Sucker
Copyright November 24, 2002-July 8, 2005 by Matthew Haldeman-Time
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-eight...
“What the hell happened to Dan?” Erik whispered, pulling Ashley aside as everyone left the room. “He has bite marks on his neck.”
“I don’t know,” Ashley whispered back. “He won’t talk about it. He went out for a while last night, and this morning, he looked like an accident victim.”
“Where’d he go?” Erik asked. “A freak club? Did Rebecca do that to him?”
“I don’t know,” Ashley said.
“I didn’t think Dan was into kinky shit,” Erik said.
“He’s not,” Ashley said. “I don’t think he is,” he amended. “I don’t know.” He wiped sweat from his face. “You think we should make him tell us what happened?”
“It’s none of our business,” Erik said. “Let’s just see if it happens again.”
“What should we do today?” Lance asked, sitting beside Joey on the sofa.
“Basketball,” Chris said.
“Video games,” Joey said.
“Golf,” Chris said.
“Let’s go out somewhere,” JC said.
“Golf is out somewhere,” Chris said. “So’s basketball.”
“Justin?” Lance asked.
Justin picked at his fingernails. “You guys have been really great and supportive, and-”
“You love us to pieces, but you want to see Dan,” JC said.
“To pieces,” Chris repeated. “What does that mean? To pieces.”
“Are you sure you’re ready to go back into civilization?” Joey asked Justin.
“If you’re not, we’re right here,” JC said.
“Does this mean we’re not golfing?” Chris asked.
After a quick shower, Dan looked at his phone. He wanted to talk to Justin, but if he called too often, it would seem like he didn’t think that Justin could go three hours without being checked on. If Justin was going to believe in himself, Dan had to demonstrate confidence in him, too.
While he was looking at it, the phone rang. It was Justin. Dan picked it up. “It’s Miller Time.”
Justin laughed. “You’re not busy, are you?”
“No,” Dan said. “What can I do for you?”
“Come over to my place and hang out with me.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Dan said. “I’ll be there soon.”
“Okay. Bye.”
“Bye.” Dan hung up, then touched his neck. There was no way to hide it. He wasn’t ashamed; he’d done it for Justin. If Justin asked about it, he’d lie. He’d never lied to Justin before, and he didn’t relish starting now. It would be hard, and he’d regret it. But everything that he did for Justin would be worth it in the end.
After saying good-bye to Justin, Chris slipped into Joey’s bathroom and dialed quickly.
“Hello,” Kevin said.
“Could you call in a few minutes and summon me?” Chris asked. “If you have time to see me today. I want to see you, that would be good, but I don’t want to get up and leave voluntarily, so if-”
“I’m busy right now,” Kevin said. “I’ll call you back later. In an hour or two.”
“Thank you,” Chris said. “That’s very nice of you.”
“I know.”
“Bye.” Chris hung up and flushed the toilet for effect. An hour or two. That was good. He could wait. Sure. Not a problem.
Dan was in the driveway, standing against his car, when Justin drove up. “Hi,” Justin said, getting out. “Sorry about making you wait.”
“No problem,” Dan said, following him to the front door. “I guess my car’s just faster.”
“That pile of crap sucks my exhaust,” Justin said, letting them into the house. The sight of the marks on Dan’s neck had startled him, but he knew what they had to be from. He wanted to get a better look, but he didn’t want to be caught staring and make Dan uncomfortable. “I haven’t been home in days. Everything look okay to you?”
“Looks fine,” Dan said.
“Come on upstairs,” Justin said, heading for the staircase. “I’ve been wearing other people’s clothes for days.” He went up to his room and into his closet. “What’s been going on with you?”
“Not much.” Dan sat on the foot of the bed. “Everything’s been pretty normal. Trevor hasn’t been too cheerful lately.”
“Yeah. That whole situation sucks.” Justin stripped and redressed in sweatpants and a T-shirt. Walking over to the bed, he sat beside Dan. There was a scratch on Dan’s cheek, and it looked like AJ had been outright chewing on his neck. “You taking care of yourself?”
“I always do.” Dan’s smile flashed even rows of healthy, white teeth. “You look good. You’ve been sleeping okay? The guys took care of you?”
Kevin had told him that his smile looked ridiculous, but Justin felt compelled to grin in response to Dan, showing at least as many teeth as Dan had. “They took up the slack for you.”
“Good to know.” Dan’s hand covered his, squeezing twice. Justin turned his hand and squeezed back twice. Already he felt better. “You ready to work out?” Dan asked him.
Justin groaned, flopping onto his back on the bed. “Fuck you.”
Dan laughed. “You know you want to.”
Justin grinned at him. “I want to fuck you?”
“Work out,” Dan corrected. “Come on, get up.”
“Okay,” Justin said, pushing himself to his feet. “Let me change, again,” he gave Dan a look, “and then I’ll show you how much a real man lifts.”
Howie drew Erik down beside him on the couch. “If you keep splitting up your time between JC and me, you won’t have any left for yourself.”
“I can’t think of many better ways to spend my time than this,” Erik said. “Besides, as soon as you and JC get back together, I’ll be able to see you both at once.”
“Did you see JC last night?” Howie asked.
“Yes,” Erik said. He smiled. “He misses you. He loves you.”
“Did he say that?” Howie asked.
“Of course he said it. He said that he loves you, and he knows you love him, and spending one night apart wouldn’t change it.”
Howie’s smile made Erik feel good inside. “That’s a good sign.”
“That is a good sign,” Erik agreed. “Maybe you should call him.”
“Maybe I’ll call him later,” Howie said.
“What’s wrong with now?”
“I have plans for right now,” Howie said. “I want to take you shopping.”
Erik laughed. “We already did that. I don’t think you should spend any more money on me.”
“Didn’t you tell me that all of your clothes were ruined with bleach?” Howie asked.
“Yeah,” Erik said. “That just means that someone else owes me a new wardrobe, not that you need to make up for it.”
“I like to buy things for you,” Howie said.
“If it’s that much fun, then we should bring JC along,” Erik said. “As soon as you’re with him again, we can all go out together.”
Howie’s laughter was soft. “Okay. When JC and I make up, we’ll all go together.”
Chris was playing tic-tac-toe with himself and listening to Joey, JC, and Lance talk about something or other when his cell phone rang. “Excuse me,” he said, picking up his phone. “Kirkpatrick.”
“I want to see you,” Kevin said. “Now.”
“Okay,” Chris said. “Here I come.” He hung up, standing. “Kevin wants me. See you all later.”
“What does he-”
“Bye,” Chris said, and was out the front door in seconds.
There were scratches on Dan’s thighs. Bruises on his upper arms. Justin had even glimpsed scratches on his chest as he’d changed into workout clothes. Justin tried to remember Joey looking as used, and couldn’t. Then again, Joey was hard to bruise. Maybe Dan was more sensitive.
Justin wondered what the big deal with marking people was. What big thrill did AJ get from it? A sense of impact? A sense of ownership? Maybe he just liked to fuck people up. Maybe he wanted Dan to bear the marks as a reminder.
Justin stroked the inside of his elbow, studying the faint scar. Kevin…
“Hey.” Dan threw a towel at him to get his attention. “Stop admiring yourself and get to work.”
“There’s a lot to admire,” Justin said, tossing the towel back.
Dan laughed, muscles flexing as he lifted weight.
“No snappy comeback?” Justin asked, challenging.
“No snappy comeback,” Dan said. “I know the truth when I hear it.”
“I should travel with a box,” Chris said.
“Why is that?” Kevin asked, closing the door behind him.
“So I can stand on it and be at eye level.”
“Here.” Kevin guided him to the stairs. “Is that better?”
Chris stepped up, turned, and suddenly was eye to eye with Kevin, gazing directly into striking emerald green. “This is Justin’s view,” he realized. No wonder Justin was in love.
“Are you here for a reason?” Kevin asked.
“He was so right about your eyelashes.” Chris stared, tilting his head to one side for a different angle. “They’re so long. Brian’s are darker than you’d expect, they-”
“Maybe this is a stupid question,” Kevin said, “but did you come here to talk about Brian?”
“I miss Trevor,” Chris said.
“That’s okay,” Kevin said.
“It is?” He hadn’t been sure.
“You can feel anything for Trevor that you want,” Kevin said. “You can miss him, as long as it doesn’t interfere with our plans.”
Okay. That was reasonable. Chris walked his fingers across Kevin’s chest. “We don’t do much besides plot, scheme, and have sex.”
“What would you like us to do together?” Kevin asked.
“We could talk about Brian,” Chris said. “We could talk about Justin, too, but that might not be a good conversation.” His fingers walked across Kevin’s shoulders. “I like your body.”
“Thank you.”
“We could get drunk and wear goofy hats,” Chris suggested. “We could bake pies. We could wash windows. We could prank call Jacob.” He paused. “Do you think that I have a hairy ass?”
Kevin kissed him. “I like your ass.” Kevin’s thumb traced the curve of Chris’s jaw. “I think I know what we can do.”
Howie was in mid-sentence when the doorbell rang. He frowned, checking his watch. “That should be Nick. Can you let him in? I have to get something.”
“Sure,” Erik said, more confidently than he felt. Last time he’d let Nick into a house, he’d made an ass of himself. If it were Brian, he’d have no problem, but Nick was too arrogant, or too confrontational, or too intimidating. Too damned…Backstreet.
Taking a deep breath, telling himself to be cool, he opened the door.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Nick pushed right past him and into the house. “Howie!”
“He’s getting something,” Erik said, closing the door.
“What are you doing here?” Nick asked again, looking at him like he was ridiculously out of place in Howie’s home.
“I’m Howie’s guest,” Erik said. He wondered what would happen if Nick knew that he knew that Nick was fucking Ashley behind Joey’s back. Bad things, probably. He wasn’t exactly happy that Ashley was in that situation, but he didn’t want to mess things up for him, either, so he kept his mouth shut.
“You always answer other people’s doors?” Nick asked.
“When they ask me to.” Now Nick was just being an asshole. “Are you always this rude to Howie’s friends?”
“Not always,” Nick said. “Just the ones I don’t like.”
“Nick.” Howie joined them with a heart-stopping “I’m so happy to see you” smile. “I hope this is the one you want,” he said, handing over a videotape.
“Thanks. You want to come?”
“Not today,” Howie said. “I have company.”
“Yeah, I noticed.” Nick glanced at Erik dismissively, then back to Howie. “You talked to JC?”
“Not today,” Howie said. “Let me know how you like it,” he said, tapping the hand that held the tape.
“We’ll call you,” Nick said. “Do you want me to tell AJ yes or no for you?”
“I haven’t decided,” Howie said. “I’ll talk to him tonight.”
“Okay. Thanks.” Nick was gone.
Erik wondered if Howie knew that Nick was a complete asshole. Howie had known him too long to think otherwise, unless Nick had hid it really well for ten years. But Howie really seemed to like him. It didn’t look like simple group loyalty; it looked like Howie truly enjoyed Nick as a person. Which was incomprehensible.
“You look thoughtful,” Howie said, cupping his cheek and turning his face.
Howie had gorgeous eyes. “Nick doesn’t like me very much.”
“That’s okay,” Howie said. His hand stroked down Erik’s neck. “Nick doesn’t choose my friends for me.”
“How do the other guys feel about you and JC?”
“They’ve been supportive,” Howie said. “They all really like JC. They think that he’s great for me.” He smiled. “I’ve heard them refer to us as the perfect couple.”
“They’d probably feel bad if you and JC broke up,” Erik said.
“Yes, they would,” Howie said, smiling, anticipating his train of thought.
“You should probably reunite with him pretty fast, then,” Erik said. “To save them from worry.”
Howie laughed. “JC and I are going to get back together. I love him too much to let him go. I’m just giving him a few days to miss me.”
“That’s stupid,” Erik said.
Howie raised his eyebrows.
“You can get pissed at me, but it’s still stupid,” Erik said. “Why are you dragging this out? Why can’t you just call him and ask him to come over?”
“JC thinks that I’d cheat on him,” Howie said. “He doesn’t trust me.”
“So explain to him that he’s wrong.”
“It’s not that simple,” Howie said. “Trust isn’t logical.”
“He has to know he can trust you,” Erik said. “Maybe something else is going on. Maybe something else you did pissed him off.”
“JC and I get along so well,” Howie said. “We almost never fight. We know how important it is to communicate, we learned that. If something’s wrong, he’d tell me.”
“If you know how important it is to communicate, why aren’t you talking to each other?” Erik asked.
Howie scratched his forehead, then grinned. “Because we’re stupid?”
Erik had to laugh. “Of the three of us, how did I get to be the smart, mature one?”
“Love makes people stupid,” Howie said.
“Good thing I’m not in love,” Erik said.
“Good thing,” Howie agreed, and kissed him. “Maybe I’ll call JC tonight,” Howie conceded.
“Maybe?” Erik asked.
“Maybe,” Howie said.
Erik sighed. “I should forget this whole thing and leave you both to your own stupidity. I could be doing something really fun right now, instead of being here trying to convince you to call your own boyfriend.”
“We could do something really fun,” Howie said.
“Yeah?” Erik asked. He smiled, sliding his hands over Howie’s waist. “Okay.”
“Not that,” Howie said with a laugh, pushing Erik’s hands off. “Let me take you to lunch.”
“Lunch is really fun?” Erik asked. Well, it could be. He tended to have a great time with Howie.
“Trust me,” Howie said. “It’ll be really fun. Let me change clothes and we’ll go.”
“You’re changing clothes?” Erik asked. He grinned. “This is already fun.”
Chris stared at Kevin in horror. “You want me to what?!”
Justin was sprawled on his stomach on his bed. “We’ve worked out.”
“Yes, we have,” Dan said, on his back beside Justin.
“We’ve showered.”
“I stand by that action,” Dan said.
“We’ve had lunch.”
“I enjoyed it,” Dan said.
“We should probably do something else before we call it a day.”
Dan shrugged. “Not necessarily.” Justin laughed; he smiled at the ceiling, pleased with the sound. He wanted the day to remain very low-key, low-pressure, for Justin’s sake. Some days were days to push Justin; some days were days to let Justin rest. “Tell me about your time with the guys. What’ve you been doing?”
“Playing Twister.” Justin rolled onto his side, tucking a pillow under his head. “Playing Scrabble.”
“Yeah?” Dan tried to picture it, and grinned. “Who won Twister?”
“I don’t think that anyone could be defined as a clear-cut winner,” Justin said. “I think Joey’s gained weight.”
Dan laughed. “You’ll get them next time.”
“What’ve you been doing?” Justin asked.
“Not a lot,” Dan said. “Rehearsing. Reading.”
“Reading what?” Justin asked.
“Poetry,” Dan said. “The guys think I’ve lost my mind.”
“Poetry?” Justin asked, pushing himself up on one elbow, interested. “Really?”
“Yeah,” Dan said. “I don’t know what to memorize, because I don’t know what half of it means.” He turned his head, looking up as Justin gazed down at him. “We should bring ‘prithee’ back into the language.”
“Good luck with that.” Justin’s gaze flickered in a way Dan didn’t understand. “Did you talk to Rebecca?”
“Yeah. She’s doing okay.” He didn’t elaborate, because he didn’t know what Justin was thinking.
“Are you going out?”
“We don’t have plans.” She’d brought it up, but he hadn’t felt comfortable committing to anything definite, since he hadn’t known if Justin would call.
“You should go out.”
He didn’t think that he could date Rebecca, now that he needed to invent a new sex partner to explain AJ’s bruises. “And why are you so interested?”
“You should have a girlfriend,” Justin said.
Dan grinned. “To improve my sex life?”
“That, too,” Justin said. “But I meant because you’d make a great boyfriend.”
“Thank you.” He looked up at Justin some more. “You look good. Are you feeling good?”
“Compared to what?” Justin asked. “Yeah, I feel better. Relaxing with the guys, it helped. They really want to understand me. Lance and Joey cast around so much blame… Sometimes it helps, if I can think for a second that it’s not my fault, that someone did this to me. But it hurts, to hear them that angry at someone I love so much. And it’s not fair for them only to blame him. I got myself into this, I didn’t walk away when I should have.”
“It has to kill them to see you like this,” Dan said. “They have to be furious that someone would do this to you. They’re right,” he insisted quietly. “It isn’t your fault.”
“Chris really understands me,” Justin said. “He gets me, he’s been through some things of his own. It scares me, to be understood, because even I don’t understand this, and I don’t think that anyone should relate to it. But it’s good, it’s nice, to be with someone who doesn’t judge me.”
“No one judges you for this,” Dan said.
“Don’t you think somebody should?” Justin asked.
“Not after what you’ve been through,” Dan said. “No.” Dan didn’t want Justin to think of himself as a victim - - he wanted Justin to feel capable and strong - - but that’s exactly what Justin had been. “What about JC?”
“JC… He’s known me forever,” Justin said. “Before there was anybody or anything or any of this, there was JC. He’s known me for so long, he’s watched me every step of the way, he’s seen all of it. I just keep wondering what he sees when he looks at me.” Justin no longer met Dan’s eyes. “I know he didn’t expect me to turn out like this.”
“You haven’t turned out like anything, except fantastic,” Dan said. “And you’re not finished. This isn’t all of who you are or all of who you’re going to be. This is who you are today, right now, not the sum of Justin Timberlake.”
Justin settled back down on the pillow. “What’s the sum of Justin Timberlake?”
“I don’t have time to make a list,” Dan said. “You’ll have to discover the answers for yourself.” He looked into Justin’s eyes. “But I’ll be here with you while you do it, if you want.”
Justin smiled, a little. Mostly with his eyes. “I’d like that.”
Erik didn’t know where to look as the plate was set before him on the table. “Thank you,” he said, forcing himself to hold still and not lean closer.
“Thank you,” the waitress said with a smile, and sashayed off, legs long enough to make him drool, ass twitching from side to side.
“Oh my fucking god,” Erik whispered.
“Are you having a good time?”
Erik looked across the table in time to catch Howie’s amused smile. “Did you see her…her?”
“I did,” Howie said, nodding. “It was all very nice.” His voice was pleasant, but his eyes were twinkling with more amusement as he picked up his fork.
Erik’s gaze strayed to the side as another waitress passed their corner booth. “How can you eat?”
“I’m hungry,” Howie said.
Erik was hungry, too, but not for anything on a plate. “You don’t want some of that?”
Howie glanced around between bites. “They’re very attractive.”
Erik had to look away from the waitresses, just to stare at Howie in disbelief. The first question that came to mind was, “How gay are you?” but the answer was pretty damned apparent.
Howie winked at him.
“You’ve been here before,” Erik said.
“With Nick and AJ,” Howie said. “It would be polite if you’d at least pretend to eat,” he said as Erik’s gaze wandered again.
He couldn’t help it. “Do you think those are real?”
“I don’t think it’s natural to defy gravity like that,” Howie said.
Erik forced himself to eat. “You’re laughing at me,” he said. Howie kept smiling, and his eyes were practically sparkling.
“I like to see you enjoy yourself,” Howie said.
“I’m definitely enjoying myself,” Erik said. He chewed, looking at Howie, wondering. He knew that Howie was with JC now, and had been with James before that, but - - he glanced around for eavesdroppers - - “You don’t do women at all?”
“Not anymore,” Howie said. “I haven’t in,” he thought about it, “years.”
Years? That was such a long time to go without women. “So you’re not…?” He glanced around. “Bi?”
Howie shook his head, reaching for his water glass. “I’ve done it, and I see the appeal, but it doesn’t work for me.”
“What about JC?”
Howie laughed. “JC’s worse than I am. He barely even tried. He likes women, he admires and respects them, but they can’t give him what he needs.”
Erik’s mind skipped back to JC, begging and groaning as he drove in hard and deep. While his dick stiffened uncomfortably, he had to admit, there were certain things that JC wanted that only men could provide.
Justin sat on the kitchen counter and watched Dan unload his dishwasher. “Not bad.”
“Thanks,” Dan said, stacking plates in the cabinet.
“I should hire you full-time.”
“Yeah?” Dan asked,
glancing at him. “How much do you pay?”
“You already get free room and board, not to mention a new
wardrobe,” Justin said. “What else do you want?”
Dan grinned at him, then shrugged and turned to put away glasses. “A new car would be nice.”
Justin thought about it, watching him. “Do you do laundry?”
“Yes,” Dan said. “Pretty well, too,” he added, tucking silverware into the drawer.
Justin liked that. “Prove it.”
“Prove it?” Dan asked, facing him. “You don’t believe me?”
“I believe you,” Justin said. “I just want to see it for myself.”
“You mean, you want me to wash your clothes so you won’t have to.”
“Hey, if that’s your interpretation, I can’t help it,” Justin said, lifting his hands.
Dan closed the dishwasher. “You’re going to help me fold.”
“If I have to help you fold, you’re getting a used car,” Justin said.
“What do I have to do to get something new with a good sound system?” Dan asked.
Justin grinned. “You have to iron.”
“I’ll settle for used,” Dan said. “Let’s go.”
As they left the restaurant, Erik carried Howie’s jacket to the car, to avoid showing the world his hard-on. In the car, not only were vivid images of half-naked Amazons dancing before his eyes, but his brain was helpful enough to bring up memories of JC giving him head in the backseat, and Howie decided to rub his thigh for the duration of the trip.
By the time they were back at Howie’s house, the situation in Erik’s pants was desperate, and the urge to - - respectfully - - push Howie down on the nearest piece of furniture and get to it was becoming too strong to deny. Seconds before Erik could make his move, Howie kissed him, fingers skimming his erection through his jeans.
Erik groaned, deepening the kiss, wishing Howie would - - god, yes, rub him, just like, “oh yes,” that. “Oh, uh,” he was so fucking hard, “Howie…”
“Tell me what you want,” Howie whispered, walking backwards, leading him down the hallway. Erik would follow Howie anywhere as long as Howie kept that hand on his dick.
“I want you so much,” Erik said. His dick throbbed with the need to fuck, to thrust, to be inside. He wanted to feel Howie’s body give, to feel it open for him, to feel it close around him.
They were in the bedroom now, and when Howie pushed, Erik landed on the bed. He shifted back, pulling Howie over him, kissing hungrily and guiding Howie’s hand back down to his fly. Howie opened it, releasing him, stroking his erection with a gentle pull. “What do you want?” Howie whispered again.
Howie sighed softly at the lick of Erik’s tongue and Erik bucked up against Howie’s hand, wanting to fuck him, needing to fuck him. Erik had to fuck somebody, damn it. “You,” he said, guiding Howie’s hips closer, “I want you.”
Howie’s grip was slick with pre-cum, firm but not fast enough to get him off. Erik moaned, kissing Howie harder, frustrated at the fabric of Howie’s pants between his hands and Howie’s ass. When Howie whispered his name and sucked at his lower lip, he groaned desperately.
“What do you want?” Howie whispered, his fingers delicately stroking Erik’s balls.
“God.” Erik groaned, feeling the pulse of orgasm pushing up just beneath his skin. “Anything,” he jerked with need when Howie’s thumb rubbed beneath the head of his dick, “anything. I want to come, I want to come,” he kissed Howie feverishly, twisting to fuck his dick through Howie’s fist, “in your mouth.”
Howie slid down his body, leaving Erik to pant with need. At the first touch of Howie’s lips, Erik bucked, but Howie rode it out smoothly. Howie’s fingers circled the base of his dick, mouth taking him inch by inch. Each successive slide took in more of Erik’s dick until the whole length of him was sucked into wet heat. The soft flutter of Howie’s tongue brought a new ache to Erik’s flesh, and when he felt the stroke of Howie’s fingers across his stomach, he tensed with need, pushing his hands against the mattress and groaning. “God, god, Howie, I’m, I’m, yes, oh,” he broke off into a breathless moan as the fingers circling his dick went on the move, pumping him as Howie sucked harder. “I can’t, yes, yes, Howie, faster, your, your mouth-” He came with a sudden cry, spilling cum down Howie’s throat, hips jerking with the force of orgasm.
Howie’s hands stroked his pelvis, tongue circling his navel, murmuring his name.
Erik shivered, his body confused at the equally strong sensations of complete satiation and fresh arousal. He stared in wondering fascination as Howie pushed his shirt up and licked at his tight nipple, sucking gently. Frankly, Erik loved sex, and thought he was pretty good at it, but it was still weird to realize that Howie actually wanted him, especially this much.
“I have to leave soon.” Howie crawled up closer to him, kissing his mouth gently; he kissed back, sliding his hands over Howie’s back. “I wish I could stay longer and take advantage of your,” Howie laughed and licked his mouth, “good mood.”
“You can take advantage of me any time you want,” Erik said, working Howie’s fly open. “Are you saying you want me to make this quick?” he asked, grinning up into Howie’s eyes, teasing Howie’s erection through his underwear.
Howie hissed softly, eyes closing, fingers curling into Erik’s skin. “Erik,” he winced, making a sound almost like a gasp but softer, “Michael.” Erik stroked him through the soft cotton, jacking him lightly, captivated by the sight of Howie reacting to increasing arousal. When his eyes opened, they were dark with so much lust Erik stopped breathing.
Howie wanted him. Erik didn’t have to hear the words to understand it. There was something aggressive about the passion in Howie’s eyes, something consuming in it. Howie’s hand slid slowly up Erik’s chest, burning him, owning him. “Erik-Michael,” Howie whispered, and Erik had never been confronted with lust this fierce, this focused.
Erik kissed Howie, sucking on his tongue, keeping him engaged, and shoved his hand down the front of Howie’s underwear. While he pumped Howie’s erection with quick purpose, he wrapped his other hand around the back of Howie’s neck, keeping Howie locked to his kiss. Howie made a half-hearted attempt to pull back, but Erik insistently pursued his mouth, jacking his dick a shade faster, and with a sudden gasp, Howie was coming, tugging suddenly on Erik’s shirt.
Erik grinned, releasing Howie’s dick and pulling his hand from Howie’s underwear. “Quick enough for you?”
Howie laughed breathlessly, sitting back and stripping. “One of us is too easy.”
“It’s probably me,” Erik said. He licked a streak of cum from the inside of his wrist, realized what he was doing, and wiped his hand on the sheet. “Thanks for lunch.”
“You’re welcome,” Howie said. “It was my pleasure.”
Leaving the bed, Erik zipped up, pulling his shirt down. “You’re going to call JC?”
“Probably,” Howie said.
“It’s better than maybe,” Erik said, and leaned down to kiss him. “Bye.”
Howie’s fingers skimmed his cheek. “Good-bye, Erik-Michael.”
“What are you doing?” Justin asked.
“What are you doing?” Dan asked with an equal lack of comprehension.
“Laundry,” Justin said.
“Put down that shirt and step away before someone gets hurt,” Dan said.
“What?” Justin asked, looking down at the shirt. “I know what I’m doing. You take dirty clothes, you shove them in the washer, you-”
“You missed a step,” Dan said.
“Getting the clothes dirty?” Justin guessed.
“Sorting the clothes out,” Dan said.
“For different loads?” Justin asked. “I don’t do that. All of my good stuff gets dry-cleaned. This stuff, it doesn’t matter. Just put it all in together, it’ll get clean enough.”
“You don’t bleach the white clothes?” Dan asked.
“If you use enough detergent, you don’t need bleach,” Justin said. “If my socks get gray, I can just buy new ones.”
“You’ve really thought this out,” Dan said. “My mother would freak, but at least you have a system.”
“Are you showing scorn for my system?” Justin asked suspiciously.
“Actually, no, but today, we’re doing it my way,” Dan said. “Let’s start with jeans. Empty the pockets for me.”
“Yes, Mom.” Justin got to work. Once they had the washing machine running, Dan sorted the remaining clothes into piles for future loads. “What do we do while we wait?” Justin asked.
“Jump rope?” Dan suggested.
“I owe you for this,” Justin said.
“No, you don’t,” Dan said.
“You had to touch my dirty drawers,” Justin said. “I owe you something.”
Dan grimaced. “You’re right, you do.”
“Hey, there weren’t that many of them,” Justin said. “Laundry’s a lot easier when you don’t wear underwear. You should try it.”
“I have,” Dan said. “But we started getting too many fans, and they started getting a little too grabby, and I had one too many close calls. When they start reaching for my clothes, I want there to be another layer between me and the world.”
“Poor Dan,” Justin said, patting his arm. “You’ll get used to being molested.”
“There are some aggressive young women out there,” Dan said. “Very hands-on.”
“We haven’t done shit all day,” Joey said.
“Maybe we should take their advice,” JC said.
“Whose advice?” Joey asked.
“From the meeting,” JC said. “The five of us are friends, the guys in O-Town are friends, so we should do more things together. Hang out, double-date, visit together.”
“What’s your plan?” Lance asked.
“The three of us,” JC said. “We should take Erik and Ashley to dinner.”
“I can’t imagine a worse night,” Lance said.
“At least I’ll have someone to talk to,” Joey said.
“You want to do this tonight?” Lance asked.
“Tonight,” JC said. “It isn’t a double-date, because Joey’s supposed to have a boyfriend, and I’m supposed to be in a relationship, so if you come along, it’ll just be friends, getting together.”
“I haven’t spent much time with Erik,” Joey said.
“I’ve barely spent any time with Ashley,” JC said.
“I’ve managed to avoid them as thoroughly as I could,” Lance said. “But if we do this, maybe our next meeting won’t be such a travesty.”
“You call Ashley,” JC said. “I’ll call Erik. We’ll pick them up in an hour.”
“I can’t wait,” Lance said.
Erik was just getting in the door when his cell phone rang. “Hello,” he said, dropping his keys.
“Erik-Michael,” JC said. “How are you, honey?”
“I’m great,” Erik said. “I just saw Howie. He misses you.”
“Are you free tonight?” JC asked.
“Yeah,” Erik said. “You want to hang out?”
“Lance and Joey and I are going out to dinner, and we thought maybe you and Ashley would like to join us,” JC said.
“That’d be cool,” Erik said. He’d get to know JC’s friends better, Ashley would be there, “It sounds great.”
“We can come by to pick you up in an hour,” JC said.
“Okay.” That gave him time to shower and change, which he needed. Lunch with Howie, sex with Howie, shower, dinner with JC - - not a bad social life, really.
“I’ll see you then. Bye.”
“Bye.” Erik hung up. “Ashley!”
During a break in the conversation, Dan left Justin to visit the bathroom. When Dan came back, Justin was folding socks, humming to himself idly. Dan began to hang up shirts. Justin started to dance in place, hips swaying, folding to the beat in his head. Dan folded jeans, watching Justin with interest. Seemingly oblivious to Dan’s attention, or so used to having other people around that another presence in the room didn’t disturb him, Justin began to sing to himself. Dan grinned and kept working, enjoying the personal mini-concert.
Chris clutched his robe shut. “I feel violated.”
“Let me see,” Kevin said, stroking a finger over the exposed skin between the robe’s lapels.
“Are they all gone?” Chris asked.
“They’re all gone,” Kevin promised.
“That redhead had very cold hands,” Chris said. “Is this how you normally spend your free time?”
“Undressing you?” Kevin asked, tugging at the belt of Chris’s robe.
“Inviting waxers and massagers into your home?”
“No,” Kevin said.
Chris gazed at Kevin’s face, rubbing a finger between Kevin’s eyes. “This is what your eyebrows look like after you’ve waxed them?”
Kevin smiled, opening Chris’s robe.
“This was a very painful and embarrassing process,” Chris said. “Do you think Brian will like it?”
“He doesn’t have to like it,” Kevin said. “He didn’t pay for it. Get on the bed. Let me see.”
“JC shaves off his pubic hair,” Chris said, dropping the robe and sitting back on the bed. “Shaves it all right off. It seems unnatural for a grown man not to have body hair.” He looked down at himself. “What a cute little trim. She made a perfect triangle.”
“Roll over,” Kevin said.
“If you like Chris Kirkpatrick before, you’ll love him now,” Chris said, rolling onto his stomach. “Now, without a hairy ass!” He felt Kevin’s fingers stroking, and squirmed. “How’s it look?”
“Very nice,” Kevin said.
“Deliciously fuckable?”
Kevin chuckled and patted his ass. “Very fuckable.” A kiss on his right shoulder. “How about some dinner?”
Justin put away the last pair of socks and surveyed his closet with a satisfied expression. “You’ve done good work here, Lieutenant Dan.”
“Thanks,” Dan said. “You weren’t bad, yourself.”
Justin leaned back against a shelf, relaxing. “What should we do next?”
“Anything you want,” Dan said. “We could decide what color my new, pre-owned car is going to be.”
“Black sounds good,” Justin said. “With red trim.”
“Flashy,” Dan said.
“You’re a flashy kind of guy,” Justin said with a grin.
“That’s me,” Dan agreed.
“If you want flames painted on it…”
“Yes?” Dan asked, when Justin didn’t finish his sentence.
Justin smiled. “Recite some poetry.”
“On command?” Dan asked. “Here, now?”
“You said you’ve been reading it,” Justin said.
“I didn’t say I’d memorized it all that great.” Dan rubbed his forehead, thinking.
“I won’t know if you fuck up or not,” Justin said. “If you get lost, make up something.”
It was a good point. Dan sought the first line. “Not marble, nor the gilded monuments-”
“‘Gilded monuments?’” Justin repeated. “Is this about architecture?”
“It’s about eternal love,” Dan said. “I think. I could be wrong. It’s a little complicated.”
“Eternal love?” Justin asked, eyes lighting with curiosity.
“Maybe,” Dan said. “It’s kind of a poem about itself.”
“Go ahead,” Justin said. “I want to hear it.”
Dan closed his eyes, trying to remember.
“Wait.”
Dan opened his eyes. “Yes?”
Justin stepped forward so close his forehead touched Dan’s, resting his hands on the shelf behind Dan. Closing his eyes, he inhaled deeply. “Okay. Go.”
Dan closed his own eyes. Justin needed intimacy and affection, and Dan needed somewhere to put his hands, so he set them on Justin’s waist. Keeping his voice low, he said, “‘Not marble, nor the gilded monuments / Of princes, shall outlive this powerful rhyme; / But you shall shine more bright in these contents / Than unswept stone besmear’d with sluttish time.’”
Justin exhaled softly. His hands cupped Dan’s upper arms.
“‘When wasteful war shall statues overturn, / And broils root out the work of masonry, / Nor Mars his sword nor war’s quick fire shall burn / The living record of your memory.’”
“But you shall shine more bright,” Justin whispered.
“‘‘Gainst death and all-oblivious enmity / Shall you pace forth-’”
“More bright,” he repeated, his hands flattening themselves against Dan’s chest.
“‘-your praise shall still find room / Even in the eyes of all posterity / That wear this world out to the ending doom.’”
“Praise,” Justin whispered. “Your praise.” His arms wound around Dan’s neck as his body met Dan’s from chest to thigh.
Dan gently rubbed one hand up and down Justin’s side, giving him the last lines. “‘So, till the judgment that yourself arise, / You live in this, and dwell in lover’s eyes.’”
“You live in this,” Justin whispered, “and dwell in lover’s eyes.” His nose touched Dan’s. “Dwell in lover’s eyes.”
Dan’s eyes opened. Justin was so close, all Dan could see was blue.
“What’s going on with Erik?” Trevor asked, wandering into Ashley’s room. “Does he have a hot date?”
“We’re going out to dinner,” Ashley said. “Do you think I should wear red? I think Joey likes me in red.”
“Erik’s going out with you and Joey?” Trevor asked.
“JC and Lance are coming, too,” Ashley said.
Trevor stared at him. “You’re going out to dinner with *NSYNC?”
“Justin and Chris won’t be there,” Ashley said. “Have you talked to Chris?” he asked, giving Trevor a concerned glance between helpless stares at his closet.
“He hasn’t called me back. Don’t wear that, you always wear that.”
“I need more clothes,” Ashley said. “Erik!”
“Borrow something from Dan,” Trevor said.
“He’s not here,” Ashley said. “Erik-Michael!”
“He won’t care,” Trevor said.
“What?” Erik asked, jogging in. “Do I look hot or stupid? I have to look cool, I have to look Hollywood.”
“Hollywood?” Trevor repeated.
“We’re going out with JC, Lance, and Joey,” Erik said. “How do I look?”
“You’re wearing yellow,” Trevor said. “Don’t wear yellow.”
Erik cursed and started to undress.
“This?” Ashley asked, holding out a hanger. “This?” he asked, choosing another one.
“Hey, that works,” Erik said, snatching it from him.
“I meant for me,” Ashley said.
“Too late,” Erik said. “You know, Joey’s from New York, too,” he said, pulling the shirt on over his head.
“Yeah, I think that everyone in this room is aware of that,” Trevor said.
“Are you okay?” Ashley asked.
“No, I’m pissed and jealous,” Trevor said. “I never went to dinner with *NSYNC!”
“Maybe they don’t like to eat out with Chris,” Erik said. “Maybe he’s embarrassing in public.”
“Of course he’s embarrassing in public,” Trevor said. “I still should have gotten to eat with him and his friends, if you are.”
Ashley laughed. “Are you serious?”
“He causes a new scene every five minutes,” Trevor said. “One of his favorite games is ‘Torment the Waiter.’ Last time we ate out, the people at the table behind us left in the middle of their meal, and the girl at the table beside us laughed so hard she coughed up chocolate mousse.”
“Oh my god,” Erik said. “I’m so glad he’s not coming with us tonight.” The doorbell chimed from downstairs. “Shit! I’m not ready!” he exclaimed, running from the room.
“Can you get that?” Ashley asked Trevor.
“I want a complete report on everything that happens tonight,” Trevor said. “Take notes,” he added, and jogged downstairs. Checking the peephole, he confirmed that yes, the last three letters of *NSYNC were standing outside his front door. If - - when - - if he got Chris back, he was going to make Chris drag him around the other guys more often.
He opened the door.
“Hey,” Joey said. “Can we come in?”
“Yes,” Trevor said, backing up. “Sure. Ashley and Erik are almost ready.”
“Thanks.” They came in, closing the door.
“How’ve you been?” JC asked.
“Okay,” Trevor said. “How about you guys?”
“Good,” Joey said.
“Okay,” Lance said.
“Hungry,” JC said.
“How’s Chris?” If anyone would know, they would.
“He’s okay,” Lance said.
That wasn’t nearly enough information, but Trevor didn’t want to come across like the pathetic ex. “How’s Justin?”
“He’s feeling better,” Joey said.
Laughter caught Trevor’s attention; he turned to see Jacob and Brian coming from the direction of the pool. They were in bathing suits; Jacob had a towel in one hand, while Brian had his around his shoulders. “Hi,” Brian said brightly, catching sight of the four of them, walking over.
“Oh,” Jacob said, noticing them. He followed Brian a few steps, but didn’t get too close. “This is great.”
“You all look good,” Brian said with a smile, touching Lance’s lapel.
“Thanks,” Lance said. He smiled back. “You, too.”
Brian looked down at himself and laughed. “It’s the latest fashion.” He adjusted his towel, backing up to Jacob. “Going somewhere special?”
“They’re going to dinner with Erik and Ashley,” Trevor said.
“Really,” Brian said, his smile fading.
Trevor wanted to rewind time. Apparently, he’d be having his own foot for dinner.
The ensuing awkward silence was broken by the sound of feet on the stairs. “Hi.” Ashley practically bounced towards them, smiling and bright-eyed. He seemed to have eyes only for Joey, but at the last second he noticed Brian, and visibly came back down to earth. “Hey,” he said, his voice losing its romantic illusions and taking on a more casual tone. “How’s it going?”
“We’re fine,” Joey said. “JC’s starving.”
“Erik will be down in a minute,” Ashley said. “Did you all come here together?”
“Lance drove us,” Joey said. “We’ve been at my place all day, and we decided to get out of the house.”
“Were you all waiting for me?” Erik asked, coming down the stairs. “I hope it was worth it.”
“It always is,” JC said. “Now come on and get in the car before I starve to death at your front door.”
Erik laughed, picking up the pace. “I’m coming, I’m coming.”
“I’ve heard that before,” JC said, opening the door. Erik laughed, surprised, following him outside.
“Come on, pretty,” Joey said, guiding Ashley out of the house.
“You all be sure and have a good time,” Brian said.
“We will,” Lance said, following them, and the door closed.
“Shouldn’t Nick and Howie be with them?” Jacob asked Brian.
“JC and Howie had a fight,” Brian said. He was still looking at the door, and he wasn’t smiling.
“Really,” Jacob said.
Trevor didn’t like this.
It didn’t look like Brian did, either.
“What about pizza?” Justin asked, walking down the stairs.
“I like pizza,” Dan said, following.
“Pizza and a movie,” Justin said.
“I like movies,” Dan said.
Justin turned to face him at the foot of the stairs. “Pizza, movies, and smacking turtles with bats.”
“I like smacking turtles with bats,” Dan said agreeably.
Justin laughed. “How about just pizza and a movie, and we save the turtles for later?”
“We can smack the turtles later,” Dan said. “We’ll do whatever you want to do.”
“Whatever I want to do?” Justin asked, grinning.
“Whatever you want to do,” Dan said, poking him.
Justin twisted away, then poked back. “I want to watch a really bad movie. The most boring thing on TV.”
“There will be a lot to choose from,” Dan said.
“And.” He poked Dan again. “Tell me how you love me. Count the ways.”
“If I’m the evening’s entertainment, you’re paying for the pizza,” Dan said.
Justin studied him with feigned suspicion. “Okay, but make it good.”
“I’ll make it damned good,” Dan said. “But I’m leaving off the ending.”
Justin frowned. “The ending’s the eternal love part,” Justin said.
“The ending’s the pro-suicide part,” Dan said. “I’m not saying it.”
“You’re serious,” Justin said, surprised.
“One hundred percent,” Dan said. In this case, with Justin as his audience, considering Justin’s bouts of instability, he wasn’t going to encourage any romanticizing of the concept of love only growing stronger after death. Justin was too tolerant of the idea of hurting himself to prove his love for AJ, as it was.
“Okay,” Justin said. “If you’re that serious about it, leave off the end. But I get more pizza than you do.”
“You drive a hard bargain,” Dan said, pulling Justin into his arms, turning to get Justin’s back against his chest. “‘How do I love thee?’” he asked, wrapping his arms around Justin’s waist as Justin relaxed against him. “‘Let me count the ways.’”
Erik and Ashley weren’t used to entering restaurants through the kitchen or immediately being ushered to a secret VIP area, but JC, Lance, and Joey seemed to take it for granted.
JC ordered for himself, Lance, Joey, and Erik without looking at a menu; Joey ordered for Ashley. Erik wasn’t used to people ordering for him, but JC seemed to know what he was doing.
Joey and Ashley started talking about the upcoming Inhibitor movie; JC and Lance started talking about a mutual friend. Since Erik was between Ashley and JC, he could have joined either conversation. He chose Joey and Ashley’s, since he couldn’t believe that Ashley thought that the Inhibitor should have stayed with the gray cape and red tights.
It was great to see JC with Lance and Joey. It reminded Erik that as close as he and his own group were, there were even tighter levels of friendship they could get to. They had their own weird patterns of interaction. Sometimes Joey talked right over JC like he wasn’t even there; JC either forged ahead until Joey stopped, or gave up and let Joey take over the conversation. Lance did more listening than talking, but whenever he spoke, JC gazed at him with complete attention. The three of them finished each other’s stories and followed each other’s thoughts like they’d been together so long, they knew where each other’s brains were going before they even got there.
It took Erik a minute to realize that they didn’t worship JC like he did. They respected JC, they liked JC, but he was just another one of them, an equal member of the group. Maybe that was why JC didn’t realize how amazing and above everyone else he was, because his own best friends didn’t see it.
It disappointed him, but maybe they were used to JC. But, if they didn’t see JC’s utter brilliance, then they were just regular people. With that realization, Erik relaxed. They were JC’s friends, he was JC’s friend, no big deal.
JC inhaled his food, as usual. “Do you want some of mine?” Erik offered, when JC was done.
“I don’t want to take your food,” JC said.
“Go ahead,” Erik said. “It’s great, but I just ate a late lunch.”
“You did?” JC asked. “Did you have lunch with Howie?”
“He took me to Morton’s,” Erik said with a grin.
“He did?” Joey asked.
“How’d you like it?” JC asked with a curious smile, taking some of the food from his plate.
“It was the best lunch I’ve ever had,” Erik said.
“What’s Morton’s?” Ashley asked.
“Very expensive,” Lance said.
“Very topless,” Joey said.
“They were like Amazons,” Erik said. “I don’t even remember what I ate.”
“Sounds exactly like Howie’s kind of place,” Lance said.
Was that sarcasm? “He said Nick and AJ go there,” Erik said. “I think he wanted to watch me drool and make a fool of myself.”
“Nick loves it there,” JC said. “Doesn’t he?” he asked Joey.
“It’s a great place,” Joey said.
“So,” Lance said. “You spent your afternoon with Howie and your evening with JC. You’re getting around.”
Erik didn’t like the way Lance was looking at him. “I’m fun to have around.”
“Howie and I enjoy Erik-Michael’s company,” JC said.
“I can see why,” Lance said, in a tone of voice that suggested otherwise. The waitress came in, bringing coffee and tea. As she left, JC set down his fork and said, “Honey, could you-”
Erik passed him the sugar. “Are we ordering dessert?”
“I thought you weren’t eating,” Lance said.
“Erik-Michael always has room for dessert,” JC said with a smile.
“That’s mature,” Lance said.
Erik was rapidly discovering that he hated Lance. He hated Lance, he hated Nick, Justin was a lunatic, AJ was a violent freak - - he wasn’t too fond of JC and Howie’s friends. Chris was weird, Kevin had turned Trevor into an errand boy, Joey was using Ashley for sex - - at least Brian was okay.
“What are we doing after this?” JC asked.
“I think Ashley needs to go to bed,” Joey said.
“We can go out,” Ashley said. His face was red, and he seemed to be having trouble focusing his eyes. It couldn’t have been a coincidence that Joey’s hand was under the table.
“I have to get home early,” Lance said.
“So drop us off somewhere,” Erik said. If Lance was going to act stupid, he could act stupid back.
“We can go back to your place and hang out for a while,” JC said to Erik. “Maybe you should go home,” he said to Joey. “Did you tell Nick how late you’d be out?”
“He’ll be okay,” Joey said. The expression on JC’s face indicated, at least to Erik, that JC wasn’t happy with that answer, but he didn’t press the issue.
“They finished remodeling Tech’s,” Lance said to JC. “You and Howie should go. The whole upstairs is different. Ted Richmond designed it.”
“Howie loves his stuff,” JC said.
“Didn’t he do that place on Tenth that Howie likes so much?” Erik asked.
“Yes,” JC and Lance said. Lance was giving him the oddest look. Erik was tempted to give Lance a weird look back, but that wouldn’t have been “mature” of him.
“Joey,” Ashley whispered.
“Sorry,” Joey said. “Dropped my napkin.” Joey seemed unapologetic, but JC’s eyes were narrowing. Apparently, JC wasn’t all that pleased with Joey being all over Ashley. Because they were in public? Because Joey had a boyfriend? Hell, JC had a boyfriend, and that didn’t stop JC from inviting Erik into his bed. Sure, Howie and JC had an agreement where Erik was concerned, but it kept sounding like Nick and Joey had an arrangement, too. An arrangement where Joey openly fucked Ashley, and Nick fucked Ashley sometimes in front of Joey and sometimes behind Joey’s back, and only Joey and Ashley looked bad, and no one thought any less of Nick.
How convenient for Nick.
Erik really didn’t like JC and Howie’s friends.
Dan didn’t mind sharing Justin’s personal space. He didn’t mind sitting between Justin’s thighs or leaning back into Justin’s chest. He didn’t mind Justin flipping channels past shows he might have liked to see, or muttering in his ear, or chewing by his ear, or absentmindedly resting a hand on him. But he did mind Justin stealing his pepperoni.
He slapped Justin’s hand. “Get your own food.”
Chris liked his new haircut. He hoped that Brian would like it. He was sure that Trevor would think it was sexy. If Brian liked it, he’d keep doing it. His CK tattoo was more prominent. He remembered how fascinated Brian had been, when he’d first gotten the tattoo. Brian had almost been obsessed with it. Licking it, kissing it, sucking it, gazing at it. Brian had asked him to take his pants down countless times just so that Brian could see it, caress it. The gentle stroke of Brian’s fingers-
“You’re not eating.”
“Have you ever been in love?” Chris asked Kevin.
“Yes,” Kevin said.
“What?”
“Eat,” Kevin said.
Chris ate. Kevin had been in love? With a woman? With AJ and/or Howie and/or Nick? With Brian? With Justin? Kevin had been in love. Was he still in love now?
Kevin was chewing calmly.
“Were you loved back?” Chris asked.
“Yes,” Kevin said.
Oh, god, how heavenly that must have felt. To love someone, and be loved back. It was one of the simplest and most miraculous occurrences anyone could experience in a lifetime. “Is this relationship still ongoing?” Chris asked. “Now?”
Kevin smiled at him. “I don’t stop loving. And no one could stop loving me.”
Lance was driving, since it was his SUV, and JC was in the passenger seat. Erik was in the backseat, and he was glad that it was a nice, comfortable, wide seat, because Joey and Ashley were back there with him, and they were making out.
Lance and JC were carrying on a conversation like nothing was happening. Every few minutes, JC would manage to bring up Nick and ask Joey something. Joey would take his tongue out of Ashley’s mouth, answer JC’s question, and go back for more. Ashley was trying to be quiet and discreet, but Joey wasn’t, and Erik wanted to get out and walk home.
If he heard Joey call Ashley “pretty” one more time, he was going to lose his dinner all over Lance’s upholstery.
Joey treated Ashley like Ashley was a sex toy, not an actual person. He also kind of treated Ashley like a girl. Ashley was in love, and that was great; Ashley could make his own decisions and lead his own life, and Erik was all for that. But Joey was an asshole. A great guy to hang out with, a lot of fun, probably a terrific friend, but a shitty boyfriend. Erik didn’t know why Ashley was interested in either one of them, but it sure looked like Nick and Joey deserved each other.
When Lance parked in the driveway, they all went into the house. Erik expected Joey to drag Ashley upstairs, but instead Ashley pulled Joey into the living room with the rest of them. Ashley started asking serious questions about Justin and about AJ. Erik had a lot of the same questions. He had to wonder if Ashley cared more about Justin than Joey did, since Ashley was sincerely concerned, and Joey started kissing Ashley’s neck five minutes into the conversation.
Erik tried to keep that topic rolling, then tried to get any topic rolling, but Joey had his tongue down Ashley’s throat and was pushing up Ashley’s shirt. JC seemed really distracted, which left Erik alone in conversation with Lance, which wasn’t exactly where he wanted to be.
Ashley took a break from licking Joey’s tonsils to say, “Joey, we, maybe we-”
“Drive me home,” Joey said. “I need a ride.”
“I can take you,” Lance said.
“I don’t think he means that kind of ride,” Erik said. Ashley turned red, which made him feel bad for having said it, but Joey just chuckled and whispered something into Ashley’s ear that made Ashley really, really red.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Joey said to JC and Lance, getting up and pulling Ashley along by the hand.
“Bye,” Erik said. “What was that, dinner and a show?” he asked JC.
JC laughed, rubbing his forearm. “That’s just Joey.”
“Shouldn’t he do that with his boyfriend?” Erik asked. “Isn’t that what boyfriends are for? Why does he even pretend to be committed to Nick if he’s out with everybody else?”
“It’s good to know that you support the sanctity of monogamy,” Lance said.
“I just don’t think that people should bother to maintain a relationship if they’re into other people,” Erik said.
“Relationships can be hard work,” JC said, his hand slipping from Erik’s arm as he sat back with a sigh. “You love someone, you think he loves you, you think you can trust him, you give him everything you have…”
“Do I need to tell you fifty-eight more times that Howie loves you and misses you?” Erik asked.
“Let’s not talk about that now,” JC said.
“You keep saying that,” Erik said, “but when are you going to talk about it? He’s in love with you, JC, and he really misses you. He’s been hanging out with me but I’m a crappy replacement for you, believe me. No one can give Howie what you do. You’re perfect for him.”
Lance checked his watch. “JC-”
“If you have to go, I can take JC home later,” Erik said, trying to sound helpful.
“I have to get something from your house,” Lance said to JC.
“We can go in a minute,” JC said.
“I can’t get home too late,” Lance said. “I have calls to make.”
“Now?” Erik asked. “It’s after midnight.”
“It’s almost nine in Moscow,” Lance said.
Erik had to close his eyes for a second. “You’re kidding me.”
“Can we go?” Lance asked JC.
Erik was going to have to double-check with Trevor, because he’d always thought that Lance was the nice one, but maybe he had his facts wrong.
“Okay,” JC said. “You go ahead to the car, and I’ll be there in two minutes.”
Lance got up, and for a second Erik expected him to walk right out, but then Lance looked at him and said, “It was good to see you again.”
“Yeah,” Erik said, now completely baffled but playing along. “You, too.”
“Good night,” Lance said.
“Good night,” Erik said, watching Lance leave. “Is he mental?” he whispered to JC. “He got more and more rude all night, and now he’s polite?”
“He didn’t mean it,” JC said. “He’s having a very personal problem, and-”
“Crabs?” Erik asked.
JC laughed. “A romantic problem.”
That didn’t necessarily rule out crabs, but Erik let it go. “So he’s in a bad mood.”
“One of his old boyfriends showed up unexpectedly, and he’s not sure how to handle it. It’s made him a little…”
“Bitchy,” Erik said.
“Lance is the nicest guy I know,” JC said. “He’s really a good person. You just caught him on an off day.”
JC genuinely seemed to believe it, so Erik decided to give Lance another chance. “Did I catch Joey on a horny day?” Erik asked.
“No, he’s always like that,” JC said. He rubbed his thumb over Erik’s cheek. “I have to go.”
“Okay. Call Howie.”
JC kissed his cheek. “Good-bye, honey.”
“Thanks for dinner,” Erik said.
The fleeting press of JC’s lips on his, and Erik was alone. He sighed, tipping over and rolling onto his back. “I’m so fucking horny.” It wasn’t fair, damn it. Joey got to take Ashley home; he should get to go with JC.
“How was dinner?” Jacob climbed over the back of the sofa and sat by his feet. “Besides the horny part, I don’t want to hear about that.”
“JC’s awesome, Lance was having a bad day, and Joey couldn’t keep his hands off of Ashley. The food was great.”
“Where’s Ashley now?”
“He took Joey home.”
“Shit.” Jacob rested a hand on Erik’s ankle, thinking.
“What?” Erik asked, in case he could help.
“I wanted to be able to tell Brian that Joey went home to Nick.”
“Sorry.” It was weird, and great, how their friendships were all interwoven, but it also kind of sucked, in odd ways. It shouldn’t matter to Brian where Ashley spent his nights, and Jacob couldn’t be held accountable for what happened to Nick’s sex life; except now it did, and Jacob was going to feel responsible for Ashley and to Brian regardless of any logic.
“You had a good time?” Jacob asked.
“A great time,” Erik said. He liked being with JC, and he liked learning more about JC’s life. And despite the awkward and uncomfortable moments, he liked seeing Ashley happy, and Ashley was definitely in love with Joey.
“JC’s not bad,” Jacob said.
“Be careful,” Erik said. “Someone might think you like *NSYNC.”
“I like Chris,” Jacob said. “JC’s okay. The other three of them should dance right off of the face of the Earth.”
Erik grinned. “Lance had to go home and call Moscow.”
“He should go to the moon,” Jacob said. “I’d be happy to send him straight out into space. He can take Joey and Justin with him.”
It wasn’t exactly nice of Jacob to want to banish them from the planet, but Erik couldn’t blame him. It hadn’t exactly been nice of Justin to strangle Jacob, either. “You having a good night hanging out here?”
“Not as glamorous as dining with the Basstronaut, but it’s been fun,” Jacob said. “Brian’s telling Trevor all of his old stories about the early days.”
“Backstreet stories?”
“Trevor’s the perfect audience for it,” Jacob said. “I was on my way to get them something to drink. You want anything?”
Erik sat up, intrigued. “Does Brian have good stories about Howie?”
“A hundred of them,” Jacob said, getting up. “If you’re interested, he’s in my room. You’d better hurry. When I left, he was telling the one about Howie and AJ and the car wash.”
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