"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 fifty-five

“Damn, you’re heavy,” Joey said, grunting as Nick rolled across him to his other side.

“Get used to it,” Nick said, reaching back for the remote he’d dropped. “I’m going to be on top of you a lot. I can’t - - fuck it - - give me that.”

“My house, my TV, my channels,” Joey said, holding the remote off to one side.

“The hell,” Nick said. “Give me that!” The doorbell rang. “You expecting somebody?”

“No,” Joey said.

“Then,” Nick lunged and snatched the remote from his hand, “get the door.”

Joey grabbed the remote back and got up.

“Hey!” Nick protested.

“You want it, come and get it,” Joey said, on his way to the door. He hoped it wasn’t Ashley. Or JC. Maybe-

“Hey,” AJ said, putting one hand on the doorframe. “You got a minute? I need a favor.”

Lunch was over, they were clearing the table, and Jacob wanted to get the fuck out.

Five more minutes. He could take it for five more minutes. Five more minutes of this, and then he could take Brian out of the sick fucker’s house and never, ever, ever fucking look back.

“What’d you say?” Brian asked Lance, pausing with a peculiar, small smile on his face. Jacob paid attention.

“Hand me that plate,” Lance said, with a puzzled smile.

“Yeah, but it was about three octaves lower,” Brian said.

“Hand me that plate,” Lance said again, but this time his voice was so deep it came out of the floor somewhere.

Brian laughed. “I love that. That sounds so great, guys must be so hot for you.”

“It comes in handy,” Lance admitted with a grin.

“Say it in Russian,” Brian said. Jacob wanted to hurl the forks in his hand directly at Lance’s face. Lance demonstrated his fabulous ability to speak a second language, and Brian acted all impressed, and Jacob wondered if it was worth mentioning that several billion other people on the planet were bilingual.

“Jacob can sing in Italian,” Brian said.

“What?” Lance asked, surprised. “Really? You can sing?”

Brian cracked up.

Jacob decided to aim for the soft tissue areas first.

“Didn’t you record one of your singles in Italian?” Lance asked Brian, and the conversation continued.

Jacob loved Brian. He decided not to stab Lance in front of Brian. But one more comment from that sick fucker…

Joey let AJ into his house on auto-pilot. If AJ wanted sex, he’d kick Nick out in a heartbeat. No matter what AJ wanted, no matter what the favor was, he’d do it. Even if he’d possessed the ability to say no to AJ, he couldn’t afford to turn AJ down now, not with Sonic Boom on the loose.

“Nick’s here?” AJ asked.

“Yeah, he’s in there,” Joey said, gesturing, wishing that AJ would take off his sunglasses. AJ looked fucking fabulous with them on, he always did, but AJ’s eyes were amazing. Powerful. Joey couldn’t see enough of them.

“Then you can both help me out,” AJ said, leading the way into the next room. “Nick.”

“Hey,” Nick said. “What’s up?”

“Need a favor,” AJ said, sitting beside Nick on the couch. Denied, Joey sat on the armchair.

“You want us to take Timberlake off your hands?” Nick asked. “You got tired of him already?” Nick glanced at Joey, then casually lowered AJ’s sunglasses.

“No, Justin’s taken care of,” AJ said, taking his sunglasses off, distracted. “I need you to give something to Danny for me.”

“Dan?” Joey asked. The only thing he wanted to deliver to Sonic fucking Boom was a quick trip to hell.

“Yeah.” AJ pulled something from his jacket pocket, tossing it to Joey. “Tell him to stay the fuck away from Justin. My lover doesn’t wear another man’s gifts.”

Justin’s bracelet. The last few times Joey had seen him, Justin had almost seemed dependent on it. “How’s Justin doing?”

“He’s fine,” AJ said. “He can handle life a lot better than he thinks he can.”

“We’ll take care of it,” Nick said.

“Thanks,” AJ said, rising. “Brian will know if he’s home.”

Joey got up, following AJ back to the front door. “I heard you put on a pretty good show yesterday, getting rid of Dan.”

“I always do,” AJ said, turning to face him. AJ’s fingers drifted across Joey’s chest. “You taking care of Ashley’s needs?”

“A naval fleet couldn’t take care of Ashley’s needs,” Joey said.

AJ smiled. “The Joey I know would rise to that occasion.” One lingering press of lips to lips, and Joey wanted more, but AJ was gone.

Joey looked down at the bracelet in his hand.

“You know why he came over here and asked us to do this,” Nick said, strolling over to him.

Joey knew.

“You think you can handle it?” Nick asked.

Joey could only answer with the truth. The truth that he’d learned about himself, the truth that he’d learned at AJ’s hands. “I can handle anything.”

It was his fault. He’d failed Justin. He’d betrayed Justin. He’d promised to help Justin, promised to protect. He’d convinced Justin to trust him, and then he’d turned traitor.

He could blame AJ. It was AJ who abused Justin, AJ who’d set up the rules of this game, AJ who’d drawn him into it, AJ who’d assaulted his friends. But he was the one who’d tried to break the rules and get away with it.

He could blame his friends. They’d been self-centered, only worried about themselves, telling him to take care of AJ without having the foggiest idea of what that really meant. They’d burdened him when he was already burdened; frustrated him when he was already frustrated; been selfish and demanding when he’d already been stretched to his limits. And while he’d been doing his best for them, they’d doubted and insinuated and accused. But he was the one who’d agreed to play AJ’s game, and he’d been the one who’d made the decision not to play anymore. He couldn’t blame them for not realizing what was going on, when he’d done his best to keep it to himself.

He’d betrayed Justin. He’d promised to be there for Justin, promised to help, promised to defend. Now Justin was trapped in AJ’s world again, trapped with someone cruel and vicious and manipulative and abusive and downright sociopathic, and where was Dan? Locked out of that world, unable to get in to Justin, unable to lend any support.

He’d let AJ take Justin back.

He’d let AJ shut him out.

He’d let AJ get to him.

He should have been stronger. He should have been smarter. He should have kept his perspective. But he’d been emotional and petty and short-sighted, and he’d underestimated AJ, and it had cost him Justin.

What was it costing Justin?

At that moment, what price was Justin paying for Dan’s betrayal?

“Please,” Justin whispered, shivering, clutching at Kevin’s shirt and rubbing Kevin’s neck and stroking Kevin’s hair. “Please, Kevin, please…”

With an aroused sound, Kevin licked Justin’s nipple, kissing his skin where it was revealed by the tears in his shirt. “Your body is starting to look grown up,” Kevin murmured, sucking softly. “I like it.”

On his back on the kitchen table, his ass at the edge, Kevin standing between his thighs, Justin vibrated from the inside out at Kevin’s compliment. “I want to look good for you,” he said. “I’ve been working out, I-”

“I can tell,” Kevin said, pushing Justin’s shirt up and rubbing his abs with an appreciative hand. Kevin glanced up at him, making eye contact with a brief smile, and Justin’s heart stopped. “Fuck yourself for me.”

Swallowing, eager to do anything that Kevin wanted, Justin spread his thighs further, planting his heels on the table edge, lowering his hand. Watching Kevin, he slid one finger in.

“Three,” Kevin said, and kissed his stomach.

Justin shifted his hand, coming in at another angle, and pushed in three fingers, slowly working them in and out. He was still open enough from Kevin that his body didn’t resist the invasion, and the sense of penetration combined with the feel of Kevin’s tongue licking over his ribcage made him moan, dick aching. He hadn’t come yet, he wasn’t allowed, and the pressure to explode was intense. “Kevin… Please…” He licked his lips, moaning, as Kevin’s mouth kissed lower. “I love you, please…”

“Mmm…” Kevin kissed down Justin’s forearm, licked over Justin’s wrist. “Fuck yourself deeper,” he murmured, kissing the back of Justin’s hand. “Yeah, that’s it, just like that.”

Pushing his fingers deeper, lifting his hips and groaning as the need for orgasm twisted through his body, Justin ran the fingers of his other hand through Kevin’s hair. Even as his eyes fell shut, he could still see the thick black strands in his mind, felt them-

Kevin kissed his dick.

Justin’s eyes flew open as a shocked cry burst from his throat. His body contracted violently around a fierce spasm of need.

Slowly, deliberately, Kevin licked over the shaft.

“Please, please, Kevin, please, oh, god, please,” Justin begged, his voice desperate, his body shuddering.

“Don’t stop,” Kevin said, running his fingers over Justin’s knuckles to push Justin in deeper, sucking gently at Justin’s balls.

“Oh god, oh god, oh god,” Justin panted, staring at the ceiling and willing himself not to come. “Oh god, oh god,” Kevin was kissing his throbbing erection, “oh god, oh god,” he scratched at his own chest as if pain could distract from ecstasy, “oh god, oh god,” Kevin was sucking his dick, he could do this, Kevin was sucking his dick, he could do this he could do this, but Kevin was sucking his dick.

“Not bad,” Kevin said, raising his head and tugging Justin’s fingers out.

Justin’s hand fell to one side, limply, as he tried to recover from having had Kevin’s mouth on his dick. He was panting and shivering and moaning and trying so hard not to come, it took him a moment to realize that Kevin was lifting his leg. Then his foot was planted on Kevin’s chest, right by Kevin’s shoulder, and his other thigh was pushed aside, and his gaze focused on Kevin’s long, rigid erection.

Kevin was going to fuck him.

Immediately pulling his leg farther out of the way, Justin groaned, digging his nails into the bend of his knee so he wouldn’t come, his moans growing in volume as his need and desperation increased with every passing second. Kevin was going to fuck him and his entire body was on fire and he was so wracked with intense, trapped ecstasy that he was breathing in crazy patterns.

“Mmm.” Kevin eased into him in slow inches, and Justin cried out in frenzied panic as his body threatened to betray him. His back arched dramatically as need clawed up his spine. “Your ass feels good today.”

“You, Kevin, you feel, oh, please, please, Kevin, god, I can’t, I can’t,” Justin insisted, begging and twisting and tortured. He loved Kevin; Kevin was fucking him and he loved that; Kevin wanted him and he could never deny Kevin the use of his body. But he wasn’t allowed to come, and he was about to come, he could feel it, he could taste his own orgasm, and the only way to keep from coming would be to get away from Kevin, which he couldn’t do. Kevin’s dick was fucking him at a steady, slow pace, pushing deep and undeniable. Justin couldn’t do this, he’d never make it, except he had to make it. He couldn’t risk failure, he had to endure.

Justin couldn’t stop crying out, and he was getting louder and louder, and Kevin was casually rubbing his thigh. Kevin’s hands were on him, Kevin was inside him fucking him, Kevin had come to get him and “Kevin, Kevin, please, please, please…”

Kevin’s hand circled his erection, and Justin’s agonized wail was so loud he almost didn’t hear Kevin’s, “You can come now.” As soon as the words hit his brain, cum hit his chest. Kevin milked out spurt after spurt as Justin’s ecstatic screams filled the kitchen, his entire body jerking. The relief of it was so intense that the satisfaction almost felt better than the orgasm itself. Gasping, sated, Justin gradually stopped trembling.

Blinking his eyes open, pleasure echoing through his body, Justin realized that Kevin’s hips were still, erection lodged deep inside. Lips parted, still panting for air, he gazed up at Kevin, wondering if he’d fucked up somehow, wondering if he might be in trouble. He’d waited the whole time. Hadn’t he? He’d heard Kevin give him permission - - or had he misunderstood? Had Kevin said-

Bracing a hand behind Justin’s head on the table, Kevin leaned down and kissed him. Thoroughly. Kissing back hungrily, Justin slid his hands down the back of Kevin’s opened pants, cupping Kevin’s ass, wanting Kevin deeper. He hadn’t had this in too long, he’d needed this, Kevin, Kevin’s body, Kevin fucking him.

No one else made him feel like this.

Kissing him, giving him what he needed, Kevin gripped his cum-splattered, already ripped mesh shirt and, with a soft grunt, tore it right down the front, exposing Justin’s naked body in its entirety. Moaning, Justin shivered with new arousal as Kevin caressed his flesh. “If you love me,” Kevin whispered, and Justin tried to capture Kevin’s mouth between words, “if you want me,” and Justin whispered heartfelt assurances that he did, “then let me hear it.”

“I love you,” Justin said immediately. “I love you, Kevin, I want you,” he insisted, as Kevin straightened and began to move inside him. “I love you, I, oh, I want you, I’ve never, ah, wanted, oh, god,” Kevin was picking up speed and each thrust shook Justin’s body, “oh, ah, ah, ah, Kevin, yes, I love you, I love you.”

“Is that loud enough?” Kevin asked. “That’s as much as you feel it?”

“I love you, I love you so much, you’re all I think about,” Justin said, crying out as Kevin fucked him harder, rocking him. “I want you, please, oh god, I always want you, Kevin, ah, ah, please, I need you, I love you.” Justin tugged at the front of Kevin’s shirt, wanting Kevin closer, arching as Kevin’s thrusts and the fucking motion built tension in his body. “Ah, uh, Kevin, Kevin-”

“Is that as loud as you can get?” Kevin asked, holding onto his ankle and fucking him faster. “I said let me hear it.”

He gripped Kevin’s hips, wanting to keep Kevin locked within his body forever. Crying out as his blood ran hot, Justin shouted Kevin’s name until it echoed through the house, begged and pleaded and declared his love, louder and more desperate as his own need built.

“I want it all.” Kevin drove into him relentlessly, rocking the table. “Give me everything.”

Justin would give Kevin anything, would deny him nothing. Kevin wanted to hear Justin’s love, so Justin gave all that he had, pouring his emotions into his voice, letting it all out. Wordless cries articulated everything that Justin had kept deep inside since Kevin had left him. All of the confusion, frustration, heartache, pain, longing, desire, hope, passion, and devotion came pouring out of him. His voice told of the fierce pleasure Kevin had forced upon his body, a burning need that had permeated every part of his mind, and a powerful love that had consumed his soul.

He was screaming before he came, and when orgasm hit his body spasmed as pleasure spiked through him, flooding his brain with pure ecstasy.

As Justin caught his breath, he looked up at Kevin. There was a look of satisfaction on Kevin’s face. Maybe he’d done a good job, maybe today he’d be able to prove his love to Kevin beyond a shadow of a doubt, and Kevin would be happy.

“What’s all of this?” Kevin asked, running his fingers through the streaks of jism on Justin’s chest. “Hasn’t AJ been taking care of you?”

“No one makes me come like you do,” Justin said. His throat felt raw. “I love you so much, Kevin, I could never respond to anyone the way I do for you.”

Kevin kissed him, lowering his legs. “Let’s see what else this house has to offer.”

As the laughter died down, and Jacob’s stomach knotted around the lunch he’d just ingested, Brian glanced at a clock. “We’d better go,” he said to Lance. “We really just stopped by to pick up the clothes.”

“Okay,” Lance said. “Well, then, let’s get the box, before you leave without it.”

As the three of them walked to Lance’s room, Jacob took slow, deep, even, calming breaths. They were about to leave. They were about to leave. Shit, he hated Lance’s goddamned fucking bedroom. They were about to leave. They were about to leave. They’d just get the box and go. They’d just-

Picking up the box and stepping away from the bed, Brian turned his head, like he’d caught a glimpse of something from the corner of his eye. “What is that?” he asked, and stepped towards Lance’s open closet. “What is… Lance, that is the shiniest shirt I’ve ever seen.”

They were about to leave, they were about to leave, they’d just walk out of the room and leave and house and drive away, they-

“I just got that,” Lance said. “I bought it so when JC borrows something, he’ll be distracted by that and not take something I actually want to keep.”

Brian laughed, amused by the tale of selfish, manipulative Lance and materialistic JC. “What about this?” he asked, plucking at a shimmery pair of pants. “Are these for JC, too?”

“No,” Lance said with a grin, “those are for me.”

“What all did you buy?” Brian asked, looking around. “I don’t recognize half of this.”

No! They were not getting sucked back in, they were leaving. “Brian,” Jacob said, “if Lance takes the time to show us all of his new gay apparel, we’ll be here all night, and he probably has other things to do.”

“You’re right,” Brian said, flashing him a smile. “Okay, let’s go.”

“It was great to see you,” Lance said, following them to the front door.

“Thanks for the shoes,” Brian said. “And thanks for lunch.”

“Any time,” Lance said. Brian shifted the box to one side, and Lance hugged him, leaving a kiss on Brian’s cheek that made Jacob grind his teeth. “I’ll see you later.”

“Bye,” Jacob said, herding Brian out the door. Turning back as Brian walked on, Jacob met Lance’s eyes, opening his mouth to give one parting-

“Fuck you,” Lance said, and closed the door in his face.

The carpet was white and luxuriously soft. Justin rubbed his forehead into it, moaning and writhing and pulling on his dick as Kevin kissed his back and slowly, thoroughly fucked him senseless.

As Brian started the car, Jacob got in and told himself to relax. He was alone with Brian. They’d left Lance, they were about to drive away, nothing had happened. Lance hadn’t jumped Brian. Lance hadn’t told Brian about…anything. He swallowed, trying to unclench his muscles. The sick fucker.

“Thank you,” Brian said. Loving fingers trailed over Jacob’s hand; Jacob met Brian’s tender gaze. “Thank you for doing this for me.”

“It was lunch,” Jacob said, trying to play it off. It had been torture for him, but he didn’t want Brian to know how bad it had been. He especially didn’t want Brian to know why. It was over now, it was done, they’d made it out alive. He could relax now. Why couldn’t he relax?

“No, it was more than that,” Brian said. “You can’t stand Lance, and you stayed anyway, for me.”

“I don’t think that your plan to make him see why we’re friends worked,” Jacob said.

“That’s okay,” Brian said, running gentle fingers along Jacob’s hairline and smiling. Warmth, gentle calm, slowly filtered in through Brian’s touch. “I got to spend time with two of my closest friends, and you didn’t fight with each other. I’d call it a success.” He leaned in, and his embrace was perfect. “Thank you.”

God. Jacob closed his eyes, holding onto Brian. Brian, Brian’s embrace, it felt so good, it felt so right… Love pounded through Jacob’s chest. He’d lunch with his mortal enemy for Brian. He’d do anything for Brian. His hand was on Brian’s back, and he wanted to stroke, wanted to explore further, wanted to-

Tap, tap, tap.

Jacob opened his eyes. Over Brian’s shoulder, through the window, he saw Lance. No, no, no-

Pulling back, turning away from Jacob, Brian lowered the window. “Hey,” he said, and his tone was warm enough to make Jacob hurt.

“Am I interrupting anything?” Lance asked with a grin, gaze flashing back towards Jacob. Damn him, that bastard, that sick sick fucking-

Brian laughed. “What’s up?”

“I forgot to tell you, Diana’s going to call you about an investment deal.”

“Yeah?” Brian sounded interested. “You think it’s something I should look into?”

“It sounded pretty good to me,” Lance said. “Give it some thought.”

“Okay, I will,” Brian said. “Thanks.”

“No problem.” Lance smiled. “See you.”

“Bye,” Brian said. Lance walked back to the house.

“An investment deal?” Jacob asked. The pompous fucker.

“Guys like Lance and Howie, they always know where the money’s flowing in,” Brian said, backing down the driveway. “I don’t like to play with my money too much, because I wouldn’t want to lose it in a bad deal. But they usually know what they’re talking about.”

Of course Lance had just happened to bring it up in front of Jacob, who didn’t have the money to invest, who hadn’t bought Brian fancy-ass designer shoes, who-

“You want to go home?” Brian asked, braking for a stop sign.

“Yeah,” Jacob said, and told himself to stop getting tense before he threw up. “Let’s go home.”

Erik didn’t know the difference between a shop and a boutique, but he did know that at the third flower place they went to, Howie’s smile showed the right number of teeth. Whatever made Howie happy, worked for Erik, so he helped Howie decide how many arrangements to buy.

They chose a number that made the saleswoman hyperventilate.

After the flowers were taken care of, they went shopping for clothes. Pants. Shirts. Jackets. Shoes. Hats. Scarves. Belts.

Erik had never shopped for another guy before. He wasn’t sure how to do it. Then Howie suggested that he look for something that JC might like, that Erik would enjoy peeling off of him.

With that in mind, Erik suddenly discovered entire racks of ideal outfits.

Howie had him try on a few things, to see how they’d look together. When he put the clothes on, and stepped in front of Howie, it was almost surreal, the way Howie looked at him. Howie’s gaze focused in on him narrowly, on a point like the center of his chest, and then as Howie’s focus spread outward again, he could almost swear that Howie didn’t see him at all. Howie was looking at JC, and judging how the outfit looked on JC. Except for being male, and a similar height, Erik didn’t resemble JC at all, but Howie looked at him, and adjusted the hang of the clothes, just like he was JC.

Erik wondered how Howie could shift reality like that. It was cool, but almost spooky.

“Are you doing that deliberately?” he asked.

“Doing what?” Howie asked, tugging on his cuffs to check the length of the sleeves.

“Seeing JC instead of me.”

“Am I?” Howie asked, unbuttoning the top button and easing the collar apart to expose a slice of chest.

“You are,” Erik said.

“Hmm.” Howie stepped back, surveying him. “Turn around.”

Erik turned in a circle. Either he was imagining things, or, “Why are you acting like you don’t know what I’m talking about?”

“Erik-Michael, I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Howie plucked a black scarf from the rack and draped it around Erik’s neck. “Lift your chin and smile.”

Erik lifted and smiled.

“Oh, baby, you’re going to be the sexiest man there, wherever you go,” Howie whispered, gazing at Erik and clearly not seeing him at all.

“You’re doing it!” Erik said. “How can you not know what I’m talking about?”

Howie looked startled, then turned red. “Did I say that out loud?”

“How do you do that?” Erik asked, amazed.

“I didn’t know that I was,” Howie said. “I mean, I knew that… I think that I miss JC,” he admitted.

“Yeah, I think so,” Erik said. “Let’s get this done so you can get him back.”

While Nick called Brian, Joey studied the bracelet. It had meant a lot to Justin, and he wondered how Justin felt about giving it back to Dan. Justin had seemed so attached to Dan, so… Dependent? It was better this way, it was better for them to be separated. Justin’s interest in Dan wasn’t good for the game. Some distance would be good.

Some distance between Dan and AJ would be good, too.

Nick hung up. “Sweetness. Brian wants us to help him out. Here’s the plan.”

Overworked, over-stimulated, thoroughly used, and still begging for more as Kevin pounded into him, Justin clawed at the wallpaper, coming against the wall.

Pushing a cart, Erik followed Howie along the aisles. “This is one fancy-ass toy store.”

“It’s big,” Howie said, pushing a cart of his own. “That’s what’s important. We need a wide selection.”

“Why would you want a doll that pisses on itself?” Erik asked. He coughed, catching a glimpse of the price tag. “And who would pay one thirty-five for it?”

Howie stopped walking. “You don’t mean one dollar and thirty-five cents, do you?”

“Uh, no,” Erik said.

Slowly, Howie turned.

They regarded each other.

“It’s not too late to turn back,” Erik said. “There are other stores, and they don’t sell teddy bears for two hundred bucks.”

Howie wavered, but then his expression firmed. “He’s worth it. If I can’t do this for him, then I don’t deserve him.”

“Okay,” Erik said. “It’s your money.” Howie strode on past the rest of the dolls and into the boys’ section, and he followed. Now, here were a few things that he wouldn’t have minded purchasing for himself. He and the guys had to come here. They could use some of this stuff at the house. Hey, was that a - - oh, damn, it came with-

“Do you want to get it?” Howie asked.

“Oh, no,” Erik said, setting the box back down. “I was just looking.”

Howie’s smile knew better. “Put it in the cart.”

Erik was tempted. Then he remembered that the friends he wanted to play with weren’t that friendly anymore. “Maybe another time,” he said, moving on. “Where’s this bear display supposed to be?”

“Down this aisle somewhere,” Howie said. “It looks - - I think that’s it.”

Following Howie around the corner, Erik stared. “Yeah,” he said. “I think that’s it.”

Damn.

That was a lot of teddy bears.

“Where the hell do we start?” Erik asked.

“We could get all of them,” Howie said.

“They wouldn’t all fit in JC’s house,” Erik said.

“We’re going to need another cart,” Howie said.

“We could get the big ones,” Erik said. “Some of these are bigger than I am.”

“I like the big ones,” Howie said. “We’ll get all of those. And throw anything with a heart on it into the basket.”

“Oh, hey, look at this,” Erik said, finally brave enough to move further into the display. “They have little paired-up bears with letters on their shirts. That’s cheesy as hell. Let’s see if we can find two with a J and an H together.” The sound of Howie’s laughter made him smile. “What?”

“You didn’t want to get bears in the first place, and now you want ones holding hands,” Howie said.

“Hey, if we’re going to do it, let’s do it,” Erik said. He found a J-H pair. “Is this cute enough to gag you?”

“It’s perfect,” Howie said, with a smile.

“JC’s going to think that you’ve gone out of your mind,” Erik predicted. Doing as instructed, he tossed all bears with hearts into the carts. “What is he going to do with all of these?” He turned to Howie. “You don’t really expect him to keep them forever, do you?”

“Of course not,” Howie said. “He can donate them to a children’s hospital.”

Good answer. “Maybe we should get those super-cute hand-holding bears for our friends,” he suggested, piling his cart high with too-cute heart bears. “I’ll get one for Jacob and Brian and see how many seconds it takes before Jacob hits me with it.”

“If I got one for Nick and Joey, Nick would die from hysterical laughter and Joey would look at me strangely for the rest of my life,” Howie said. “You could get one for Trevor and Chris.”

“They already have some strange platypus fixation,” Erik said. “I think that Chris’s weirdness is rubbing off on Trevor.”

“I’ve always liked Chris,” Howie said. “He’s very…interesting.”

“He’s very weird,” Erik said. He encountered a massive bear. “How the hell am I going to get all of this into JC’s house?”

The four-poster bed was wide and welcoming and sinfully soft. Kevin’s thrusts were quick and brutal and had Justin shouting and spasming and splitting apart. When Kevin came, it took Justin several minutes to stop moaning.

Kevin patted his ass and climbed off of him, leaving the bed. Immediately, Justin tried to get his limbs to cooperate, intending to rush after Kevin, frightened that Kevin would abandon him, but Kevin was only going into the bathroom.

Collapsing again, Justin waited for his body to sort itself out and practiced breathing without whispering Kevin’s name. It was harder than it should have been.

Kevin hadn’t come on his thighs. He was so used to that now, from AJ, that it was a noticeable absence. Kevin was so much classier than AJ. Coming on him every time, it was like some primal, territorial ritual, like marking him. AJ had issues.

“Justin,” Kevin said.

Instantly in motion, Justin forced his fucked-out body to cooperate, going straight to Kevin’s side in the bathroom. Kevin cleaned him up perfunctorily, then wiped the sweat from his face with a more gentle touch. His fingers strayed lightly over Kevin’s chest and arms, and he gazed at Kevin’s face, soaking up the moment and basking in Kevin’s presence.

Kevin had come for him. Kevin had fucked him. He’d been granted mercy. This was his chance.

Kevin looked into his eyes, and smiled.

Warmth spread through Justin’s body.

His world was complete.

Erik didn’t know much about wine or champagne. He knew how to get drunk fast and how to get drunk gradually, and he knew how to get a girl buzzed without getting her sloppy, but that was about it.

Howie, however, had some sort of catalog in his head, and seemed to know exactly what he wanted. They were in and out of there in minutes.

Next stop: jewelry.

Erik found himself strolling on plush carpet, sipping champagne, as a woman in black discussed the merchandise in a hushed voice. He hoped that Howie was listening to her, because he wasn’t; he was too busy staring at the glittering jewels.

Erik considered himself a decent catch, but he wasn’t exactly romantic. Even if he’d wanted to charm and seduce someone with flowers and jewelry, he never would have considered doing it on this scale. This was fucking extravagant. Howie and JC were levels above him in a lot of ways, and today had made that abundantly clear, all over again.

The necklace that Howie chose was simple, just a graceful pendant on a shimmering chain, but it was so classy, Erik knew JC would love it. When he pictured it around JC’s neck, lying against JC’s naked chest, swinging forward as JC crawled over him…

Erik took a quick drink.

JC was kind of kinky. That piercing, his thing for publicly risky sex, and something else, an odd undercurrent to his sexuality that Erik couldn’t quite put his finger on - - it all added up to one conclusion: JC was kind of a freak. But JC was with Howie. Which meant that Howie might not be super-kinky, but he had enough of a freak in him to keep JC happy. Which made Erik wonder what Howie was into.

Did Howie screw JC in semi-public places? Erik found it hard to imagine. Howie was too polished for that. On the other hand, despite that whole too-smooth exterior, sometimes Howie got a little more human during sex. So…maybe.

Erik wondered where they’d screwed. Was JC down for it anywhere, or just anywhere within reason? Did JC like to play around with the idea of “anyone could walk in,” or did JC really like taking actual risks with it? Had they ever been caught?

JC moved like an exhibitionist. Even when they were alone, he was putting on a show. Would he get off on being watched? Who was he playing it up for? It didn’t seem like JC was faking it, exactly; it was hard to fake an erection. But those moves, those sinuous undulations, Erik didn’t know anyone else who moved like that.

Then again, he hadn’t fucked a whole lot of guys. Maybe it was normal. But were most men even capable of that? JC was kind of…unique.

He wondered what Howie would look like, getting fucked.

He took another drink.

Picking up the phone, Lance sank back, relaxing on the sofa. “Hello.”

“I only have a minute, I just wanted to tell you that you’re the sexiest bad-ass I know, and I wish I could climb all over you,” Brian said.

Laughing, Lance said, “You were pretty good, too.”

“Did you see his face?” Brian asked. “He hates you, he really does.”

“I disturb Jacob on a fundamental level,” Lance said. “He has the same effect on me.”

“He was miserable,” Brian said. “The whole time, absolutely miserable. It made me so happy. Having to be nice to him is so much easier when you’re there to make him suffer.”

“Glad I could help,” Lance said, tucking one arm behind his head. He smiled. “You two looked pretty cozy in that car.”

“Please don’t remind me,” Brian said, sounding tortured. “That smell, you know that scent?”

“Yeah,” Lance said. Jacob smelled like fresh powder, actually. Lance liked it, and wasn’t about to admit that.

“It makes me nauseous every time he gets close. It’s all over his sheets, I hate sleeping with him.”

“You may have to get over that,” Lance said.

“Don’t bring that up,” Brian said. “Why do you say these things to me? Are you trying to punish me?”

Lance laughed. “Sorry. I’m just glad that I’m finished with that.”

Brian sighed. “I’d better go. I just wanted to tell you how great you were today. You weren’t over the top, it wasn’t too much, you just managed to eat like acid through his soul.”

“Wow,” Lance said. “That sounds pretty…intense.” It was true, but why would he have that effect on someone? Acid through his soul? Jacob hated him, but that much? He wasn’t evil incarnate. He hated Jacob in large part because he was responding to Jacob’s hatred for him. But where had Jacob’s hatred for him come from?

“The more he hates you and loves me, the easier this is,” Brian said.

“He does love you,” Lance said. “Nice touch with stripping him at the table.”

“Was it too much?” Brian asked. “It’s hard to know if I’m going too far with him, because he never stops me when I cross boundaries.”
“No, it was good,” Lance said. “I was waiting for you to start tweaking his nipples.”

“That’s disgusting,” Brian said. “I really have to go,” he added, his voice suddenly quieter. “I’ll call you. Maybe we could…get together later.”

Lance’s body flashed back to last night, heat quickly pulsing through him, and when he said, “Okay,” his voice was softer and deeper than it’d been seconds ago.

“I love you. Bye.” Brian hung up.

“Which one would you give JC?” Howie asked.

Erik had thought that the watch Howie had given him was blingin’. The watches currently sitting before him made the piece on his wrist look like a toy from a cereal box.

He tried to picture them on JC’s wrist. JC was too slender for anything too chunky, but anything too slim would look feminine.

Then again, would JC really consider that a problem?

Hell, he had to do something to eliminate choices. “Not that one or that one,” he said, and the clerk removed the largest and smallest. That left two. He studied them, trying to choose. “This one’s more modern and sleek-looking, and this one’s more artistic and kind of…graceful. Which one do you like?” he asked Howie, hoping that he didn’t sound like an idiot.

“That one says JC to me,” Howie said, indicating the second.

“Me, too,” Erik agreed. “Which one’s more expensive?”

“That one,” Howie said, pointing to the first.

“By how much?” Erik asked.

“Seven thousand,” Howie said.

Erik almost dropped his champagne flute. If that was the difference between them, what was their actual cost? “Then I wouldn’t get both.”

Howie smiled at him, then turned to the clerk. “We’ll take this one,” he said, selecting the artistic one. “It’s more JC’s style.”

That crossed the necklace and watch off of the list. “Bracelet next?” Erik asked.

“Bracelet next,” Howie agreed, and they moved across the store together. “Have you seen JC’s turquoise jewelry?”

“Yeah,” Erik said.

“I was thinking of getting him a sardonyx bracelet along the same lines. The same kind of chunky rocks.”

“Okay,” Erik said. “What’s sardonyx?”

“Over here.” Howie led him to the end of the counter. “There, the red and white bands.”

“Oh. Nice,” Erik said. He studied a bracelet of smoothly polished ovals. “I like that one.”

“So do I,” Howie said. “Could we see this one, please?” The clerk handed it to him. “This would look good with the tan pants we just bought,” Howie said.

“Yeah,” Erik said. He wouldn’t have thought of that. “Do you have a fashion guide in your head?”

Howie laughed. “I’ve looked bad in too many pictures, too many times. After a while, you learn.”

“I’ve been on TV in my drawers,” Erik said. “After a while, you get over it.”

“I wish I’d seen that,” Howie said. “We’ll take this,” he told the clerk.

“What’s left?” Erik asked.

“We’re down to one garnet ring,” Howie said. “This one has to be special.”

“I haven’t seen JC wear a lot of rings,” Erik said.

“He’ll wear this one,” Howie said. “We’ll find something so good he won’t want to take it off.” They wandered the counters, perusing the ring selection. “How many episodes had you in your underwear?”

“I don’t know,” Erik said. “The cameras were always there.” He glanced at Howie. “Why?”

Howie just smiled.

“Pervert,” Erik said, grinning. “Hey, what about that one?” he asked, as a particularly large garnet caught his eye.

“I want a more intricate band,” Howie said. “Something more like that.”

Erik looked over the display, searching. He’d thought that rubies were red, but garnet kept looking like heavy drops of blood, which made the rings particularly dramatic. “These are rings for women,” he noticed. “Are they going to fit JC?”

“I’ll have it taken care of,” Howie said.

Impressive answer. “How about this?” he asked, crouching down.

Howie knelt beside him, one hand absently resting on his knee. He wondered if any of the clerks noticed. “I like it,” Howie said. “I…”

Howie’s voice stopped, and Erik followed his line of sight. Oh. “Wow.”

“I want that one,” Howie said.

“Hell, I want that one,” Erik said.

They met each other’s eyes, and smiled. Rising, Howie signaled to the clerk. “I’ll take this one.”

After Howie paid, they left the store, finished shopping for the day. During the drive back to Howie’s house, they talked about what they’d bought, and how to present it to JC.

Erik looked over the jewelry again, opening each box. “Damn,” he said, staring at the watch. “Damn,” he said, staring at the necklace. “Damn,” he said, staring at the bracelet. Then he found a fourth box. He’d thought that Howie had left the ring at the store, to be resized or something. Curious, he opened the last box, and found, “Damn.” A bracelet he’d never seen before.

“You like it?” Howie asked, parking in the driveway.

“This is hot,” Erik said, tipping the box to watch the glimmer as the stones caught the light. “This is fucking hot.” It was so sparkly, it made him want to say, “Oh, pretty… So shiny…” It was a silver chain with diamonds and, “What are these?”

“Sapphires,” Howie said. “September’s birthstone.”

“Really?” Erik asked. “My birthday’s in September. If I’d known I could…” He stopped talking, and turned his head.

Howie smiled at him.

“Shit,” Erik said. “Tell me you didn’t get this for me.”

“I got it for you,” Howie said, and kissed his cheek. “Put it on.”

Now it was Howie’s eyes that were sparkly. Howie loved giving people things. Loved giving him things. “I can’t - - when did you do this? I didn’t even see this.”

“You were busy drinking and thinking about sex,” Howie said.

Erik grinned. “You could tell?”

“I can always tell,” Howie said. “What were you thinking about specifically?”

“How kinky JC is,” Erik admitted.

Howie smiled. “JC’s not kinky. He’s…adventurous.”

“He’s kinky,” Erik said. “And you’re sneaky. You didn’t have to get me this.”

“I wanted to,” Howie said, taking it from the box. “Give me your hand.”

Erik offered one wrist, watching as Howie draped the bracelet over it, doing the clasp. “You shouldn’t have done this.” He wasn’t Howie’s boyfriend. And he couldn’t necessarily return the favor.

Oh, shit. If anyone saw this… If people knew who it was from…

“You don’t have to tell anyone that it’s from me,” Howie said. “You can tell JC, I don’t have any secrets from him. But if you think that other people might not understand…”

Grateful that Howie wasn’t offended, relieved that Howie understood, Erik shivered as Howie stroked his palm and slowly, gracefully, kissed the inside of his wrist.

“No one has to know where this came from,” Howie said. “You can say that it’s from a fan, or a secret admirer. You can say that you bought it for yourself.” The tip of Howie’s tongue was soft and wet when it touched Erik’s palm, and Erik’s fingers curled in as arousal warmed his blood. “What happens betweens us is private,” Howie murmured, pulling his hand closer and easing him forward. “No one ever has to know,” Howie whispered, and kissed him.

Continue on to part fifty-seven

matthew@matthewtime.com
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