Hello again! :)
To get it out of the way: Thanks everyone for not getting on my case about my not getting to all of my email. I'm still a little behind, but not nearly as much as I was. It's greatly appreciated, and I'm glad no one took offense, because none was meant at all.
While we're getting things out of the way: None of this story is true. It's not meant to imply anything about anyone, and if you haven't caught onto that by now, I'm disappointed in you. :) But, if you shouldn't be reading this, then you probably shouldn't read this. If you can, then you should. :)
Thank you's are way too numerous to cover entirely, but definite thanks need to go out to ScottyT and to SDauson (author of 'Blind Faith') for reading this over and giving me their comments. You're both fabulous.
Additional thanks to Scotty just for being Scotty. He manages to put me in my place, challenge me, and compliment me all at the same time, and I'm still not sure exactly how he does it, but it's very much appreciated.
More additional thanks are owed to Sam (SDauson) for his recent help with my website. Well, help isn't the word for it, really. Sam completely reworked my site, did a fantastic job of it, and I had very very little to do with it. Thanks, Sam! :)
Finally, and I'm sure it will come as no surprise to anyone who's been in the chat room or listened to me gush elsewhere, I have to thank Matt. I honestly don't know what to say about him that I haven't already said before, considering that all of the really good stuff I could say is generally reserved for when it's just him and I. :P
If I had to pick just one reason that I was glad I started this story, it would be that I got to meet Matt. There are plenty of other reasons that I could come up with, but he's without a doubt the one that stands out in my mind. When I need inspiration, he's always got it, most of the time without even being aware of it. Over the course of the past year, Matt has become my confidant, my best friend, and my love. I don't know what I would do without him, and I don't ever want to find out. I just hope he knows how important he is to me, though I don't see how he could. SHMILY, sweetie. :)
Now, before I get all choked up, I'll change the subject. For those of you interested, there's an html copy of this installment available at my newly-reworked website (dls-stories.homepage.com), as well as all of the released installments of my NSYNC story, "I'll Never Stop". My thanks to those of you who have checked it out and let me know what you thought. :)
And now, I'll shut up. :)
ENJOY!!
PART 112
"Ugh."
"Shhh... not so loud," Brian pleaded in a whisper from right beside me.
I tried to open my eyes to look at him, turning my head in the direction that the whisper had come from, but as soon as the light reached my eye, I winced and groaned again, prompting another hushed complaint.
I rolled over onto my stomach and rested my head in my arms. Even that movement was enough to make me feel like my head might just explode. There was movement on my left, and then I felt the blanket that was on my back move up and over my head to block the light.
"Nate?"
"Ow."
Brian's hand fell on my back and started to rub gently. "Do you feel like you're about to die?"
"No. I feel like I'm already dead," I grumbled. "My head's killing me."
"Mine, too. Where are we?"
I felt around beside me on my right side, since Brian had shifted so he was pressed against my left. "Feels like the deck."
"Do you have any clothes on?"
"No. You?"
"Nothing. Where'd this blanket come from?"
"I don't know. Right now, I don't care. Just so long as it keeps blocking out the sun."
"We should probably get up, right?" He didn't sound like he really wanted to move.
"Probably should, yeah." I pulled my hand away from my hip with a grimace.
"Brian?"
"Hmm?"
"Are you all sticky?"
There was a second of silence, and I felt him move. "Yeah. Why am I sticky, Nate?"
I started to chuckle, but it quickly gave it up as my head pulsed with the sound. "Ow ow ow ow ow. I don't know why you're sticky, but I am too." Brian didn't answer, but there was suddenly a blinding sliver of light in our darkness. I had gradually been opening my eyes, but now they slammed shut again. "Argh!"
"Sorry," Brian mumbled. "Should have warned you."
"Definitely should have."
I felt him kiss my shoulder. "Sorry. Do we crawl to the house?"
I smiled and tried to keep from laughing. "No, I don't think we crawl to the house. How are your eyes?"
"Better than yours, apparently."
"Ow! Don't. Hurts to laugh."
"Sorry." He kissed my temple.
"'kay. I'm going to close my eyes. You see if you can see our clothes."
"Okay. Ready?"
I scrunched my eyes closed and prayed that I was. "Ready."
Brian's hand fell across my eyes, adding to my darkness, then he shifted beside me. The edges of my eyelids got brighter, but it was tolerable. He didn't speak for a second, then darkness descended again. "You can look now."
I opened my eyes cautiously to find myself staring a the darkened underside of his hand. He removed it and squinted at me. "Better?"
"A little," I groaned. "I feel like shit, pookie."
"You can't feel worse than I do. Anyway, we're facing away from the house.
The only thing I could see was an empty bowl."
That clicked a memory, but it took a minute to formulate. When it did, it at least solved one mystery. "I think I know why we're sticky."
"I checked my arm in the light. I'm all pink."
I nodded gently. "Last night, after we got done at the hottub. Remember? We got out and sat on the steps of the deck..."
"The strawberries and cream," Brian broke in. "We were feeding each other, and then I smacked you in the forehead with a berry, just like you had to me before..."
"Then I smacked you with one..."
"Then I flicked whipped cream at you..."
"And I tackled you..."
"Oh, sweetie, we're probably totally covered with it."
I winced at the thought as I opened my eyes a little more, letting them adjust. "And you didn't see our clothes?"
"Nope."
"Unh. At least I don't feel sick. You?"
"No, just achey and worn out."
"I don't think that bottle of vodka was a good idea, Brian."
"We didn't drink that much of it, did we?"
I searched my memory, but couldn't be sure. I could remember filling the shot glasses, but not how many times. "I don't know, pookie, but it feels like we might have. I can't remember much after we were on the steps."
"Do you remember what we did on the steps?" There was a lilt to his voice that told me that he did remember, and it wasn't hard to guess what it had been.
"No, but I have a pretty good idea. What about after that?"
"I don't know, sweetie. Somehow we got over here, and picked up a blanket from somewhere."
I lifted my head and looked at his shadowy figure. "We need to get showered before they find us. You wanna look around for something we can wear?"
Brian nodded and began to lift the blanket, waiting for me to close my eyes. I didn't know if it was necessary, but I wasn't taking the chance of my head splitting open. There was light once more, then silence for a minute, then he came back under the blanket. "Okay, I've solved two mysteries."
"And they are?"
"First, there's an empty vodka bottle a few feet behind us, so that answers the question of how much we drank."
"I'll never touch the stuff again. What's the second thing?"
"No hurry on that shower. They know we're here."
"How do you know that?"
"Because they're both in the window, laughing at us."
I groaned and put my head back down again. "Which probably explains the blanket, too, and our missing clothes. I'll kill them, as soon as I can move again."
"I'll help." His head fell to my shoulder as he sighed.
It wasn't long before we could hear snickering coming from behind us. "Are you boys ever getting up?"
"Nicky, it's too early for dealing with you," I grumbled. "Goway."
"It's a little past noon, guys. Aren't you hot under that blanket?"
"Well I wasn't, until you mentioned it," Brian said, lifting his head again. "Sweetie, we should get out of the sun and inside."
"Not with Nick standing there waiting to get a peek at us."
"Like it's anything I haven't seen before," Nick laughed, and we could hear the boards of the deck shifting as he walked over to us. "Besides, who do you think threw the blanket on you in the first place? I got more than an eyeful, let me tell you."
"How are your eyes now?" Brian whispered.
I opened them and lifted the edge of the blanket. I had to wince, but it was more at what the light did to my headache than at the appearance of the light itself. "Better."
"You want to get up?"
"Nicky?"
Nick lifted the edge of the blanket and threw it over our heads. "Yes, dear?"
"Is Erron up?"
"Yep. He's the only one of us feeling normal this morning."
"Do me a favour?"
"Sure."
"Tell him Brian and I need him to make us a drink."
"You're actually asking for that thing?"
Brian looked at us and arched his eyebrows. "Drink of what?"
"You don't want to know. But it'll make you feel better. I take it you got one already, Nick?"
"Right after we got up, yeah."
"And it helped, right?"
"It did. But it was disgusting."
I smiled and started to pull myself to my feet. I got halfway there before stumbling, but Nick grabbed my arm and helped me, then we both gave Brian a hand. Nick grabbed the blanket and wrapped it around both of us. "You guys get in the shower. I don't know what you've got all over you, but it's gross."
He didn't have to ask us twice. We wandered through the doors and into the living room of the cabin, then straight for the downstairs bathroom. The only stop we made was at the hall closet to get a couple of towels.
We had a warm shower, rather than a hot one, and took turns cleaning each other off. By the time we were done, we were feeling much more human, though still not nearly ourselves. We finally emerged from the bathroom with our towels wrapped around our waists as Erron and Nick came into the living room from the kitchen.
"Good morning!" Erron laughed, seeing our haggard expressions.
"Shut up," I mumbled.
"Here, drink up, and then go and get dressed." He shoved a glass into my hand and another into Brian's.
"What is it?"
"Nate told you already, Bri, you don't want to know," Nick smiled. Brian frowned and swirled the sludgy-looking contents around in the glass.
I leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Drink it, pookie. It'll help."
He lifted the glass to his nose, then winced. "Can't I just have a couple of aspirin?"
"They're already in there," Erron smiled, pointing to the glass.
He frowned again and looked over at me. "You first."
Bracing myself, I put the glass to my lips and started to drink. I had learned long ago that it was best to drink it all at once, rather than take a break. Once you stopped, it was next to impossible to convince yourself to start again.
It was through the drink that I had first met Erron. He had been at a party that I was at, and had been making them the following morning. Because of what I had always suspected was yet another of apparent myriad of genetic mutations, Erron almost never got a hangover, no matter how much he drank. Lucky bastard.
I had asked him once what exactly was in the drink, but he wouldn't tell me. I wasn't all that heartbroken about it, though. There were two ingredients that I had been able to identify, and that was more than enough to stop any further wondering. One of them was cola, and the other was tomato juice. If that wasn't the basis for a vile drink, I didn't know what was.
I emptied the glass and handed it back to Erron while I panted, catching my breath. I knew that in an hour I would be thankful for it, but at the time, I was trying to keep from throwing it back up. I turned and indicated to Brian for him to drink his, but he still hesitated. He smiled and held it out to me. "Now drink mine."
I smiled back and shook my head. "One's enough, thanks. Go on. Erron's not going to poison you or anything, and you'll thank him for it later, I promise."
He hesitated for another second, and then shrugged and started to drink. He started to stop about half-way through the glass, but I put my finger on the end of the glass and tilted it again. "Trust me, pookie, you want to drink it all together." He eyed me carefully, but he kept drinking. As soon as it was gone, he practically threw the glass away from him. Nick took it with a grin.
"Oh my god, that's disgusting, Erron!"
"Is it? I've never tried it myself."
Brian looked about ready to wipe the smirk off of his face. I laughed and took his arm, pulling him toward the stairs. "We'll be back down as soon as we're dressed."
"I'll get you some coffee," Nick offered, turning back toward the kitchen.
"I'll get ready to laugh at you some more."
I gave Erron the finger as Brian and I turned the corner on the stairs and headed for our room. We were barely through the door before Brian was gagging.
"You okay? You need to throw up?" I asked, patting him on the back.
He got himself under control again, then nodded. "I'm okay. But that taste..."
"I know. Trust me, I know. But it's for the best. Come on, we'll go brush and then get dressed." I took his hand and led him into the upstairs bathroom, handing him his toothbrush. My head was still throbbing, but I felt a lot better than I had when we had first woken up.
Brian had another gagging fit before he could get the toothbrush to his mouth, but managed to keep it under control once more. Maybe the drink was an acquired taste to some degree. I could remember reacting just like Brian was the first couple of times that I had taken it, but I wasn't having much trouble with it this time. Granted, the aftertaste wasn't pleasant, but as soon as my mouth was clean, that would be taken care of.
He seemed a lot better once he had rinsed out his mouth and put his toothbrush back in it's holder, and actually managed to smile. "I'm never drinking with you again, sweetie."
"Deal." He gave me his hand again, and we walked to the bedroom to find some clothes. I sat him on the bed, noticing that Nick and Erron hadn't bothered to make it, then got us both some boxers out. I threw his to him and put mine on, then opened the closet.
I looked through what was there and took down a couple of t-shirts, then closed the door again and turned to get some shorts out of the dresser. Before I could even grab the handle, the room was filled with moaning and grunting.
Turning around, I found Brian sitting on the end of the bed with the remote in his hand and a shocked expression on his face. Following his gaze, I found the source of the sounds. There were several well-built men on the TV screen, and they looked like they were having a lot of fun.
"What are you watching?"
Brian turned his head toward me, but his eyes trailed behind on the screen.
"Remember Erron and Nick were going to rent a couple of movies?"
"They didn't."
Brian held up the empty tape case from the bed, then turned his attention back to the screen. I smiled to myself, wondering if it was the first time he had seen this sort of thing, then sobered, wondering how smart it was for Nick to be renting gay porn. I grabbed the shorts I had been going for, and threw a pair at Brian's head, laughing as his attention snapped around to me.
"You going to sit and watch that all day, or get some breakfast?"
"Tough call, sweetie."
I grinned, pulling on the shorts, and sat down beside him. Reaching out, I took the remote from him and stopped the movie, then set it beside us. "You can watch it later, with the other two freaks, if you want. Right now, it's just going to give you ideas."
"Believe me, I'm not up to that right now. I might not remember all of last night, but I feel like I need to recharge a bit."
I laughed and kissed his cheek, sliding my hand up his leg. "They say it's good for a headache."
"Not a headache like the one I've got," he grinned, brushing my hand away. "But talk to me later."
"I'm yours for the day, remember? Do with me what you will."
"I remember. And I have my plans for you, if I can ever move without wincing again."
I stood up and pulled him from the bed. "You will. Just give Erron's Wonder Juice a chance to work."
"Is that what he calls that crap?"
"Yeah. He gets a kick out of asking people if they want to taste his Wonder Juice."
"He's a sick boy."
"That he is. Entertaining, though. Now, you want to go downstairs and see if we can't find something for breakfast? Nicky's got coffee going."
He sighed and pulled his shorts on, then stood up and took my hand, grabbing his t-shirt rather than wearing it. Pulling me along behind him, he made his way downstairs and into the kitchen, where Nick and Erron were sitting at the small table, both enjoying a plate of the leftovers from dinner the night before.
"You hungry?" Erron laughed, seeing us. "You could have a big glass of milk, and some greasy eggs, maybe. Or some pea soup?"
I rolled my eyes and took out the bread. "Nice try, sweetie, but neither one of us feels sick. Just dead. Though your drink had Brian close."
"Too bad. Nausea's so much more fun in a hangover."
"From the outside looking in, maybe," Nick smiled.
I opened the fridge to get out the eggs while Brian poured us some coffee. Noting that there was quite a bit less wine evident in there than there had been the night before, I looked back up at them. "I take it you weren't feeling all that great this morning, either, eh Nicky?"
"You got that right. And, to Erron's delight, I had the nausea going."
"Wow," Brian said knowingly as he handed me a mug. "You had quite the night, didn't you? Drinking, yelling at us from the windows, and watching porn."
Nick shared a surprised look with Erron, then started to grin. "It was a good night, yeah."
I didn't know if I liked the look that they shared, but I was a little too preoccupied with taking care of my growling stomach and my equally-growling head at the time. "Just tell me that there isn't some teenage girl in town squealing to her friends about how Nick Carter rented gay porn from her last night."
"Relax," Erron assured me with a smile. "I rented it. Nick hid in the back of the Jeep. No one saw him, and it's rented in my name. I now have a video membership at the Pine Tree Video Store."
"I'm sure it'll come in handy." I cracked a couple of eggs into the pan, not having the ambition to go through the added trouble of an omelette. "Now why doesn't someone tell me what Brian meant about you yelling at us?"
"You don't remember?" Brian asked, leaning against the counter beside me.
"No. I told you, I don't remember anything after tackling you on the steps."
"Well, you're loud enough to wake the dead, you know," Erron laughed, getting up and pouring himself a cup of coffee. He arched his eyebrows at Nick, obviously not knowing that Nick never drank it. When Nick declined the offer, he went back and sat down, smiling at us. "You can't blame us for complaining."
"The complaints I can understand," Brian told him. "It's the cheering and encouragement that confuses me."
"We were betting on which of you... took first place." Nick blushed, but he didn't look away.
Brian and I shared a look, then shook our heads. "You didn't have better things to do?"
Erron took that one. "Well, it's not like we were giving you our complete attention or anything. We talked, played cards, and watched movies and stuff. All we had to do was listen, and it was pretty clear when you were done."
"You're the reason I felt so bad this morning," Nick said, pointing at me. "We turned it into a drinking game, and I kept betting on you. You let me down, man."
"Um, sorry?" I said, flipping the eggs. "I'll try and do better next time."
"Please do."
Brian shook his head in dismay, trying not to laugh. "You both leave him alone. He was perfect."
"I thought you didn't remember it?"
"I remember more than you do, but not all of it. I think there was more than just after you tackled me, though. I can remember bits and pieces of it."
"Jesus, they can't remember, and we'll never forget," Erron laughed from the table, finishing with his plate. He leaned over in his seat and put it on the island. "If you're curious, there was at least three times."
"Erron, I don't think we need to hear you..." I tried, but he was already going, and wasn't going to be stopped.
"There might have been more, but after three we shut the window and tried to ignore you."
"You were under the patio table out there when I came down to get another bottle of wine," Nick supplied. "If that helps."
"That's enough help out of both of you," Brian said sourly, peeking over my shoulder to check the progress of breakfast. I added some ham out of the fridge to heat it through. It did help with one thing, though. I remembered the hottub, and the start of the stairs, but the table was a new one. I could have done without Nick seeing it, though.
Mercifully, they both fell silent while I finished with breakfast. I emptied the pan onto two plates, and Brian finished with the toast just in time to add it. "Let's eat in the other room," I suggested. "I plan on sinking into that couch for a little while until my head settles down."
"Thanks for breakfast, sweetie," Brian smiled, kissing my cheek.
I picked up my plate and mug and kissed him back. "Welcome. Let's go see if there's anything non-pornographic on a TV in this house."
Erron sighed, then started to laugh. "Okay, I get the point. I should have taken the tape out."
"Ya think?" I grinned, pushing the door open. "Now he's going to get ideas. How can I compete with professionals?"
"From what I've heard, you compete quite well," Nick laughed.
Brian kicked him in the ass on our way into the living room. "Can we just drop the whole sex topic now?"
"One more question, and then we're done."
I turned to look at Erron, knowing that it was going to be a good question.
"What?"
"I have to know. Who does that belong to?" He pointed to the windows looking out onto the deck and started to laugh.
Brian and I turned our attention to the pane that he was pointing at and groaned. The windows were basically floor-to-ceiling, and on the last one, the one right beside the stairs leading off of the deck, was a human-shaped smear.
It was an almost perfect shape of a body, from the top of the head right to just below the ass, in the same shade of pink that we had been covered with when we woke up. There were even two arms, extending out from the body and above the head. One of us had been pressed against the window at some point, though I couldn't remember it happening. My first inclination was to claim ownership of the print, since Brian had been in a forceful mood the night before, but Brian blushed and coughed, getting our attention.
"It's me."
I arched my eyebrows, and he started to smile at me. Erron and Nick laughed, and Erron reached into his pocket. Removing a couple of bills, he handed them to Nick. "Nice ass," he told Brian, then went and dropped into one of the chairs by the TV. "I should have known Nick would recognise it."
PART 113
"Oh, sweetie, don't stop."
I smiled and leaned further over Brian, running my palms over his back. He was lying on the couch face-down, his head turned to the side so that he could watch the TV while I was rubbing his back. At least, that had been the original plan. His eyes spent more time either closed or looking back at me than they did fixed on the screen.
"Mmm..."
"So, do I ever get to have the favour returned, or what?" I asked, grabbing his shoulders and kneading them.
He grinned and flexed his back under me. "Maybe. Remember, you're mine for today. You'll do as I tell you and you'll like it."
"Yes'm."
"That's better."
I dug a knuckle into his shoulder, and he jumped under me. "Sorry, slipped," I apologised. "How're you feeling, pookie?"
"Still a little sore, but my headache's almost gone. I'm still not sure if it's worth having to drink that stuff."
"Then you obviously weren't feeling as bad as I was, because I'd have drank a gallon of it to feel better."
"And do you?"
"Mm hmm," I confirmed, grabbing the waistband of his shorts and pulling them down a bit so that I could get lower on his back.
"Hey!"
"Oh, relax," I laughed, slapping his ass. "You're still decent." I put my finger under the material and started to lower it again, but he brought his arm up to smack my hand away.
"If you're pulling them lower, we're going to have to relocate."
I sighed dramatically and went back to his massage, first returning his hand to the cushion beside him. I spent a few more minutes on his lower back, and then leaned in and kissed his shoulder. He immediately started to turn over, but I reached out and pushed him back down again. "I'm not done, sweetie."
He relaxed once more while I moved further down the couch and started to work the muscles in his legs, venturing up the leg of his shorts until he swatted at me again. I merely smiled and shifted my attention.
A few minutes later, I smacked his leg. "Turn over."
"Get off of me."
I backed off of his feet, then grabbed the right one as he flipped over.
"What are you... ooh."
Grinning, I continued running my fingers over his foot, dragging my thumbs down the centre of it. "I told you I give a good foot rub."
"I'm so glad you met Andy."
By the time I was finished with him, he was even more glad that I had met her, and was almost asleep. I moved his feet out of my lap and lay down on top of him. "How's that?"
"Next tour, you're coming along as my personal masseur." He opened his eyes and looked into mine. "I'm so relaxed, I don't think I could move if I wanted to."
"Good thing you don't want to," I smiled, resting my head on his shoulder. "And I think it's likely to raise a few eyebrows if I give up my promising career as a hack writer to become your personal masseur."
Brian laughed and ran his hand up my arm. "You're not a hack, sweetie. You're a loser, but not a hack."
"Well, aren't you sweet?"
"Yup, and I thank you for noticing."
"Pookie?"
"Hmm?"
"Shut up."
"Are you two done yet?"
I lifted my head and saw Nick standing at the end of the couch. I raised a finger to my lips and indicated Brian, who was snoring under me. He had one arm wrapped around me, and I carefully lifted it, setting it aside, then climbed off of him as gently as I could. "Yes, we're done, though we weren't doing anything that you couldn't have been here for."
"Thanks, I heard more than enough of it last night."
"Fully clothed the entire time, Nicky," I smiled, rolling my eyes. "Where did you two disappear to?"
"Erron went into town to return the movies we got yesterday. I had a quick nap."
I waved to get him to follow me as I walked into the kitchen. "Brian'll be disappointed that he didn't get to see the end of the one he was checking out this morning."
Nick laughed and jumped up on the island. "It really was pretty good. You should have let him finish watching."
"Yeah, right. He gets all the ideas and expects me to keep up with him." Opening the fridge, I pulled out the iced tea.
"Like I said before, I don't think you have to worry about that. Bri's not complaining."
Setting the pitcher down on the counter, I looked at him seriously. "Brian really talks to you about that?"
Nick shrugged. "Not the exact details, like measurements and everything. Then again, I've seen that for myself."
I rolled my eyes and got out a glass.
"But, yeah, he's talked about it a bit. And you really don't have to worry, Nate. Brian's totally happy with everything. He couldn't stop smiling." Nick grinned as I smiled. "Yeah, that's the one."
"Shut up, Nick," I laughed, pouring a drink and putting the pitcher back into the fridge. "I wasn't worried that he wasn't satisfied. I was just surprised that he would talk about it with you."
"Well, I doubt he'd talk about it with anyone else, like Kevin or one of the other guys, but he knew that I was at least a little interested, and he usually tells me everything."
"You were interested in me, eh?"
Nick smacked my arm. "You know what I meant. At least I'm in a position... no, wrong word... at least I might find myself in the same situation sometime, and not be grossed out about it."
"Here's hoping." I held up my glass to him and took a drink. He blushed and looked down at his hands, making me stop for a minute. "Nick?"
"Yeah?" His face was still red, but he met my eyes.
"About last night..."
"Nothing happened, Nate."
"Nothing?"
"Nothing. I appreciate the concern and everything, but nothing happened."
"Okay. Sorry for being a mom."
He smiled. "No problem. I guess you didn't get a good impression this morning, huh? The bed was messed up, there was porn in the VCR, and you know that there was a lot of alcohol involved. I can see where you'd think something might have happened."
"Just making sure."
Nick started to laugh. "Erron was talking last night about setting it up so that it looked like we'd... you know... but we decided against it. Looks like it worked out that way, anyway."
"Looks like," I grinned.
"Well, you don't have to freak out. We made out a little, but nothing with any below-the-waist nudity involved."
I put up my hands, silently defending myself with a smile. "Okay, I believe you, Nicky." I stopped to take another drink, then sat down at the table. "You like Erron, eh?"
"I do. He's a lot of fun."
"That he is. Did you two talk about his family?"
Nick nodded as he switched positions to sit with me at the table. "I asked him about it. He told me all about Helen and Janice. He mentioned his father only long enough to let me know that he didn't want to talk about it.
Sort of a warning ahead of time."
"I'm surprised he told you that much."
"Do you know what his name was? Erron didn't say."
I nodded and pulled one leg up onto the chair. "His name was Erron. Our Erron's a Jr., though for obvious reasons I don't think you want to call him that. I think that's part of the reason that he's so pissed at his dad still. He's got that constant reminder of his father."
"I still can't believe that someone could do that to their family."
"Yeah, well, some people aren't cut out to be fathers. Some people are barely cut out to be people."
"I guess so, but it's still pretty unbelievable."
"It is," I agreed.
"You want to hear what else Erron had to say?"
I arched my eyebrow. "That depends on whether or not it's a secret." I didn't think that Erron would have told Nick anything that I didn't already know, but there was always the possibility.
"No, I don't think so. He was talking about his family, and he told me all about Helen and Janice, and then he immediately went into talking about you, and Andrea, and that Cindy woman that you and Brian went for dinner with. Just like you were family."
I smiled, even though Nick wasn't telling me anything new. I knew Erron considered us family, just as he knew that we felt the same way about him. But still, it was nice to hear that he equated us when talking with other people as well.
"There's one thing that I can't figure out, though."
I put my glass down on the table. "What's that?"
"Didn't you say that Cindy was married?"
"Yup. She's married to a guy named Jeff, and they have a son, Norry."
"Norry?"
"Short for Norton."
The sour look on Nick's face got me laughing. Brian might have defended the name, but it was clear that Nick felt the same way as the rest of us about it. "Why on earth would they..."
"Family name."
"Oh. Well, it's still pretty bad. Anyway, Erron talked about Cindy, but nothing about Jeff."
"That's the mystery?"
"Yeah."
"Consider it solved. Erron and Jeff don't care for each other. They tolerate each other because they both love Cindy, but that's it."
"Okay, so he hates Jeff and loves Cindy. What about Norton?"
I grinned. "Norry, please. At least that's tolerable. And Erron loves him. We all do. Erron and I are 'godfathers'," I added, making the air quote movements with my fingers to let him know that it wasn't an official title. Officially, we were 'uncles', but we contented ourselves with the idea that Cindy didn't want to pick one of us over the other. At least I did, since I was reasonably sure that she would have picked Erron if forced.
"Aren't you going to do a lame impression of Brando?"
"No, I'm not. If I ever get that cheesy, shoot me."
"You'd be dead a thousand times over by now, my friend," Nick laughed. "I'd advise you not to make that offer to the rest of the guys or Erron."
I leaned back in my chair and took a drink, smiling and knowing he was right. Brian brought out that sappy romantic side to me that I tended to find annoying in others. Hypocritical, I suppose, but true. I watched Nick's face as he spoke, and noticed the stupid grin that he acquired at Erron's name.
"Nick?"
He saw the serious expression on my face and matched it with one of his own, obviously wondering what was going on.
"Are you going to be okay?"
"What?" The seriousness was joined by curiousity.
I sat back up, trying to put my thoughts into words. "After this week, you're going to have to give up your new playmate. Erron's going to be in Toronto, and you'll be back on tour. I'm just wondering if this was such a good idea, introducing you two like this. You're getting attached, and then you'll have to give him up cold turkey. Are you going to be okay with that?"
Nick was sitting back in his seat, smiling at me. "I can't believe you. You always seem to be looking out for me."
"It's one of the things that bothers Erron and Andy a lot of the time," I smiled back. "There was a brief time in fourth year that they both called me mom, but thankfully, they got tired of it. I just meant that I remember what it's like the first time you fall in like with someone, let alone fall in love. Even with what Jack did to me in the end, I still missed him for a long time, once he was suddenly gone from my life. I don't want that to happen to you."
"We talked about that last night, actually."
"And..." I prompted.
Nick pulled out his wallet as he spoke. "And, you're right. I'm enjoying myself, and it's going to suck when Erron's not around to hang out with. I don't know for sure, but I think that if things were different, there could be something between me and him."
"I'm sorry, Nick. I should have thought this through before I invited Erron to come with us, and encouraged you to mess around."
"Don't be sorry. I'm glad that you did both. It's been a really great time so far, and now I have someone to talk to other than you and Brian. It's going to be kinda hard when we leave again, but I'll live."
He took out a folded piece of paper and unfolded it, showing it to me. It had Erron's name, address, email, and phone number written on it. "I told you that we talked about it last night. Erron and I are definitely going to keep in touch, so I'll be fine. Stop worrying, Nate. You did good."
"I'm not going to stop worrying. You know me well enough to know that."
"Yeah, I do. So I'll say this: Quit it, or I'll have to talk Brian into coming up with something to keep your mind occupied."
"Then I'm really going to worry," I grinned. "Okay, Nicky. If you say you've got this under control, I'll believe you."
"Nate, I've got this under control."
"Are you sure?"
"Nate!"
"Okay, okay," I laughed, standing up. "I'm glad. I don't want to be involved in you getting hurt. Erron either."
"You're going to have this talk with him, too. Aren't you?"
"Sure am. He can get pretty emotional sometimes, and he really does like you. He's had his eye on you since the first time he saw 'We've Got It Going On' on Much. He hadn't seen it or any of your other videos before. He didn't get cable until 4th year."
"Really?"
I smiled as I nodded. "As I recall, his exact words were 'Damn, Nate, check out the little blond one. When he's old enough to touch, I'll be happy to do the honours'. Looks like he eventually got his wish."
Nick blushed quite nicely. "What about you? Do we really have to ask who you were checking out?"
"There was a really sexy little guy in leather and denim, trying to look all butch and everything. Caught my eye right away. Not that you weren't pretty sexy yourself."
"Damn right," Nick laughed.
"I'd seen the video quite a few times by then, though, so I'd had time to appreciate you all. Erron couldn't take his eyes off of you. He'd heard you guys on the radio, but without cable he'd never seen any of you."
"That's sweet."
"That's Erron," I smiled. "He's loyal, too. He's been stuck on you for almost as long as I've known him."
"No wonder he got so excited when you sent him that picture of the two of us that time."
"I wish now I'd never sent it. None of that tabloid stuff would have happened."
"It went away."
"Caused quite a stir, though."
"And probably did good things for book sales, right? Don't they say that the only bad publicity is no publicity? You were everywhere for a few days, and even got to host your very own press conference. Oh, and I believe you called me cute."
"You are cute. Just not as cute as my boy."
"What a good answer," Brian laughed, pushing his way through the door. "What are you two talking about?"
I gave Brian a kiss, then pulled him against me as I leaned back against the counter. "Erron's longstanding crush on the young blond boy here."
"No," Nick contradicted me. "That's what we talked about before we got to talking about how cute Nate thinks I am."
"That's fine. But can you do this for him?" Brian smiled and pressed against me, running his tongue across my Adam's apple, then up behind my ear. While he was doing that, he slipped his hand onto my stomach and dipped his finger into my navel. I shuddered against him, as he had known I would, and he moved again, smirking at me.
Nick stood up. "I don't know. Let me try."
"You sit your ass down," Brian laughed, pointing to his chair. "You've got someone else to play with this week. Where's Erron?"
"Returning the movies."
"No! I wanted to watch that one!"
Slipping my hand into his back pocket, I hugged Brian to me. "There'll be lots of time for you to watch stuff like that. Maybe I'll get you some for your birthday."
"Promise?"
"No."
"You could make your own," Nick suggested.
"You willing to do a solo scene for us?" Brian countered.
"Aren't you sick of me stealing the show by now?"
I grinned and patted Brian's ass.
"Which of us is sexier?" Brian asked, nuzzling my neck.
Nick smacked his hand down on the table. "No fair! Of course he's going to say it's you. You're the one..."
"The one what?" I asked, arching my eyebrow.
"Playing under the table with him."
Brian chuckled and kissed my neck. "You got to kiss him, too. It's just too bad for you that I was better at it."
"Down, girls," I laughed. "I'm not about to decide between you. Besides, with the three of us in the room, you two would really only be fighting for second place."
Brian responded immediately. "No argument here."
"Lotsa argument here," Nick grinned. "But I'll keep them to myself until Erron gets back so that he can take my side."
"Are you kidding? If you haven't figured out by now that he'd crawl over your cold, dead body to get to second place, you haven't been paying enough attention."
"I take it that you two are responsible for my imprint being gone from the window?" Brian asked, backing away from me and heading to the fridge.
I looked from Brian to Nick, then back to Brian. "Don't look at me. I didn't even notice that it was gone."
"Erron and I hosed down the deck while you were napping. There's still a little bit of a red stain near the stairs, but it's not too bad."
"Thanks," Brian smiled, taking out the iced tea pitcher. He turned and got out two glasses. "I didn't even think about staining the deck. Good thing it's finished." He poured for Nick and himself, adding sugar, and then refilled my glass.
We had just moved into the living room again when we heard Erron return. Brian pushed me down to the floor by of one of the chairs and then sat down in it, pulling me back against the front and laying his hands on my shoulders. He had no sooner started to work on the muscles there than Erron came walking through the door.
"I see you two are up and around again," he smiled. "How are the boozers feeling?"
"Mmm."
Brian laughed and stopped rubbing just long enough to ruffle my hair. "We're a lot better. That drink is absolutely revolting, but at least my headache's gone. I still feel half-dead, though."
Erron dropped onto the couch beside Nick, turning and throwing his legs over Nick's lap. "Sorry. The headache and nausea I can help with, but the only thing that'll help with the energy levels is a truckload of sugar or a good night's sleep."
"We have sugar."
I smiled and let my head fall back on my shoulders. "I don't want to replace a hangover with a crash from a sugar high, thanks. Looks like we're sleeping tonight."
"Gee, but you haven't quite reached your obsenely high sex quota for the week, have you?" Erron asked with a wink. "You can't afford to just sleep for an entire night, can you?"
"At least I'm getting it from him," Brian shot back, starting to laugh. "It's more than you ever got from him."
"Hey, I could have had him."
I sat up and arched my eyebrows. "Is that so?"
Erron grinned. "Sure. I just didn't want you."
"And now that you do, he's taken," Brian returned his hands to my shoulders, now more stroking them than kneading them.
"Unless you wanted to share him..."
"He doesn't," I answered for him. "Now, both of you quit or neither one of you will have me for a very very long time. Nicky's still got a shot, though."
Brian clapped one hand over my mouth with one hand, and pointed at Nick with the other, stopping him where he was. He had been in the middle of throwing Erron's legs off of him and joining me on the floor, but he just smiled and sat back down. Erron kicked him.
"So what are we up to for the rest of the day, boys?"
I let my head fall to one side, resting on Brian's hand and stopping it in mid-rub. He turned it over and gently ran his fingers over my jaw while the other one worked on my one exposed shoulder. "If it involves me moving within the next little while, forget it."
"That's just sad," Erron smiled.
Brian laughed and ran his finger along the back of my ear. "Nope, I'd say that was pretty happy," he said as I leaned into his hand further.
In the end, we stayed right where we were.
PART 114
"Hey, Nate."
I jumped, surprised at the voice from an unexpected corner of the room. We had relocated to the deck after dinner, and were currently enjoying the hot tub. Erron had gone inside to get some drinks for everyone and hadn't been seen again, so I had been elected to find him. Sort of. Nick and Brian had teamed up to throw me over the side of the tub.
"What are you doing?" I asked him, turning to find him in the corner that was set up as a reading nook.
He indicated the stereo system that took up two shelves of one of the bookcases. "I was going to put some music on, and then I found something. Kinda distracted me."
"What'd you find?" I walked over into the circle of light from the reading lamp and tried to peek over his shoulder.
Rather than force me to peek, he turned and held out the picture he was holding. "This."
I took the picture and looked at it. I had to bend over to be completely under the light, and squint at the picture to get it to focus properly. I had been having to do that more and more lately, and it was starting to worry me a little bit. Of course, writing in the dark probably didn't help much.
Erron noticed me squinting and gave me a curious look, but I just shook my head and went back to the picture. It was a picture taken at the cabin, but a while back. Judging from Cindy's hairstyle, I would have guessed it was taken sometime in or around our fourth year of university. I was so wrapped up in trying to figure out when it had been taken that I had missed what Erron had meant for me to see right away. When I did see it, my breath caught.
"Donnie."
"Kinda grabs you, eh?"
I nodded, still looking over the picture. "Where did you find this?"
"On the bookshelf. It was sticking out a little bit from between the books."
"I don't imagine she'd have it out somewhere, no. Have you heard from him at all?"
"You should know better than to ask. He only talks to her anymore."
"Then has she said anything?"
"Not for quite a while. I don't think there's anything good to say."
Sighing, I handed the photo back and looked up to meet his eyes. "I miss him."
"We all do. That's what grabbed my attention when I found the picture. I haven't seen or heard anything about him in ages. I try not to think about him if I can help it. Cindy knows that, so she doesn't say much." Erron turned and slipped the photo back between the books he had taken it out of.
"I don't like not thinking about him, though. Seems wrong."
Erron put his hand on my shoulder and turned me as we walked into the kitchen. "I know it does, but it's the way he wanted it, obviously. There's no way to talk with him, and he doesn't try to talk to us. What else can we do?"
"There's got to be something. There has to be."
He leaned me against the island while he poured our drinks, then handed me two of the glasses. "There's not. If there were, one of us would have found it by now, don't you think?"
"Found what?"
Erron and I turned to see Brian standing in the doorway.
"Nothing, pookie. It doesn't matter."
"You look upset."
"Come here," I said, putting the glasses on the counter and holding out my hand.
He gave me a doubtful look, then glanced at Erron before joining me. As soon as he took my hand, I pulled him against me, spinning him so that his back was against my chest. "I guess I am kinda upset, Brian. But there's nothing that you can do, and it's not going to get better. Don't worry about it, okay?"
"Too late on that one."
I sighed and kissed the side of his neck. "Erron and I were just talking about someone we used to hang out with."
"Used to?"
"He took off, Brian," Erron put in. "It's a long story."
"In other words, don't ask."
I nodded with my head on his shoulder. "Exactly. Please? I'd rather not get into it. There's nothing to be done about it, and it just brings it all back up."
Brian turned in my arms. "Okay. Tell me you're okay." He brought one hand up to brush the hair away from my forehead.
"I'm just fine," I answered. "Thank you."
"Don't thank me, sweetie. I'm not going to push my way into things you don't want to talk about."
"And that's what the thanks were for," I smiled, kissing him.
"I'm going to go out and let you guys finish this one in private," Erron chuckled, pushing the door open with his hip and leaving us alone.
"You're really okay?"
"I really am. I can't say it's nothing big, but it's nothing that I want to get into, and it's nothing that either one of us can solve."
"Was he... you know... did you two..."
"No, not at all. He's straight as can be."
"Okay."
"Would that have mattered?"
"No, not really. Just wondering if this were some torch you were still holding onto," Brian laughed, hugging me tight for a moment before loosening his grasp once more.
I had to smile. Pushing thoughts of Donnie, I pulled him against me. "The only thing I'm holding is you." I felt a drip on my foot and chuckled. "And at the moment, you're all wet. And shivering." No sooner had I said it than I realised that I was shivering too. Going from hot water to an airconditioned house tended to do that.
"Then I suppose we'd either better see if we can find some way to warm ourselves up in here," Brian whispered, kissing my shoulder, "or head back out to the hot tub."
"Pants on in the kitchen, remember?"
He laughed and gave me a light head-butt. "I remember. I have a feeling that they're going to have that rule in the hot tub, too, though."
"But at least they have hot water."
"True. Come on." He took my hand and started back toward the deck.
Erron was sitting back in the water, with Nick's head once more on his shoulder, and it appeared that they were holding hands under the water. They were certainly sitting close together. "Aww, aren't they cute?" Erron and I asked at the same time, pointing at each other. Nick and Brian both laughed.
"Shut up."
"Cut it out."
"Stop it!"
Each was said in unison, with our smiles growing each time. Brian finally pulled on my hand to get me moving again, and we rejoined them in the water.
"You two really need to spend some time apart. Pretty soon, we won't be able to tell the two of you apart."
"I'm the pretty one." Again, perfect unison.
Nick sighed and shifted against Erron. "Not another word until Nate says something. You're starting to freak me out."
"Haha, loser," I grinned, sticking my tongue out at Erron. Brian was immediately there, kissing me and pushing me back in my seat.
"That's enough out of you, sweetie."
I smiled and relaxed, pointing at Erron. "You say one word, and you die."
"Blah," Erron laughed, splashing me.
I lunged at him, but Brian held me back and shifted over to push himself between Nick and I, separating me a little more from Erron. "You're like five-year-olds," he laughed. "I'm dating a five-year-old boy."
"There's a quote for the tabloids," Nick laughed, then immediately quieted and blushed. "Oh, hell, sorry Brian."
I sighed and ran my fingers through his hair while he tried to keep the smile on his face. Tabloid reminders were apparently very much capable of sucking every ounce of fun out of the moment. From the look on Nick's face, he was about two seconds away from going searching for a hole to crawl into and die.
"It's okay," Brian finally said. "Gotta get used to it, right? She's out there, and it all happened."
"You shouldn't have to get used to it," Erron said, his face had once more gone through the incredible transformation from jovial to serious in a millisecond.
"But we do," Nick sighed, startling me. It was the first time I could think of that he had actually lumped himself in with the rest of us homos. I knew that he hadn't really made that revelation yet, but it spoke volumes that he was close enough to use the word 'we'.
"For now," Brian whispered. I turned and looked at him, finding him looking back at me. "It won't always be like this, right?"
I knew he was looking for me to agree and make him feel better, but the first response that came to mind was 'I don't know'. I didn't know for sure that there would come a time that Brian and possibly Nick would feel comfortable enough with their situation to come out publicly. Logically, I knew that the secret wouldn't be kept forever. Recent events had shown that. But being outed didn't necessarily mean that they would be comfortable with the world knowing.
"No, it won't," I said finally. Erron caught the pause, but Brian and Nick didn't seem to. Of course, their minds were undoubtedly preoccupied enough that they wouldn't notice. "It won't." I put my hand to the side of Brian's head and lowered it to my shoulder after kissing his temple.
"I think a change of topic is definitely needed," Erron announced a moment later, getting nods from Brian and Nick and a thankful smile from me. "Any ideas?"
"Truth or Dare?"
I rolled my eyes at Nick and started to laugh. "You're an odd little man, Nicky."
"I'll take that as a no on the Truth or Dare," Nick grinned. "So why don't you come up with an idea, smart guy?"
"I don't know..."
"We could sing," Brian suggested, kissing my shoulder and sitting back up again. "What do you think, sweetie?"
"I think you're right. You could sing. So go ahead."
He sighed dramatically and put his head back on my shoulder, no longer seeking comfort, only closeness. A moment later, he started to laugh quietly. "I got chiiiiills, they're multiplyin'," he sang softly.
"And I'm loooooosing control," Nick added.
"Cause this feeeeling, you're supplyin'," Erron continued.
They all turned to look at me, waiting for me to go along. I returned their looks with an unamused one of my own. "It's electrifying."
Brian laughed and kissed me, then started to continue with the song. I grabbed him and kissed him again to keep him from continuing. He didn't seem to mind much, turning in his seat until he was off of it and onto my lap, sitting sideways and holding me back against the edge of the tub. When I finally let him go, I smiled at him. "Enough singing."
"You're no fun."
I laughed and leaned in again to lick his Adam's apple.
"Well," he sighed, "maybe you're a little bit fun."
"Aww, shucks," I grinned, sitting back. He tried to get off my lap, but I held him where he was for a moment longer. I was immersed up to my neck in the bubbling water, but Brian's shoulders broke the surface from his seat on my lap, and I was enjoying the goose bumps that were appearing.
When I finally allowed him to drop back into the water and onto his seat, he gave me a kiss on the shoulder and dipped down so that the water covered him right up to the lobes of his ears, closed his eyes, and sighed. I caught the glint in Nick's eye a split second before he rose in his seat, put his hand on top of Brian's head, and dunked him.
We were all laughing as he came sputtering to the surface, wiping at his eyes. I reached over and brushed his hair off of his forehead and tried to stop laughing before he opened his eyes and saw me. It was a fruitless effort. As soon as he saw my grin, he assumed it had been me that had sent him under and tried to tackle me. We wrestled for a moment before I finally managed to convince him that I had done nothing wrong, and then I held him so he wouldn't go after Nick. If the two of them got into a water fight, we'd never get them settled down.
Nick grinned, seeing me restraining Brian, and slid over a bit more, putting Erron's arm around him and resting against his shoulder. Erron's eyes brightened immediately, and I noticed his hand grip Nick's shoulder tighter. Nick smiled, so I did too, but it got me wondering again just how well they were going to take it when the week came to an end.
Brian soon took care of that by sliding across my lap, being sure to stop for a moment and press himself against me, and taking his seat again. I smiled at him and slipped my hand under the water to rest it on his knee, confident that it couldn't be seen with the bubbles in the tub. Apparently, that wasn't good enough. As soon as he could do it without anyone noticing, he dropped his hand under the water as well and pulled my hand further up his leg. Much further.
I started to remove it as I smiled at his eagerness, but his hand returned and placed mine back where he wanted it. Arching my eyebrow, I silently questioned him. He grinned and winked at me, then put his head back on his shoulders, as though he were enjoying just the water.
"You know what I hate?"
We all gave him our attention, and I felt him raise his hips a bit to press against my hand, which was still just sitting there. "I'm afraid to ask," Erron finally said, smiling.
"To see this day end. It's kind of nice to have total control over Nate." He turned his full attention to me and winked again. "You have to do everything I want until we go to bed. It'll suck to see that end."
Of course, the message was clear. I clenched my hand slightly, both to let him know that I understood what he was saying and to let him know that I would get my revenge. His only reaction was another slight raising of the hips and a larger smile.
"I don't think it's going to come to an end, Brian," Erron smiled, looking at me. "You've got him wrapped around your little finger."
"It's not my finger he's interested in," Brian returned as I got the zipper of his shorts undone and slipped my hand inside.
"Well, he's wrapped around that, too," Nick laughed, speaking more truthfully than he knew.
Brian and I started to laugh, and soon couldn't get stopped. Brian leaned forward in his seat, trying to draw a breath against the laughter, and managed to trap my hand in his pants. When he leaned forward, he pulled my arm along with him, and I wound up slipping sideways on my seat. It was painfully clear from the move exactly what we had been up to.
"EWWW!" Nick yelled, backing away from Brian and trying not to smile. He and Erron managed to get up on the lip of the tub, sitting with just their feet in the water and looking at us. "Don't be doing that while I'm in there!"
"Don't be doing that while there's a slight possibility that I might someday want to be in there," Erron added, now starting to laugh.
I finally pulled Brian back into his seat and removed my hand, leaving him unbuttoned and unzipped and on his own. "I couldn't help it. You heard him, guys. I had to do what he wanted."
"You liked it, too!" Brian laughed, his hands moving under the water to take care of getting him decent again.
"Nope," I argued with a grin. "Completely forced against my will."
"Stand up and prove it."
Blushing, I fell silent. If I stood up, there'd be no way to keep up my argument for my innocense.
"Thought so," Brian smiled, sliding over to me in the water, then looking up at Nick and Erron. "You can both get back in now."
"After what you guys just did in there?"
"We didn't do anything, Nicky," I assured him. "We just... started... something. No finishing."
He eyed me for a moment, then apparently decided to believe me. He dropped back into the water, closely followed by Erron, but he maintained a slight distance from Brian's part of the seat. It was more for show than anything, though, and after a few more minutes, that disappeared and the two of them were play-fighting.
Brian managed to find a spare moment to whisper in my ear that I now owed him one. I rolled my eyes and smiled for him, simultaneously knowing that the vow to just sleep that night had just gone out the window, and that Brian would make sure that our bedtime came soon.
To Be Continued...
Thanks for reading everyone! :) I'll see you in a couple of weeks with a new one, I guess. Depending on how quickly it goes, I might be back earlier. But don't get your hopes up. I'm mighty good at finding distractions. :)
Thanks again, ~D~