Justin, before the group made their final decision, practically raved about how talented the guy was and how much Britney loved his work on her own tour. So of course there was no question about who was going to be their new choreographer.

�Hey, guys,� Wade said when he showed up at rehearsal on his first day. He had an easy smile and a deep laugh. Not to mention a terribly goofy sense of humor. All in all, he eerily reminded Lance of Joey.

Having Wade at rehearsal was kind of weird. He was telling them what to do, for one thing, even though he was even younger than Justin. Despite that, Wade was professional and didn�t take any crap from anyone.

On the third day of rehearsal, Chris had said, �Have you even hit puberty yet, boy?�

Without even glancing up from where he was helping Lance do a complicated step, Wade said, �Up yours, Mr. Falsetto.�

�Man, he fits right in,� said JC, almost admiringly.

What made it even weirder was that for once in his life, even though Lance wasn�t the new guy anymore, he felt like he was, all over again. When Lance first joined the band, he felt like the �new guy� in every waking moment of his day. After all these years, he had moved past that and the band had become his family. Now that Wade was here though, the dynamics had changed, and Lance felt like he had to prove himself all over again. To Wade. So now, the awkwardness came back, just a little bit.

�Dude, c�mon Lance,� said Justin when Lance stepped the wrong way and they ran into each other.

�Lance can�t dance,� said Chris in a sing-song voice. �Lance can�t dance.�

Maybe it was because Wade was watching. Maybe it was because Lance felt shy and awkward for some reason. Whatever it was, even after almost five years, the �new guy� persona took over and Lance could only blush and stammer, �Sorry.�

�Shut up, Chris,� said Wade. �Take a break for a few minutes, guys.�

While the rest of the band mates went to get water, Wade walked over to where Lance was still standing, bewildered and embarrassed that he had messed up and actually blushed about it. He hadn�t done that in years. Most of the time, Lance would screw up a step and laugh over it like everyone else did. Not today though, not that Wade was watching, and that somehow made him feel even more embarrassed.

�Here, Lance, like this,� he said. Wade put his hands on Lance�s hips and smiled.

Lance decided he liked Wade. He was also terrified of him.

* * *

Another weird thing bugged Lance.

Wade liked to touch him.

When Lance messed up steps, Wade would wait until the end of rehearsal, when the other guys were resting or taking a water break, and he would make Lance go over the dances Lance had messed up that day, step by step. Wade would watch and nod and correct whatever had gone wrong here and there. He also danced the steps with him, showing the right way to do them. Sometimes Wade would make Lance freeze in the middle of the dance, then reach over and adjust an arm, a leg, a foot, until Lance was in the right position. Sometimes he would take Lance�s hips and move them the right way, humming the music a little as they danced together.

Maybe Lance was being entirely egocentric, but he noticed that Wade didn�t do it with the other guys. If Joey or JC messed up some dance, Wade would stop the rehearsal right there and make them go over the step again until they had gotten it. He didn�t touch them.

As for Justin and Chris, they never made any mistakes.

Lance found that incredibly annoying at first, during their first dance rehearsals together all those years ago. Justin and Chris had natural grace and rhythm and never, ever screwed up when they were learning a new dance. Sometimes Chris messed up on purpose, as a joke or to annoy their choreographer at the time. Sometimes both Justin and Chris got tired, especially during those rehearsals in between tour stops, and those mistakes at least let Lance know they were human.

Even though he had been in a dance troupe when he was younger, Lance never got the hang of new steps right away. He had to practice, practice for hours, before hitting the right mark on the right beat. The relief came when he finally learned the routine, because Lance found that once he got a dance, he got it, and he never messed it up after that. Now, with Wade teaching them all these brand new numbers and routines, so quickly, Lance stumbled way more than he would have liked to.

Sometimes, working with Wade wasn�t so bad though.

Like those times when Wade would stop him and say, delighted, �Lance, man, that was perfect! Do it again.�

Lance, finally getting the move, would do the step again.

Wade would laugh then, clapping a strong hand on Lance�s shoulder. �Okay, great. From the top then,� he said. He had the brightest smile.

Then again, sometimes Lance thought that hiring Wade was the worst thing they had ever decided to do.

* * *

�Do you think it�ll work?� Justin was asking.

The five band mates were all sitting down on the smooth floor of the dance studio after rehearsal. They were all sitting more or less in a circle, sprawled out on the floor, sweaty and tired. Wade had already left for the day. He had been working with them for about two weeks now.

�His choreography is really good,� said Chris, immediately but not surprisingly, not to the other guys. Even though Chris was the one who gave Wade the hardest time, they all knew Chris gave everyone a hard time. It was Chris� way of showing that he liked you.

JC tipped his head back to drink his water. �I think he has a good head on his shoulders,� JC said. �If you know what I mean. He�s grounded very well. Besides that, he works hard and tries to get things right. Which is important.�

They all looked to Joey, who smiled and said, �C�mon, what�s not to like about him?�

�Alright, great,� said Justin. He grinned. �So we�re cool with Wade then, right?�

�Hey,� Lance said. He waved his hand around a little. �No one�s gonna ask me what I think?�

Joey grinned. �Okay, what do you think?�

�Stop patronizing me,� Lance said, not knowing whether to be embarrassed or not. Now they were all looking at him, expecting him to say something contradictory or bad. �Okay� I like him too and he knows what he�s doing��

�Then what are you complaining about?� said Chris. He pulled himself up into a standing position. �Let�s go get something to eat, I�m starving.�

�Don�t you think we should get a second opinion about him or something?� asked Lance, only half kidding. He got up and followed his friends out of the studio.

Justin slung a sweaty arm around Lance�s shoulders as they went downstairs. For some reason, not matter how sweaty he got, Justin never smelled bad. �Why?� he asked. �Is there something you�re not telling us about? You do like him, right?�

�I do� it�s just that�� Lance couldn�t say it without sounding like he was ten years old. Mom, Wade keeps touching me. Even in his head, the words sounded ridiculous. Lance shook his head, forcing himself to smile. �No, I really like him,� he said.

�Alright,� said JC. Lance didn�t even realize JC was listening. He had been walking in front and hadn�t turned around at all during the conversation. Now, JC turned to look over his shoulder at Lance, smiling. �But you�ll let us know if anything is up, right?�

Lance forced another smile. �Yeah,� he said.

* * *

�Hey, here,� said Justin, tossing a towel over at JC, who took it gratefully.

Everyone was packing up, getting ready to leave after another rehearsal. They would keep right on rehearsing until the tour started. Even then, they would have to keep rehearsing, in between shows. Just thinking about it made Lance tired.

�Look,� said Chris. He drank some water and tilted his head. Water came out of his ear.

Justin started cracking up.

�How did you do that?� asked Joey. He tried to inspect Chris� ear as if for some hidden trick.

�Get away from me, perv,� said Chris. He danced out of Joey�s reach and proceeded to run around the room, with Joey at his heels.

Lance was laughing when he felt Wade step up beside him.

�They always like this?� asked the choreographer.

�You should know by now,� said Lance. He glanced over at Wade, but the choreographer was not looking at Lance but grinning at Chris and Joey.

Wade nodded. �Yep, I just didn�t think it was possible.�

�You�ll get used to it,� said Lance. He couldn�t help grinning when Joey caught Chris in his arms, picked the shorter man up and started spinning him around and around. Chris was squealing for Joey to let him go.

�So you doing anything tonight?� said Wade. He sounded like he was asking about the weather, that�s how casual the words were. He still watched Chris and Joey instead of looking over at Lance.

Lance almost choked even though nothing was in his mouth. He swallowed nervously. �Um� I�ve kind of got this dinner event I promised to go to,� he said. For some reason, Lance hated to say that. He practically had to drag the words out.

�Dinner event,� Wade repeated. He sounded amused, his voice was a murmur.

�Yeah� a charity thing. You can come if you want.�

Wade grinned. �Nah, it�s okay. Maybe we can do something another time?� Now he turned to look at Lance, still smiling. He had warm brown eyes and a rumbling deep voice.

Lance thought maybe he had forgotten how to breathe within the last two seconds. �Yeah� okay.�

�Cool,� said Wade. They went back to watching Joey turning Chris upside down.

* * *

�Dude,� said Joey. The awed tone of Joey�s voice indicated that he was about to talk to Lance about something that Lance definitely did not want to talk about.

Lance tossed a towel at his friend. �Dude, who says �dude� anymore?�

�I do,� said Joey. �Justin does too.�

�My point exactly. No one.�

�Dude,� said Chris, on the other side of Lance. He had the same tone of voice Joey had moments ago. He, Joey and Lance were walking to their cars, about to go home.

Lance growled. �Okay, what?�

�Wade totally likes you,� said Joey.

Chris nodded his emphasis.

�What are you talking about?� Lance said. He carefully avoided meeting Chris or Joey�s gazes, staring straight ahead into the parking lot. �Duh. He likes all of us, otherwise he wouldn�t have been able to stand working with us for two weeks.�

Joey sighed, in a exaggerated, long-suffering kind of way. �Lance, man, you know what�s not what we mean.�

�We so saw him flirting with you today,� said Chris.

Lance gaped at his friend. �How could you tell? You were being spun upside down.�

�I can always tell,� said Chris. He shook his head, knowledgeably. �Don�t question me, grasshopper.�

�Actually, he flirts with you like every single day,� said Joey. He was grinning.

�Shut up,� said Lance. He walked faster, away from his friends and towards his car, trying to ignore Chris and Joey singing.

�Wade and Lance, sitting in a tree, K-I-S��

Lance clapped his hands over his ears exaggeratedly. �I�m not listening,� he called over his shoulder. He unlocked his car door and didn�t need to look in the rearview mirror to see the scarlet flush on his cheeks.

* * *

Florida wasn�t exactly the greatest place to hold daily dance rehearsals. For one thing, the average temperature during the summer was well over a hundred degrees. Even though the dance studio was air-conditioned, everyone could still definitely feel the heat.

�One-oh-three,� said Joey, slumping down and lying on the wooden floor. The slick sheen of sweat on his skin glittered in the harsh lights of the studio. �A hundred and three freakin� degrees.�

�That has to be some sort of record,� said Justin, as rubbed his face in a towel. They were only halfway through the rehearsal but all the guys had already peeled down to shorts and tank tops or wife beaters. Their clothes clung to them, sticky and sweaty.

Lance was lying on the floor, arm draped over his eyes. �I don�t think so,� he said. He was trying to move as little as possible. Somehow that helped him to forget how hot it was.

�C�mon, Florida boys,� Wade said. He was still dressed in his usual wind pants and baggy t-shirt. He wasn�t even sweating. �You�ve worked in this kind of heat before. Enough break time.�

�Easy for you to say, Mr. I-Don�t-Get-Hot,� said JC. As JC spoke, Lance could hear the grumbles and sounds of the four guys getting up and stretching.

A sneakered toe poked at Lance�s side gently. �C�mon, Lance,� said Wade from somewhere above him.

With a groan, Lance lifted his arm and opened his eyes. �Five more minutes, dad,� he said, squinting up at Wade�s figure, silhouetted above him against the overhead lights.

�I ain�t your dad,� said Wade. Now his foot prodded at Lance some more. �Be glad for it too, with your lazy ass.�

�Ooh�� said Chris. �Your man�s getting mean, Lance.�

�Lance likes it rough,� said JC.

�How would you know?� Justin demanded.

The silence Lance heard was probably JC grinning mysteriously. JC was good at that.

�Kidding, Justin,� said JC after a moment. �Kidding.�

Wade was still standing over him. �C�mon Lance,� he said, voice soft and gentle.

�Okay,� Lance said, feeling suddenly like that was all the motivation he needed. He got to his feet slowly and a wave of heat hit him with every movement. This building was air-conditioned, right?

Wade nodded, already moving to the front of the room. ��Kay, guys, from the top.�

* * *

Lance was lying on the floor again, except no one was going to bother to get him up this time because rehearsal was over for the day. Thank God, was all Lance could think. The heat had not relented. If anything, the heat had gotten worse with the guys dancing all day. Lance�s brain felt like it was being slowly roasted. If he lay very, very still, he thought he could make out the small breeze from the air-conditioning vent. Wherever it was.

�Hey, Lance, you okay?� asked Wade. The soft shick sound of those wind pants indicated Wade had sat down next to him.

Not bothering to open his eyes, Lance, moving his mouth as little as possible, said, �Not too bad.�

Wade laughed. �Really now?�

�Yeah,� said Lance. �I really should be used to this by now. I grew up in this weather. I just hadn�t been jumping around in it every day for eight hours straight.�

�I understand.�

�What? You barely broke a sweat today.� Lance laughed and turned to his side, opening his eyes and looking at Wade. Suddenly, Lance�s brain completely shut down, but not from the heat. Wade was sitting there, watching him with a bemused smile. With no shirt on. Just pants, no shirt. Lance�s brain couldn�t work itself around that fact. Wade, no shirt. He was looking at Wade, all gleaming muscles and toned, tanned body. Lance thought he was probably staring, but again, he couldn�t really think at the moment.

�Hi,� said Wade. His smile never faltered. Suddenly, those brown eyes seemed a lot closer than before. Uncomfortably so.

�Uh� mmh� ah�� Lance croaked.

Wade nodded, pretending he understood Lance�s incoherence. �Really? Interesting,� he said. �The guys already left. You still up to do something? Or is it too hot today?�

�Er� uhh��

�If you don�t want to, that�s okay,� said Wade.

Lance worked around the dryness in his throat, suddenly finding he could speak again. �No, I�d like to,� he said quickly.

Wade smiled.

For a moment, Lance had to stop and make himself breathe.

�You seriously okay?� asked Wade. �As your choreographer, I can�t have you collapsing on me.�

Lance nodded numbly. �You�ve been hiding all that under those baggy clothes?� he said finally.

The choreographer looked surprised at the statement. Then he smiled, pleased. Wade moved so that he was directly above Lance, hands and knees supporting himself on the floor. Lance, with that lithe dancer�s body above him, was too stunned to do anything, much less complain. Suddenly the heat had gotten much worse, but Lance didn�t mind. Wade took one of Lance�s hands and placed it on his own shoulder, on the smooth muscle there. �Wanna see more?� he asked.

With a hard swallow, Lance didn�t say anything.

�I�m not just good at dancing, you know,� Wade said, voice a murmur, as his lips brushed against Lance�s own.

�I kind of knew that,� whispered Lance against warm kisses.