He was the first person I noticed when I walked into the party with Lance and Chris. He'd come earlier with Joey, who just had to get there early to get his mack on. He wasn't like that; he just happened to be ready first, as usual. For him, this was somewhere he had to be, not somewhere he wanted to be. He came early so he could put in his time and leave early. But you couldn't tell that by looking at him. He was in the middle of the dance floor, lost in his own world, dancing like no one else, attracting lots of female attention. He looked so damn fine, in his trademark tight pants and shiny, sleeveless shirt. It was all I could do not to wipe the drool off my mouth with the back of my hand. (Chill, Justin, don't be so obvious.)
He looked over at us, at me, in particular, leaning against the doorframe, watching him. We locked eyes and he nodded at me almost imperceptibly. (Okay, he knows you're here. He's letting you know he sees you. Be patient.) Chris brought me out of my reverie.
"Come on, Curly, we gotta get our groove on," he said, bumping against me a little.
"Or you could come drink with me," Lance suggested. They were both looking to hook up that night; they just had different styles. Chris would go out and dance with whomever caught his eye or vice versa, while Lance preferred to sit back and pick out his prey a little more carefully.
"I think I'm going to hang with Stealth for the moment," I told Chris, shoving him out into the crowd.
Lance and I walked over to the bar and got our drinks, a hard lemonade for him and a simple beer for me. We found a fairly quiet, out of the way place to sit and resumed our scanning of the crowd. Lance was looking for the one he wanted, but I'd already found mine.
Lance looked over at me. "What's up, Justy? I can see those wheels spinning in your head. Talk to me."
He could always see through me. We'd had a special bond from day one, being the young ones. It was always Lance I poured my heart out to, Lance who knew everything about me. Until now. I was keeping the biggest secret of my life to myself.
"Uh, nothing," I stammered, my voice cracking. (Dammit, stop it. You're acting like a teenybopper.)
Lance gave me that look, the one I absolutely hated. The one that said "you know you can't hide anything from me." And I couldn't.
"Well, you see," I started, just as Joey bounded over to us.
"Why are you two hiding out over here? Get up and have some fun!"
"You're alone. Haven't you picked up a girl yet?" Lance asked.
"Yeah, she's in the bathroom. Thought I'd come over and see what mischief you guys were up to."
"Just sizing up the crowd," I said.
"Pick out a good one, Justin," Joey said, pulling me into a bear hug and running off again. (I think I have.)
"So…" Lance drawled.
"Yeah?"
"Justin, spill your guts. Or do you want me to tickle it out of you?" he asked, grinning loopily up at me. Lance was always such a playful drunk. Sometimes I wondered why it wasn't him I had these feelings about. He was attractive, funny, sweet… but he had always made it clear that he was 100% straight. If only every one of the guys had…
I stared in the direction of the most beautiful creature in the room. Lance's eyes followed the path mine had taken. He looked back at me in surprise.
"JC? Is that what this is all about? Wow. I never thought… I mean, everyone knows he's bi, and I've had my suspicions that you were, but… Wow," he said again.
I blushed furiously. (Why are you acting like such a pansy? You're everybody's golden boy. Every girl in America-and probably a fair share of boys-wants you. You're ghetto fabulous. You're Justin Fucking Timberlake. Why are you letting someone, a guy, no less, get to you like this?)
"Yeah," I replied, "that is what this is all about. I like JC."
"Everybody likes JC. He's Big Daddy."
"I hope that everyone doesn't kiss JC."
Lance looked at me with wide eyes. "You kissed JC?"
I nodded. "Just once. This afternoon."
"Tell me more."
"I was laying on my bed in our hotel room. JC came out of the bathroom after a shower, wearing nothing but a towel. I have known that I'm bi and that I'm attracted to him for a couple of months now, but I couldn't bring myself to admit it to anyone. But right then, he was so gorgeous… I couldn't help but stare a little too long. He felt it… came over to me… and kissed me on the mouth. Said, in typical JC fashion, 'take a picture, it lasts longer.'" I shook my head.
"Now what?"
"I've been asking myself that all night. I really like him, Lance. He's been one of my best friends nearly half my life. I've admired him and looked up to him as long as I can remember. He's so…"
"Brilliant, soulful, witty, talented, hot…" Lance ticked off all the qualities I loved in JC.
"If I didn't know better, I'd think you had a crush on him," I said, poking Lance in the side.
"Please. If I were going to like a guy, you know it would be you." I stared at him in surprise, my mouth falling open. He put his hand on my chin and closed my mouth. "That's a big if, Timberlake. Don't get your hopes up."
I laughed and threw my arm around Lance's shoulders. "You'd have to stand in line anyway, Bass."
"I know. Everybody loves Justin Timberlake. Blech."
I grinned. "That's me. Always get what I want."
"Oh, do you?" a familiar voice asked. I'd been so busy playing around with Lance that I hadn't even noticed JC walk up to us.
"Hey, JC," Lance said, "could you help me up? Think I need to go refresh my drink." He held a hand up to JC, who pulled him to his feet and took his place next to me.
"So, Justin… you think you always get what you want. Why is that?"
(Be cool. Play his game. Don't screw up.) "I don't know, it's just always come to me. Fallen in my lap."
JC laughed. God, even his laugh was sexy. The man was walking, talking, breathing sex, no doubt about it. "Well, I think you're going to have to work a little harder this time. I don't come that easy."
I pouted at him. "Who says I want you?"
He looked down at me with disdain. "Come on, Justin. You can't hide that from me. I've been watching you watch me out of the corner of your eye for months. I remember the late night conversations, you asking me about what it was like to be with a guy, the hugs that lasted a little too long. Most of all, I remember this afternoon, when I kissed you, and the look on your face that said you wanted so much more."
I hate this. I hate being seen through. I hate letting my guard down. Most of all, I hate not being wanted, pursued, desired more than anything. JC knew I wanted him, knew it even before I did, and he just sat back and waited for me to come to him.
"Yeah, well, maybe I don't anymore."
"Stop pouting, you big baby," JC said, running his fingers through my hair. "I want you as much as you want me. I just didn't want to pressure you. I've been out for a while, I've liked and dated and been with other guys. I wanted you to figure out what you wanted for yourself and come to me on your own terms."
"Okay, well, here I am. I want you, JC. But you didn't seem to care much about that when I walked in. When you were bumping and grinding with every woman in sight. Oozing lust from every pore."
"Oh, Justin. Look at me." I took him in slowly… the spiky brown hair with blond highlights, the deep blue eyes, the high cheekbones, the sexy mouth that I longed to feel all over my body, the well-defined arms, the hard abs, the package that was always visible through the tight pants he favored, the strong legs… even his feet made me want him.
"It's all for you," he said, pulling me into his arms and placing the perfect kiss on my lips. "Now, I don't know about you, but I've been at this party way too long. You ready to go back to our hotel room and…" He looked up at me from under those long eyelashes, flirting just a bit.
"Got a nice package all right. Guess I'm gonna have to ride it tonight," I said with a laugh as I stood and pulled him up with me. I didn't know what was going to come of this, didn't know if it was going to be just one night or the rest of our lives, but at that moment, I didn't care. I was Justin Fucking Timberlake and, for once, I was truly happy.