Home

Disclaimer: This story is fiction. It makes no claims to the true personality and sexuality of anyone involved. You already know if you shouldn't be reading this.

Note: This is the complete story with a few corrections. It only differs slightly from the numbered versions previously posted to Nifty.

------------------ HOME by JM

Part III

Kevin called at 4am when he got home. We talked for a while and then went to bed. I was still tired. I would have stayed in bed, but I had interviews all week. Even before I met Kevin, I decided to hire some people to help me run the place so I could get away. I'd placed the ad last month, and despite warning them that the pay was small, had a huge number of applicants. I weeded through resumes and had set up three interviews a day for the next week.

I hated interviewing people. It's very difficult to get to know someone in a few hours when they are on their best behavior -- especially for a job like this. I had to be extremely careful as to who I hired. I had background checks run on all the interviewees and knew that at least they didn't have a record. I would talk with them for two hours, and if I was still interested, give them a personality test. Thankfully, Susan was able to join me for the evening interviews. I was a bit too burned out by that point to ask intelligent questions.

By the end of the week they had all been interviewed. Nick, Susan and I sat comparing notes over Friday night dinner. Only one person had been disqualified from the personality test. Someone who agreed with the statement, "Children are sexy," is not someone I want working here.

We had narrowed it down to five people: two married couples and three single guys -- two of whom were gay.

"How are the interviews going?" Kevin asked as we talked on the phone that night.

"Okay, I guess. We're down to five possible."

"When are you going to pick the final two?"

"They each have to spend a week here first. I want to see how they deal with the kids and the lifestyle."

"Do you want to do the hiring for our crew?" Kevin joked.

"No thanks!"

We talked for another hour and then went to bed. I couldn't fall sleep anymore unless I talked with Kevin first.

I made my phone calls the following day. Wished luck to the ones who were disqualified and set up the week long stay with the others. They would each stay one week. Sunday to Sunday.

Throughout the week I talked with lawyers and the realtor. I set up a corporation for the club. Me and the BSB guys were the shareholders and on the board of directors. We each had a more or less even share -- as evenly as 100% divides by six. Nick and Susan were on the board of directors. By Friday all the papers were signed and Home's Fermata, Inc. was an official corporation. The name, by the way, was my idea. Its the music term that means, "hold here forever." Everyone liked it and it stuck. It would also make a great name for the club. The sign could just be the symbol. Somehow my realtor pushed the closing stuff through pretty hard and we would own the building in two weeks instead of the usual 4-6 weeks. Nick was counting on those 2-4 extra weeks to finish the plans and get bids. I convinced him to use the kids he had taught to draft for the original rehabbing and just get it done. Firm but gentle. I wasn't worried about it. Despite his complaining, Nick always got the plans done just in time.

The first interviewees were a couple, Mike and Heather, from Indianapolis. Mike was a counselor at a Catholic school and Heather was a social worker for the city. Mike didn't fit into the Catholic school method of 'deny it and it goes away' and Heather was disillusioned with the whole system. They were both 30 years old and didn't have any children of their own. I introduced them to the kids and then let them take over for the week. They were completely overwhelmed. The highly structured environments they had come from were completely unlike this. Home is as chaotic and organic as a family. They left the following Sunday morning and said it just wasn't for them.

David was next. He was from Seattle and had just graduated with his Masters in Sociology. At 26 years old he was still idealistic, but tempered through experience. He seemed to fit in great and the kids liked him.

During David's interview, Kevin was able to sneak away for a two days. We never left my apartment and no one else knew he was there. Although we rarely were dressed those two days, we only made love once -- a few hours before he left. Our first weekend together had been so...sexual...that we decided we needed to back off and develop the relationship more. This wasn't talked about, but we both seemed to be thinking the same thing. We talked about just about everything else, though. When we made love this time, it was slower and more passionate.

And so the interviews went for another month. Kevin couldn't get away very often. Summer was prime touring season and they were quite busy. We talked on the phone, however, at least every other night.

The trials-by-fire were over and we offered the positions to David and Ryan & Tina, the second married couple who were from NYC. We all agreed that it would be good to have a 'motherly' influence around. They all accepted and I told them they could move in as soon as they liked. Within a week the 7th floor was filled with my new employees. Well, not really employees, but similar.

By this time work on the theater was going at full swing. The roof had been redone, the garbage cleared, the architecturally insignificant areas gutted and the rewiring mostly done. It was now dry and you could see everything. Quite an accomplishment. The goal was to have it functional for an opening to coincide with the start of school the second week of September. We had a little over a month and it seemed like we were going to make it, but just barely.

David was a great help. He had worked as a plasterer during school. He joked that I only hired him for his plastering skills. I didn't let the younger kids up on the scaffolding, so they basically spent their time cleaning. Not a small task. I hired professional masons to clean and tuck-point the outside. The BSB guys would stop by for a day or two when they could. Sometimes together, sometimes just one or two of them. Howie hardly ever showed up and spent his free time with Arna, an Icelandic girl, that he was dating. She lived in NYC. David exiled Nick from the plastering after an "unfortunate accident" involving a large bucket of joint compound being poured on Brian.

Brian "stopped by" as much as Kevin. He would always ask where David was and then go help him. David was sexy, gay and available. Brian had talked to neither me nor Kevin about being interested in men yet. I could see he was having a difficult time with it. Being very religious didn't help when that religion said you were evil for having those thoughts. Nevertheless, Brian continued to torture himself by always being around David. I'm pretty sure that nothing was happening, but I didn't question either of them. I was there if they wanted to talk.

It was late August and the theater, lobby, stage and public restrooms were complete. Once you got past the public area, there were only bare frame walls and some drywall. The kitchen was mostly complete, but without any counters or appliances -- so it was just a big room where a kitchen would go.

While I had considered buying one of those large old oak bars with all the carvings and putting it in, Norm Abram said that if he was going to donate something to the club, he'd like to build the bar. So he did. It took him and four kids about 4 days to build it. Cherry with a granite top. The bar was very nice. I think they learned quite a bit about cabinet building -- not one of my strong skills.

I designed the sound system. Most of it was not visible. I tested it at 4am, after everyone had gone Home, with some Ornette Coleman, Carl Orf, Ben Harper, Nirvana and, of course, Backstreet Boys. No, I still didn't listen to their stuff, but it was dance/pop music that would most likely be played there most of the time. I was quite pleased. It rocked. The bass shook the chest just enough. The sound surrounded you and felt powerful. It was exciting. I called Kevin when I got home at 6am.

"Hello?" he said groggily.

"Hey Vin, guess what?" I said happily.

"Uh...you've been drinking too much of your coffee?" he joked.

"Nooo. I just tested the sound system."

"And..."

"And it rocks!" I said excitedly.

"You don't seem very sure about that," he joked.

"So can you guys get away for a day to have the christening of the theater?"

"Uh, I don't know. When?"

"How soon can you get here?"

"I'd love to be there right now. Just a sec, let me check my notebook... We have a show tonight...Wednesday and Thursday off, and then have to be in NYC for a show Friday."

"Wednesday night, then?"

"Sure. I'll tell the guys."

"Great! Let me know when you get your flight times. Love you."

"Will do. Love you. Bye.

"Bye."

I hung up the phone and then crashed until noon when I was awakened by the phone.

"Hello?" I morning voiced into what I think was the correct part of the phone.

"Still in bed?! Must be nice..." Kevin laughed.

"Hey Vin. Remember I went to bed when you got up."

"I'm just joshin' ya, Josh," Kevin said with a smirk.

"Ha. Ha." I groaned.

"Our plane gets in at 7am tomorrow. You can pick us up, right?"

"Yea. Let me write it down... Can't you guys ever get in at a civilized hour?" I joked.

"If we did we'd be mobbed and we wouldn't get as much time to spend together."

"Oh yea. I'll be there at 7am."

"Gotta go. Love you."

"Love you. Bye."

"Bye."

I hung up, took a shower and had breakfast. Then it was off to the theater to continue the work.

The refrigerators and fixtures for the bar were arriving at 3pm and I hoped to have the bar completed before I went home. The only thing left to do before we could open was put up the outside signs, and that would happen next week. David was plastering in the west side of the building today and Ryan was supervising dry walling on the east side. I say 'supervising' because, despite his ability to read plans and get things built correctly, he can't swing a hammer without smashing some part of his body. Its amazing how he can smash every finger within a half-hour of using a hammer and still build something. With a screw gun he's a danger to himself and any wall near him. Anyway, that's why he was now supervising instead of building.

By 9pm I had everything hooked up and plugged in. After flipping the breakers and turning on the water, everything seemed to work -- no sparks or water spraying, always a good sign. I got home and went straight to bed. I knew Kevin wouldn't call tonight because they had a show and then an early flight. They'd be lucky to get a few hours sleep in-between.

I was up the next morning by 5:30, and after a cup of coffee, set off to the airport to pick up the guys. As I started across the garden to the garage I noticed Billy, a 13 year old who had just joined us, was sitting under a tree by himself. He was originally from Lexington, Kentucky, but had been bounced around from relative to relative for the past two years after his parents were killed in a car crash while driving back from a bar. He had finally run away last month when he was going to be bounced to yet another relative. The kids had noticed him hanging around Home, but he would always run away when they tried to approach him. When I heard about it we organized it so that they would chase him straight to another group of us. We basically captured him like a wild animal. He was acting like one too. He hadn't eaten much in a week and was quite dirty. Tina cleaned and fed him, and after a nap, got some his story from him. She called his aunt to let her know where he was. His aunt said to keep him and she'd sign whatever papers we needed. Tina didn't press the issue. There was more going on than was being said, but it would take time for Billy to open up. He was staying in Ryan & Tina's apartment until next week when James went off to Ohio U. and a room opened up.

I walked over to him. "Mornin' Billy."

"Uh...I wasn't doin' nuthin'" he quickly said and started to run.

I grabbed him. "I never said you were. How about 'good morning, Josh'...?"

"Oh, sorry, mornin' Josh."

"That's better. Try to relax a little, you're making me nervous," I said jokingly.

He chuckled a little, very little.

"Since you weren't doing anything, come with me."

"Where?" he said with a bit of fear.

"To pick some friends up from the airport. Come on so we aren't late and make them think we forgot."

We got in the truck and headed to the airport. From experience, I knew that Billy was not going to talk at all. It would take at least a few weeks before he would start to relax around us. I put in Rodney Kendrik's "Dance, World, Dance" and cranked it. Nothing like some hot jazz to get you going in the morning. I think it also helped relax Billy because he knew he wasn't expected to say anything if the music was up loud. I did notice him tapping his foot in time to the music. That's part of what makes music great: it can touch even those who don't want to be touched.

We got to the airport just in time. As we were walking into the gate, the guys were walking off the plane. I greeted each of them with a hug, and then introduced Billy, who had never met them before. Because he kept to himself these past couple days he hadn't even heard the other kids talk about them. He shook each one's hand politely, but was shaking like a leaf. As we walked to the truck Kevin gave me a look that said, 'new kid?' I nodded, but didn't say anything because Billy was right beside me.

When we got home Tina was in a panic because she woke up and Billy was gone. She practically smothered him in a hug when she saw him. He stood there emotionless and let her do it, but didn't hug back. I told her we'd talk later. We left them and continued up to the eighth floor.

As soon as the door to my apartment was shut Brian asked, "What's Billy's story? He seemed to be pretty scared, and I don't think it was because of us."

"No, its not all because of you," I explained. "I'm not sure what his story is yet. He hasn't opened up much and I don't think he will for a while yet."

"Why's that?" asked AJ.

"Just a feeling. He was bounced around between relatives who didn't want him for the past two years. I'm sure the idea of stability is scary to him and he feels that if he gets comfortable here that we'll just send him away again."

"How do you help with that?" asked Howie.

"Just always be there and don't send him away. Let him know that you'll always be there. Eventually it'll get through, but it takes time. I haven't found a better way."

"Maybe I could talk to him," said Nick. "Perhaps a celebrity talking with him will make him feel special..."

"Nice ego, Nick," I said sarcastically. "Seriously, I don't think that being a celebrity will get you anything here. If you talk to him just remember to be careful. He has a lot of anger in him and pushing him will just cause him to hurt himself or someone else."

"You sound like you've dealt with this before," said Brian.

"More than I would have liked."

Everyone was silent. I finally spoke up. "Are you guys tired? Do you want to take a nap, or shall we have breakfast?"

"What time is the christening?" asked Kevin.

"At 6. Dinner and drinks provided." I answered.

"I think I'd like breakfast, and then take a short nap," said Kevin.

"Sounds good to me," agreed Howie.

Brian and AJ agreed and Nick declined to just go to sleep. An hour later they were all headed off to bed. I opted to join Kevin for a nap.

I woke up at 11:30. Kevin was still out cold. I kissed him of the forehead, got dressed and went into the living room. I called the restaurant that was catering the christening and confirmed everything. I decided to go with Middle Eastern food for this. Tons of humus, tabuleh, falafel, curried dishes and everything in-between. At one point I entertained the idea of cooking it myself, but the kitchen at the club wasn't ready yet and there is no place large enough at Home to cook a meal & snacks for 60 people.

I left a note saying where I would be and headed off to the theater. I joined Ryan on the east side of the theater, filled a banjo and started taping the rooms that were already drywalled. The BSB guys showed up around 3 as we were cleaning up.

"Nice timing, guys." I smirked.

"Its all in the timing," joked Nick.

"Why thanks, Nick. Sure you can take out the garbage," I said laughing as I pointed to 3 large garbage cans full of scraps and trash. He did it though.

We got home at 4. I went straight to the bathroom to take a shower. Kevin was right behind me.

"Hey. Didn't you just take a shower?" I teased.

"Yea, but I got dirty cleaning up. Besides, that shower wasn't with you," he answered and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Blech!" Kevin said spitting.

"What?! I don't spit when I kiss you!" I said knowing why he was spitting.

"Sorry. I just got more plaster dust than Josh. You taste much better when you're now covered with plaster."

"Well, I guess you'll just have to wash it off me."

"Not a problem..." Kevin smiled and pushed me into the shower.

Kevin and I got back to the theater at 5 to let in the caterers.

"This place looks great," Kevin said smiling as he walked around the finished theater for the first time.

"How does it feel?" I asked.

"It feels good."

"Great. I think that's more important. The feeling of the space has to be right. Stay right here. I'm gonna go put on some music." I hopped stage to the sound console, turned everything on, and put in Orf's "Carmina Burana", turning it up pretty loud. The first few phrases of "O Fortuna" filled the theater. I walked down-center and looked at Kevin on the dance floor.

"How's that?" I said as the music went to a quiet part.

"Perfect." He smiled and closed his eyes, listening to the music.

When "O Fortuna" was over I stopped the CD and put in something more appropriate for a club: Ben Harper. I also turned it down a bit so that people could talk easily as they were coming in.

Everyone started arriving at 5:30. Nick, Howie and AJ were soon there and playing on the stage. Brian showed up with David at 6. Billy was sitting by himself next to the stage watching the guys goof around with some of the other kids.

By ten after six everyone was there. I went back on stage, turned up the level on the mic, and turned down the music.

"Welcome to Home's Fermata!"

Everyone cheered.

"We've all worked hard to get this far and I think we've done a pretty good job. What do you think?"

Again another cheer.

"Unlike a boat that is christened with champagne smashing, a club is christened with people and happiness. So we've got food, drink, music and friends. What more do we need? Let's eat and have some fun!"

Another cheer and there was a stampede for the food. I turned down the mic and turned the music back up a little louder than before. I joined Kevin in line for the food and fought the urge to kiss him. I was so happy. Everyone seemed to be happy. Well, except Billy.

After filling our plates we sat down at a table with Brian and David. Nick and Susan soon joined us. The rest of the BSB guys were sitting at different tables with the kids.

We talked and laughed throughout the meal. I got up to change the CD and noticed Billy had finished his meal and was off by himself. I had an idea.

"Hey Billy," I said as I walked up to him.

He looked up from the spot on the floor he was studying. "Hey."

"Can you help me with something?" I asked.

"Uh, yea. What?"

"Come here and I'll show you."

We went up on stage and back to the mixing board.

"We need to keep the music going. Do you think you could help with that?"

"I don't know how to work that," he said pointing at the mixing board.

"I'll show you. Its real easy." I explained how the faders worked and how to cue up and start CDs. He caught on very quickly.

"So. You think you got it?"

"I think so."

"Good. Keep it softer for now, but when everyone is done eating you can play around a bit more and turn it up. Try to plan your songs in advance. I want everyone dancing. You're the DJ."

"Okay." He smiled. I think it was the first time I had seen a real smile from him. I left him and rejoined Kevin.

I guess I had a huge smile on my face, because Kevin laughed at me and said, "What are you all smiley about?"

"Me? Probably because of you. And I think I just made a little headway with Billy. He'll be the DJ tonight."

"Great."

We continued our meal. Billy would pop up from the console every so often to see how many people were done eating. I noticed the level was creeping up and the songs he picked were getting harder. Finally most people were done eating and the sound went up. The kids started dancing. I pulled the adults over to the bar and poured us each a shot of good Tequila to toast the event. After giving everyone their shot and a lemon wedge we downed them. Refilled, and downed them again. I put the bottle away.

The night went great. Now everyone was having fun. Everyone was dancing -- including me. That was good for a laugh from everyone. The BSB guys did the choreography for their songs when Billy would play them. Fortunately for them he only played two of them. The evening ended around midnight. A few kids stayed to clean up and everyone else went Home.

Nick, Howie and AJ said 'good night' when we reached the 8th floor and they disappeared into their apartment. Brian went straight into what had become his bedroom since Kevin and I were sleeping together mumbling something as he fell on the bed and passed out. I was exhausted too, but not about to go to sleep yet.

Kevin sleepily sat on our bed, kicked off his shoes and flopped back.

"I'm getting too old for this," he moaned.

"Hey! I'm older than you and I'm still awake!" I said with mock indignation.

"The kids keep you young. They make me feel old," was his yawned reply. He closed his eyes.

"Oh no," I said. I jumped up on Kevin's chest and started tickling him. He groaned and laughed as he tried to get away. After a few minutes of this I stopped tickling him and started undressing him.

"A bit anxious, aren't we?" Kevin joked.

"Don't want you to fall asleep yet. Lets take a shower."

Kevin grinned and pulled off my shirt. We were trying to undress each other at the same time and it wasn't working very well, but it was fun. Finally, amidst the laughing and falling, we were undressed. We ran to the bathroom and Kevin started the shower running. As we were waiting for the water to come up to temperature, we both stood at the toilet and urinated.

I started to chuckle.

"What?" he smiled looking at me.

"Nothing. I just remembered something this guy I used to work with once said."

"And..."

"He was talking about how he could never go to the bathroom in front of any girl he was dating, even if she was just in the same apartment."

"Why?" Kevin laughed.

"He said he was too embarrassed. I laughed at him because he could have sex with these women, but not go to the bathroom. I got this image of this guy trying to get his girl to leave so he could relieve himself before he burst!"

We laughed as we got into the shower. I adjusted the water to be a little cooler than was comfortable to be sure to wake us up. I also liked the look of Kevin's skin covered with goose bumps and the way we stood closer when the water was cold. We washed each other quickly and got out. After drying and brushing I started heading back to our room. Kevin stopped me.

"Where you going?" Kevin asked with a smile.

"To our bedroom. Or are we including Brian in this?" I said pointing to Brian's still open bedroom door.

"Ugh! Not my coz!"

"He's not my coz." I teased.

"Answer is still 'Ugh!' We're going to the roof." Kevin said as he pulled a blanket out of the hall closet and started up the stairs to the roof.

I followed behind him with my hands on his behind. We got to the top and went out on the roof. It was still warm, but not too hot. Kevin spread out the blanket and pulled me down onto it and into a kiss.

Kevin gently pushed me on my back and sat across my chest. Our lips never parted. His penis was quickly growing and pushed up between our stomachs. I was already hard and could feel the head of my cock on the back of his balls. He slid down further until our cocks were together. We ground into each other as we continued kissing.

Some time later I rolled over and was now on top of Kevin. I lifted his hands and held them behind his head as I kissed, nibbled and licked my way down his neck to his nipples. I released his hands and massaged one nipple as I nibbled the other. Kevin reached down and rubbed my back as soft moans escaped his lips. Finally I moved further down. I went past his throbbing erection and started kissing his inner thighs, slowly moving up. When I got to his balls I softly licked little circles around them. I knew he loved this. I gently sucked one into my mouth and licked it all over before going to the other one. His balls were pulling up tight and I knew he was getting close. I licked my way up the back of his cock. A pool of precum was at his belly button. I licked at it and smeared it around the head of his cock. At this point his cock was bouncing with every heartbeat and ready for release. I placed my lips against his belly, just above his cock, and blew a very loud and wet raspberry.

"Ttthhhhppppp!"

Kevin sat up quickly with a laugh. "What was that for?"

"Just slowing you down," I smiled.

"In that case..." Kevin smiled and pushed me back. He dove on my cock and, after a hard suck, licked passionately up and down my shaft while his hand played with my balls.

Suddenly Kevin jumped up and said, "I'll be right back." He ran downstairs. I could just make out the soft shadow of him running across the roof with his hard cock bouncing in front of him. A minute later he was back with a condom and lube. He was grinning from ear to ear as he plopped down beside me.

He looked cute enough to kiss, so I did. Kevin ripped open the condom package and rolled the condom down my still hard cock. I grabbed the lube and squirted some in his hand and some in mine. He rubbed the lube over the condom while I rubbed the lube into his ass. My fingers gently moving in and out. Kevin lay on his back and I moved into position. He wrapped his legs behind me and slowly pulled me in as his hands guided my cock. Once I was all the way in he held me tight in him with his legs and I leaned down and licked his lips. Kevin tried to kiss me, but I turned my lips away and licked the other side of his lips. We teased like this for a minute until he caught my tongue and sucked it into his mouth. I soon found his tongue in my mouth and his legs loosened.

I took the cue and slowly pulled out and then in. Our tongues and lips were still entwined. Kevin's legs started pulling me in harder. Our breathing was now too heavy to be kissing. I pulled his legs from behind me and put them over my shoulders. I started pumping hard and fast. I was holding Kevin's hands back so he couldn't touch his dick. I could feel that familiar feeling and slammed into Kevin's welcoming ass and held there as orgasm shook my whole body. Just as it finished I pulled out and starting sucking on Kevin's cock. He came almost immediately. I drank down every drop and sucked him clean. I pulled off the condom and lay down next to him. We were both breathing heavily. We kissed and then lay back, holding each other.

I guess we fell asleep, because the next thing I remember is hearing Nick, AJ, Howie and Brian laughing and applauding. I opened my eyes to see that it was morning, Kevin and I were still on the roof, completely naked and Kevin draped across my chest. Fortunately, I was covered by Kevin's leg and Kevin was on his side, so only his cute ass was showing. Nevertheless, I grabbed the edge of the blanket and covered us as much as possible. I nudged Kevin.

"Huh?" he said still mostly asleep.

"We've got an audience," I whispered into his ear.

This caused him to wake and he sat up quickly, uncovering and exposing both of us.

"What?!" he yelled.

The guys renewed their laughter.

"Oh, its just you guys," Kevin said more relaxed. "Go away!"

"Okay, shows over guys. Let's let these two get up," Brian said while ushering Nick, Howie and AJ downstairs. "By the way, its 10:30 and our flight leaves at noon!"

"Shit!" Kevin jumped up. "Come on, Josh. We gotta get ready."

I stood behind him and wrapped the blanket around both of us. We went downstairs and directly into the bathroom. The shower was quick and we were out and dressed in a half-hour. Brian had coffee ready. I taught him how to make it so it was strong enough. After a quick cup we were out the door and on our way to the airport. We all chatted on the way about how nice the theater looked and the fun last night. We got there just as first class was boarding. I hugged everyone good bye and they were gone.

I hated the constant 'good bye's.' The only thing that made them bearable were the 'hello's' that would follow, and talking on the phone every other night. I wanted to wake up with Kevin at my side every morning and he said the same about me, but we were both too busy to let it get us too down. We should be able to spend more time together in the winter.

The next week seemed to fly by. I drove James to Athens and managed not to make a complete blubbering fool of myself as I left him in his dorm room. He promised he'd try to make a road trip back for the opening of the club. I made sure he understood that if he couldn't find anyone and wanted to come, I'd make sure he got there. It was so difficult to constantly be letting kids go. James had been with me from the beginning. I guess its a good thing, but its still hard. Its much better to lose them this way than another way. I felt very fortunate that in the two-and-a-half years Home had existed, that we had only lost one kid. He was stabbed in a fight and left to die. He was dead by the time the police found him. I don't think I've ever had a more painful experience in my life. Losing them to university or a job is much better.

By the time I got back to Cincinnati, Billy had moved into the 4th family. Pedro had taken it upon himself to be Billy's welcoming committee. He was actually getting Billy to talk a bit, although not about his previous home life.

The club opening was now in less than two weeks. The guy's record company was hesitant to let them play the show, but finally agreed on the condition that any profit and the money they 'lost' would be written off as a charitable donation to Home and that we would provide our own crew. Justin, a really talented kid from the second family, had designed the posters for the opening shows and they were at the printer. There would be three shows: Friday night, Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. Admission would be $5 at the door with no advanced ticket sales.

The theater was ready. The signs were up. The bar was stocked with juices, sodas, snacks and passed the health inspections. The fixtures for the kitchen wouldn't be in until the week after we opened. Most of the kids were painting the whole week. Billy enjoyed being the DJ for the christening, so I asked him to help run sound for the shows. He instantly accepted. We spent a few days going over everything about the sound system and general engineering/mixing skills. He had a very good ear and picked up things quickly. I knew he'd make a great engineer if he ever decided to pursue that career.

The Monday before the opening we went around town hanging up the posters. School started Tuesday, and the kids took some posters to hang up there as well. This first week of school was pretty much a waste as far as real school work was concerned, and they had Friday off. I picked up the BSB guys Wednesday at midnight. They were exhausted.

"Hey guys! Ready for the opening?" I said a bit too chipper. I got grunts and a couple sleepy 'uh huhs.' Needless to say we took the freight elevator to the eighth floor. They all went straight to bed. I snuggled up behind Kevin and put my arm around him, holding him close. He was already asleep and I was not far behind him.

I woke up at 8 listening to a story on NPR. I absent-mindedly rubbed Kevin's chest as I listened to the radio. Kevin woke around 8:30 and rolled over on his back with a smile.

"Mornin'" Kevin said with a quick kiss.

"Mornin', beautiful," and I kissed him back. "Sleep well?"

"Always sleep well here...with you," Kevin smiled.

I smiled back and kissed him again. How could I not?

"And I sleep better when you're here. Someday we'll be able to spend more time together. Now that I've got David, Ryan and Tina, I will be able to come see you on the road after the club gets settled a bit."

"I've got my own ideas about that," Kevin hinted with a mischievous smile.

"What?"

"We'll talk about it after the opening."

"What?! Tell me now!" I said I threatened to tickle him. He tickled me first and hopped off the bed before I could get him.

"I said we'll talk about it after the club opens." He was enjoying teasing me with his secret plan. "Let's take a shower and eat breakfast."

I knew Kevin had as much resolve as I did when it came to not telling someone something he wanted to keep secret, so I let it drop. There was no way I'd get it out of him.

We took our time showering. We were in no hurry. Kevin's cock was at full attention by the time I got to washing his butt, so I decided to fix that. I licked and sucked on his balls as my fingers massaged his butt and teased at his hole. I then used one hand to hold his cock out and rub his balls while the other one fingered his ass and I sucked up and down his cock. He came after a few minutes. I got pretty much the same treatment when he washed me. As soon as we walked out of the bathroom Brian pushed past us and closed the door. We almost immediately could hear him pissing and a huge sigh of relief. We got dressed and went into the kitchen to make come coffee. It was almost 10. Kevin went over to wake up Nick, Howie and AJ while I cut up some melon and Brian showered. Kevin and I sat down to eat breakfast. We were soon joined by the rest of the guys.

"So what's the schedule, Josh?" AJ asked.

"I was thinking you guys could take the day to adjust your choreography to the small stage. Sound check is tomorrow. Sound okay?"

"Why so late on the sound?" asked Nick.

"Because Billy is helping me, so he needs to be here. We could do it today at 3, but I thought you guys would need a bit more time to work out the choreography."

"Billy's running sound?" asked Brian.

"Helping. We'll see how he does at rehearsals. He may be running the shows. I'll be right there if anything goes wrong, though."

"No, I wasn't suggesting he couldn't do it, I'm just a bit surprised," clarified Brian.

"He seems to really enjoy it. I worked with him last week on how everything works. He's got a pretty good ear and remembered everything I told him. All he needs is experience."

"Good. Has he opened up at all?" asked Nick.

"Yes and no. He's started to talk with the other kids and relax a bit, but he hasn't said anything about life before he got here."

We finished breakfast and headed over to the theater. I sat watching them rehearse and made notes about where to place the few stage lights we had and when the spotlight would be used. They seemed out of place on a vaudevillian stage. It would definitely be different than their other shows. I was starting to wish we'd left the orchestra pit in for security's sake. Most of the time it wouldn't be needed, though, so it would have been a waste of dance floor. I had hired four guys to secure the small stage. That should be enough.

Billy sat down beside me around 3:30 and watched the guys rehearse. They ended rehearsal at 4. We walked around all the back stage areas and made sure the guys wouldn't get lost now that all the walls were up and it looked much different than when they were last here. We got Home around a quarter to five.

The guys took quick showers and joined their families for dinner. They really didn't have much choice in the matter as they were dragged off. I joined David, Ryan & Tina for dinner. Thursday dinners were our time to talk and make sure everyone knew what was going on with all the kids. Friday nights were still my personal night with Nick and Susan.

I was sitting on the roof writing in my journal when Kevin sat down beside me, kissed me on the cheek and handed me a beer.

"Whatcha writing?" Kevin asked.

"Just my journal," I said as I closed the book and set it down.

"I didn't know you kept a journal."

"Yep. Have for years."

"Can I read it?"

"Maybe someday. Its not meant to be read, however. Its just for me to sort out my thoughts."

"Okay." Kevin laid his head on my shoulder and we just sat there silently enjoying each other's company and the early dusk. An hour later we headed downstairs. Nick, AJ, Howie, Brian and David were sitting around the TV watching 'South Park.' We joined them. After 'South Park' we turned on MTV for a few minutes. MTV News announced that BSB would be "performing 3 benefit shows in Cincinnati, Ohio," and had a bit more about the club, saying that they'd have a live report tomorrow night.

I looked at Kevin and asked, "Record company?"

"Apparently. I wish they'd informed us beforehand," Kevin answered.

"I guess I'd better get more security for outside," I said.

"I think that'd be a good idea," Kevin agreed.

I called the security company and left a message that I'd need five extra people for the weekend. When I got off the phone I heard Kevin on his cell phone making reservations at a hotel downtown.

"Why the hotel?" I asked after he hung up.

"Diversion. You don't want this place swamped, do you?"

"No, but..."

"Its just diversion. We'll take a limo from the club to the hotel and then you can pick us up in the truck and we'll come back here. Except Howie."

"Done this before, huh?"

"Of course, but its usually between two different hotels."

"Why are you staying at the hotel, Howie?" I asked.

"Arna is coming to the opening. I'll probably stay with her."

"So I finally get to meet Arna?"

"Yep. She's coming to Saturday's performance."

"Bring her around here beforehand. You two are more than welcome to stay here."

"Thanks, but we'd like a little...privacy."

"Say no more," I said smiling.

"She's really, really cute," said Nick.

"Shut up, Nick," said Howie.

We watched a midnight re-run of 'The Simpsons' and then went to bed. I was very tense about how big this had suddenly gotten. I was also concerned about causing trouble with Kevin's career and the BSB.

"What's wrong, Josh? You're really tense," Kevin said.

I explained why.

"Don't worry about it. It'll work out fine."

"If you say so..."

"I do. Besides, it wouldn't be the end of BSB if I was outed. I mean, half our fans are gay. We'd probably get even bigger if they knew I was gay," Kevin joked.

"I'll try to relax."

"Roll over on your stomach," Kevin ordered. I did. He sat across by butt and started massaging my shoulders and back.

"How's that?" Kevin asked.

"Hmmm. Feels great," I groaned as his hands kneaded my tense muscles. Sometime later I fell asleep. Kevin stopped and lay down beside me, holding me close and trying to convince himself that what he said before was possible.

Opening day! Finally this moment had come. I awoke as soon as the radio turned on. So much to do today before we opened at 7pm. Not the least of which was to prepare the kids for MTV being there and the possibility of them interviewing them. I disentangled myself from Kevin, gave him a kiss on the forehead and pulled on some clothes. I walked down to David's apartment and knocked on the door. A minute later the door opened.

"Mornin' boss. What's up?" David asked.

"Can you get the kids together for a meeting in the garden at 9?" I asked him.

"Sure. What's the meeting about?"

"They need to know that MTV and the press will be here. We should prepare them for how big this has suddenly become."

"Its the same size it was, Josh." David smirked trying to calm me down.

"You know what I mean. What was a club opening is now a media event. I wasn't prepared for that."

"I know. Just try to relax a bit, will ya? You're going to make the kids nervous."

"Right. Maybe you should talk to them."

"Not a problem. I'll take care of it."

"Do Ryan & Tina know about MTV yet?"

"No. They were asleep when I came down. Want me to tell them too?"

"Thanks," I forced a smile and gave David a quick hug before running back upstairs. I grabbed the baguettes from in front of the door and dropped them on the dining room table. Kevin was in the kitchen watching the coffee pot.

"Mornin'," Kevin said and gave me a kiss.

"Mornin'." I kissed him back, pulled down a coffee cup and joined him staring at the coffee pot. Finally it was finished and we both dove for the first cup. I won, but poured Kevin's cup first.

"You're still tense, aren't you?" Kevin asked.

"How can you tell?" I forced a laugh.

Kevin set down his coffee cup and started massaging my shoulders. "Relax!" he ordered.

"I'll relax after the show tonight."

"No. You'll do it now." He stopped massaging my shoulders, wrapped his arms around me and held me tight. I started to calm down a bit. He didn't let go and just held me tight with his chin on my shoulder.

Brian walked into the kitchen, pushed us out of the way and filled his coffee cup. After a gulp he turned to look at us.

"Mornin'. What's up with you two?" Brian asked.

"Josh has the pre-media-circus jitters," Kevin said somewhat jokingly.

Brian looked at me seriously. "Don't worry about anything, Josh. It doesn't help and just makes you sick. We know how to handle the media."

"Thanks," I said noncommittally.

Brian put down his coffee and grinned widely as he wrapped his arms around me and Kevin and squeezed all of us in a big bear hug. I gasped for air and couldn't help laughing. Brian released us.

"Better?" he said with a smile.

"Yea. Thanks Brian."

"Thanks coz," Kevin said.

"No prob," Brian said casually as he took his coffee into the dining room.

We joined him and ate breakfast. The phone started ringing as the rest of the BSB guys walked in. It was the security service verifying that I needed five more people and confirming all the details. I no sooner had hung up when the phone rang again. I sighed and answered it.

"May I speak with Joshua Matthews, please," a woman's voice said.

"This is."

"My name is Andrea Johnson. I'm with MTV."

"Yes..." I waved Kevin over to the phone to listen. The other guys came too.

"We'd like to set up an interview with you, the Backstreet Boys and some of the kids from Home tonight before the show."

I covered the phone with my hand and looked at the guys around me. They all nodded. "What time?" I said back into the phone.

"Is 6 okay?" she asked.

I looked back out to the guys. They nodded again.

"Six will be fine. We'll be at the club," I said.

"Actually, we'd like to have the interview at Home," she interjected.

I thought a moment. "No. I'd prefer not."

"May I ask why?"

"This is a home and I want it to stay that way," I said firmly.

"Okay," she said hearing the resolve in my voice. "6pm at the club. Thank you."

"Alright. Bye."

We hung up. The guys cheered.

"Way to go Josh!" Nick yelled.

"What?"

Brian smiled and said, "You handled them like a pro." And patted me on the back.

"Yea, right." I said incredulously.

We finished our breakfast. As we were cleaning up Kevin's cell phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Kevin?"

"Yea. Who is this?"

"Hey man, its Carson!"

Kevin rolled his eyes and whispered who it was to everyone. They all started laughing. Kevin hushed them. I just stood there confused.

"Kevin... you still there?!" we could hear Carson yelling from the phone.

"Yea, I'm here. What's up, Carson?"

"I'm gonna be interviewing you guys tonight with some kids and some guy named Joshua."

"Great," Kevin said in a fake voice.

They talked for a few more minutes before Kevin could get him off and turned off the phone.

"So what's the deal with Carson?" I asked now that he was off the phone.

"Guess." said Brian.

"Uh...I don't know... He seems a bit of a dork on TV..." I ventured.

"Bingo!" yelled AJ.

"Give that man a prize!" joked Nick.

Kevin jumped in to defend Carson. "Come on guys, he's not that bad. He's just a bit annoying and doesn't know when to shut up," he said to me.

"Great," I said not unlike Kevin had earlier. The rest of the guys laughed at me.

We finished cleaning up and went downstairs. The kids that were helping run the show were waiting for us. We headed to the theater.

As we got closer we noticed about 20 kids and a few adults waiting to get tickets. They didn't notice us until we were almost to the doors. Then all hell broke loose as the screams started and we were quickly surrounded. The guys did their "greet the fans" act and after about 15 minutes of ushering them toward to door, we got inside. I was thankful that I had a few security guys coming at noon. It was only 9:30 and there would undoubtedly be quite a few more kids waiting in line before doors opened in nine hours.

I didn't like the idea of them waiting out there all day, but there wasn't much I could do about it. Billy turned on the sound system while I called Tina and asked her to find someplace that could make 200 sandwiches by noon. When she asked why I told her about all the kids already waiting and I didn't want them to not eat all day for fear they would lose their place in line. She laughed at me and called me an "old softy." I agreed with her and said to have 30 sandwiches brought in and distribute the rest with bottles of water to people waiting in line. I hung up and joined everyone in the theater.

Billy had one of the guy's songs playing and they were up on stage going through the choreography. I grabbed Jon, a 16 year old from the third family, and headed up to the spotlight -- turning on the dimmer packs on the way. I showed him how to use the spotlight and the headset and left him with my notes on when to use the spot during the show.

They had gotten through three songs before I had to interrupt them to set the lights. AJ helped me pull out the A-frame ladder. If we had to change the lighting often I would have bought a Genie instead of having to climb up and down the ladder. I grabbed a wrench and headed up to focus the first light. Matt, who was running lights, brought up the level. I did the focus, dropped in the gel and down the ladder to the next light. There weren't many lights, so we were finished in about an hour. Another hour of programming in the scenes and we were almost ready. Billy had mics on all the guys and I helped him set the gain and ring out the system. We went over the order of the show and it was time for lunch -- the caterer was pounding on the front door.

I took the sandwiches for our lunch and told him to distribute the rest to the crowd -- which had now grown to about a hundred. Three security guys showed up at the same time. I quickly showed them around and then joined everyone in the theater with the sandwiches. One of the guards stayed inside and the other two stayed out.

The sandwiches quickly disappeared and it was time to start the rehearsal. I set the initial levels, but let Billy man the board. We ran the show as a Q2Q and then the full thing. It went smoother than I could have hoped and we were done by four.

David soon showed up with clothes, towels and toiletries for the dressing room.

"Thought you guys could use these. You're not gonna get out of here easily. You know there's probably 200 kids outside?" David said.

"A hundred more and we'll be full," I joked.

We headed down to the dressing room and got cleaned up and changed. Only AJ was still in the shower when MTV got there at 5:30. Security informed me of their arrival and wanted to know if he should let them in. I briefly considered telling him to leave them outside, but told him to let them in and take them to the theater. David had picked the kids to be in the interview and they were waiting in the theater talking to Carson when the BSB guys and I came up.

The cameras were already running. Carson jumped up and came over to greet us.

"Hey guys!" he said as he shook everyone's hand.

The guys went into "performance mode." We sat down and the questions started. How did the guys get involved with this place, etc. No hard hitting journalism going on here. I started to relax. Carson then asked Pedro what he thought about the guys. His answer shot my tension right back up.

"My two dads and four big brothers," Pedro said with a smile.

"What do you mean, your "two dads?" Carson asked.

Kevin didn't flinch. God, he was good. I don't think I flinched, but I was about to crack in half from the tension.

"Kevin and Josh. Kevin is like the dad for Backstreet Boys and Josh is like the dad for Home. Two dads," he explained like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Okay," Carson said like he felt stupid for not understanding in the first place.

I relaxed again. The interview continued for another ten minutes and Carson chatted away until the camera crew was ready to head outside. I understood completely what they were saying about him not knowing when to shut up. The whole interview wasn't as bad as I'd feared, but I was ready for it to be over. I excused myself when I saw the rest of security enter. The producer was trying to pull Carson outside and my departure provided the break he needed to physically remove Carson.

I showed security around the building, gave them their assignments and rejoined the guys in the theater.

"Okay, guys," I sighed. "You ready for the doors to open?"

"We're ready. Open 'em up," said Howie.

"Okay. Head downstairs and I'll open the doors."

"We're gonna stay up here for a while," said Brian.

"Fine. Your funeral," I laughed as I went to open the box office.

The guards were in place and Carson was talking with the crowd. I opened the window of the box office and started selling tickets. Actually I was just selling admission. Instead of tickets I used a rubber stamp of a fermata to stamp the back of their hands. After stamping about 20 hands I felt a hand on my back. I turned around to see Kevin. The kids outside saw this too and started screaming. Kevin smiled and took over stamping hands while I handled the money and kept count. The kids held their hands like they had been blessed. It was kinda funny. I snickered and Kevin jabbed me in the ribs. All to soon we were full. There was still quite a long line. I closed the window.

Kevin immediately went outside with two security guards.

"Sorry kids! We're all full for tonight! There's another show tomorrow and Sunday!" he yelled.

There were all sorts of screams of love and so forth as Kevin made his way back inside. The crowd outside slowly dispersed. Inside, however, the crowd was all in the theater around the rest of the BSB. Billy was playing CDs. Howie and AJ were up dancing with some kids while Nick and Brian were sitting at a table talking to a large group. Kevin joined Brian and Nick, while I made my rounds to make sure everything was running okay. No problems.

Around 7:30, Kevin pulled the guys out of the crowd and down to the dressing room. The kids were so excited that they had just spent some time with the BSB that the energy in the room got even higher after they left, and I'm sure the rush for soda that Nick and Susan were selling at the bar didn't hurt. I could hear them telling stories about how so-and-so would just die when they found out...etc.

Pedro was the stage manager and had the guys in place at five 'til eight. Billy stopped the music and Matt turned down the lights. Only the cyc remained lit. A hush spread through the crowd as they waited in anticipation for something to happen. Matt slowly brought down the level of the cyc until it was just a faint blue glow in an otherwise dark theater. Pedro cued us to turn up the mics. Nick's voice boomed throughout the theater.

"You guys still there?" he asked.

The crowd screamed a resounding "YES!"

"You sure?" Nick asked again. Again the same response.

"Okay. Just checkin'!"

The crowd laughed and started chanting for them.

That was the cue. The lights went completely out. The theater was pitch black as the guys got to their places. Pedro cued they were in place and we started the opening song. The screams got louder. I was wishing for ear plugs. On cue, the spotlight picked up Brian up-center. When the other guys joined in the rest of the stage lights shot up. The audience went wild -- uh, wilder is more correct. I was glad I never considered security for a career option.

The show progressed. I was pretty impressed. They were great performers. This is the first time I'd seen them with an audience. They knew what they were doing. I was also very proud of how well my kids on the crew were doing. Two hours later the show was over. The guys went to their dressing room first to towel off and change, and then rejoined the audience. I was starting to believe they were masochists.

At 11, I sent them to their dressing room so we'd have a chance of clearing the house by midnight. They said their 'good byes' to the crowd and disappeared behind security. About half of the crowd left immediately. Most of them took a copy of the flyer by the door with Fermata's hours and details. The rest had to be shooed out at midnight. I sent most of security out to make sure everyone cleared out okay. There was still a sizeable crowd outside talking. The guys came upstairs and everyone helped clean up. By 1am the limo had arrived and we were ready to go. The BSB guys left in the limo. Only a small crowd was still there waiting to see them leave. The rest of us walked Home. The kids were hyper and ran to tell the kids who couldn't be there tonight how it went and what to expect tomorrow. I went straight to my truck to pick up the guys.

They were waiting on the loading dock of the hotel, minus Howie, when I got there. They got in quickly and we were off.

"So?" Kevin asked.

"It was a good time," I answered and tried, unsuccessfully, not to smile.

"Told you everything would be fine."

"I'm glad you were right," I conceded.

"Kevin's always right! Just ask him," Nick yelled from the back.

"Shut up, Nickolas!" was his answer.

"Yes, dad!" Nick yelled back. Everyone laughed.

The kids were waiting for us in the garden when we got back. They ambushed us and soaked us with the garden hose. After we overtook the hose and got most of them wet as well I sent them to bed. It was 2:30am! I made sure they all got inside and we went in. Brian stayed back with David. They were sitting on the grass talking.

Nick and AJ said good night and went to their apartment. Kevin and I hopped in the shower. As we were heading back to our room I heard someone pounding on the door. I opened it to find David standing there with tears in his eyes.

"What's wrong, David?" I asked.

"Is Brian here?"

"I thought he was with you..."

"He was, but he ran."

"Why did he run?"

David looked me straight in the eye. "I kissed him."

"Oh," was all I could say.

"So is he here? We need to talk."

I ushered David in and went to Brian's room. It was empty.

"Have you checked anyplace else?" I asked.

"No. I came here first."

"We'll help you find him," Kevin stated. "Just let us put some clothes on first."

"What? Oh..." David said as he just noticed Kevin and I were naked. I noticed as soon as he noticed. "I'll...uh...start checking downstairs," and he left quickly.

Kevin was in hyper-drive 'dad' mode. He was dressed and out the door before I had my shirt on. As I was walking out I noticed the door to the roof was open. I started to close it, but stopped and decided to check the roof.

I found Brian sitting against a side wall with his face buried in his hands and crying.

I sat down beside him. He didn't notice me.

"Hey," I said softly.

Brian jumped and looked at me.

"Hey," he said sadly.

"David is looking for you. You got him worried when you ran."

"So you know, huh?"

"Just that he kissed you and you ran."

"No. I kissed him first."

"And then you ran..."

"Yea. I ran."

"For any particular reason, or did you just feel you needed the exercise?" I smiled.

Brian let out a chuckle, was silent for a moment, and then said, "Remember that thing we didn't talk about?"

"Yea."

"That."

I thought for a moment. "Are you attracted to David?"

"Very," Brian whispered.

"Do you want to rip his clothes off and jump his bones every time you see him?" I said smiling.

Brian chuckled again. "Sometimes. But its not just lust, if that's what you're getting at."

"So you have given it a little thought..."

"I've thought about little else since I met David."

"So what's the problem? You like him... He likes you..."

"I can't be gay. That's the problem!" Brian almost yelled.

"Why not?"

"Are you kidding?! My family would freak, not to mention I'd be kicked out of church and probably burned at the stake."

"God exists without the church, Brian. You don't have to be in a church for your beliefs to have validity. There are also other churches that don't worry about what your sexual orientation is."

"Maybe, but what about my family?"

"Do they accept Kevin?"

"Grudgingly."

"Do they want you to be happy?"

"They say they do..."

"Then I'm sure they could get over you being gay if it makes you happy."

"I'm not sure if it will make me happy."

"Does David make you happy?"

"Yes. Yes, he does," Brian said, almost to himself.

Kevin had been standing a few feet away listening. He caught about half of the conversation. Brian jumped up when he noticed Kevin. He looked like he was going to run. Kevin walked right up to him and pulled him into a hug. Brian broke down and started crying again, clutching onto Kevin.

"Can you give us a minute alone, Josh?" Kevin asked.

"I'll be downstairs." I got up and went to find David.

David was walking up the steps to my apartment when I found him.

"I can't find him anywhere," he said.

"We found him."

"Where?" David said anxiously.

"He's on the roof talking with Kevin."

"I need to talk with him," he said trying to rush past me.

I stopped him. "I know. They'll be down soon. Come on in and have a seat."

"Thanks. Do you know what's wrong?" David asked.

"First time," I stated.

"Oh." David sat silent as he thought about my answer.

About fifteen minutes later, Kevin and Brian came downstairs. Brian froze at the bottom of the steps as he saw David. Kevin walked over to me and David walked straight up to Brian. They were both silent and stared at each other.

Kevin finally prodded them. "Don't you guys have something to talk about?"

"Yea. We need to talk," Brian struggled out.

"Why don't you guys go up on the roof so you can have some privacy?" I suggested.

They disappeared up the stairs. Kevin pulled me close and kissed me.

"You knew, didn't you?" he asked.

"Mostly, but not exactly."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Brian needed to tell you himself. He couldn't even say the words when I talked to him about it."

"I suppose."

"Definitely. You wouldn't want me to tell Brian that you were gay if he didn't know already, would you?"

"Probably not."

"Then stop protesting," I kissed him to seal the conversation.

We sat down on the sofa to wait for their return. If one of them came running down we'd at least know where they were running to.

"So any other secrets you haven't told me? Anyone else in the group gay?" Kevin joked.

"Nope. As far as I know the rest are straight as an arrow."

"Good. I don't want us to be the next Village People!" Kevin laughed out.

"I don't want that either," I said and also laughed.

I turned on the TV and found an old movie. Kevin and I snuggled on the sofa and watched it as we waited. I drifted in and out of sleep. At six I wondered if they had come down while I was napping. Kevin was asleep. I got up to check Brian's room. Empty. I went up to the roof. Brian and David were sitting on the bench kissing. I didn't interrupt them. I started down the steps as Kevin was starting up.

"They still there?" he asked.

"Yup," I said with a smile.

"What are they doing?"

"Kissing."

"Then our work is done," Kevin smiled. "Lets go to bed."

"My thoughts, exactly."

We went into our bedroom, dropped our clothes, spooned together and were sound asleep in minutes.

I woke up at noon to Kevin's hand softly brushing across my chest. He was up on one arm watching me sleep. I smiled as I opened my eyes and gave him a quick kiss.

"Whatcha thinkin' about?" I asked.

"Stuff."

"Care to be more specific?"

"Nope," he smiled mischievously.

"I hate it when you do that."

"I know."

"Its nothing bad, is it?"

"Probably not."

I wasn't getting anywhere with this. We heard laughter coming from the living room and our names being called. We pulled on some clothes and went out.

Nick and AJ were watching our interview from the night before on MTV. I tried to walk back into the bedroom but was pulled down and forced to watch.

"Where's Brian?" AJ asked.

Kevin and I looked at each other. We had seen that Brian's bedroom door was open when we left our bedroom. We were both thinking, 'they couldn't still be up on the roof...could they...?' We both jumped up and raced to the roof. They weren't there.

I looked at Kevin. "Do you think they..."

"Brian? Never." Kevin quickly answered.

"I don't know... They were kissing pretty hot and heavy when I saw them at six."

"He's done that with girls too, but no sex."

I gave Kevin a stupid look. He understood immediately why his argument had no validity.

"Let's check David's apartment," I said.

We went down to David's apartment. Nick tried to follow us, but Kevin gave him a firm 'no.' I knocked on the door. Nothing. I knocked again, harder. We were about to check someplace else when the door opened. David stood there in a pair of shorts. We had obviously woken him up.

"Yea," David groaned.

"Is Brian with you?" Kevin asked.

"Yea. Come on in. I'll get him." David let us in and started to walk back to his bedroom.

I stopped him. "Is everything okay with you two?" I asked.

He smiled. "I think so."

"Good."

David disappeared into his bedroom. A few minutes later Brian came out dressed in shorts and a t-shirt with a sheepish grin on his face.

"Mornin' coz, Josh."

"Afternoon," I corrected.

"Oh yea..."

"Everything cool?" Kevin asked.

Brian looked over to David and said, "Yea. It is."

"So did you two..." Kevin hinted.

"Oh no! We just slept..." Brian said quickly. "...and kissed a little..." He added with that silly just-in-love grin.

"So you're a couple now?" I asked.

David sat down beside Brian, took his hand in his, and they both nodded.

"I'm happy for you," I said as I got up and gave them both a hug.

"I'm happy for ya too, coz," Kevin said as he bear hugged Brian.

"Not to break the mood, but what are you going to tell the guys, Brian?" I asked.

"The truth," he said without hesitation. "I don't want to have to hide it around them."

David put on a shirt and we went upstairs.

"What's going on?" Nick said as we walked in the door. "Brian come out of the closet?" he joked.

In spite of ourselves, Kevin and I busted up laughing. Brian gave us a dirty look. Nick and AJ were just confused, but laughed a little. They didn't think what Nick had said was funny enough to cause me and Kevin to laugh as we were.

Brian grabbed David's hand and said, "Yes."

The room got very quiet for a moment. Then Nick jumped up, "I'm gay too!"

"What!?" just about everyone in the room said.

"Just kidding!" he laughed. "Come here..." Nick said walking over to Brian and pulling him into a hug and added, "...you big powder puff."

We laughed. Brian wrestled Nick to the floor and sat on his chest.

"This 'big powder puff' can still kick your butt, baby Nicky," he said with a grin.

"Oh yea, baby! Do it to me, baby!" Nick started squirming around and acting like a bimbo in a cheap porn video. Brian turned to look David.

"A little help, please," Brian said.

David grabbed Nick's hands and held them above his head. Kevin sat down to hold Nick's feet still.

Nick got quiet and a look of terror crossed his face. "You wouldn't..." he said as Brian moved his hands towards Nick's ribs.

Brian not only would, but did. He started tickling Nick. Nick tried to thrash about to break free, but was held down firmly by David and Kevin. Brian paused for a moment to let Nick catch his breath.

"Come on straight guys in the room! Help your brother!" Nick yelled.

"I think you deserve it," AJ said with a smile.

Brian started tickling again and kept it up until Nick threatened he was about to piss his pants. Brian stood behind me, and Kevin and David let Nick go. He ran straight to the bathroom.

Brian and David sat down to fill in AJ, and soon Nick, while I made some coffee and a salad. Kevin joined me a few minutes later and set the table. The six of us squeezed around the table and had a pleasant late breakfast/lunch.

After lunch Nick and AJ went to the computer lab to play in a Quake challenge they had accepted from the kids in the 6th family. Brian and David went back to David's apartment and Kevin and I got in the shower.

"That went well," Kevin said as he was washing my back.

"I don't think it could have been any easier," I agreed.

We took our time showering and went back to our room. I sat down on the bed and pulled Kevin to me into a kiss. After a few minutes I lay back completely and pulled him on top of me. We continued kissing. Our rapidly rising cocks pressed against each other. I moved my hands down his back to his butt and kneaded his ass cheeks and I pulled him tighter to me. Kevin pulled away and got off the bed.

"What?" I said confused.

"I really want to, Josh, but not before a show."

"Why not?"

Kevin smiled. "Because you drain me to much. I wouldn't give a good performance."

I sighed. "What about after?" I said hopefully.

Now Kevin grinned from ear to ear. "Just try to stop me."

"Okay...so what do you want to do for the next three hours?"

"Well...Nick tells me you play piano pretty well. I'd like to hear you."

"Nick is prone to exaggeration," I replied.

"Why haven't you ever played for me?" Kevin asked.

"No reason in particular. We just always seem to be doing something else."

"We're not now..."

"Okay, okay. But I'm warning you not to expect much."

"Stop cutting yourself down."

"I'm just warning you. I like what I play, but its a bit odd and free-form. Not noise, but not as structured as most music."

"Let me be the judge of that," Kevin said as he pulled me off the bed. "Now get dressed and let's go over to the music studio."

We got dressed and went over to the studio. I sat down at a piano and Kevin sat down beside me.

"Sorry, Vin. I use the whole keyboard. You can't sit next to me unless you want to get hit."

"Okay." Kevin stood up and looked around, finally settling for a sofa on the wall behind me. "Play!" he commanded.

I turned to give him a dirty look. He just raised his eye-brows and repeated, "Play."

I turned back to the piano and paused a moment. I lay my hand on the keys dramatically, and started playing 'Chop-Stiks.' I was promptly hit in the back of the head with a pillow from the sofa. I burst out laughing. Kevin laughed too.

"Now for real this time," he said.

I paused to collect my thoughts, and then burst out laughing, and then paused again. Finally I calmed down. The room was very quiet. I closed my eyes and lay my hands back on the keyboard. I started playing. It was light and playful at first, but got really heavy and bounced around from there. I completely forgot about Kevin and got into the playing. I hadn't had the chance to play at all the past two weeks and I realized how much I needed it. No thought. No planning. Just feeling.

I started a quick staccato of heavy chords that then retarded into fewer and fewer notes until just one note beating slowly by itself. I felt someone's hand on my shoulder and jumped. I wasn't finished, but now I was.

"That was incredible, Josh," Kevin said softly.

"Thanks. So you liked it?"

"I loved it! What was that piece? I've never heard it before?"

"Its just improv, Kevin. No big deal," I said incredulously.

"You're kidding, right?"

"No."

"Even that part about a half-hour ago when you were..."

"A half-hour ago?!" I interrupted.

"Yea. You've been playing for two hours."

"Shit. Sorry, I always lose track of time when I'm playing."

"No need to apologize. Can you play that again for the guys sometime?"

"I can't," I answered.

"Why not? Nick has already heard you play and I just heard you..."

"Its not that I don't want to, Vin. I honestly can't. I don't remember it."

"Huh? That was great. How can you not remember it?" Kevin said thinking I was feeding him a load of manure.

"That's why I don't consider myself a good pianist: I don't remember things very well when I'm playing. Its not a conscious thought pattern. It just happens."

"Weird."

"Yes, it is. I can play all the pieces in Bach's "Well Tempered Clavier," if you put the music in front of me. Even though I've played it a hundred times I could only play maybe the first few bars before I forget what comes next if you asked me to play it from memory."

"How do you produce if you can't remember music?" Kevin inquired.

"I remember music very well, just not while I'm playing. If its something that I want or need to remember, then I have to record it and play it back to transcribe it. It only happens with piano, though."

"Only with piano? What other instrument do you play?"

"Just guitar and vocals," I answered.

"Vocals..."

"Before you say it: No. My voice sucks for pop music. I can do classical styles okay and opera is fun. Okay, and sometimes some Bob Dylan if you get me drunk and give me a guitar, but that's it," I said with a smirk.

"Opera is not fun," Kevin corrected.

"Singing it is. Watching is kinda boring, I admit. But singing it feels really good. I haven't done it since college, though."

"Why not?"

"I couldn't put on enough weight to sing professionally," I joked. We both laughed. I looked at the clock. "We really need to get going."

"Yea, and you need another shower," he said pointing to my sweat soaked shirt.

"Oh. Yea, that always happens. Better than a workout."

We got up and walked back to the apartment. Kevin kissed me on the cheek as we were walking down the stairs.

"Thanks...for playing for me," he said.

"You're welcome," I said and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. "Just don't try to pull me up on stage or the Backstreet Boys will be looking for a new member," I threatened.

Kevin put his hands in front of his crotch. "What are you going to do with my 'member'?" he asked in mock terror.

"Fuck you," I smirked.

"Its not long enough for that. You'll just have to do it yourself."

"Gladly..." I said and pinned him to the wall with a long, deep kiss. I pushed away and added, "AFTER the show," and walked out into the garden with a smile on my face, leaving Kevin trying to catch his breath.

Kevin caught up with me a few seconds later and swatted me on the butt. I just put my arm around his waist and we continued our way to our apartment. We decided against showering together because of the lack of time and how horney we both were. By the time we got dressed and gathered everyone, it was just about five. Five security guards were waiting for us when we got downstairs.

We walked to the theater and around to the backstage door. I'm surprised they didn't get caught, but I guess the 200 or so kids were expecting a limo. The guys did their warm-ups while I restocked the bar. The kids on crew turned everything on and were doing pre-show checks as I had taught them.

The BSB guys were doing their vocal warm-ups. I sang the scales with them as I filled the coolers. Just to mess with them I would occasionally yell out that they were flat and sing out the correct pitch. Well, the first time I did it they were flat, the other times were just for fun.

Finally Nick yelled out, "We are not flat!"

"Okay. If you say so..." I said trying to sound serious.

"Then you sing it!" Nick demanded.

"I don't know your songs."

"Then sing something else...or can't you sing?" Nick said with a smirk.

I looked him straight in the eye, cleared my throat, and started singing Schubert's, "Dedication," in full classical voice. "Oh, thank me not for songs I sing thee..."

Nick's jaw dropped. Actually, they all looked shocked. I finished the short song, still looking him in the eye, and said with a straight face, "Anything else?"

"No," Nick said quietly.

I busted up laughing. Everyone else, but Nick, laughed and slapped him on the back.

Still laughing, I said, "Take it easy, Nick. You guys were only flat the first time I interrupted. The rest was just for fun."

"So you CAN sing," Nick stated more than questioned.

"Only classical styles, and you know how I dance, so stop worrying about being replaced," I joked.

"Like you could," Nick shot back.

I let them get back to their warm-ups and didn't interrupt anymore.

It was a little after six when a limo pulled up outside. I saw this as I was walking by the front doors. I had no idea who it could be. Security cleared a path and escorted a very cute blond girl to the door. I knew it had to be Arna. I let her in.

"Arna?" I asked.

"Yes. And you would be Josh, right?"

"That's me. Nice to finally meet you." We shook hands.

"You too."

"Come with me. Howie's in here," I said and guided her to the theater.

They had just finished warm-ups and were about to head downstairs.

"Hey Howie!" I yelled. "Look who I found!"

As soon as he saw Arna he ran to greet her. I left them and ran around to make sure everything was in its place and ready. The guys got changed and were ready in theater when I opened the doors. Once again, Kevin stamped hands while I took money.

As we were working the box office, one of the security guards tapped me on the shoulder.

"There's someone trying to get in named James. Says he knows you," he said.

I looked out the side window of the box office to see James waving.

"Yea. Let him in," I told the guard.

A minute later the box office door opened again and James stuck his head in.

"Hey 'my two dads!'" James yelled.

"Hey, college boy," said Kevin.

"Hey, James. I guess you saw the interview..." I said while still working the box office.

James smirked. "Taped it too!"

I groaned. "We'll talk later."

"Gotcha. We'll be around. Any place for us to stay tonight at Home?"

"Us?"

"Yea, my roommate and I. He drove."

"You should probably talk to Nick or AJ about staying in their apartment."

"What about Howie?"

"Girlfriend."

"Understood. See ya 'round."

The show went without a hitch and, after the bait and switch, we were back at Home by 2am. Nick and AJ went back to their apartment. James and his roommate were hanging out with James' 'brothers.' Brian went to David's and Kevin and I had the place to ourselves. I locked the door behind us.

Kevin started for the bedroom. I started pulling his clothes off him as he walked. He was giggling and his pants and boxers dropped to the floor as we reached the bed. He stepped out of them. His body was glistening with sweat from the performance. He turned around and sat on the bed. I was standing in front of him.

"Something's wrong here," he said with a grin.

"I don't know. Everything I see looks pretty good to me," I hinted.

"You're way over dressed."

"Hmmm. You're right. I guess you'll have to fix that."

"Love to," he said as undressed me.

"That's better," Kevin said when I was as naked as he. "Shower time!"

We washed slowly. Erotically. The slickness of our soapy bodies as we touched, massaged and rubbed every inch... It was 3am by the time we got out and made our way to our bedroom.

I lay down on the bed and pulled Kevin on top of me. We kissed passionately as our bodies ground into each other. I moved from his delicious lips to his neck. Pushing him further up, I moved down his body -- licking and sucking everything along the way. By the time I got to his cock he was almost dribbling precum. Before I got the chance to take him in my mouth, Kevin pulled down and gave me the same treatment, but starting at my feet. He sucked and licked at my balls, but bypassed my cock and continued his way up. When he got back up to my lips I was fighting desperately not to cum. I guess he sensed this because he pulled back and started tickling me.

"Not yet," he laughed.

"Thanks, I needed that."

"I do believe that someone promised to fuck me tonight..." Kevin hinted.

"Me! Me!" I bounced and waved my hand.

"Well look. There's someone right here who seems to be ready," he joked.

"Yes!" I said eagerly.

"Are you sure you can handle it?"

"I'm willing to try, for the good of the country," I said in mock seriousness.

We couldn't keep the banter up and busted up laughing.

Kevin grabbed a condom and rolled it down my cock. He straddled my chest and I sucked on his cock while he rubbed lube over the condom and into his ass. He pulled himself out of my mouth as he moved back and sat down on my cock slowly. We just held that way for a minute or two. I pushed myself up into a sitting position and Kevin hooked his legs around my back. I really love this position. Just the motion of us kissing and a slight rocking was plenty of stimulation, without being to much stimulation. Eventually, though, I couldn't stand it anymore. I started bouncing harder. Kevin flexed his ass and I pulled him tight as I came. It was so intense I was disoriented for a minute. Kevin was still bouncing and his precum lubed cock rubbed hotly against our stomachs. Only a minute after me, he squeezed me tight as his cum shot between our chests. He was shaking as his orgasm took control of his body.

"I love you," I whispered into his ear as he came. We held like that for a few minutes until we were breathing normally.

We kissed and then disentangled ourselves and started for the bathroom. Kevin stumbled as he got off the bed and fell back down. I laughed.

"See what you do to me? I can't even walk straight!" Kevin laughed.

We helped each other off the bed and stumbled into the bathroom to clean up. We went back to bed, snuggled and fell asleep. I did remember to unlock the door so we could be woken up. It was just about 5am.

The Sunday show was at 2, which meant we had to be at the theater by 11:30. At 10 I awoke to a strange feeling. Kevin must have grown another hand. He was wrapped around me as usual: one arm and one leg draped across me. I was feeling, however, a hand rubbing my chest where Kevin's wasn't. I still hadn't opened my eyes and was still in that half-dream/half-sleep state. I felt a face get close to mine.

"Wake up, sweetie," someone whispered into my ear.

I opened my eyes and squinted to see Nick inches from my face with a big stupid grin. He started laughing.

Numerous thoughts crossed my mind very quickly as to what I could do to him. With my free arm, I pulled him into a headlock and flipped him over on the bed as I got up and sat on his chest, holding his hands above him. Needless to say I was not wearing any clothes.

"Mornin' Nicky, baby. Is this what you wanted?" I teased.

Nick's eyes grew wide as he noticed I was naked and on top of him.

"Kevin! Help me from your psychotic boyfriend!" Nick yelled.

Kevin, who had just barely woken up throughout this sat up and looked at the situation. After about a minute he said, "You're gonna need some lube, Josh."

I busted up laughing and fell off of Nick. Nick got off the bed quickly and looked at Kevin and me rolling around the bed, naked and laughing hysterically.

"You two suck!" Nick said sarcastically.

"Yep!" we both said at the same time and broke into laughter again.

"All I do is come in here to wake you sleeping asses up and I get this treatment," Nick said like he was offended.

"Nick," I said still laughing. "Next time you want to wake us up, try keeping your hands from fondling my nipples." Another laugh.

"But they're so much like a girl's nipples, I had to check," Nick said with a smirk.

"Nicky, Nicky, Nicky..." Kevin said shaking his head. "I think its time we had that talk. A woman's body is different than a little girl's..."

"Fuck you," Nick stated flatly. Kevin started to say something, but Nick cut him off. "Don't even go there."

"Fine."

"Now get your sorry asses out of bed. Its late," Nick said and walked out, closing the door behind him.

We got up and took a quick shower. After a cup of coffee and a quick breakfast, we gathered everyone and headed for the theater. Howie was sitting in the theater talking with Arna when we arrived.

Once again, the show went off without a hitch. We got Home at 8. They guy's flight was at 11. Howie took Arna to the airport to catch her plane at 9, and would just meet them there.

We ordered Chinese carry-out and gathered in my apartment.

"Okay, Kevin. What's this secret you've been waiting to tell me?" I asked.

Kevin looked around the table. The rest of the guys nodded. He paused for a moment. "We want to record our next album here and we want you to produce it."

Not what I was expecting. I sat there stunned.

"Well?" Kevin asked.

"Are you sure that would be a good idea? I mean, I've never produced dance music and I don't want to be your Yoko Ono..."

Kevin smiled. "You are not going to be my Yoko Ono. You know what pitch is, and you're much sexier. Besides, if we wanted this to be a typical dance album we'd just go to C&C."

"Planning on this being your 'White Album'?" I said, continuing the Beatles theme.

"What do you mean?" asked Brian.

"The 'White Album.' Beatles. You've familiar with it, aren't you?" I asked. I looked around the table to blank stares.

"Yea, I've heard of it, but the Beatles aren't my style," Brian said.

"I listen to music made this decade," smirked Nick.

I sighed. "The 'White Album' is one of the best albums of music ever recorded. It was so ahead of its time that their regular fans hated it when it came out. It wasn't until years later that it was seen as the masterpiece it is."

"I'll have one of those please, hold the regular fans hating it," Nick smirked.

"We don't expect it to be a 'White Album'." Kevin said. "We do want to expand our audience, though. We've written some new songs and we're starting to play our instruments on stage instead of just dancing and singing."

"What does your record company think about this?" I asked.

"I made them listen to some CDs you produced. They're good with it as long as it goes to their mastering engineer."

"I'll have to think about it."

"What's there to think about? You said you wanted to fix up the music studio and start recording again, plus, we get to be together for a few months straight."

"I wouldn't exactly say, 'straight'," joked Nick. He got a groan from everyone.

"So...?" Kevin hinted. Everyone stared at me, awaiting my reply.

"When?" I asked.

"As soon as we get back from Europe."

"You're going to Europe?!"

"Uh, guess I forgot to tell you about that. We're gonna be touring in Europe starting next week until November first."

"Yea. You did forget to mention that," I said bitterly.

"I'm sorry. You had the club opening on your mind, and..."

"Its okay. I understand."

I paused and looked around the table. "So you all want to record here and have me produce it?"

They all nodded.

"Okay," I said.

Kevin leaned over and gave me a kiss. "Thanks," he whispered. The other guys voice their approval. David and Brian held hands, but didn't kiss.

"I'll have the record company call you tomorrow to sort out the details," Kevin said.

"Can I get an itinerary of your Europe tour?" I asked.

"I'll email it to you tomorrow."

Throughout the rest of the meal the guys talked about where they would be in Europe. I was a bit depressed. I wouldn't see Kevin for a month-and-a-half. It wasn't long before it was time to go to the airport. We said our 'good byes' and they got on the plane and left -- not to return for a month-and-a-half.