the room.
BJ nodded as she took the phone. “So, you have any interesting news for me?”
They chatted for an hour until Nick had to get ready for sound check. As they got ready to hang up, she chuckled. “Don’t tell Mom yet, okay? I want to surprise her.”
[Gotcha. Be good and take care of Brennan and you.]
“I will, and Lance will make sure I do it.”
[Bye, Beej. Love you.]
“Love you, too, Nick. Bye.”
She clicked off the phone and sighed in delight. Life was good.
Table of Contents
Chapter Four