"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.

Continued from part twenty-four...

Dan had no reason to listen to anything that AJ said.

He refused to give in to AJ. He refused to respond to AJ’s demands.

AJ was using Justin to blackmail him, hurting Justin to get his attention. AJ was dangerous, AJ was sick, and Dan wasn’t going to give in.

But he had to do something. It was frustrating not to be getting anywhere, not to be making any real progress. It was hard to see Justin in pain.

Dan had made promises, to Justin and to himself, and it was past time for him to start delivering on them.

Maybe he would talk to AJ. Maybe he’d find out what AJ wanted. He didn’t think that it would do him any good, but he didn’t have a better idea. Maybe once he’d heard whatever offensive drivel AJ had to say, he’d be able to think of something.

He had to do something. He had to be able to help.

Justin tensed.

Dan felt Justin’s heart racing under his palm. “Justin?” he asked, keeping his voice quiet.

“He was there,” Justin said. His voice was soft and miserable. “He was with me in my dreams.”

Dan couldn’t understand why Justin would put up with AJ. The good couldn’t possibly outweigh the bad. Good times and great sex couldn’t be worth putting up with everything that AJ had done.

Justin sighed, leaning back into him. “What are you doing today?”

“I have a meeting, and I want to check back in the with guys.” He tapped Justin’s chest. “You didn’t sneak green dye in Trevor’s shampoo, did you?”

Justin laughed. “No, did you?”

“No, but somebody did.”

Justin was still laughing. “God, I wish that were the biggest problem in my life.”

Chris had stayed awake for as long as he could, gazing at Brian’s sleeping face and soaking up the perfection of the moment. When he’d finally succumbed to sleep, he’d kept Brian wrapped in his embrace, unwilling to let go.

He wakened to the words “sweet pet” being murmured by his neck, Brian’s kisses warm beneath his jaw, Brian’s fingers stroking his ear. For one second, he kept his eyes closed, because if he opened them, Brian might disappear.

Brian’s kisses trailed up his cheek; Brian’s fingertip brushed his lashes. “Chris,” Brian whispered, and kissed just beside his eye, stroking his cheek. “Chris,” again, more softly.

Chris opened his eyes.

Brian kissed him.

Chris was so happy it was killing him.

One tattooed arm snaked out from the covers, hand fumbling for the phone. Once the phone had been located, the arm withdrew back into the tangle of sheets, taking the phone with it. The ringing stopped. A rough voice growled, “This had better be good, Danny Boy.”

Trevor wasn’t going to let a little green hair spoil his good mood. He’d been in Kevin’s house yesterday, green hair or not. He’d been in Kevin’s house, he’d done Kevin a favor, he’d been trusted with something pretty damned important. Feeling ready to have a good day, Trevor walked down to the kitchen.

Jacob was practically bristling with “approach me and die, fucker.” Erik was hunched over his bowl of cereal like he could see his doom in there. Ashley was looking like he hadn’t slept at all.

Dan got to wake up in Justin Timberlake’s bed, and Trevor had to wake up to these depressing faces? “Good morning,” he said, just to get a reaction.

“Hey,” Ashley said with a weak attempt at a smile.

“Hey,” Erik muttered without looking up, probably still pissed at him about yesterday.

Jacob pushed his hair out of his face and actually made a decent attempt at looking approachable. “Hey.” Trevor didn’t begin to know what was with him, or why he’d been looking ready to kill.

“So,” Trevor said, opening the cupboard. “What’s up?”

“Nothing,” Ashley said, ducking back into his cereal.

“Nothing,” Erik muttered, sounding pissed off about it.

“Nothing,” Jacob said, and scowled, starting to get that dark look around his eyes.

Okay.

Trevor decided to call Chris and get out of the house. It looked like everybody needed a break. When the phone rang, he reached for it, not trusting them to answer. “Townhouse, Trevor speaking.”

“Trevor, this is Kevin.”

Whoa. First thing in the morning? Kevin was calling him two days in a row? Hell, that was a habit Trevor would love to pick up. “Hey,” Trevor said, in his cool, suave, on top of it voice. “I hope everything went okay yesterday. All of the stuff looked great.”

“Everything went very well,” Kevin said. “I’m calling to thank you for that. You really pulled through for me, and I appreciate it.”

Kevin was sounding nice. More than just polite. Almost…friendly? Trevor bounced in place a little, grinning. He’d done it, he’d smoothed things over, he was back in! “Hey, I was happy to do it,” he said smoothly. “It was all my pleasure.”

“Well, thank you,” Kevin said. “You let me know if there’s anything that I can do for you.”

Trevor didn’t know what to say to that. He wanted to start doing back flips.

“I’ll talk to you later,” Kevin said.

“Yeah, sure,” Trevor said. “Bye.”

“Bye.”

Trevor hung up the phone and danced around the kitchen.

A shower, some coffee, and AJ was back. Black jeans, black sleeveless shirt, the right accessories, and he was as beautiful as ever, just in time for the doorbell to ring.

He opened the door, giving Dan a curious once-over. “White bread.”

“My name’s Dan,” Dan said. “It’s not that difficult to pronounce.”

“And I’ll bet you have Justin calling it out every night,” AJ said, letting his gaze linger on Dan’s body before snapping up to Dan’s eyes, challenging, hating.

“I’m not having sex with Justin,” Dan said, already hating him right back.

AJ’s eyes narrowed. “Come in.” He watched Dan enter, gauging the tilt of Dan’s chin and the set of Dan’s shoulders. Danny Boy was confident, determined not to be intimidated, unwilling to give in. AJ closed the door, walking into the living room, letting Dan follow. He didn’t sit down, and Dan didn’t, either. They faced each other, a few feet away.

AJ liked confident, assertive people. Strong-willed people. Kevin had worn Justin down to a shadow of a man, but Dan was different. Dan was fighting a losing battle, but fighting nonetheless.

AJ would have snapped Ashley in half, and he knew it. He would’ve snapped Erik by now, too; it took Howie’s subtler touch to draw out the game. It would take AJ more than one day to obliterate Dan. He liked that.

“You said that you wanted to talk to me,” Dan said. “You wanted to make a deal.”

“You took Justin from me,” AJ said. “No,” he snapped, when Dan’s mouth opened. “I don’t want to hear it. You took Justin from me. I’m in love with him, he’s in love with me, we had a great thing going. There’s no one like Justin. He was mine, he was mine, and now he’s yours. He’s yours, he’s leaving town with you, you’re fucking him.” AJ was stepping right up to Dan, furious and emotional and too close, and Dan was glaring at him, not backing up. “You took him away from me,” AJ said, pulling out hatred and misery and passion and longing, “you took him away from me and now you’re fucking him.”

Dan opened his mouth.

“Shut up!” AJ shouted, shoving him in the chest roughly with both hands, making him stumble backwards. “Shut up! You get to talk to Justin all fucking day, now I get to talk to you! You think you have him, you think he’s yours? Justin is mine, Justin was mine and Justin will always be mine. You don’t know him. You don’t know what he thinks, what he feels, how his mind works. You get to be inside his body, but I’ve been inside his brain.”

“You warped his brain,” Dan said, angry and disgusted.

“I can get to him,” AJ said. “I can get to him, I can get inside him, I can get him back.” AJ took one step back, another, giving Dan space, looking into Dan’s eyes and daring Dan to doubt him. “I know how to hurt him in ways you can’t comprehend. I know what his weaknesses are, what his fears are, how to make him shake and cry and crawl on the floor. I know how to make him hurt himself. You think I beat him? I don’t even have to touch him to inflict real damage. The bruises aren’t what give him nightmares.”

Dan looked repulsed. “You’re sick.”

AJ’s expression darkened. “You should know better than to push me.”

“You should know that your threats don’t work on me,” Dan snapped. “I’m not impressed by your dangerous routine. Is this why I came over here? Is this what you wanted to talk to me about?”

AJ felt his lips curling into a sneer. “Let me spell it out for you.” He stepped closer again, watching Dan’s anger rise. “Justin is in love with me. You can keep him from seeing me, but you’ll never keep him from loving me. If I want to get near him, if I want to make him suffer, if I want to make him mine, I can.” He narrowed his eyes, putting the threat of his ferocity in his voice. “And I will.”

Dan inhaled slowly, eyes sparking with rage. “Unless?”

A slow, mean smile crept across AJ’s face. “Unless you give me what I want.”

Looking absolutely disgusted by having to voice the question, Dan asked, “And what is that?”

AJ gazed into Dan’s eyes, curious. “Do you love him?” AJ tipped his head to one side, judging, weighing. “Are you in love with him?” He lowered his voice, watching righteous anger tighten Dan’s lips. “Do you like the way he smiles at you? Do you like the feel of his body under your hands?” he asked, placing a hand against Dan’s chest. “Do you-”

Dan jerked back, offended, furious. “Don’t you ever touch me! My friendship with Justin is none of your business!”

AJ glared at Dan, trying to control himself.

Dan glared back, hot with righteous fury.

“You love him,” AJ said, his voice low and tight. “You want to protect him. You want to stand between him and me.” He shook his head slowly, taking a deep breath. “That’s a dangerous place to be.”

Dan’s voice was just as tense. “I can handle myself,” he said shortly.

“You want what’s best for Justin,” AJ said. “You’re looking out for him.”

Dan didn’t answer, clearly not trusting anything that AJ had to say.

AJ crossed his arms over his chest. “You can have him. You can talk to him, dance with him, take him to bed. You get to have him, you win.”

“We both know that the mother of all catches is about to follow that, so go ahead and tell me what it is,” Dan said without humor.

“You get to have him,” AJ said, and stepped in so close he could feel Dan’s heat, Dan’s hatred, Dan’s energy. He looked into Dan’s eyes, measuring, calculating, turning up the fire and letting his gaze burn. “I get to have you.”

Dan almost jerked back.

“I get to have you,” AJ repeated, viciously intense. “I get to have him through you. If I can’t talk to him, you’re going to tell me about him. If I can’t see him, you’re going to tell me how he looks. If I can’t touch him, you’re going to let me touch you.”

“No,” Dan said, before he’d finished. “Hell, fucking, no.”

“You took him away from me,” AJ snarled, “you’re keeping him away from me, but I won’t let you take it all. You’re going to give me this, motherfucker, you owe me this! Justin was mine, Justin is mine, if you-”

“I don’t owe you anything!” Dan shouted. “You’re fucking deranged! You fucked up! He left you! Get over it!”

“Fuck you!” AJ shouted. “Justin’s in love with me! If you want to protect him from me, you’d better fucking step it up! I could have him back again like that!” AJ said clapping his hands together sharply before Dan’s eyes. Dan flinched, startled. “Like that!” AJ repeated, doing it again. “Like that!” Clap! “Like that!” Clap! “Like that!” Clap! Dan flinched back from each explosion as if it were a blow. “That bitch is mine, motherfucker, and there’s nothing you’ll ever be able to do to change that.” Dan was backing up, now, and AJ advanced, pressing the advantage. “I will always have a hold over him. You’ll never be able to break it. You’d better hope and wish and beg and pray that I keep on being nice to you, or else you’ll be doing your praying from the fucking grave. I’m willing to let you be the middle man, but if you don’t cooperate, you’ll be the first one to go.”

“I’m not going to let you hurt him,” Dan said, but he was shaken now, disturbed by AJ’s ferocity.

“You,” AJ let his voice seethe, “can’t stop me.”

“If you really believed that you could take him back, you’d do it,” Dan said. “You’re coming to me because you know he’s never coming back.”

AJ growled. “You don’t understand anything.”

Dan shook his head. “I-”

“Get the fuck out of my house!” AJ shouted. “Go back to Justin and see how long you can keep him in one piece. The only thing keeping Justin apart from me right now is me. The second I want to take him from you, I will. All it’ll take is a look, a word, a fucking gesture. And you’ll never fucking see it coming.”

Brian stroked Chris’s hair, gazing into Chris’s eyes. Brown eyes, dark lashes, all of that love, all of that devotion. He kissed his sweet pet gently, lovingly, stroking his tongue against Chris’s with slow, tender desire. Ending the kiss with a soft whisper of his pet’s name, Brian brushed the backs of his fingers over Chris’s cheek. “I love you.” He kissed Chris once more, letting Chris taste his sincerity. “I always will.”

Days passed.

Trevor didn’t know what had gotten into Chris, but the guy was bouncing off of the walls with happiness. It was like he was high on something. He was always cheerful, he was hilariously funny, and he didn’t lapse into any of those weird moods. They didn’t manage to have any actual, technical sex, but they did grope and make out and give head a lot.

As long as Chris was happy, Trevor was happy. Although there was one other major contributing factor to Trevor’s happiness: every few days, Kevin called him. He picked up paperwork, he oversaw another delivery, he picked up Kevin’s wallet and actually kept himself from looking in it. Erik said that at least if he was going to be a fucking gopher, he should ask for a salary. But Trevor didn’t care what Erik said. Erik was just bitter because he wasn’t hanging out with Howie and JC anymore.

No one knew why Erik wasn’t hanging out with Howie and JC anymore. Trevor figured that it was because they’d wised up and dumped him, but that was just his guess. He wasn’t going to give Erik much credit, because Erik kept pulling shit on him. First the green dye, then turning off his alarm to make him sleep in and almost miss his appointment with Kevin, then fucking hiding his wallet from him.

Erik kept saying that he had nothing to do with it, but there wasn’t anyone else that it could be. Trevor had felt a little smug when Erik’s keys had disappeared, but of course Erik had tried to blame it on him. After Erik’s brand-new Howie-bought clothes had mysteriously been bleached in the wash, Erik had declared war. Trevor hadn’t gone near Erik’s clothes, but he wanted to shake the hand of whoever had.

Needless to say, things were pretty tense around the Townhouse.

Dan wasn’t home often. When he was at home, Justin was with him. When Trevor had Chris over and Dan had Justin over, Trevor got to see Justin and Chris hang out. He couldn’t believe that he was dating Justin Timberlake’s best friend.

Ashley was a little subdued. He spent a lot of time with Joey. Whenever he left the house suddenly and without explanation, Trevor knew that he was going to see Nick. He usually came home again looking stunned, floating around in a daze for a few hours like he was drugged. There were always hickeys on him somewhere, and his nipples looked red and tender, but he said that he knew what he was doing.

No one knew what Jacob was doing. He spent hour after hour, day after day, with Brian. When he wasn’t talking to Brian, he was talking about Brian. When he wasn’t out somewhere with Brian, he was in his room with Brian. Whenever Brian didn’t sleep in his bed, he was sleeping in Brian’s bed. At Brian’s house, anyway; he hadn’t given a real answer when they’d asked about where exactly in Brian’s house he slept.

But sometimes, out of nowhere, he’d be home, growling and bitching and in a nasty, foul mood. Snapping at them about their sex lives, slamming doors. Those times came and went without warning. Chris was the only one who was willing to go near him when he got like that. When Jacob got mean when Chris wasn’t around, Trevor gave him a wide berth.

Chris was happier than he’d been in a long time. He was with Brian again. They couldn’t talk every day, but at least once a week they found some time together. Whenever Brian could get away from Jacob and avoid Lance, he’d call, and Chris would come to his house. They’d spend hours together, talking, touching, making love. Sometimes Chris got to stay all night.

He never told Kevin about it. His time with Brian was private. Special. Sacred. He couldn’t let anything threaten that, so he had to act like everything was normal. He continued to have sex with Kevin on a semi-regular basis, to keep Kevin thinking that he needed that fix. Now that he was making love with Brian and having sex with Kevin and fooling around with Trevor, he suddenly had a very active sex life. And now not only did he have to sneak around to see Kevin behind Trevor’s back, he also had to sneak around to see Brian behind Trevor and Kevin’s backs. He was busy, but he was with Brian again. That was all that mattered.

He didn’t tell Lance about it, either. He wasn’t seeing a lot of Lance. He did see a lot of Justin and JC, though. He told Justin about how Kevin was, and he helped Justin to strategize on how to get Trevor. He kept JC updated on how Erik and Ashley were doing. JC didn’t want to ask Joey about Ashley, since Joey was having sex with Nick and watching Nick have sex with Ashley.

JC was a little too jealous of Ashley. Chris wasn’t sure how to reassure him. Chris thought that JC was infinitely superior to Ashley, but Chris, obviously, wasn’t Nick.

JC was pretty busy with Howie, though. Chris didn’t know if JC was getting a little too into role-playing, or what, but JC was acting like he really was Howie’s boyfriend. They went to dinner together, they went to clubs together, they went shopping together, they slept together every single night. Chris had been privileged to watch them make out once, and it had looked extremely good, in the part of his brain that could ignore the fact that they weren’t supposed to like each other, and every second that Howie’s tongue was in JC’s mouth would kill Lance if he knew.

Lance was, well, having sex with Brian and doing…something…with Jacob. Chris didn’t know how that was going. Chris didn’t care how that was going. Chris only cared that Brian was nice enough to have clean sheets whenever Chris showed up.

Chris was a lot more well-informed on Justin’s activities. Justin was with Dan ninety percent of the time, and with AJ ten percent of the time, and missing Kevin one hundred percent of the time. Justin didn’t seem to do much with AJ besides dance and have sex, but apparently since AJ was very good at those things, it worked out okay. Justin and AJ even had their own cute little code where inviting each other to go dancing meant inviting each other over for sex. Justin and Dan really were great friends, if Chris squinted. They got along well, they were genuinely interested in each other, they always seemed to be having a good time. Justin was maybe a little too attached to Dan, but who was Chris to judge?

The Kevin thing… Justin didn’t want to approach Kevin, because Kevin had made it abundantly clear that he didn’t wish to be approached, and Justin wanted to do whatever Kevin wanted him to do. But it was getting harder and harder for Justin to be away from Kevin. Chris was watching it eat away at him, a little more every day. Justin was about to crack under the strain of it and run straight to Kevin. All Chris could do was hope that Dan might be able to gather up the scattered pieces of Justin once Kevin was finished.

Chris was so busy juggling Trevor and Kevin and Brian, with Justin and JC thrown in now and then, that he didn’t talk to Joey all that often. But it sounded like things were pretty much status quo. Joey had Ashley wrapped around his dick, Joey was waiting for AJ’s next booty call, Joey couldn’t stand Nick but didn’t mind having sex with him.

With the success of the “Favorite Girl” remix, it was decided that the guys should do a video to capitalize on their sudden rise in popularity. Dan and Jacob had learned their lesson, and worked together to corral Erik, making sure that he got to the shoot on time.

Trevor, who’d been running an errand for Kevin, showed up almost an hour late.

Ashley, who’d been in bed with Joey, showed up seven and a half hours late.

Justin, Chris, and JC stopped by the shoot to see how things were going. Unfortunately, things weren’t going all that well; and oddly enough, the situation worsened the longer they stayed. Almost every copy of the shooting schedule disappeared. Trevor’s wardrobe was stained green; Ashley’s wardrobe disappeared. The sprinklers were set off. Everyone on the set got food poisoning. Erik was so distracted by JC’s presence that the director had to throw things at him to get his attention.

Despite the chaos of the shoot, the video turned out well, and O-Town went to premiere it on TRL. Since JC had produced the remix, he went with them. Howie went along, and he and JC spent the weekend in New York together, then went to L.A. While O-Town was out of town making appearances, JC was out of town with Howie, and Lance was shacking up with Brian, Justin and Chris and Joey went to clubs and danced with women and got drunk and commiserated.

One night without Dan proved to Justin that he was no longer capable of sleeping alone. He just couldn’t do it. He tried sleeping with Chris the next night, but that was only marginally better. Then he tried drinking until he passed out. Finally, he tried sleeping with Joey. He felt stupid asking Joey, but he was getting desperate. Considering how busy Joey’s sex life was, it wasn’t a long-term solution. With Ashley out of town, Joey was picking up girls right and left, in addition to fitting Nick and AJ into his schedule. But Joey was always willing to help out a friend, so Joey had sex during the day and cleared his bed for Justin at night. He was big enough and solid enough that it worked out pretty well.

Nick was pissed off that he couldn’t even sleep over at his own boyfriend’s house because that pussy Timberlake couldn’t get through the night without a teddy bear. Joey said that Justin wouldn’t be crying himself to sleep and waking up screaming if Kevin hadn’t fucked him up. Nick was unmoved.

Pimping themselves on the circuit, the guys from O-Town stopped fighting, for the most part. Erik declared himself liberated from a brief period of sexual confusion, and dragged the guys out to clubs to pick up girls. Ashley and Trevor, who’d made a pact to remain loyal to Joey and Chris, kept track of the other guys’ activities. According to their scorecard, by the time they came home, Dan had a three, Erik had a five, and Jacob had an uncharacteristic seven. Ashley didn’t know why Jacob was suddenly interested in cheap sex. Erik said that maybe Jacob needed to reassert his sexuality after being cooped up with gay guys all of the time. Trevor said that Erik hadn’t had any problem being cooped up in Howie’s bed. Erik told Trevor to fuck himself. The conversation deteriorated from there.

When O-Town came back, things returned to normal. Howie and JC returned from L.A., tanned and wearing each other’s clothing. They went out a lot, and Erik went out a lot; whenever their paths crossed, Erik ended up watching them from across the club, looking like someone who’d just realized the full, catastrophic nature of his mistake.

Dan and Justin went out a lot, too. Sometimes they went out alone; sometimes they went out with friends. Dan met girls in the clubs, and sometimes he brought dates, and sometimes Justin flirted with girls on his behalf; but Dan always went home with Justin.

Usually, Dan and Justin danced side-by-side. Dan was picking up a lot of moves just from watching Justin. Sometimes they danced with a girl between them. Dan didn’t put his hands anywhere as interesting as where Justin did. Occasionally, they danced together. That usually happened when they were in what Justin deemed to be safe territory, like Howie’s club when JC was there, when Howie and JC were doing things so scandalous that nothing Justin and Dan could do would garner any attention.

It was on one of those nights, when Justin and Dan were out with Howie and JC, that Justin stopped in mid-sentence with his glass halfway to his mouth. Howie raised his eyes and Dan turned, looking over his shoulder.

AJ walked straight up to their table, gaze locked on Justin. He dropped his sunglasses on the table, offering a gloved hand. “Dance with me.”

There was a flush of heat across Justin’s face, in his eyes; his lips were parted and his face bore a lustful, fascinated expression. It was as if he’d been trained to respond to the command, and respond sexually.

“Justin,” Dan said, putting his hand on Justin’s back, willing Justin to meet his eyes.

“Dance with me,” AJ repeated, and Dan didn’t have to look to know that there was something very compelling about AJ’s expression to match the intensity in his voice.

“Justin,” Dan said firmly, quietly. As far as he could tell, AJ had been leaving Justin alone, and he wasn’t going to let the situation regress. He’d been desperate to get Justin to agree to leave the city and get away from AJ while he’d been out promoting, but Justin had insisted that he’d be able to handle things on his own for a while. Dan couldn’t believe that AJ hadn’t come after Justin while he’d been gone, but he’d fooled himself into hoping that maybe AJ’d decided to drop the matter. Of course, he’d been wrong.

“We can’t,” Justin said to AJ. There was strange fascination in his gaze. “Not in public.”

AJ leaned forward, and either the loud music was playing tricks on Dan’s ears or AJ growled softly. AJ was very primal, feral, almost freakishly animalistic, and Dan found it disturbing. Justin apparently liked it, because he leaned forward in response. “I don’t care where we do it,” AJ said, his voice low and dark. “I’ll do it right here, if that’s where you want it.” They were almost nose to nose, staring into each other’s eyes, having sex right there between their gazes. AJ looked ready to climb across the table and strip Justin naked. Justin looked ready to start stripping to save AJ the trouble.

“AJ,” Howie said. “AJ.”

One blink, and suddenly AJ broke the connection, backing up. He turned his attention to Howie, and Dan took the opportunity to say Justin’s name again. “I think we should go.”

“No,” Justin said, and finally looked at him. “No,” Justin said, expression clearing. “I’m okay. It’s okay. I just didn’t expect to see him here.”

“We can go somewhere else,” Dan said. “I don’t think that it’s a good idea for you to be here while he’s here. That’s asking for trouble.”

“No, it’ll be fine,” Justin said. “I don’t want to go. If we leave, he wins. We can’t just go because he shows up, that means he’s running the show. Let’s just stay for a couple more dances.”

“Are you sure?” Dan asked.

“Yeah,” Justin said. “I’ll be okay, I promise.” He squeezed Dan’s hand, one two.

Dan squeezed back, three four. “A few dances. Three, max.”

“Five,” Justin said.

“Four,” Dan said.

“Four,” Justin agreed, and grinned. “Come on, dance with me. Show me what you’ve got.”

Justin seemed okay, so Dan followed him onto the dance floor. As long as Justin was healthy, Dan was happy. Justin stayed close to Dan’s body, and they moved into the beat, smiling at each other whenever their eyes met. Watching Justin, Dan told himself that everything was okay. Justin was fine. AJ hadn’t been around lately, and after this he’d probably fade back into the woodwork again.

Dan was still uneasy. AJ’s recent distance hadn’t sat well with him, and AJ’s behavior tonight bothered him, too. AJ had backed off too quickly. It didn’t seem like AJ to let go. All of that focused passion, all of that animal intensity, and AJ had given up? When AJ had wanted to talk to Dan, he’d called, he’d come to the house, he’d harassed Justin, he’d done everything he could to get Dan’s attention. He hadn’t given in until he’d gotten what he wanted.

It suddenly registered with Dan’s brain that his body was under siege. The hand that had been resting loosely on his shoulder was now stroking across his chest, right beside - - whoa! - - right on his nipple. Justin’s other hand was splayed over his hip, and Justin’s thumb was rubbing the skin just above his waistband, Justin’s fingers dipping just inside his pants. Panting, lips parted, eyes glazed, Justin was looking at something over Dan’s right shoulder.

Dan didn’t have to turn to know what Justin was looking at. “Justin,” he said, to get Justin’s attention.

Justin danced as though he were having sex with the music, as though he were possessed by the beat. His movements were so provocative that Dan was struck motionless for a moment, simply staring as Justin rolled and gyrated. Justin was so close that their bodies were in constant contact, and Dan realized that he was being used as a prop, a stand-in for AJ.

Dan and Justin were friends, and Dan didn’t have the authority to march Justin out of the club like a naughty child. If he told Justin to leave, Justin could tell him to fuck off. But Dan wasn’t going to stand there and do nothing while AJ sucked Justin back in. They’d come too far. Justin was becoming too independent. Justin was - - Justin was grinding against him, and he could feel Justin’s hard-on against him, and Justin’s hand was sliding dangerously close to - - Dan cupped Justin’s chin in one firm hand, turning Justin’s face to his.

Justin met his eyes and froze, startled.

Dan quickly dropped his hand, not wanting to cause a scene. “I think that we should go home,” he said, calmly, looking into Justin’s wide, startled eyes.

Justin backed up, taking his hands from Dan’s body. He looked surprised, and ashamed, like he’d been caught doing something wrong. When his gaze skittered back to AJ, he quickly looked away, jerking his attention back to Dan. “Let’s go,” he said, sounding as though he wanted to get as far away from AJ as possible, as quickly as possible.

Dan was in favor of that.

When Dan checked his messages the next morning, he heard AJ’s voice.

“I gave you a chance. I gave you time. You didn’t want to play the game my way, so now we’ll have to play the game your way. But it doesn’t matter which way you roll the dice, Danny Boy. I always win.”

That night, when Dan pulled up in Justin’s driveway, he parked beside a red Mercedes. AJ’s car. Cursing under his breath, Dan hurried to the front door. Just as he was reaching for the doorbell, the door opened and AJ stepped outside, slipping into a light jacket. “Just in time,” AJ said. “You get to play the hero.” Leaving the door open, AJ walked around Dan and left.

Furious and worried, Dan went inside, calling Justin’s name. He found Justin sitting on the floor in the front room, wild-eyed and whispering to himself, with the remains of what looked like shattered glass littering the carpet. When Dan tried to clean up, Justin screamed at him until he made it clear he wouldn’t touch anything Justin didn’t want him to. Justin cleaned up himself, meticulously combing the carpet for any bit of glass, muttering to himself in distress.

Dan didn’t know what to do. Everything had been going well, and now this. Obviously there had been a terrible scene; he could only imagine what AJ had said and done. He caught only a few words of what Justin whispered: “On your knees, bitch, on your knees.” “I told you not to cry.” “I decide when you’ve had enough.” “Ask me for it.” “Start counting.” It didn’t make a lot of sense, but it didn’t paint a very nice picture.

Justin remained agitated for over two hours, resisting Dan’s suggestions of activities that didn’t involve sitting on the sofa, huddled up whispering to himself. Then, Dan asked Justin if he wanted to dance. Justin didn’t respond, but Dan turned on the stereo. Once the music started, Justin seemed to blink himself awake; eventually, the two of them were shimmying and twisting, the music loud enough to drown out Justin’s thoughts. Dan watched Justin, copying his moves, learning.

By the time they collapsed on the floor, sweat-drenched and exhausted, Justin was smiling.

Dan rolled onto his back, inwardly debating the merits of falling asleep where he was, while Justin found the remote and turned the music down before their ears bled. Justin sprawled alongside him, and when Dan turned his head to the side their eyes met.

Justin twitched uncomfortably. “Sorry about…before.” He lowered his gaze. “I didn’t mean to freak you out.”

“It’s okay,” Dan said.

Justin half-shrugged and half-nodded, still looking elsewhere.

“You’re probably going to want me to take a shower before I get in your bed,” Dan guessed.

Justin’s lips quirked into a short-lived smile. “It’d help.”

“You’re not exactly squeaky clean yourself,” Dan pointed out, poking his chest.

Justin almost grinned, meeting his eyes again. “If you don’t end up sweaty and rock-hard, you haven’t been dancing.”

Dan raised his eyebrows. “Is that an official ruling of the dancing commission?”

“It’s an official ruling by Justin Timberlake,” Justin said. His voice held a slight, teasing edge when he asked, “What’s wrong? Dancing doesn’t get you off?”

“Not by itself, not usually,” Dan said. “Performing does.”

Justin shifted closer, interest in his eyes. “What else?”

“Women,” Dan said.

Justin rested his chin on his hand, propped up on one elbow. “You like porn?”

“Sure,” Dan said. “I like pretty tame porn, though. I’m not that kinky.”

Justin seemed amused by that statement. “And here I thought you were into marshmallow, clowns, goat cheese, and girls with strap-ons.”

“Man, have you got me pegged,” Dan said. “How’d you guess the clown thing?”

“You look like a guy who gets it up for balloon animals,” Justin said. He was smiling, but that smile was already slipping, and the pain was creeping back into his eyes.

“Justin,” Dan said quietly. “Tell me how I can help you. Give me something to do.”

“You’re already sleeping with me every night and putting up with my shit and sticking around whenever I lose it,” Justin said, drawing back, sitting up. “I can’t keep asking for more.”

“I’m telling you to ask me for more,” Dan said, sitting up, too.

“I’m going to bed,” Justin said, already in motion, dropping the subject entirely.

Dan followed him. Justin went straight to bed, bypassing the shower, so Dan did, too. When the lights were off and Dan was wrapping Justin in his arms, it was clear from the tension in Justin’s body that he wasn’t ready to sleep.

Dan wondered if Justin wanted to jack off. He’d said that dancing got him hard, which had effectively kept Dan’s eyes from wandering, but if he was still turned on…

“If I’m ever in the way, and you want privacy, you can tell me to give you some space in your own house,” Dan said.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Justin said.

Dan was worn out from dancing. “I think that hanging out with you is good for me. All of this dancing is tightening my abs.”

“I know,” Justin said. “They look great.”

Dan pinched him.

Justin chuckled, relaxing against him.

Dan considered falling asleep.

“You’ve never been in love,” Justin said.

“No, I haven’t,” Dan said, and yawned against the back of Justin’s neck.

“Did you tell your girlfriends that you loved them?” Justin asked.

“Yeah.”

“You’re not the kind of guy who lies,” Justin said.

“There’s love, and there’s love,” Dan said. “I liked them, I cared about them, I wanted to take care of them and treat them well and keep them happy. They were important to me, and they were special to me. I felt a certain way about them that I didn’t feel about anyone else.”

“Do you say it to the guys?”

“Sometimes,” Dan said.

“Is that love, or is that love?”

Dan chuckled. “That’s love.”

Justin was silent.

Dan wondered why Justin had asked.

Justin’s hand covered Dan’s, squeezing, one two.

Dan turned his hand, squeezing back, three four.

He loved Justin.

When Dan got up halfway through the night to take a leak, and came back to find Justin shaking and twisting and muttering, “I won’t, I won’t, I promise, please, don’t make me,” after he’d calmed Justin down again, his decision was made.

He was going to talk to AJ.

He was going to do whatever AJ wanted. He’d be the go-between, he’d put himself right between AJ and Justin, he’d deal with whatever AJ threw at him, as long as it kept AJ’s attention away from Justin.

Before going to see AJ the next day, Dan stopped off at the Townhouse first.

The place was a damned zoo.

A damp Ashley grabbed Dan at the front door, launching into a rushed explanation that involved the words “flooding” and “water damage.” Chris was in the kitchen, going through the phone book, talking to Jacob about exterminators. Trevor and Erik were fighting and wrestling all over the living room.

“Wow.”

Dan turned to see Brian looking from Trevor and Erik to Ashley. Brian gave him a warm smile. “Did I come at a bad time?”

“Mice!” Jacob shouted, walking over from the kitchen. “We have fucking mice!” he told Dan. “Hey,” he said in a much warmer tone, and hugged Brian. “We have fucking mice,” he said again to Dan. “Knock it off!” he said, walking over and jerking Erik off of Trevor. “Stop it!” Trevor still looked murderous, until he noticed Brian and got a grip.

“Mice?” Brian asked. He smiled at Ashley. “Mice with water hoses?”

“Somebody left the tub running all night,” Jacob said.

“Somebody named Erik,” Trevor said.

“It wasn’t me!” Erik shouted.

“It wasn’t me!” Trevor shouted back.

“I don’t take baths, I take showers!” Erik shouted.

“Dan wasn’t here last night, Ashley didn’t get in until this morning, I didn’t do it, Jacob has his own bathroom, unless you think Chris did it, it was you!” Trevor shouted.

“Fuck you!” Erik shouted. “I didn’t fucking do it! I’m fucking tired of getting blamed for everything that happens around here! What, are you going to blame me for the fucking mice?!”

“So, I talked to the guy about the…” Chris stopped talking, phone in hand, looking startled to see Brian. “Hi.”

“Hi,” Brian said. “How’ve you been?”

“Oh, you know me,” Chris said. “Any day I wake up to a minor flood and a rodent infestation is a great day in my book.”

“This is exactly how I always wanted *NSYNC and the Backstreet Boys to think I lived,” Trevor muttered.

“Did Lance talk to you?” Chris asked Brian. “We were talking about that club, and he thought you might like to go.”

“Yeah, he did,” Brian said. “I told him I’d try it out. You should come,” he said, turning to Jacob. “It sounds like a great place.”

“I don’t think that the clubs Lance goes to are really my style,” Jacob said, looking pissed off at just the idea of it.

“Is any of this under control?” Dan asked.

“There are mice in the guest house, and there’s a flood upstairs,” Chris said. “Ashley, Erik, and Trevor are cleaning the great flood, and we’re calling an exterminator.”

“How did you get mice?” Brian asked Jacob.

“Hell if I know,” Jacob said.

“I’ll go help you guys clean up,” Dan said.

“I’m not cleaning up his fucking mess,” Trevor said.

“If you want to live here, if you want to use the bathroom, you have to help us clean it up,” Dan said.

“Can I move in with you?” Trevor asked Chris.

“No, but thanks for sweeping me off of my feet with that,” Chris said, handing the phone to Jacob. “I have somewhere to be, but it’s been a great morning.” He kissed Trevor’s cheek and left.

“Come on, everybody upstairs,” Dan said, pushing Trevor, pulling Erik. “If we all pitch in, we’ll get it done faster. The first person who tries to put the blame for this on somebody else, cleans the whole damned house by himself.”

Chris stood by his car, playing with his keys, pretending to check his messages, waiting.

The front door opened and closed; Brian walked down the driveway towards him. “A lot of crazy things are happening in there,” Brian said, making friendly conversation.

“Yeah,” Chris said. He loved the way Brian’s hair curled around his ears.

“It was good to see you on Tuesday,” Brian said, his words casual but his smile so warm that Chris’s toes curled.

“Tuesday,” Chris repeated. He could still remember the muscles in Brian’s thighs flexing in his hands.

“Maybe we could get together again soon,” Brian suggested.

“Yes,” Chris said too quickly.

“Great,” Brian said. “I’ll call you.” Giving Chris another warm smile and a brief arm pat, Brian moved on to get into his car.

Chris watched until Brian’s car was gone, then looked down at his arm. Brian wanted him again. It was hard to get used to; he kept trying to brace himself for the end to come again. This was too good. It couldn’t last.

But being with Brian, having private time with Brian all to himself, being able to touch Brian and talk to Brian… It was a powerful, addicting fantasy.

Erik stormed into Jacob’s room.

Emptying out the contents of his closet onto his bed, Jacob gave Erik a distracted glance. “What’s up?”

“Dan told me to come down here and help you,” Erik muttered. “That fucking - - it’s just fucking water!” he exploded.

“Just fucking water can do some serious damage,” Jacob said. “Shit,” he said. “There’s mouse shit in my fucking shoes.”

“I’m tired of being blamed for everything around here!”

“And I’m tired of listening to this damned fight all of the time,” Jacob snapped. “This prank war you and Trevor are having is getting ridiculous.”

“It’s not a fucking prank war!” Erik shouted. “I haven’t done anything!”

“Who left the tub running?” Jacob asked. “Shit, they chewed holes in everything.”

“I don’t know!” Erik shouted. “How the hell am I supposed to know?! But why does that mean it’s me? I don’t live here by myself!”

“It wasn’t me, Dan wasn’t home, Ashley wasn’t home, it was either you or Chris or Trevor. Chris can be weird as hell but he’s not going to flood our house. That leaves you and Trevor. You take showers, yeah, but you’re forgetful.”

Erik stared at Jacob. “You really think that I did it. Everybody thinks that I did it. You’re all so damned sure that I’m that much of a screw-up. You really think I’m that much of an asshole, that I’m doing all of this shit?”

Jacob met his eyes directly. “There aren’t a lot of other explanations.”

Erik shook his head. “Fuck you,” he said, hurt and angry. “Fuck you,” he repeated, and left.

After ringing the doorbell, Chris walked into Justin’s house. “Howdy,” he said, walking over to where Justin, JC, Lance, and Joey were assembled on the floor. He sat between Justin and Joey, avoiding Lance’s eyes. Lance was fucking Brian. That hit Chris in every vulnerable place he had.

“What happened?” Justin asked.

“How’d it go with the mice?” Lance asked.

“Did you do the tub?” Joey asked.

Chris told them everything. A panicked, wet Ashley bursting into Trevor’s room. Trevor and Erik getting into a shouting match beside the majestic waterfall on the stairs. Jacob being so shocked by the flood that he actually had nothing to say for a full two seconds. The whole morning had been priceless. Chris wished that he’d had a video camera.

Onscreen, Justin cried out against the beat of the music, clutching at the shelves behind himself for support as AJ thrust into him.

“Why do you keep screwing him face-to-face?” Nick asked.

“He doesn’t like being fucked from behind,” AJ said. “I do it when I feel like it, but he doesn’t like not being able to look at me.”

“Because you’re so incredibly gorgeous?” Nick guessed.

“Because he doesn’t trust you,” Kevin said.

“Hey.” Brian came into the room, stepping over Nick’s outstretched legs to sit beside Howie. “They’re escalating their secret little attacks.”

“Really?” Howie asked. “What’d they do?”

“They flooded a bathroom upstairs, and they set mice loose in Jacob’s room,” Brian said.

Nick snickered. “Mice?”

“Trevor and Erik are turning on each other,” Brian said. “It’s getting worse.”

“Good,” Howie said.

“Was it Chris?” AJ asked.

“He was the only one around when I got there,” Brian said.

“We’re still good with this?” Nick asked.

“It’s keeping them motivated,” Kevin said. “Anything that keeps Chris busy and out of trouble…”

“Chris can be a handful,” Brian agreed with a smile.

“He’s a fucking truckload,” AJ said.

“This would be easier if I could lock him up somewhere,” Kevin said.

“He doesn’t seem to mind when I do it,” Brian said.

“He wouldn’t protest if you threw him into a live volcano,” Nick said. “Chris doesn’t care what you do to him, as long as you’re the one doing it.”

“What about you?” Howie asked. “How are you doing with Joey?”

Nick snorted.

“I know better,” Joey said. “I’m lucky that AJ only asks me for sex, because I’d do whatever he wanted. I’d do anything for him.” He shook his head. “I know better, but I can’t help myself. It’s AJ.”

“After everything he did to you?” JC asked.

Everyone looked at JC.

“What?”

Lance raised his eyebrows. Chris frowned. Justin stared. “He burned down your house,” Joey said.

JC turned red, averting his gaze. “We made up after that.”

“It’s okay,” Justin said with a sigh, elbowing Chris out of his way and leaning back. “We’re all the same way. We’re all forgiving the bad and praying for the good.”

“When did Kevin ever give you good?” Lance asked.

Justin looked at a point behind JC, gaze clouding over with memory. “God, there was good in there. There were times we made out for hours and he explored every inch of me and he said things to me that I didn’t even know people could say to each other. There were times he made he happy and I made him laugh. When Kevin’s happy he gets this twinkle in his eyes… There’s a lot of bad. There’s a whole fucking shitload of bad. Kevin’s a complete package, and I don’t get to pick and choose which parts I can deal with. You have to take the bad with the good. I wish that he were happy with me all of the time, I wish that he smiled at me all of the time, I wish that things could always be good. I don’t like what he does to me. But Kevin doesn’t do anything halfway. When he hates he hates, and when he loves he loves. There was a time I got a glimpse of the love, I got a taste of what that’s like, and…” Justin stopped talking, lowering his head, tucking one knee to his chest.

Chris patted Justin’s shoulder.

“Anyone else want to share?” Joey invited.

“I don’t trust Brian,” Lance said.

Chris rested his forehead against Justin’s shoulder.

“I don’t trust him,” Lance said. “I don’t believe him. He gives me so much emotion and so much…of himself, that I almost have to believe it, because all of that can’t be faked. It’s…phenomenal. He can’t be faking it.” Lance paused, gathering his thoughts. “If it is all fake, I’m okay with that, because I’m not getting invested. I can’t risk getting invested again. So if this is all one big practical joke, I’ll be fine. But if it’s real…”

“You can’t,” JC said.

“You’re Howie’s lover,” Lance said. “You’re Howie’s fucking boyfriend, JC. Why can’t I be Brian’s?”

“Once this is over, it’s all over,” JC said. “Once we’re finished with Erik, Howie and I won’t be anything to each other anymore.”

“You’re lying,” Lance said. “Do you think that I can’t tell when you’re lying?”

“You can’t tell when Brian’s lying,” Chris muttered against Justin’s shoulder.

“I wanted so badly for him to love me,” Justin whispered.

“Are you in love with him?” Lance asked JC. “Are you going to buy him a house, too?”

“We had dinner by candlelight in bed,” Justin said. “He didn’t take me out a lot. He said that I was too young and too good-looking. He didn’t like to share me. I was his, all his.”

“You’re going to stop throwing that in my face,” JC warned Lance. “We’ve all been fools, we’ve all done stupid things.”

“He used to call me captivating,” Justin said. “Gorgeous. He said that he wanted me to be his forever. There was no one else like me. No one in the world.”

“I didn’t believe that Nick Carter was my one and only true love!” Lance said. “What the hell were you thinking?!”

“The same thing you were thinking when it came to Howie,” Joey said. “They got our dicks, they got our hearts, they got our brains, and they’re not giving them back. You look just as stupid as JC does, as I do, no more, no less.”

“He promised me that someday I’d understand,” Justin whispered. “He promised me someday.”

“Why would Erik do this?” Trevor demanded. “What’s the point?”

“I don’t know,” Dan said, wringing a towel into a bucket. If he didn’t get Trevor onto another topic, he was going to get so frustrated he’d just leave the mess, and he didn’t want to do that, so he had to change the subject. “How’s Chris?”

“Good,” Trevor said. “So, so, so, so very good. Terrific. Wonderful.”

Dan grinned. “You’re together a lot.”

“He’s fun,” Trevor said. “He’s a lot of fun. He can be serious, but he can also be absolutely crazy and nuts. Sometimes I think he has a few wires loose.”

Dan nudged him. “Does he know you’re in love with him?”

Trevor pushed back, grinning. “Yeah, but he doesn’t call me on it.”

“Is he…?” Dan raised his eyebrows.

“Not yet,” Trevor said, and scratched his forehead. “Not really. He’s still kind of hung up on Kevin. I don’t blame him for it. Kevin’s… Kevin’s a pretty intense experience, and all I do is talk to him. I can’t imagine what it’s like being his actual boyfriend.”

“You’ve been doing a lot for Kevin, lately,” Dan said.

“Yeah,” Trevor said. “He’s a busy guy, and he trusts me.”

“Does Chris know you’re helping Kevin out?”

“I haven’t exactly told him,” Trevor said. “It’s a weird situation. And I’d tell you how great the sex is, but I don’t think you’d share my enthusiasm.”

“Enthusiasm for what?” Ashley asked, coming up the stairs.

Dan and Trevor looked at him, then at each other, then back at Ashley again. Wearing wet clothes wasn’t fun, so they were all wearing just shorts, and Ashley’s bared flesh bore several love marks of various size and darkness. There was one by his collarbone, one just beneath his right nipple, one just above his hip, one high on his thigh disappearing under the fabric. They’d already seen one on his back, where his flesh started to curve into his ass. And there was something that looked like a bite mark behind his shoulder.

Trevor snickered. Dan hit him to get him to shut up. He couldn’t stop; he burst into laughter. Dan, unable to keep from joining in, hit him again just for good measure.

“What?” Ashley asked.

Onscreen, Ashley twisted under Nick’s body, stroking fevered, obsessive hands over Nick’s flesh. Fucking him with experienced fingers, Nick kissed his stomach, licking down his skin to suck on his hipbone. Nick’s expert touch wasn’t enough; Ashley was begging and pleading for Nick’s dick, moaning with pleasure but making an aching, whining, almost pained sound of dissatisfaction.

Kevin watched Ashley writhe. “How long are you going to make him wait?”

“Until he starts crying,” Nick said.

Howie stared at Nick. “He cries?”

“He needs it that badly?” AJ asked.

“He needs me,” Nick said.

AJ grinned.

“He’s such a pretty little thing,” Brian murmured, gazing at the screen, stroking the-

“Hey,” Nick said, catching Brian’s hand. “Don’t get any ideas.”

“He fantasizes about love,” Brian said, lacing his fingers through Nick’s, watching Ashley’s back arch. “He dreams of being loved. It’s all he wants.”

“He thinks that what he wants from love is a fantasy that can’t come true,” Nick said.

“He thinks that real love is always going to hurt,” Brian said. “He expects the pain. Real relationships are always imperfect. Real people always hurt him. He expects that, now.” He stroked Nick’s skin with his thumb. “But in his heart he wants the fantasy so badly…” Ashley began to cry, just a little. Brian smiled.

Howie shook his head in disgust, sitting back. After having watched Lance struggle through everything without shedding a tear, Howie had no tolerance for open displays of weakness.

“Joey still doesn’t know you keep fucking Ashley without him?” AJ asked.

“He’s as stupid as he looks,” Nick said. “He has no clue. He probably thinks I gave Ashley all of those hickeys when he was there.” He glanced at Brian; Brian was watching Ashley with focused attention, caressing Nick’s wrist. “You okay?”

“He’s so open,” Brian murmured.

“Easy prey,” Kevin agreed.

“Too easy,” AJ said.

“How’s Jacob?” Nick asked Brian.

Brian smiled, taking his eyes from the screen, sliding his palm up Nick’s forearm. “Mine.”

“I liked being owned,” JC said. The five of them were sitting so close together they were almost on top of each other, not meeting each other’s eyes. “I didn’t think that I would, I never even thought about because I didn’t think I’d be able to stand it. But I liked it when Nick owned me. He still does own me, but… I feel like an abandoned dog, left behind when the owners moved away.”

“And it’s dark and it’s night and I’m starving out in the rain in an alley somewhere,” Justin said.

“Whenever I hear his voice I come running,” Joey said.

“I keep chasing after him,” Lance said. “I know it’s useless and pointless, and I know that I should stop. But he gave me something no one else has, he made me feel things that no one else could.”

“I gave him so much,” JC said. “I gave him everything. Sometimes I just want those parts of myself back.”

“I’m not myself anymore,” Justin said. “I don’t even know who that person I used to be was. I can’t even remember what being him was like.”

“He made me do things I never thought that I’d ever do,” Joey said. “You couldn’t have convinced me that I’d do those things at gunpoint. But I did everything he asked.”

“He didn’t have to ask,” JC said. “If I thought he wanted it, I did it. If I thought that it would make him happy, I did it. Anything for him. Anything for his happiness. Anything for that warmth and that smile.”

“That smile,” Lance said.

“That smile,” Joey said.

“That smile,” Justin said.

Chris rested his temple on Joey’s shoulder, picking idly at Joey’s sleeve. “He’s so beautiful when he’s happy.”

“I’m meeting Dan later,” AJ said with a lazy stretch. “He wouldn’t tell me what he wants.”

“How’s Timberlake?” Nick asked.

“A better fuck every day,” AJ said. “And he keeps asking about you,” he told Kevin. “I think that Dan and I are the only things keeping him together.”

“If I ever want to see him, I’ll see him,” Kevin said. “I don’t want to see him, and I don’t care what he wants.”

“Sucks to be Justin,” Nick said. “Are you still waiting for Estrada?” he asked Howie. “How long is it going to take? He couldn’t take his eyes off you in the club.”

“I can wait,” Howie said. “He knows what he wants.”

AJ grinned. “He wants you, but how much do you want him?”

Howie smiled. “I have a few more things to teach him. Once he comes back, I’ll be able to train him to do exactly what I want.”

“You looking forward to fucking Trevor?” AJ asked Kevin.

Kevin smiled. “I’m looking forward to a lot of things.”

“Trevor’s already into guys and already into you,” Nick said.

“Dan’s not into guys, and he hates me,” AJ said. “The last thing he wants is me up his ass.”

“He’s not bad-looking,” Nick said. “I’d-”

“You’d shave him first, yes, we know,” Howie said with a smile.

“No offense to you guys,” Nick said, reaching out to rub affectionate fingers over Howie’s jaw. “Ashley looks good clean-shaven,” he said. “He doesn’t have all that much body hair, either.”

“Ashley’s a girl,” AJ said.

“That’s okay,” Nick said. “I like fucking women.”

“I can’t wait to be intimate with Jacob,” Brian said, his voice hushed, enraptured. “His body naked against mine. His hands on my flesh. The scent of his musk. The press of his lips to my skin. All of his intimacies open to me. Our bodies joining, uniting. Our souls connecting. I want to taste him. I want to feel him. I want to know him.”

“You want to explore every inch of his body, and then crawl inside his skin and devour him from the inside out,” AJ said.

“I just want to touch him,” Brian said. “I just want…” His fingertips skated over Nick’s forearm. “To touch.”

Dan, Trevor, and Ashley had held a quick conference and voted to let everything dry on its own. They’d cleaned up what they could, and all that remained was soaked carpeting, which they didn’t feel like dealing with. Dressed again, they went downstairs to check on Jacob and found him in his room.

“When’s the exterminator coming?” Trevor asked.

“I talked to a wildlife removal service,” Jacob said. “They’re going to come out and trap the mice.”

“What, like catch and release?” Ashley asked.

“Brian said it’s more humane than killing them, and safer than having poison everywhere,” Jacob said.

“Yeah, but what if they don’t catch them all?” Trevor asked.

“They’re professionals,” Jacob said. “They know what they’re doing.”

“How long is it going to take?” Dan asked.

“That depends on how many mice there are, and how deep in the walls they got,” Jacob said. “This is the first time I’ve noticed them, so it shouldn’t be that bad. They’re going to have to check the rest of the house, though.”

“Where’s Erik?” Ashley asked.

“I thought he was helping you guys,” Jacob said.

“He went to help you,” Dan said.

“Did he leave the house?” Ashley asked.

“I can’t fucking believe him!” Trevor was furious. “He floods the fucking house, and then he walks off and can’t even fucking help us clean it up?! If he-”

“We don’t know that he did it,” Dan said.

“Then who the hell did?!” Trevor demanded. “Invisible people? Aliens? The mice? Maybe our house is possessed!”

“What the hell are you yelling about?” Erik asked, walking into the room.

“Where the hell have you been?” Trevor asked.

“I was in the kitchen,” Erik said.

“For how many hours?” Trevor demanded.

“What the hell’s your problem?!”

“We’re all working to take care of the house,” Dan said. “You could have been helping us.”

“I had something to think about,” Erik said.

“You - - hold me back before I hit him,” Trevor said to Ashley.

“Yeah, and what were you thinking about that took up so much brainpower?” Jacob asked.

“There’s something I have to tell you,” Erik said. “I want to get the truth out.”

“Yeah?” Trevor asked. “What truth is that?”

“What’s going on?” Ashley asked Erik.

“I didn’t flood the bathroom. I didn’t take your shit or fuck with your alarm or dye your hair or any of it,” he told Trevor. “I don’t know who’s doing all of that, and I don’t even know if you’re the one doing shit to me, and I don’t even care anymore. It’s all bullshit.”

“Right,” Trevor muttered, glaring at him.

“But I figure, as long as you’re all going to accuse me of things and hate me for things I didn’t do, you might as well hate me for something that I actually did.”

“What do you mean?” Ashley asked.

Erik crossed his arms over his chest, looking at Ashley. “I had sex with Laura.”

Ashley frowned. “Laura?”

“Laura who?” Jacob asked suspiciously.

“Laura Stephens,” Erik said.

Ashley blinked rapidly, falling back a step. “You what?”

“I had sex with Laura,” Erik said. “While you were with her. You two had been having one of those fights about spending time together, and she came to St. Louis to see you, remember? You and Jacob were out, and she showed up at the hotel, and we started talking…”

“Bullshit,” Dan said.

“You fucked my girlfriend?” Ashley asked, gripping Erik’s shirt. “You fucked my girlfriend?!”

“She wasn’t that good,” Erik said, disgustedly twisting himself free.

“What the hell are you doing?” Jacob asked.

“If you’re all going to hate me anyway, it might as well be for something real and not for bullshit,” Erik said.

“You’re trying to tell us that you had sex with Ashley’s girlfriend?” Dan asked. “You’re Ashley’s best friend, you’d never do that to him.”

“I fucked Gena,” Erik said. “We were on tour, we were in Milwaukee. She was good, man, she had my eyes rolling back in my head.”

“Fuck you,” Ashley said.

“Gena never would have cheated on me,” Dan said firmly. “Things weren’t perfect, but she never would have slept with anyone behind my back.”

“Man, she had great tits,” Erik said.

“Shut the fuck up before I punch your face in,” Dan said, his voice low and hard, his hands fisting at his sides.

“I’m not finished,” Erik said.

“No, you’re finished,” Jacob snapped. “What the-”

“I fucked Clara.”

Jacob’s eyes flashed. “Don’t fuck with me,” he warned.

“Her pussy was so damned wet for me,” Erik said. “She-”

“You son-of-a-bitch!” Jacob shouted.

“Fuck you,” Ashley said. “Fuck you, Laura never would have done that to me.”

“You never told me she liked it up the ass,” Erik told Ashley.