This story is a work of fiction and is not intended to imply anything about the sexuality of any actual person or persons.
This story should only be read by those of legal age who do not have an objection to homosexual relations between consenting adults.
Once again, I am grateful to those of you who have expressed your encouragement to me in this effort. It is my hope to create a story which is enjoyable and on a par with some of the fine work I have myself enjoyed here on the Archive.
I have been asked to provide notification when new parts become available. If anyone else wishes to be notified, let me know at the email below - I will be making a bcc'd list with which to give notice.
Please direct any commentary to coryj51@mindspring.com
Bring Your Own BSB
by Cory J
Part 6
For several seconds, Alex basked in the exquisite sensation of his friends' kisses and caresses of his bare neck. When their hands began to rub his shoulders a few moments later, however, Alex placed a hand against each boy's chest and pushed them gently away.
"No." Alex said in a quiet but firm voice.
Brian and Nick sat back for a moment in silence, looks of confusion on their faces.
"What do you mean, `no'?" Brian asked.
"Yeah, man," Nick said with a touch of hurt in his voice. "Aren't we good enough for you?"
"Nick, you and Brian are good enough for anyone." Alex said, with a warm smile. "I'm more flattered than I can say that you are interested in me. As far as being attracted to you." Alex looked down briefly, and the boys followed his gaze - Alex's organ was starting to escape his briefs already.
All three boys smiled and laughed briefly - Brian and Nick were also tenting their briefs rapidly.
"What is it then?" Brian asked.
Alex got up from the bed and walked over to sit down in the chair he had occupied earlier, the boys waiting silently for his answer.
"It is like I was saying before," Alex said. "when I saw you guys together, and realized that you were a couple, I knew that I wanted what you had - that I needed it. A relationship with another person, someone who I loved and who loved me exclusively.
I like you guys a lot, and you are the most attractive guys I have ever met. I know that I would really enjoy it if things went further between us. But, I want to share myself only with that certain someone. You guys have given me hope that there is someone out there for me, and I want to wait until I find him. I hope that I haven't offended you, it's just something I need to do. I hope you understand."
There were several seconds of silence, as Brian and Nick turned to look at one another.
"He's right, you know." Brian said.
"Yeah - I don't want anyone but you with me, Brian," Nick replied "I love you so much."
The two boys embraced for several seconds.
"I love you too, baby," Brian whispered, nuzzling Nick's ear.
Alex just looked on quietly as the two held each other. After a short time, they parted and moved over to set on the edge of the bed.
"Thank you," Brian said "I think we might have regretted it if things had gone further."
Nick nodded in agreement.
"No, thank you," Alex said "For giving me hope for the first time in a long time."
"Well, what do we do now?" Brian asked.
Alex glanced over at a nearby clock. "Well," he said "its nearly 4 in the afternoon. I don't know about you guys, but I'm starting to get a bit hungry."
"Me too," Nick chimed in "why don't we get dressed up and think about getting dinner or something?"
"Yeah," Brian said "I'm hungry too."
"Well, there's a lot of options," Alex said, rubbing his chin "room service here is great, and Atlanta has a lot of great restaurants to choose from if we want to go out rather than order in." "I want to go out, myself." Brian said.
"Me too," Nick said "but I think we are about out of clean clothes."
"That's no problem," Alex said "we can visit the hotel laundry or go shopping if you'd prefer." Alex frowned then, looking thoughtful.
"What's wrong?" Brian asked.
"Well, I was just wondering if we should go out," Alex said "what with you guys wanting to keep a low profile and all."
"Oh, I'm not all that worried about that." Nick said, with a dismissive wave.
"Yeah," Brian added "besides, Alex, you were the one with the fans here, remember?"
Alex winced and the other boys burst into laughter.
"It was just so funny," Brian continued "I was so sure that they were going to strip Nick naked and then they don't even blink at either of us."
Nick looked like he wanted to add something, but was laughing too hard to get anything out.
"Yeah," Alex said "I'll have to remember to give them a call tomorrow." He ran his hands through his hair and stretched.
They were all startled by the phone when it started to ring. Alex answered the phone and spoke briefly, then hung up. He then explained that the front desk was sending someone to the suite with some packages which had arrived for Alex.
"Hey," Brian asked "what are you going to do for clothes? You can't be carrying much in that one suitcase."
"Right you are," Alex replied "The suitcase is mostly just backup clothing, underwear, etc."
At this point, there was a knock at the door. They all pulled on their robes and went out into the living room. Alex answered the door - there were several guys dressed in hotel uniforms who started bringing in some large packages and setting them on the floor. Alex retrieved his wallet from the bedroom and tipped them generously.
The boys then gathered around and began opening the packages. Inside each package was what appeared to be a clothing bag.
"You have your clothes shipped to you?" Brian asked with surprise.
"It's something my mother started several years ago." Alex explained "She and Dad had to travel a lot, and once I was old enough, they let me travel on my own. She set up this service that would coordinate with our travel plans and send us clothing and other simple things to the places that we would be staying. I've been traveling a lot more since the games ended, and I decided to keep the service active."
"Hey," Nick said, rummaging through a large package "there's a football uniform in here - pads, cleats, the whole thing!"
"No way!" Brian said, coming over to look also.
Alex laughed. "That must be this stop's sporty' look. They really go crazy sometimes. Basically, there is always one package with basic casual clothes and some other odds and ends, one package with sporty' stuff like that one, and a package with something formal, either a suit or tux."
"You mean you don't know in advance what's going to be in them?" Brian asked.
"Nope - and I've been surprised more than once," Alex replied. "I made the mistake once of telling the people who manage the service for me that I liked surprises. I've found some pretty odd things, usually in the `sporty' bag. Of course, I found a formal evening gown in the formal bag once." Alex said with a grin.
The other boys laughed hysterically.
"Did you wear it?" Brian asked, trying to control his laughter.
"Nah," Alex said "I ended up giving it to a girl who was working the desk at that hotel - apparently they spent a fortune on the thing - she loved it. Anyway, I can request specific items to be shipped, everything is sent overnight anyway - we are paying a fortune to the various carriers. My favorite part is actually the `normal' bag, this one here." Alex held up the bag he had opened. "I always get a book or two, your usual toiletries and so on. Its almost like having a birthday every few days or so. Most of the clothes get donated to charity after I've gone through them, unless it is something I really like and want to keep."
Nick came over to look at the normal' bag, while Brian opened the formal' bag.
"Wow," Brian said with a whistle "This looks like an Armani in here." He held up a beautiful dark suit.
"Yeah," Alex confirmed "You just can't beat it for simple elegance. I always find somewhere to wear those when they show up."
"Hey, you mind if I have a look?" Nick asked, indicating the `normal' bag.
"Go ahead," Alex replied "it should amuse you."
Nick began rummaging through the large case, setting aside mundane items such as underwear, socks, jeans, and so on. He looked over at Alex with amusement and displayed a box of condoms and a tube of lubricant packed together in a plastic bag.
Alex shrugged with a smile. "I guess they figure I'm a healthy American boy. You're welcome to them - I think you two are more likely to use them any time soon."
Nick turned to see Brian blushing deeply and covered his mouth. In light of the afternoon of incredible passion the two boys had given each other earlier, this was too funny. "Thanks," Nick said finally "I think we are out, as it happens."
Alex noticed the still-blushing Brian and raised an eyebrow. "Hmmm, I don't doubt it."
Nick resumed looking through the bag, producing a couple of paperback bestsellers and a few CDs.
"Hmmm, what do we have here?" Nick asked, holding up the CDs.
"Let's have a look," Alex replied "ah, this one is an encyclopedia update for my laptop, here's one with some business info on it. These two are language builders for Swahili."
"Swahili?" Brian asked "Are you learning the language or something?"
Alex nodded. "I am more or less fluent already, but it helps to build vocabulary and keep it in use. It was one of the things that my parents believed in the most. My mother especially would always talk about how important it was to `speak a language that your listener would understand'. They arranged for me to have language lessons as far back as I can remember."
"That's a pretty cool idea," Brian said. "How many languages do you speak?"
Alex shrugged. "A couple dozen reasonably well, many others less so. The idea wasn't just about learning traditional languages, though. It was about learning to communicate ideas to other people through, writing, song, art, as well as speech."
"Is that why you and your mother sang together?" Nick asked.
"Partly," Alex replied "but it was mostly because we both enjoyed it a lot. It's one of the things I miss the most."
"Have you ever considered working more on your music?" Brian asked.
"Yeah, Alex," Nick added "music is a great way to reach people. We've received a lot of mail about how our music has helped people feel better and stuff. It's really gratifying to know that it can make a difference."
"Well, we did release a couple of CDs together," Alex replied "but it didn't really catch on." He paused for a moment. "That's not the full story I guess. We didn't really make an effort to market or distribute it at all. The label that released the CDs is an independent that my mother created for that reason. However, there was some worry that this might be perceived as a sort of `vanity press' if it ever got out who we were. Also, my father's beliefs were a little different from my mother's on a few points."
"Oh, how so?" Brian asked.
Alex sat back down in his chair and looked thoughtful. "It wasn't that he disbelieved the idea of learning to communicate with others - he just saw it a bit differently. From his point of view, the languages that most people understood were those of money, power, and politics." He glanced across the room at the door, the boys followed his glance curiously. On either side of the door were two large pictures, one of a man, one of a woman.
"Is that them?" Brian asked quietly.
Alex nodded. "Philip and Dana"
"Just what is your last name, Alex?" Nick asked.
"I don't have one, actually." Alex replied, smiling.
"No way, really?" Brian said.
"Yep," Alex said "my folks legally dropped their last names when they got married, and I never had one." He paused for a moment, looking somewhat embarrassed. "My mother told me once that Father gave me the name in reference to Alexander the Great. I think that he thought of it as a symbol for all the great things he hoped I would accomplish."
"Well, that's understandable, I guess." Brian said hesitantly.
Alex nodded. "Oh yes, it certainly is - of course it sort of breaks down if you study the history a bit. Alexander conquered the known world, yes, but I don't think Father would want me to be just like him."
"Hey, wasn't he gay or something?" Nick said.
"Yes, or at least bi," Alex replied "his father, who was also named Philip, also slept with both men and women. Alexander also apparently had a thing going with his mother, though no one really knows. Above all, though, he was a conquer and a lot of people died because of what he did."
Brian and Nick studied the portraits for a few minutes. There obvious resemblances between Alex and both his parents. He had his father's face, but his mother's eyes and hair. Both parents were attractive, the father with a reserved look of strength and the mother with a friendly face and dazzling smile - the same smile that Alex himself had. The boys turned back towards Alex, who had a slightly wistful look about him.
"You really miss them, don't you?" Brian asked softly.
Alex nodded. "Everyday. Its sort of odd - we weren't a `typical' family in any sense of the word. We were always traveling around, and most of the contact we had was through the phone or email and so on. I would go months at a time without seeing either of them. But they always looked out for me, and I knew I could always depend on them. We were a close family in our own way." He paused, looking down and rubbing his hands against his thighs. "Now, they're gone, and it's up to me to carry on with my life, and with the work that they started."
"Their businesses and stuff, you mean?" Nick asked.
Alex nodded. "Sort of - it's a bit more complicated than that. As I said, for my father the money and influence and so on was just a tool for getting people to listen to ideas. My parents both wanted to improve the world, to leave something better for the generations to come. Father handled most of the business side of things - the part where the money was made and invested and so forth. Mother had the more visible side of things - doing charity work, trying to bring about political reform."
"I've heard some things about the work that they did, especially your mother." Brian said.
"Yeah, me too," Nick added "but it is kind of odd that they weren't more in the spotlight. I would think that good press would have been helpful to their goals."
"It used to strike me as odd too," Alex replied "I think that my father was a bit afraid of becoming too much of a celebrity. He always talked about how unpredictable the media could be. He was also worried that we might be perceived as just another bunch of power- hungry tycoons. All-in-all, he seemed to feel that the risks of fame outweighed the potential benefits. Father was something of a control freak, I guess."
"I didn't want to offend you," Brian said "but I was sort of thinking the same thing based on what you have said."
"Don't get me wrong," Alex said "He was a great man and he really cared for people, wanted to make things better for everyone. He was the source of a lot of the ideas for charities and reform programs with which my mother was involved. He was just an organizer, someone who liked to have a plan and be in charge of getting things done. Mother was his equal partner, but she was more of a doer than a planner, if you know what I mean."
"Anyway, I have to decide how I want to do things. I have basically delegated a lot of the decision making to the people who used to work for my folks, but I do need to set my own policies at some point, if I decide that they differ from the way things are right now.
"Sorry, guys, I'm going on and on here - the upshot of it is that I prefer being called `Alex', anyway. " He stood up from the chair. "I'll tell you what, why don't you get your dirty laundry together and I'll take the whole mess down to the laundry and get that started." Alex paused once again. "Hey, I meant to ask, what were you guys doing in my bed, anyway? Did the guest room not work for you?"
Nick coughed slightly, noticing Brian's face redden still another time. "Well," Nick said "we sort of made a mess in there." Nick felt his own face reddening slowly.
Alex also began to look rather embarrassed. "Come with me guys." He said, and led them down a hallway, stopping in front of a pair of doors. Opening them revealed a large linen closet. Alex gestured at the stacks of linens.
"We prefer to have housekeeping in here as little as possible," Alex said "if - when you need to change the sheets, just put the dirty stuff down the laundry chute and get clean stuff from here. The closet is restocked every few weeks generally." He paused, looking at his friends' faces. "That wasn't the only reason you came to my bed, was it?"
Nick and Brian both smiled.
"No, it wasn't," Brian said "we wanted to be there for you when you woke up."
"Yeah, we were kind of worried about you." Nick added.
Alex stepped forward and gathered both his friends in his arms and held them close.
The three boys stood for a few minutes, holding each other and saying nothing. Finally, Alex released them. "Thank you," Alex said quietly "It did help me to have you there."
Brian and Nick each gathered up a set of bed linens and followed Alex back to the living room. For the next few minutes, the boys removed the dirty sheets from the beds, and put them down the laundry chute. Then, they gathered their own dirty laundry from their suitcases.
Alex produced a couple of large laundry bags and the boys then sorted the clothes into them. "Cool," Alex said when they were finished "I wouldn't want to just send this down the chute because we don't want it getting mixed up with the other laundry. I'll just carry it downstairs and get the wash going - it won't take long." He gathered up the bags and started for the door.
"Hey," Brian said "can you find that CD of your singing? I would like to listen to it."
"Sure," Alex said "hang on a minute." He set down the bags, and went into the master bedroom, returning a few minutes later.
"Here," he said, pressing a jewel case into Brian's hand "this is a copy of one of the albums. I'll be back in a while." Alex picked up the laundry bags, and headed out the front door.
Nick and Brian put the clean linens on the beds and then sat down in the living room.
"Let's listen to the CD." Nick said.
"Yeah," Brian replied "There's the stereo over there."
Brian got up, put the CD in the player, started it and returned to the couch where Nick was sitting. The young couple leaned against one another as the first song began. The boys were immediately entranced by the sound of two voices, male and female, in beautifully close harmony. Though they could not understand the words, the song wove rich feelings of sadness and joy together. As the track ended, the boys looked at each other in amazement. In the next track, the male voice sang a cappella. The pitch was flawless - the song deeply sad and full of loneliness. As the solo track ended, Nick got up and stopped the player. He turned to look at Brian, seeing the tears on his love's face. He felt the wetness in his own eyes.
"My god." Nick said. He returned to the couch and hugged Brian.
"He is so good," Brian said "I've never heard anything like that in my life."
"Are you ok?" Nick asked, anxiously wiping the tears from Brian's face.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Brian said with a quick smile "it was just so moving - he must have sung something like that at their funeral."
"We have got to get Kevin and the guys to listen to this." Nick said - pausing when he noticed Brian had started crying again. "What is it, Brian?" he said, pulling Brian close "C'mon, you scaring me."
"Nick, it's just," Brian said "the song made me feel how I think I'd feel if I ever lost you." He began sobbing quietly against Nick's shoulder.
Nick held Brian closely to him. He was afraid - the song had touched him deeply also, but Brian seemed more effected. "You aren't going to lose me, baby," Nick said, rocking Brian back and forth "I promise we'll always be together."
After a few minutes of reassurance, Brian recovered somewhat and pulled back a little.
"I'm sorry Nick," Brian said, wiping his eyes "I didn't mean to scare you - the song was just so powerful.."
"I know, Brian, I know." Nick replied. They had both had this fear before - that somehow they would lose one another. He knew suddenly what would ease Brian's fears, and his own - it was what he had wanted for a long time. Nick slipped off the couch, and dropped to one knee in front of the curious Brian. He took Brian's hands in his own and looked into his eyes.
"Brian, I love you more than anything," Nick said "I want us to be together always. Please marry me."
Brian looked deeply into Nick's beautiful eyes, seeing the love there and feeling his own heart swell for this man. He found that he couldn't move, couldn't say anything, except for one thing..
"Yes." Brian said.
The End of Part 6