"Sucker"

Sucker

Rating: NC-17 for graphic male-male sex

Pairings: Backstreet Boys/*NSYNC/O-Town

Disclaimer: The young men who comprise the Backstreet Boys, *NSYNC, and O-Town are their own people. The author has not met anyone here described, nor does the author mean to suggest that these people act this way in real life. This writing is a work of fiction. I make no money from this venture.

Dedication: I would like to thank Diamond, for stuff and things.

Continued from part nine...

Jacob opened the front door. “Thank god it’s you. I don’t think I could stand anybody else right now.”

“What’s wrong?” Brian asked, coming into the house.

“Everything,” Jacob said. “Come on back.”

JC had to admit that Lance was taking everything very well. If he’d had to listen to Joey talk about Nick this way, he’d be reacting with a whole lot less poise.

He told Lance what had happened. He hadn’t exactly been forced into those sexual acts, since he could have gotten up and left the room at any point; but he’d certainly been manipulated into consenting, because Howie had pushed him into a situation where he couldn’t say no without jeopardizing everything. And, personal dignity or not, he was taking down Erik no matter what.

He was surprised to learn that Howie had never fucked Lance. Was Howie a natural bottom? A hard-core top pretending otherwise for Lance’s benefit? Lance always topped, so maybe Howie had switched roles to seduce Lance more easily. Or maybe Howie did both, and didn’t even have a real preference.

JC couldn’t believe that between the two of them, they couldn’t figure out anything about Howie, not even basic sexual interests. But Howie worked so hard on being an enigma, they couldn’t pin down any real facts about him.

“Everything I thought I knew about him was based on the time we spent together,” Lance said. “The one thing I was sure of, the one thing everything else counted on, was his interest in me. Once I figured out that he’d been faking that, that he’d never been interested in me at all, it all went up in smoke. You can talk to him for hours, and feel like you’ve shared so much, but if you stop and really pay attention, there was nothing there. Nothing he says has any substance. He’s a master illusionist.”

“He’s so nice,” JC said. “He’s so…sweet.”

Lance shook his head. “I’m sick of nice, I’m tired of it. Howie’s sweet, yeah, he pisses honey and shits sugar cubes. But he’s so sweet he’s poisonous. Right about now, I’d rather deal with someone who’s direct. I’m sick of friendly, and I’m sick of nice, and I’m sick of sweet. I’d rather have Kevin insulting me to my face than Howie smiling at me. At least then you know where you stand.”

“I can’t trust Howie,” JC said. “I knew that, intellectually I knew it, but I kept being seduced by the way he treated me. I should have known better. After what he did to you, how could I ever trust a word he said?”

“You remember what Chris said about the bet,” Lance said. “How they originally picked us.”

“Yeah,” JC said. He still wasn’t ready to think about that, but he couldn’t deny it for much longer. He had to stop lying to himself.

“Do you think it’s true?”

“That it started with Kevin?” JC asked. “We don’t have any reason to believe it, but we don’t have reason not to, either. Or, we have reasons to believe it, but we also have reasons not to.”

“That’s usually the problem with them,” Lance said. “It could all be true, it could all be a lie, it could be mixed half and half - - there’s no way for us to know.”

“I think that some of them might be more honest than others,” JC said.

“You trust Nick?” Lance asked.

Was he that transparent? “He’s been direct with me.”

“He got you to buy him a house.”

“It was for both of us,” JC said. “We were going to share it, we’d be careful, no one ever had to know we were lovers.” He wished he hadn’t said that, but it was hard not to defend his actions, harder not to defend Nick.

“He burned it down.”

“It was an accident,” JC insisted. “The fire marshal said the candles-”

“You lost elev-”

“What about you?” JC asked, interrupting, defensive. “You lost two contracts and your entire family.”

“I had to come out to them some time,” Lance said, but he was hurt, and JC felt like shit. He shouldn’t have brought that up, he had no right.

“I’m sorry,” JC said. “I didn’t mean to say that.” They’d always, all of this time, been very careful not to bring up these things with each other. All five of them were well aware of how thoroughly they’d been duped, and they respected each other’s pain. Ever since their personal lives had been thoroughly and horrifically sabotaged, they’d treaded carefully around sensitive subjects, covered for each other, and not brought up anything confrontational. It had been a mutual code of silence. But that was beginning to change, maybe because they were back in the same situation, maybe because they were seeing themselves in each other, maybe because they were dealing with each other’s former lovers and couldn’t believe how stupid they’d all been.

“I was thinking about something,” Lance said. “Do you remember that donation Chris made to Habitat for Humanity?”

“Yeah,” JC said, wondering what that had to do with anything.

“Didn’t he seem weird about it?”

“They invited him to that banquet, and he didn’t want to go,” JC said. “He was trying everything he could to get out of it.”

“Did he ever talk about making that donation? I don’t remember him ever planning to do it.”

“I don’t know,” JC said. “Maybe it was spur of the moment.”

“It was one million, eight hundred thousand dollars,” Lance said.

“Yeah,” JC said.

“Two hundred thousand short of two million,” Lance said.

Those numbers clicked in JC’s head. “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying, did he make that donation? Or did Brian make it in his name?”

“Brian ruined Chris so completely that he won two million dollars for it, then gave Chris ten percent and donated the rest to charity in Chris’s name?” JC asked.

“It would explain why he didn’t want to go to that banquet,” Lance said.

“It would explain why he develops a nervous twitch every time he hears Brian’s name!”

“It makes sense,” Lance said.

“It can’t be right,” JC protested, not wanting to believe it. “Brian wouldn’t give away two million dollars.”

“At this point, I wouldn’t put it past any one of them,” Lance said.

“He destroyed Chris for money, and then didn’t even keep the money?” JC asked.

“Not one penny,” Lance said.

JC struggled to deny it. “Chris would have told us,” he said. “He would have said something.”

“Have you told us about everything Nick did to you?” Lance asked.

Shame wound its way through JC’s veins. “No.”

“He made the donation in Chris’s name,” Lance said. “So Chris would get the credit for it. There was that banquet, they had press there, they staged a big formal check presentation, they were going to start a special fund...”

“I remember,” JC said. “He looked so miserable, and I couldn’t figure out why.”

“Now we know why,” Lance said.

“He was in love with Brian,” JC said. “He opened up to Brian, he didn’t hold anything back. I’ve never seen him give himself to anyone that completely.”

“You’re never going to see it again,” Lance said.

Joey was itching to fuck somebody. He was still revved up from AJ; they were used to going all day, all night, and they’d stopped too soon. His body was still in that zone, and he wanted to fuck AJ, god he wanted it, but AJ wasn’t available. Ashley, however, had the nice little habit of jumping on Joey’s dick every time Joey snapped his fingers.

Joey had planned on doing a lot more wooing and ego-stroking and relationship bullshit. He hadn’t counted on Ashley being such a dickslut. It made things a lot easier.

Ashley showed up smelling good and looking even better. Joey told him so, and kissed his neck. Ashley started kissing his mouth and rubbing full-body against him. That seemed like a go-ahead to Joey, so he took Ashley to his bedroom.

Once they were naked, and on the bed, and Ashley was moaning and panting under him, Joey said, “I have to fuck you, I want you so much, you’re so fucking addictive, Ashley, tell me I can fuck you.”

“Joey,” Ashley moaned, “Joey…”

“I want to make love to you, pretty.” Joey rubbed his fingers in and out of Ashley’s hole, stretching him, making him writhe. “Tell me I can have you.”

“You can have me,” Ashley promised, digging his fingers into Joey’s back.

“Tell me I can have it, tell me it’s mine.”

“It’s yours, it’s yours, oh god, Joey.” Ashley kissed him, wet and sucking, trying to swallow his tongue. “Please, Joey, now.”

“Are you sure?” Joey asked.

“Yes, yes, please,” Ashley begged.

Joey pushed Ashley’s knee to Ashley’s chest, moving into position. “Hold on, pretty, almost there.” He guided his dick into place and thrust. Holy, thrust, fuck. Joey groaned, burying himself. God, that was, unh, good.

“Oh, oh, Joey.” Ashley shook his head, pushing at Joey’s chest, scratching down Joey’s back. “Give it, fuck me, more, more...”

Joey knew what he meant. God, this was good. He wanted to flip Ashley over and really get into it, but he had to take it a little softer this first time. But, hell, it felt so good, he couldn’t make himself slow down. Ashley was glove-tight around him, a too-snug grip that made him acutely aware that he was taking Ashley’s virginity. Ashley was clawing at the sheets, tearing at the pillows, unable to get the leverage to fuck up against him but in constant motion anyway, making a close-to-orgasm “uh uh uh” noise in the middle of all of the “Harder, more, deeper, harder, do it, do it, Joey...”

Joey grabbed Ashley’s dick in one hand, jacking it for him, finding a rhythm in time with his thrusts. Ashley tried to leech onto him, moaning the roof down, coming in thick wet spurts between their bodies.

No matter what else Joey thought of him, Ashley was very, very attractive, and when he came, skin beautifully flushed, muscles wonderfully tense, head back, mouth open, the sight of Ashley in sexual ecstasy was still a huge turn-on.

Joey didn’t quite come just seeing him like that, but it was close. He did reach orgasm a few strokes later, though, slamming in deep and coming hard. God, that felt good. Ashley was a seriously satisfying fuck. Joey would be content to empty his balls in Ashley anytime.

He kissed Ashley, skimming his fingertips down Ashley’s cheek, pretending to feel an afterglow. “You feel so good, Ashley, so good. I knew you would.”

“That was amazing,” Ashley breathed, gazing into his eyes. “You feel so big inside me.”

Joey grinned. “Did you like it? Was it good for you, pretty?”

“I’ve never felt like that,” Ashley said. “It was so much. Is it always like that?”

“It’s only that good with me,” Joey said, and kissed him. “You were so good, Ashley. I want to make love to you every night. I want to fuck you every day.”

“You can,” Ashley promised, kissing him back.

Joey rolled them over, enjoying the weight and slide of Ashley’s body over his. “God, you feel so good.”

“I want you to feel good,” Ashley said, kissing his mouth, his chin, his neck. “I want to make you feel good.”

“I’m going to make love to you all night,” Joey said, sliding his hands down Ashley’s smooth back, squeezing Ashley’s ass in both hands.

“Yes, yes,” Ashley said, rolling over onto his back again, pulling Joey over him.

Justin was slumped in a corner of the sofa, stuffing himself with ravioli. AJ was sitting on the floor eating manicotti. “You had sex in my house,” Justin said.

“More than once,” AJ said.

“With Joey,” Justin clarified.

“You had sex with my best friend, I had sex with yours,” AJ said. “We’re even.”

“It’s my house!”

“We always come back to that,” AJ said. “You really need a new argument.”

“What’s Kevin like?” Justin asked.

“What?”

This was important. Justin had never been presented with an opportunity like this, and he wasn’t going to blow it. He slid down from the sofa, pinning AJ with his gaze. “What’s Kevin really like?”

“You were his little boyfriend, you should know,” AJ said.

“You’re his best friend,” Justin said. “He’s himself with you. Really himself.”

“And you think I’m going to share his private secrets with you?” AJ asked.

“Tell me what he’s like,” Justin said.

AJ shrugged, tearing a piece of garlic bread in half. “He’s responsible. He’s always been very adult. Sometimes he’s relaxed and shows off his sense of humor and gets this twinkle in his eye, but the conditions have to be right. He can also be anal-retentive and pushy and controlling, because there isn’t much you can control in this life, and he doesn’t like that.”

“The twinkle,” Justin said, suddenly so jealous of AJ he wanted to rip AJ’s face open with his bare hands. “Kevin likes you. He respects you.”

“He’s my brother,” AJ said. “He loves me, I love him.”

“What’s that like?” Justin asked.

AJ shrugged again. “I know he’ll always be there for me, no matter what happens. I could be trapped in a mud slide in Borneo, and if I called Kevin, he’d come in a helicopter with a rope ladder to rescue me. And, if I fuck up my life and go on a killing spree, he’ll be the first one there hauling my ass to the police, telling me to get my head together. He’s a very it’s-for-your-own-good kind of guy, and he’s always right.”

“Does he ever talk about me?”

“Sometimes,” AJ said.

“What does he say?”

“That you’re the best sex he’s ever had,” AJ said. “And that you’re a filthy flea-bitten cunt.” He licked marinara sauce from his thumb. “You want some bread?”

Midnight had come and gone.

He’d wait a little longer.

“Later” would have to roll around eventually. It had to. And he’d be there when it did.

Jacob was sitting on his bed with Brian. He’d told Brian all about the photo shoot, and Trevor being late, and Erik not showing up at all, and how pissed off everyone at the shoot had been, and how much trouble they were in now, and how AJ had punched Dan. Brian told him about AJ and Justin’s relationship, how tumultuous it was. Brian apologized on AJ’s behalf, and Jacob was glad that at least one of the guys in the Backstreet Boys was ethical and responsible.

They started talking lyrics again, and Jacob pulled out his notebook. He was writing down a good line when he felt Brian’s fingertips brush past his temple and touch his hair. A shiver ran over his flesh, and when he raised his head, Brian was smiling a little. “What?” he asked, feeling oddly spotlighted, a little nervous. He didn’t get nervous anymore.

“I like your hair,” Brian said.

“Thanks,” Jacob said. “The guys hate it.”

“No, I like it,” Brian said. “Can you take it down?”

Jacob reached back, unfastening his ponytail, letting his dreads fall naturally. He twisted his pen while Brian touched his hair again, fingers stroking his scalp.

“It really looks good on you,” Brian said. “I know I’d never be able to pull it off, and almost no one I know should even try it. But you really make it look good.”

“Thanks,” Jacob said. He’d stopped thinking about his hair, or what people thought of it, because it was no one’s business what he did with his hair or his clothes or anything else. His appearance was solely up to him. Almost everyone who commented on his hair hated it, except for the people who rambled on about how they loved it because it made a statement. That was all bullshit. His music was his statement. Only Brian seemed to understand that.

Joey trailed his cum-wet fingertips across Ashley’s mouth; Ashley licked out at his fingers, sucking them clean. He couldn’t tell whether Ashley was hungrier for dick or for cum, but either way, it worked out great for Joey.

Ashley loved dick so much, Joey was starting to suspect that if he were physically capable of it, he could fuck Ashley ten times in a row and Ashley would still be ready for more. Or maybe Ashley was just incapable of saying no.

But that was fine with Joey, because Ashley felt great, and Ashley looked great getting fucked, and Ashley kissed like a starving whore, and as long as Ashley didn’t want any respect, Joey thought they could work out a great arrangement.

After fucking Ashley twice, Joey was done for the night. He said a few pretty things to Ashley, kissed him a little more, and closed his eyes.

“I love you, Joey,” Ashley said quietly, and kissed his cheek, then his mouth.

Joey tried not to roll his eyes, pretending to be asleep.

Ashley tucked in against his chest, not pressing for more.

Good whore.

His cell phone kept ringing. Trevor, Kevin, Lance, Trevor again, Kevin again.

He wondered where Brian was.

He wondered why Brian had wanted him to come over.

He wondered - - a car! Chris scrambled to his feet, anxiously looking to make sure, oh. His heart sank. It was Kevin. But, was Brian coming to meet Kevin? “Is Brian coming?”

“He’s with Jacob,” Kevin said. “I don’t know when he’ll get home.” Kevin was advancing on the front door; he stopped beside Chris, going through the keys on his ring.

“Then what are you doing here?” Chris asked.

“When I couldn’t find you, I thought you might be here.” Kevin unlocked the door. Kevin had a key to Brian’s house.

“Can I have that?” Chris asked.

“No,” Kevin said, opening the door. “But you can come in.”

What? Chris followed Kevin inside. He was in Brian’s house. This was Brian’s house. Brian’s new house, so new he’d never been inside, and now he had to learn and explore every single inch. God, it smelled good, it smelled clean, it smelled faintly of vanilla, just like Brian did. He took a few steps forward, drinking it all in. It looked like Brian. He remembered that table. He remembered that photograph.

“We have to have a serious talk,” Kevin said behind him.

“We talked this morning,” Chris said. There was a T-shirt on the back of the sofa. Brian owned that shirt. Brian had worn that shirt. It had been against Brian’s skin. Chris’s fingers drifted towards it, lingering, but he didn’t touch.

Kevin picked up the shirt and handed it to him. “Sit down.”

Chris stared at the T-shirt in his hands. Dark blue. No logo, no pocket. It smelled a little like Brian. Kevin was guiding him around the sofa; he sat, his knees giving out under him. He was in Brian’s home. On Brian’s sofa. Holding Brian’s shirt in his own two hands.

“We have to talk.” Kevin’s hand came under his chin, lifting his face. Chris blinked; Kevin was sitting with him on the sofa. This sofa was new, he needed to learn it, this was where Brian sat- “I need you to focus on conversation,” Kevin said. “Can we talk here, or will this only work if we leave?”

“No,” Chris said quickly. “I want to stay.”

“Then listen to me,” Kevin said.

“Okay,” Chris said. He could listen. He pressed Brian’s shirt to his own chest and tried to pay attention.

“I know that you love Brian,” Kevin said.

He loved Brian, yeah, that was like saying the sea was wet. He wondered-

“Chris, keep looking at me,” Kevin said. Kevin’s right hand came to the back of his neck, gently but firmly cupping his nape, thumb stroking out along the edge of his jaw to keep him from turning his head to the rest of the room. Chris brought Brian’s shirt to his nose, sniffing it, surreptitiously kissing it, but maintained eye contact. “I know that you love Brian. I’m not asking you to stop. But we have something to do here, and it’s not getting done.”

Kevin’s eyes were the wrong shape. The wrong color. Dominated by his eyebrows.

“I’ve been frustrated, and I’ve been taking it out on you,” Kevin said. “That wasn’t fair to you. But Chris, I need you to hold up your end of the deal. We’re working together here, and I need you to do your part.”

That strong, square jaw, though, that was Brian’s. Those high, sharp cheekbones, those were Brian’s, too.

“Brian’s taking up all of your attention. You were supposed to meet with Trevor tonight. I was waiting for your call. Have you talked to him? Did he come over?”

That had been a question. Chris tried to recall what Kevin had just said. “I’ve been here.”

“All night?” Kevin asked.

“Yeah.”

“Chris. I need you to focus on Trevor. Brian isn’t going to have sex with you again. He’s moved on. You won’t get him back.”

Chris didn’t want to hear that. His brain couldn’t accept that kind of information. He would be with Brian again. Someday. He just had to figure out how.

“You’re ignoring Trevor for Brian. You’re going to lose any chance you’ve had to make Trevor hurt the way Brian’s hurt you. Are you willing to let Trevor and Jacob and the rest of them walk away untouched? You’re letting Trevor go because you’re obsessed with Brian, but Brian doesn’t want you, Chris. I need you. I need you to help me.”

That jaw. He remembered cupping Brian’s jaw in both hands, letting his fingers stroke the sensitive skin behind Brian’s earlobes. He wondered if he could touch Kevin’s jaw.

“I know that you’re not cut out for this,” Kevin said. “You’re a nice guy, you’re a good person, you don’t take pleasure in the pain of others the way Brian does. That’s okay. We can work around that. I can help you through this, if you can help me back.”

Chris unclenched his right hand from around Brian’s shirt. He raised his fingers and slowly, slowly, stroked them down Kevin’s cheekbone. He slid his thumb back up the sharp incline.

“I need you to commit to this,” Kevin said. “I’ll help you through it, just tell me that you’re going to work with me.”

Chris’s fingers came to the square corner of Kevin’s jaw, sliding down to the center of Kevin’s chin, then back up again.

“Chris,” Kevin said.

“Brian told me to be here,” Chris said. “He said, ‘Come over later.’ I’ve been waiting. I’d wait for him forever.”

“He knows that,” Kevin said. “That’s why he’s not here.”

That wasn’t fair. Chris ran his fingers up to Kevin’s cheekbone again.

“Can you commit to this with me?” Kevin asked. “Can you keep your focus and not let Brian distract you?”

Chris leaned in, closing his eyes, pressing his lips to Kevin’s cheek. He started up by Kevin’s temple, trailing slow, soft kisses down Kevin’s cheekbone, gently licking his way back up. God, with his eyes closed, it was just, just like, his heart pounded and his dick hardened rapidly. Chris kissed Kevin’s jaw, one hand clutching Brian’s shirt, his other hand bunching in the front of Kevin’s shirt. He ran into facial hair, and that wasn’t right, but this wasn’t Brian, this was Kevin, he couldn’t have Brian, but Kevin might, maybe, Chris opened his eyes. “I’ll do it,” he said, “I’ll take down Trevor, I’ll prepare him for slaughter just for you, if you’ll fuck me.”

Kevin’s phone rang. He glanced down at it, then gave Chris a short, polite kiss. “I have to take this. Come on, I need you to wait for me over here.” Kevin took his hand, ushering him down the hallway. “You can touch whatever you want,” Kevin said, guiding him into a bathroom. “Just stay here.” Kevin closed the door.

Chris stared. It was a nice bathroom, clean, cream-colored with blue accents. This was Brian’s bathroom in Brian’s house. Chris didn’t know what to touch first.

Brian smiled when Kevin opened the door for him. “I’m home.”

“How’s Jacob?” Kevin asked, letting him in.

“Offensive,” Brian said. “My pet’s here?”

“He’s in the hall bathroom,” Kevin said. “You can’t make him useless to me, Brian. Fuck with him on his off time. He had work to do tonight.”

“Sorry,” Brian said. He hadn’t been able to resist. “Do you need him now?”

“Yes,” Kevin said. “I’m taking him home with me.”

“He loses his erection whenever he’s with another man who’s not me,” Brian said. “He can’t stay hard with women anymore, either.” That was a shame. His sweet pet had a nice, thick dick.

“He told you that?” Kevin asked.

“Chris tells me everything,” Brian said. Chris couldn’t keep anything from him.

“I have to take him home,” Kevin said. “Do you think you can talk to him without ruining him for me?”

“I can’t make any promises,” Brian said. He wished Kevin didn’t need Chris. He’d just come from playing with Jacob, and his body was still excited. He might enjoy letting Chris satisfy him. No one did it like Chris did.

Kevin was studying him with suspicion. Brian decided to play by the rules. “I won’t keep him tonight. And I’ll try not to upset him. I’ll just say good night.”

Kevin nodded, and Brian walked down the hall. He smiled, stroking the wood of the doorjamb. Playtime.

He knocked.

Chris opened the door, and stared at him. Chris’s mouth was wet, water dripping down onto the front of his shirt. “What are you doing in here?” Brian asked, laughing. “Chris, pet, you’re making a mess.” He picked up a hand towel, blotting Chris’s chin, smiling with great amusement. “What were you doing?”

Staring, silent, breathing hard, Chris gripped the front of Brian’s shirt in one hand.

“I’m sorry that I wasn’t here to meet you,” Brian said. “I had to spend time with Jacob today.” He raised one hand, running his fingers around the shell of Chris’s ear, gazing deep into Chris’s eyes. “He’ll never mean as much to me as you do, Chris, you know that. You know how much I love you. But you’re with Kevin now, and I have to be strong and try to understand that. You can never love me as much as I love you, I have to face that, I have to accept that you’ve moved on. I’m trying, Chris,” he said, shifting closer, letting his eyes reflect his pain, his fingers drifting down Chris’s cheek. “It’s so hard for me without you. But Jacob, he’s nice. I’m going to give myself to him. I just hope that he won’t break my heart the way you did.”

“Don’t,” Chris said, his voice broken and strangled. “I love you.”

“Please,” Brian said, closing his eyes against the pain. “Don’t say words you don’t mean.”

“Brian,” Chris begged, tightening his grip on Brian’s shirt.

“I can never love Jacob the way I love you,” Brian said, opening his eyes. The tears in Chris’s eyes made his own eyes wet. “But my body’s starved for love, Chris. I can’t wait for him to make love to me. I would give anything to feel his big, hard dick plunging deep inside my body. I want Jacob’s hands all over me, owning me, possessing me the way yours once did. I want to take his dick in my mouth and suck it the way I’ll never suck yours again.”

“Don’t. Don’t!” Chris said, shaking his head, desperate to deny it. “Stop it!”

“I can’t believe, after everything you’ve done to me, all of the pain you’ve caused me, you’d deny me the right to find pleasure again,” Brian said. Shock, indignation, and pain twined through his voice. “I love you, Chris, I would never refuse you anything.”

“Please,” Chris said. “Brian. I love you.”

Brian’s tears spilled. “I wish you did,” he whispered, pulling away, pushing Chris’s hand from him. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I can’t, I can’t do this,” and he rushed away, out of the bathroom, to his bedroom, slamming the door.

“You can have the guest room,” Justin said.

“Sounds good,” AJ said, getting to his feet.

“Try not to break anything,” Justin said.

“You threw your own shit into the pool, threw away all of my stuff, and set more shit on fire,” AJ said. “And you’re worried about me?”

Justin shrugged. “Maybe you should just learn not to piss me off.”

“What I’ve learned is that you’re not setting foot in my house,” AJ said.

“I’m not going to burn down your house,” Justin said. “I’ll let Nick work that out.”

“That was candles,” AJ said.

“That was arson,” Justin said.

“That’s not what the official report says.”

“So you bribed a few firemen,” Justin said. “JC lost eleven million dollars.”

“He should’ve had better insurance,” AJ said.

“Fuck you,” Justin said, and walked away.

“Good night!” AJ called after him.

Kevin had found Chris huddled outside of Brian’s bedroom, shaking, silently crying like he was too broken to realize he was doing it. Brian’s laughter had been clearly audible. Kevin had pulled Chris up to stand and walked him out of the house.

After some internal debate, Kevin decided to take Chris home with him, after all. Chris stopped crying halfway there, subsiding into sniffles and then silence. Kevin was forcing himself to be nice to Chris, and if he dropped Chris off somewhere in this condition, that wouldn’t qualify as nice. It wouldn’t be sensitive of him. Everyone in *NSYNC was so sensitive, so careful of everyone’s feelings, that it made Kevin doubt they had male genitalia at all.

He let Chris into his house. Before he could speak, Chris said, “I licked his soap.”

Kevin stared at Chris. Red eyes and tear-streaked eyes aside, Chris still looked sane. More than he had earlier, actually. “What?”

“The bar of soap by his sink. It’s his. It touches his skin. I put it in my mouth.”

“Justin could learn a few things from you,” Kevin said, and started walking. “Come on.” Chris followed him to his bedroom, and his private bathroom. He uncapped the mouthwash, splashing some into a cup, handing it over.

Chris rinsed and spat.

“Here,” Kevin said, wetting a washcloth and handing it to him. Chris wiped his face clean. “You can sleep in my bed.”

Chris looked hesitant, but he had enough balls to ask, “Are you going to fuck me?”

Kevin rested his hip against the sink. “If you want me to.”

Chris nodded.

“Okay,” Kevin said, straightening and moving into the bedroom. “If you like it, we can do it again, as long as it doesn’t interfere with our goal.”

“Wait,” Chris said behind him. Kevin turned, stepping out of his shoes, waiting. “You aren’t going to, you don’t - - I don’t know what you do to Justin, but… This isn’t going to be freaky, is it? You aren’t going to whip me or anything?”

Kevin smiled. The thought had crossed his mind, but Trevor might see the marks. “No. Just regular sex.”

“Okay. Good.”

Kevin pulled off his socks.

“Wait,” Chris said. “How, uh… Are you, is your… Is your dick the same size as Brian’s?”

“A little longer,” Kevin said. He pulled off his shirt over his head with his undershirt, then studied Chris. “I don’t have to go all of the way in.”

Relief, gratitude at being understood, broke over Chris’s face.

“Have you been having trouble?” Kevin asked. “Being with people who aren’t Brian?”

“I have trouble breathing without Brian,” Chris said, and cautiously began to undress. “Yeah,” he admitted. “Especially with guys.”

“Do you like it on your back?” Kevin asked. Brian always fucked face-to-face. That way, when things were good, it built an emotional connection; and when things were bad, Brian could view his partner’s emotional distress in all of its glory.

“Yeah,” Chris said.

Kevin slid his jeans down, stepping out of them. He knew that anyone else looking at his body would be suitably impressed, but Chris wanted Brian’s body, not his. Nothing he could do about that. He pushed his underwear down, too, and pulled the covers back on the bed, sitting down, waiting for Chris.

Chris hesitated, then took off his underwear and crawled onto the bed. “Not to sound desperate or anything, but you can do whatever you want. As many times as you want. I just want you not to be offended if I call out someone else’s name.”

“Let’s just see what happens,” Kevin said, and ducked his head, and kissed Chris’s mouth, licking in gently.

Jacob finished brushing his teeth and walked towards the bed, stripping as he went. He got into bed, scratching his scalp, untangling the sheets.

His cell phone rang. He reached for it, arranging the pillows with his other hand. “Hello?”

“Are you in bed?”

Jacob laughed. “Yeah. You?”

“Brushed my teeth and everything,” Brian said. “I just…wanted to call. I’ll try not to keep you up as late this time.”

“That’s okay,” Jacob said. “I’m not doing anything tomorrow.” He sat back against his headboard. “Hey, you want to meet up somewhere?” There was a music store he wanted to take Brian to, they could have lunch, hang out…

“Let’s have breakfast,” Brian said.

They’d just spent hours together, Brian had gone home only to call him, and now they were planning to get together again for breakfast in a few hours. And for some reason, Jacob couldn’t wait.

Chris was sitting up against Kevin’s headboard, pushing his head back into the wall, making noise like he’d never had his dick in somebody’s mouth before. He had, just not like this, not this good, not since Brian. His knees pulled in tighter, his left hand trying to rip holes in Kevin’s expensive sheets. His eyes were squeezed shut, but if he opened them he’d see Kevin’s head in his lap, Kevin’s naked body spread out before him like some sort of pale Greek statue. Not Brian, nothing like Brian, but god, not all that bad, either. His right hand was feeling over Kevin’s cheekbones, the motion of Kevin’s jaw, the working of Kevin’s throat. He could almost pretend it was Brian, except Brian didn’t lick like that. God, he was going to come, he hadn’t come with another person since Brian.

His dick was really, really hard and feeling really, really good. His balls were getting tight, drawing up, and he knew he was going to come, and he couldn’t believe this was happening, and he rocked forward, a little bit, and Kevin swallowed his dick, and god, he didn’t know why Kevin was being this nice to him but he hadn’t felt this good about sex in such a long time…

He came hard, making embarrassing noises, shooting more than he usually did. God, that had felt like his first time all over again. He opened his eyes, more than a little surprised to see that he hadn’t been imagining all of that. So this really was happening. Crazy.

Kevin lifted his head, sitting back. His hands took hold of Chris’s hips and pulled, sliding Chris down the mattress.

Chris felt so good he laughed, his head on the pillows. Kevin came over him, covering his body, kissing his mouth deep and slow. Chris put his arms around Kevin, stroking his hands down Kevin’s body, kissing back. He felt so grateful to Kevin for giving him sexual release like that, he was actually starting to like him.

Trevor was heating up a TV dinner in the microwave when Dan walked in. “I thought you were in bed.”

“I’m worried about Justin,” Dan said, taking a bowl from the cupboard.

“I still can’t believe AJ hit you,” Trevor said. “I wish I’d been here. He can’t get away with punching you in your own house.”

“I thought you loved AJ,” Dan said, finding the milk.

“Hey, I love the Backstreet Boys like anyone else does,” Trevor said. “But nobody hits you. That’s just not happening.”

Dan wrapped an arm around his shoulders and gave him a squeeze, then twisted around to get the cereal. “I’ll tell him that next time. AJ, I’m sorry, I know that you want to hit me, but I have Trevor on my side, man, so back off.”

“What are you guys doing up?” Erik asked, coming into the kitchen. “Hey, cereal, get me some.”

“Now, I know you went to bed,” Dan said.

“Wet dream. Woke myself up,” Erik said.

“Too,” Trevor said.

“Much,” Dan said.

“Information,” they said together.

“If you knew more, you’d understand,” Erik said.

“That’s usually the way information works,” Dan said. “What are you doing up, why are you cooking chicken nuggets, and how many can I have?” he asked Trevor.

“Two,” Trevor said, taking his dinner from the microwave. “Chris still isn’t answering his phone, his cell or at his house. I told him I was coming back over after the shoot, and he wasn’t there. Not like he has to wait around for me, he’s Chris Kirkpatrick, but I’m kind of worried. He’s been so weird lately.”

“I thought Chris was always weird,” Erik said. “Why are we out of Lucky Charms?”

“I feel like I know the difference between Chris being regular weird and being upset weird,” Trevor said. “I haven’t even known him for that long, but I feel like I have.”

“You’ve been studying these guys for years,” Erik said.

“You’ve been spending a lot of time with him,” Dan said. “You’re probably right. If he’s not home, do you know where he might be?”

“I have no idea,” Trevor said. “If I knew a place he associated with Kevin, I’d check there. But I don’t think he’d actually go to Kevin’s house.”

“He’s probably just with one of the other guys,” Erik said.

“I’m sure he’s fine,” Dan said.

“Justin’s going to be okay, too,” Trevor said.

“Yeah,” Dan said, but Trevor could tell he didn’t believe it.

Trevor put his arm around Dan’s waist. “You can have all of my chicken nuggets.”

Dan spared him a smile. “Thanks. I appreciate it.”

“You want some news?” Trevor asked.

“Good news?” Dan asked.

“I,” Trevor said, stepping back, raising his arms, “am actively bisexual.”

“Really?” Dan asked. “What happened?”

“Was it Chris?” Erik asked. “How far did you get?”

“Horizontal, on the bed, sucking face, and yes, I did grab his ass,” Trevor announced.

“Congratulations,” Dan said, grinning. “Way to go.”

Erik snorted. “Is that all?”

“That’s a huge step,” Dan said. “Major advancement,” he told Trevor. “Chris is a lucky guy.”

“I’ve gotten further than that, and I’m not even bi,” Erik said.

“What?” Trevor asked.

“When?” Dan asked.

“If you’re not bi, why would you even go that far?” Trevor asked.

“Further?” Dan asked. “Exactly how close are you and JC?”

Erik grinned. “Very, very close.”

“JC’s with Howie,” Trevor said.

“I’m pretty close to Howie, too,” Erik said, still grinning.

“How close?” Trevor demanded. “You’ve kissed him? I’ll give you five hundred dollars if you can tell me what his dick looks like.”

Erik’s grin widened. “I accept checks and cold hard cash.”

Trevor hooted with laughter, grabbing Erik and bouncing him around the kitchen.

Chris groaned as unbearable pleasure pulsed through his body. He couldn’t take this. He hadn’t felt anything this good in so long, his body didn’t know how to handle it. He was going to oh, god, ah, come, or explode, or something, god, anything, oh…

Kevin, Kevin had incredible, oh, control, he was - - ah, ah, ah - - fucking Chris to just the right spot, just the right depth, pushing inside to right where Brian had used to be, and Chris wasn’t even surprised his body still remembered. And oh, god, if Kevin, oh, kept doing this he was going to, god, die from it.

Jesus, no, not the, god, Kevin was good at that. Chris groaned, digging his fingers into the muscle in Kevin’s shoulder, while Kevin jacked his dick with an experienced, confident grip. This was feeling too good, way too good, so good he was to oh god, oh god, Kevin, Kevin, Kevin, no, oh, oh, oh! Chris came, crying out like a stuck pig, gripping Kevin’s shoulder so hard his own hand hurt, his other hand pulling the sheet so hard it came untucked from the mattress.

Okay, okay, okay, that had felt so good he’d almost died, but it hadn’t actually killed him. And obviously, it had been way too long since he’d done this, because, damn. He really had to get laid more often. Wow.

And Kevin? Kevin could have anything, ever. His worldly goods, his eternal servitude, whatever. Because…wow.

Kevin wasn’t Brian, never could be Brian, and Chris felt nothing for him like the intense, complex, gripping-the-soul emotions he felt for Brian. But, hey. Kevin sure did Chris’s body good.

“Hold on,” Kevin said.

Hold on to what? For what? What was, whoa, Jesus, whoa, oh, okay, damn. So that was how deep Kevin could get. Okay, that was, yeah, whoa. Chris dug his hands into the mattress and tried not to slide up into the headboard with the force of Kevin’s long, even thrusts. Things were going faster, here, and yes, deeper, and wow, Chris had never made that sound before. Whoa, wow, and thank god Kevin was coming, because Chris hadn’t really been ready for that. Damn.

So that was what Justin saw in Kevin.

Good to know.

Chris relaxed his legs as Kevin shifted to lay down beside him. Kevin sort of stretched out on his back, one arm behind his head, catching his breath. “Thanks,” Chris said, because he hated having nothing to say.

Kevin rolled towards him, rose up, and kissed him right on the mouth. “You’re welcome,” he said, and his eyes actually looked…warm. Friendly, at least, which was new. Chris was used to Kevin looking angry, or cold, or irritated, or “you’re slightly interesting, for a lower being.” Friendly, that was a little alarming. Kevin kissed him again, and said, actually sounding amused about it, “Go clean up while I put this bed back together.”

Chris’s legs were a little shaky, since his body really had no idea how to react to good sex anymore, but he made it to the bathroom and back without landing on his ass. Kevin slipped into the bathroom after him, so he got into the bed, wondering which side he was supposed to be on. He chose the side away from the alarm clock.

Kevin came back, turning off lights, getting into bed beside him. “Do you have nightmares?”

That was kind of an odd question, until Chris remembered, duh, Justin. Since their situations were similar, it was fair for Kevin to assume the same might apply to him. “No,” he said. Not anymore.

“Okay. Good night.”

“Good night,” Chris said. Kevin had a really nice bed. He got comfortable, feeling both physically and mentally relaxed for the first time since Brian.

Trevor was so fucking jealous he wanted to kiss Erik full on the mouth. Erik had been rolling around naked on a bed with JC Chasez. Erik had jacked JC off, JC’s actual dick in Erik’s bare hand. JC had sucked Erik’s dick. Trevor wouldn’t have had the balls to put his dick in JC’s mouth in the first place.

And Howie. Erik had gone down on Howie Dorough. Trevor would fucking pay for that privilege.

No wonder Erik had missed the shoot. Trevor would have missed a concert to suck Howie’s dick. Trevor would have missed his career to suck Kevin’s dick.

He wished he could get Chris to tell him what it was like. He wished Kevin hadn’t broken Chris’s heart. He wished he didn’t really have to admit that Kevin wasn’t the upstanding guy he’d thought.

Losing his biggest idol sucked.

He believed Chris. He did. That was real pain in Chris’s eyes, real pain all through Chris’s voice. That kind of hurting couldn’t be faked.

But Kevin had seemed so nice, so awesome, so everything Trevor had ever imagined. That couldn’t be faked, either. Could it? To that extent?

Maybe there was middle ground, somewhere.

He just… He wanted to talk to Kevin. To find out Kevin’s side of the story. To find out if there was anything he could do for Chris. He wanted Chris to heal.

Ashley opened his eyes. Early daylight was seeping into the room. Joey was spooned up behind him, pressed close to his back, warm and hard and secure.

It was morning. It was official. He’d spent the night in Joey’s bed. He’d taken Nick’s place. And Joey wanted him to stay.

He was winning.

Last night, that had been amazing. He’d known it would feel good, but that had felt, there were no words for it. The sensation of Joey’s dick moving deep inside him, the size of it stretching him, the fullness of it, the rhythmic pounding, the intense, internal explosions - - he’d never known anything like it. The stretch and the ache of it had been nothing compared to that glorious pleasure.

He wanted to do it again. As soon as possible. And never stop.

They’d decided to meet as early as possible, to avoid crowds. Jacob found Brian at a booth in the back corner, and slid in opposite him, responding to Brian’s warm smile with a smile of his own. “Morning.”

“Good morning,” Brian said, pushing a menu across the table to him. “Order anything you want. I’m paying.”

“You don’t have to do that,” Jacob said.

“You can pay next time,” Brian said.

In Jacob’s recent experience, people either assumed that he had a ton of money and expected him to pay for everything, or had a ton of money and paid for him because they wanted to buy him. It was great to be with someone who wasn’t out for a free ride or trying to buy him, who just wanted to spend time with him for the sake of hanging out with him. He liked that he could trust Brian to meet him on his level without manipulation or ulterior motives. Brian was refreshing.

He felt good when he was around Brian. Brian radiated a warm, positive glow. Brian made him feel good about himself, in an industry where everyone was worried about tearing everyone else down. He liked Brian, and he liked himself when he was around Brian.

Howie was barely awake before his phone rang. “Hello?”

“It’s JC. We have to talk.”

JC sounded upset. “Is something wrong?” Howie asked innocently.

“You fucked me!”

Howie wasn’t worried about offending JC’s delicate sensibilities. “JC, you gave me your permission,” Howie said, letting confusion color his tone. “I asked you if I could, and you said yes. If you didn’t want it-”

“You used Nick’s words!” JC shouted.

“Nick’s words? JC, I don’t know anything about what Nick says to you. As I was saying, if you didn’t want it, all you had to do was say no.”

“I did say no! I was saying no! You pushed me into an impossible situation!”

“Well, I’m sorry, JC,” Howie said with sweet regret. “If I’d known you didn’t want me to make love to you, I never would have done it. I would never take you against your will, you know that.”

“You fucking-”

“I’m sorry, JC, I have to go,” Howie said. “We’ll talk later. Good-bye.” He hung up on JC’s tirade and went to get the morning paper.

Slam! “What the fuck is that bitch’s car doing outside and what the fuck is this whore doing in your bed?!”

Ashley sat up, startled from sleep. Nick Carter was whoa, damn, grabbing him by the wrist and hauling him from the bed. Ashley clutched at the sheet, dragging it with him, twisting around to look to Joey for help.

Joey sat up, scratching his chin. “Nick, what do you want?” he asked, sounding tired.

Ashley tried to pull himself free, but Nick’s grip was too strong. “What is this whore doing in our bed?!” Nick demanded. One-handed, Ashley tried to wrap the sheet around his waist.

“What do you think he’s doing here?” Joey asked. “I invited him. Nick, let him go. You’re blowing this way out of proportion. You know you only act like this when I’m screwing somebody you want.”

Ashley tried to keep up as Nick stormed around the room. “What the fuck are you saying?” Nick demanded. “You think I want this piece of ass? You know I don’t fuck younger guys! They never know anything, they can’t do anything, they can’t handle anything-”

“Everybody else I fuck, they sleep over, I take them out, you’re fine, you don’t care, I can do whatever I want. As soon as I’m fucking somebody you want, you start throwing a fit and getting an attitude and getting in people’s faces. You’ve been harassing Ashley since day one,” Joey said.

“You can do whatever you want,” Nick said, “but we agreed, when I say it’s too much, then it’s too much.” Angry, he kicked Ashley’s shoes out of the way of his furious pacing. “When I tell you to call it off, you call it off. I’m saying you have to end this.”

Ashley, trailing the sheet behind him, tried to twist his wrist free as Nick pushed and pulled.

“You can’t do that,” Joey said.

“You did that with Janet,” Nick said. “You pulled the fucking plug that time.”

Joey sat up straighter. “Janet was coming between us!”

Nick shoved Ashley towards the bed, presenting him to Joey. “You think this little whore’s not trying to come between us?”

“Ashley’s not - - remember Sarah?” Joey asked. “You were pissed about her, and she was fine.”

“I got to fuck Sarah!”

Ashley was getting a whole lot of new information here. A lot about Joey and Nick, their relationship.

“Well,” Joey said.

“What?” Nick asked. “No. Hell, no. That’s not-”

“Maybe you could have sex with Ashley,” Joey suggested.

Ashley’s head flew up; he stared at Joey, searching for a sign that Joey was joking.

“Are you kidding me?” Nick demanded, and looked Ashley over scornfully before turning back to Joey as though dismissing Ashley from his mind. “Come on! He can’t handle that! He can’t hang with us,” he protested, waving Ashley’s arm around for emphasis, jerking Ashley this way and that. “We’re into real shit! Serious shit! There’s no way this little boy can play with real men.”

Joey finally met Ashley’s eyes. His gaze became gentler. “You don’t have to,” Joey said, as though he were letting Ashley off the hook.

No, no. Ashley couldn’t let Joey believe Nick. He could handle it. He could take whatever Nick dished out. He’d proven himself already, but he’d keep proving himself, if that was what it took. He was better for Joey than Nick was, emotionally and sexually. He’d do whatever Joey wanted. “Do you want me to?”

“I don’t have to watch,” Joey said.

“You’re babying him!” Nick shouted. “What is this bullshit? There’s no point to it if you don’t watch! But if you think he can keep up, then fine, whatever, let’s go for it,” Nick said, clearly not believing it. He turned to Ashley with a wicked smirk, a challenge. “We can do it right now. You don’t have anywhere to go, do you, Angel?”

Ashley hesitated. This was going too fast. He needed time. “No, but I don’t think-”

“Good,” Nick said. “We can-”

“Can I talk to you?” Ashley asked Joey. “Alone?”

“Yeah,” Joey said. “Nick, can you give us a second?”

Nick glared at Ashley, then shoved him aside. While Nick left, Ashley wrapped the sheet more securely around himself and rubbed his wrist. “Joey. Are you sure you want to do this?” He had to be careful how he phrased things. He didn’t want Joey to doubt him. He was younger than Nick, but not by that much. And maybe he wasn’t as experienced, but he was willing to learn anything. He just couldn’t let Joey think he wasn’t capable of handling this situation.

“He’s not mad,” Joey said. “He’s jealous because he wants you. Come on, pretty. Try it. Try it for me. If you don’t like it, you can stop.”

“I don’t want him,” Ashley said. “I want you, Joey. Send him home. We can make love,” he said, stroking his hands down Joey’s chest. “You and me.”

“You don’t want him?” Joey asked, as though it were impossible. “He’s good, Ashley, he’s the best I’ve ever had besides maybe you. He’ll show you a really good time. I wouldn’t ask you to do this if I thought you’d get hurt, you know that. Come on, Ashley. I want to see you with him. I want to watch you give yourself to him. He’ll stop harassing you, he was only doing it because he wanted you, he’s always wanted you.”

Ashley shook his head. There was too much to process, too much he had to think about now. “Joey... I love you. I don’t want him to touch me. I don’t even want him to touch you. Can’t we just-”

“Please, pretty?” Joey asked, kissing him. “You’re so hot, and he’s so good, and I want to see you together. You’re the first guy I’ve met who’s as hot as Nick is, and I want to watch the two of you together. Let him start. If you hate it, you can stop, I promise, just give it a chance.”

Joey’s kisses were distracting him, but he didn’t like the idea of letting Nick fuck him. Nick intimidated him. But Joey liked Nick, Joey cared about Nick, and if Ashley wanted to keep Joey, he was going to have to prove that he was equal to, even better than, Nick.

“You’re so hot, pretty, I want you so much. Do this for me. Just one time, and he’ll stop being an ass, and we can be together. Tell me you will. I’ll be right here the whole time, I won’t let him hurt you. Tell me you’ll do it for me, just for me, pretty. Say, yes, Joey. Yes, Joey. Yes, Joey.”

Ashley clung to Joey’s kiss.

“Yes, Joey,” Joey whispered.

Joey had said that if he did it, Nick would leave them alone. That was all he wanted. If he didn’t do it, he’d prove himself too weak, too immature, not good enough, and he might lose Joey, and he couldn’t take that chance. “Yes, Joey,” he whispered back. “I love you.”

“I know you do, pretty,” Joey said, kissing him gently. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”

When Joey pulled away from him, Ashley made himself let go. He crossed his arms over his naked chest, lowering his gaze as Joey opened the door to admit Nick.

“Ready?” Nick asked.

Ashley closed his eyes. He could do this. He’d do it for Joey. It was what Joey wanted from him.

It wasn’t wrong if he was in love.

Chris woke up feeling pretty good. This whole getting laid thing was great. He never should have stopped doing it.

He’d had really nice Brian dreams, too. Warm, arousing dreams.

Kevin was already up, so Chris got dressed and went out to the kitchen, where Kevin was pouring orange juice. “Thanks for letting me stay.”

“You’re welcome,” Kevin said, and handed him a glass. “You’d better get home. I’m going to call Trevor. As soon as you get home, call him, tell him you’re sorry about yesterday, you were confused about your feelings.”

“Okay.” He could do that. Sorry about yesterday, confused about feelings.

“I’m going to ask him to check up on you. He’ll try to ask you some questions. Don’t make it too easy on him, but give him enough information to make him think he can get you to talk if he keeps trying.”

“Okay.”

“Try not to get too physical yet.”

“Okay.” He didn’t anticipate that being a big problem. “Do you think Brian cares if we have sex?”

“The two of us?” Kevin asked. “No.”

Yeah. He hadn’t thought so. “I’d better go. You have that call to make.” Chris left, going outside and-

His car. His car was right there in front of him, parked in Kevin’s driveway. Except it shouldn’t be. Now that he saw it, he remembered leaving it at Brian’s house. How had it gotten itself the whole way over here?

Kevin had magical powers.

Joey hated Nick.

He was also hard as hell.

Things had started out pretty well. He’d been sitting in the chair by the wall. Ashley had been tense and uncomfortable, standing by the bed. Nick had started to kiss Ashley’s mouth, sliding his hands up Ashley’s chest, down Ashley’s back, insinuating a knee between Ashley’s thighs.

All of a sudden Ashley had made this little moaning noise and started kissing Nick back. They’d kissed for a while longer. Nick had started kneading Ashley’s ass with one hand, and Ashley had gotten really into it, kissing Nick harder, trying to get inside Nick’s clothes, humping Nick’s thigh.

Nick had stepped back, pulling off his shirt, immediately unzipping his jeans, pushing them down with his boxers, never taking his eyes off of Ashley. His dick had sprung up, long and hard, and Ashley’s eyes had gone wide with hunger. Nick had jacked it a little, showing off, and Ashley had practically drooled.

After that, Ashley had been Nick’s fucking love slave. Nick got him on his back on the bed without a hitch. Nick had to have some sort of hold over the people he fucked. It looked to Joey like regular sex, kissing, groping, sucking, fondling, but Ashley was moaning and clinging and acting like Nick’s dick was already in.

The thing was, damn it, Ashley looked great when he moaned and clung. He was fuckable squared, and Joey wanted to get his dick in there. Ashley was great for his dick and great for his ego, and Joey wanted to take full advantage of that.

Nick looked fucking hot, putting the moves on Ashley, making him pant and writhe. Nick was putting on a full show, his expression filled with lust and desire, moaning and grunting like every move Ashley made got him hotter and hotter. His hands were working Ashley’s body like he had detailed blueprints on Ashley’s sexuality; when he started licking and sucking on Ashley’s nipples, Ashley started howling; when he rocked his dick against Ashley’s dick, Ashley acted like he’d never had another guy on him before.

Nick was clearly in control of Ashley, of Ashley’s responses, of the whole situation. He knew exactly what he was doing, he knew exactly how to get what he wanted, and he wasn’t above exploiting Ashley’s weaknesses for his own gain.

Joey had thought that he was pretty damned good at talking Ashley into doing what he wanted; Nick didn’t even have to say anything. Nick started kissing Ashley’s neck, and Ashley acted like he was having a fucking orgasm over it.

They looked great together. Nick was control and experience; Ashley was exploited innocence and wanton sensuality.

When Nick put his finger up inside Ashley, Ashley moaned, moving with restless need, reaching for Nick’s dick. Nick pushed Ashley’s hands aside, fucking him with one finger. “You want it?”

Ashley moaned, kissing Nick desperately. Nick pulled his finger out, still kissing Ashley, slicking up his dick. “You’d better be able to beg for it,” he warned, pushing Ashley’s knee to Ashley’s chest and putting his dick to Ashley’s asshole.

“Do it, do it, fuck me,” Ashley said, clutching at Nick in immediate, slavish obedience. “Fuck me, please, now, now, please…”

“I don’t think you really want it,” Nick said. He had his dick in one hand and was dragging the head over Ashley’s asshole, teasing him.

“Fuck me, fuck me, please,” Ashley begged, trying to pull Nick closer. “I want it, please, please...”

“Who does your ass belong to?” Nick asked.

“You,” Ashley answering immediately. “Please, Nick.”

“Whose is it?” Nick demanded, pushing the blunt head of his dick right against the entrance to Ashley’s body.

“Yours, yours,” Ashley insisted, trying to grab Nick’s dick.

“Open up for me,” Nick ordered.

Ashley held his legs up, gripping the backs of his own thighs, his knees practically touching his shoulders.

Nick’s voice was threatening, his steady, unforgiving gaze keeping Ashley in his thrall. “Beg me, or you won’t get it.”

“Please, please, I want it, I need it, please, god, please, please,” and Ashley cried out, sounding like he was coming so hard it hurt. “I, I, yes, yes, oh,” and he made a second noise, even louder, even longer, and Joey was so hard he ached.

Nick backed up and thrust in again, again, again. Joey could see his back, the flex of his ass, the roll of his hips. Ashley was making a wild, guttural, primal noise.

Joey hadn’t come close to making Ashley sound like that. He was going to kill Nick. Or fuck Ashley’s brains out.

The look on Ashley’s face was pure passion, his head back, his mouth open, his entire body straining under the burden of sheer ecstasy. Nick was pounding into Ashley with a brutal rhythm, making the bedsprings creak, shaking the whole bedframe, groaning and grunting with each thrust. Ashley was either having the longest orgasm on record, or Nick was actually fucking him to death. Joey leaned forward in his chair, squeezing his own painfully hard dick and damn it. Damn Nick to fucking hell, Ashley hadn’t come at all yet. What the hell was all of that noise for?!

Joey had agreed to do this because he’d thought that the experience would be about him. Ashley would be thinking of him, would do it for him, would tolerate Nick to please him. Ashley had forgotten that he was in the fucking house.

Fuck Nick. Fuck Nick. Joey hated him. Ashley was in love with Joey, damn it, Ashley was Joey’s whore.

Ashley’s animal sounds were getting louder and higher, mounting in intensity, becoming almost frantic. He let go of his legs, grabbing at Nick, Nick’s back, Nick’s ass, and he screamed, screamed like he was coming apart from the inside out, and then collapsed, shuddering, twitching, done.

Nick pulled out and came all over Ashley’s chest.

Nick had gallons of cum. Great. Ashley was going to love that, too. Fuck him.

Nick got up, leaving Ashley unconscious on the bed. He plucked tissues from the box on Joey’s nightstand, wiped his dick off, and started to get dressed.

Joey was so fucking hard, if he said anything, he’d come.

Without a word or even a glance, Nick walked out.

Trevor was pulling on his underwear when Erik knocked on his door. “Yeah,” he said, and Erik opened the door, handing him a phone. “Chris?” he asked Erik.

Erik grinned. “Nope,” he said, and left.

Trevor frowned. “Hello?”

“Trevor, this is Kevin.”

Trevor’s brain froze. His gaze stopped in place at the foot of his bed. He had to ask. “Kevin who?”

“Kevin Richardson.”

What the holy holy fuck?!

“Is this a bad time?”

“No! No, this is a good time, this is perfect, this is great,” Trevor said quickly, shocked back into speech. “What can I do for you, how can I help you?”

“I do need a favor from you,” Kevin said, and he admitted it with such confidence, such class, that it made Trevor feel like Kevin was doing him a favor by wanting a favor from him. “It’s about Chris.”

“Chris,” Trevor repeated. His brain still wasn’t working correctly, but he could keep track of the information so far.

“I’m worried about him,” Kevin said. “He’s seemed upset lately. I’d like to go and check on him myself, but I don’t want him to misunderstand. I’m concerned as a friend, not as anything more, and I don’t want him to think there’s more to it than that. I know the two of you have been getting close, and I was wondering if you could check on him for me.”

“Yes,” Trevor said. “I mean, I’d be happy to. I was hoping to see him today.”

“If you get a chance to talk to him, if you could make sure he’s okay, I’d appreciate it. Find out what’s bothering him.”

“No problem,” Trevor said. “I’ll take care of it.”

“Thank you,” Kevin said. “Why don’t you call me.”

Call - - Kevin was giving out his phone number! Trevor scrambled for a pen, a pencil, anything, frantically reciting the digits in his head. Kevin started to say thanks, and good-bye, and Trevor made it through that without saying anything stupid, and then the call was over, and Trevor jumped onto his bed, yelling. He’d been at his house in his underwear and Kevin fucking Scott fucking Richardson had fucking called him! Him! On the phone! To ask for a favor! Like he wouldn’t climb fucking Everest for this man!

Dan opened the door, and Trevor dropped onto his ass, bouncing a little on the mattress. “You okay in here?” Dan asked with a grin.

“Kevin!” Trevor said.

“Erik told me,” Dan said.

“I talked on the phone to Kevin Richardson in my underwear,” Trevor said.

“Did you tell him that?” Dan asked.

“I have his phone number!”

“Hey, good for you,” Dan said. “You want to bronze it or anything?”

“I have to go,” Trevor said, getting up suddenly. “I have to find Chris.” The phone rang. “I have to,” he checked the ID, “praise Jesus.” He answered the phone. “Townhouse, Trevor speaking, where have you been?”

Dan laughed and left him alone.

“So how was that big photo shoot?” Chris asked.

“It sucked, we fucked up,” Trevor said. “Are you okay?”

“Me?” Chris asked. “I’m fine. Come over and see me.”

“Was it me?” Trevor asked. “The kissing and everything, did I push too hard, did I not go far enough?”

“Come over,” Chris said.

“Okay,” Trevor said. “Bye.”

“Bye.”

Trevor hung up. Chris was fine, Kevin was asking him for favors, he’d already had a big morning and he hadn’t even gotten dressed yet.

Lance rang Howie’s doorbell, keeping his goal firmly in mind. He was going to practice what he’d been preaching. He was going to stand up for JC, and he wasn’t going to let Howie get to him. Howie had no right to treat JC like that. They were all supposed to be working together. They didn’t have to like each other, or even respect each other, but they couldn’t manipulate each other like that.

The door opened. Howie smiled warmly, glancing over Lance with a slow sweep of long lashes. “Lance. Come in.”

Lance entered, facing Howie in the foyer. “What do you think you’re doing to JC?”

“Sit down,” Howie invited him. “Do you want something to drink?”

“I’m not in the mood for your games,” Lance said. He wanted to kiss the smooth skin just under the outside arch of Howie’s left eyebrow. “What are you doing to JC? You can’t make him do things he doesn’t want to do.”

“You’re right,” Howie said. “Lance, I can’t make JC do things he doesn’t want to do. I asked JC if I could make love to him, and he said yes. I have no intention of forcing JC into anything, especially sex.”

Lance wanted to open Howie’s shirt, push it back on Howie’s shoulders, bare Howie’s firm chest, get his hands on Howie’s perfect skin, kiss Howie’s mouth, steer him back onto that sofa, kiss him until he made that tiny little “fuck me” noise that always made Lance rock-hard on the spot…

“JC called me this morning,” Howie said. “I hadn’t realized that we’d had such a serious misunderstanding.”

“You fucked him,” Lance said flatly, boldly, rudely. “You’ve never fucked me.”

“Did you want me to?” Howie asked, pleasantly confused.

“Yes,” Lance said. “No. I don’t want you to, but I think if you’re fucking anybody, it should be me.” He hadn’t meant to say that. He’d wanted to talk about Howie and JC, not Howie and himself.

“I’m sorry,” Howie said. “I didn’t know.”

Innocence. Howie was innocent all of the time, never at fault, always saying, “Well, if you’d told me…” Lance couldn’t take it. “Why are you like this? Why do you do this to me? Why did you make me want you, make me fall in love with you, if you can’t even talk to me? You never give me a straight answer, you never tell me the truth, I can’t tell whether you’re secretly laughing at me the whole time or just so fucking full of yourself you don’t know any better!”

“I can’t make anyone fall in love with me,” Howie said.

“That’s it?” Lance demanded. “That’s all you have to say?”

“What would you like me to say?” Howie asked.

“Stop being so goddamned reasonable!” Lance shouted, stepping forward, so tense with frustration that his hands curled into fists. “Show some emotion! Give me something! Tell me to go to hell! Tell me you’re deliberately fucking with me! Admit that you’re fucking JC over! Tell me to get out!”

“Why are you this upset?” Howie asked. “This isn’t like you.”

“I do a lot of things that aren’t like me when I’m around you!” Lance said. “That’s because you make me crazy.”

Howie smiled.

“What?” Lance asked. He couldn’t even stay angry. He hated himself for that.

“I like you when you’re a little bit crazy.”

Lance felt himself being reeled in. When Howie said things like that, he fell for it, every time. It sounded honest, and unrehearsed. He didn’t know if Howie meant it, or if Howie was being nice to him just for the sake of stringing him along, or if Howie secretly hated him and was playing a vicious game of Get Lance. His choices were either to go along with it and get what he could out of it, or be full-blown paranoid. He’d rather have what parts of Howie he could, than not have Howie at all.

But now Howie was messing with JC, and as JC’s friend, Lance had to try to stop it. “You can’t treat JC like that.”

“I’m very fond of JC,” Howie said. “I wouldn’t hurt him intentionally. We’ve been working very well together. Or, I thought we were, until he decided to make decisions for both of us.”

Lance frowned. “When?”

“Erik called JC, wanting to visit. If JC had called me to talk to me about it, I would have reminded him of the photo shoot, and we could have discussed how to handle things. JC decided on his own that he didn’t want to see Erik, and wasn’t going to give me a chance to see Erik with or without him.”

“You made decisions for both of you, when you decided that it was time for JC to give Erik head,” Lance said.

“Well,” Howie said, “if you look at it that way, then it almost comes out even.”

Lance knew Howie. He’d memorized all of Howie’s speech patterns. That slow voice of casual consideration, that told him everything he needed to know. “You got mad at JC for not calling you, and you decided to punish him?”

“I don’t see it that way,” Howie said.

That was a lie. “Are you finished punishing him?” Lance asked. “If he communicates with you from now on, will you stop?”

“JC sounds upset with me,” Howie said. “I don’t think that he’s willing to overlook what he thinks I’ve done to him.”

Damn. That was true. “Did you know that?” Lance asked. “Did you accidentally go too far? Or did you do it, knowing you’d lose him?”

“I can’t lose something I never had,” Howie said.

“JC was falling for you,” Lance said. “I saw it.”

Howie crossed his arms over his chest. It wasn’t a defensive gesture at all. “I saw it, too,” he admitted.

“Then why did you risk it?” Lance asked. “You could still have him. Won’t it be easier if the two of you work together and build a connection?”

“I didn’t like it,” Howie said.

Lance frowned. “Didn’t like what? JC’s attention? His affection?” Who wouldn’t want JC to want him?

“I don’t want him,” Howie said. “I can’t stand touching him. Getting rid of him makes things easier.”

“How are you going to get Erik?” Lance asked.

Howie smiled. “That won’t be a problem.”

Lance didn’t know what to think. Was Howie telling him the truth? If so, did Howie feel that way about him, too? “If you don’t want him, why did you fuck him?”

“For Erik,” Howie said.

The next logical question was, why did Howie have sex with Lance? Lance couldn’t bring himself to ask.

Howie glanced at the clock. “I’m sorry, Lance. I have an appointment to get to, and I’m not even dressed.”

Polite, clear dismissal. “I’d like to see you later,” Lance said.

“I’d like that,” Howie said. “Give me a call.”

“All right. Bye,” Lance said.

Howie kissed him warmly. “Bye,” Howie said, and opened the door for him.

When the doorbell rang, Dan was already halfway down the stairs, so he jogged over and opened the door.

What with the sunglasses, hood, and baseball cap, the identity of his visitor wasn’t obvious, but Dan recognized Justin in an instant. “Justin,” he said, “come inside, come on. Are you okay?” He ushered Justin in and scrutinized what he could see of Justin’s face. Fuck. There was bruising, those were bruises. “What did he do to you?”

“Nothing,” Justin said, pushing back his hood. “I’m okay, I’m fine. I just wanted to come over to… I don’t think you understand.”

“What don’t I understand?” Dan asked. “Look me in the eye and tell me I’m wrong, tell me he doesn’t hit you.”

Justin took off his hat, rubbing his hand over his hair. “It’s not the way you think it is.”

Dark bruising along Justin’s jaw, discoloration across one cheek. Dan raised his hands and gently removed Justin’s sunglasses. Justin blinked at him, eyes adjusting. “He beats you,” Dan said softly, “and I’m going to kill him.”

When Chris opened the door, Trevor asked, “What kinds of rights do I have here?”

“The rights granted to you by the Constitution and maybe the Declaration of Independence,” Chris said. “There’s a funny thing called the Bill of Rights, that might be able to help you out.”

“No,” Trevor said, stepping into the house. “We haven’t known each other for years, but we’re friends. We’ve kissed, but you’re not my boyfriend. I want to ask you where you were and why you blew me off, and I think a friend can ask that, but maybe that’s too pushy, maybe it’s none of my business.”

“You can ask whatever you want,” Chris said. “I don’t have to answer.”

“Where were you?” Trevor asked. “Wait.” He kissed Chris, parting Chris’s lips with his tongue, delving deep. Yeah, mmm, that was, yeah. He lifted his head, stepping back again. “Where were you?”

“I like this kind of interrogation,” Chris said. “Some of the cop shows would really benefit from your techniques.”

“I get worried about you,” Trevor said, rubbing his thumb across Chris’s goatee. “Yesterday I had to worry more than usual.”

“Worry about me?” Chris asked. “I’m just peachy keen. Fine and dandy. Right as rain.”

“So you’re fine,” Trevor said.

“And dandy,” Chris assured him.

Chris was lying. It was all over his face, all through his voice. “Then you’re not upset about anything?”

“Nothing at all,” Chris said. “Absolutely nothing. Not a thing.”

“What about Kevin?”

“What about Kevin?” Chris asked, and literally lost his balance, stumbling right there where he’d been standing, with no provocation other than Trevor’s question. “Whoa,” he said, quickly righting himself. “Weak ankles.”

“Weak ankles?” Trevor repeated. “You’re a dancer.”

“I dance,” Chris said. “That doesn’t make me a dancer.”

“When we saw Kevin at the club, you started drinking pretty hard,” Trevor said. “You seemed upset then.”

“Me?” Chris asked. “Upset? No. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Not upset, not me. You must have me confused with someone else.”

“Are you still in love with him?”

“With who?” Chris asked. “Or is it whom? Or is it who? Or is it-”

“Are you still in love with Kevin?” Trevor asked.

“Are you asking me?” Chris said, looking behind himself for the other people Trevor might be questioning.

“Can we sit down?” Trevor asked.

“Sure.” Chris sat right there on the floor.

“You know what?” Trevor asked, crouching in front of him.

“What?” Chris asked brightly.

“You’re annoying as hell,” Trevor said, “and I love it.” He kissed Chris, one hand supporting Chris’s back, planting his other palm flat on the floor. Gradually he began to lower Chris backward, kissing his quick mouth, pushing-

“So, yeah, do you want something to eat?” Chris asked, wriggling free, scrambling up. “Or maybe we could play Scrabble. Scrabble’s always fun. Everybody loves a good game of Scrabble.”

“Annoying as hell,” Trevor muttered, getting up a little slower, “and loving it less.” He looked at Chris, and Chris looked not quite hurt, but Trevor knew better. “I’m sorry,” Trevor said. “You know I think you’re great. Help me a little. If this is about Kevin, say something completely off-topic. If this isn’t about Kevin, tell me it’s not about Kevin.”

“Have you ever seen two squirrels fucking?” Chris asked. “Can you imagine what that sounds like?”

Trevor grinned. “I’m sure you can imitate it for me.”

Chris proceeded to vocalize the sound of squirrels mating, followed by the sound of dolphins mating, hyenas mating, and something that he said was wolves but sounded more like cats to Trevor. When he was finished, Trevor was laughing so hard he couldn’t breathe.

Something wet was - - Ashley opened his eyes, starting to sit up.

“You’re awake.” Joey, who was sitting at his side on the bed, kissed him. “I was just cleaning you up.”

Cleaning… Oh. Oh. Ashley’s cheeks burned. Nick. He and Nick had…

“You put on a great show for me,” Joey said, kissing his cheek. “Thank you for doing that for me. I know you didn’t want to.”

“No, it’s… It’s okay,” Ashley said. God. He’d… “Is Nick…here?”

“No, he had to leave,” Joey said. “How do you feel? Are you sore? I should have told him you were a virgin until last night.”

“No, I’m fine,” Ashley said. Actually, he did feel a little tender, but he didn’t want Joey to think he couldn’t handle it. “Did you like it?” That had been the point, after all.

“I like hearing you beg like that,” Joey said, touching his mouth. Ashley refrained from licking. He liked the way Joey was looking at him, liked that Joey wanted him, liked that Joey thought he was hot. “You were on fire.”

He’d exploded. He’d detonated. He’d experienced the most intense, prolonged, agonizing pleasure of his life. He hated Nick, but Nick had opened up a whole new torturous kind of ecstasy that he hadn’t ever imagined existed, certainly not in his own body. He wanted to make love again, wanted to explore that pleasure, with Joey. “Do you want to fuck me?”

Joey’s smile was greedy, and his kiss stole Ashley’s breath.

“Dan,” Justin said. “You can’t-”

“He can’t get away with this,” Dan said. “I don’t know why no one’s willing to do anything about it, but I can’t let him keep doing this to you. Where is he?”

“You don’t understand,” Justin said. “Listen to me! I love AJ. When we’re together, it’s - - he understands me, he knows me, we become one person. I know that he loves me. We fought yesterday, he was angry, he was upset, but we talked about it. He won’t hit me anymore.”

“He’s going to hit you again,” Dan said. “And even if he doesn’t, you’re willing to stay with him? Do you really think that he deserves you?”

“I’m not perfect,” Justin said. “I’ve put him through some shit. I’ve thrown away his clothes, I’ve set his gifts on fire, I-”

“He hits you!” Dan shouted. “Look at yourself! What are you doing with him?”

“I can hide the bruises from the paparazzi, I-”

“I don’t care about the cameras! I care about you! You’re so smart, Justin, you’re smarter than this. You’re too good for him. You can have anyone you want. Why would you stay with someone who obviously can’t even appreciate you, much less celebrate you?”

“Anyone I want?” Justin repeated. “You think I can have anyone I want? What I want is someone who’s good to me, someone who’s decent to me, someone who won’t use me or cheat on me or hurt me. But there’s no one out there like that, so I’m willing to settle for second-best. AJ and I are great together. Our physical connection is so strong, it’s too intense, it blows up in our faces.”

“It blows up in your face,” Dan said. “I doubt there are any bruises on him.”

“I came over here to let you know I was all right,” Justin said, taking his sunglasses from Dan’s hand and slipping them on again. “You can stop worrying about me.” He put his hat on again, raising his hood. “If you find one of those good people out there, you let me know.” He left.

Dan looked at the closed door. He’d failed Justin, and Justin had gotten hurt. It wasn’t going to happen again. He was going to take care of this, one way or another.

Continue on to part eleven...

matthew@matthewtime.com
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