"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 seventy-six

Justin tried to talk to Jacob, but they disagreed on every aspect of the music industry he brought up. Eventually, when he realized that half an hour of rude digs and cold silences wasn’t productive, Justin excused himself.

The idea of leaving Jacob unsupervised in his house didn’t thrill him, but if he spent much more time alone with Jacob, he’d smack the son-of-a-bitch, and he was sure that he wasn’t allowed to do that.

Not knowing where AJ and Brian were, content to avoid them, Justin went to the kitchen, intending to get a drink - - and there they were. For an instant, he paused, wanting to back away. But he was AJ, he was cool, and after a second’s hesitation, he kept going. “Hey. I’m just getting a Coke.”

“I heard you apologize,” AJ said, opening the fridge and taking out a can of soda.

“I tried to,” Justin said. “He was too busy judging me to listen to me.”

“That sounds like Jacob,” AJ said, handing Justin the drink. “Think I’ll take some time with him,” he said, and gave Justin a perfunctory kiss. “Hang out here for a minute.” AJ left.

Alone with Brian, Justin licked AJ’s kiss from his lips and opened the can, avoiding Brian’s eyes.

“I hoped that you and Jacob would get along better,” Brian said. “But sometimes he rubs people the wrong way. And you haven’t been as charming as you usually are.”

Trying not to appear stricken, Justin asked, “Do you want me to be nicer to him? I-”

“No,” Brian said quickly, with a smile. “No, it’s all right. It’s interesting, it’s new for me to see you like this. You’re so naturally charming, it’s usually impossible for people not to like you.”

Brian thought that he was charming? “I like to be liked.”

“Most people do.” Brian gave him a smile, then glanced towards the doorway and moved closer to him. Meeting his eyes, Brian spoke more quietly. “I wanted to talk to you about Lance.”

“Lance?” Justin automatically lowered his own volume to match Brian’s. He didn’t enjoy having Brian this near, but Brian wasn’t acting all at like he had this morning. Brian was acting more like he had the last time he’d been in Justin’s house, while Joey had been upstairs with AJ, when Brian had been nice, and helpful, and supportive. Brian had been very generous with Justin. Justin had to remember that.

“I know that… If someone went to Lance, and asked him to stay away from me, told him not to see me anymore…” Brian paused. “I think that I’d want to know about it.”

Frowning, Justin tried to puzzle that out. “Someone told Lance to stay away from you?” Had it been Chris?

“No, that didn’t happen, but I… I care,” Brian turned pink, “about Lance very much, and I… I know that when you love someone, even if your friends or his friends don’t support it… I wouldn’t want anyone to interfere. So I think that...” Brian hesitated, glanced at the doorway, stepped closer. “It might not be my place to tell you, but I think that you deserve to know.”

Justin didn’t want to hear this. “Know what?” he asked quietly, carefully, watching Brian’s eyes.

Dropping his gaze, then meeting Justin’s eyes again, Brian said, “Lance went to see Kevin today.”

There had been times when Justin had needed to keep his game face on. Times when he’d needed to perform for the audience, for the cameras, for whoever happened to be in the room; times when he’d had to fall apart inside and smile outside. He’d learned how to keep the screams of pain and howls of terror within and unheard; he’d learned how to cry and sob without shedding a tear; he’d learned to keep going, keep singing, keep dancing, keep talking, keep moving. There had been moments when, due to Kevin’s impeccable timing, Justin had received a phone call right between interview segments, or minutes before the curtain went up, or while he was in a roomful of fans or reporters or friends. He’d kept smiling, kept talking, kept going. No one had known that anything was wrong.

Tonight, being at home was like being onstage. He kept his game face on. He kept smiling, kept moving. Nodding, he took a drink and asked, “Really?” Brian’s gaze was his spotlight; he kept singing, kept dancing.

“He wants Kevin to stop seeing you.”

Justin rubbed his thumb over the condensation on the can. “He didn’t say anything to me about it.” His voice never wavered. “He’s probably just worried about me.”

“A lot of people are worried about you,” Brian said with a soft smile. “It’s just because we care. I know that Lance only has your best interests in mind. And,” Brian gave his arm a little squeeze, “I know you worry about Kevin, but I don’t want you to do that. No one changes Kevin’s mind on anything. Kevin spends time with whoever he wants to spend time with, and if he wants to see you, he will.”

“Yeah.” Justin smiled. “He doesn’t let other people make decisions for him.” He was Justin; he was charming. He was AJ; he was cool. “Thanks for letting me know. You think we should go check on how things are going in there?” he asked, with a vague gesture towards the living room.

“Give them a few minutes,” Brian said. “We aren’t supposed to go in yet.”

“What are we waiting for?” Did AJ and Brian have every second orchestrated?

“We’re giving Jacob time to come to respect AJ.” Brian glanced at his watch like there was an actual minute when that would happen.

Justin realized that he was alone with Brian. He was being given a chance that might not come around again soon. He wanted to say something - - had to say something - - but for his own sake, he had to be careful not to fall out of character. So, carefully, he said, “I wanted to thank you.” Respectful, he wanted to sound very respectful. Earnest, but not pathetic. No matter how he felt, he had to come across as calm. Confident. “You’ve been very good to me, you’ve been very generous, you-”

“Ssshhh.” The touch of Brian’s fingers stilled Justin’s lips. “It’s all right,” Brian said, lowering his hand. “You don’t have to-”

But he did. “I’m sorry,” Justin said. “I took advantage of your generosity and-”

“Hush,” Brian said with a gentle smile. “It’s all right. I understand.”

He wanted to say more, but he couldn’t, because Brian had shushed him twice already. If he apologized or thanked Brian again, that would be complete disobedience, and considering how much trouble he’d gotten into for being rude to Brian before, he couldn’t risk that now.

Brian’s smile was warm and encouraging. “You’ve been great tonight. I wanted Jacob to see what a true couple you and AJ are, how close you are, how solid you are. You can be as affectionate and as familiar as you want. And don’t be afraid to give AJ a little attitude, either. All Jacob’s heard is how badly AJ treats you, and I want him to see how strong you are, how independent you are, even though you love AJ with all of your heart.” A twinkle appeared in Brian’s eye. “You do, don’t you?”

“Love AJ?” Justin asked. The idea of him loving AJ was just bizarre. Besides, how he felt about AJ had nothing to do with anything. AJ was a huge part of his life now, regardless of his emotions. How he felt was irrelevant. He happened to hate AJ, but that was almost meaningless; if he loved AJ, that wouldn’t change anything. But he knew the right answer to Brian’s question. He smiled. “With all of my heart.”

The front door slammed.

Erik sat up with a jerk, looking at the phone, the clock, the TV. He must’ve fallen asleep. The guys were back from the club. It was late; JC hadn’t called.

Raised voices; another fight. Tired of the constant arguing, the constant tension, Erik decided to try to slip upstairs without being noticed. Turning off the TV, he pocketed his cell phone, creeping-

“Erik!”

Shit. Caught, Erik turned. He was halfway to framing some sort of response - - “Hi,” or, “Hey,” or, “How was the club,” or “I didn’t hear you come in,” or, “What the hell is your problem now” - - but they continued on without him.

“You don’t have to bring him into this,” Ashley said.

“He lives here, too,” Dan said. “I want to know how many people knew about this without it ever getting back to me.”

“It did get back to you,” Trevor said. “We weren’t hiding it from you, we just-”

“Erik,” Dan said again. Chris looked like he’d rather be somewhere else. “Do you know who Jacob’s having dinner with?”

“Uh… Brian?” Was this a trick question? “I don’t know, I didn’t talk to him.”

“Erik doesn’t know,” Ashley said. “Trevor knew because he was there when Brian invited Jacob. I only found out right before we left for the club, when Trevor told me.”

“Jacob knew,” Dan said. “Trevor knew. You knew. How did all three of you decide that this was something you shouldn’t tell me about?”

“I thought he’d say something to you,” Trevor admitted. “But then it didn’t seem like he had, and I didn’t want to bring it up. It was too late, he was already gone, what was I supposed to say?”

“Who’s Jacob having dinner with?” Erik asked. Why would Dan care - - oh. “Justin?” Dan gave him a look and he shut up, glancing at Ashley with a silent, “What the fuck?” in his eyes.

“Brian invited Jacob to dinner with Justin,” Ashley explained. That much, Erik had already figured out. “AJ’s going to be there, too, and Jacob didn’t say anything to Dan about it.”

“Why wouldn’t you want to bring it up with me?” Dan was asking Trevor. “Since when can’t you talk to me?”

“You’re kind of obsessive about Justin,” Trevor said. “I didn’t know how much good it would do. You’d just get pissed at Jacob, and we don’t need more problems around here. Once he was already out of the house, there wasn’t anything you could do about it.”

“I just can’t believe he left without saying anything to me! He couldn’t even do me the courtesy of - - he knows how - - he could’ve asked me if I wanted him to tell Justin ‘hi’ for me, something as simple as that.” Frustrated, Dan shook his head. “I’m tired of not getting any help on this! I’m tired of not getting any support. I’m fighting a losing battle and I’m doing it all alone.”

“I’m sorry,” Ashley said.

“It sucks,” Trevor said.

“Everyone says there isn’t really a problem,” Erik said. “The only person saying anything’s wrong, is you. Jacob probably didn’t say anything because he didn’t want to get into it with you.”

The look Dan gave him made him wish he’d never opened his mouth.

“He didn’t-” Ashley said, trying to divert the coming shitstorm.

“There isn’t really a problem?” Dan repeated. “There isn’t really a problem? Justin shaking and crying and screaming isn’t a problem? The things he said to me, the fucking emotional trauma and psychological torture he described? That isn’t a problem?!”

“Everyone says the problem was that he wanted to be with AJ,” Erik said. “You were the one keeping them apart.”

“Now I’m the problem?” Dan demanded. “I’m the problem?! I’m the one responsible for - - you’re putting this on me?!” He looked ready to lunge. “I would’ve done anything to make Justin whole again, I would’ve done anything to help him, I did every damned thing I could to help him, and now you’re saying it’s all my fault?!”

“I didn’t say that,” Erik said, although he kind of had. “Maybe-” Dan pivoted, striding away. “Maybe - - Dan? Dan!”

“Dan, it’s not-” The slamming of the front door cut Ashley off.

“I can’t believe you said that!” Trevor exclaimed.

“You’re the one who didn’t tell him about Jacob!” Erik protested, unwilling to be the bad guy.

“Where did he go?” Ashley asked. “Where’s he going?”

“Maybe he’s going to see Justin,” Erik suggested.

“Is that a good idea?” Ashley asked.

“I’ve never seen him that pissed,” Trevor said.

Just one more reason Erik should have spent the night with JC.

Howie called. They talked about the game, about Erik. JC thanked Howie for the wine, the jewelry. Howie said sweet, provocative things that made JC remember heat, intimacy, romance, the seduction in Howie’s touch, the thinly veiled promises in Howie’s eyes.

When AJ walked into the living room, he found Jacob studying the framed photographs on the shelf in the corner. There were a few family pictures, but most of the shots were of *NSYNC, candid photos, the five of them laughing and roughhousing and having fun. They were mostly from the early years, first-album era.

“Have to love the bad hair days,” AJ said, strolling up behind him.

“What’s with the all-jersey wardrobe?” Jacob asked.

“It’s cheaper to buy sportswear off the rack and still get a unified look,” AJ said.

Jacob glanced at him. “The voice of experience.”

AJ shrugged. “I’ve been there.”

“Everywhere they went,” Jacob said. “You were there first.”

Jacob’s tone tended to make even benign statements sound like a challenge. AJ shrugged again, picking up a frame. “We had a few years’ head start.” Joey had the same picture, a shot of the five of them at Disney World, young and painfully eager.

“I never got the point of dressing alike,” Jacob said. “I’m me, I’m not Erik, so why dress like him?”

It was a little late for Jacob to enroll in Boy Bands 101, and it would only be a waste of breath to school him, but AJ had time to kill. “Group unity,” he said. “One band, one sound. One look. One move. You do choreography, everyone doing the same step the same way at the same time. You don’t all dance freestyle. Before you can go off on your own, before you earn the right to be yourself, you have to be a member of the group first. Once you’re solid as a group, then you can express yourself more.”

Jacob’s gaze swept him, taking in everything at once, before meeting his eyes. “You never seemed to have trouble expressing your individuality.”

AJ gave him a flash of teeth that might’ve passed for a smile, setting the picture down again. “You don’t, either.”

A shrug; Jacob glanced at the shelf again. “I’m surprised you all get along.”

“All of who?” AJ asked.

“The five of you and the five of them.” Another direct gaze; another challenge. “It never sounded like you were capable of being friends.”

“We’re not friends,” AJ said. “I love Justin. They’re his friends, not mine.”

Jacob never missed a beat. “You don’t like them?”

“I like JC. Chris is okay. Joey’s not bad. I don’t hate them. I wouldn’t run into a burning building for them, either.”

A dark flicker in suspicious eyes. “What about Lance?”

“He’s never dated one of the fellas, so I never bothered to spend time around him,” AJ said. “He and Brian seem pretty close, so he’s probably okay.” Then, as if it were the last word on the matter, “Justin likes him.”

“Obviously Justin has great taste,” Jacob said dryly, absently pulling his dreads back with the sweep of one hand.

Ignoring that last comment, AJ said, “Nice stones,” as Jacob’s movement exposed the diamonds glittering in his ears.

A brief glimmer of confusion, then Jacob blushed slightly. “Yeah, thanks.”

AJ glanced at the stereo as it changed songs. “Brian said you have some decent ink.”

“Just a few things,” Jacob said. He raised his elbows. “My arms, my back.”

AJ studied the tattoos on the backs of Jacob’s arms, then asked, “Can I see the rest? I’m always looking for ideas.”

A few minutes later, the two of them were discussing the artwork on AJ’s arms when Brian and Justin walked into the room. “You’re showing off again?” Brian asked.

            “If you have it, flaunt it,” AJ said. “I like this,” he told Jacob, raising Justin’s sleeve to show the cross on Justin’s upper arm. “I was thinking about getting something like it.”

            “It’s not bad,” Jacob said grudgingly. “I like the hand of God better. And the dragon on your shoulder.”

            “The what?” Justin asked.

“The dragon on my shoulder,” AJ said. “Do I need to spend more time naked around you?”

“Nothing would make me happier,” Justin said. “I’m just trying to figure out how you showed him a tattoo on your upper back without taking off your shirt.”

AJ had to give him credit; Justin was already a little too good at the role of the bitchy, jealous, possessive, drama-inducing boyfriend. “I took off my shirt. Is that a problem?”

Justin didn’t blink. “Is there a reason it wouldn’t be?”

“You’re not fucking serious,” AJ said.

“Do I look like I’m joking with you?” Justin asked.

“He’s straight! I was showing him-”

“I don’t care what he is! I don’t care-”

“-my tats, not my tits! What do you think I-”

“-if he’s a blind monk, I don’t want you stripping down-”

“-was doing, flashing my nipples? How many-”

“-for other people!”

“-times have I been shirtless in front of - - shit, the world? Do you have a problem with that?”

“I don’t care what the hell you do onstage,” Justin snapped. “This isn’t a stage, this is my living room. When you’re performing, you hump the stage, I don’t give a shit. When you’re in my house-”

“I wasn’t humping anything! I showed him my fucking tats! How many times were you stripped-down naked in front of Miller?!”

Justin turned an angry red. “Don’t you fucking bring that up to me! We’re not getting into it again!”

“You-”

“This isn’t about that, and you know it!” Justin shouted. “This isn’t about Jacob and this isn’t about your damned tattoos, this is about you never knowing where to draw the line and me always having to draw it for you!”

“You don’t-”

“You smile and you flirt and you tease and you go too damned far! I don’t care why your girlfriends looked the other way, I don’t care what you think you can get away with, you’re my damned boyfriend and it’s not fucking happening! This time it’s you showing Jacob your tattoos, next time you’ll have some girl halfway into bed-”

“I would never-”

“You don’t know where the line is! You’re sexy and you’re fun and you like to have a good time, and I love that about you, but you don’t know when to stop! You don’t know what’s flirting and what’s not! You don’t know how to turn it off! It drives me fucking crazy!”

“Shit!” AJ turned away furiously, storming a few feet in the other direction and kicking a table.

“Damn it.” Justin sounded pissed off. Frustrated. Fed up.

Silence. AJ glared at the table.

“Can you at least do me the courtesy of letting me act like your body isn’t community property?” Justin asked. “You’re my lover, not mine and everyone else’s, too. When you’re working, I share you with millions of people, and I understand that, but this is your time off, and… I want you to be mine. Just mine. Not theirs, too.”

It was a familiar argument. AJ wondered how many girls had used it on Justin, for it to come forth that easily. Turning, he ignored Brian and Jacob, looking directly at Justin. “You know you sound like an ass. I was just showing him my tats. He’s straight, I’m yours, and you’re stupid.”

“I’m not stupid, I’m smart and possessive,” Justin said. An embarrassed smile, full of endearing apologies. “I know that you’re so hot that the sight of your half-naked body will drive anyone crazy. I don’t care how straight he is, you’re sexy as hell.”

“I am sexy as hell,” AJ agreed. “Are you over your little hissy fit now?”

“If you’re over your nudist phase,” Justin said.

AJ rolled his eyes and turned to Brian, blinking twice as he scratched his shoulder. “We’re going to need some alone time. I’ll see you later?”

“That might be a good idea,” Brian said. He smiled at Justin. “Thanks for dinner.”

“Yeah,” Justin said. “Good to see you.”

“It’s been…” Jacob didn’t seem to know how to finish that sentence; he looked between AJ and Justin, then gave up and followed Brian to the door. “Bye.”

“Bye,” AJ said.

The door closed.

AJ met Justin’s eyes. “You want to talk first or fuck first?”

“Do me down here first,” Justin said, already kicking out of his sneakers as he pulled off his T-shirt. “Do it hard.”

Brian had barely left Justin’s driveway before he was laughing.

Jacob stared at him. “You think that freak show is funny?”

Chuckling, Brian explained, “No, I don’t - - it’s not funny, it’s just… It’s good to see them again. That’s the AJ and Justin we all know and love.”

“Know and love?” Jacob repeated. “Justin just turned a pretty normal evening into a Jerry Springer moment.”

“You have to see it from Justin’s point of view,” Brian said. “He wasn’t looking at it as - - you’re used to thinking of another guy’s body as about as interesting as a dirty fork. You’re around guys all of the time, they’re not always buttoned up to the chin, and you don’t notice and don’t care. But Justin’s looking at it as someone else getting a close-up look at his boyfriend’s body.”

Jacob almost snorted in disbelief. “That’s paranoid.”

“It’s also about…maybe not competition,” Brian said. “But respect, maybe.”

“Does JC freak out if you’re around when Howie takes his shirt off?”

Quick, amused laughter. “No. But there are a lot of reasons that’s a different situation. JC and Howie’s relationship is a little more…grown-up than Justin and AJ’s.”

“Oh, good,” Jacob said. “Someone knows how to act like an adult.”

“And you’re more of an…outsider,” Brian said. “Sometimes it’s hard to find twenty-four hours in a row where I don’t catch sight of somebody’s skin. Justin’s used to the idea of me seeing AJ in all of his glory. You’re different.”

God. “Trust me. I’m not interested in looking at AJ’s body.”

Brian chuckled. “Justin will be reassured to hear that.”

Freak show. “How often do they explode like that?”

“Sometimes ten times a day,” Brian said, his tone becoming less light-hearted. “Sometimes not for days.”

“Wow, whole days in a row,” Jacob said. “Impressive.”

Keeping a hand on the wheel, Brian reached over and tucked Jacob’s dreads behind one ear. “They love each other. It’s not the kind of relationship I would ever want, but you don’t always get to choose who you fall in love with.”

“You don’t,” Jacob agreed, looking at Brian’s profile. “But you can choose how you act once you’re there.”

Lightly caressing Jacob’s ear, Brian gave him a gentle smile before turning back to the road.

Even at his most enraged, Dan knew better than to drive to Justin’s house. He stopped halfway there, not even tempting fate by getting closer.

He’d made it all up. He’d caused it all. Was that what everyone thought? That was what his friends thought. What Justin’s friends thought.

Maybe the truth was too unpleasant for them. Maybe they’d rather blame him than admit to the reality of their own failings.

Justin was screaming out in pain; rather than admit that he’d been a bad friend to ignore it, dismiss it, and turn a blind eye to it, Joey preferred to take it out on Dan. Screams of pain? Howls of terror? The shaking and tears and trauma? All nonsense, all bullshit, all exaggeration. Dan was the troublemaker. Dan was the one causing problems. Justin was better off back with AJ, the way things had been. Status quo. Wasn’t everyone happier that way? Wasn’t everyone better off that way? Couldn’t Dan just shut up?

He couldn’t ignore what he’d seen. He believed in what he’d witnessed. He couldn’t have made that up. He hadn’t exaggerated it. He hadn’t made a mountain out of a molehill. They just didn’t want to admit that the mountain had been there all along and wasn’t of Dan’s own creation.

Maybe he was in this alone. Maybe this was a one-man army.

Maybe he could find help. Maybe he could turn to Justin’s friends, one last time.

About to pour himself another glass, JC hesitated. He already felt unsteady. He got drunk faster than he’d used to, these days. He’d used to be able to drink more without feeling it, but he didn’t drink as much anymore. Less of it, less often.

He didn’t even touch anything stronger than alcohol. He’d tried a few things, here and there, in the past, but not anymore.

Nick didn’t want him to.

Nick didn’t like it.

Nick had been very clear about his opinion of JC seeking solace in alcohol and drugs, and JC had…agreed.

It didn’t make a difference, anyway. There was no way to numb the pain completely.

Sighing, he set the bottle back down. He remembered that he’d said something about calling Erik, but he didn’t want to deal with Erik. He saw Erik too often as it was.

He looked forward to moving on to the next step in the game. He wanted to work with Howie again, more closely. They were a good team, and he was confident that, together, they could accomplish the trickiest of schemes. Erik didn’t stand a chance against the two of them.

Technically, JC still was working with Howie, but there was something different about a day-to-day partnership, about being in the same room, being in the same moment, watching Howie work, having Howie right there for back-up.

After this time apart, though, JC was even more confident in his own skills of manipulation; he was more secure in his contributions to the team. He was sure that he could offer Howie more support, more ideas, more of a true equal partner.

He wasn’t going to be found lacking again. He wasn’t going to be easily dismissed, easily dropped, or easily brushed aside. Not again.

Jacob had been quiet for too many minutes in a row. Parking in the driveway, Brian glanced at his face and saw a familiar expression there. Jacob was weighing, measuring, calculating, and deciding whose side to be on.

Having a vested interest in which side Jacob chose, Brian asked, “Whose fate are you deciding?”

“Something doesn’t match,” Jacob said, gazing at the house, his tone less sharp than usual as he thought the matter through. “Either Dan’s lying or Justin is.”

“Lying?” Brian asked.

“Justin made it sound like Dan jumped to conclusions. Even if he did, even if you listen to Justin’s version, it doesn’t… If Justin’s telling the truth, then Dan wasn’t just jumping to conclusions, he was getting a running start and making major leaps at them. And Dan’s not that kind of guy. He isn’t blindly stupid. He wouldn’t just assume things that extreme without some kind of evidence.”

“Maybe he misunderstood,” Brian suggested gently.

“Maybe.” Jacob didn’t seem satisfied.

“You could talk to Dan about it,” Brian said, after a moment’s silence. “Now that you’ve talked to Justin yourself, maybe what Dan says will sound different.”

“You think Dan lied,” Jacob said, turning a piercing gaze on Brian.

“No, no,” Brian said. “I wouldn’t-”

“You think he exaggerated?” Jacob pressed, both giving him an out and trying to pin him down.

“It’s possible,” Brian said. “It’s possible, I don’t know. Either that, or maybe… Maybe Justin can be convincing when he needs attention.” He watched Jacob’s eyes widen, then narrow, as the idea was processed. “AJ gives Justin a lot of attention.”

“So does Dan,” Jacob said, already suspicious, digesting information rapidly.

Brian loved Jacob’s beautifully cynical, beautifully trusting mind. Smoothing Jacob’s hair, he gave Jacob time to think while he let his own mind drift. How he’d love to drop tender, feather-light kisses across the bridge of Jacob’s nose. How he’d love to whisper eternity and devotion against Jacob’s lips. How he’d love to-

“What are you thinking about?”

Smiling, Brian stroked Jacob’s cheek with the backs of his fingers before withdrawing his hand. “I was just looking forward to tomorrow night. I miss spending time with you.”

Jacob grinned. “If you come over early enough, I’ll make you dinner.”

He laughed. “Are you making Cheerios or Frosted Flakes?”

Pretending to be insulted, Jacob said, “I was going to slice a banana in yours, but if you’re going to be rude about it…”

“Aw… I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings,” Brian said. “I’ll try to be here in time for dinner. You can make me whatever you want.”

There was a moment of silence between them, as they simply looked at each other, but Brian wanted to be closer, and he knew that Jacob felt the urge, too. Drawn to each other, they both moved in for an embrace. When he had Jacob in his arms again, Brian closed his eyes, slowly breathing out. It felt so right. Curling his fingers in Jacob’s shirt, he felt need pulse heavily through his body. “I love you.”

“I love you,” Jacob whispered, and the warmth of Jacob’s hand on his shoulder made him want to moan and give in. Jacob wanted him, and he wanted to give in, wanted to do what Jacob wanted, wanted to provide for Jacob’s needs, wanted to fulfill Jacob’s desires.

There was no fun in destroying Jacob’s world if he didn’t improve upon it first.

People were human. Dan had made mistakes in his life, and his most recent had cost him too much.

Not everyone had seen what he’d seen. Not everyone had heard what he’d heard. His friends had their own friendships and distractions. So did Justin’s.

He couldn’t expect everyone to join him. He couldn’t even expect everyone to believe him. Not even, apparently, the people he’d made sacrifices for.

He’d continue to seek allies. And, in the meantime, he’d push forward on his own.

He’d made promises to Justin. He couldn’t go back on his word. He couldn’t un-hear what he’d heard. He couldn’t turn a blind eye to what he’d already seen. Anyone in that kind of pain needed help. Deserved help.

He was afraid for Justin. He didn’t know what emotional state Justin was in. He knew how strong Justin was; he didn’t know how strong Justin felt.

Fresh from Brian’s arms, with need pumping through his body, Jacob was ready to go straight to his room, where he could lock the door and…exorcise a few demons. But he was barely in the house before Dan was in his face.

Dan started right in on him about where he’d been and why he hadn’t told Dan about it beforehand. Since he didn’t appreciate being held accountable for other people’s problems, and he didn’t need to clear his schedule with Dan before leaving the house, he snapped back. There was a lot of back-and-forth before Dan demanded, “What?!”

“Either you’ve been lying to me, to all of us, since you decided to make Justin Timberlake your number one best friend, or else he’s been lying and manipulating the fuck out of you,” Jacob snapped. “I don’t know which one it is, but either way, I’m pissed off. I don’t like being lied to, I don’t-”

“Lying to you?!” Dan stared at him like he was talking out of his ass. “Who said I’ve been lying? Who-”

“Justin did,” Jacob said. “AJ did. You-”

“AJ! You’re going to take anything that AJ says seriously?! He-”

“I know what I heard,” Jacob said, standing his ground. “I know what I saw tonight. Justin’s about as much of a victim as I am. He can bitch with the best of them. He acts about as afraid of AJ as Brian is.”

“No.” Dan shook his head, not buying it, not accepting it. “I don’t know what you saw, but I know what I saw, and Justin-”

“Maybe Justin’s the problem,” Jacob said. “I saw him one way, and you saw him another way. Maybe we’re not seeing things wrong. Maybe he’s fucking with us.”

“Fucking with us?” Dan demanded. “You can’t fake that! No one could pretend to be that afraid and abused and-”

“Not unless he got something from it,” Jacob said. “Like his boyfriend back. Like the attention of another willing guy while his boyfriend wasn’t available.”

“Wasn’t available?” Dan repeated. “AJ-”

“AJ isn’t the problem,” Jacob said. “He’s not a saint, but he isn’t an animal, either. He showed me his tats, and Justin flipped the fuck out that AJ had taken his shirt off in front of me. AJ took it a lot better than I would have. Justin’s freaking unstable. I don’t know why AJ’s with him, unless it’s for sex. When we walked in on them in the kitchen, they were already halfway to the deed, and they hadn’t been alone in there for five minutes.”

Dan’s eyes burned with impotent fury. “You don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.”

If Dan didn’t like hearing that Justin wasn’t the perfect victim after all, that wasn’t Jacob’s problem. “He played you, and you’re still sticking up for him. How long are you going to stay his bitch?”

He’d heard Dan come back, had heard Dan move around downstairs in restless, prowling patterns.

He’d heard Jacob come back. Had heard raised voices, then slammed doors.

Dan had left the house again. He wondered where Dan was going.

A rustle as Trevor rolled over; toes prodded his back. “You okay?”

“Yeah.” Turning, he left his position at the foot of the bed and crawled back up, settling in, his head on the pillow. “Just thinking.”

“About anything good?” Trevor asked sleepily, wrapping an arm around him securely.

“Just…wondering how the big dinner went.”

“Mmm.” Trevor was already falling back to sleep. “Dinner with Brian, AJ, and Justin. I don’t know how the hell Jacob got that lucky.”

Chris didn’t, either.

Then again…he wouldn’t necessarily call it lucky.

Groaning, panting, Justin rested his sweat-streaked face against the pillow. “Shit.” He felt like his bones were Jell-O and his muscles were pudding. “You fuck so goddamned hard.”

“I do.” AJ was up and moving around; Justin didn’t know where he’d found the strength. “You want some more painkillers?”

“Yeah. No.” He wasn’t sure. Did-

Smack!

“Ouch!” Shit! “Damn it!”

“You want some more painkillers?” AJ asked, just as calmly as before.

His ass stinging from the slap, Justin glared over his shoulder. “Yes.”

Nodding, AJ uncapped a bottle. “You weren’t bad tonight.”

“Thanks. I’ll try not to let your endless praise and flattery go to my head.”

“Work on it.” Coming back to the bed, AJ sat beside him, offering a few pills and a glass of water. Rolling onto one side, Justin swallowed the pills with a brief, “Thanks.” AJ set the glass aside and caressed his upper arm absent-mindedly, gazing at the opposite wall. “Brian’s got some interesting work ahead of him. Jacob’s…”

“A judgmental self-centered self-righteous asshole,” Justin muttered, shifting around to get more comfortable, resting his cheek on AJ’s thigh.

“Yeah.” AJ stroked his hair, his scalp.

His eyes closed. He felt worn out, used, but in kind of a good way. “I have to call Chris.”

“You can do it in the morning.”

But he had to…find out about Trevor and…the car… Justin yawned, trying to hold onto slippery thoughts. He wanted to ask Chris about… “Kevin…”

“You’ll see him tomorrow.”

Yeah. He’d…tomorrow...

They’d been making out on the couch for a while - - Joey wasn’t even sure how that had started, it had just sort of happened - - when Nick had muttered something about going to the bedroom. Now they were on the bed, and he was hard, on edge, charged up, ready to get to it. He wanted Nick, wanted to fuck Nick, wanted to thrust and fuck and get off. It would be good, he knew that it’d be good. Nick’s body moved too damned well during sex to give a bad ride.

The combination of hormones and experience had Joey’s body doing what it wanted and taking what it needed; without putting any actual thought into it, he rolled this way and pushed that way and, with a knee there and a hand there, he got Nick’s thighs farther apart as-

Without disrupting their kiss, Nick caught Joey’s hand, moving it to his dick. Distracted, Joey stroked it, rubbed it, falling into the rhythm of Nick’s hips, Nick’s kiss, Nick’s breath. He absolutely fucking loved jacking AJ’s dick, and he had no problem with Ashley’s, and he unconsciously slid into a familiar pattern, his hand slipping back to cup Nick’s balls, massaging there before his fingers-

“Sweetness.” Nick captured his hand again, rolling on top of him, sliding down his body with a few kisses, licks, and nibbles on the way. He knew that Nick was distracting him on purpose, knew that his attention was being misdirected so he wouldn’t push the point, but Nick’s mouth was amazing, and his eyes were rolling back in his head before he could even think about protesting.

After a mind-blowing, spine-twisting orgasm, he expected Nick to go ahead and fuck him. And he would’ve consented happily and offered his ass with a merry smile, because he felt terrific. But after climbing on top of him, Nick just kissed him, grinding against him nice and slow, making out with him, stroking him up and rubbing him down and murmuring sex in his ears. He got into it, caressing sweat-slick skin, feeding off of deep kisses, rolling his hips in rhythm with Nick’s. His body caught up, and soon his dick was riding the wave of their bodies alongside Nick’s, their erections rubbing against each other, slippery with each other’s pre-cum, until he was knotted up around his own need. Nick reached down between their bodies, grasping their dicks in one hand, pumping them, jacking them.

Groaning, unable to stop thrusting, fucking up into Nick’s hand, fucking against Nick’s dick, Joey dug his fingers into the generous curves of Nick’s ass, trying to control the motion of Nick’s hips. He needed more, faster, harder, yes, yes, right there, that was so good, so good, so good… Nick was kissing his neck, sucking, and he closed his eyes, and Nick’s teeth nipped his flesh, and he was coming, and Nick bit down, and he was coming, and the explosion of it rocked him. He could hear Nick moaning, heard the unbearably erotic sounds of Nick in orgasm, felt spurt after spurt of cum splash across his chest, felt Nick’s palm skim up his arm, felt Nick’s body against his. His thoughts were rubble, his mind was a pleasantly sunny empty meadow, and his body was quietly humming but of no use to anyone. He opened his eyes, moaned in mild pleasure and protest as Nick shifted against him, and then moaned again when Nick kissed him.

“I’ll go get a washcloth,” Nick said. “Since you don’t look like you’re going anywhere.”

Joey kissed him, liking the way he kissed back. “Do all of your lovers like being hosed down?”

A soft chuckle. Nick kissed him a little more. “Do you?”

“It’s messy as hell.” Then again… He grinned, stroking the stubble growing in around Nick’s mouth. “I like watching you come on Ashley. It’s kind of hot.”

“Speaking of a cum rag,” Nick said, kissing him. He laughed, and Nick chuckled again, kissing his cheek. “I can’t wait to see you fuck him again. I want to see you ride him hard and make him beg for it.”

“He loves it,” Joey said. He kept kissing Nick, and Nick kept kissing him, a constant trade between words. “He gets so hot for it.”

“He loves you,” Nick murmured, still kissing him, not bothering to back up to speak, lips brushing his. “He loves your dick. He loves the way you take him.”

“He likes you, too.” Not that Joey could blame him. Sliding his hand up Nick’s side, Joey slipped Nick some tongue, and Nick moaned softly.

“It’s not me.” Nick licked into his mouth, coaxing his tongue out to play again, and he acquiesced, curling his fingers in Nick’s hair as Nick straddled him. “It’s my dick.”

Groaning, Joey shifted beneath him, drawing him closer. “You have one fierce dick.”

Nick laughed breathlessly, kissing him, nibbling at his lips. “Thanks.”

“You, too,” Joey prompted him.

Another laugh, amusement lighting Nick’s eyes. “You, too,” he said. “Come on, you know you work it, you don’t need compliments from me.”

“Yeah, but I deserve them,” he said with a grin, stretching beneath Nick.

“Absolutely.” Nick dropped one last kiss on his lips, then began to leave the bed. “You think it’s fierce?”

His grin widened. “Practically ferocious.”

“Ferocious,” Nick repeated, walking to the bedroom. “A ferocious dick. You know, some people might say that’s a bad thing.”

Joey sighed, crossing his arms behind his head, closing his eyes with a smile on his face. Mmm. “Those people are out of their minds.”

Continue on to part seventy-eight

matthew@matthewtime.com
"Sucker"
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