"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.

Dedication: I would like to thank Diamond, for stuff and things.

Continued from part seven...

“I can’t believe that I’m the only one without a sex life,” Chris said. “You’re all getting busy with two or three people, and I’m sitting at home twiddling my thumbs. So to speak.”

“Screw Trevor,” Justin said.

“You can borrow Ashley,” Joey offered.

“You’re so smug about him,” Lance said, amused.

“How many times can you come on someone’s face before you start to think he’ll let you do anything?” Joey asked. “I don’t know which one he likes better, dick or cum.”

“Nick gave me head today,” JC said suddenly, as though he just couldn’t hold it back anymore.

“What?” Justin asked.

“Really?” Lance asked.

“How do you get him to do that?” Chris asked.

“He just does it,” JC said. “I don’t even have to ask.”

“Damn,” Chris said. “What are you doing that I’m not?”

“Nick just has a different way of messing with JC than Brian has of messing with you,” Lance said.

“They’re all arrogant motherfuckers on their best days, and evil sociopaths on their worst,” Joey said.

“Kevin’s not a sociopath,” Justin said.

Everyone took a moment to look at Justin. Finally, Joey asked, “Does Kevin even give you head?”

“Yes,” Justin said.

“You’re serious,” Lance said, surprised. “He does?”

“Of course he does,” Justin said. “He hasn’t done it lately, but he used to.”

“Is he any good?” Joey asked.

“Hell, yes,” Justin said. “The way he licks… Trust me, he’s good.”

“He doesn’t let you fuck him, does he?” Joey asked.

“No,” Justin said. “I can’t fuck him, and I can’t use my fingers.” He glanced from face to face, judging how personal to get. “But I can lick him. He likes that.”

“AJ loves it,” Joey said. “It makes him crazy.”

“Do you think they enjoy sex with us, at all?” Lance asked. “Or is it like JC is with Erik? Erik’s having a great time, and has no idea that JC’s disgusted and would rather be anywhere else than there touching him.”

“I like getting off with Ashley,” Joey said.

“You think he’s a whore,” Lance said. “You don’t respect him. They don’t respect us. Is that what we are? Either disgusting, or sluts they get off with because we give a decent free ride?”

“You have to stop reading parallels into everything,” Joey said. “We’re not them, we’re nothing like them. You’re not Ashley or Erik.”

“To the Boys, we’re no different,” Lance said. “The smile Howie gave Erik last night, that’s the same smile he gives JC and it’s the same smile he used to give me. You think Nick likes you because he’s nice to you, and you think that AJ wants you because he used to fuck you. They also broke your hearts, degraded you, humiliated you, betrayed you, they did everything to you they’re about to do to these guys, and you think you’re different in their eyes? You’re the same. We’re all the same. AJ didn’t connect with you, he doesn’t care about you, he would’ve pulled the same scam on JC that he pulled on you, if they’d picked different names out of the hat.”

“They didn’t pick names out of a hat,” Chris said.

Justin looked at him. “Do you know what they did?”

“Yeah,” Chris said.

“You do?” JC asked, surprised, leaning closer.

Chris crossed his arms over his chest, lowering his gaze. “Kevin said he wanted to fuck up Justin. Nick said if Kevin knew how to destroy Justin, he was in, too. AJ said he wouldn’t mind fucking Justin. Nick said if it was about sex, he’d rather fuck JC.”

“Wait, how do you know this?” Joey asked.

“Brian told me,” Chris said.

“I don’t want to hear this,” JC said.

“No, keep going,” Lance said.

“Kevin decided that sex probably was the best way to fuck Justin over. He asked if anybody else wanted to play. They decided to make it a competition. Whoever won got two million dollars. Half a million from each of the other guys.”

“Two million dollars?” Lance repeated.

“Kevin had already chosen Justin, and Nick picked JC,” Chris said. “AJ wanted Joey because he likes strong, masculine guys. Brian wanted Lance. Howie flipped him for it. Brian lost, and he got me.”

“God,” Joey said.

“Who won?” Lance asked.

“Brian,” Chris said. “He sent me a check for two hundred thousand, ten percent of his winnings, because he couldn’t have done it without me.”

“Oh my god,” Justin said. “Oh my god.”

“We knew it was a game to them,” Lance said.

“We didn’t know it started out as Get Justin!” Justin shouted. “He hated me that much? He hated me so much he - - it was a competition?! Who can fuck us up the most?”

“We don’t know Brian was telling the truth,” JC said.

“It was true,” Chris said.

“They’re not playing again, are they?” Justin asked.

“With O-Town? Of course they are,” Lance said.

“No,” Justin said. “With us.”

They looked at each other.

“I scratched your favorite toy,” AJ told Kevin, sitting back in his chair.

“Good,” Kevin said, passing out plates. “He needs to be put in his place. How bad is it?”

“Scratches, grip bruises,” AJ said. “Nothing serious. But I guarantee Dan noticed, and that’s what counts.” He dumped fried rice onto his plate. “He’s a half-decent lay. I wouldn’t mind going back.”

“At least he’s good for something,” Kevin said, taking a seat. “Hand me that fork.”

Nick passed Kevin a fork. “Who’s better, Justin or Joey?” he asked AJ.

AJ shrugged. “Justin’s easier, and his hips move like water. Joey’s more assertive, and I always prefer that, but he also likes to top a lot. Justin knows better than to let that cross his mind.”

“Joey’s too butch for me,” Nick said. “Too bulky, too much facial hair. I don’t know how you can stand it. How can you fuck someone with a beard?”

“You know how hard I fuck,” AJ said. “Joey’s strong enough to stand it. Justin was whimpering three strokes in.”

“I’d make Joey shave that shit off, if he didn’t look so ugly without it,” Nick said. “JC knows to come to me clean-shaven.”

“What’s so wrong about guys with facial hair?” Kevin asked.

Nick rolled his eyes. “I’m not talking about any of you. I just like the guys I fuck to look a certain way. I like perfection. You like pretty boys. AJ likes aggressive men. Howie likes nice guys. Brian likes…” Nick’s voice dropped off; he looked at Brian. “What the hell is your type?”

Brian smiled. “Victims.”

Chris parked outside of Justin’s house. “I know it seems like they don’t understand, and it can get frustrating. But they just want to help. We can all see how hard this is on you.”

“If they were that worried about my mental state, they wouldn’t have invited Kevin back into my life,” Justin said.

“Are you okay?” Chris asked.

Justin tugged his sleeve down over his bruised wrist. “Yeah.”

“You want me to come in?”

“No.” Justin unlocked the door, then abruptly turned to Chris. “What’s Kevin like when he’s with you?”

“Arrogant,” Chris said. “Sometimes he’s ‘I rule the world and you’re a bug I want to crush.’ Last night, he was nice to me. Actually nice to me. Relatively.”

“Why?”

“Hell if I know. Probably because I was breaking down all over Howie’s office. Yelling wasn’t going to work, I would have ignored it. But he reasoned with me. Not to help me, just to get me back out there doing his bidding.”

“Why don’t you just go over to Brian’s house?” Justin asked.

Chris curled his hands around the steering wheel. “He’ll call the police.”

“No, he won’t.”

“He did before.”

“Yeah, but you left before the cops showed up.”

Chris laughed painfully.

“He’d never really let you get arrested,” Justin said. “You could break in and there’s nothing he can do about it.”

Chris’s hands tightened on the wheel. “I don’t want to quote you back at yourself,” he said, looking down, “but you don’t know what you’re talking about. What goes on between you and Kevin is nothing like what goes on between me and Brian.”

“Why don’t you ever talk about any of it?” Justin asked.

Chris took a deep breath, then exhaled slowly. “It’s painful. Too painful to talk about. Too painful to think about.” He shot Justin a brief glance. “What about you?”

“I’m ashamed,” Justin said. “I’m not myself when I’m with Kevin.”

Chris nodded, looking out through the windshield.

“Do you know if AJ ever hit Joey?”

Chris frowned slightly. “I’ve never heard anything about it, or seen any signs of it, and I know Joey would never put up with that.”

“That’s what I thought,” Justin said.

Chris dropped his head back on the headrest, relaxing his hands. “Dan’s a nice guy?”

“He’s likable,” Justin said. “Really likable.” He flicked at the air conditioning vents. “Fuck it, though, that doesn’t change anything. I’m still going to bring him down.” He looked at Chris. “What about Trevor?”

“He’s weak,” Chris said, his voice flat, taking no pleasure in it. “I could tear him apart with my bare hands. Kevin’s going to shred him.”

Justin’s voice twisted bitterly. “Good.”

JC was still at Lance’s house when his cell phone rang. He checked the ID. “Damn it.”

“Estrada?” Joey guessed.

“I liked that shirt,” JC said, and answered. “Erik-Michael?” he asked, his tone warm and inviting. Joey was impressed. Lance grinned. “Yes. Yeah. I did, too,” JC said. “I don’t know, honey. I was just on my way to see Howie. But tell you what, I’ll check with him and get back to you. Okay. Okay. Bye, honey.” JC hung up. “My skin is crawling.”

“Last night can’t have been that bad,” Joey said.

“He licked my cheek,” JC said. “He was drunk, and sloppy, and slobbering on my face. There’s no way I’m seeing him again tonight. He can wait.”

“Are you going to call Howie?” Joey asked.

“Don’t,” Lance said. “You don’t want to see Erik, call him back and tell him you’re busy.”

“And when Erik mentions it to Howie later?” JC asked.

“If you don’t want to see Erik tonight, that’s your decision,” Lance said.

JC looked from Lance to Joey.

“Fuck Howie,” Joey said. “Do what you want.”

JC set his phone aside. “I’ll call Erik and tell him to back off. Later.”

Howie’s phone rang. Checking his ID, he raised his hand; conversation stopped, all eyes on him. “Hello, Erik-Michael,” he said smoothly.

AJ smirked.

“I’m glad you had a good time,” Howie said. “You did? All right. Let me talk to JC, then, and I’ll let you know. All right. Good-bye.” He hung up and studied his phone. “If JC doesn’t call me in the next five minutes, he’s going to regret it.”

Chris drove past Brian’s house.

Was Brian home?

Was Brian alone?

Was Brian out? With Jacob?

Chris parked and dialed.

“Townhouse, Erik-Michael speaking.”

“Is Trevor there?”

“Yeah, hold on.”

Chris fiddled with the radio.

“Hello?”

“It’s Chris. Are you busy?”

“I’m kicking Ashley’s ass at Raider’s Robots, but I can do that any time. What’s going on?”

“Come over to my house.”

“Okay.”

Chris could feel Brian’s house behind him. Looming. Shadowing his back. He pressed his fingers to his eyes. “Okay. Bye.”

“Bye.”

Chris hung up, immediately pulling back onto the road. He had to get away. He’d go home. He’d let Trevor fuck him. Maybe he could numb the pain. Maybe. It was worth a shot. Anything was better than this.

JC’s phone rang. He frowned at it. “It’s Howie.”

“Howie?” Lance asked.

“Are they bugging our phones?” Joey asked.

JC hesitated.

“Answer it,” Lance said. “Tell him you’re busy, you don’t want to see Erik today, you’ll get to it tomorrow.”

JC picked up. “This is JC.”

“JC, it’s Howie. Erik just called.”

“Yeah?” JC asked. “He just called me, too.”

“He called you at least twenty minutes ago,” Howie said. “Were you going to call me?”

“No,” JC said. Lance and Joey were right; he didn’t have to answer to Howie. Howie was no one. He was in charge of his own decisions. “I don’t want to see him tonight. I’m going to call him back and tell him I’m busy.”

“I thought that we were in this together,” Howie said softly. “I thought that we were partners.”

JC didn’t know what to say to that. He understood the concept of “in this together.” He’d never make a decision regarding the group without consulting the rest of the guys; that would be insane. But this was different. Wasn’t it?

“They have a photo shoot tomorrow,” Howie said. “This is a perfect opportunity for us. We can keep him out with us all night, and make him late for the shoot.”

JC avoided Lance and Joey’s questioning gazes. “I forgot about that,” he admitted.

“I’m going to call Erik back and ask him to come to my house,” Howie said. His voice soft, sad, and damning, he added, “I hope that you can find the time to join us.” He hung up.

JC hung up, too, lowering his head. “Damn it.” He leaned back into the sofa, closing his eyes, then stood. “I fucked up,” he told Lance and Joey. “I have to go. They have a shoot tomorrow.”

“Shit,” Joey said. “Shit, I forgot about that.”

“So did I,” JC said. “We all did. Howie’s disappointed in me, and he has every right to be pissed at me.”

Lance stood to object. “We-”

“We’re amateurs,” JC said. “We’re fucking amateurs. He’s right to be disappointed in me. We can’t demand to be considered equals if we’re nowhere near their level.” He picked up his keys. “I’ll see you later.”

Justin walked through his house. It was empty, but traces of AJ were everywhere. Sunglasses he didn’t own by the door, dishes he hadn’t used in the sink, magazines he never read on a table. There was a lot of stuff in the bathroom, a whole grooming regime, from toothbrush to mascara. Freak. There were clothes in his closet, too.

AJ hadn’t had all of this in the club. Maybe it had been in AJ’s car, and he’d brought it in after Justin had left with Dan.

Frowning, suspicious, Justin checked. Fuck. A set of spare keys was gone. Fuck, fuck. A dangerous chill shivered up his spine. AJ had access to his house.

Scared, furious, Justin stormed back to his bedroom. He threw the camera and tripod onto the bed, then yanked the covers off of the mattress and pulled it into a large bundle. He marched straight outside, to the pool, and hurled it in. The splash wasn’t satisfying enough. He wanted to throw AJ in there. And Kevin, damn it, because that was where all of this began.

He went back into the house, slamming doors. He needed-

Shit.

Fuck.

Justin stared at his liquor cabinet. It was empty. Absolutely one hundred perfuckingcent empty. No Cristal, no Dom, nothing. All of his booze, thousands of dollars, gone.

A little numb now, he checked the fridge. No beer.

Distractedly, he wondered where the bottles were. Had AJ taken everything somewhere? Or poured it all out and dumped the bottles? He’d probably given it all to the other Boys. Howie was probably sipping his wine with dinner.

He hadn’t even touched the Courvoisier Joey had given him for his birthday. He’d been waiting for a special occasion. He wondered where it was now. Poured down the sink? At Nick’s house?

Justin went to his phone and dialed AJ’s house number. Voice mail. He called AJ’s cell phone.

“What?” AJ asked.

“I want to kill Dan.”

“Good,” AJ said. “Stay there, I’m coming over.” He hung up.

Justin hung up and went to make the bed. He was supposed to treat AJ the way he’d treat Kevin, and he was supposed to be ready for Kevin to fuck him on a moment’s notice. He’d never let Kevin catch him with no sheets on his bed.

He wanted a drink. Too bad he couldn’t have one.

He wanted his independence. That would mean losing Kevin. He didn’t want it that badly.

He wanted to hurt Dan. To hurt someone as badly as he’d been hurt. That, he could do.

JC got to Howie’s house as quickly as he could. Howie let him in. “I’m glad you came,” Howie said. “This is a lot easier when we work together.”

JC felt guilty, which he was sure was Howie’s intention.

“I don’t know how soon he’ll be here,” Howie said. “I asked him to give us half an hour, but he doesn’t listen well.” He started walking away, so JC followed him to the bedroom.

Howie began to undress. JC couldn’t look away. Howie was beautiful, and his body was gorgeous, and JC had never seen him fully naked. Not until now. God, this wasn’t right, Erik couldn’t possibly be allowed to put his hands on Howie.

“We’re going to get him to spend the night,” Howie said. “Tease him, touch him, kiss him, lead him on.”

The muscles in Howie’s thighs were thick and strong. JC remembered having his hands on them, through Howie’s pants. He wanted to slide his hand up the back of Howie’s bare thigh, feel the warmth of Howie’s skin under his palm, the solidity of muscle. Howie’s skin felt as flawless as it looked, smooth as satin against his lips.

“I’m going to get a phone call and leave,” Howie said. “You take him to my bed and give him whatever he wants. It’ll be a miracle if he remembers the shoot.”

“Whatever he wants?” JC repeated.

Howie was getting dressed again, and the light, breezy fabric of his wrinkled cotton shirt and calf-length pants was stark white, creating a perfect contrast to the golden tone of his skin. He ran one hand through his hair, and every strand was in place. “I know you’re as committed to this as I am.”

“Then why am I the only one being groped?” JC asked.

“Because that’s what we agreed to,” Howie said reasonably. He undid the first two buttons on his shirt, exposing his throat. “Take off your shoes. Get comfortable.”

Chris opened the door.

Trevor was on his doorstep with a smile. “I’m back.”

“How long can you stay?” Chris asked, closing the door behind Trevor when he stepped into the foyer.

“We have a shoot tomorrow morning,” Trevor said. “Until then, I’m free.”

“Good,” Chris said. “I’ll get you a toothbrush. Have you eaten?”

AJ fucked him so hard it hurt. Fierce thrusts that jolted his entire body, AJ’s dick slamming into him without regard for his pleasure. After he came in his own hand, AJ pulled out, gagged him, flipped him over, and fucked him again. On his hands and knees, choking around the bandanna shoved in his mouth, being fucked harder than ever, Justin missed Kevin. AJ had no class.

AJ pulled out at the last minute, coming on the backs of his thighs with a satisfied groan.

Justin spat out the bandanna, throwing it across the room. He turned over, onto his back. He was going to be sore, he knew it. But, that was the idea.

“You’re bleeding,” AJ said.

Shit.

AJ’s eyes ran over him critically. “Make sure he sees the bite on your shoulder. Make sure he knows you’re sore.”

Kevin had more muscle mass than AJ, and even he didn’t fuck that forcefully. If AJ fucked that hard all of the time, maybe he did fuck Joey. But Joey, bottoming? Justin couldn’t wrap his mind around it. Then again, Joey would be shocked if he could see into Justin’s bedroom, too.

“Don’t fuck this up,” AJ said.

Justin stood carefully.

“Don’t shower first.”

Justin stopped. He had to take a shower. He wasn’t going to walk out of his house with cum drying on his skin.

“We were fucking, we fought, you ran out,” AJ said. “Straight from my dick to Dan’s arms.”

“What were we fighting about?” Justin asked.

“You wanted me to give you head,” AJ said. “I don’t do that shit and you know it.”

Was that true? Maybe. Maybe not. It didn’t matter.

“I’m spending the night here,” AJ said.

Justin pulled on track pants and a T-shirt. He found sneakers and walked to the doorway.

He paused, head down, studying the carpet. “I hate you.”

“Works for me,” AJ said behind him.

Justin left.

Erik loved Howie’s house. He was having the time of his life. The second he’d walked in, Howie had kissed him on the mouth, fingers stroking lightly down his forearm. JC had kissed him, too, and he’d kissed back, just a little. Then Howie had slipped away to the kitchen, and JC had led him to the sofa. They started talking, JC directly beside him, close enough that their thighs were touching, JC gazing right into his eyes. Erik felt like he was the center of the universe.

Then there was a touch at his neck, fingers running up his nape, and Howie sat on his other side, even closer than JC. “I hope you had a good time last night.”

It wasn’t possible, it couldn’t be possible, but Howie was even prettier than JC was. It was the warm glow of his skin, the soft lush promise of his lips, the rich brown of his eyes; and this close, Erik was in love with Howie’s eyelashes. So dark, so long…

Howie’s hand was on his chest, gently pressing him back. “Erik-Michael.” There was light amusement in Howie’s eyes, like he understood how much Erik wanted him, and couldn’t blame him for it. “I hope you had a good time last night.”

A good time? Making out with JC? Coming in JC’s hand? “I had the time of my life,” Erik said.

“I tried to be,” private smile, “a good host.”

“You were an incredible host,” Erik said. Howie’s hand was still on his chest, fingers stroking. He was ignoring JC, and he wanted to amend that, but he couldn’t look away from Howie’s eyes.

“I’d like to be a good host tonight, too,” Howie said, and there was no way that Erik was imagining the flare of sexual heat in Howie’s eyes. Erik’s dick twitched in response. “I want you to be…comfortable here.” Howie’s hand slid down Erik’s chest, stopping on his fly. Erik stopped breathing, staring into Howie’s eyes in disbelief, as Howie popped the button on his fly. There was this soft smile on Howie’s lips, like he was looking forward to what was about to happen. Erik didn’t know what was going to happen, but if it involved his dick and Howie, he was all for it. He was getting hard, fast.

Howie’s hand moved; Erik heard a zipper break the silence, and the constriction of his jeans relaxed. “JC,” Howie said, still looking directly into Erik’s eyes. Erik tried to control his breathing so he wasn’t panting directly in Howie’s face. “You want Erik to be comfortable, don’t you?”

“Of course,” JC said, behind him.

“JC loves giving head,” Howie said. His eyes were hypnotizing. Erik couldn’t believe how hard he was. “Don’t you, baby?”

At that question, Erik’s dick throbbed. He was going to get to fuck JC’s mouth. He was going to get to fuck JC’s mouth. This was the hottest night of his life.

Howie leaned in, eyes closing, and Erik almost moaned when Howie’s lips brushed his. These chaste, intimate kisses were going to fucking kill him. “Just sit back,” Howie whispered, “and relax.”

Erik managed to look away from Howie, leaning back, relaxing into the plush sofa. He closed his eyes, trying to compose himself a little, and he felt JC move. Opening his eyes, he saw JC sliding around to kneel between his feet. Holy fucking god, holy fucking god. This couldn’t be happening to him.

JC had great hands. They looked great, taking out Erik’s arousal, and they felt great, stroking over his dick. JC did some pull-and-squeeze, getting him harder, making him tense up and moan a little. Howie curled up at his side, cozy against him, watching, gently caressing his chest, tugging on his nipples through his shirt, which drove him crazy.

Then JC leaned in, bowing his head, and the first wet lick just below the head made Erik shudder, giving off a low moan. God, that was, oh, that felt, god, oh… Oh, god… Erik squeezed his eyes shut, aching. His dick throbbed, rock-hard and excited about JC’s tongue.

Mouth, JC’s mouth, hot, wet, sucking, god, nobody ever, god, Erik groaned, rocking his hips, pushing his dick in farther. God, that was, oh… JC was incredible, JC could do anything, JC was going to make him come.

Howie’s hand dropped to his thigh, moving in towards his groin, and Erik opened his eyes, wanting to see Howie’s hand on him. Howie cupped his balls, and while Erik moaned some more, JC came off of his dick to lick on his balls, sucking them from Howie’s hand into his mouth. Erik groaned, dick spitting precum, hands pushing down his own jeans and underwear to give JC more room. JC went back to his dick, sucking on it, bobbing up and down, and Erik closed his eyes again, tighter, tighter, trying not to come just over the image of his dick disappearing into JC’s mouth.

JC was so sexy and perfect and wild and creative and hot and talented and mysterious and gorgeous and gay and everything, JC was everything ever all rolled up into one person, and he was on his knees sucking Erik’s dick. Erik put his hand on Howie’s knee, holding on tightly, groaning with the effort not to come while JC sucked harder, harder, that tongue, that suction, that mouth, that oh, oh, ah! Ah! Erik cried out, coming, squeezing Howie’s knee, shooting cum inside JC’s mouth. God, god…god… God… Damn. Erik breathed again, gradually opening his eyes.

The phone rang. Howie kissed his cheek, then got up and left.

Still panting, Erik stared at JC. Flushed cheeks, wet lips, totally gorgeous.

Howie returned. “I’m so sorry, I have to go. AJ and Justin - - you know how they’ve been,” he told JC. “I have to go. I’ll be back as soon as I can. Make yourself at home,” he told Erik, dropping a kiss on Erik’s cheek. “Good-bye,” he said, leaning down to kiss JC’s cheek. “I’ll be back as soon as I can,” he repeated, and was gone.

JC moved up to sit beside him, kissing him. Surprised, hoping that Howie was okay with this, Erik kissed back. Why wouldn’t Howie be okay with it? Howie had just - - whoa, whoa, okay. Erik hadn’t expected JC’s hand back on his naked dick this soon. “Do you want to see the bedroom?” JC asked, and there was this fire in his eyes, this intensity, that Erik had never seen before.

Did he want to see the bedroom? Howie’s bedroom? Where Howie and JC fucked? Where he could be horizontal, on a bed, with JC? “Yes,” he said, “right now.”

Chris took Trevor to his bedroom, where they lounged around on the bed talking. Chris touched Trevor, because he liked to touch Trevor, and Trevor accommodated him. He wondered whether Trevor would reject his sexual advances, if he tried anything. He wondered if he could handle rejection today.

When Justin rang the doorbell, Dan opened the door. “Justin? Come in. Are you okay?”

“Can I crash here tonight?” Justin asked. “I can’t go to the other guys, I go to them all of the time, I can’t keep depending on them. They’re already starting to think…”

“Of course,” Dan said, guiding him into the house. “I’d be honored to have you crash here. Come on upstairs.”

“Thank you,” Justin said, shooting for grateful and ashamed, but not pathetic.

“Can I ask what’s wrong with your house?” Dan asked.

“AJ’s there,” Justin said. “He’s still there, but I couldn’t stay, he was - - we had a fight,” he said, editing his statements in mid-sentence to make Dan think he was avoiding things.

“A bad fight?” Dan guessed, as they mounted the stairs.

“Yeah,” Justin said. “Yeah, a bad one.”

Dan’s room was nice. Pretty clean. “You can take my bed,” Dan said. “I can sleep downstairs.”

“Relationships should be equal, shouldn’t they?” Justin asked.

“I think so,” Dan said.

“Would you eat a girl out if she didn’t give you head?” Justin asked.

It took Dan a second to answer; apparently he wasn’t used to being quite that blunt about his sexual behavior. “Yes,” Dan said. “Probably.”

“What if she demanded it?” Justin asked.

“I’d be less inclined to do it, if she’s demanding it from me but not returning the favor,” Dan said. “It doesn’t seem fair for her to demand it.”

“That’s what I said!” Justin said. “He can’t demand it from me, and expect things from me, if he can’t reciprocate. AJ doesn’t give head, he never does, he won’t even try it, but I have to take his dick in my mouth every day! If I ever ask him about it, if I even bring it up, he gets pissed, like how could I ask him that when I know he never does it.”

“What happens if you tell AJ you don’t want to do it?” Dan asked.

“I can’t tell AJ no,” Justin said. “He doesn’t take it well.”

Dan sat on the bed. “Why do you take this? What are you getting out of it?”

Justin had already prepared this answer. “AJ and I have a great physical connection. When we’re together, when we move together, there’s a natural fluidity to it. It’s very powerful. Like when we dance. I’ve never had a partner like that.”

“You look amazing together,” Dan said. “I saw it at the club. But is that enough for you?”

“I haven’t seen anything better out there,” Justin said. “And I’ve never been in a relationship that didn’t have problems.” He eased himself down beside Dan, wincing for effect.

“Are you okay?” Dan asked.

“Yeah. Just a little…sore.”

“Sore?” Dan repeated.

Justin wondered how white bread Dan’s life had been. “Yeah. AJ fucks harder than anyone I’ve ever been with.”

A look of embarrassment crossed Dan’s face, then a look of concern. But he limited himself to, “How many men have you…”

“Two,” Justin said. If Dan asked who the other one was, he’d just say he couldn’t talk about it. “Thanks for letting me take over your bed. I appreciate you being so understanding. Normally I’m not this needy.”

“It’s okay,” Dan said. “You can come over any time. You’re welcome to take over anything you like.”

Justin smiled. “Does that include your shower?”

“Oh, yeah,” Dan said. “Let me hunt down a towel.”

Howie stood beside AJ, surveying Justin’s pool. “He shouldn’t have done that.”

“No, he shouldn’t have,” AJ said.

“What did he think that was going to accomplish?” Howie asked.

“He has to rebel to prove his independence so he won’t go stark raving mad,” AJ said. “He’s had a rough week, and we’re still getting to know each other, so I might let it go this one time.”

“Have you told Kevin?”

“Not yet.” AJ turned away, walking back into the house. “You made him suck Estrada’s dick?”

“He should have called me,” Howie said.

“In front of you,” AJ said. “He’s that turned off having to touch it in private, and you made him suck it in front of you. Good work, D.”

“You should have seen his face,” Howie said.

“Too bad he can’t go crying to Nick this time,” AJ said. “When are you going back?”

“Not for a while,” Howie said. “If I catch them in the middle of anything, it’ll look like I should join in. I’m going to wait until they’re asleep.”

“Come out with me,” AJ said. “I have to go buy something.”

JC wanted to get the hell out of Howie’s house and never look back.

He’d told Howie he wasn’t giving Erik head. He’d said it, specifically, and Howie had said they’d talk about it later. They hadn’t talked about it. They hadn’t said two words about it. Howie had put him in an impossible situation, where he couldn’t get out of doing it without causing a scene and jeopardizing their set-up.

He’d wanted to gag on Erik’s dick. Not because the dick, itself, was nasty, but because it was Erik’s, and he couldn’t believe he had to put his mouth anywhere on Erik. Especially in such a subservient position. He’d had to service Erik at Howie’s behest. In front of Howie. It couldn’t have been more degrading.

Now they were rolling across Howie’s bed, making out. Since Erik wasn’t drunk this time, it wasn’t all that bad. More controlled, less sloppy; confident, but not pushy. Erik’s tongue had taken up permanent residence in JC’s mouth, but at least Erik seemed to know what he was doing with it. He kept feeling over JC’s ass and thighs, and obviously he was hard again, but he wasn’t demanding that JC get him off.

No matter how Erik improved over his frenzied groping from the night before, he’d never be Nick. He’d never come close. JC, with Nick fresh in his mind, with Nick newly imprinted on his body, wanted to refuse Erik’s every touch.

This wasn’t what he wanted. This wasn’t Nick. This was the wrong body, the wrong mouth, the wrong hands. Nick didn’t touch him like this, Nick would never kiss him like that. And the longer they stayed in Howie’s bed, the more obvious it became that he was going to have to get Erik off again, and he didn’t want to have to do that.

Erik raised JC’s shirt, rubbing his hands up JC’s sides. “Does this come off?” he asked breathlessly.

“Yeah.” JC stripped out of his shirt, instinctively doing the slow-motion roll-and-writhe he’d learned to do for Nick.

“Wow.” Erik was staring at him in fascination. “You have a great body.”

He knew that. “Thanks.” He kissed Erik’s mouth, pushing into Erik’s hands. “What do you want to do to it?”

Erik laughed, sounding a little startled, a little overwhelmed. “A lot.” His hands ran over JC’s naked torso. When he rubbed his finger over a nipple, JC moaned softly, kissing him again. Erik took the hint, teasing his other nipple. At least he could be taught. JC might find a way to salvage this debacle after all.

Chris ran his knuckles over the hair on Trevor’s chin. “Do you remember last night?”

“Yeah,” Trevor said.

“Do you remember bringing me home?”

Trevor narrowed his eyes, like he saw where this was going. “Yeah.”

“Thanks for helping me out,” Chris said.

“You’re welcome,” Trevor said, but he was still waiting for Chris to get to the point.

“I tried to kiss you,” Chris said.

“I remember,” Trevor said. His voice was wary.

“You didn’t let me,” Chris said.

“You were drunk.”

Chris met Trevor’s eyes. “I’m sober now.”

“Do you still want to kiss me?” Trevor asked.

Chris’s hand traveled up, from Trevor’s chin to Trevor’s mouth. Trevor’s lower lip was soft to the press of his thumb. “Yeah.”

“Are you sure?” Trevor asked.

“Yeah.” Chris lowered his hand to Trevor’s chest.

Trevor hesitated. “I’ve never kissed a guy before.”

“It’s exactly like kissing a woman, only completely different,” Chris said.

Trevor laughed. “That helped.”

Chris scooted in nearer to kissing distance. “Close your eyes.”

Trevor closed his eyes.

Chris tilted his head, leaning in with parted lips. Mmm, soft. He kissed Trevor gently, sighing with pleasure as Trevor’s tongue slipped into his mouth. He liked this, he did. Trevor adjusted to him easily, making quiet, aroused noises, kissing him like his mouth was a gourmet treat to be thoroughly savored. Chris deepened the kiss, sliding his hand to the back of Trevor’s neck.

If he kept his eyes closed, maybe he could pretend that this was Brian.

Brian dialed, making his last check of the house. Doors locked, alarm set.

“Hello.”

“Lance,” Brian said. He smiled nervously, stroking the soft fabric of the curtains he’d just closed. “Hi, it’s Brian.”

“Hi.” Lance sounded hesitant, suspicious. Brian didn’t blame him; after what Howie had done to him, it was only natural to hold back. It wouldn’t be easy to win over Lance’s trust, but Brian was committed to it.

“I hope I’m not interrupting anything,” Brian said, caressing the tassel of the curtain pull. “You’re not busy, are you? If you’re busy, I don’t want to take up too much of your time.”

“No, it’s fine,” Lance said.

“So, what, what are you doing?” Brian asked.

“Not much,” Lance said. “Did you want something?”

“I was thinking we could - - I mean I’d like to spend time with you - - or, hang out, I meant to say - - not really hang out, but Jacob, we should talk about Jacob, what to do with him. We mapped out the general, the overall plan but we didn’t get into a lot of specifics and I was just, I thought maybe sometime we could get more in depth.” Brian closed his mouth, breaking off the rush of words, lowering his gaze to where his fingers were caressing the window frame.

“Um, yeah,” Lance said slowly. “We should get together, later, sometime, and work out more details.”

“Great,” Brian said too brightly. “That’s great, I’d really like to, um, I’ll see you. I’ll, uh, yeah, okay. It’s been great talking to you, it’s really nice to hear your voice, I’d better go, I have to… Bye, Lance.”

“Bye,” Lance said, sounding confused and suspicious.

Brian hung up the phone, rubbing his thumb across the keypad. “Lance,” he murmured to himself.

“Well, you can see that here’s the bed, and you know the bathroom’s down the hall,” Dan said. “I’ll be downstairs on the couch if you need anything.”

“Thanks,” Justin said.

“No problem,” Dan said. “Good night.” He left, quietly closing the door.

Justin lay back on the bed, looking up at the ceiling. Inventory. The Backstreet Boys had played an elaborate, two million dollar game of Get Justin. AJ was, for all intents and purposes, moving into his house, complete with spare keys. His ass was sore, his shoulder was bruised from AJ fucking biting him, and he couldn’t even sleep in his own bed anymore. Kevin hated him more than he’d ever imagined, which was a hell of a fucking lot, and his best friends had lost all respect for him.

Why was his first, strongest response to that, to want to call Kevin?

Kevin had been out to destroy him. That wasn’t news, but he’d never realized the full weight of it in quite this way. AJ was pretty close to abusing him, and he didn’t even have the balls to stand up to it. Now he was sleeping in Dan Miller’s bed.

So, a., he was one sick puppy, and b., his life was freaking pathetic.

He had to take control of his situation.

His most direct situation was, he was in Dan’s room. He might as well try to get some sleep, since he hadn’t been sleeping well, if at all, lately. He just hoped that he wasn’t going to have any wet dreams, or any nightmares, since he tended towards both, always relating to Kevin.

Justin got up, turning off the light, then shed his clothes and slipped under the covers.

JC closed his eyes, jacking Erik’s dick in his right hand, draping his left arm over Erik’s shoulders and stroking the back of Erik’s head. Erik was pushing into his hand, sucking on his neck, rubbing his erection through his pants. He moaned softly, arching gently beneath Erik for effect, and Erik groaned, coming in his hand.

JC tilted Erik’s face up for a kiss, discreetly wiping his hand on Howie’s sheets. They were clean sheets, too, spotless and smelling of fabric softener, which relieved JC of some of the guilt of being in Howie’s bed directly after Lance. Some of the guilt. Not all of it.

Erik squeezed his dick with just the right amount of pressure. Good boy. “Can I see it?”

It was about time. JC had almost given up on Erik, to the point where he’d been surprised Erik had put a hand down there at all. “Sure,” he said, with an easy smile. He brushed Erik’s hand aside, opening his fly, tugging down his pants and underwear.

Erik was staring again.

JC kicked his feet free, dropping his clothes to the floor.

“You have an incredible body,” Erik said. “God, I wish I looked like this.”

So did JC. He smiled and didn’t say anything.

Erik’s fingers stroked his hip, which created a nice tingle. “Howie did this?”

JC made himself keep smiling. That was Nick’s love bite, from Nick’s mouth. “Yes.” Howie’s mouth had never been near there, and as of tonight, JC didn’t want it there, either.

“Do you want me to… Can I get you off?” Erik asked.

“I’d like that,” JC said, tugging him in for a kiss. Another kiss, another, and Erik’s hand was on him. “Softer, honey, softer…” He covered Erik’s hand with his own, adjusting Erik’s grip, licking into Erik’s mouth. “Deeper, baby, right from the base. Faster, yes, mmm, good, honey, that’s so good…” JC moaned a little, kissing Erik harder. “You feel so good, honey, I’ve wanted this so much…” There, that was it, that was good, right there, just like that, yes. “Oh, yes, I’m going to come, oh, I’m so close, I’m going to come, Erik-Michael…” JC groaned, pretending he was emotionally invested in this orgasm, putting his body through some of the undulations that Nick actually made him feel. When he collapsed, panting softly, opening his eyes, Erik was staring at him in awe.

JC didn’t mind that. He knew he deserved it. He wiped himself off, pulling Erik into another kiss, rolling them over. Erik’s hands cupped his ass, and JC realized that now that he was naked, Erik was going to start feeling him up with new enthusiasm. But he could put up with it, now that he’d coached Erik into being calmer, slower, more sensual. Erik was already kissing better.

The slide of skin on skin was enjoyable, and Erik obviously wanted him, and JC loved spending hours making out. If this were anyone but Erik, he’d be having a great time. He might even be able to overlook Erik’s drunken display in Howie’s office. But, thanks to Howie, now that he’d been pushed into sucking Erik’s dick without warning, in front of an audience, just so Howie could prove his dominance, JC was dangerously close to shoving Erik off of himself and running for the shower.

Joey poured himself a drink and wondered whether he should call Ashley. He didn’t actually want to talk to Ashley, because he knew that Ashley wanted to have a relationship discussion. But maybe he could get Ashley to try phone sex. It wouldn’t be as satisfying as the real thing, but he was starting to enjoy the way Ashley panted and moaned.

His phone rang. Picking up his glass in one hand, Joey took the phone in the other. “You got Joey.”

“Joseph.”

Joey dropped his glass. “AJ.”

“You don’t know how bored I am. And stressed out, dealing with all of this manipulative undercover bullshit. I need to relax. Come over here and relax with me.”

“Okay,” Joey said, because it was all he could say. He’d been waiting for this call for so long, he wasn’t sure it was really happening.

“I’m at Justin’s, but you know where that is.”

“Justin’s?” he repeated, sure he was misinterpreting that.

“Timberlake’s,” AJ said.

He couldn’t misinterpret that. “Is he there?” He had to be, why else would AJ be there?

“Not tonight,” AJ said. “I’ll be waiting.” He hung up.

Joey didn’t know what to… It was AJ, this was the call, he had to go. His dick was already hard, because the sound of AJ’s voice did that to him. This was his chance, his chance to be with AJ again, his chance to revisit the most fantastic, pumping, grinding, smack-your-ass, slam-you-into-the-wall, flip-you-over-the-bed, who’s-your-daddy say-my-name sex he’d ever had.

He’d clean up the glass later. Where the hell had he put his keys?

Trevor liked Chris. Really liked Chris.

He never turned down an opportunity to get laid, especially with someone he liked, especially when he hadn’t gotten any in a while.

Chris’s genuine maleness was a huge turn-on, too - - Chris’s dick hard against his thigh, Chris’s musculature, Chris’s goatee. Running his hands up Chris’s chest and finding flat pecs instead of soft, round breasts was strangely, seriously arousing. He was getting off on Chris’s body, on the way Chris kissed, on the quiet noises Chris made.

They’d been kissing for a while, a long while, and Trevor was more than ready to move on, and he could tell that Chris was going to let him.

The question was, how far did he want to take this?

Chris had said “I love you” last night, and not meant it. He’d been drunk, and torn up over Kevin. Trevor had been in the right place at the right time, being nice to Chris when Chris had needed someone to be nice to him. But Trevor didn’t want the sympathy vote. He wanted the real thing.

He lifted his head, opening his eyes.

Chris opened his eyes, too. He licked his lower lip. He raised his eyebrows.

“Can I stay here tonight?” Trevor asked. He hesitated. “Without…sex?”

Chris startled Trevor by laughing. He closed his eyes and laughed, long and hard, his body shaking from it beneath Trevor. Finally, composing himself, he said, “Yeah. Yeah,” and guided Trevor aside, sitting up, crawling off of the bed. “I’m sorry, my bad,” he said, standing beside the bed. “You go ahead, you stay here, I just have to go make a phone call.”

“Chris-”

“I’ll come back, we’ll talk, we’ll do our nails, it’ll be great,” Chris said, and left.

Trevor groaned, rolling onto his back. He wondered who Chris was calling. Chris probably wasn’t calling anyone, was just trying to get away from him.

Not that he blamed Chris for it. He could have handled that moment a hundred times better.

Chris freaked him out sometimes. Like with that laughing fit. It was like there was so much inside Chris’s head that a normal person couldn’t possibly comprehend it all. Chris’s brain went in weird directions. That was why he was always surprised to remember that Chris was shorter than he was. It didn’t seem possible that all of that energy and frenzied brain activity could be contained in a small frame.

Chris wowed him. All of the time. Because Chris was funny, and insane, and deep, and sarcastic, and talented, and smart, and rich, and famous, and crazy, and in *NSYNC. He kept having to remind himself that dude, this was Chris Kirkpatrick of *NSYNC.

And he was in the bed of Chris Kirkpatrick of *NSYNC.

And he’d just been making out with Chris Kirkpatrick of *NSYNC.

He’d handled things badly, he’d hurt Chris’s feelings, he sucked. But, he could fix things. He wanted Chris, he wanted to have sex with Chris, he wanted to live in this bed for the rest of his life. But he didn’t want to be in Chris’s bed while Chris was still messed up over Kevin.

It was a hell of a chance to pass up, though.

Brian checked the clock. It was time. He stripped, getting into bed, enjoying the sensation of cool sheets on his naked body. Turning his lamp to its dimmest setting for mood lighting, he sat back against the headboard. Taking his phone in both hands and closing his eyes, he felt the moment settle into itself. Relishing the anticipation, he let a smile steal across his face. A delicious warmth spread through him, centering in his groin, as he savored what he was about to do. It was one simple step, a basic progression, another shovelful of dirt on Jacob’s coffin.

Half-hard already, Brian opened his eyes.

Playtime.

Enjoying the push of each button as it brought him closer to his purpose, Brian dialed. One ring. “Answer the phone, love.” Two rings.

“Hello?”

Brian smiled, slipping down onto his back, humming inside with satisfaction. “Jacob, hi. It’s Brian. Is it too late to be calling?”

“No, man, not at all. How are you doing?”

Just…perfect. Brian closed his eyes, sliding his hand across his stomach, slowly stroking his own skin. “I’m fine. How about you?”

Joey parked in Justin’s driveway and walked up to the front door. He felt sleazy, and he felt like he was fucking Justin’s boyfriend behind Justin’s back. AJ wasn’t Justin’s boyfriend, but AJ and Justin were having sex, and the five of them had stopped sharing sex partners a while ago.

Joey really felt like he should have talked to Justin about this. Just to clarify for both of them that this was okay. He’d tried calling Justin’s cell phone, but there had been no answer. He hadn’t left a message; what could he say? “Hey, I’m going over to your house for sex with AJ, just thought you should know.”

He rang the doorbell, shifting nervously. He hadn’t been with AJ in way too long. Already his body was getting geared up for the explosion.

AJ opened the door. He was in jeans and a tank top, tattoos on display, one hand reaching out. Joey took that hand, letting AJ pull him into the house. A hot rush surged through him from the point of contact.

The instant the door closed, AJ was on him, pushing him back against the door, pressing into him. AJ’s eyes were dark, burning and possessing; AJ had one arm around Joey’s shoulders, the opposite leg hooked over Joey’s hip. “It’s been too long,” AJ said, and the sound of his voice shot fire through Joey’s blood.

“I know,” Joey said, and tried to kiss him.

AJ tilted his head back, evading Joey’s kiss. His mouth was gorgeous, the upper lip sharply cut, the lower lip soft, his goatee the perfect frame. Joey had never kissed anyone as passionate as AJ. He’d never been with anyone who contained such carnal fire. “We don’t have long.”

“I don’t care.” It didn’t matter. Five minutes, ten days, it was AJ. The longer, the better, but AJ could pack a three-month sex seminar into half an hour. Rock-hard from the weight of AJ’s body against his, already breathing hard, Joey wrapped his arms around AJ, one hand supporting the curve of AJ’s ass, lifting AJ against himself. The bedroom was too far; there was a sofa over there, and a table over there.

AJ kissed him, hard, fierce, sucking, biting. Joey groaned, and AJ’s leg dropped, both feet on the floor, walking backward, taking Joey with him. Joey pushed, and AJ pulled, and Joey yanked on AJ’s clothes, and AJ growled, “I’m going to fuck you so hard.”

JC moaned, putting a little extra sex into it, grinding his dick against Erik’s thigh as Erik licked his right nipple. Erik kissed up, hands sliding to cup his ass, mouth finding his in a slow, fucking kiss. “JC,” Erik said, and JC heard the lust in his voice, “can I do you?”

It was a ridiculous question, especially phrased like that, but JC had to respond to it. He undulated beneath Erik, to hear Erik’s breath catch, then opened his eyes, stroking Erik’s back. He ran his fingernails up Erik’s spine and watched Erik’s lashes flutter. Erik was in his fucking thrall. He wondered who Erik’s sex partners had been until now; imaginary friends?

“Not tonight, honey,” he said, skimming his fingertips across Erik’s mouth. He’d managed to teach Erik how to kiss like a man, instead of a teenager.

Erik blinked, like he was torn between crushing disappointment and shocked hope. “But I can?” he asked, almost stumbling over the words in his eagerness. “Later?”

“Yes,” JC said, shifting beneath him to rub one thigh against his erection. “Someday.”

Erik kissed him, dropping back into overenthusiastic, horny teen. JC’s teeth grazed his lower lip and he remembered himself, switching gears. With an appreciative sigh to reward him, JC kissed back, fingers flicking the sensitive spot on his hip.

“God, I want you,” Erik said, rocking against JC’s thigh, kissing him hungrily. “Can I touch it?”

No. Hell, no. JC hadn’t expected that question, but his immediate and final answer was no, hell no. He didn’t want Erik on him at all; he certainly wasn’t going to let Erik shove a clumsy finger up his ass. If Erik even tried it, JC was going to physically assault him. While he waited for Erik to stop kissing him, JC tried to remember to use his warm, sexually inviting voice. “Not tonight,” he said. He rolled them over suddenly, taking Erik by surprise. When he ground his hips down, Erik groaned, eyes closing, hand tightening on JC’s shoulder. “Come with me,” he urged. Maybe if he get Erik off again, he could convince the little shit to go to sleep and leave him alone. “Come on, baby, come with me. I want to feel good with you.”

“Oh, god,” Erik moaned, starting to rock beneath him, pulling on his shoulders to get him closer. “Okay, oh god, yes, yes, oh, wait, god…”

“Come with me,” JC said, lowering his voice, kissing Erik’s mouth. Erik’s hands grabbed his hips, trying to control his rhythm. “Give it to me, baby, I want it.”

“Oh my god, oh my fuck, oh, god, yes, oh, ah, oh!” Erik groaned, shuddering, and JC felt the splash of his cum. “Oh, god,” Eric said, moaning, looking a little shocked. “Wow. God.”

JC closed his eyes, rocking his hips, thinking about Nick. Nick close to orgasm, oh, yeah, biting his lip, arching his back, making that sound…

Oh…yes…

JC exhaled slowly, dropping forward, eyes closed, forehead on the pillow, cheek against Erik’s. He licked Erik’s shoulder, relaxing his grip on Erik’s hips. “Oh, baby,” he whispered.

“Can I stay here?” Erik asked.

“Mmm.” JC slid down Erik’s body slightly, then rolled off of him. “Absolutely.” He wiped himself off, then Erik. He let his fingers graze Erik’s inner thighs, and looked into Erik’s eyes. “Did you have a good time tonight?”

“Hell, yes,” Erik said, and kissed him.

JC put up with it for a minute, then broke the kiss to shift positions, gazing into Erik’s eyes with a teasing smile. “You know, Erik-Michael, the sooner we get to sleep, the sooner we can wake up for…more.”

Erik’s fingers stroked through JC’s hair. “More?” he asked, with a little laugh, like he couldn’t take it.

JC smiled and planted a soft kiss on his lips. “Good night.”

“Good night,” Erik said.

JC closed his eyes, putting himself into Erik’s arms. Gritting his teeth, he counted to a hundred. Two hundred. Three hundred.

Erik was asleep.

Thank fucking god. JC carefully pulled free of his clinging embrace. Erik stirred; JC stroked his back, shushing him, then slipped from the bed.

He deserved two million dollars for putting himself through this bullshit.

JC went to the bathroom, found the toothbrush that was supposed to be his, and brushed his teeth, twice. Then he washed his face. Then he took a shower.

He couldn’t go back to that bed. He couldn’t do it.

He had to.

Had Nick felt like this about him?

Did Nick feel like this about him, now?

He couldn’t think about that now. He couldn’t. Not now.

If he was going to do all of this, then he was going to do it right. He wasn’t putting himself through this for nothing; he was going to make sure that Erik was destroyed. Humiliated. Devastated.

He’d never trust Howie again. He’d never wonder whether Howie were playing with him. Howie was playing with him, more than playing with him, fucking with him.

He wasn’t on the Backstreet level. They weren’t playing a game, they were playing several games, on several levels, all at once. They were so many moves ahead, he couldn’t even guess where the next blow was coming from.

He couldn’t get Howie. He wasn’t prepared for it. Not now, not yet.

But he could play a very serious game of Get Erik.

JC went back to the bedroom, slipping back into bed, sliding right into Erik’s embrace like a long-time lover. He kissed Erik’s mouth and closed his eyes.

He fell asleep trying to figure out how to plot against Howie.

“Dan! Dan, man, wake up.”

Dan opened his eyes, instantly alert. Ashley was crouched beside the sofa, shaking him awake. “What, what?”

“Justin,” Ashley said. “He’s up there screaming.”

“What?” Dan sat up, getting to his feet.

“I don’t know what’s wrong, I came to get you,” Ashley said, following him to the stairs.

“Yeah, thanks,” Dan said, hurrying to the second floor. Nearing his door, he could hear sharp cries of fear. He didn’t know what was going on in there, but he didn’t want to expose Justin to extra embarrassment, so he turned to Ashley and said, “Thanks, it’s okay. I’ve got it.”

“Okay,” Ashley said. He looked uncertain, but he went back to his room.

Dan stepped into his bedroom, closing the door again. Justin was on the bed, breathing high and loud, making frightened animal noises. “Justin,” Dan said, coming to the bed. “Justin,” he repeated, clearly and firmly, sitting on the bed, flipping on the lamp. “Justin.” There were scratches on Justin’s chest, more than he remembered from that morning, and a nasty bruise on Justin’s shoulder. Was that a bite mark? What was AJ doing to him? “Justin!” he said sharply.

Justin screamed, sitting straight up.

Dan put his hands on Justin’s shoulders. “Justin!”

Justin’s eyes snapped open. Silence. He stared at Dan as though they’d never met.

“You’re okay,” Dan said. “It was a nightmare. You’re okay, you’re safe here, it’s okay.”

“Oh my god,” Justin whispered, and just like that, he broke. He started crying, collapsing backward; Dan hauled him in, hugging him. Justin shook in Dan’s arms, sobbing against his chest. Dan remembered that for all of Justin’s onstage confidence, he was still younger than Dan was. Younger, and in even more distress than Dan had realized.

“He hates me,” Justin said, his voice shaking and catching. “He hates me, why does he hate me?”

Dan held him closer. He tried to rub Justin’s naked back comfortingly, without reminding Justin of the scratches there. “It’s okay,” he murmured. “It’s okay.”

“Why does he hate me so much?” Justin sobbed. The pain in his voice cut right through Dan, who couldn’t begin to answer that question. “I love him, I love him…”

“I know,” Dan said. “It’ll be okay. It’ll be okay.” He knew how inane his words sounded, but in his heart, they were a promise. He wasn’t going to watch Justin cry over AJ one more time. It was going to be okay. Dan was going to make sure of it.

Brian’s line was still busy.

Who was he talking to?

Was it Jacob?

It would be wrong to drive over to the Townhouse and murder Jacob. It would be wrong to slit Jacob’s throat. Chris considered himself to be a pretty decent guy, and pretty decent guys didn’t kill people.

What would happen if he went over to Brian’s house? Would Brian invite him in? Tell him to get lost? Leave him standing there and not even come to the door?

He didn’t know. That was the problem. He didn’t know anything anymore. He didn’t know how Brian would react to anything. He didn’t know what Brian wanted. He didn’t know what to do to get Brian to love him again. Love him again, hell, he didn’t know what to do to get Brian to make eye contact.

Trevor didn’t want him. The funny thing was, he realized intellectually that Trevor’s rejection hurt. But it barely registered. He was already in such constant, deep, wrenching pain, that Trevor not wanting him was like a hangnail to someone being burned alive.

Trevor was still in his room. Possibly still in his bed, since Trevor wanted to spend the night. Why Trevor wanted to spend the night, Chris had no idea, but it didn’t matter. It really didn’t matter. Nothing mattered now. Nothing at all.

He went back to his bedroom. Trevor was sitting on his bed, apparently waiting for him. “Going to bed,” Chris said, and dropped his jeans. He left on his T-shirt and underwear, and lay down on his back on the bed. “Good night.” He closed his eyes.

Minutes passed.

“Chris?”

He didn’t answer. He wondered why Trevor was friends with Jacob. He wondered why anyone would be friends with Jacob.

The mattress squeaked. Trevor was settling down beside him. Trevor’s hand rested on his arm. That was sweet. Chris wished he cared.

Howie dropped his keys, made sure everything was locked up, and called Kevin. Then he went to the bedroom to check on JC’s progress.

The lamp in the far corner was still on. JC and Erik were asleep, tucked into each other; and as far as he could tell, they were naked.

After finding and turning off Erik’s cell phone, Howie dropped Lance’s favorite lube on the mattress, then stripped. Might as well get it over with. Pumping his dick into an erection, he got into bed, sliding up behind JC. “JC,” he whispered, uncapping the lube. “JC,” he whispered again, sliding his hand up JC’s thigh.

He felt the tension in JC’s body as JC realized it was him. “What?” JC whispered, his voice tight.

“I’m going to fuck you,” he whispered.

“The hell you are,” JC whispered, his voice hard, dangerous.

Howie was not impressed. “Don’t fight me.” He slicked his fingers and touched them to-

JC reached back, grabbing his wrist tightly. “Don’t you even fucking think about it,” he breathed.

JC didn’t want to wake Erik. He knew as well as Howie did that they couldn’t be caught in this conversation. Howie was counting on that. “I love you, baby, I’ve been wanting this all day,” he whispered. “Open up for me so I can give you what you want.”

“You sick fuck,” JC whispered.

“I want it so much, you feel so good.” Howie pushed his finger in, and moaned. “Oh, JC…”

JC dug his fingernails into Howie’s wrist. “You put your dick in me, I’ll cut it off, I swear to god.”

Erik stirred.

Howie pushed his finger deeper.

“Howie,” JC whispered. “I’m asking you, I’m telling you, I’m begging you.”

Erik coughed. If they said one more word, he’d be awake.

“JC,” Howie whispered. “I love the way you feel inside, baby.” He rubbed JC’s prostate. Softly, so softly, just for JC, he breathed, “Can I fuck you?”

JC froze.

Erik’s eyes blinked open.

Howie knew he’d won.

“Yes, baby.” JC was choking to death on his own pride. “Please.”

Howie pulled his finger out.

JC released Howie’s wrist. When Howie thrust into him, he undulated, rolling his hips back, offering himself. Howie fucked him slowly, teasing his nipples, stroking his dick, kissing his mouth when he tilted his head back on Howie’s shoulder. Howie was impressed with JC’s performance; he was a good actor. His enthusiasm only encouraged Howie to fuck him harder, to make him feel it, to make him react. He responded beautifully.

Howie didn’t look at Erik. He didn’t have to. He knew how they looked. JC alone had to look amazing.

JC tried to bite his tongue. Howie squeezed JC’s dick, and JC got back in line.

They were relatively quiet, as though they didn’t want to disturb Erik’s sleep, but they made just the right amount of noise to let him know exactly what kind of ecstasy they were sharing.

After JC came, Howie kept going, to remind him who was in charge. Then Howie came, and made JC turn around to kiss him. They kissed for a while, and then Howie stroked JC’s hair and subsided into sleep, whispering “I love you.”

Justin had cried himself to sleep. Dan, spooned up behind him, stayed on top of the covers. He was half dressed, but Justin was naked, and it wouldn’t be exactly, what, comfortable, acceptable, for them to be under the covers together, especially in this position.

He’d never expected to be in the same bed as Justin Timberlake. Especially with Justin naked. He’d never expected to have Justin fall apart crying in his arms, either, so what did he know?

Something was seriously wrong. More than simple “AJ’s mean so tell him to take a hike” wrong. More like, AJ was seriously dangerous to Justin’s mental stability. AJ had seriously fucked with Justin’s head.

No matter how good the physical connection was, no matter how great the good times were, nothing was worth this kind of pain. Pain, it was more like trauma.

Of course Justin had problems; everybody had problems. But Justin’s problems were supposed to be whether to buy one new car or two. How had he let AJ tear him down like this?

And how could Dan get him to a place where he could find himself again?

Brian rubbed his thumb over his nipple, making interested sounds of agreement while Jacob talked about band politics. His love’s middle name was Christopher. Brian already had a Christopher. That sweet pet had been calling, and calling, and calling. Brian was going to have to explain to him that there was someone new in his life. A new challenge. Jacob.

Jacob was going to be easier to break than Chris had been. But he had Lance around for entertainment.

For…amusement.

Brian moaned inside, tugging on his nipple. His cock was hard, throbbing, begging for attention. But he had hours to go, hours to spend on the phone with Jacob, and Brian knew how to wait. How to draw out the moment. Rushing into something was never as fun as lingering over it. Lingering over his own pleasure, for example. Or someone else’s pain.

It was almost funny, how often those two things were the same.

Lance couldn’t sleep.

Brian’s phone call had left him with some unanswered questions, but all he could think about was Howie.

He wondered who was in Howie’s bed. Who’d taken his place. No one? JC?

He called JC’s house, to check. There was no answer.

That didn’t mean anything, necessarily.

He’d pushed too hard. He was being punished for it.

Or was he? Did Howie care enough to punish him? If he went over to Howie’s house, would he be allowed back into Howie’s bed?

It was possible that what had happened between them had meant nothing to Howie, hadn’t affected Howie’s feelings toward him in any way. Assuming that Howie had feelings for him.

He wasn’t going to call Howie’s house. He wasn’t going to go over there. Howie didn’t care about him. Howie didn’t care whether he were there or not. He’d thought he had it easier than the other guys, because he still got to be with Howie sometimes. That was only because there were emotions involved in the other relationships. There was nothing complicated between himself and Howie. Howie didn’t mind having sex with him. That was as complex as things got.

Was it better for Justin, to love someone who hated him? At least Kevin felt something for Justin. Howie didn’t feel anything for Lance, good or bad.

He shouldn’t have pushed. He should have kept the status quo. He’d understood their tacit deal; if he played by Howie’s rules, and accepted what Howie gave without expecting more, he’d get to remain on the fringes of Howie’s life, and on occasion in Howie’s bed. It hadn’t been perfect, but at least it had kept him near Howie.

Now what did he have? His pride? That wouldn’t keep him warm.

AJ was a force of nature. He was a whirlwind. A tornado. A hurricane. A bring-the-walls-down crack-the-foundation earthquake. They’d been all over the living room, the hallway, the bedroom, the bathroom. They’d fucked on the coffee table, on the bed, and in the shower. Or, they’d started out in the shower, but they hadn’t been able to get any good traction in there, so they’d ended up on the bathroom floor.

Joey was sore all over. He hadn’t used some of those muscles in a while. He was always up for a good, wild screw, but the kind of sex AJ had took a lot out of him. The stamina, the acrobatics, it was demanding.

After the bathroom, they’d gone back to the bed to mess around some more. AJ had gotten off of him and was starting to get dressed. Joey didn’t like that. He was also starting to remember that he was in Justin’s bed, no doubt the same bed where AJ had been with Justin, and he didn’t like that, either.

Pulling on jeans, leaving them unzipped, AJ crawled back over him. “We have to do this again,” AJ said, his voice a pleased, dark murmur, his mouth taking Joey’s in a wet kiss.

“Yeah,” Joey agreed, his heart pounding. AJ wanted to see him again. He could have this again.

“I’ll arrange something,” AJ said. “Some time away from all of this bullshit, some time for you and me.” He kissed Joey again, and Joey kissed back eagerly. AJ hadn’t talked to him like this in such a long time… “You’re the only one,” AJ said. “Nobody knows how to fuck anymore.”

“I know exactly how to fuck,” Joey promised, kissing AJ harder, sliding his hands inside AJ’s open jeans.

“Mm, mm, not now,” AJ said, breaking away from their kiss. “I have to go. And so do you.” He escaped the bed, rolling to his feet and closing his fly. “Come on.”

When AJ was done, AJ was done, and Joey knew better than to try AJ’s patience. He got up and went to the living room to gather his clothes. He was still putting on his sneakers when AJ came in, dressed and ready, jingling keys.

“It was good to see you,” Joey said.

AJ grinned. “It was good to see you.” He came closer, draping his arm around Joey’s neck, licking Joey’s mouth. Joey closed his eyes and licked back, wanting him all over again. “You look good,” AJ said against his lips.

“You look great,” Joey said, wrapping his arms around AJ, wanting AJ to take him home.

“I like your hair like this,” AJ said, kissing him.

“I like your everything like this,” Joey said. He wanted never to let go.

“We barely got started,” AJ said.

“I know.” He wanted so much more…

“Next time,” AJ whispered, sucking on Joey’s tongue, wrapping himself around Joey’s body.

“Next time,” Joey repeated, holding AJ tighter.

AJ wriggled free, pulling back. “We can’t leave together. You go.”

“Okay.” Joey took a few steps towards the door. Walking away from AJ, he experienced such a strong sense of loss, he felt like he was leaving entire body parts behind. His hand on the doorknob, he looked back.

Merely standing still in the middle of a room, AJ still looked as though he were lounging on something. How did he do that?

Joey smiled.

AJ smiled back. He raised one hand, wiggling his fingers good-bye.

Joey fucking loved AJ. Still smiling, he left.

“The sun is officially up,” Brian decided.

“That was a great sunrise,” Jacob said.

“It was,” Brian said. He trailed his fingertips through the cum drying on his chest. “Are you tired?”

“No,” Jacob said. “Are you?”

Brian laughed. “Not at all.” He could do this for hours more.

“Good,” Jacob said. “What else can we talk about?”

“Did I tell you about the most embarrassing day of my entire life?”

Jacob laughed. “Are you sure you want to?”

“I don’t know,” Brian said, smiling. “How hard are you going to laugh at me?”

“I’m not going to laugh.”

“You’re laughing now!” Laughter was a nice sound. Howling, screaming sobs were better. Brian also liked silence. Hollow-eyed silence, the silence of shame, the silence of agony, the silence that came from pain too deep to be spoken. He’d already taught his sweet pet that silence. He couldn’t wait to teach it to Jacob, too.

Continue on to part nine...

matthew@matthewtime.com
"Sucker"
Boyslash
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