Chapter 2

Justin Taylor wasn’t totally awake, but he wasn’t asleep either - he was in that nether world between dreams and reality. He reached out to touch the other occupant of the bed. His hand made contact with the sheet and a pillow, and nothing else. Opening his eyes, Justin looked around in the semi-darkness.

"Brian," he yawned lazily. "You’re awake."

Brian sat on the edge of the bed holding a glass. "I couldn’t sleep."

"And you thought this would help?" Justin pulled the glass out of his lover’s hand and set it on the bedside table. When he moved back over, he pulled the sheet away from Brian’s crotch and lowered his head. Brian placed a hand on the blond head, to pull it away. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and leaned his head back. Justin gives the best blowjobs, he decided, and I taught him everything he knows.

Less than ten minutes later, Brian moaned softly as he shot into the small mouth. Justin was still licking his lips when he raised his face. Brian hooked a hand around his neck and pulled his face forward, tasting himself in the kiss. "Better?"

"Mmmm," Brian nodded, absent-mindedly.

"Can we go back to sleep now?"

Brian shifted down in the bed, wrapping his arms around Justin and turning them on their sides. The slim back was pressed against his chest as he buried his face in the short blond hair.

*&*&*&*&*

Justin fished his cell phone out of his jacket pocket and pressed the button. "Hello?"

"Where are you?!"

Ethan! "Shit! I forgot!"

"I waited for you - I was almost late to my one o’clock class."

"I’m sorry, baby. I-I was working on my final project for life class. I totally forgot about lunch…"

"Did you, at least, get something to eat?"

"Yeah. You?"

"A sandwich. Where are you now?"

"I’m on my way to Michael’s store. I told him I’d help him put up flyers for the launch party they’re having for our comic book Friday night."

"Oh." Justin could hear the disappointment in the musician’s voice. "Okay. Maybe I’ll see you later?"

"I don’t know how long this is gonna take. I’ll call you when I’m finished."

Justin replaced the phone and walked the half-block to the comic book store. He wanted nothing more than to get this premiere over with so he could go back to his routine. He’d been a little surprised when Michael asked him to work on the project, only because he didn’t think Michael liked him. Maybe he’s just jealous because I have Brian in a way that he never will, Justin decided, with a smile. Whatever. It was fun to have free rein to create a character, especially one that was modeled after Brian.

"Hey, Boy Wonder. You’re late." Michael was standing in front of his store with a stack of flyers and a large stapler in his hand.

"I told you I’d be here after class." Justin accepted his work tools without looking up.

"Work your way up this street to that next block, then down by the strip mall to the multiplex." Michael called after him, but Justin walked away without answering.

The young man was almost two blocks away when he heard someone whistling behind him. Glancing around, he saw a familiar face with a familiar smile. "Ethan! What’re you doing way over here?"

"I’m stalking you." Ethan grabbed Justin around the waist, being careful not to make him drop the neon blue papers he was carrying. "What are *you* doing?"

"I only have about fifteen more of these to put up, then I have to go to the library."

"Why the library?" Ethan held the paper in place while Justin stapled it several times.

"It’s the only quiet place I can think of. I have to read three chapters of art history for tomorrow." Justin grimaced.

"It’s quiet at my place, Justin." Ethan moved his head so his face was directly in front of his companion’s.

"I thought you needed to practice." Justin paused.

"I do. I can’t talk while I’m practicing. If you don’t mind Mozart in the background, you’re welcome to come over." Reaching out his hand, he placed his thumb on Justin’s mouth. A pink tongue flicked out quickly. "Stick it out again," Ethan urged.

Justin complied. Ethan pounced immediately, trapping it between his teeth and then sucking it into his mouth. The kiss deepened quickly and, for several seconds, there was no thought given to where they were.

It was Justin who came to himself first. Pulling back, he gazed into dark brown eyes, which were beginning to glaze over. "L-let me finish putting these up and I’ll be there."

Ethan saw the way Justin’s eyes darted to each side without trying to be obvious. His friend’s store is just down the street, he recalled. Are we being seen by someone who can use this against him? "Don’t be too long." Without any further contact, he hurried away.

When Ethan was safely out of sight, Justin looked around carefully. No sign of Michael or Ted or Emmett or Debbie or Lindsay or Melanie. Or Brian. I must be getting paranoid, he decided, laughing at himself.

*&*&*&*&*

"Shit!"

Justin glanced up from the text he was reading. "What’s wrong?"

"If you even have to *ask* that question…" Turning his back on his guest, Ethan flipped the music to the previous page and picked up the bow.

"Fuck!"

"Ethan!" Sitting up, Justin tried to look stern. "Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?"

"I haven’t seen my mother since the semester started." Ethan smiled. "You’re the only person I’ve kissed in the past month."

Justin closed his book and pushed it onto the floor. "Then why don’t you come over here and kiss me again?"

Ethan adopted his most innocent look. "Mrs. Robinson… Are you trying to seduce me?"

"Who’s Mrs. Robinson?" Justin laughed. "Come here." He pulled his companion forward, causing him to lose his balance and topple over onto the bed.

*&*&*&*&*

Thirty minutes later, the two young men lay together, dozing. Ethan opened his eyes slowly. "I’m starving. Are you?"

"Mmmm." Justin stretched languidly.

"I’ll take that as an affirmative answer." Ethan picked up the telephone on the bedside table. "Chinese or pizza?"

"Chinese."

"Szechuan or Cantonese?"

"Surprise me."

Justin had the great idea that they should eat on the bed, rather than at the table. It was Ethan’s idea to use chopsticks, which led to a lengthy, and very silly, meal. "Ethan," Justin demanded, "are you trying to ruin my shirt?" The teenager dabbed at a spot of duck sauce on his shoulder.

"Help me out, please." Ethan dangled a snow pea in front of his lover’s face. "Is that as wide as you can open your mouth?"

"I haven’t had any complaints before." Justin slurped the vegetable into his mouth and then stole a kiss.

"That’s all of it." Ethan gathered cartons and took them over to the garbage can. "I should have ordered more."

"No, that was enough." Justin grabbed the bag and looked inside. "Here’s your fortune cookie. Read it."

Sitting back down on the bed, Ethan broke the cookie open and read the slip of paper. "The longest journeys begin with a single step." He made a face. "I always get the stupidest fortunes. What does yours say?"

Justin looked at the paper and then smiled. "Your sunny disposition endears you to everyone."

"That’s perfect, isn’t it?" Reaching out, Ethan feathered a finger through Justin’s hair. "It’s all that damn blond hair that makes you look so sweet."

"I *am* sweet." Justin smiled. "Debbie calls me sunshine, you know."

"Of *course", she does. She’s the waitress, right?" Justin nodded. "When am I gonna get to meet all your friends, like the gay porn site owner and the lesbian lawyer?"

"Why would you want to? They’re older than us."

"And they’re Brian’s friends, right?" Ethan was quiet for several seconds. "Sometimes I think I’d like to meet Brian, and find out--"

"No!" Justin interrupted, turning away.

"Why not? What are you afraid of?"

"I-I’m not afraid of anything. I-I just don’t want to talk about him, okay?"

Ethan stared at Justin hard for half-a-minute. "Okay." Pulling the other teenager’s arm, he stretched out on the bed. "Come on, let’s relax while we’re digesting." Justin allowed himself to be embraced. "Change the subject."

"To what?"

"I don’t know. Let’s talk about the night we met. Tell me what you thought about me."

"Fishing for compliments?"

"No," Ethan replied. "I just want to know."

Justin looked into the dark brown eyes, which were an inch away from his. "I didn’t really want to go to the concert, you know. Mel and Lindz made me; they thought I should do something different on my birthday."

"If they hadn’t convinced you, what would you have done?"

Justin shrugged. "Gone to Babylon. Danced. Maybe picked up a guy…"

"With the person I’m not supposed to mention…" Ethan spoke quietly.

"He wasn’t being mean on purpose." Justin stared past his companion’s face.

"He doesn’t *do* birthdays, you told me. You do, though. Is he so self-absorbed that he can’t even pretend to do something for someone else?"

"Ethan, please." Justin leaned his head forward, burying it in a pillow.

Immediately sorry for what he’d said, Ethan placed a hand on his lover’s shoulder. "Sorry," he whispered. "I always say the wrong thing, don’t I?" When Justin didn’t raise his head, Ethan started placing soft kisses in his hair. "I care about you, Justin. I don’t like it when you’re upset."

It was several minutes before the blond head was raised again. He was smiling slightly, although his eyes were bright. If he hadn’t been crying, Ethan decided, he was close to it. "We were talking about you."

"My favorite subject." Ethan tried to look serious. "Pray, continue."

Justin smiled. "I don’t understand when you talk about concertos and stuff, but I love watching you play. Even that first night. I was spellbound. You put so much feeling into it and you had this amazing look on your face." He laughed. "I remember wondering if you looked like that when you were making love."

Ethan joined in the laugh. "Well… Do I?"

"Better." Leaning forward, Justin kissed the other young man. Ethan shifted over on his back, pulling Justin’s slight body over on top of him. Hands pulled at shirts and jeans as the kiss deepened.

They parted long enough to strip off their clothes. Ethan fetched a condom from the bedside table and opened it quickly. He slipped it on Justin’s already-hard cock and then lay back on the bed. "Fuck me, Justin."

Justin needed no further encouragement. Grabbing the tanned legs, he draped them across his shoulders and moved forward. The impalement was slow, just the way Ethan liked it. When he was fully sheathed in his lover’s body, he leaned forward and kissed him, sucking his tongue roughly.

Ethan moaned loudly as Justin accelerated the pace of his thrusts. He knew they wouldn’t last long at the rate they were going, but that was okay. He wrapped his arms around Justin’s neck and held on for the ride of his life.

*&*&*&*&*

"Fuck!" Brian dropped the legal pad on the bed next to him. He’d been laying there for what seemed like hours, trying to think of something positive to say to keep Howard Vernon from taking his business to another agency. He reached for a cigarette but his hand encountered nothing but an empty pack. The only thing that wasn’t empty on the table was the ashtray and the liquor bottle. Ignoring the glass, he took a large drink from the bottle, then another. When he was beyond the ability to think clearly, Brian closed his eyes, willing himself to sleep, without success. All he could see was the jubilant look on Mikey’s face when he saw him in the diner earlier. "Who was that kid I saw Justin with this afternoon? He was damn cute."

"Do you expect me to keep track of all of Justin’s little college friends?"

"I think this is more than just a friend, Brian. They were kissing."

Brian took a drink of water, trying to collect his thoughts. "So? In case you haven’t noticed, Justin is a very affectionate person. I’ve lost track of how many times he’s kissed Emmett; he’s even kissed you once or twice since this whole comic book thing started."

"This was different, I think," Michael moved his head close and lowered his voice. "They were licking each other’s tonsils."

Turning away, Brian set his glass on the counter. By the time he turned back around, his face was composed into the mask he preferred to show to the world. "Stay the fuck out of it; it’s none of your business." Without waiting for a reply, he threw a bill on the counter and started walking to the door.

"Wait!" Michael called. "Babylon later?"

*&*&*&*&*

Justin walked slowly up the steps of his apartment building. He almost always took the steps when he wasn’t in a hurry to get to the top floor. All the way home he’d hoped that Brian wouldn’t be home yet - it wasn’t even midnight. His mood darkened when he saw the familiar black Jeep parked on the street. Maybe he brought work home, Justin thought. He’s been putting in more hours since the promotion.

The door was locked. Maybe he’s not alone; Justin dreaded the worst as he slowly walked into the room. Practically every light in the place was on. Pausing to look around, Justin was struck by how completely silent it was. A heavy pall of smoke hung in the air, mixed with the smell of pot.

Justin wandered around the apartment, turning off lights on his way to the bedroom. Brian was sprawled, naked, across the dark blue sheets with a legal pad near his right hand. The teenager emptied the overflowing ashtray, replaced the cap on the Jim Beam bottle and took it back to the kitchen cabinet. The pad and paper were deposited in Brian’s briefcase.

There was no need to be quiet, Justin decided. Brian looked to be out for the night. Still, he was careful when he took his place in the bed. Turning on his side, Justin stared at the Brian’s face for several minutes. "Oh, Brian," he mumbled, "why can’t anything ever be easy for us?" Raising his head, he leaned forward and placed a single soft kiss on his lover’s cheek. Brian stirred slightly; his left hand snaking forward to capture Justin’s body in a rigid embrace. Closing his eyes, Justin tried to push all the chaotic thoughts out of his mind and concentrate on how right it felt to fall asleep in Brian’s arms.

*&*&*&*&*

"Ouch!" Justin yelped. "That hurt!"

"It was supposed to hurt." Ethan looked defiant.

Justin examined the back of his left hand for evidence of injury. "That’s my good hand, you know."

"If you ask me, both your hands are pretty talented." Ignoring the cheeky remark, Justin reached for another potato chip, but Ethan moved his plate away. "Stop stealing my lunch!"

"You never eat all of it." Justin looked entreatingly at his companion. "I’m helping you."

Sighing deeply, the musician pushed his plate back over so Justin could reach it. "Are you aware that we spend a significant amount of our time together eating? Does that seem odd to you?"

"We spend an equally significant amount of our time together fucking, and I haven’t heard any complaints about that." Justin stuffed the remainder of his sandwich into his mouth.

Ethan was quiet for several seconds, considering the argument. "Point taken." He finished his water and stood up. "What’re you doing this afternoon?"

"I have a study group at one." Justin gathered their trash. "You?"

Ethan shrugged. "I need a new pair of dress shoes, so I’m gonna play over on Brighton Street for a while."

Justin paused and stared at his companion. "Ethan, you know I don’t like for you to play on street corners. How much money do you make doing that?"

"You might be surprised. I found a great corner near the bank tower. It makes all those financial people happy to think they’re supporting the arts." Ethan wrapped an arm around the other teenager’s waist. "Besides, it’s fun to play stuff that I don’t get a chance to play in school. Don’t worry, Justin, I’ll be careful."

As they started walking the two blocks from the sandwich shop to the classroom building, neither of them noticed the black Jeep parked across the street.

*&*&*&*&*

Today is a good day, Ethan decided. He’d only been playing for an hour and had already made enough money to buy the shoes he needed. He was into a particularly uninhibited version of a tarantella when he noticed a black Jeep drive past. He was sure he’d seen it only moments before. The reason he’d noticed it the first time was because of the unguarded way the driver had stared at him as he drove by.

Ethan watched as the vehicle parked and the driver climbed out slowly. The expensive Italian suit accentuated the leanness of the body underneath it. The musician smiled as the older man walked purposefully to him, dropping a single bill into his violin case. He moved to a respectable distance and waited until the song was finished before speaking softly, "You’re very good."

"Thank you." Ethan couldn’t help staring into the taller man’s hazel eyes.

"Is there some place where we can talk? I have a proposition for you."

"There’s a coffee shop around the corner." Ethan hoped his voice didn’t give away his nervousness.

They walked silently to the small shop. Ethan counted his money while the other man fetched cappuccinos for both of them. "You gave me a hundred dollars." He looked up as his companion sat down.

"I told you: you’re very good." Reaching into his coat pocket, the older man pulled out an elegant business card. "My name is Brian Kinney and I’m a partner at the Ryder Advertising Agency. We’re looking for someone to play a strolling violinist in a new commercial we’re working on, for Grimaldi wine." Leaning forward, the ad exec spoke softly. "To tell you the truth, I’d just about given up hope of finding an *attractive* young man who could actually play the violin." He stopped talking, but continued staring at his companion. "I can promise that you’ll be paid very well."

Ethan took a deep breath, hoping that he didn’t look as flustered as he felt. "I-I don’t know what to say, Mr. Kinney--"

The older man held up one finger to interrupt. "Please. Call me Brian. And you are…?"

"Brian!" Both of the occupants at the table looked toward the door, where a blond teenager was standing, staring at them.

"Hey, Justin." Ethan smiled as he watched his friend cross the room toward their table. "How do you know…? That’s when the light bulb lit up. This man who’s sitting here, acting so cool… Ethan looked at him looking at Justin and then looked back at Justin. "This is *your* Brian?"

"What the fuck do you think you’re doing?" Justin’s anger was directed at Brian. He didn’t even try to keep his voice down.

"You’ll have to excuse Sunshine." He glared at Justin. "He’s completely forgotten his manners."

Justin moved closer, his body rigid with rage. "You followed us, didn’t you? What were you thinking, Brian?"

Brian considered this question for several seconds before he answered. "I was thinking it was time I met the guy," he glanced at Ethan, "you were making out with in public." His voice had acquired a hard edge. "It was obvious you weren’t going to tell me about him."

"It’s none of your goddam business. Who told you? Did Michael see us yesterday?"

"Mikey is my friend, Justin." Brian lowered his voice. "He thought I should know what you were doing behind my back."

"Behind your…" Justin looked around, as if he expected someone to walk in and explain the situation to all of them. No one appeared, however, and he moved to stand as close to Brian as he could. Looking down, into the face of his lover, he spoke quietly, "This has nothing to do with Michael or Ethan. This is between you and me." He leaned forward slightly, bringing his mouth an inch away from Brian’s. Just when it appeared that he was going to kiss the older man, he moved his face slightly to the right so he could speak directly into Brian’s ear. "Fuck off." Turning away quickly, he grabbed Ethan’s hand and pulled him to his feet and across the floor.