"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 thirty-two...

Chris was receiving a very nice blowjob from someone who loved him, the person he loved most deeply was right downstairs, and, judging from the sunlight streaming in around the curtains, it was going to be a lovely morning. And he was about to ruin a perfectly nice day.

Sometimes he had trouble deciding what was appropriate to say in bed. After saying anything and everything for Brian, he no longer had any confidence in his own ability to determine what was appropriate. Incoherent moaning seemed safest. He’d learned, though, that Trevor didn’t mind either honest encouragement or playful, naughty suggestions.

Today, Chris had something very specific to say.

“Oh… Oh, ah, ah, ah… Yeah…” Approaching orgasm… “Oh yeah, oh, mmm, ah, ah, ah, ah… Oh god, oh yeah…” And, go. “Oh, Kevin…”

Trevor backed off so fast, Chris was still coming. Trevor stared at Chris in consternation, frowning. Working his way back from climax, Chris pretended to be confused about Trevor’s confusion. “What… God, you’re good at that. Are you okay? Did I come in your eye or something?”

Confusion. The pain of insult. The worst part of it was, Trevor looked like, privately, he’d been expecting this all along, and it hurt worse than he’d anticipated. “You said Kevin’s name.”

Chris sat up, reaching out to wipe a smear of cum from the corner of Trevor’s mouth. Trevor pulled back, not letting him touch, and did it himself. “I said what?” Chris asked, already wishing that this fight were over, already wishing that he hadn’t said it at all.

“You said Kevin’s name,” Trevor said. “When you were coming.” He wasn’t happy. “In my mouth.”

“Shit,” Chris said. “I’m sorry,” he said, reaching out again, but Trevor evaded his grasp. “I’m sorry,” he insisted. “You know my brain has no control over what comes out of my mouth in rational moments, so there’s no way I’m saying anything coherent during sex. I’m sorry, Trevor, I didn’t mean it.”

“You still want him,” Trevor said.

“I want a lot of people,” Chris said. “I don’t for a minute think that I’m the only person you’d like to be fucking right now. I’m just the only one lucky enough to be with you. I’m sorry that I said his name. I didn’t mean it.”

“You want a lot of people,” Trevor said, like he couldn’t believe that Chris would say that to him. The anger, pain, betrayal, hurt in Trevor’s eyes, it made Chris want to take everything back. But how could he explain it away? Even if he’d wanted to, even if he chose to deviate from script, what could he say? They both knew that there was someone else on Chris’s mind. “I’m attracted to other people, too. But I’m here with you, I’m in bed with you, I’m thinking about you. You’re the one I want to be with.” Anger and pain. “Am I the one you want to be with?”

This was going to be easier than Chris had planned for. No, not easier. Just faster. He looked right into those dark brown eyes that already showed too much and said it. “No.”

Trevor drew back, looking like Chris had slapped him.

“Trevor.” It was inside of him, twisting through him, I’m sorry, god, I’m so, so sorry, I didn’t want to do this to you, this shouldn’t be happening to you, I promise you that I’ll never forgive myself.

“Get out.” Trevor was backing up off of the bed, taking the sheet with him. “Get the fuck out of my bed.”

“It wasn’t supposed to be this way.” Literally, it wasn’t. They were supposed to argue about trust, about sneaking around behind each other’s backs, about Chris’s secrets, about Trevor’s secrets - - Chris had the whole fight mapped out in his head. But this was how it was happening. Shorter than that, simpler than that, more direct. Not as nasty. Somehow more painful. The truth hurt. But Chris already knew that.

“Get out!” Trevor kicked Chris’s clothes in his direction. Trevor had taken them off of him last night. Stripped them off of him, playful and flirtatious, teasing him down to the mattress and- “Now! Go back to Kevin! You want him, you always wanted him, I don’t even know what the hell you’re doing here with me!”

God, “I don’t know, either,” Chris said helplessly. He wished he knew, he wished he understood, it was all so fucked up. “I’m sorry,” he said, getting out of bed, gathering his clothes. “I wanted to have this with you, I wish that we could have made this work, you’ve been so perfect for me and I-”

“If you don’t shut up, I’m going to punch you,” Trevor said. “You don’t know how much I don’t want to hear this right now. Just go and leave me the hell alone.”

“I’m sorry,” Chris whispered, and went out into the hall. He dressed there, and walked down the stairs and outside alone.

Brian’s car was still there.

It was bad enough that Brian had done this to him. Now other people were involved. Innocent people. Why couldn’t it have stopped with him? Why fuck up more lives?

Because they could?

Because they liked it?

“I don’t like it,” Chris whispered. Trevor’s heart was broken. Because of him. “I don’t like any of it.”

Justin opened his eyes and found himself nose-to-nose with Joey. Dead asleep, drooling, eye crust Joey. “You’re beautiful, man,” Justin said, pushing himself up. “Don’t ever let anyone tell you different.” He glanced over and, hmm, that was either blackmail material or pretty damned twisted. They definitely should have separated Lance and JC.

Climbing over Joey, Justin visited Lance’s bathroom, called Kevin, and checked his messages. AJ had called.

“Justin. We have a lot to talk about. Let me know when you want to go dancing. I think we both deserve it.”

He called Dan first.

“Hello.”

“It’s Justin. You weren’t supposed to answer. I just wanted to say hi to your voice mail. Go back to sleep,” he said, and hung up. Going to the kitchen, he wondered how he felt. He missed Kevin. That hurt. He wondered if he could get AJ to tell him about Kevin’s reaction to what had happened the day before.

Things had been very bad. The world had started crashing down around him. When Jacob had started talking, something inside him had snapped. He’d vitally needed to make Jacob stop, before anyone else caught on. When Brian had started talking, exposing him all over again but on an even deeper level, he’d felt trapped. Helpless. Like yes, it was really happening, and he wasn’t going to be able to stop it, and he was doomed.

But Brian had said that it wasn’t happening yet. And Brian, he thought, would know. Or, Brian at least knew Jacob and the overall situation well enough to know that yesterday hadn’t been the beginning of the end.

He’d been at the end of his rope. He’d been cracking. Except he was so used to cracking, it almost hadn’t felt any different, really.

Then he’d spent time with the guys.

And now he felt…

Well, he felt capable of making it through another day. He still felt a little sensitive from yesterday’s scare, but he also felt re-grounded from the support he’d gotten, so that evened itself out.

“Hey.” Joey walked in and wrapped him into a tight hug, then let him go. “How’s it going?”

“Not bad,” Justin said. “Just getting some breakfast.”

“How’d you sleep?” Joey asked.

“I slept great,” Justin admitted. “I guess having all three of you with me really did help.”

“Good,” Joey said. “Glad to hear it.” He leaned down, his arms crossed on the table, on Justin’s eye level. “You know I wish I could do more to help you. You, and JC, and Lance, and Chris.”

“I know.” Justin didn’t like it when things were so serious that all of the humor left Joey’s eyes.

“I wish I could fix broken hearts,” Joey said. “I wish I could make it not hurt so much. I don’t like seeing you in pain.”

“I know you want to help,” Justin said. “I want to help you, too. I know in the back of my head, every day, I know I should be doing more to support you guys, I know I should call you and ask how you are and try to hang out. I just - - I’m selfish. I don’t have enough emotional resources, and I’m focused so much on my own problems, I haven’t been making the effort to help you with yours.”

“We all have that problem,” Joey said. “We’re so involved in the day to day maintenance of handling this jacked up situation, at the end of the day we’re just glad we made it through another twenty-four hours without giving in or breaking down or fucking up.”

“I feel better being here with all of you,” Justin said. “I feel safer here. I feel more protected here. Like the four of you are a buffer between me and the world.”

“We are,” Joey said. “We’re not going to let anything happen to you while you’re with us.” Joey reached for his hand. “We learned a long time ago that no one’s going to look out for us more than each other.”

Justin looked at their joined hands. “I know you love AJ,” he said, and met Joey’s eyes. They were guarded, and Joey’s eyes were never guarded unless he was fiercely protecting something nearly sacred to him. “I don’t want to mess with that. I don’t even want to touch it. I respect the fact that you love him, and I don’t ever want to challenge that. You know I don’t want to take his time or his attention away from you.” Joey was pretending to be comforted, but Justin saw right through it. “I know that what I’m saying doesn’t make a difference.”

“You’re a part of his daily life,” Joey said, “and I’m not. Nick’s calling me his boyfriend and ignoring JC. Howie’s shacked up with JC and not returning Lance’s calls. Brian’s saying he’s in love with Lance and acting like Chris doesn’t exist. Kevin shut you out of his life but talks to Chris every day. AJ’s fucking you and won’t answer the phone for me.” Joey spun Justin’s cereal bowl. “It’s like a cycle, a circle, a chain. And we’re not doing anything to stop it.”

“We can’t stop it,” Justin said.

“You and I will always be best friends,” Joey said. “We’re closer than friends. I know that you don’t want to take AJ from me.” He spun it again, more slowly this time. “He’s pretending to be so in love and obsessed with you that it’s driving him out of his mind, when you don’t even care about him and I’m the one who would give anything to be with him. And sometimes, that makes it hard for me to look at you.”

“I did it,” Chris said, walking into Kevin’s house. “I did it, I said it.”

“How did he take it?” Kevin asked.

“He yelled,” Chris said, walking around Kevin restlessly. “He’s mad at me, and he’s feeling like shit. He kicked me out.”

“Good,” Kevin said. He cupped Chris’s chin. “Are you okay?”

“No,” Chris said. “Do you need me to be here?”

“No,” Kevin said, slowly dropping his hand.

“Call me when you have something for me to do,” Chris said, and left.

Lance walked into the kitchen, yawning casually. “How’d you sleep?” he asked Justin.

“I slept great,” Justin said. “Thanks for letting us all crash.”

“No problem,” Lance said. He pushed a few buttons on his speakerphone and walked over to the refrigerator. Justin watched Joey eat, listening to Lance’s messages. Lance had turned off the ringer in the bedroom to cut down on disturbances to Justin’s sleep.

“This is Howie.”

All three of them stared at the phone.

“JC’s not answering his cell phone, and I heard that he might be over there. I hope that Justin’s doing all right. JC, if you’re there, I just talked to Erik, and everything’s fine. Give me a call. Bye.”

Justin swallowed, slowly sliding his gaze over to look at Lance.

“That-”

“Don’t,” Lance said sharply. He was still looking at the phone; he hadn’t moved. “Don’t.”

Joey shut his mouth.

Lance closed the refrigerator. “He did it on purpose. I know that. He’s playing with us. Maybe he thinks it’s funny to make us feel as awkward around each other as possible. Maybe he wants to make me resent JC and trash our friendship.”

Justin hated that Lance was so open to Howie. Lance was careful with everyone else, but where Howie was concerned, he was one raw, exposed nerve. One stupid phone call and now Lance was tense, on edge, bitter, and so hurt he couldn’t admit to being hurt.

“There’s no point in losing JC fighting over someone who doesn’t even want me,” Lance said. He was looking at the front of his refrigerator, at a magnet. He had a few other magnets, so it didn’t stand out, but Justin recognized it. It was a small Puerto Rican flag. Howie had taken Lance to Puerto Rico on vacation. Lance had come back floating on air. Justin had never seen him so happy. He and Howie had seemed so in love…

“Romance isn’t forever,” Lance said, turning away. “Fairy tales aren’t real. Friendship lasts.”

“Friendship lasts,” Joey agreed, reeling him in with an arm around his waist.

Justin wondered what was going to happen when JC woke up. He knew that if Kevin called his house for Chris, he wouldn’t handle it very well. It was kind of a mixed blessing. Howie had called, Howie had contacted Lance, Howie had left a message. But: for JC. Like many things in their lives recently, that was pretty fucked up.

Dan was peeling an orange when Ashley walked into the kitchen. “Hey.”

“Hey.” Ashley went straight for the cereal. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” Dan said, popping an orange slice into his mouth. “Why?”

“I heard something earlier. Some kind of banging around.”

“Not me,” Dan said. “Maybe Trevor and Chris were knocking the headboard.”

“Yeah.” Ashley got out the milk. “You talk to Justin?”

“Yes and no,” Dan said. “He called, told me he’d only wanted to say hi to my voice mail, and hung up on me.”

Ashley laughed. “Is that a good sign?”

“I took it as one.”

Trevor came in and got a bowl.

“I was going to call Joey, but I didn’t know if he’d be awake yet,” Ashley said.

“Well, Justin’s up, so it’s worth a shot,” Dan said. He watched Trevor move around the kitchen. Something was off.

Ashley tapped his fingers against his bowl, watching Trevor take a seat at the table without making eye contact. “Where’s Chris?”

Trevor didn’t look up. “He went home.”

Dan swallowed another slice of orange, wondering how bad things were. “You had a fight?”

“He’s in love with someone else.”

Ashley stopped eating. Dan did, too.

“That’s why we were never boyfriends.” Trevor dropped his spoon, sitting back in his chair, giving them a bleak look before turning his eyes hopelessly to the wall. “Maybe he didn’t even want to be boyfriends. I assumed that he would, I thought it was just going to take a little more time, but maybe…”

Dan had been pulling for Trevor and Chris. They got along really well, and they had a lot of fun. He’d seen them together, and they could say anything to each other. Trevor was open around Chris, uncensored; he said whatever came into his head, without being afraid that Chris would mock him for it or not understand. That was a remarkable sign of a strong friendship, and Dan had wanted Trevor to be able to keep that in his life.

“I knew he was hung up over Kevin,” Trevor said. “I knew he was still - - but I thought that if we got close enough, if I got him to trust me, if… It wasn’t perfect, nothing’s perfect, but it felt good, it felt right, we’ve been together every day. I thought we had something, I thought he cared about me, I thought we could build something.”

“You were building something,” Dan said.

“You’re so good together,” Ashley said.

“I’m in love with him. I’m really in love with him and I don’t even know what I was to him. I asked him,” Trevor’s voice faltered, “I asked him what he was doing with me, why he was with me, and he said that he didn’t know.” Trevor wiped away tears. “He didn’t know.”

“I’m sorry,” Ashley said, putting an arm around him.

“Why was he even here if he didn’t want to be with me?” Trevor asked. “Why did he even bother spending time with me?”

“He must want to be with you,” Dan said. “He’s here all of the time. You spend every day together.”

“I asked him if I was the person he wanted to be with.” Trevor brushed away more tears. “He said no. He said no, to my face. He wants to be with someone else. I was just the stand-in.”

“Maybe it’s too soon,” Ashley said. “Maybe he needs more time.”

“He’s in love with Kevin,” Trevor said. “He’s in love with Kevin. How am I supposed to compete with that?”

“Kevin cheated on him,” Dan said. “Kevin hurt him. You’d never do that.”

“Kevin didn’t think that they were exclusive,” Trevor said. “It didn’t even go down the way Chris thinks it did.”

“Kevin didn’t think that they were exclusive?” Dan asked.

“If they’d stopped to talk about it, they’d still be together,” Trevor said. “Kevin didn’t want to break up with him.” Pushing away his bowl, he rested his face on arms crossed over the tabletop. “I kicked him out. He’s probably going to go back to Kevin.”

“I’m sorry,” Dan said, reaching over and squeezing his shoulder.

“He was never going to want me more than he wanted Kevin,” Trevor said, voice muffled by his arms. “He was never going to love me.”

Conversation wasn’t exactly stumbling, but it was slow. When the doorbell rang, Justin didn’t know whether to be relieved by the distraction or worried about who might be at the door. When he met Joey’s eyes, Joey seemed to be having the same dilemma.

Lance got up from the table to answer the bell. After a one-second silent conference, Justin and Joey got up, too, following Lance. It wasn’t exactly their place to regulate Lance’s visitors, but they did want to be on hand in case that visitor happened to be Howie. Or Brian.

Glancing through the peephole, Lance said, “It’s Chris,” and opened the door. Justin’s sense of relief vanished when he saw how haunted Chris looked and how quickly Chris was tapping his toes. “You broke up with him?” Lance asked.

“I couldn’t stay with Kevin,” Chris said, stepping into the house, practically bouncing in place with unhappy nervous energy. “I couldn’t do that to you,” he told Justin. “I can’t be with Brian and I can’t go back to Trevor. I need somebody to fuck me or knock me unconscious.”

“How did it go?” Joey asked. “What happened?”

“Everything was good this morning,” Chris said, pulling on his earlobe. “He likes having me around, he was happy to wake up with me. He gave me head and it felt good, he doesn’t have professional experience but he likes me, he likes doing it, he knows how to make me feel good. When I was coming I said Kevin’s name, just like I was supposed to, and it was like I’d hauled off and punched him in the face. We barely even had a fight, he just threw me out, he was really hurt. It was sort of like he’d been expecting something like that to happen, but then he’d relaxed and gotten over it and forgotten about it, and then it had happened anyway after his guard was down. I went to Kevin’s house, I told him I’d done it, but I couldn’t stay there, I couldn’t be with him when I knew - - but I need something, I need something to bring me down, I have to talk or fuck or do something.”

“Thank you,” Justin said. He couldn’t imagine walking away from Kevin. Chris had sacrificed for him, done what none of them had really managed to do.

“Do you have a vibrator?” Joey asked Lance.

“Why would I have a vibrator?” Lance asked, looking completely mystified and slightly offended.

“It wouldn’t help,” Justin said. “Maybe we should play basketball.”

“You want to play basketball?” Lance asked Chris.

“I wish you could fuck me,” Chris said, scratching his forehead. Joey raised his eyebrows.

“I can’t,” Lance said.

“Come on,” Justin said, putting his arm around Chris. “Let’s go wake up JC. Whose team do you want to be on?”

Jacob tied his hair back and absently touched his earrings, lost in his own thoughts. When he looked up, Brian was watching him with sad eyes. “What?” he asked, surprised.

Brian touched his cheek, then embraced him. Close against Brian’s body, Jacob closed his eyes, hugging Brian back. “What’s this about?”

“I can’t stop thinking about it,” Brian said. “About yesterday. About how close I was to losing you.”

“You weren’t going to lose me,” Jacob said. “I’m fine. It’ll take more than Justin Timberlake to get rid of me.”

Brian laughed quietly.

As much as Jacob enjoyed Brian’s embrace, it wasn’t smart to linger; his body’s response to Brian’s nearness was about to become apparent. “I’m fine,” he promised, stepping back. “I couldn’t be better. I don’t want you to worry about it. If I can get over being attacked by two maniacs in one day, you can, too.”

“The idea of losing you scares me,” Brian said.

“I’m not lost,” Jacob said. “I’m right here.”

Brian touched Jacob’s chest and smiled. “And you’ll be right here forever?”

“Forever,” Jacob said, and smiled back.

“Forever forever?” Brian asked, his smile broadening.

“Forever forever,” Jacob said.

Brian poked him. “And we’ll always be together?”

“We’ll always be together,” Jacob said.

Poke. “And you’ll never leave me?”

“I’ll never leave you.”

Poke, poke. “And you’ll always love me?”

The light in Brian’s eyes was irresistible. Jacob found himself laughing. “I’ll always love you.”

“You promise?”

“I promise,” Jacob said.

“Good,” Brian said. He poked Jacob again. “I’m going to hold you to that.”

“What about you?” Jacob asked. “Are you always going to love me?”

Brian’s smile was amused. “Of course I am. You’ll never have to doubt that.”

Lance stopped JC in the hallway. “Howie called for you.”

JC frowned. “Here?”

Lance took his hand from JC’s arm. “Yeah.” He took a deep breath. “He said that you weren’t answering your cell, and he heard you might be here. He said that he talked to Erik and everything was fine, and he wants you to call him.”

Joey was making Justin laugh in the background.

“I’m sorry,” JC said.

“Yeah,” Lance said. He turned to go.

“Lance.” Slowly, Lance faced JC again. “You’re such a big part of my life, and so much of my time is going to Howie right now, that you’re going to run across evidence of our partnership. It’s going to happen and I can’t keep it all from you. But I don’t want to make this harder for you than it already is. You know I’m not trying to shove it in your face.”

“You could try talking about him less,” Lance said.

“I will,” JC said immediately. “I’m sorry. Even after everything with Nick, I’m still not used to keeping anything from you. I’ve always been able to come to you with anything.”

“I know,” Lance said, sighing and leaning back against the wall. “It’s kind of funny. I’ve done a lot of things in my life that I’m proud of, and a few I’m not that proud of, but with the group and the albums and the awards and everything, one of the things I’m the most proud of is my friendship with you. My friendships with the other guys, too. It’s always been kind of a point of pride with me that we’re so close, and we’re so honest, and we really respect each other and trust each other and believe in each other. I’ve always made sure that you could talk to me about anything. And now I’m asking you to keep a whole part of your life from me.”

“I’m proud of our friendship, too,” JC said. Emotion filled his eyes. “I don’t want anything to change that. You mean too much to me. You’re so important to me, Lance, you’re my family. I understand that you don’t want to hear about Howie from me. I wouldn’t want to, either. I think that we have to not talk about him, because if we do, he’ll come between us even more. And I don’t want anything to come between us. Nothing ever has.”

“Nothing except Tommy Burke,” Lance said.

JC laughed. “That was a mistake.”

Lance didn’t know which one of them had been more immature about that. “If you want to talk about Howie, maybe you should come to me. I know him better than Joey and Justin and Chris. If you have a problem with him, I might be able to help.”

“I don’t want to make you have to deal with it any more than you have to,” JC said. “I know what it’s like. I…” He paused to collect himself, touching his hair. “I was planning to spend my life with Nick. We were going to be together forever. Every day, for the rest of my life, I was going to be his. With him, his partner. And now he’s playing boyfriend with my best friend and fucking some immature slut on the side.” JC smiled, but his eyes betrayed his pain. “You were in love with Howie. You had plans to be with him. He changed plans without consulting you, but those feelings are still there.”

“He’s calling you,” Lance said. “Do you know how long it’s been since Howie called me?”

“I’m sorry about that,” JC said. “I wish that I could change it. I wish that I could make him love you. I would, if I could.”

Lance believed him. “I didn’t… You two were getting really close…”

“We were,” JC said. “But I’m closer to you. I can’t trust Howie. Even if I could, I would never take him away from you. I would never take anything away from you. Especially not anything that you want this badly.”

Jacob walked into the rehearsal room, where Dan, Ashley, and Erik had already assembled. “Brian’s going to hang out and watch for a while,” he said, as Brian walked in behind him. “He promised he wouldn’t try to strangle anyone, so I figured it’d be okay with you.”

“You look better than I thought you would,” Erik said.

“Does your back hurt?” Ashley asked.

“I’m fine,” Jacob said. “Where’s Trevor?”

“He’s upstairs,” Dan said. “He and Chris had a fight.”

“They broke up,” Ashley said.

“They broke up?” Jacob asked, surprised. “What were they fighting about? Is he okay?”

“He’ll be all right, but he’s upset,” Ashley said.

“He’s taking it pretty hard,” Dan said.

“Damn,” Jacob said.

“He said he wanted to be alone,” Erik said. “He said he’d come down to practice.”

“Let me check on him,” Jacob said. “I’ll be right back.”

“Time, time,” JC said, grabbing the ball in mid-air. “Phone.”

“That’s me,” Joey said. Wiping sweat from his forehead, he walked over to where they’d piled their phones. Checking his own phone, he walked back and handed it to JC. “It’s Nick. Do you want it?”

After a moment’s hesitation, JC nodded, taking the phone. “Hello?”

“Hey, baby,” Nick said. “Give the phone to Joey for me.”

JC passed the phone back to Joey, glancing away, pretending to be unaffected.

“Hi,” Joey said. “What do you want?”

“I want you to go spend time with Ashley,” Nick said. “All of that shit went down at the house. You should go to see him and make sure he’s okay. Act like you care.”

“I don’t care,” Joey said.

“Fake it,” Nick said.

“I’m in the middle of something,” Joey said.

“In the middle of what?” Nick asked.

“In the middle of taking care of something important,” Joey snapped. “There are other things going on in my life besides you and Ashley and this game. What I’m doing is important to me, and I’m not going to drop it and run.”

“What about Ashley?” Nick asked.

“Take care of him yourself,” Joey said, and hung up.

“Ballsy,” Chris said.

“You didn’t have to do that,” Justin told Joey.

“Yes, I did,” Joey said, taking the ball from JC. “I’m kicking ass on this court.”

A quiet knock at Trevor’s door, and Jacob peeked inside. “You okay?”

Trevor was standing by his closet, aimlessly poking among the hangers. “Yeah.”

Jacob stepped into the room, keeping his voice respectfully supportive. “The guys said you and Chris had a fight.”

“He’s been in love with someone else this whole time,” Trevor told his clothes. “He doesn’t even want to be with me. I’m a fucking rebound guy.”

“He didn’t act like there was anyone else,” Jacob said. “From what I saw, he was all about you.”

“I took everything so damned seriously,” Trevor said, pushing hangers aside. “He didn’t want to be my boyfriend, he didn’t want to be exclusive, he wasn’t even thinking about it. I assumed that he wanted to be a couple. He probably just wanted to hang out and make friends and maybe fuck sometimes. He wasn’t looking for a new boyfriend, he was just spending time here.”

“How much of this did he tell you, and how much are you guessing?” Jacob asked.

“He told me that he didn’t want to be with me,” Trevor said. “I’m not guessing anything, he fucking told me! I asked him if I was the one he wanted to be with, and he said no.”

“No?” Jacob repeated.

“I’m not the one he wants to be with,” Trevor said. He turned, facing Jacob. “I’m in love with him, and I’m not the one he wants to be with? He knew I loved him, he knew I was falling for him. Why didn’t he stop me? If he knew he didn’t want to be with me, why did he fucking let me fall in love with him?”

“I don’t know,” Jacob said, sitting on Trevor’s bed.

“I feel so stupid,” Trevor said, walking around the bed. “I feel so used. He wanted someone else and he was just messing around with me because, why, because I was available? I thought he wanted me, I thought I was responding to him.”

Jacob reached for Trevor’s hand, tugging Trevor down onto the bed with him.

“We were friends, but he kept flirting with me,” Trevor said. “When he was drunk, he told me that he loved me. I knew it didn’t mean anything, but I liked it.”

“It’s a good thing to hear,” Jacob said. “It feels good.”

“When we started being more than just friends, when we started making out… I knew he was still hung up on Kevin, and I didn’t want to push it, I didn’t want to the guy he fucked while he wanted somebody else. I didn’t want to be the stand-in, I tried so damned hard not to be.” Trevor grimaced, rubbing at his eyes, then dropped his hands and glared at Jacob. “It didn’t have to get like this. What the hell was he doing? Fucking me while he waited for Kevin to come back to him? He was flirting with me! He was coming on to me! He was fucking with me, making passes at me and then acting like he didn’t want to go too far, making all of these ‘come on’ signals and then acting like he didn’t want to get too close. He was fucking playing with me!”

“I hung out with Chris,” Jacob said. “I know the way he talks about you. He’s into you, he really is. I don’t know what he thinks about Kevin, but I know that he likes you. Not like a friend, either, it’s a lot more than that.”

“It doesn’t do me any good if he likes me or not,” Trevor said. “He’s in love with somebody else!”

Jacob loosely hugged one knee to his chest. “Does it look like they’re ever getting back together? Or is Chris holding onto something he’s never going to have?”

“I don’t know,” Trevor said. “Kevin made it sound like it was never going to happen again. But if Chris tries… I don’t know. What the hell was I thinking?” he asked. “Who in hell would come to me after Kevin Richardson?”

“You’re perfect for Chris,” Jacob said.

“He’s Chris Kirkpatrick!” Trevor protested. “Chris from *NSYNC! Why the hell would he want me? He can have anybody he wants! Chris Kirkpatrick is not so hard up he has to settle.”

“Being with you is never settling,” Jacob said firmly. “You’re a terrific person and he has a great time with you. He came to you, he was flirting, he was coming on to you. You didn’t push him, he pushed you. You were always honest with him. The only problem with your relationship is that he didn’t realize how good he had it.”

“I’m sweaty.”

“I’m so sweaty.”

“I’m so very sweaty.”

“I’m so very super sweaty.”

“I’m sweatier than you are.”

“Oh, get off of me!”

“Gross! Get the - - ah!”

“Joey!”

“Stop stop st - - aahh!”

“Help! Help!”

Laughing, the five of them burst into Lance’s kitchen, ducking and dodging and cursing. Lance passed out water, which only precipitated another battle. Then, soaking wet, they raced to the master bath, fighting over who would take the first shower. Chris got Justin to help him kick out JC and Lance, then at the last second turned on Justin and locked the door. Then he realized that he was trapped alone with Joey. Laughing, JC, Lance, and Justin listened to Chris beat on the door and shout, “Help! Let me out! Don’t leave me in here with him! He’s taking his clothes off! He’s-” Chris screamed. “No, no, it’s too hairy, don’t make me look! I’m too beautiful to die!”

Once clean, they went through Lance’s closet for something to wear. Justin found a very nice green T-shirt that he privately decided Lance was never getting back.

Having finished getting dressed first, Lance sat on the bed to wait. Finished second, Joey sat beside him. Chris took a little longer, but when he was finished playing dress-up, he sprawled across the bed. Joining them a moment later, Justin made Chris move out of his way, which necessitated a shift on Joey’s part, and soon all four of them were negotiating for space, Chris deliberately taking up as much space as possible.

Walking out of the bathroom with every strand of hair in place, JC stepped up onto the bed and looked for a place to sit. Chris grabbed one ankle, Joey took the other, and JC landed on Justin. It took a few minutes, but when the dust settled, everyone was on the bed, if a bit draped over each other.

“You know what the problem is,” JC said.

“Lance’s feet are in my face,” Chris said.

Lance wiggled his toes.

“I used to kiss Brian’s feet,” Chris said.

Lance curled his toes in, pulling his feet back.

“He loved it.” Chris picked at Joey’s sleeve.

“Nick kissed my feet,” JC said. He closed his eyes. “When Nick made love to me, he made love to me everywhere.”

“Anybody else have any foot stories?” Joey asked. He poked Lance. “What about you, you have a foot fetish?”

“No,” Lance said, poking Joey in return. “I did kiss Howie’s feet,” he admitted. “Howie takes care of himself. He has nice feet.”

“JC,” Justin said. “If you’re back from your trip down memory lane, you were going to tell us what the problem is.”

JC opened his eyes. “What problem?”

“You were going to tell us what problem,” Justin said.

JC frowned. “What?”

“Never mind,” Justin said.

“If you’re going to get sprung over a body part, I wouldn’t choose a foot,” Joey said.

“What’s your favorite AJ body part?” Chris asked.

Lance and Justin snickered.

“You want a real answer?” Joey asked.

“I do,” Chris said. “Ignore the giggle twins.”

“I love his dick,” Joey said.

“Shock,” Justin said.

“So much shock,” Lance said.

“I love his ass,” Joey said.

“Gasp,” Justin said.

“I love his hands,” Joey said. “The way he grips me, and the way he touches me when he’s just…touching me. He has great hands.”

“Awww,” Justin and Lance said together. JC shushed them.

“I love his eyes,” Joey said.

“Oh, come on, that’s too obvious,” Justin said.

“They’re…commanding,” Joey said. “They capture all of my attention. When he looks at me…his stare is very…powerful.”

“What else?” Chris asked.

“His mouth,” Joey said. “I get hard for his mouth.”

“I noticed,” Justin said, edging away.

“Your turn,” Joey said. “What’s your favorite Kevin body part?”

Justin hesitated, glancing at Joey.

“What?” Joey asked.

“I’m not…”

“It’s okay,” JC said.

“It’s just weird,” Justin said. “I don’t know what my problem is, but sometimes it still strikes me as really strange and difficult to talk about another guy like that. How do you just come right out and say you’re into another guy’s…body? We talk about girls all of the time, and I know I’ve been having sex with AJ, but… It’s still weird, sometimes.”

“I’m so hot for AJ, it’s hard not to talk about him,” Joey said. “He has a great body, and he knows exactly how to work it.”

“Kevin seems to have a decent body,” Chris said. “It’s not perfect, he has a few problem areas, but-”

“Fuck you,” Justin said, sitting up and pushing Chris’s leg.

“Yeah?” Chris asked, resettling himself comfortably. “If I’m wrong, what’s so great about Kevin’s body?”

“Everything,” Justin said, lying back down. “His body’s perfect. It’s…”

“That’s specific,” Chris said.

“All of it’s perfect,” Justin said. “He’s muscular all over. His arms, his back, his thighs…”

“Nice thighs?” Chris asked.

“He’s so muscular,” Justin said. “He’s so powerfully masculine. There’s nothing soft about Kevin. He has thick thighs and a round ass but they’re hard, they’re solid. He’s strong. Everything from the neck down, even his neck, he’s so strong and firm. And then above the neck, his jaw’s so strong, his cheekbones and his eyebrows and everything create such strong lines. White on black on green, everything’s so hard and striking.”

“But?” Chris asked.

“His eyelashes,” Justin said, his voice quiet and filled with wonder. “They’re so long but they’re so soft. He used to let me touch them. I never saw anything prettier.”

“I used to touch AJ’s eyelashes,” Joey said.

“Nick used to touch mine,” JC said.

“Was there any part of your body Nick didn’t fondle?” Chris asked.

“No,” JC said.

“What’s your favorite Nick body part?” Justin asked.

“Everything,” JC said. “I love every inch of Nick.”

“So give us a top five list,” Lance said.

“I love his dick,” JC said. “It’s absolutely gorgeous and it feels incredible.”

“Some people are more comfortable talking about these things,” Chris told Justin.

“I love his ass,” JC said. “Nick’s big all over, there’s so much of him, I love the way his clothes hang on him. He fills out his pants so well…”

“I think he’s starting to drool,” Chris said, wiping at JC’s mouth.

JC batted Chris’s hand away. “I love his thighs. I love his stomach. I love his skin. He has so much touchable flesh. It’s so…inviting. Nick looks like he should be touched, like he’s made to be touched. Like you should never take your hands off of him.”

“You’re bizarre,” Chris said.

“I love his hands. I love his mouth,” JC said. “Not just his lips, but his tongue, his teeth.”

“Is he a biter?” Chris asked.

“I love Nick’s mouth,” JC said again. “I love his eyes. His face is so expressive. I love his eyebrows. I love his hair. I love his back. I-”

“If you love every inch of him, and it sounds like he’s all over you, why did you ever get out of bed?” Joey asked.

JC laughed. “I don’t know.” He smiled. “Nick made love to all of me, and he made love with all of himself. He taught me to do the same thing. It wasn’t about putting on a show. I didn’t have to try to impress him. I just let go, and once I let myself truly feel everything, I could show everything I was feeling, and that was better than any fake sexy moves. Nick taught me how to let go and how to really give myself to someone. When we made love, it was like we were doing more than connecting interlocking body parts. We were really sharing something intense and special. I’ve never felt so destined to be with someone. It was like we’d found something beautiful when we found each other.”

Everyone was quiet.

“So he’s a biter?” Chris asked.

JC laughed despite himself. “Sometimes.”

“Nice,” Chris said. “Lance, your turn. What are your favorite parts of Howie?”

“His smile.” Lance sighed, shifting to rest his head on Joey’s stomach. “He has a great body. He’s in terrific shape. He has great skin, it’s so smooth. His hair’s really soft and thick. I loved it when it was longer, when it was on his shoulders, I used to wrap it around my fingers. Now that he’s cut it, when I kiss the back of his neck…”

“What?” Joey asked.

“Nothing,” Lance said. He was quiet for a moment, tucking his toes under Chris. “I love Howie’s smile. I love whatever kind of beard or stubble he has, it all looks great on him. His eyes can be so warm and they can be so flirtatious.”

“I still want to know what you were about to say about kissing the back of his neck,” Justin said.

“It might be too much information,” Lance said.

“Has that ever been possible between us?” Joey asked.

Lance shifted uneasily. “During the time I was with him, after this all started again… Whenever I was fucking him from behind, and I kissed the back of his neck, he’d groan and rock back onto me.”

“Ah,” Chris said.

“Sounds like he was hot for it,” Joey said.

JC sat up. “What do you mean, he’d groan?”

“I mean he’d groan,” Lance said, immediately tense, wary.

“How much noise does Howie make for you?” JC asked.

“Enough to let me know he likes it,” Lance said, his voice becoming sharp.

“I believe you,” JC said. “I trust you, I don’t trust him. Howie barely makes any noise for me. He acts like that’s the way he always is.”

Now Lance was sitting up, too. “He doesn’t make noise for you?”

“Barely,” JC said. “Not much for me or Erik. Just enough to make it a challenge to hear more.”

“He moans for me every time,” Lance said. “I could name a dozen different sounds for you. Even when I knew he didn’t love me and he didn’t have to pretend anymore, he still made noise. That’s why I assumed even if he didn’t care about me, he still liked the way I fucked him.”

“You think he’s purposely holding back?” Joey asked JC.

“Or is he faking it for me?” Lance asked.

“I don’t know,” JC said.

“Maybe both?” Justin suggested uneasily.

“This is fucked up,” Chris announced.

“When he was pretending to be Erik, he moaned so easily,” JC said. “Like it was second nature.”

“When he was pretending to be Erik?” Joey asked.

“Role-playing,” JC said.

“Kinky,” Chris said.

“Then he’s naturally loud, and he’s holding back for you,” Joey said.

“Or it’s really easy for him to fake it,” Lance said.

“I’m never going to figure him out,” JC said. “I’ll never understand him.”

“Lance is already president of that club,” Chris said. “The membership sign-up sheet is by the door.”

“I’d like to think about something else now,” Lance said. “Tell us your favorite Brian parts.”

Chris laughed. “I don’t think you want to get me started.”

“I’d like to hear it,” Justin said.

“This is hard to do,” Joey said. “I’m still coming up with new parts I forgot to mention. Once you get started, it’s hard to stop.”

“We’ll start Brian for you,” Justin said to Chris. “What have we all named so far?”

“Dick, ass, hands, eyes, mouth,” Joey said.

“And what are some Brian-specific parts?” Justin asked.

“The jaw, the cheekbones,” Joey said.

“He has a great smile, and his hair curls,” JC said.

“What did we miss?” Justin asked Chris.

“Everything,” Chris said. “His eyebrow grows crazy right here,” he said, rubbing the inside of his right eyebrow. “If you catch him at the right angle, you can look straight up his nose into his brain.”

“Aren’t those flaws?” Joey whispered to Justin.

Chris hit Joey, sitting up with a glare. “No one said anything rude about that bald freak you’re in love with, so shut up about the glory that is Brian.”

“Sorry,” Joey said. “Keep going.”

“He has teeth,” Chris said.

“Good,” Justin said.

“He let me lick them,” Chris said.

“That was nice of him,” Lance said.

“You’re not going to break in with a story of how Nick used to lick your teeth?” Joey asked JC.

“No,” JC said. “He did, though.” He rubbed his nose. “And I licked his.”

“There’s hair under his arms,” Chris said.

“Most grown men have that,” Justin said.

“Most,” Lance agreed, looking at JC.

“Let me guess,” Joey said. “You shave your pits because Nick likes it that way.”

“I know, I know,” Justin said. “You and Nick lick each other there, too.”

“Shut up,” JC said, turning red. “Chris is talking.”

“It’s so soft,” Chris said.

“His armpit hair?” Joey asked.

“So soft,” Chris said.

“When Justin said that about Kevin’s eyelashes, that might have been touching,” Joey said. “This is just weird.”

“He has such nice bones,” Chris said. “I like his wrists.”

“Nice bones?” Lance said.

“I can’t make fun of that,” Joey said. “I like AJ’s wrists, too.”

“Whenever he grows his sideburns long…” Chris closed his eyes, lying back.

“Chris is now out of service,” Justin said.

“What’d you forget to mention about AJ?” Lance asked Joey.

“His abs,” Joey said. “His pecs, his nipples, his tattoos, his hair. He always looks so damned good.”

“I love Nick’s nose,” JC said.

“You kiss his, he kisses yours, we get it by now,” Justin said.

“Ears,” Chris murmured.

Everyone looked at JC.

JC blushed. “I love Nick’s ears. Yes, I kissed his, and he kissed mine, but everybody does that.”

“I love the color of Howie’s eyes,” Lance said. “He makes brown so rich.”

“I know what you mean,” Joey said.

“Green kicks brown’s ass,” Justin said.

Lance smiled. “Thanks, Justin.”

“Yeah, not you,” Justin said.

“I love Brian’s balls,” Chris said.

Everyone looked at JC.

JC smiled. “What do you think?”

Jacob brought Trevor downstairs, and they worked for a few hours. As things broke up, the doorbell rang.

“I’ll get it,” Erik said. He walked over to the front door, opened it, then closed it. “Trevor?”

“Yeah?” Trevor asked.

“You remember how when AJ came over here and you got into it with him, Nick showed up and hit you?”

“Kind of hard to forget being punched by Nick Carter,” Trevor said.

“Yeah,” Erik said. “You might want to warn Jacob.”

“What?” Jacob asked.

“Nick’s here?” Trevor asked.

“You know why?” Jacob asked Brian.

“No,” Brian said, “but I’m sure it’s not to punch anyone.”

“Open the door,” Jacob told Erik.

“If you say so.” Erik pulled open the door.

“You got your shit together now?” Nick asked Erik.

“Sorry about that,” Erik said. “Arm spasm.”

“Can I come in?” Nick asked impatiently.

“Depends on what you’re here for,” Erik said.

Nick rubbed at his temple. “I hate coming over here,” he said to himself. “I’m here to talk to Angel. Is he here or not?”

“Uh…” Erik looked over his shoulder at Jacob and Trevor. “Is Ashley here?”

“I don’t know,” Trevor said. “I don’t think so,” he said, and looked at Jacob.

“Can we take a message?” Jacob asked.

Nick saw Brian behind Erik. “Is he here?”

“Why do you want to talk to him?” Erik asked.

“Do I have to put up with this bullshit?” Nick asked Brian.

“They’re just feeling protective because last time you were here, you hit Trevor,” Brian said.

“And you think I’m going to start punching Angel?” Nick asked.

“He’s fucking your boyfriend,” Erik said.

Nick’s eyes narrowed dangerously.

“I’m the stupidest person alive,” Erik said.

“Where’s Angel?” Nick asked.

“In his room,” Erik said. “You want me to show you the way?” he offered, weak under Nick’s glare.

“I’ll find it.” Nick pushed past Erik and headed for the stairs.

“Priceless,” Jacob muttered, reaching around Erik to shut the door.

“Sorry,” Erik said.

Back to the headboard, legs spread, Justin massaged JC’s shoulders. “Kevin gives a great back massage.”

JC was kneading the muscles in Joey’s back. “So does Nick.”

Joey dug his thumbs in around Lance’s spine. “Is it healthy or unhealthy for us to keep talking about them?”

Lance rubbed Chris’s shoulders. “Whether or not we’re talking about them, we’re still thinking about them. But we could try talking about something else.”

“I bet I made Trevor cry,” Chris said.

“This might not be a better subject,” Joey said.

“I’m a real man,” Chris said. “I never cry.” He picked at Lance’s sheets. “But I bet I made him cry.”

“I hate it when women cry,” Joey said.

“I hate it when men cry,” Lance said.

“Kevin never cries,” Justin said.

“AJ has,” Joey said. “Not a lot.”

“Howie doesn’t cry,” Lance said.

“Nick does,” JC said. “Seeing him cry hurts more than any of my own pain.”

“Brian cries,” Chris said quietly. “It’s so beautiful and it hurts so much.”

“I never let Howie see me cry,” Lance said.

“You never let anybody see you cry,” Justin said.

“A real man wouldn’t,” Chris said.

“I might have cried,” Joey admitted.

“I’ve cried in front of Nick,” JC said. “Sometimes he comforted me. Sometimes he didn’t.”

“I cried in front of Kevin,” Justin said. “I don’t think you’re surprised.”

“I wonder how much it would take to make Ashley cry,” Joey said.

“I’d love to make Jacob cry,” Lance said.

“I don’t know what would get Erik to cry,” JC said.

“I don’t know what would make Dan cry, either,” Justin said. “How do you not cry?”

“You don’t give in to it,” Lance said. “You don’t let it happen.”

“I stopped thinking I have that kind of control,” Justin said.

“Over yourself?” Joey asked.

“Kevin controls me,” Justin said.

“He’s not even here,” Lance said.

Justin laughed. “That doesn’t make much of a difference.”

Ashley had ducked into the bathroom for a quick shower. In his underwear, pulling on jeans, he heard a knock at his door. In the back of his mind, it occurred to him that he didn’t immediately recognize the knock, but he said, “Come in,” without giving it much thought.

The door opened, and he turned, opening his mouth to - - god. Ashley took a step back, then froze.

Nick stepped inside, closing the door. His gaze skimmed Ashley carelessly, amusement curling up the corners of his mouth. “I like it. You should wear that more often.”

Ashley hastily fastened his fly, reaching for a T-shirt. “What are you doing here?” he asked, blushing red.

“Joey sent me.” Nick looked around the room, raising his eyebrows. “You actually live here?”

“Joey sent you?” Ashley asked, pulling down his shirt.

“He’s worried about you. Justin taking out Jacob, AJ coming after Jacob, you’re such a sensitive pretty little thing he wanted to come and check on you, but he can’t get away from his friends, so he asked me to do it for him. So here I am.” He sat on the foot of the bed. “So are you okay?”

“He didn’t have to send you,” Ashley said. He wasn’t sure how to define his relationship with Nick, but this wasn’t a part of it. And now Nick was in his bedroom? Sitting on his bed? Ashley’s body responded eagerly, hot with arousal.

“I’m already here,” Nick said. “If you don’t like it, complain to Joey. Are you okay or not?”

“I’m okay,” Ashley said honestly. “I was freaked out while it was all going on, but now Jacob’s being so casual about it, I’m better.”

“He’s handling it okay?” Nick asked.

“Yeah,” Ashley said. “Jacob’s been great about it. I don’t know why. I was totally freaked, so I can’t imagine what it was like for him. Maybe having Brian around is calming him down.”

“It scared you?” Nick asked.

Oddly, there was no censure in Nick’s voice or expression; it seemed like an open, reasonable question. “Yeah,” Ashley admitted. “I got scared. The fight with AJ, not as much, because Jacob was giving as good as he got. But with Justin, god, Jacob was unconscious and we still couldn’t get Justin off of him. He just wouldn’t stop. I thought he was going to kill him.”

“It sounds like it was pretty serious,” Nick said.

Ashley shifted. “Can you maybe explain AJ to me?” He was going to ask Joey about Justin, because he was truly concerned, but Nick would know about AJ. As strongly as his body was urging him to get closer to Nick, he wasn’t about to make the first move. Last time he’d been with Nick, he’d asked Nick to stop, and Nick had respected his decision. He couldn’t go back on that now.

“AJ’s in love with Justin,” Nick said. “He loves Justin so much it’s made him possessive and jealous and crazy.”

Ashley frowned. “That’s it?”

“Haven’t you ever felt so strongly about something it made you weak and stupid and crazy?” Nick asked.

Ashley felt his face heat again. “Yes.”

Nick smiled at him. “There you go.”

God, that smile. Ashley went weak and hot all over. It took effort to drag his mind back on track. “But AJ hits Justin. If he loves him…”

“Possessive, jealous, and crazy,” Nick said. “He wants Justin to be his and only his. He hates the idea of other people touching what’s his. He can’t stand other people looking at his Justin.”

“It’s Justin,” Ashley said. “Other people are going to look.”

Nick leaned back on his elbows, thighs spreading naturally. “I’ve seen better,” he said, and grinned. “This where you sleep?”

“Yeah,” Ashley said, suddenly not knowing where to put his hands.

Nick relaxed onto his back, stretching his arms over his head with a brief undulation, rolling his hips. The movement raised his shirt, revealing a slim slice of skin above his waistband. “Not bad. Joey fucks you here?”

With Nick’s body spread out before him, the roll of hips, unconsciously bared flesh, Ashley had trouble keeping the thread of conversation. That question, however, caught his attention. “Yes,” he said, wishing that Nick would leave. Or fuck him. He fought the urge to climb on top of Nick and - - god.

“He’s good?” Nick asked. “You like it?”

Vivid memories flashed through Ashley’s body. “Yes,” he said. He licked his lips.

Nick stood, suddenly very close, so close Ashley couldn’t breathe. “Come home with me.”

Ashley couldn’t look away from Nick’s eyes. Nick’s mouth was inches from his own, and the need to be kissed twisted in Ashley’s stomach. “Okay.”

Nick was closer, closer, so close Ashley felt dizzy. “Tell me how hard you are,” Nick whispered.

“I’m so hard,” Ashley whispered, his dick stiffening further with the confession.

“Tell me how much you want me,” Nick whispered.

Nick was so close Ashley wanted to close his eyes, but he couldn’t look away. “I need you,” he whispered. Oh, god, “Please…”

“You want it,” Nick whispered. “Tell me you want it.”

His dick was hard, and his body ached, and Nick hadn’t even touched him yet. “Fuck me,” he whispered. “I want it, Nick, fuck me.”

Nick was so close Ashley could feel his heat. “Beg me for it.”

Ashley moaned, his dick rock-hard and his blood running hot. “Please, Nick, I need it, I want it, you can do whatever you want if you just give it to me, please, now…”

“I know you want me,” Nick whispered. “You’re mine, Angel. Your body is mine. Your ass belongs to me.”

“Yes,” Ashley moaned. “Please, Nick, please, god, I need it, fuck me, please.”

“Tell me it’s mine,” Nick insisted.

“It’s yours, it’s yours,” Ashley promised. “I’m yours.”

“Good.” Nick took one step back, and immediately the air around Ashley felt cold. “I’m leaving. Wait five minutes and come to my house.”

Disoriented, Ashley found himself breathing heavily. “Nick…”

&nbs