“Watch this,” Joey said, grabbing a handful of wet sand, grinning at JC. “Oh Melly,” he singsonged, the water splashing at his ankles towards the girls who were watching the other beach goers.
“You're gonna get it, man,” JC called out, smiling at his friend, then looking back to where Lance was putting on more sunscreen.
“I just thought that she shouldn't get four days off if no one else did,” Melissa was telling Rachel until she felt grainy sand going down her back and turned quickly, glaring at Joey. “What was that for?” she asked before he rubbed his hands on her face and her cleavage, grinning. “You better help me get this off, Fatone.”
Joey laughed, picking Melissa up and throwing her over his shoulder. “As you wish,” he said, ignoring her pleading for Rachel to help.
“If I help, he'll be limping back to the car,” she called out to her friend, trying not to laugh as Joey told her he didn't need any help. “You know she loves it,” Rachel told JC, who just nodded as they walked back towards where Lance was. “What are you doing with your next week off?”
“Gonna go see some family and just hang out with friends. Just hoping the week will go by slow.” JC gave Rachel a smile as they sat down each of them on either side of Lance.
“Maybe if we're lucky, Joey and Mel will wear each other out by the time we go home,” Lance said, slipping his sunglasses on. “I feel like I'm on babysitter duty.”
“Nah, they're good,” Rachel said, reaching over to rub in some sunscreen he missed. “You ass, you tan. I'm jealous.”
“Not all of us burn. Can't help it, babe.” Lance kissed her hand and made a face when he tasted sunscreen.
“You two are almost as bad as them. Except they are louder about it,” JC commented, watching them together. “You coming to the recording studio some?” he asked Rachel, pulling his ball cap on.
“Hopefully when I'm not busy I will...I wanna hear the new stuff,” she said, laying back on her chair.
“You missed some sand,” Melissa said, her arms around Joey's neck as they wandered out deeper into the ocean. She leaned back and went under the water and then came back upright. “Ugh, saltwater.”
“I think I got it all,” Joey told her, grinning as he grabbed her ass. “I couldn't resist, Mel. Who knew you were so fun to mess with?” He'd known it for some time but now there were no brakes being put on his feelings.
“You've been like this since we met, Fatoney. Just now it's more...calculated.” Melissa reached up and messed with his hair. “Kiss me,” she said, nuzzling Joey's nose. She laughed when he looked around at all the people. “I'm serious, Fatone. Kiss me.”
“I thought you wanted a week..best friend's don't kiss--” his words were lost when Melissa grabbed his face and kissed him hard on the mouth.
JC's eyes widened and he smacked Lance when he spotted Joey and Melissa. “Holy shit, what the hell did I miss? When did that happen?”
Lance lifted his head and whistled loudly. “This is a public beach you sickos!” he laughed when Rachel wooped loudly at them. “Maybe we need to have the PDA talk with them...”
“I think they know about that, Lance,” Rachel told him, getting up to walk towards the water. “Leave him some air, Mel, he has to sing next week!” she yelled loudly, laughing at Joey's surprised expression when the kiss broke off and a shit eating grin covered his face.
“Screw the week thing. I've wanted you to ask me out for three years,” Melissa told him as she caught her breath, leaning on Joey's chest.
“Three years?” Joey exclaimed, raising an eyebrow. “Why didn't you say something sooner?” The waves were starting to get bigger and Joey moved a little closer to the shore.
“I didn't know how you felt...why ruin us? I'd rather be your best friend and not have you than tell you how I feel and you not feel the same. Besides, we had a lot of fun in three years.”
Joey couldn't argue with her there. They had a lot of memories he wouldn't trade, ones that might or might not have happened if they'd been dating, complicating the relationship up until now. “Okay so I agree...but now that it's all out...will you be my girlfriend?” he asked, giving her a slow smile. “Come on, Mel,” he said when she acted like she was thinking about it.
“Only if you ask me in song,” Melissa countered, grinning, making Joey groan. “What? It'll be fun.”
“You're spoiled,” Joey told her. He gave her a looking over and chuckled before he took a deep breath and sang. “Each time the wind blows, I hear your voice so, I call your name. Whispers at morning, our love is dawning, heaven's glad you came. You know how I feel, this thing can't go wrong, I'm so proud to say I love you,” he sang, his lip twitching into a smile when she realized what song he was singing.
Melissa's smiled widened, “I love you, Joey. And yes, I'll be your girlfriend...if I have to. Ya know since I have so many guys asking me out,” she teased as he put her down to stand when they were close to shore.
“Shut up, Bass. You know you wanna go scream like a girl at one of our concerts. “I'm dating Joey Fatone” he mimicked her and ran crazily in a circle around her. “He's so cute and I can't believe he likes me like that.”
“Okay so I'm you,” Melissa folded her arms over her chest. “Yeah, whatever. Can I grab your ass?” she asked, making him stop and look at her.
“I wouldn't ask to grab your ass. I'd just do it.” Joey smacked her backside before grabbing her hand as they made their way over to their friends. “How are ya doin?” he asked Lance, dripping water on him, laughing when Lance pulled his sunglasses halfway down.
“Do I need to beat you up?” Lance asked smiling a little. “Why are you kissing my sister?”
Joey's face went slack. “This is your sister? Man...I thought she was some random girl,” Joey pulled Melissa to him. “I'm not just kissing your sister. I'm kissing my girlfriend.”
“The world has ended..I think I felt a tectonic plate shift,” JC said, getting up. He grabbed his phone and hit a number to speed dial. “Justin...you missed it.” He put it on speaker so their friend could talk to all of them.
“What did I miss dawg? I've only been gone a day..” Justin's voice said.
“Joey and Mel are officially together,” Rachel told him, smacking both of them in the back of head. “No thanks to me telling them to wait...I see how that worked. See if I give advice again.” She had a smile on her face and was teasing.
“About fuckin' time!” Justin yelled, they could hear him yelling at someone and then back. “Let me know when the wedding is. Like next week or something right?”
“You've lost your damn mind, Timberlake. We got married back when I graduated high school,” Melissa told him with a laugh. “I miss you Justin.”
“Make jokes, chica...I'll see you next week, kay. And Joey, way to man up. Treat her right or I will hurt you.”
“I seem to get that threat a lot. I don't think you have to worry, Justin..I'm keeping her,” Joey told his friend telling him bye before the rest of their group said their goodbyes and hung up the phone.
“So now that you're together, where are you taking her on your first big date? Rachel asked, watching both of them blink. “Oh give me a break. You gotta take her somewhere nice, dress up a little.”
“Dress up?” Melissa wrinkled her nose, elbowing Joey. “You don't want to see me dressed up do you?”
Joey started to shake his head no before he caught Rachel glaring at him. “I...maybe we should just once, ya know. Just to say we did. Besides, no one would believe it. I mean, you don't own a dress do you?” It was Joey's way of playing it off, getting her to agree to it. Besides, he knew if he could get Rachel to help her shop, it could be a very good thing.
“You hate dressing up unless it's for an awards show,” Melissa pointed out, giving Joey a look. “You told me it was a pain in the ass.”
Joey wasn't sure what to say, looking to JC and Lance for help.
“How about the two of you get dressed up for our entertainment,” JC suggested. “You know ZZ Top, 'Sharp Dressed Man' and all that. Besides,” JC slid his arms around the both of them. “It makes the after the date better,” his voice was almost a whisper, grinning when Melissa blushed and Joey got this stupid smile on his face. He winked at Rachel, patting them both on the back. “I told you that you'd like it.”
“Come on, Fatone. We can go back to your house and play Madden while Melissa and Rachel shop. You can take her out tonight,” Lance said, giving Rachel a smile. “Get something for you to wear so I can take you out.”
“Oooh a date. I'm there,” Rachel told him, leaning in and giving him a small kiss. “See you later?” she said, getting a nod.
“Make sure you get a dress,” Joey told Melissa, knowing how her mind worked. “A hot dress,” he added, loving that he made her blush. “I'll pick you up at 7.”
“You better look hot yourself.” Melissa kissed him quickly as she looped her arm through Rachel's. “You suck,” she muttered once they were out of earshot of the guys, taking Lance's car back towards Orlando.
“Shut up. You know you're excited to look like a girl for once. Joey won't know what hit him.” Rachel smiled as she unlocked the car and they got in. “Just trust me on this.”
“The last time I trusted you, you got me to wax my legs and my eyebrows. I was allergic to the wax and broke out in hives. This better be a whole lot better than that.” Melissa blew kisses to Joey before they backed out, laughing at him pretending to be heartbroken. “Fine,” she said a little bit later as they made their way back to Orlando, “make me hot. But it's just this once.”
*^*^*^*^*^*
“Holy crap, I look freaking hot. Other than my boobs are going to fall out of this dress,” Melissa told Rachel, pulling at the halter top to the black dress she was wearing. It had an empire waist and covered her fine, other than she wasn't used to it. The skirt hit her about the knees and went off longer at an angle in the back, the longest side hitting her about mid calf. “You made me beautiful, Rach,” Melissa turned to grin at her friend who was getting ready herself. “And you look hot.”
“You're welcome. And technically it was me, the dress shop and Clinique. Your hair looks awesome,” Rachel told her. They'd curled Melissa's hair and pulled it up into a french twist with the big black flower barrette with a few cubic zirconias in it to sparkle. “I have to get pictures to use as blackmail,” Rachel smoothed her own dress out, a halter top long dress in a dark navy blue color, her hair half up and curled as well. Her make up was a nighttime dramatic effect and Rachel smiled. Very different from their usual dress.
Melissa slipped her feet into her new shoes, some black sparkly Tom's. She'd refused heels, arguing with Rachel that it wasn't sexy to face plant into something as she walked. “If Joey's not dressed up, I'm kicking his ass,” she told Rachel, taking a deep breath. “Why am I nervous? It's just me and Joey...”
“You're nervous because now he's coming to pick you up for a date. All the other times he's been coming to hang out. It didn't matter if you were wearing sweat pants or whatever,” Rachel told her with a shrug. “Quit pulling on your top. The girls aren't moving, take a deep breath.”
Melissa did as she was asked, letting Rachel take a few pictures. The doorbell rang and Rachel made her stay upstairs while her friend went to answer it.
Joey's eyebrow raised at Rachel. “You look good, Rach,” he grinned at her looking at him. “I clean up alright,” he said, standing there in a tan Armani suit with a black shirt and tie, his hair spiked up. He'd even shaved, making his goatee stand out more, the thin strip of facial hair covering his jawline.
“Wow, you look good. No fedora?” Rachel asked, laughing when Joey produced one, the same color as his suit. “Come in and I'll call Mel. Try not to faint, okay?”
A smile played on Joey's lips as he shook his head. He wasn't going to faint. His eyes widened when he saw her, swallowing hard as his heart rate increased. Joey wondered what had happened to his best friend, now some woman claiming to be Mel standing in front of him. She looked stunning and Joey was at a loss for words. “Amazing,” he murmured, pulling her to him and looking her over.
Melissa beamed at his words, blushing a little and looking him over. “You look hot, Joey. Handsome...sexy...” she smoothed down his tie and grinned. Neither one of them paid attention to Rachel who was taking pictures and got a couple with her phone.
“Ignore me, I'm not here,” Rachel told them, grinning at the shots she'd gotten, sending her phone pics off to Lance to forward to Justin, Chris and JC. She sent it to Mel's phone, knowing her friend would share it.
“So, where are you taking me?” Melissa asked Joey, grinning when he shrugged like he was keeping a secret. “Fine, I didn't want to know.”
“Come on, let's go before we miss our reservation,” Joey said, offering her his arm. The restaurant wasn't black tie or anything, but it was one he'd been to before and it was fancy enough and something he thought Melissa would enjoy. He smiled at her surprise at the black Lamborghini sitting the driveway. “You'll have to call and thank Justin. It's a friend of his that brought it over,” Joey told her, opening the suicide door and helping her in. “I left my spleen on deposit.”
Melissa laughed at Joey as he shut her door and got in. “You didn't have to do all this, Joey. I would have been happy with McDonald's or whatever, riding in the Acura.”
Joey barked a laugh, leaning over to kiss her cheek. “I know you would, so that's why it makes this more special. You don't expect this every time we go out, and God knows how many times we've sat at the house and ordered pizza.”
“We weren't dating then. I don't expect you to change because we're dating. I still want my best friend,” Melissa told him as they made their way down the interstate.
“Me too. I still want the girl who hates scary movies and can't do math. The one who laughs at my stupid jokes and knows I dislike salmon.”
“So what changes?” Melissa asked Joey, slipping her fingers into his, giving him a smile. She could think of one thing, a blush creeping up her cheeks.
Joey cut his eyes over to her, noticing her blush. “Well...the physical stuff. Not sure anything else does. Does it need to change?”
She was quiet for a few moments, thinking. “I hope not. I mean, the feelings will change in that they'll get deeper. And the Bee Gees started playing in my head.”
“How deep is your love, how deep is your love I just need to know,” Joey sang, fiddling with the radio. “Hell yeah,” he said, turning up a rap song, letting it bump the car as they both sang along.
“You need help!” Melissa yelled at him, shaking her head, the smile on her face threatening to break.
“Like you've never told me that before, bambina,” Joey yelled back, bobbing his head to the music, turning it down a little as they made their way through downtown. “Here we are,” Joey told her as they pulled up to Citrus Restaurant & Bar.
“I'm gonna order the most expensive thing on the menu,” Melissa told Joey, sticking her tongue out at him, grinning as he glared at her.
“Stick it out again, Bass.” Joey's mouth played off a smirk as she did it again, and he kissed her. A long hard kiss that left them both breathless. “I want dinner. Think you can keep your hands off of me for that long?”
Her jaw dropped and she looked him up and down. “I hope you know, Mister Fatone, you aren't all that and a bag of chips,” Melissa gave him the yeah whatever look, chuckling when he opened her door and helped her out of the car. “Look who's talking with their hands,” she muttered, grabbing Joey's fingers as they went lower down her back. “Are you always like this?”
“You know you like it,” Joey said as he opened the door for her, giving her a grin. He loved making her blush, which is what she was doing now. It wasn't about worrying if they were going to have a good time. That was a given. Joey studied Melissa as they sat down, watching her look around the restaurant. He didn't care how many other women were there, looking at him, he only had eyes for the woman sitting across from him. In that moment, Joey realized how lucky he was. The woman he wanted, the one all those words fit to all the songs was with him. And he wasn't going to let her go.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*
“I think this is the best Italian I've had in a really long time, eating out that is,” Rachel told Lance as she twined her shrimp and scallops fettuccine on her fork. “How's your steak and spaghetti?” she asked, watching him put some steak sauce on his plate next to his meat.
“It's good, the wine makes it better,” Lance said, giving her a grin. “Did you have fun out with my sister? Did she fight going to look at dresses?”
“Actually, no,” Rachel paused as the waiter poured more water into her glass, “she was nervous as hell. Who knew she cared about dressing up until now. If she starts wearing sundresses, I'm going to take her to get her head examined.”
“I tried to get mom to do that once...it won't work. And for the record, you look gorgeous.” Lance gave her a wink and chuckled as she blushed. “You know, for the record, I wish this could be real. You deserve that much, Rachel.”
Rachel swallowed her wine that was in her mouth and studied Lance, not sure of what to say. She was fine with the relationship the way it was. At the same time, she did feel a bit out of place when she looked around and knew that the couples sitting around them were real and they were just pretending. It was flattering to hear Lance say that, thankful he was a gentleman. “It's fine, Lance. I promise. If it's ever not, for either one of us, we'll talk about it, okay? But for now, you are in the running for boyfriend of the year,” she teased him slightly, reaching under the table to squeeze his hand.
Lance squeezed her hand back, nodding. “We are flying out to Los Angeles the first part of the week to hang out when the American Music Awards is. And,” his grin got wider, “I got a call about a movie. It won't be until next year, but they are thinking of putting me and Joey in it. It's a romantic comedy.” Lance told her what he knew about it. “I just know I'll be busier than a one legged man in an ass kicking contest.”
Rachel took a drink of her water and gave him an encouraging smile. “You'll do fine. Just enjoy all of the time and remember that you can sleep later. Besides, don't you live on energy drinks and stuff when you're on tour? Or at least that's what Mel said...”
“She's filling you full of crap. We get sleep as much as we can, once in a while an energy drink but for the most part they make us feel like shit. Our doctor on tour makes sure we're eating right, or as good as we can...believe me, Joey and Chris don't let us skip meals. Even if it's just stuff from catering and we are late to sound check.”
“I've seen ya eat, it's amazing you can eat all those calories and still look fit,” Rachel told him, wondering why they were talking about this. “Are any of you image conscious?”
Lance thought about it a minute before answering. “We all like to keep in shape, but I'd say Joey is...he works his ass off, but can still put on some weight if we're not touring. At the same time, he tries not to let it get to him if a fan says something to him...” he paused, looking at Rachel, “why do we keep talking about my sister and Joey instead of about us?” It wasn't an accusing question, but he was curious.
“I don't know. Maybe because it's something we have in common and we both want them happy,” she sighed, shrugging. “I've heard nothing but Joey the past three years...well, five, but still. I doubt I'll hear something different anytime soon,” she said with a chuckle.
“If we do then we worry,” Lance told her, nodding. They changed subjects a few times during the rest of dinner and dessert, from Rachel's job to their favorite sports to watch, and about them. “I have a couple people in Los Angeles I want you to meet when we go, they usually throw one awesome party after the awards show.” Lance told her about a party last year he'd went to, glad he'd have a date this year that wasn't his sister and that Rachel would be there. It made him feel better, not wanting to go stag.
“It sounds great,” Rachel started, looking surprised when she felt a hand touch her shoulder. “Hi Rachel, I didn't know that was you.” Rachel looked up, seeing her ex-boyfriend Greg smiling at her, looking between her and Lance.
“And I wish you hadn't have come to find out either,” Rachel told him through a forced smile, introducing him to Lance.
“Oh yeah, the boy band guy...NSUCK right?” Greg laughed at his own joke, then yelped loudly when Rachel's high heel found his foot. His face turned a shade of purple as she dug it in, with him whimpering. “Okay, I'm sorry...” he gasped, his fingers gripping their table hard, turning white around the knuckles.
“Thanks for not staying to chat,” Rachel said in a low voice, finally taking her heel out of his foot, figuring she broke one of his toes the way he was limping off. “Men are assholes,” she told Lance, leaning over to kiss his cheek, “well, all of them but you and the rest of the guys.”
“Good to know we rank higher than asshole,” Lance told her, bringing her face back to his and kissing her on the lips. “I'm used to the NSUCK thing, Rach.”
“I know, but no one says that to my boyfriend,” she told him matter of factly, wiggling her fingers at Greg who was limping out. The smile on her face was priceless, looking at him with a sickeningly sweet smile.
“Remind me never to piss you off,” Lance told her, handing his debit card to the waiter to run. Women were a whole different sort to deal with and it made him momentarily glad he was gay, but happy to have her there. “What do you want to do after this? We could always go to Disney World and watch the lights show...” he suggested, knowing it was still early.
“I haven't done that since I was little,” Rachel told him with a laugh. It was a little silly but it also did sound fun. “Maybe we could make it a double date? Make Mel and Joey have to keep their hands in decent places a little while longer...” her grin widened as she laughed, sending off a text to Mel.
“What did she say?” Lance asked when Rachel laughed harder at the text she'd gotten back.
“She said right after the quickie.”
Author's Chapter Notes:
I know I am slowing down with updates. Kids (and me) are starting school next week. My muses are pushing me, so I will write as much as I can when I can. Enjoy this chapter, I loved writing it. :) And thanks for reviewing. It makes my day!!
Story Tags: joey
