“You look great, Mel,” Joey eyed her and smiled as he clicked a picture with his phone. Her hair was in foil bleaching so it could be colored. At least his was all bleached, waiting for the color to be mixed. The smile became wider when she realized what he'd done, not able to get out of the chair. “What?” he asked innocently, pretending to fiddle with his phone.
“You better not be doing what I think you are,” Melissa told him. “Joey, I will break your phone.”
“I can get another,” he replied, not worried in the least.
“I'll post your phone number on the bulletin board on campus,” she threatened, her mouth dropping when he raised an eyebrow at her and smirked, showing her the picture he took.
“Let's see..Justin needs this,” he murmured loud enough for her to hear, trying hard not to smile at her sputtering. Joey lived to give her a hard time, and it was working.
“Joseph Anthony Fatone, Junior...Don't do it.” Melissa rarely used his full name, but she was pleading. She watched him look at her and laugh, getting mad when she realized he was teasing her the whole time. “Remind me of why I put up with you,” she muttered, relaxing back against the chair. “You are so not going to Mr. Chow's with me later.”
Joey chuckled, looking at the color they had for him. “Nice job, Mike. Check it out,” he told Melissa, watching her grin. He was going back to red on the tips instead of the blonde. It had grown out most of the way. “And as for Mr. Chow's, I drove us here, Melissa Nicole Bass so I guess you're stuck with me.” He stuck his tongue out at her, watching her try her best to ignore him.
“I don't know why you even bother to pretend. You two fight like an old married couple,” Mike told them both, applying red to Joey's hair, knowing that would get something going. He'd done Joey's hair for the past few years, having heard about Melissa, finally meeting her last year.
“He snores like a freight train!” Melissa said loudly, pointing a finger at Joey.
“You sing the theme song to Oklahoma every time we go through the friggin state! You did it for half an hour and got Chris to sing it with you! I thought I was going to have to duct tape your mouth shut,” he fired back.
Mike listened to them trade jabs and kept working, telling Joey he'd have to wait at least 30 minutes to let the color set and deepen unless he wanted pink hair. Then he went to check on Melissa's, grabbing the color that had been mixed. “This is called Purple People Eater,” he said, showing her the deep purple color, “it'll get deep but dry and be bright like Joey's red. You'll have to get some shampoo to keep the color from fading.”
It took them an hour and a half, but when they were done, Melissa kept looking at herself in the mirror. The underside of her hair was purple, along with a strip down her front part. The rest was her blonde color with a few light highlights. “What do you think?” she asked Joey, still not sure what to think since she'd never had anything like this done to her hair.
Joey gave her a thumbs up, letting Mike finish putting some molding wax in his hair. “It looks damn awesome, Mel. I'm gonna have Mike get a picture,” he got his phone out, not surprised at all when she brought out her camera. “You always have that thing.”
“I'm shocked you haven't broken it by now,” Melissa teased, turning it on and showing one of the girls that worked in the salon how to operate it. “A couple with Mike, since he is the genius that did this,” she told both of them, Mike squeezing in between them as they all smiled. Melissa laughed as Mike demanded the camera and for her and Joey to get close and smile.
Melissa mockingly made a surprise face and put a hand over her mouth while Joey pointed to her hair in an over dramatic gasp.
“Okay you two, now act like you like each other, and smile,” Mike told them, snapping the picture. It popped up on the screen. “Perfect.” Joey and Melissa were both smiling, with her looking up at him and Joey gazing at her. “Now flee before me. I have other clients that must be served. You know how it is...”
“Fix my hair and kick me out, Michael,” Joey told him, paying for the services and telling the girl at the front he'd be back in six weeks. They got back to his car and got in. “Mr. Chow's here we come,” he said, watching Melissa buckle up and fiddle with the radio. “You know you're the only one I let touch the radio.” It was true and he'd never thought about it before. He was fiercely protective of his radio and music stations, telling the passenger he was in charge since he was driving.
“I feel special then,” she said, finding one of her favorite stations and turning it up. “Thanks for taking me to get my hair done.”
“You know how we do,” Joey said, sliding his sunglasses on. They rode in a comfortable silence for a few minutes, letting the radio play. “You're coming over after this, right?”
“I need to run by the house and grab homework, but yeah. I don't work today. I work tomorrow through Wednesday, then off Thursday, back Friday, off next weekend.”
“But you'll still have classes?” Joey asked, maneuvering through traffic, watching her nod at his question. He harrumphed at the song that came on, listening to her hum. “You know this song?” Joey raised an eyebrow at the song playing on his radio.
“What? I'm allowed... What are you, the music police?” Melissa turned it up a little bit singing along. “You're just jealous because I know the song and you don't.” She didn't regularly listen to the Backstreet Boys, but she'd heard enough on the radio and did like some of their stuff. She liked all kinds of music and had a CD collection that spanned a few large cases.
Joey laughed and raised an eyebrow. “I don't know it?” He sang two verses and the chorus along with the radio. “Try again, Mel. Pick something harder,” he told her, watching her flip stations to play this game that she started. He sang a gauntlet of songs, from pop, to country, metal and rap. Joey quit when they pulled into the Chinese restaurant. “Anything else you don't think I know?”
So many things came to mind as Melissa sat there with him, trying to bit her tongue. “You're the most maddening person I know. And I love every minute of it.”
“I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it,” Joey retorted, getting out of his car and locking it, throwing his arm around her. “Sounds about like us.”
“Speak for yourself, Fatone. I'm perfectly fine,” Melissa replied as they went in. She was happy that Joey was home. She still had to deal with Travis, but she figured that could be worried about another time.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*
Rachel called Lance's phone, listening to it ring. She sighed when it went to voice mail. “Hey Lance, it's Rachel. I'm still stuck working. Let me know about dinner....” her phone beeped and saw he was trying to call her. “Let me guess, you lost your phone.”
Lance chuckled as he shouldered his phone. “No. Had breadcrumbs and flour all over my hands and had to wash them before I grabbed the phone. What are you up to?” He made sure that everything was turned off or covered before moving to the couch.
“Sitting here staring at my computer. I'm almost three-fourths of the way done looking at books for Grandpa. I may be late in getting to dinner,” Rachel told him, clicking on the next page in the spreadsheet.
“Do you have to stay there or can you bring it with you? I have internet here,” Lance told her, waving to Melissa and Joey when they came in.
“I can bring it if you don't mind me working,” Rachel said, hearing voices and Lance telling his sister to come to him. “What's wrong?”
Lance looked his sister over. “Joey's corrupted my sister. Her hair's half purple,” he hugged her and then let Melissa go as she went upstairs and Joey went towards the couch. “Bring your work with you and I'll finish cooking. Then when it's done you're already here,” he suggested, going and sitting in a chair, watching Joey mess with his phone.
“That sounds great,” Rachel said, shutting down her laptop. “I'll be over there in about thirty minutes or so. Are Mel and Joey staying?” she asked, not that she minded, but was curious to what her friend was going to do since Travis was still in town as far as she knew.
“No.” Lance watched his sister come back down with her backpack and duffle bag, “Looks like she and Fatone are headed to his house.” He waved and told them bye before shutting the door after they left. “What else did you want to do tonight? I'm good for whatever since I slept until two.”
Rachel went to her closet and slipped some flip flops on. “Eat, watch a movie, then go for a swim sounds good to me.” She gathered up her stuff and told Lance bye. A small smile came to her face. It was nice to be friends with a guy she knew wasn't going to hit on her, or want just the physical part of the relationship. Most men tended to see the looks first, money next, and her as a person last. She and Melissa had hit it off in high school almost from the start. There was no pressure to act a certain way or be someone she wasn't. Her friend was somewhat in the same boat, careful to pick her friends.
“Going somewhere honey?” Celeste Weatherly asked her daughter, knowing it was a silly question since she was carrying her purse and keys along with a bag, but curious.
“Just over to Lance's house for a little while. I will call Grandpa when I get done with what I'm doing,” she told her Mom. “They all get off tour and want to stay home. Oh, look at this.” Rachel had gotten a picture from Melissa a few minutes ago of her hair.
Celeste looked at the picture and shook her head. “Tell Melissa I said hello. And that her look is very...interesting. How is she doing?”
“Doing good, just work and school. And trying to pretend she's not having feelings for Joey,” Rachel knew she had to leave or she'd hit the start of rush hour traffic. “I'm going, Mom. Love you.” She headed out to hit the light. They lived in roughly the same area of Orlando but different neighborhoods.
“You didn't have to come help, it's not much to carry,” Rachel told Lance as he shouldered her laptop bag and her other bag she brought her swimsuit in. Usually she kept one in Melissa's dresser, but she'd taken it home for her trip.
“It's fine,” Lance replied, giving her a smile as he opened the door. “The sauce is simmering and the meatballs are in the oven, along with the garlic bread. The chicken parm is waiting to find a spot in the oven to melt the cheese on it.”
The smells that met Rachel's nose made her stomach growl. “You know, as a boyfriend, you're doing a kick ass job.” She smiled at him, letting her hand brush his.
“I try. We're still in the new phase where we can't live five seconds without calling each other, right?” Lance gave her a wink, squeezing her hand before putting Rachel's things down on the couch. “Make yourself at home. The password for the wifi is still the same. You want something to drink?” he asked, moving towards the fridge before she even nodded.
“Sure, thanks.” Rachel got her stuff out and took it over to the bar where she could watch Lance and talk while she finished. “In a glass, little ice,” she told him after he asked.
“Seems weird for you to be here without my sister here,” Lance said after a few moments, getting out the salad to toss it and mix in the vinaigrette dressing. “Not bad weird, just different.”
“It's quiet,” Rachel replied, pulling up the programs she needed to finish. “I know what you mean though. I'll just have to come over more often maybe.” She threw him a flirty smile.
“Oooo baby,” Lance said, lowering his voice some, making Rachel laugh.
Lance made their plates and refilled Rachel's drink as she saved what she'd been working on. “Let me send this over to my boss so he'll know I got it done,” she said, pulling up her email, smiling. “He's always asking me when I'm going to get a boyfriend. Guess I should tell him I have one now.”
The two of them ate and talked sitting on the couch, with Lance finding out Rachel hated the movie 'Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory' and she loved the store Melissa worked at. “So what you're saying is, you could spend a small fortune in Aero?”
“Without a doubt. I also like Nordstrom, but only certain things.”
Lance nodded. Most of his clothes were nice stuff, not because he bought it but most of the time; they got the clothes they had for the photo shoots if they liked them. He did have favorite places to shop. “I like Aero some, The Buckle...” he named off a few other places, shrugging. “You might have to take me shopping sometime. Don't guys always need a makeover or whatever it is?”
“You do alright, Bass. Have I told you the food is delicious?” she asked him, enjoying the fact she didn't have to cook and it wasn't going out to eat.
“A few times,” Lance smiled. “I cheated on dessert. Saw the ice cream cake and couldn't resist. You want some now or later?” he asked, grabbing his plate and reaching for hers.
“There's always room for ice cream,” Rachel told him, getting up when a beep sounded to tell that someone was in the driveway. “You want me to get that?” she called out when someone knocked on the door, getting up to answer it when Lance said yes. She could see through the tempered glass that it was Travis standing there. Rachel opened the door some. “Can I help you?” she asked, not opening it wide enough for him to come in.
Travis raised an eyebrow at Rachel, giving her a smirk. “I think you could, but you'd have to not tell Melissa. Speaking of, is she here?” He stuffed his hands in his pockets, expecting to be let in.
“No, she's out at the moment, but I'll tell her you came by,” Rachel said, ignoring the look he was giving her, rolling her eyes at him huffing. “Please,” she rolled her eyes at him. “You knew she was going to be busy today.”
“What are you doing here?” Travis asked her, waiting to see what she was going to say. He wasn't quite ready to leave, wanting answers since his girlfriend wasn't answering her phone.
Rachel didn't hear Lance come up behind her until his hand was on her shoulder.
“She's here because I invited her,” Lance replied, coming to stand in front of Rachel. “As my girlfriend and my sister's best friend, I don't think it really needs an explanation. Do you, Travis?” Lance folded his arms over his chest, leaning back on the door frame.
“Seems like everyone knows more than me at the moment,” Travis said, looking between them both. “I can find something to do while she's out with Fatone. You guys are all the same, so he'll break her heart right? Just like you will Rachel's. Sorry babe, thought you knew better than to date a celebrity.”
Before Lance could speak, Rachel stepped in front of Lance, jabbing her finger in Travis' chest. “I'm not your babe. You're just jealous because your girlfriend would rather spend time with someone she has something in common with than you leching off her,” she turned to Lance. “He's been looking me up and down since I went to pick him up at the airport like I was his next piece of ass.”
Travis sputtered, giving them both a look. “She's a lying bit...” Blood gushed from his nose as he staggered back.
Lance's eyes blazed, his body taunt and ready for a fight as he stepped towards Travis. “Get the fuck out of my driveway and off my property. As far as I'm concerned, stay away from anyone related to me, from her, and from NSYNC. If you can't understand what I'm saying, then I can bring my lawyer in to spell it out in paperwork form.”
Travis stood there, blood dripping from his hands onto the concrete where his nose was still bleeding. “Mel's still my girlfriend,” he told them, shooting them looks.
“Not likely,” Lance told him, standing there until Travis had left, pulling out his phone to tell security at the gate to not let him back in. He hung up the phone and looked at Rachel. “I'm sorry, Rach,” he pulled her to him in a hug.
“I think you broke his nose,” she said, a laugh coming out after a moment. “That was epic. I wish I had gotten a video of it.” It bothered her a bit to be talked to like Travis had done, but more so that her best friend was dating him. “Thank you for sticking up for me.” Rachel paused, not sure what she was doing, leaning up and pressing her lips against Lance's.
Lance was surprised but returned the kiss, holding Rachel in his arms. Her lips felt nice against his, warm and soft. He kicked himself mentally for not being attracted to her romantically, although his body was on board with it. He broke off the kiss and smiled at her. “No problem. I hate men like that...” he sighed, his arm still around her as they went back into the house.
“I'm gonna call Mel and tell her what a piece of shit her boyfriend is,” Rachel told him, then closed her phone. “Actually, you know what? She's probably having the most fun she's had in two months. I'll tell her tomorrow.” She did fire off a text message to Melissa, telling her Travis showed up and closed her phone. “Where were we?” she asked, giving him a grin.
“Dessert and a movie,” Lance told her, ignoring the throb in his hand. They settled on 'Slingblade' and sat back on the couch. Later, Lance intwined his fingers with Rachel's, glad to be home. His phone buzzed and he looked at the message, smiling. 'Dinner at the Fatone house' it said. He was glad Rachel decided to wait, but his frown stayed a little, hoping Travis would stay away.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*
“So it is true, our little brother finally took you to the dark side,” Steven, Joey's older brother said when he opened the door to their parents home. “Looks nice, Mel. I see you still brought this guy with you,” he said jokingly, hugging her and then Joey before they all went in.
“Nice to see you two,” Joe Sr, said pausing a moment. “Phyllis, you've got to come see this. We've got kids who played in koolaid.” He got up to hug Joey and Melissa. “You lost a bet or what?”
“It was bribery to get them to sing my song,” Melissa told him, hugging Phyllis as she made a fuss over her hair.
“Don't forget you still owe us dinner,” Joey said, pinching one of her cheeks as he walked by, getting thwacked on the back. “We agreed to purple hair and dinner.”
“Where's Janine?” Joey asked, not seeing his older sister.
Steven was about to answer when the doorbell rang. “That's probably her and David,” he said, speaking of their brother in law, opening the door and seeing it was them.
“Hi guys,” Janine said, hugging her brother and Joey. “Nice hair,” she told him, going in the house in front of her husband.
“You like this, you should see Melissa's. It's called Purple People Eater. It's whack,” he said, shaking hands with his brother in law as the men made their way to the living room.
Janine shook her head at her brother and made her way into the kitchen, stopping at the entry way, staring at Melissa's hair, since Melissa was standing the fridge with her back turned. “Your hair is purple!” she exclaimed, figuring Joey was just kidding.
Melissa grabbed the zucchinis and tomatoes and set them on the counter and shut the fridge and then went and hugged Janine. “I was shanghaied. It's your brother's fault,” she said loud enough for Joey to hear.
“Not me,” Joey half yelled from his seat in the living room.
Melissa rolled her eyes at him and stood in the kitchen. “What can I do to help, Phyllis?” she asked, getting told to sit down and relax. “You burn one pan of eggs and your name is mud,” she said with a sigh.
“Did you spray the pan?” Janine asked, grabbing a knife and slicing the vegetables, getting a nod from the younger girl. “It's the pan's fault. We can say that right? How are classes?”
“They are alright. All but Algebra, but I am holding a B in there right now,” she told her, sighing.
“You have a B because you're smart, not because I helped,” Joey said, coming to stand behind her, resting his arms on her shoulders, smiling when he laced his fingers through hers, letting more of his upper body weight fall on her.
“Stand up, you dork. You're heavy,” Melissa told him, laughing when he leaned over more. “You should be a comedian instead of a singer,” she stuck her tongue out at him when he stood up, making a funny face at her. “ I only keep you around cause you sing good, ya know.”
“And I can cook. I have a killer sense of humor and I'm fu..darn good looking,” he amended, giving her a grin, letting her go, leaning in and whispering. “Why I keep you around, I'm not sure yet.”
Melissa narrowed her eyes at him, fighting to contain a smile and not laugh. “Don't tell lies with your Mom standing right there. It's not nice.”
Joey looked at his mom and sister, watching them watch him and Melissa. “Okay fine. I'll admit it. I keep you around because,” he smirked, a song coming to his head. “You are the sun you are the rain, that makes my life this foolish game, You need to know I love you so...” he sang Lionel Richie to her, making them all laugh as he finished the chorus. Joey knew she wouldn't ever take him seriously doing that. It was one way for him to tell her how he felt without admitting it outright.
Melissa hugged Joey, shaking her head at him. “Help me set the table, songbird,” she told him, dragging him further into the kitchen to get silverware and plates. “I'm glad your mom called and invited us to dinner.”
“Technically she invited me, but since you were with me...” his voice trailed off and he laughed at her dirty look. “Okay okay, she insisted you come too. I love ya, Melly.”
“Love you too, Fatoney. Most of the time.”
Dinner was loud and boisterous even though there was only seven people there. They all laughed and ate and talked, telling jokes and stories, eventually getting up to put the dishes in the sink or dishwasher and make their way to the back porch to sit.
Joey looked over at his Dad, smiling at him as the older man grabbed his Mom's hand before reaching up and kissing the back of it. His eyes wandered to Steven and David who were talking and then to Janine, who was talking with Melissa. Janine and David were holding hands. He inwardly sighed, wondering when it would be his turn, and if hanging on to Kristen was just his own tactic of keeping his feelings hidden. What if Melissa didn't love him back? They'd never talked about those feelings, happy to be best friends and to be with one another in that capacity. Joey smiled at her, lost in his own thoughts as the conversations went on around him, happy where he was at the moment. With the people he loved.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
“The water feels great,” Rachel told Lance, getting in and going under before resurfacing. “It feels like warm bathwater.” They'd watched Slingblade and then decided to take a swim in the pool. The pool, typical for Florida, was covered. The landscaping made it mostly private and there was recessed lighting in the roof over the patio, along with lights that were along the ground that lit up when it got dark. There was still the noise of the neighborhood: dogs barking, kids playing, and the occasional smell of a grill. “I bet you miss being home,” she said after a few minutes when Lance jumped in the deep end of the pool and swam over to her.
“Yeah, but by the time we have to tour again, I'll be okay with it. There's always that certain energy that comes with a new album and everything,” Lance told Rachel as they lounged in the water. “You've come for a night or two, but you've never toured with us for a couple weeks,” he smiled at her. “Probably see and know more about us all than you ever wanted to.”
Rachel laughed, splashing him. “It's all part of it right? I've been around you and the guys enough to know I'll be okay. What's the next thing coming up? Besides recording, I mean...”
Lance leaned back, looking up at the sky as it turned dark and stars came out. “The American Music Awards. We're singing a medley to honor the Gibb brothers, the Bee Gees,” he clarified. “It's in September in Los Angeles. Will you be my date?” he asked, giving her a smile. “You get to go buy a really nice dress and shoes and jewelry.”
Rachel grinned big, throwing her arms around Lance in a hug. “You had me at date,” she told him, laughing. “It sounds like a fantastic trip.” They talked a little while longer, finally getting out of the pool when the air started getting cool.
Lance handed Rachel a towel, drying himself off. “What now?” He was up for whatever. “We could always go to Sonic. It's always fun to hear people argue whether it's really me or not. Joey always tells them his name is Tony when he and Mel go.”
“Yeah,” Rachel said with a laugh, drying off. “Tony and Nikki is what she told me. And why is it fun to do that? More fun to just say yes and see if you can score some free food.” Rachel was trying not to laugh at the suggestion. She blew out a breath and looked at Lance. “I know she's your sister, but do you think she'll ever tell Joey how she feels about him? Or do you think he'll have to be the one to do it?”
“Joey will have to do it. Mel's not gonna break him and Kristen up. She'll wait and just be happy like they are,” Lance told her, both of them going in. “So..Sonic and driving around?”
“Sounds great to me, long as you take out your car,” Rachel asked, knowing his Porsche sat in the garage most of the time. Melissa had her Mustang that sat next to it that was currently there. She stuck her lip out and batted her eyes. “Please.”
Lance chuckled, “We'll take the Porsche,” he pulled her close for a hug. “I think you're quickly becoming spoiled.”
“Then it's just as it should be,” Rachel said, hugging him back before she went to Melissa's room to change. As she changed clothes, she smiled at the pictures in the room. Rachel hoped her friend was having fun.
*^*^*^*^*^^*^*
“You get this problem done we can watch a movie,” Joey said, laying across the couch with is head on a pillow that was resting against Melissa's leg. He sighed as she played with his hair with her free hand. He was helping her with her Algebra, which had taken longer because she was stalling since they'd been at his house after coming home from his parents. “You can't fail now that I'm home. I'll take away your Joey time,” he told her with a small smile, groaning when she pulled his hair.
“Take away my Joey time and I'll get rid of the hair sex,” Melissa wrote down what she thought was the right answer and handed it to him, putting her pencil down so she could rub both sides of his head.
Joey grunted and looked at her problem and then up at her. “You're smarter than you think, Bass. You got it right. Now it's movie time...” he grabbed the remotes and started turning stuff on, getting up to flip on the low lights while Melissa went and got some chips and dip with drinks. The DVD came on and he smiled, knowing she'd be surprised. He'd remembered her saying this was one of her favorite movies.
“Junk food, check. Drinks, check. Spending time with your best friend, priceless,” Melissa said, mimicking the Mastercard commercial.
“For everything else, there's Mastercard,” Joey finished, giving her a smile as they sat down beside one another. His phone beeped and he looked at it, seeing a text message from Kristen. He answered it and shut his phone, starting the movie.
“What are we watching?” Melissa asked, opening her Dr Pepper. Her eyes widened and she grinned when she heard the theme to Grease come on. “Yes! You have to sing with me,” Melissa told Joey, hugging him as they both sang the theme song.
It didn't take long for Joey to want to get comfortable on the couch. He grabbed the pillow he'd had, tossing it to the end and laying down, pulling Melissa down with him. She was snuggled up to him, her back to his front. He slipped his arms around her and they laid there, Joey's head next to hers, smelling the hair products in her hair. He smiled slightly at the purple streak that was right in front of his face. “I missed you, Mel,” he said softly as Danny started singing about being stranded at the drive-in.
Melissa turned to where she could look at Joey, trying not to mind that she was now sandwiched between his body and the couch. “I missed you too,” she raised an eyebrow at him, smiling. “We already went over this last night, didn't we?” She let her arms slip around his neck and hugged him. “Being at home by myself sucked, though, just so you know. Rachel was there, but she'd think it was weird if I wanted to snuggle with her.”
“Oooo a girl fest,” Joey teased, getting smacked on the shoulder, goosing her ribs. “You're always smacking me,” he said, tickling her, making her squirm and squeal as she tried to get away. “It's like you live for smacking me.”
Melissa accidentally kneed Joey, hearing him groan. “Oh damn, Joey. I'm sorry...”
He held up his hands in surrender. “It's okay, my fault,” he said, wincing as he rolled back over like they had been. “You keep injuring me and I won't be able to have kids.”
“Might be a good thing,” she teased, patting his cheek, letting her fingers graze over his now growing in goatee. “I mean, another you running around in miniature might be a scary thing.”
“Hey, I was a good kid,” Joey said, both of them getting quiet, watching Rizzo sing. It wasn't hard for Joey to think of how comfortable they were like this, how it might be to lean down and kiss Melissa, but he stopped himself. The thing that kept repeating in his head was that he and Melissa were both seeing other people. When she mentioned a mini him, his mind wandered and he had to clamp his brain down on that thought too. Her pregnant with his baby. That thought alone sent him reeling mentally, wondering if he was going to go crazy. Not that he didn't think about a future with Kristen, but those things just didn't randomly pop into his brain.
Melissa laid there, listening to Joey breathe, enjoying the feel of being in the familiar place with him. She smiled when she heard him humming along with the song near the end. She giggled when he exclaimed “Sandy!”, turning her head to bat her eyes at him. “Tell me about it. Stud.”
Joey laughed, shaking his head at the two of them. The movie ended and he let go of Melissa so she could go change clothes and put her stuff up from school. She came back, wearing a pair of capri cotton pants and a jersey that said BASS on the back. It was one they'd gotten from some game they'd sang the National Anthem at and she'd stolen it from Lance. He looked her up and down, the black capri's and light blue of the jersey. “You match. For once.” Grabbing the other two movies he'd gotten, putting in the original Batman starring Michael Keaton.
“Shut up. You only match because people make you,” Melissa told him, sticking her tongue out. “Be sure to set your alarm for six thirty..it's loud enough to wake the dead,” she called to him after he told her he was going to change. Melissa grabbed the empty cans and threw them in the recycle bin and then got more, rummaging through the fridge. She then went to the pantry and found some M&Ms, grabbing them. “Sexy,” Melissa told him, seeing Joey sitting on the couch in a pair of basketball shorts with no shirt on. She heard the air kick on and knew before they went to bed that it would be about ten degrees cooler in the whole house. Joey kept it like a freezer.
“Whatever,” Joey said, playing off her comment with a smile. It wasn't like he was showing off, he didn't wear a shirt usually when he was at home to sleep, having done so the whole tour. He grabbed some of the candy and the offered drink. Halfway through the movie, they were back to how they'd been before. Melissa had been quiet for about ten minutes and Joey saw that she was asleep. He pulled the blanket over her and tucked it in around her body before turning his attention back to the movie. Joey figured this was a good night, ignoring the buzzing from his phone. He wasn't moving unless it was absolutely necessary.
*^**^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
“Best vacation ever?” Rachel questioned Lance as they sat in the parking lot of Sonic, waiting for their food and drinks.
“I'd have to say Bahamas a couple years ago. A week of nothing but family and friends and fun. You were gone with your family or you could have gone. I'd love to go back, the water is so clear. What's yours?”
Rachel thought for a moment. “I wouldn't say the company was the greatest, but Greg,” she said his name like a poison had went through her body, “took me to Colorado for a long weekend. The Rockies were beautiful. Got to see some snow when it was seventy out down off the mountains. It's beautiful there.” She spotted the girl coming to bring their order and smiled. The girl got closer and stopped a moment and looked hard at Lance before swallowing hard.
“Hi,” the girl said, reading back his order and then telling him the total. It was less than ten bucks, but Lance handed her a twenty and told her to keep the change. “I hate to ask,” she said after a moment, “but you look a lot like Lance from NSYNC.”
“I do?” Lance asked her, smiling. He figured she was 16, working to pay on her car or clothes, a normal looking girl.
“Yeah,” she said, nodding, blushing.
“I get that a lot,” Lance said, smiling a little. “Since I am Lance from NSYNC.” He loved it when a fan was genuine and this girl seemed to be. She didn't scream or cry, but she did dig in her change apron for a pen and had the twenty he'd given her.
“Would you mind signing this? I know you want to eat and everything...” she said, waiting for an answer before she gave the items back to him.
Lance asked her what her name was and grinned when she said it was the same as his sister's name but spelled different. “That's my sister's name. She spells it with an 'e' after the 'm' though,” he said, writing on the money and handing it back to her.
“Thanks so much!” Malissa said, holding on to the money and looking at it. “Have a great night!” she said, giving them both a little wave, practically skipping back into the building.
“I love that,” Lance told Rachel, opening up his burger and taking a bite.
“I think it's hilarious,” Rachel said, popping a tater tot in her mouth, eating before she spoke again.. “I mean, I like it when people are normal, but the ones that act like you're their property... Makes me laugh. Like when people assume just because my last name is Weatherly that everything is just wonderful all the time. I'm a normal person. You're a normal person...”
Lance nodded, “There are days I'd give a lot not to have to worry about going out in public. But for the most part, it's alright. Like this..this is fun.” He winked at her and took a drink of his Cherry Limeade.
“There you go again, trying to score boyfriend brownie points.” Rachel momentarily wished Lance wasn't gay, but reminded herself she'd agreed to this and didn't want a real relationship with a guy. This was going perfect and she wasn't about to ruin it for either of them.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Chapter 11..Enjoy and thanks for all the reads and reviews.
Story Tags: joey
