Two long years later Jayce ran a hand through his hair, tapping the envelope against his thigh, anxiousness clear in his eyes.

He brought a finger up and rang the yellowing doorbell, stepping back as it sounded out loud, clear and he held his breath, picturing Justin appearing with a bright grin... That seemed to send the butterflies into flight once more and he licked his lips nervously, his wrist jerking with nerves.

Jayce peered into the opaque glass and saw a blob of orange nearing and his heart sped, his chest tight with anticipation, ready for their first confrontation--

A lady answered the door with a sweet smile and a southern tang to her "Hi" and Jayce felt his stomach drop.

"Uh... Does... Does a Justin live here?" Jayce stepped back and looked at the house number and knew that was the one he had written down, damn near memorized. He turned back to the woman who just nodded.

"Well... he doesn't live here but across town--" The woman stopped. "He's my son. Who are you, may I ask? Maybe I can relay the message," she suggested and Jayce gulped. "Or maybe you could just--"

"No, no, it's fine. My name is Jayce, just a friend from San Fransisco." He brought the white envelope up, holding it towards her. "A friend of his is getting married and I just wanted to give him an invitation." He handed the woman the paper and smiled. "If you could give that to him, I'd appreciate it."

The woman cocked her head. "Would you like to come in? He should be by soon--"

"No thank you, ma'am. I have to be on my way, thank you," he said as he turned around and started for the sidewalk, looking for the bus stop back to his hotel.

The woman in the doorway raised an eyebrow. All the invitations she had received were through mail... She chalked it up to being from California. They were weird people.

She turned and shut the door, tossing the envelope onto the kitchen table, continuing on into the kitchen. When the garage door sounded out and the backdoor opened, she smiled towards her son.

Justin grinned back. "Hey, mama." He gave her a kiss on the cheek and the man following did the same, murmuring, "Hey Lynn" as he passed. She started to turn around but the two men stood side by side, clasped hands in between them, just looking ready to explode.

"Yes?" she questioned with a small smile.

Justin looked at the other man, his blue eyes glinting and he brought his hand up, the gold band shiny. His mother stared and then shreiked and then Justin squealed, hugging his mother as she hollered.

Lynn pulled away and brushed a hand over Justin's newly cropped hair, the short curls dark. She then looked to the other man, squealing again and reached for him.

"Ryan, you're about to be my son! Don't think you can't scream!" She grabbed him for a hug and they all shared a tight hug before calming down.

"I can't believe it," she sighed and Justin grinned.

"Me neither. But..." he looked to Ryan and the young man with blonde hair smiled back. Lynn held a hand to her mouth, tears brimming.

"Good lord, I never thought I'd see the day..." she breathed and sniffled. "Now you two go on and wash up. We're having a dinner tonight! Just wait til I tell Aunt Mae! She'll go crazy for sure!"

The two men left holding hands and Lynn turned around, ready to start on dinner again when she remembered.

"Oh! Justin, someone stopped by for you." She walked quickly into the living room, swiping up the letter and extending it to the blonde.

He took it with a furrowed brow, opening it and slowly. They all watched as his eyes grew big and he held a hand over his mouth.

"Shit," he cursed and looked up at his mother's chide. "Shoot, I mean. But... Who gave this to you? You said somebody stopped by."

"Oh, just some man--"

"No," Justin said hurriedly. "What did he look like?"

Lynn raised an eyebrow. "Well... he had black hair. A little on the long side. Um, oh, gorgeous blue eyes-- He said he was a friend from California. Why?"

"Shit," Justin exhaled, not hearing his mother's tisk this time, falling to the couch, his eyes darting over the words.

Cherry... Married... Cordially Invited to... San Francisco... May 29th... RSVP to...

"Oh my god."

Lynn looked to Ryan and shrugged her shoulders when it hit her. "Oh! He told me his name!" Justin whipped towards her, his heart in his throat.

"Jayce," he whispered along with his mother.

Cherry stood before the mirror, smoothing down a wrinkle before looking to Jayce beside her, dressed in a black and white tuxedo, his hair slicked back with grease, a soft smile on his face. Cherry sighed.

"You look so handsome," she gushed and squeezed his hand.

He laughed and looked in the mirror at her. "It's your wedding, your the beautiful one here." She grinned and took a deep breath.

"Do you think he's getting cold feet?"

Jayce raised an eyebrow. "Are you getting cold feet?" Cherry grinned and turned back to the mirror. "And no, Johnny loves you way too much. Yall have been together for how many years? 5? Isn't that a record or something?"

Cherry grinned and Jayce's mission was accomplished. He smiled at her through the mirror. "I should go to his dressing room, making sure he's not going crazy." One worried look from Cherry and Jayce was laughing. "I'm just kidding."

He started for the door when Cherry called him back.

"Hm?" he asked and she turned around with a gentle smile of her own.

"Are you nervous?"

Jayce lost his smile and nodded, expelling a large breath. "I think I'm gonna freak out if I think about it anymore today," he chuckled and Cherry grinned.

"He'll be here, and he'll jump into your arms and all will be well."

Jayce smiled. He could only hope.

The church was full of people and Jayce walked up with a bride's maid on his arm, a smile plastered onto his face. He wanted to look around, spot him but he'd have enough time to do that when he stood up at the altar.

They parted ways and Jayce followed the best man up, turning towards the aisle. But with his eyes, he searched the pews for any sign of Justin.

When Cherry descended down the aisle, Jayce swallowed hard, no sign of Justin. And when she grabbed Johnny's hand and they turned towards the waiting preacher, Jayce was close to giving up on the younger man.

"We are here to witness the joining of these two people," the preacher began in a booming voice and Jayce sighed, turning his head towards the rows of people. That's when he saw him.

Justin came through the door, dressed up in a navy blue suit, his hair short and Jayce lost his breath. Gorgeous, just as he had remembered--

The man with his hand in Justin's followed quickly as they took a quick seat and Jayce felt his chest tighten, Justin's eyes catching his.

"Oh my god," he breathed as Justin's eyes widened with his. He licked his lips, his heart beating loud in his ear.

"Do you Chiņeri Simone Saldon take John Edwin Seras to be your lawfully..."

Justin swallowed loudly as he kept the stare he shared with Jayce and he pursed his lips, the young man absolutely stunning in the tux he wore, up there with his hair, with his eyes...

"Baby, now who is that again?" Ryan pointed to the groom and Justin had to tear his eyes away regretfully, licking his lips again.

"Um... sorry, who again?" He didn't let his eyes wander to Jayce again and Ryan pointed to the groom again. "Oh, that's Johnny. They've been together forever." He looked at Cherry and smiled as Johnny slipped a ring on her finger.

Then, slowly, his eyes slid over to Jayce's and stayed there, the young man the only thing he watched the rest of the ceremony.

The reception was held at Raven's Glow, now emptied of it's usual party goers and decorated with white and pale blue, the wedding's colors and Justin had never realized how much he had missed the place.

Chaka Kahn's "I'm Every Woman" blasted and Justin didn't care that Ryan was blushing, embarrassed that his fianceé was getting his groove on "like a girl."

Slowly the song faded out and Justin blew out a deep breath when there was a tap at his shoulder. At first he feared the worst; Jayce standing, tall and dazzling, but instead Cherry stood with a hand out. Justin smiled as he took it, the slow Donna Summer song setting the mood.

"I didn't know Cherry wasn't your real name," he said as they started dancing close, both hands on her hips, her circling his neck.

Cherry chuckled. "I never really liked Chiņeri. No one can ever pronounce it right. So I just tell everyone my name is Cherry."

Justin laughed and then stopped slowly, seeing Jayce over Cherry's shoulder, his arms around a lean blonde, his smile bright and why was he jealous again?

The couple came nearer and Justin watched with slit eyes, silently accusing the brunette with no right. Cherry rested her head on his shoulder and that seemed to catch Jayce's attention because his eyes turned to Justin's and they were caught all over again.

But with Justin's icy glare, Jayce was fine with reciprocating the gesture and narrowed his.

They stared, their gaze hot until Cherry shifted and Justin repositioned his hands. That's when the light glinted off the gold and the spark shimmered in Jayce's eyes, the pair glued to the band on Justin's ring finger. The girl long forgotten, he glanced at Justin, his jaw slack, his eyes drooping slightly before excusing himself, brushing past Justin and out of the club, Justin taking a hesitant step before rushing to the exit, assuring Ryan everything was ok.

The moon was bright against the midnight sky and Justin found Jayce leaning against the brick wall of the club, palms pressed to his eyes.

"Jayce--

"Shit!" he shouted and Justin jumped. "Don't fucking sneak up on me like that!" he shouted and hurried to wipe at his eyes, sniffling before turning to Justin. "What?"

Justin sighed. "I'm sorry--"

"What do you have to be sorry about? I'm just the loser who's screwed--"

"My mom told me you came to Memphis," Justin interrupted and Jayce stopped, licking his lips. "I came by like, 10 minutes after you," he gave a smile but Jayce remained stone faced. "My mama thinks you got gorgeous eyes," he tried but Jayce turned and leaned against the wall again.

"So, you're married?" Jayce didn't even look at him and Justin frowned.

"About to be... we can't have a traditional wedding... we're just gonna have a little party thing." Justin took a step forward and leaned his shoulder against the brick, his body just a few feet from Jayce. "Look, I'm sorry--"

"You have nothing to be sorry about!" Jayce yelled, frustrated. "You didn't do anything! It's my fault, and my problem. Just leave it alone, Justin." He looked up, the clouds bright with light. Justin took another step forward.

"I missed you, ya know--"

"So, why'd ya go back to Tennessee, I thought you got bored with the small towns and alter boys?" Jayce changed the subject quickly, glass eyes turned towards Justin.

The blonde sighed. "Ryan's an alter boy," he mumbled and took a step forward, now just a few inches from Jayce. And the brunette seemed too aware.

"Justin..." he warned, but there was no force behind it as his eyes traveled down Justin's face to land on his lips, those small pink lips he had loved kissing...

"Well, have a nice life with your alter boy and your white fucking picket fences." Jayce stepped away and tipped an imaginary hat before heading around the side, out of Justin's view.

Part 10 >>>
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