| Taking A Chance |
| When Lance had suggested spending their day off at the beach, all the guys had quickly agreed. They grabbed their bathing suits, towels, sunscreen, and beach ball, and walked the short distance from their hotel to the beach. Lance walked alongside Justin, only half-listening to his rambling. He was excited that they were all spending the day together, but he sort of wished that it could be just him and Justin. He loved his friends and all, but he *loved* Justin. Yeah. Only Justin didn�t know it yet. Josh looked back and gave Lance a sad smile. Josh knew about his crush. That�s what Josh called it anyway. Lance didn�t like that term, but he couldn�t think of a better one to describe how he felt. He wanted to tell Justin what he was feeling, that he thought he loved him, but he wasn�t even sure yet. Lance returned the smile and turned back to Justin. �You haven�t been listening, have you?� Justin asked, pouting. �Sure I have,� Lance replied, praying that Justin wouldn�t ask him what he�d been talking about. �Really?� Justin asked. Lance nodded cautiously. �Then what did I just ask you?� Justin questioned, a grin on his face. �Ummm, well,� Lance started, trying to remember what Justin had been talking about. �Oh. You asked me what we were doing tomorrow!� �Wrong. That was ten minutes ago, buddy,� Justin informed him. �So what�s got you distracted, Lance?� �Oh, it�s nothing,� Lance responded, hoping Justin wouldn�t press for more. �I know you�re lying, but I won�t push you,� Justin told him, �yet.� Lance groaned. He knew Justin would push him until he told him the truth. And that�s why this was dangerous. He hoped that Justin would just forget it, because he really didn�t want to try to explain his feelings to Justin when he didn�t know what they were either. Their conversation stopped there, and soon they were walking across the sand. The beach was virtually empty � it was a private beach � and Lance was grateful for that. He wanted to relax, not be hoarded by fans. He looked over to find Justin grinning at him. �What?� �Race you to the water,� Justin said. �I still have my clothes on,� Lance replied. He rolled his eyes when Justin said, �so?� �So, I don�t want to get them wet,� Lance explained. �So, take them off,� Justin replied, winking. Lance pulled off his shirt, his breath catching in his throat as Justin did the same. �God, he�s beautiful,� he thought to himself. �Maybe this wasn�t such a good idea.� �Lance?� Justin asked. �You still in there?� He waved his hand in front of Lance�s face and smiled when Lance finally broke out of his daze. Lance blinked over at Justin and shook his head to get the dirty images out of his mind. He smiled at Justin before taking off down the beach to the water. �Hey, no fair!� he heard Justin exclaim from somewhere behind him, and he grinned as he reached the water first. He was about to turn around to boast about his win when someone ran into him and knocked him down into the water. He came up sputtering, glaring at Justin. �Hey! What was that for?� Lance complained, sticking his hand out so Justin could help him up. �You cheated,� Justin whined, grabbing Lance�s hand to pull him up. But instead, Lance pulled as hard as he could, and Lance tumbled down on top of him. �Ha! Tricked you!� Lance exclaimed, laughing. Justin just pouted and splashed him in the face. �Ugh,� Lance said, spitting out a mouthful of water. Then he smiled at Justin. They sat there in the water, both grinning dumbly at each other until Chris ran up and splashed them both. �Oh no you did!� Justin yelled, standing up and splashing Chris back. Justin helped Lance up, and soon Josh and Joey joined them in their splashing war. Fifteen minutes later, they all walked up to their towels on the beach, drenched and laughing. �Hey look, my fingers are all wrinkly,� Justin pointed out, shoving his fingers in Lance�s face. �Mine too,� Lance replied, shoving his hands in Justin�s face too. Justin just grinned. When they reached their towels, they laid out, letting the sun dry them. Lance closed his eyes, hoping that maybe he could take a little nap, but Justin decided not to let him. �Hey Lance?� �Yeah?� �Wanna build a sand castle with me?� Justin asked, and Lance couldn�t help but think that he sounded about five years old. �Actually, I was thinking about-� Lance started, but Justin interrupted him. �Cool! Let�s go!� he exclaimed, standing up and running to a spot a little ways down the beach. He plopped down and started digging in the sand with his hands. Lance sighed, but he was smiling. He looked over to see Joey staring at him. �You gotta tell him, man,� Joey said softly. �I know,� Lance replied, �but I don�t know what to say.� �Say how you feel. Let your heart do the talking. It�s not like he�s going to stop being friends with you,� Joey told Lance. �He already knows you�re gay. It�ll be ok, Lance.� �Ok,� Lance agreed, and he decided then that he was going to tell Justin. But he still wasn�t sure how. Justin looked up from his big pile of sand so see Lance talking to Joey. �Lance! Come on!� he yelled before going back to his castle-building. Lance was sitting next to him a few minutes later, digging a ring around the castle for a moat. They worked silently, neither needing to say anything. That�s what Lance loved about spending time with Justin. They could just sit in the same room, doing completely different things, and he was comfortable. Just being near Justin made him happy. Justin looked up to see Lance staring at him. He smiled before going back to his work. Lance wondered how the heck he was going to tell Justin how he felt. He thought about it for a few minutes before getting an idea. �I�ll be right back, J,� he told Justin, standing up and jogging back to his towel, where his things were. �How�s lover-boy?� Chris teased, grinning. �Shut up,� Lance teased back, knowing Chris meant well. �I�m going to tell him?� �You are?� Chris asked, surprised. �You mean *actually* tell him. Cause remember last time you chickened out-� �Hey, shut up.� �Sorry.� �It�s ok, I�m just nervous,� Lance explained, grabbing his cell phone and clicking it on. �Good luck,� Chris told him. �Thanks.� Lance returned to Justin and the ever-growing castle a few minutes later with a small piece of paper tucked in his pocket. �Everything ok?� Justin asked. �Everything�s great,� Lance replied. �Oh, Chris wanted to talk to you.� �Oh, ok. I�ll be back then. Don�t knock it over,� Justin warned, winking. Lance sighed. He pulled the paper out of his pocket and read it over before sticking it on the castle like a flag. He just hoped Justin didn�t freak out. �Ugh,� Justin huffed, plopping down next to Lance with a sigh. �What?� Lance asked. �Chris was just being annoying. We wanted to tease me about the castle. You don�t think it�s childish, do you?� Justin questioned, his blue eyes looking slightly hurt. �No, of course not, it�s fun,� Lance responded with a smile. Justin looked at his doubtfully. �Ok, so maybe it�s a little childish, but you�re-� Lance started, but he stopped himself. �Woah, that was close,� he thought to himself. �I�m what?� Justin asked. �Nothing.� �No, tell me what you were going to say,� Justin insisted. �I was just going to say that you�re cute when you do things like this,� Lance told Justin, looking down into his lap. �Really?� �Yeah,� Lance said, still refusing to look up. �Well, you are too,� Justin commented, tilting Lance�s head up with his hand so they were eye-to-eye. �You�re the only one that will do fun things like this with me.� Lance smiled. He didn�t know what else to say. His heart was beating so fast. Justin still hadn�t seen the �flag.� Justin smiled back and then turned his attention back to the castle. He was about to add more sand when he noticed the piece of paper. �What�s this?� he asked, and Lance wasn�t sure who he was asking. Lance stayed silent while Justin plucked the piece of paper out of the castle and unfolded it. He bit his lip as he saw Justin read the short message. Justin smiled. Lance�s eyes widened. �Does he know it�s from me though?� Lance asked himself. He suddenly wished he�d signed his name. Then he was suddenly knocked backwards with Justin on top of him. His eyes widened as Justin lowered his lips so they were almost touching his. Justin smiled, his eyes sparkling. Lance couldn�t help but smile back. �Let�s do it, let�s take the chance,� Justin said, �I love you too.� Then he kissed Lance until he couldn�t breathe any longer. **** Later that night, a couple was walking along the same beach, and the woman saw the very same paper, picking it up. She read it slowly and sighed. See I just love the feeling, knowing I can make you smile and I haven't felt that about someone in quite a while Just listen to these words I have to say Just take a chance. I love you. �Isn�t that sweet?� she cooed, unable to keep from smiling. She couldn�t help but be jealous of the person who received the paper. THE END |