| Chapter 8 |
| JC discreetly slouched in the car seat. If he slumped down far enough and pressed his nose against the glass of the car window, he could see his reflection in the right mirror on Justin's car. He fixed his hair for the hundredth time since Justin made plans for them to have dinner with Lance, and he hoped he looked okay. Finally satisfied with his hair, he started to relax when another thought occurred to him. 'What if my breath stinks?' His eyes widened, and he snuck a quick glance at Justin. Noticing that the younger man's eyes were focused on the road, he turned with his back to Justin and cupped his hand around his mouth, breathing out and then sniffing quickly. "JC, what are you doing?" JC jumped, Justin's voice catching him by surprise, and he sat up in his seat quickly as the heat started rushing to his face. He wiped his moist hand on his pants and pretended to look out the window. "Oh, look," he said, pointing out the window, "an elm tree. Don't see too many of those around these parts." Justin looked at him strangely, but said nothing. "If you say so Jace," he mumbled, and JC sighed in relief when he returned his attention to the road. 'You are such a moron,' he scolded himself. 'Look at yourself. You're all ... giddy. And, and, giggly. Oh good God, you've turned into a woman...' 'I have not,' he countered. 'I just have a little ... crush, on Lance. No big deal.' 'Yeah, right,' his thoughts taunted sarcastically. 'You really are pathetic, you know that? You're in *love* with the boy, who just happens to be your boss's BOYFRIEND, and you can't even admit it to yourself. Tell me, have you gone as far as to name your hand Lance?' 'Fuck you.' 'Ooh, touchy. Too bad that can't be Lance's job, right?' JC shook his head, sitting up quickly and reaching over to turn on the radio. He changed it to the nearest station with loud music, and turned up the volume until the voices in his head were drowned out by the music, if you could really call it that. He flinched when an ear piercing guitar solo started, but didn't move to change it. "Hey Jace!" yelled Justin. When JC didn't hear him, he tapped his arm and waited for him to turn around. "Do you think," he yelled, "that we could turn it down a bit?" JC could barely hear him. "What?" he yelled. Justin took a deep breath, trying to keep his eyes on the road since their exit was approaching soon. "Can we please ... turn the music..." JC turned off the radio so that he could hear Justin better, right as he yelled, "DOWN!" They both flinched at the loud voice in the suddenly quiet car, and after their ears stopped ringing they both burst into laughter. Nodding up ahead, Justin signaled to change lanes. "There's the restaurant," he said, not noticing the way JC grew quiet again. "Belle Nota is the name of the place. I think it means beautiful night or whatever. I hear the food's great though." "Great," mumbled JC. He sighed and stared at the window. "Just great." ~*~ Pulling into the parking lot, JC waited until Justin got out of the car before moving. Unbuckling his seat belt, he turned around in his seat and quickly dug through his duffel bag. Grabbing his trusty notebook, he tucked it under his arm and exited the vehicle. 'Might as well take a shot at something positive happening this afternoon,' he thought. 'Hopefully Justin will think my songs are good enough to go on the album. If not ... then I'm screwed.' Entering the packed restaurant, JC followed as Justin moved right to the front of the line. "Excuse me," he said, giving the hostess a polite smile. "We're having an important business meeting with a friend who should all ready be here, and we're running a bit late. Bass, party for 3?" The woman scanned the books and smiled as she found the name. Grabbing two menus, she turned to Justin and JC. "Follow me gentlemen." As the woman led the way, JC moved up to whisper in Justin ear. "We're not here for a meeting," he whispered, and Justin hid a grin. "I know that," he said, "but if they think it's important then they'll get us to our table right away instead of having to wait forever." He tapped his temple. "You gotta use your head, Jace." JC nodded, but kept silent. Looking around as they walked, he admired the beautiful scenery the restaurant had going on. As expected of any good Italian place, the lights were dimmed and soft music was playing in the background. The theme of the place was almost a mix of cultures, JC noticed, as he saw several Chinese tapestries hanging on the walls. Still, it worked well together, providing a calm environment for visitors. Spotting their table ahead of them, JC felt his knees go weak as he spotted what he was sure was the most beautiful thing in the room. Lance was sitting alone at small, yet cozy circle booth, holding a glass of red wine in his hand. He was wearing a snug black T-shirt and dark denim slacks. Matched with the dim lights of the restaurant and the fair color of Lance's skin, he seemed to be almost glowing. JC swallowed thickly, not sure if he could *make* himself look away. Glancing up, Lance spotted JC and Justin as they reached the table and smiled. "Hey you two," he said, standing up. He blushed when Justin winked at him, and turned to give JC a warm smile. "Good to see you again JC." JC didn't have to force a smile. "You too Lance," he said softly, unable to tear his gaze away from the flickering light in Lance's green eyes. Justin sat down at the table and looked up at Lance and JC. He quirked an eyebrow at the way JC was staring at Lance, but it was too dark to see much. Clearing his throat, he noticed JC jump slightly. "Aren't you two going to sit down?" he asked, chuckling for effect. Lance grinned and shrugged. "Might be a good idea. What do you think JC?" "Huh?" JC looked up to find Lance grinning at him. He was glad it was dark when he began to blush, and nodded. "Yeah, sitting is good." Lance laughed, and took a seat to the right of Justin, who had positioned himself in the center of the booth. JC looked at the table, and sighed inwardly when he saw that the only seat left was next to Justin. He sat down to Justin's left, placing his notebook in his lap for safekeeping. "So," Lance said, "how was work today?" "Great," said Justin, throwing an arm behind Lance's back. "I finally got to hear JC sing live." "Really?" asked Lance, and JC blushed because Lance actually sounded interested. "How was he?" "Shit Lance, he is *good*," Justin gushed. "I mean, I heard his demo so I knew he was good ... but damn. Live, it's even better." JC watched with wide eyes as Lance and Justin started talking about him like he was still back in the studio instead of at the same table as them. When it began to creep him out a little, he cleared his throat. "So," he said, just to break the silence, "how 'bout them Cubs?" Lance laughed, while Justin smirked and raised an eyebrow. JC shrugged and looked down at the table. 'At least *Lance* appreciates my humor,' he thought. Sneaking a glance over at Lance and Justin, who now had their heads bent together and were whispering quietly, he sighed and slumped down in his seat. 'This is going to be a long night.' ~*~ "Mr. Bass, you have a phone call," said the waiter. "You can take it up front if you'd like." "Um, okay, thank you," said Lance. He shrugged and looked at Justin and JC, who were still eating. "I'll be right back. It's probably just Joey or Chris calling to bother me." He rolled his eyes. "As if they don't do that enough during the day." JC watched Lance walk away, and then took a bite of his spaghetti. Searching for his napkin to wipe a bit of sauce off his lips, his fingers brushed the notebook in his lap. 'Oops, almost forgot about that.' "Hey Justin?" Justin swallowed a bite of lasagna and licked his lips. "Yeah?" "Um, I was wondering if we could talk business for just a minute. About my album." Justin nodded. Wiping his mouth with his napkin, he gave JC his full attention, now 100% business. "What's up?" Wordlessly, JC lifted his notebook up and placed it on the table top, slowly sliding it over in front of Justin. "Just a few songs," he mumbled, "that I wrote. Look them over if you want, but not now. Not in front of me. Feel free to tell me that they suck. Criticism is welcome at anytime." Justin nodded, taking the notebook and placing it next to him. "Is that it?" he asked. JC let out a breath and nodded. Justin smiled and clapped him on the back. "I'll look them over at home," he said. "I'm sure they won't suck, but just realize that it won't be easy for them to be on your first album. Understand?" JC nodded as Lance returned to the table. "Got it." ~*~ JC watched from the back-seat window as Justin pulled up in front of his apartment. Justin turned around in his seat, nodding towards Lance and grinning. "Guess he had a busy day," he chuckled quietly. JC sat up in his seat, smiling at how angelic Lance looked while he slept. Not wanting to stare with Justin right next to him, he turned to look at his young boss. "Thanks for dinner Justin. I appreciate it." "Anytime, Jace," he said. "And hey, I'll look over those songs soon." JC smiled and nodded as he opened the door and got out. Remembering something, he poked his head back inside. "Tomorrow I have a gig at one of the old coffee shops I used to work at," he said. "I was going to perform a few of those songs I wrote, just to see how people react to them. You can come and watch," he said, "and bring Lance." He bit his bottom lip and hoped he didn't sound to needy. Justin grinned. "We'll be there," he said. "What time?" "7:00." Justin nodded. "Sounds good. See you tomorrow." JC nodded and shut the door quietly, careful not to wake Lance, and waved as Justin drove off. |