In the morning, Lance awoke opening his eyes slowly. He rolled onto his back, and his eyes opened wide when he felt the bed empty beside him. It had been nice sleeping with Josh. It had just felt right ,but now Josh was gone. Lance sat up in bed, and looked around. He listening for water running in the bathroom, but heard nothing. He got up and made his way to the living room, and found no sign of Josh. On closer inspection, he found that Josh's bag was gone. He sat down on the couch and sighed. Josh had left. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a piece of paper folded sitting on the side table. Reaching over, he picked it up and began to read. Lance, I'm sorry I left before you woke up. I decided that before you and me can be and us, I need to do something. I'll explain when I come back, and trust me I am coming back. Love, Josh Lance put the note aside. He hoped Josh would come back and soon. Josh slung his bag over his shoulder as he stepped out of the cab. He pushed his sunglasses up higher on his nose as he glanced up at the building before him. It was good to be home. In the middle of the night, he had woken up. After watching Lance sleep for awhile, he had decided to take care of things from his past, so he had gone to the airport and got on the first flight out to LA. He needed closure before he could move on. He walked up the path to his front door, and opened it. Josh walked through the first floor of the house. He saw a stack of mail on the kitchen counter. He'd go through that later. A noise from the second floor caught his attention, and he made his way up the stairs. Once he reached the top of the staircase, he could hear that the sounds were coming from his bedroom at the end of the hall. He walked down the hall and noticed that the door was open a crack. Peaking inside, he recognized the form of his former lover in bed with another man. He pushed open the door, and walked inside. "What the hell are you doing Justin?" Justin let out a surprised noise as he broke away from the other man.  "Josh. What are you doing here?" Josh took a step toward the bed. He bent down and picked up Justin's clothes and threw them on the bed. "I live here remember. This is my house." He watched as Justin shrugged on his t-shirt. "The better question here is why are you here?" Justin looked back at the man next to him. "Don't make me ask again. We broke up, and now you bring this man into the bed we once shared. That is low even for you, man." "Chris and I have sort of been staying here. I thought you were gone, Josh." "I was, but now I'm back, and I want you to get your things and get the hell out of my house. You have thirty minutes before I call the cops." Josh turned on his heel, and left the room. When he reached the kitchen, he opened the fridge and poured himself a glass of wine. He could hear Justin and his lover moving around upstairs. He knew the minute he saw Justin that all those feelings he had for him were gone. He never thought that Justin had it in him to be so cruel. To bring another man into the house they had shared for almost a year was just cold. At the sound of footsteps on the stairs, Josh lowered his glass. Justin came into the kitchen and eyed Josh warily. "Listen, Josh. I'm sorry." "Apology not accepted. I loved you, Justin. Get that. Loved." He motioned towards the counter. 'Leave your keys there. His, too. I'll probably change the locks though." He watched as Justin threw the keys on the counter. A few seconds later, he heard the front door slam. Josh sighed before taking another sip of wine. He made his way up to his bedroom, but after what he had walked in on, he couldn't possibly sleep there. He went across across the hall, and lay on the bed. He wished he could call Lance. He hoped Lance wasn't upset that he had left the way he had, but now he knew he had done the right thing. He had seen Justin for what he really was, and now he could go past it, and be happy with the man he now loved. continue next