Forever Young: Foreign Affairs
by Karen and LB
© 2002
Number 3 in the series.
They had been in Germany for three days. The jet lag was finally wearing off, and there wasn't much time to think about it between recording sessions, appearances at small clubs, and meeting with the BMG reps. All of this was making Lance's head spin, but he wouldn't trade any of it. Except maybe the dance lessons. Those were becoming really tiring. His legs ached and his frustration showed after three or four hours, after which he STILL felt uncoordinated.
But now, on their third night, Lynn and Diane decide to turn the boys loose, knowing they need to blow off some steam, but with a stern warning that they MUST be back no later than 11:00. The boys gather in the lobby, trying to decide where to go.
"I want to go to a club and meet German girls." Joey proclaims.
"You don't speak German." Chris reminds him.
"So?" Joey responds.
"Guys, if we go to a club, Lance and Justin can't come." JC objects.
"Yeah!" Justin exclaims.
"So?" Joey has a new favorite word. "Never bothered you before."
"Well, it bothers me now. It's our first night out in a whole new COUNTRY."
Lance, hands in pockets, breaks in. "It's okay, you guys can go ahead. Me and Justin can check out the stores or something."
"I thought the idea was to do something together. All of us." JC says reasonably. "There must be something we can all do. And Joey, what's the point of going to a club if we have to leave before 11, anyway?"
"Come ON, guys!" Chris fidgets. "By the time we make a decision, it'll be too late to do anything."
Lance brings his nails to his mouth. He knows this is happening because of him. Because of what he started with JC. Now JC feels responsible for him somehow. Before he can say anything more, two young German girls approach their group.
"You Americans?" Her accent is obvious but her English is clear.
"Yeah," Joey replies, smiling. "My name's Joey, this is Chris, JC, Justin, and Lance."
"I'm Monica, this is Claudia. Would you like to come to a party?"
"Party? You bet!"
Lance looks at JC and shrugs. It could be fun, after all.
They fall into step with the girls, and JC drops back next to Lance. "I know what you're thinking and you're wrong." He says softly. "I felt bad about leaving you guys behind so much before . . . you know."
"You don't have to. You don't have to feel guilty about anything. And you don't have to feel like you have to stay with me if you want to go off with Joey and Chris--I know you were friends before I came along."
"It's not fair to either of you guys. Especially tonight, when it was supposed to be a group thing."
"It would have been okay. Me and Justin could have found something to do. But I'm glad we're all doing this. They seem nice." Lance motions to the two girls, who are chatting away with Joey and Chris.
"Yeah, they do. I think Joey's in love. Again."
Smiling, Lance looks down at the pavement. "What do you wanna bet he has their phone numbers by the end of the night?"
JC laughs. "That's kind of a no brainer."
The noise reaches them before they even arrive at the small townhouse. There are lights on in the second-floor windows and silhouettes of people dancing fill every inch. Joey is already dancing his way through the door, making Lance laugh. Here they are, in a strange country where none of them speak German, and they're at a party where they know no one. But the second they enter they are surrounded by smiling girls, and guys are shoving cups of beer into their hands.
JC lets himself be pulled into the room, feeling the pounding rhythm of the music right down to his toes. He swallows the beer that's materialized in his hand and starts to move.
Lance finds himself cornered by a couple of teenaged girls, and he chats as best he can. Before he can protest, he's pulled into the center of the room to dance among the other bouncing bodies. Laughing, he lets loose, until he bangs into the guy behind him. He's about to apologize when he realizes it's JC. So he bumps him again, this time with his butt.
JC whips around, ready to confront the jerk who keeps bumping into him but finds himself looking down into a pair of laughing green eyes. "You think you're so cute, don't you?"
"I know I am." Once again, he bumps JC with his butt.
"And they say you're the shy one."
Lance blushes but smiles nonetheless. Since the room is so crowded, it's easy for the two boys to dance together without anyone thinking it unusual. Every time he touches JC, though, Lance feels a rush of energy. He tries to keep some distance between them, but he keeps getting jostled closer.
JC finds it very exciting to be able to be this close to Lance in public. They've been very, very careful since they started--whatever it is they're doing. Dating? Flirting? Falling for each other? It feels completely liberating to be together like this.
Suddenly, someone bangs into Lance from behind and he falls straight into JC's arms.
Instinctively, JC's arms fold around Lance, holding him a little more tightly than the situation requires. So tightly, in fact, that his body starts . . . reacting to Lance's nearness. He pulls back a little, still holding Lance, but with a little less contact, not wanting to freak the boy out.
The scent of JC's sweat mixed with his cologne tingle Lance's senses, but he pushes away before anything more can happen. "Um, sorry, that was my fault." He looks around nervously.
"Don't apologize. I liked it." JC smiles at the younger boy. "A lot."
Flustered, Lance looks off to the side. "Me too."
"Hey, I'm thirsty. Want to go get a drink?"
"Okay." The room is hot, and there seem to be more people now than when they arrived. They manage to push their way through the crowd to the next room, where a small group surrounds a keg. Lance stops. "I better not."
"C'mon, let's find the kitchen. There's gotta be some soft drinks somewhere." As they plunge back into the crowd, JC reaches back and takes Lance's hand, only releasing it when they again emerge from the crowd.
The kitchen is small, and they manage to make their way to the refrigerator without incident. They also manage to find cans of very recognizable Coke among the more exotic brands of German soda. And Lance notices a small, unoccupied hallway off to one side. He moves in that direction, looking over his shoulder to see if JC is following.
JC has no idea where Lance is going, but he follows, curiously, weaving through the packed bodies, carrying two sodas. Hey--he's really thirsty. The hallway is dark, but there's enough light shining from the kitchen. There's a door at the end, behind which comes the sound of muffled laughter. Lance slides down the wall and sits on the floor with his knees bent, his feet touching the opposite wall. JC does the same, facing Lance. Lance pops the top on his soda and take a long drag of the cool drink. He puts the can to his forehead. "Man, this reminds me of home."
"Yeah? Tell me?"
"Before I left, my friends threw me this big party. Well, my mom arranged it. She invited everyone--all my friends from Attache, from school. It was great. I bet you went to a lot parties."
"Not so much as you might think. I went to a really strict school, you know? And they kept us on a pretty short leash at the Mouse Club. And living under Lynn's roof . . . you know what that's like."
Laughing, Lance nods vigorously. "Ohhhhh yeah. In fact, she and my mom are probably huddled together right now, watching the clock."
JC can see it only too clearly in his mind. "What time is it, anyway?"
"It's early. It's--oh shoot. We've got ten minutes."
"We better find the guys." JC gets up and offers his hand to Lance.
Lance takes it, but doesn't let go once they're standing. It isn't until he spots Joey talking to a cute brunette that he finally releases it.
They manage to drag Joey away from his latest conquest and to locate Chris and Justin. They even make it back to the hotel with seconds to spare, breathless and giggling.
"Shhhhh!" Justin scolds, as they creep down the hall to their rooms. Suddenly, a lock clicks on one of the doors. "Shoot, it's my mom! " He grabs the first person his hand comes into contact with: Chris--Lance's roommate. Joey follows them into Justin's room, leaving JC and Lance to take JC's room.
JC looks around the small room, then back at Lance. "Uh, I'm sure we can switch back later, after the moms are asleep."
"Um, yeah, sure." Lance stands with his back to the door, but doesn't move.
JC walks back toward the door. "Of course, you COULD stay here." He leans a hand flat against the door on either side of Lance's head.
"I guess. Um, there are two beds."
JC leans closer. "You're so observant."
Lance's eyes dart around the room, then down, then anywhere but the piercing blue eyes in front of him. He's afraid if he looks he'll melt right into them. As it is, he's having trouble just standing. So he closes his eyes and gives in to what he's feeling.
"Lance," JC whispers, so close that his hot breath fans Lance's face. His lips hover over Lance's, not touching, not yet.
Lance has never been more terrified and excited in his entire life. Here he is, alone in a hotel room with another guy, a guy he likes VERY much. His feet are frozen to the floor. His heart is beating so loudly he's surprised the entire hotel doesn't wake up. He can feel the heat from JC's lips. "JC, I--" But that movement alone is all it takes. Before he knows it, his lips are touching JC's.
Has anyone in the history of the world tasted as good as Lance Bass? There's a remnant of the sugary sweetness of the Coke Lance drank earlier, but it's the taste of Lance himself that has JC running his tongue over the younger boy's lips, savoring the feeling and the flavor.
The more Lance kisses JC, the more his lips relax. Without thinking, Lance slides his tongue out to meet JC's. It's the most incredible sensation. It's the best kiss Lance has ever experienced, and now his feet feel like they're lifting off the floor. JC is trying very hard to hold back, but the jolt that runs through his when their tongues meet is almost enough to suspend all brain function. Slowly he bends his arms, moving himself ever closer to Lance, stopping short of pressing his boy against the door. Lance raises his arms, just a little, and gingerly places his hands on JC's waist. JC's body heat radiates through his shirt, and if Lance didn't know better he'd swear his hands were burning. He already knows his face is on fire. And that's when his brain kicks in and he turns his head. "Wait, wait," he says, panting.
JC reacts immediately, pushing back from the door so there's again several inches of space between them. "Lance? You okay?"
Lance touches his mouth. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just . . . could we sit down?"
JC drops his hands and steps back. "Of course we can."
"Thanks." Lance moves to one of the beds and sits on the edge. "You're, um, a good kisser."
JC sits on the other bed. "Only because I like kissing you."
"So normally you're a bad kisser?"
JC is flustered. "I--um--did I say that?"
Lance chuckles, relieved that some of the tension is broken. "Not exactly. But anyway, it's not true. You are a really great kisser. I can't believe I'm saying this."
JC smiles back. "Uh, thanks." He hesitates. "But you wanted to stop."
"I just want to take things slow. Is that okay?" Lance glances around. "I mean, we're in this hotel room . . . alone . . . and--"
". . . and I'm not going to jump you, okay, Lance? Believe it or not, I'm as nervous about this as you are."
"You are? You don't seem it."
"I've just got more experience hiding it is all. I don't want to mess this up, Lance. Any of it. The whole I-could-be-falling-for-you thing aside, we've also started a real friendship here, you know? And I really care about that, too."
"Me too. It's hard enough being away from home; it really helps to have friends. But I don't want . . . what we started . . . to complicate things, you know? I want to see where this goes, but at the same time, I'm afraid of screwing things up."
"I know. We just have to be really careful with each other. We can do that, can't we Lance?" There's a hopeful tone in JC's voice--the same tone he uses when they're all talking about where they want the group to go.
Lance nods and stares at his feet. "Careful is good. I can do careful."
"Good." The relief in JC's voice is palpable. "Now come here."
JC lies back on the bed and holds his arms out to Lance, who hesitates, then joins him. JC pulls the younger boy gently to him, Lance curling up beside him with his head resting on JC's chest. They lie that way for a while, not moving, and JC can feel Lance relaxing a bit. "This is nice," he says softly.
Lance almost doesn't want to admit it, but it IS nice. He's never laid next to a guy like this before. Hell, he's never laid next to a girl like this before. It's JC's experience and confidence that scare Lance the most. He feels so awkward, like he needs a manual to figure this all out.
JC sighs. "I'd love to stay like this all night, but I guess we should go to bed. Uh, sleep. Uh, not--I mean you in one bed and me in the other. I mean, you know." JC sighs again. Smooth, Chasez, he thinks.
Sleep? He expects me to be able to sleep with him IN THE SAME ROOM? Lance blinks and sits up, smiling while JC stammers his way out of this. "I know. Because in spite of what you think of me, I'm NOT easy, Chasez." He winks, hesitates, then bends down and plants a quick kiss on JC's lips, hopping off the bed just as quickly. He busies himself with kicking off his sneakers and is about to remove his pants when he freezes. They've changed before in front of each other so it's not like JC has never seen him without his pants on, but suddenly Lance feels very shy. This is stupid, he tells himself before lowering his zipper, sitting on the edge of the bed, and sliding his pants down over his knees. His t-shirt hangs just below his waist, and it certainly doesn't cover his underwear. Blushing, Lance suddenly feels like the room is way too brightly lit.
JC has already learned some of Lance's body language and senses his discomfort. He digs through his clothes and comes up with some sweat pants which he tosses to Lance. "It gets chilly here at night," he says matter- of-factly, heading to the bathroom to brush his teeth.
Lance follows JC with his eyes, embarrassed and grateful at the same time. He puts on the pants, thrilled with the knowledge that they're JC's, that JC is comfortable enough to let Lance wear them, that Lance is going to sleep in the same room with him--he falls back against the mattress with a soft thud, smiling.
JC comes out of the bathroom. "All yours. Oh, you can use my toothbrush if you want. Our, um, mouths are, um, pretty well acquainted."
"Um, thanks," Lance mumbles. Now he's REALLY embarrassed. He realizes he just swapped spit with his bandmate, but hearing it said, well, it just makes it real. He passes JC as he enters the bathroom and closes the door. What am I doing? he wonders. Suddenly, he feels self-conscious about everything--when he pees, when he brushes his teeth, when he spits into the sink. When he finally comes out of the bathroom, JC is under the covers of his bed, and Lance goes to sit on the side of the bed. "JC, I'm sorry I'm being so weird about this. It shouldn't be weird, but it is. Just . . . give me time, okay?"
JC takes one of Lance's hands in his own. "You take all the time you need."
Lance gazes at the hand and then bends down to press his lips against JC's. This time, it's not a quick peck; he lets his lips linger, tasting the remnants of toothpaste until finally, he pulls back. It's still very strange to him, to be kissing a guy, but with each kiss it gets better and better and somehow feels . . . right.
JC squeezes the hand he's still holding and smiles up at the younger boy. "Good night, Lance."