This story is for Gina, because she asked nicely.:)

 "You kissed him." Justin looked up at the face just above his. The look in Brian’s eyes was unreadable.

"I gotta go to take a shower." Justin threw the sheet off and scrambled across the room, leaving his lover staring at his retreating form.

Justin turned the water on hot and stepped into the glass enclosure. He soaped himself quickly, afraid Brian would follow him in there. Afraid he’d ask more questions about last night.

Shaking his head, Justin closed his eyes and tried to forget what he’d done with that kid - what he’d done *to* him.

We fucked, Justin thought. That’s all.

And I kissed him.

"Fuck!" Justin turned the water off roughly and opened the shower door. Who am I calling a kid? He’s probably close to my age. He just *seemed* younger.

Justin ran the towel over his skin quickly. Why did I cruise him? Why did I even go to that stupid party?

‘Cause Brian told me to? ‘Cause I wanted to show him that I could have nameless, mindless sex with the first cute guy I saw?

Justin tossed the towel in the direction of the hamper and started walking slowly back toward the bedroom. Brian wasn’t there or anywhere else in the apartment. Justin walked to the closet and looked in; Brian’s gym bag was gone, which explained where he was.

Pausing, Justin took a step inside the closet and closed his eyes. He ran his hands lightly over Armani suits and Boss jackets as he breathed in the heady scent of leather and expensive cologne. At the same time, he tried to push away the panic he felt from knowing that Brian left without telling him where he was going, or even that he was leaving.

The sound of the telephone ringing pulled Justin away from his thoughts. He ran to the bedside table and snatched the received from its cradle. "Brian?"

"Sorry, Sunshine, it’s only me."

"Oh." Justin couldn’t hide the disappointment in his voice.

"Hey, is it my fault you don’t know where your boyfriend is?" Debbie sounded annoyed.

Swallowing an angry retort, Justin forced his voice to sound calm. "Did you call here for a reason?"

"Yes, I did. I was calling to find out why you’re there and not here."

There? "Shit!" Justin glanced at his watch. "I’m on the schedule this afternoon--"

"You were supposed to be here forty-five minutes ago, to be exact."

"Debbie… I’m sorry. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes."

"Good. You can work an extra hour tonight."

*&*&*&*&*

Justin ducked in the front door of the diner and hurried to the kitchen, trying to avoid Debbie as long as possible. Not that he’d be successful for very long, but he definitely wasn’t in the mood to listen to her today. The best he could hope for was that they’d be busy and the time would pass quickly.

"So nice of you to join us, Justin!" The waitress was leaning against the counter and her voice carried over the background noise in the diner. "Just out of curiosity, what was your excuse? Were you and Brian up all night fucking? Did he leave you handcuffed to the bed when he left this morning?"

Every eye was on Justin as they laughed at Debbie’s comments. Justin could feel his face reddening, but he refused to allow them to know how uncomfortable he was. "Now, how did you know what we were doing, Deb?" He walked over and leaned on the counter next to her. "I thought Vic hid your binoculars."

A roar went up from the assembled group as Justin walked over and got a glass of water. Debbie’s smile let him know that he’d won this round, but the look in her eyes said he’d better watch it for the rest of the day.

*&*&*&*&*

It had been a very busy afternoon. It seemed that every queer in Pittsburgh had decided to have a late lunch at the diner. Justin had been running almost non-stop for two hours and he was ready to sit down for a few minutes. He was carrying a full buspan toward the kitchen when he saw a familiar figure standing near the door, talking to Debbie.

Actually, Debbie was doing all the talking.

The young man smiled when he saw the person he’d come to see. "Justin!" The bus boy paused; there was no use trying to escape to the kitchen. He’d been spotted. He carried the buspan to the area behind the counter and stopped next to Debbie.

"A friend of yours?" Debbie was smiling at the newcomer.

"Do you mind if I take a break?" Justin asked, as he pulled off his apron.

"Take all the time you need, as long as you’re back in five minutes."

Without answering, Justin turned and walked out the front door, knowing the other teenager would follow him.

When they were far enough away so that Justin felt comfortable that Debbie could neither see nor hear them, he turned around. The young man reached out his arm in Justin’s direction. "What’re you doing?"

"I’ve been thinking about you since last night." The huge grin on the young man’s face made him look even younger than he was. "I really missed you."

"You don’t even know me." Justin didn’t try to hide his annoyance.

"Sure, I do." The young man paused, the smile never wavering. "And, uh, you know me too."

This is going to be tougher than I thought. "Look, I don’t want you to come here anymore, okay?"

The young man looked confused. "Why not?"

"’Cause I said so." It was important not to show any emotion, lest the boy see through what Justin was trying to do.

"Yeah, but, after what happened, I thought that we could…"

"Nothing happened," Justin continued. "We fucked, that’s all."

"That’s not all. I love you." Such an open declaration - was it possible that I was ever that naïve? Justin wondered.

Justin laughed. "You don’t love me."

The other young man continued, as if he hadn’t been interrupted. "And from the way you kissed me, I knew we had this connection--"

"Do you know how pathetic you are? One lousy fuck and now you’re carrying on like some lovesick fairy. You’ve got a lot to learn. Fags will say anything to get their dicks sucked or fuck a nice ass. Then it’s on to the next."

Justin started to walk away, but he was stopped. "I don’t believe you. I know what I felt."

"Yeah, well, I didn’t feel anything. As far as I’m concerned, you’re yesterday’s fuck."

The young man paused for several seconds; he looked as if he was trying to find words to express what he felt. Not necessary, Justin thought, I know exactly how you feel.

Tears filled the dark blue eyes. Without saying anything else, he turned and ran away. Justin, who was left alone on the street, looked down for the moment it took to regain his composure. As he walked back to the diner, his mind replayed the scene that had just taken place. It was the only thing I could’ve done, he decided. Anything less than total destruction of the boy’s dream and he’d come back for more.

I know I would have.

*&*&*&*

Justin looked at the clock, for the one hundredth time today. There was less than an hour in his shift. He had managed to stay busy all evening, but the time still passed slowly.

As he walked back in from the kitchen, he noticed that Brian had come in and was sitting at the counter. He hadn’t seen Justin yet; the young man stopped walking for a few seconds and watched his lover out of the corner of his eye. The look on his face was unreadable, as usual.

"Hey." The teenager walked past where Brian was sitting, trying to act casual and wondering if he’d succeeded.

"Hey." Brian glanced up.

Debbie was busy at a booth, so Justin fixed a glass of water, just like Brian liked it, and brought it over to him. He was unsure of what to say, so he said nothing. It was never a good idea to speak to Brian unless you knew what kind of mood he was in.

"I’d like a grilled chicken sandwich, no mayo."

"Fries?"

Brian shook his head. "Just a small salad, no dressing."

Justin scribbled the order on a ticket. "You’re eating healthy tonight." It was a silly thing to say - Brian almost always ate healthy - but he couldn’t think of anything else.

"I don’t want to negate all the hard work I did in the gym this afternoon."

Justin wasn’t surprised to learn that Brian had gone to the gym. He was reasonably sure that the subject of last night’s activities wouldn’t come up, at least not right now. He resumed his work but never let Brian out of his sight.

*&*&*&*&*

Brian was standing and fishing money out of his pocket. He walked to the door and turned, waiting for Justin to come over. "What time’re you getting off?" Grabbing the young man around the waist, he said, "Wanna go somewhere and get off together?"

Justin laughed as he ran his hand across his lover’s back. "I need a shower before we go out."

"Mmmhhh," Brian nuzzled the young man’s hair. "I don’t mind taking another shower. A clean body and a clean mind…" He chuckled naughtily.

Justin joined in the laugh. "One out of two isn’t bad…"

"Come on." Brian tugged at the teenager’s apron. "Let’s get outta here."

Justin grabbed Brian’s hands and tried to stop him. "I still have thirty minutes, Brian."

"I think we can handle it from here, Sunshine." Debbie was standing nearby, smiling. "Go on and enjoy your weekend." The apron was off before Debbie could change her mind and tell him he had to stay.

*&*&*&*&*

For the second time today, Justin stepped under the hot spray of the shower. He reached for the soap, but Brian grabbed it first. Turning around, he took a step backwards toward his lover, who began caressing his chest and stomach with slippery hands. He could feel the other man’s cock getting hard against his back as the hands moved down to play with the hair on his upper thighs.

"Do you still wanna fuck me?" Brian’s breath tickled Justin’s ear as he spoke softly.

Justin closed his eyes. He knew he was being teased, but the very mention of him topping Brian made him rock hard instantly. Rather than admit to wanting something he may never have, the teenager shifted the conversation to a subject Brian was always interested in. "What do *you* want?"

"I want…" Brian kissed the side of Justin’s neck, using his teeth to nip the soft skin. "I want us to pick up a couple of guys and bring them back here. I wanna watch you fuck one of them while I do the other one."

"What?" Justin tried to turn his head so he could see Brian’s face. "Why do you want to do that? Aren’t I enough for you?"

"That’s not the point, Justin. It’s just a game." Moving his hands down, Brian grasped his lover’s cock and stroked roughly as his own shaft slipped between the young man’s ass cheeks. Justin reached around and grabbed Brian’s hips, encouraging him to thrust against him.

Less than five minutes later, Justin cried out as he shot onto Brian’s hands. Brian bit his lover’s ear as orgasm claimed him as well.

*&*&*&*&*

"Were you serious when you said you wanted to bring other guys home? Tonight?" Justin gazed at Brian’s reflection in the mirror as he combed his hair.

"Why not tonight?" Brian ran the towel across his back.

Justin knew he wouldn’t be allowed to ask many more questions, but he still didn’t understand. "But… why?"

"Jesus Christ, Justin! Why do you have to over-fucking-analyze everything?" Tossing the towel aside, Brian stood with his hands on his hips. "I just wanna watch, okay? I bet you were hot with that virgin last night."

The reminder of what he’d done the night before, and all its ramifications, blindsided Justin. He was unable to speak. Brian paused for a minute, awaiting an answer, then walked into the bedroom when none was forthcoming.

Justin remained in the bathroom, in front of the mirror. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. He opened his eyes, squared his shoulders and followed his lover into the bedroom.

"It’s only a game, right?" He stood in the doorway, looking at the floor.

Brian was in front of the closet, picking out a shirt. "Right. We pick up a couple of guys, bring them home and fuck them. When we’re finished with them, they’re out of here."

"No names or phone numbers?" Justin walked slowly into the room.

"The Rules apply," he paused, for emphasis, "as always." He waited for an answer. When Justin said nothing, he continued, "Look, if you don’t want to do it--"

"I do." Justin cleared his throat. "It sounds like fun." The smile on his lips never made it to his eyes.

*&*&*&*&*

Moving close to Justin, Brian felt the tension in the teenager’s body. He spoke into his ear. "So many men; so little body hair."

Half-turning his head, Justin attempted a smile. "See any you like?"

Hazel eyes scanned the crowd below. "Him." He pointed at his choice.

"I guess," Justin said, without conviction.

"You?"

Justin unconsciously looked in the opposite direction. "Him."

"He’s kinda young…" No reply. "Let’s go for it." He started moving toward the stairs.

Justin stopped him. "Or… we could go home…just the two of us." He looked deeply into Brian’s eyes, searching for acquiescence.

"What about The Game?"

"Fuck The Game," Justin said, evenly, his gave unwavering. He moved forward quickly and kissed Brian. He pulled back and kissed him again. Brian reciprocated and Justin embraced his lover. Brian deepened the kiss quickly.

Brian pulled back yet again, pushing Justin lightly. He turned back in the direction of the stairs. A hand reached out, grabbing at his arm. At the last second, he pulled Justin along with him.

 *&*&*&*&*

Justin sat in front of his computer, but wasn’t looking at it. He’d been working on the same drawing all afternoon and he was getting tired and frustrated. He’d had trouble going to sleep the night before, which only made his mood worse. The sex was incredible, as usual, but he had a feeling that Brian regretted letting him convince him not to bring those other guys home. Nothing had been said by either of them about it. Actually, nothing much had been said by either of them today. They prepared and ate brunch together, and then each of them had turned on their respective computers.

Brian got up and went to the refrigerator, then walked over to where Justin was sitting. "Take a break." He handed the teenager an open bottle of beer and pulled a chair over to sit near him.

"Thanks." Justin took a large drink. "Are you finished with what you were doing?"

"I was just making notes for a new account Marty wants me to sit in on next week. What about you?"

"This is due tomorrow," he nodded his head in the direction of the computer, "and it still looks like shit."

"I was gonna suggest that we go out and eat an early dinner, and then go dancing for a while. Work out your frustrations…"

"Sorry, Brian," Justin looked away, "I can’t."

"Okay. I’ll stay here too.

"No!" Justin realized how abrupt he sounded. "I mean, don’t think you have to stay here and babysit me."

Brian made a face. "I’ve never considered you in need of babysitting, Justin. If I stay here, it’ll be because I want to."

"I appreciate that, but I really need to concentrate," he smiled wanly, "and it’s difficult to concentrate when you’re here."

"Are you calling me a distraction?" Brian looked at Justin in mock surprise.

"Yes," Justin laughed, "that’s exactly what I’m calling you."

Brian stood up. "Are you sure you don’t mind me leaving?"

"I’m sure." Justin plastered on his most luminous smile. He pretended not to watch Brian dress. The older man walked over and kissed him on the top of the head before making his way to the door.

"I won’t be late."

"Take all the time you like," Justin spoke quietly to the closed door.

*&*&*&*&*

Brian shifted in the bed, not quite awake. Without opening his eyes, he reached out to pull Justin closer.

His extended hand touched nothing, however, forcing Brian to open his eyes and look around.

No Justin.

Brian’s brain went into fast reverse, trying to remember the events of the night before. Justin was here when I went to sleep, Brian thought. Wasn’t he?

Sitting up, Brian scanned the apartment, trying to find Justin in the darkness. His ears picked up at a very small sound coming from the vicinity of the couch. Without bothering to get his robe, he crawled out of bed and ambled over.

Justin was sitting, hunched over, in the corner of the couch, looking down. There was a liquor bottle on the floor and he held a glass unsteadily in his hand.

Brian sat down on the other end of the couch. "What’re you doing?" He stole a glance at the young man’s face. "What the fuck’s the matter?"

Justin’s face was a mask of pain. "Nothing the fuck’s the matter, okay?" He tried to smile. "I couldn’t sleep."

Reaching out, Brian grabbed the glass out of the teenager’s hand and set it on the table. "How much have you had to drink?"

"Not nearly enough…" Justin made an unsuccessful attempt to retrieve the glass, then the bottle. Brian picked up both and carried them to the kitchen.

Justin stood up to follow him, then thought better of it. He started stumbling toward the bedroom. "I know you have some ‘e’ around here somewhere."

Brian intercepted the young man before he made it to his drug box. "As a matter of fact, I’m out." Grabbing Justin by the arm, he stared at him for several seconds. "What’re you trying to do? Put yourself into another coma?"

"I hadn’t thought about it, but…" Justin smiled sweetly, then moved his head forward against Brian’s chest.

Brian placed an arm around Justin’s waist and helped him over to the bed. "What’s wrong with you?"

Wriggling away from his lover’s embrace, Justin sat on the edge of the bed. "I’m fine. Don’t I look fine?"

This is getting us nowhere, Brian decided. "Well, I’m going back to bed. I have to get up in a few hours." He held out a hand, beckoning the young man to join him.

Justin started slithering across the sheet. "Is it time for you to fuck me again?" He chuckled. "It must’ve been three hours since the last time--"

That’s it, Brian thought. Sitting back up, he pulled Justin close and held him. After a brief struggle, the teenager remained still. "Talk to me, Justin. Are you pissed off because I went out without you? I told you nothing happened…"

Shaking his head, Justin looked away. "I’m not mad at you, Brian."

"What is it, then?"

Justin gazed deeply into his lover’s eyes. What is he thinking when he looks at me that way? Brian wondered. "Nothing. Go to sleep."

Brian allowed Justin to pull away this time. He made sure the young man was lying down before he closed his eyes.

Justin moved as close to the edge of the bed as he could. Brian’s breathing quickly became regular: he was asleep. He considered getting back up, then decided to stay in bed. If that’s what it took to keep Brian asleep, sobeit. He turned over on his side and hugged the pillow, trying to turn his brain off long enough to go to sleep.

*&*&*&*&*

Brian followed Justin out the front door of Woody’s and paused. The cool night air took him by surprise; he breathed in the first non-smoke-filled gasp of air he’d had in several hours.

It had been Justin’s idea to come here tonight; Brian knew it was a bad idea, but he’d done it anyway. He really hated karaoke, especially when it was drunk queers who were doing it. This is what Justin wanted to do tonight, rather than going to Babylon, so this is where they’d come.

Brian couldn’t help but notice that Justin was paying more attention to the bar than he was to the performers. He’d intercepted odd looks from both Ted and Emmett, without allowing them to say anything to the teenager.

Whatever was going on with Justin, it had started last weekend. Brian was willing to bet it had something to do with what Justin had done at Daphne’s party. Correction: *who* he’d done. Other than the fact that he was a virgin, and Justin had kissed him, Brian knew nothing else. It’s not your business, he told himself, but he couldn’t help thinking about it. He’d assumed that Justin would get over it by himself, in time.

As he watched the teenager stumble down the steps to the street, he was beginning to consider what he could realistically do to help, that wouldn’t alienate Justin even more.

Brian caught up with Justin just as he made it to the street. An arm around his waist steadied the young man for the short walk to the Jeep.

*&*&*&*&*

Justin giggled as they exited the elevator and walked toward the door of Brian’s apartment. Brian had spent the entire ride home trying to keep Justin in his seat with one hand and driving with the other.

When they were safely inside, Brian grabbed his lover in an embrace and helped him up to the bedroom. "Now, I understand why you were in such a hurry to get home." Justin began undressing.

"I was in a hurry because I didn’t want you to pass out at Woody’s."

"What makes you think I was going to pass out?" When he was completely naked, Justin started pulling at Brian’s clothes.

"Oh, I don’t know." Brian was trying to calm Justin frenzied movements. "Maybe because you were trying to drink all the alcohol there?" He managed to grab both of Justin’s hands. "Come to bed." He tried to maneuver them across the room.

They paused beside the bed. Brian looked down at his companion, disheveled and gasping for breath. He couldn’t remember him looking sexier. Grabbing blond hair, he pulled Justin’s head back and covered his mouth. The teenager reciprocated immediately, plunging his tongue into the older man’s mouth.

Brian pulled Justin onto the bed beside him. They writhed together, each of them trying to gain dominance. Finally, Brian was able to use his weight advantage and longer arms and legs to push Justin over on his back. Pinning the smaller hands against the mattress, Brian moved his head far enough away so that Justin couldn’t reach it.

"Do you want me to fuck you?" Brian teased, knowing the answer.

"Yessss," Justin stopped struggling.

Brian waited another minute to make sure Justin wasn’t going to start struggling again. The young man lay still. In the second it took him to reach over and retrieve a condom from the bedside table, Justin shifted over so that he was lying on his stomach.

It occurred to Brian to ask why Justin had changed positions, but he didn’t ask. This was the most physical contact that Justin had allowed since Saturday night and Brian was enjoying it, despite the fact that they’d both probably have bruises tomorrow.

Brian kissed the nape of Justin neck softly. Using his tongue, he started licking slowly down the teenager’s spine, causing him to shiver. Justin crawled up on his hands and knees with his legs apart, giving Brian easy access to his ass.

This was more than enough encouragement for Brian. He languidly ran a finger between the cheeks of Justin’s ass, then pulled them apart. He licked the rosebud of Justin’s anus lightly at first, then plunged his tongue inside. The sound of Justin’s moans encouraged him to explore as far as he could.

When he’d decided that Justin had had enough foreplay, he unrolled the condom onto his dick, pushed into Justin’s asshole and started pumping. Justin moaned loudly as he pushed back with every thrust. Brian didn’t realize how much he’d missed sex with Justin until he’d had to do without it for three days.

Neither of them were going to last very long. Brian stroked Justin’s cock roughly, pulling orgasm from him and pushing himself over the edge as well.

As soon as Brian rolled off Justin, the young man inched his way across the bed to the edge, where he’d slept for the past few nights. Brian watched him, wishing he could think of something to say to bring him back over where he belonged. He hasn’t left the bed completely yet, Brian decided. I guess that’s something.

*&*&*&*&*

"Fuck!" Kneeling down, Justin started picking up the larger pieces of glass while Debbie fetched the broom and dustpan.

"Watch it, Sunshine. Don’t cut yourself." When there was no reply, she put her hand on his shoulder. "What happened? Is it your hand again?"

"No." Justin spoke sharply. "I-I was trying to carry too many dishes, that’s all." He looked up into the Debbie’s face, which was full of concern. "I’m sorry, Deb."

She pulled him up to stand beside her. "It’s okay…" She bit her bottom lip, pausing before she continued, "Justin… Is everything all right?" She handed him the dustpan.

"Fine." She swept up the pieces and he dumped them into the trash.

"You just look a little tired, that’s all." She looked at him expectantly, but he walked away without saying anything else.

*&*&*&*&*

"Brian?" Justin closed the door and started walking toward the kitchen. "I hope you didn’t drink all the--" Stopping abruptly, he stared at the figure on the couch. "What the fuck are *you* doing here?! How did you find out where I live?!" He started walking toward the visitor, who hadn’t said a word.

"Justin, would you calm down for a fucking minute?" Brian hurried in from the bedroom. "I brought him here."

Turning on the older man, Justin continued. "You?"! What the fuck…" His voice trailed off.

"Will you come and sit down?" Taking a seat in the chair, Brian pointed at the couch. Justin remained standing. "Justin, I know you’ve been upset since last weekend and I think it has something to do with what happened at Daphne’s party."

"It’s really none of your business, Brian, what I do when you’re not around."

Brian turned to his visitor and smiled. "You’ll have to pardon our Sunshine, Eric, he’s having his period--"

"Eric?" Justin looked from Brian to the young man on the couch, and back to Brian. "His name is Eric?"

Brian looked up in surprise. "You didn’t know his name?"

Justin ignored Brian’s question. "What is he doing here?"

"Will you excuse us for a minute, Eric?" Brian got up and walked over to where Justin was standing. Putting his arms around the slim body, he guided him up to the bedroom.

They sat down on the bed. "Why did you bring him here?" Justin was careful to stay out of Brian’s reach.

Several flippant retorts came to mind, none of which Brian was foolish enough to use. He chose honesty. "Justin, I don’t like to see you upset. I thought it would help if…"

"If I saw him again? How the hell did you find out about him, anyway?"

"Debbie told me a kid came to see you at the diner, and that you were upset after he left. I called Daphne--"

"You used Daphne against me?"

"Daphne loves me, I thought you knew that." Brian smiled smugly. "She’ll do anything to help you."

"What did she tell you? About Eric?"

"She didn’t know what happened between you. All she knew was that Eric called her Saturday morning and asked about what your name was and where he could find you. That’s why she told me about him." Justin didn’t reply and they both sat quietly.

A minute later, Brian moved over to gaze into his lover’s eyes. "Talk to me, Justin. What can I do to help?"

Justin looked away. "There’s nothing you can do, Brian. I fucked up…"

"With Eric?" Justin nodded, but still wouldn’t look up. "He’s the virgin you fucked at the party?" Another nod of the blond head. "Justin, you don’t have anything to be ashamed of…"

"Yes, I do!" Justin’s head jerked up; Brian could see tears in his eyes.

"Because you kissed him? So what if you broke one of the rules--"

"Two." Brian stopped talking. "I kissed him, *and* I fucked him twice."

"Okay," Brian answered, solemnly.

"It didn’t mean anything, Brian, I swear! I don’t even remember it - until I saw him sitting on your couch, I’d almost forgotten what he looked like."

"I believe you," Brian sighed. "I know you better than you think I do. And I think I understand why you did it."

"You do?"

"Yes." Brian pulled his lover close, speaking softly. "You didn’t go to the party because you wanted to, but because your mom and Daphne… and *I* said you should. When you found out Eric was a virgin, you wanted to make it special for him, so you kissed him. Am I right?"

Justin nodded. "When he came to the diner the next day, I freaked. I couldn’t take a chance on him coming around while you were there."

Brian successfully stifled a laugh. "What did you think I’d do?"

"I-I don’t know. I guess I didn’t really think about that. I was mad at myself for breaking the rules. My rules, Brian!"

Leaning forward, Brian placed a soft kiss on Justin’s mouth, short-circuiting yet another outburst. "Will you give yourself some slack, please? None of us is perfect, Justin, not even you. You have to learn how to forgive yourself."

"H-how do I do that?"

"Go out there and talk to him, Justin. Tell him what you told me."

Standing, Justin took a step, then held out his hand. "Come with me?"

"You don’t need me," Brian answered, as he lay back on the bed.

Justin flashed a smile over his shoulder as he walked out of the bedroom.

*&*&*&*&*

Brian was unsure of how much time had passed since Justin had left the room. He tried to occupy the time by looking at magazines, but he couldn’t concentrate for very long. He couldn’t hear the two young men talking, nor did he want to know what they were saying. If this was all he had to endure to improve Justin’s mood, it was certainly worth it.

"Brian?" Justin stood at the foot of the bed. "Were you asleep?"

"No." Brian sat up. "Did you finish talking?"

"Yeah." Justin crawled onto the bed beside his lover. "It’s okay. Eric met some other gay kids in one of his classes. He says he’d never have been able to hook up with them if it wasn’t for me."

"So, are you two buddies now?"

Justin wrinkled his nose. "I don’t think we’ll ever be best friends or anything. He’s a biology major and I hate science. But he understands why I acted like I did." He laughed softly. "And he thinks you’re totally hot."

Pulling Justin forward, Brian pressed his mouth against the smaller one. After just a brief kiss, Justin pulled back. "Come on. I told Eric we’d give him a ride home. Then I want to go out."

"Out? Why can’t we stay home tonight?"

"Stay home on a Friday night? No way. Don’t you remember you said we could have one night a week when we go out together, just the two of us."

Knowing it would be useless to try to argue, Brian followed Justin off the bed. "I remember. Where do you want to go?"

"I’ll tell you in the Jeep, after we drop Eric off."

*&*&*&*&*

"Thanks for the ride." Eric spoke to Brian. "I’ll call you next week, Justin." Justin waved at the young man as he got out of the Jeep and walked up the steps of his dorm.

Brian pulled slowly back into traffic, with one eye on his companion. "Okay, Eric is safely delivered. Where are we going?"

Justin’s face seemed to light up as he leaned over and kissed Brian lightly on the cheek. "Remember a couple of weeks ago, when you said you’d take me to the baths?" Brian said nothing, forcing his face to remain unemotional. "That’s where I want to go… tonight."