Brian and Tommy

Obligatory warnings and disclaimers:

1. If reading this is in any way illegal where you are or at your age, or you don't want to read about male/male relationships, go away. You shouldn't be here.

2. I don't know any of the celebrities in this story, and this story in no way is meant to imply anything about their sexualities, personalities, or anything else. This is a work of pure fiction.

Questions and commentary can be sent to "writerboy69@hotmail.com".

"Brian, are you really sure about this?" Leighanne asked, watching him across the remains of the cheesecake on the table between them. "I mean, I support whatever you want to do, but have you thought about how hard this is going to be if the guys won't back you on it?"

Brian and Leighanne had been talking for about an hour, splitting the cheesecake between them as they sat at the small dining table in the suite. Brian had talked for a while about his feelings, how trapped and smothered he felt, and how he just couldn't do it any longer. He explained to Lee how he felt like he was dying inside, and how hard it was for him to get up every day and act like someone he wasn't. She asked where this had come from, what happened on the roof, but Brian didn't tell her about Tommy. The more he thought about it, the more he thought Tommy was just a figment of his overactive imagination, a hallucination produced by his subconscious, just another symptom of how unwell he was, how stressed out and close to breaking. He couldn't be real, because that was just impossible. That didn't happen, so Brian had neatly filed away the entire encounter in his mind as a stress-related delusion. As frightening as it was to think that he might be mentally unstable, it was less frightening than the alternative.

Still, Tommy had seemed so real. Brian could remember his face, with its classic lines, the high forehead and cheekbones, the thin mouth. He remembered his pale blond hair, almost white, glinting in the moonlight, almost gossamer like his eyebrows and lashes had been. And then there was his body. Those strong arms, hanging down, veins snaking around muscles that looked firm, but not overdeveloped and bulging. Brian remembered the tight white t-shirt clinging to Tommy's chest, stretching across his pecs, his nipples pressing against it with their swollen tips, almost visible. The shirt had been just tight enough to offer a hint of abs, but loose enough to leave them to the imagination. Tommy's jeans had hung loosely on his slim hips, so loosely that Brian thought one tug could bring them to the ground, sliding down his slim thighs, revealing the basket that had pressed against them with such possibility. Most of all, though, Brian remembered his eyes, bright blue but icy, like glaciers. Brian remembered staring into them, seeing them seem to get wider and wider, offering no reflections, just depth.

At least his brain wasn't conjuring ugly delusions.

"I'm sure, Lee," Brian answered, shrugging. "I have to do this, for me. I can't go on like this anymore, and if the guys don't support me on it, well, too bad. We're still under contract, unless they want to buy me out. Even if they don't, I don't need money anyway. I have to be who I am, Lee."

"OK," Lee said again, sighing. They already had this whole discussion once. She just wanted to make sure that this was definitely what he wanted to do, because she was worried about him. It was going to be hard, damn hard, and if the guys didn't support him, he would have no one to turn to. "When are you going to tell them?"

"Tomorrow morning," Brian answered, shrugging. Once there wouldn't have been any doubt about whether or not his four friends would accept and support him no matter what they told him, but that had been a long time ago. Fame had eaten them all since then, and it had consumed their friendship as well. They all still went through the motions, but Brian wondered sometimes if that was more force of habit than anything else. "We have a breakfast together to talk about some stuff this week."

Lee stood and stretched, smiling at him.

"Well, news of your divorce should go really well with the bacon and eggs, then," she said, grinning. "I'm going to fly out in the morning, Brian. Once you tell the guys, it's going to leak, and I want my mom to hear it from me before she gets a call from some reporter or something. Do you want me to fly back after I see her?"

"I don't know," Brian answered, standing as well. "I'll call you after I tell the guys. If we break this soon, though, it might be easier for you to lay low for a while. I'll still take care of you, Lee. I'll still honor our agreement."

Leighanne hugged him tightly.

"Brian, you know it hasn't been about our agreement for a really long time," she sighed, her hands on his back. He seemed so sure of himself, when she would have expected him to be trembling and afraid. "If you were the husband type, I would have been the happiest girl in the world. As it is, even if you don't come out, I'm still proud of you, and I'm proud to be your friend."

"I love you, Leighanne," Brian sighed, letting go finally.

"I love you, too," Lee said, leaning forward to kiss him on the cheek. "Now, get a good night's sleep, and take a shower before you go to bed. You stink like bourbon, and it'll get on the sheets, and then the maids will be telling people that you're a drunk."

"What am I going to do without you?" Brian asked, smiling at her.

"Find some nice boy to replace me," Lee answered, smiling back.

They wished each other a good night, and went to their separate bedrooms in the suite. Lee listened to Brian's shower turn on as she looked around and debated packing tonight or in the morning. She was worried about Brian, worried about what the rest of the Boys would do. He was already out to them, but there was a big difference between being out to them and being out to everybody. Brian might not want to make a big, "Hey, world, I'm gay," announcement, but the divorce would raise some questions, and he planned to answer them honestly. It might be really hard for him to do that without support, and she wondered if she should call one of the guys, but who?

AJ was out. Too many issues and too much baggage. He couldn't even hold himself together, much less help Brian cope. Nick was out, too. Brian told Lee that the two of them had been very close once, but since Brian had come out there had been a gulf between the two of them, and from what Lee had seen, Nick had no interest in building a bridge. Kevin should have been the obvious choice, being Brian's cousin, but there was a lot of pain there, at least on Brian's side. When Brian had come out to his parents, they all but disowned him. He could barely talk about it, even with her, but he had told her that Kevin sided with them, telling Brian that he still loved him, but could never approve of his choice. Lee shook her head, marveling at Kevin's ignorance. It was no more a choice for Brian than his blue eyes, but Kevin didn't seem to understand that. That left Howie, who always treated her and Brian both with the same aloof politeness. She didn't know much about him, but no one else did, either, and he wasn't against Brian, so that left him as her best choice.

Brushing her teeth, Leighanne decided that she would give Howie a call tomorrow, after breakfast, and see if she could talk to him. Lee thought about Brian for a minute as she climbed into bed, wondering if he'd be ok, and if she should walk across the suite and check on him again. She didn't want to seem smothering, but she had a nagging, nervous feeling. Once reporters had asked about the two bedrooms, after some hotel employee had leaked, and the two of them had given some explanation about Brian getting up too early for rehearsals and Lee needing sleep. No one had questioned it since, so she figured they were ok on that, but every once in a while she wished she could do more for Brian, and that there weren't so many walls between them. He shared more with Lee than he did with anyone else, but Brian needed someone to complete him. He needed a partner, and she wasn't qualified for that, lacking the requisite equipment to make him happy. Maybe she could find someone to help with that, too.

Over in his bathroom Brian stood in the steaming shower, letting the spray wash over him. He soaped himself up again, even though he'd already washed once, because it was so calm and relaxing under the warm water that he just didn't want to get out. He felt the tension of the day draining out of him as he went to wash his hair again, and he looked down, watching the water and the lather course down his body. Brian was proud of his body, proud of all the work he did to keep himself in shape. It was just too bad he had no one to share it with. As he thought that, the shower curtain twitched.

"Lee?" Brian asked, ducking his head under the water to rinse it off. "Did you need something?"

There was no answer, and Brian turned to look at the curtain.

"Lee?" Brian asked again.

The bathroom was silent, and the curtain didn't move. He thought Lee might have leaned in to ask him something, but there was no shadow on the shower curtain, and still no answer. Brian peered out from behind the curtain, water running off of him, his hair wet, his blue eyes darting around the bathroom, but it was empty, and the door was closed. Still, there was a weird feeling, like when you walked into a room and knew that someone had just walked out. Brian wondered if Lee had stepped in for something, to ask him something or maybe tell him something, and then stepped out again. He leaned back into the shower and rinsed off, and then turned the water off.

Brian walked across the bathroom, his feet wet on the tile, which was wet, too. The whole bathroom was covered with condensation, the mirror fogged. Looking down, he realized there were not footprints on the floor, no marks in the water droplets. He must have been wrong about Leighanne leaning in. Padding over to the mirror, wrapping his towel around his waist, Brian reached out to wipe the steam off, seeing his own blurred, dark form reaching toward the glass. As he touched it, the reflected hand meeting his own, he saw a pale flutter behind him, indistinct, and he spun, almost losing his footing in the water, but the bathroom was still empty.

"Jesus," Brian sighed, laughing softly. He was freaking himself out tonight, no question.

Brian wiped off the mirror, seeing himself appear. He needed a tan, he realized. Any second now, someone from management would start telling him he was getting too pale, that it didn't look good on television or at performances. He wasn't naturally a tan person, being so fair, but he tried to keep some color. He wasn't too white yet, but he needed to book a little time in a tanning bed somewhere. He looked at himself in the glass, and tried to work up a smile, but just sighed. He knew he was cute, but he was sensitive about his chest. It wasn't like Kevin's, all bulging muscles, and never would be. He looked at the scar in the mirror and sighed, wondering about how different things would be for everyone if the surgery hadn't been successful. He shook his head, combing his hair. That was a bad thought, the kind of thinking that was getting him into trouble up on the roof.

Brian walked into the bedroom, tossing his towel onto a chair. He went to the dresser, pulling a pair of boxers from the drawer, and then decided against it. Why dirty another pair, just to take them off again in the morning when he took another shower? The only person who might walk in would be Leighanne, and they'd both seen each other naked lots of times. Sometimes it was unavoidable, and the two of them had long since given up worrying about it. Switching off the lights, he crawled into bed, pulling the sheet up over him and wondering what would happen tomorrow when he told the guys that he and Leighanne were going to get a divorce. Trying to fall asleep, he found himself thinking of Tommy again, and then he drifted off, visions of blue eyes and soft skin dancing behind his eyelids.

"Tommy," Brian sighed, hardly aware that he was speaking, thinking of Tommy again.

In the suiteroom, silence reigned. Leighanne lay behind her door, and Brian behind his. Between them, the couches sat unused, the plates from the cheesecake sitting on the table, the television screen dark. No one walked on the carpet, no one pushed in the chairs. Brian's fork, hanging on the edge of his plate, slid inexorably to side, dropping from the rim to the tabletop with a soft clicking clatter. It was the only sound in the room, and seemed to roll off of the walls as the drapes fluttered softly. The room was empty, but someone was there.

Leighanne rolled over, half awake, suddenly feeling like someone was over her bed. She felt worried, not for herself, but inexplicably concerned for Brian suddenly. Something was wrong, and she began to claw her way up from sleep.

Brian lay on his stomach, drifting in the twilight that comes before dreams, or between them. The top of the sheet lay across his waist, his back exposed to the room, and he shivered softly as he felt a fingertip brush down his spine, feather light, barely there. It was a gentle caress, not enough to wake him, and he murmured against the pillow as he felt it again, tracing over his shoulder blades.

"Brian," a voice whispered, the breath fluttering over his ear. The fingertip brushed him again, gently caressing his jaw before trailing around his neck to slide down his back again. Brian sighed, his head turned to the side, his arms flung sideways and upward on the pillows. Another fingertip brushed over his lips as the first continued tracing gently up and down his spine, down to the small of his back.

Leighanne tried to open her eyes, tried to force herself awake. She was filled with an overwhelming sense that Brian needed help, that something was wrong, very wrong, right now, but she couldn't pull herself from sleep. She felt something pressing down on her, pushing her into the mattress, and a wave of blackness washed over her, pushing her back into sleep. She tried to fight it, but she was lost.

Brian sighed again, feeling not just fingertips but whole hands rubbing over him now, brushing across the skin of his back, his neck, his arms. Beneath the sheet he felt something sliding up his thighs, brushing over his calves, over the backs of his knees. Hands slid up over his thighs, running up the backs of them, and Brian sighed again, a little sleepy whimper, as he shifted a little. The hands continued their slow, pressing climb, the fingertips trailing inside a little, caressing over the soft skin of his inner thighs. His mouth hung open a little as he felt hands caressing his ass, sliding over it, the fingers dipping quickly into his crack. He sighed again, still only half awake, as he felt a cool finger brush over his hole. His hips slid forward, pressing his cock into the mattress as he began to get hard.

"Unh," Brian moaned as the hands crawled over him, up and down his back, brushing again over his ass. His legs slid apart a little, and a finger bushed feather light over his sack.

"Brian," someone sighed again, so close he could feel lips brushing his ear, eyelashes fluttering on his cheek.

Sweat broke out on Brian's forehead, a tiny line of glistening beads. He sighed again, starting to wake up as all of his nerves began to sing. He pushed himself into the mattress again, trapping his now hard cock between the sheets and his abs, the pressure sending a wave of warm pleasure through him. The hands continued to run up and down his body, to caress him, to stroke him, to wake him up with their sense of need. He sighed again, whimpering as he felt the finger back at his ass, pressing, firm, against his hole, trying to get in. Brian's eyes popped open as he lifted himself up on his hands, blinking, and looking around.

The bedroom, of course, was empty, but he'd been having the weirdest dream, that someone was here, that someone was touching him. He rolled over, looking around, seeing no one, as he'd expected. He felt the sheets sliding over him as he turned, and glancing down saw that the dream had affected much more than just his brain. His cock was throbbing, tenting the sheet up, pressing against it, throbbing. A tiny wet spot formed on the sheet and Brian sighed, wondering if he should look for some tissues and take care of himself. The curtains in the room, thin wispy drapes, were billowing, fluttering up from the windows, and Brian glanced at them and felt himself go cold as he realized the windows were closed.

What was happening here?

"Brian," someone whispered, breaking the silence in the room. "Brian."

"Tommy?" Brian whispered, squinting, his eyes searching the dark corners.

"Brian," Tommy whispered, striding forward, pushing though the billowing curtains as he walked toward the bed.

The moonlight streaming through the windows played across his bare body as Brian watched him walking toward the bed. Tommy was everything Brian had imagined beneath his clothes, everything he'd thought he'd see when Tommy had been there with him, holding him, kissing him. His pale body almost glistened in the light, his hair glowing in its almost whiteness. His pink nipples, tiny, like dimes, stood out on his rounded pecs. His abs caught the shadows, rippling a little as he walked, his cock, long and hard, pointing out in front of him, bobbing as he walked quickly toward Brian. He stood at the end of the bed, strong arms hanging at his sides. Brian realized that a sweat had broken out all over his body, but the room was suddenly cold, like ice.

Tommy stood at the end of the bed, breathing softly, staring down at Brian, their eyes locked together. Brian stared up at him, his mouth open, sweat running off of him as his heart raced, and then Tommy leaned forward, catching the end of the sheet in his fingers. He stood, pulling the sheet back with him as he went, and Brian tried to catch his breath as the sheet went sliding off of him, over his still hard cock and down his legs. Tommy let the sheet drop soundlessly to the floor, and Brian realized that the only sound he could hear in the room was his own heartbeat as he stared into Tommy's eyes, which seemed impossibly wide, impossibly blue, as icy cold as Antarctica. Brian felt himself falling into them.

"Brian," Tommy whispered again, staring down at him.

"Tommy," Brian whispered back, licking his lips.

Tommy leaned forward onto the bed, seeming to fall toward it, and Brian watched him crawl up the bed. He shuddered as Tommy kissed his way up Brian's thighs, his lips a little cold, but also somehow hot. Tommy's tongue flicked out, swiping the sweat off of Brian's legs as Brian sighed beneath him. Tommy's pale body seemed to undulate in the dark room as he kissed his way toward Brian's cock. His tongue flicked out, long and pale, brushing over Brian's wet cockhead like a caress. Brian sighed again, his fingers bunching, gripping the sheets. Tommy licked at him again, and again, and then kissed it once before pressing his lips to Brian's abs, running his mouth over them, tracing his tongue around Brian's navel. He slid higher, pressing his chilled mouth around Brian's nipple, sucking at it as Brian moaned softly. Tommy let it go, kissed his way up Brian's neck, and then his mouth was on Brian's finally.

Brian bucked beneath him, pressing himself to Tommy, feeling their bodies connect all the way down from their mouths to their toes. Tommy was firm, all muscle, but with soft skin stretched across his body. Brian's hands came up, settling onto Tommy's back, feeling him twist and flex as he ground himself into Brian. Their nipples brushed against each other, their cocks flexed and pushed as they throbbed, trapped, between them. Tommy's tongue, slightly cold, like the rest of him, dipped into Brian's mouth, sliding, seeking, running over his teeth and across his own tongue. Tommy broke the kiss, pulling back a little, and Brian sucked in a breath finally, his chest rising up to push against Tommy's as he pressed down on him.

"Tommy?" Brian asked, wondering if he really was awake. "How?"

"I'm here for you, Brian," Tommy whispered, nuzzling Brian's neck.

"How?" Brian asked again.

"I saw you," Tommy whispered, tugging at Brian's earlobe with his teeth. "I knew you needed me. Do you need me, Brian?"

Brian sighed underneath him, feeling one of Tommy's hands run up to catch in his hair, turning his head toward Tommy's, tilting it back a little as his mouth opened. Tommy's other hand slid over his chest, palm open, cupping his pec, rubbing across his nipple. Tommy's tongue snaked into his mouth again, and Brian groaned as Tommy's hand wrapped around his cock, squeezing it. Tommy kissed hard at his mouth, seeming to suck the groan out of him, sucking all of the air out of him as Brian's hips jerked.

"Do you need me, Brian?" Tommy asked again, his breath on Brian's cheek. Brian stared up into his eyes.

"Yes," Brian whispered as Tommy squeezed his cock. "Yes."

Tommy chuckled softly, and then went back to kissing, putting his mouth to work as he sucked passionately at Brian's tongue. This was what Brian needed, exactly what he needed. He needed someone to touch him, someone to love him. It had been so long, such a long time since he had felt hands on him like this, since someone had kissed him like this. It had been so long since someone actually had needed him, not needed something from him, but actually needed him. It had been so long since someone had cared about what Brian the person wanted, and had wanted Brian for himself, not for who he was.

"Oh, God," Brian sighed, closing his eyes, as Tommy began to kiss and suck at his neck again.

Tommy's head slid back down to Brian's chest, his tongue tracing over Brian's scar as he kissed his way across, back to Brian's nipple. He ran his tongue in a circle around it, tracing the sweat, and then flicked it out across the tip. Brian sighed again, and Tommy grinned, catching the nipple in his teeth. He bit it lightly, pulling at it, and then let go as Brian whimpered beneath him. Tommy licked and sucked his way across Brian's chest to the other nipple and repeated it, sucking, pulling, biting, his mouth pressed into a tight circle around it as Brian continued to twist the sheets with his hands, pulling them into tight bunches as his knuckles whitened.

Tommy began to kiss his way back down Brian's abs, running his mouth over them again, painting a trail down the middle of Brian's hairless stomach until his mouth collided with the head of Brian's dripping, throbbing cock. Drops of precum were rolling from Brian's slit, and Tommy flicked his tongue out, scooping them up, and then began to lap at the head of Brian's cock like a lollipop. He dipped his tongue into the slit again and again, spearing each drop as Brian's cock throbbed, pushing them out, leaking like a faucet, and Brian continued to moan and whimper, pressing himself into the bed. Tommy began to paint his tongue up and down Brian's shaft, the cool sandpaper texture sending radiating waves of shuddering pleasure up through Brian's body.

"I waited, Brian," Tommy sighed, bending a little to lick at Brian's balls, lapping at them as well, mouthing them gently. "I waited to see what you would do."

"Do?" Brian asked, almost panting it.

"What you would decide," Tommy whispered, still licking at Brian's sack. He sucked one ball into his mouth, gently, and then spit it out and sucked in the other. "You need me, don't you?"

Brian groaned.

"Don't you?" Tommy asked again, licking his way back up Brian's shaft.

"Yes," Brian panted. "Yes, I need you. I need you, Tommy."

Tommy smiled.

"I know," he answered, licking at the head again. "I'm here for you, Brian. Only for you."

"Oh, yes, Tommy," Brian sighed. "Yes."

Tommy smiled, and then folded his lips over Brian's cockhead, bobbing his head down as he swallowed him completely. Brian yelped, his hips jerking up, as Tommy's nose buried itself in his pubic hair. Tommy's mouth was cool, but at the same time, somehow hot, and it sucked at Brian, seeming to pull him in. It had been so long that Brian knew he wouldn't last, knew he wouldn't be able to hold out, especially with someone so skilled. It was like nothing he'd ever felt before, Tommy's lips wrapped around his cock, his tongue flicking and painting over it as he sucked and sucked, bobbing up and down on him. Brian looked down and saw Tommy staring up at him, his blue eyes wide. They locked together, staring into each other, Brian falling into him, sinking into him, as Tommy began to bob faster and faster.

"Oh, God, Tommy," Brian squeaked, sweat dripping down his forehead, running down his neck.

Brian's hips rotated up, almost against his will, as he began to thrust into Tommy's mouth, pushing harder, almost brutally. He was worried that it might be too hard, too much, but Tommy seemed to enjoy it, swallowing Brian over and over again. He groaned, purring a little, the vibration of his throat humming up and down Brian's cock. Brian felt the sheets pulling all the way off the bed, sliding over the corners of the mattress, as his arms flexed, the veins standing out. One of Tommy's hands slid up between his legs, and Brian let them fall open a little as he continued to pound against Tommy's face. Tommy's finger slid down over Brian's balls, and then behind them, and Brian felt it brush his hole as his whole body locked, his back arching, and he began to shoot into Tommy's mouth.

Brian looked down, feeling himself tense, and saw Tommy's eyes locked on his. They seemed wider than before, and bluer, so much bluer, blazing blue like the flame on a stove. Brian lost himself in them, seeing nothing else, feeling himself fall into them completely, losing himself in the blue flame, consumed. Tommy's mouth sucked at him as he shot into him, sucked tightly at him, and it felt like Tommy's tongue had somehow made its way inside, all the way inside, snaking down through Brian's cock to wrap around his balls, and even deeper. Brian felt himself spurt, and then spurt again, tossing his head back. Tommy broke the seal suddenly, letting Brian's cock slide out of his mouth, and he lunged quickly up Brian's body to clamp his mouth down over Brian's as Brian fought for air.

He tried to catch his breath, but Tommy was right there, his lips sealed over Brian's, his tongue fighting its way inside. Tommy seemed to weigh a thousand pounds suddenly, his chest pressing down onto Brian's, his mouth sucking and pulling at Brian, seeking something as Brian fought to breathe. Brian's eyes bulged, and he saw those blue eyes above him again, staring down into him, and he noticed as he stared back up at them, his heart hammering, his lungs screaming, that he had no reflection. Tommy's eyes were completely empty. Blackness rolled over him, seemed to roll right out of the center of Tommy's eyes, and Brian fell into it.

The last thing he heard was Tommy's voice, whispering in his mind.

"I love you, Brian. I love you."

Brian woke up again, sometime later, although he couldn't tell when. It was still dark out, and he was still on his back in the bed as Tommy straddled him. Brian's hard cock was inside Tommy, gripped in his hot tunnel, and Brian was again covered with sweat. Tommy, above him, was dry and completely smooth, his muscles standing out like alabaster sculpture, and he looked down at Brian, his mouth twisted into a slight smile. Brian groaned as Tommy's hips flexed, pulling him inside again, and Brian realized that Tommy must have been on him for a while, must have worked on him while he was asleep, because he could feel that he was close again. He could also feel that he wasn't wearing a condom, and he reached out for Tommy's hips, meaning to stop him long enough to put one on, but Tommy's pale hands flashed out, gripping each of his, twining Tommy's fingers through his own.

"Tommy," Brian panted, barely recognizing his own voice. It was a high, thready whine, squeaky almost.

"Brian," Tommy said, grinning.

Tommy leaned down, still gripping Brian's hands with his own, and plastered his mouth over Brian's again. As he felt Tommy's tongue snake into his mouth, Brian felt himself tensing, shooting again as his whole body locked and strained its way into orgasm. Tomy's ass seemed to pull at his cock, clamping tight around it, squeezing and sucking as if he was caught in some kind of machine, and Brian's yelp of pleasure was sucked into Tommy's mouth. Again Brian stared up into those blazing eyes, and again felt darkness rolling over him.

Brian's eyes popped open when he felt a hand brush over his shoulder, and he saw Leighanne above him, looking concerned. Sunlight streamed through the curtains behind her, and he squinted, raising an arm to shield his eyes. The sheet was pulled up to his waist again, and he was alone in the bed. Tommy was gone, and Brian wondered if it had all been a dream. His whole body felt kind of sore, and he wondered if he had drank more last night than he remembered.

"Brian, you up?" Lee asked quietly, leaning back when she saw his eyes open. She felt her heart fluttering a little, and mentally kicked herself for getting so worried. When she had walked in Brian had been so still, and she'd had a fleeting thought that he wasn't breathing.

"Yeah," he said, starting to sit up. His arm slipped, and he fell back into his pillows.

"Brian?" Lee asked, alarmed. "Brian, you ok?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," he said, sitting up a little more slowly, still shielding his eyes with his other hand. "Just a little dizzy."

"You have breakfast in a half hour," Lee said, stepping back. She knew he wouldn't want to get out of bed until she was out of the room, because he was still a little modest southern boy at heart, and she didn't want to make him late. "Brian, did you sleep ok?"

Brian looked up at her, surprised. Had she heard something? And had there even been anything to hear?

"Yeah, why?" he asked.

"You have circles under your eyes," she said quietly, watching him. Why did he look so panicked suddenly? "Just thought I'd ask."

"No, I'm fine," he said, shrugging. He mustered up a weak grin. "It was just, you know, a rough night."

"OK," Lee said, letting it drop. She remembered her feeling last night that something was wrong, but everything looked ok now. Still, the feeling continued to nag at her. "I'll just leave you to get ready, ok? I'm in my room if you need me."

"Thanks, Lee," Brian said, watching her close his door. He caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror above the dresser as he sat in the bed and saw that Lee was right. He looked like hell. "Freaky fucked up dreams."

He slid out of bed, walking toward the bathroom. None of that could have happened, no matter how real it felt at the time. The bedroom was spotless, and other than feeling a little sore, there wasn't a mark on him. He turned on the shower and stepped in, not noticing the curtains in the bedroom gently rustling against the closed glass panes, as if there was a breeze.

To be continued.