Obligatory warnings and disclaimers:
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If reading this is in any way illegal where you are or at your age, or you don't want to read about male/male relationships, go away. You shouldn't be here.
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I don't know any of the celebrities in this story, and this story in no way is meant to imply anything about their sexualities, personalities, or anything else. This is a work of pure fiction.
Questions and commentary can be sent to "writerboy69@hotmail.com". I enjoy constructive criticism, praise, and rational discussion. I do not enjoy flames, and will not tolerate them.
Back to the story in progress.
Jack
Our meeting with Lisann went well. She had a lot of stuff to wrap up with us, but most of the basic issues had been taken care of. Bills had been paid, the top of the cake had been frozen and given to Chris to take home until we got back, and we had picked out the pictures that we wanted sent to the various magazines, fulfilling all our contracts. We would pick out our own pictures when we got back, but we needed to get the media taken care of quickly so that they would leave us alone. The guests were enjoying another day at the resort if they chose, and those that did not were being driven to the airport for their waiting planes today. Those that did stay would be flown out tomorrow, or they would drive themselves home, and Lisann had done a fabulous job of making sure everyone stayed active and had a good time.
"We just have one more thing to wrap up, and then the limousine is waiting to take you two to the airport," Lisann said, consulting her notes. As always, she was flawlessly poised, impeccably dressed, consulting a clipboard resting on her lap and checking things off smoothly with one of her ever present gold pencils. "Gifts and thank you notes."
"There weren't supposed to be any gifts," I sighed. "Not to sound ungrateful or anything, but you'd think people could read."
"They just want to show us they're happy for us," Josh said, laughing. "You have to look at the bright side, Jack. Look at all the stuff we got."
"I know, Josh," I sighed, looking at the four long tables piled high with presents. "And I appreciate the little gifts from people, the special stuff that I know is in there, but really, we don't need more stuff. We already have most of my things in storage, and just opening this and filling out the thank you cards is going to be a full time job."
Our guests had been instructed not to bring gifts. If they felt like they needed to do something, we had listed a set of charities that we would prefer donations be made to, like Justin's foundation, some things Josh supported, and a few gay and lesbian organizations that I thought could use the extra money. Most of the guests had done as we requested, but still people seemed to feel like they couldn't show up at a wedding without a present, so we were left with a virtual mountain of gifts.
"I had a suggestion to make about this, actually," Lisann began. We both waited for her to continue, but every once in a while she liked to take a pause and make sure she had our full attention. "I know that you will be out of town for two weeks, and I've been told that when you return, Joshua will be going back to work almost immediately. Jack, what are your plans, if you don't mind my asking?"
"Actually, when we get back I'm going to start looking for work, as well," I said, feeling Josh throw an arm around my shoulders again. When we were sitting side by side, his arm just naturally seemed to drift up there, and I liked it too much to ever shrug it off. "I've been given a clean bill of health, more or less, and I'll go stir crazy soon if I don't have something to do. Why?"
"Well, you're both going to be very busy, and yet there's all of this to take care of," Lisann said, gesturing at the tables. "I know neither one of you is the type to just let this stay undone, but it might be too large a task for the two of you to handle alone. I think perhaps that the two of you should hire an assistant to help with it."
"This can't possibly be my real life," I said, half joking, holding my face in my hands. "We have so many presents we have to hire someone to help us open them?"
Josh snickered and rubbed his hand in lazy circles around my back.
"Jack, you know what she means," he said calmly. "Stop being so melodramatic. I've actually been thinking that we might need an assistant for a couple weeks now. We're getting a lot of mail, addressed to both of us, and Johnny doesn't really like to have the studio staff open things that are addressed to you, since you're not under our contract. Maybe we could get a part time secretary, or something, to help us with stuff like that. And, you know, if you're going to be sending out resumes or whatever, you might need someone to help you stay on top of that."
"And it's not to help open the gifts," Lisann continued. "It's to help you with the thank you notes. You don't want people to think you don't appreciate their generosity, do you?"
"No, I guess," I said, shrugging. "It's just, you know, do we really need our own personal secretary?"
"Not a secretary," Lisann said. "An assistant. And it was just an idea."
"I think it's a good one," Josh said. "And like I said, I've been thinking about it for a while. There's all those people calling you for appearances, and all our fan mail, and now the wedding stuff. It doesn't have to be permanent. It's just that we're going to start rehearsals and stuff, and I won't be around as much as I have been. I don't want you to get buried under this stuff."
"OK, I guess," I said, seeing the wisdom in what Josh was saying. We were barely keeping up with our mail as it was, and we didn't answer most of it. We were still getting a lot of letters from people of all ages who supported Josh's decision to go public, and some of the stories they shared were so moving that we felt like we had to drop them a little note back. Adding thank you notes for six hundred guests, and trying to find a job at the same time, might possibly be a little more than I could handle. Maybe. "How do we go about hiring such a person?"
"We can do it when we get back," Josh said, kissing me on the cheek. "Lisann, why don't we have all the presents delivered to my house, and they can store them all in the garage? Justin has a key, and can let your staff in and supervise the unloading with you."
"Perfect," Lisann said, checking it off on her notepad. I guess that it was the last thing on there, because she smiled at us and stood. "Unless you two have any more questions, I think I should send you out to your driver. Your bags are already loaded, and it's time you got on with your honeymoon."
Josh crossed over and held out his arms for a hug. Lisann melted into them, blushing.
"Lisann, thank you so much," Josh said, stepping back so I could offer her a hug as well. "We wouldn't have been able to do any of this without you."
"Thanks for putting up with whining, and tantrums, and hysterical outbursts," I added, feeling oddly teary suddenly. Who gets choked up saying goodbye to their wedding planner?
"Thank you both for giving me the chance to be a part of this," she said, stepping back and smoothing her suit in one move. "And don't worry, I'll be in touch as soon as you get back."
Lisann waved us away as we climbed into the limousine, resting against each other in the plush backseat as we drove to the airport. All of our bags were in the trunk, and Josh yawned as he rested his head on my shoulder. I laughed, stroking his hair with my hand, and felt his breath fluttering out over my neck as his eyes slid closed.
"Tired?" I asked.
"A little," he answered, not opening his eyes as he nuzzled a little more tightly against me. "Mostly just happy."
"Me, too," I sighed.
The ride to the airport was short, and I was surprised to see someone else get out of the front of the limousine, along with the driver, as Josh handed me a hat and pulled on his hat and sunglasses. The little divider had been up the entire time, so I hadn't been able to see in, and now I was a little surprised to see a tall, unknown stranger with a carryon bag getting out with us. Josh held my hand, not seeming surprised, as the driver flagged down a skycap with a cart for our eight bags. I scooped out my carryon, and Josh grabbed his, but he still hadn't said anything about the other guy. I looked him over, taking in the broad shoulders and firm chest, and the way his eyes were darting around. He looked casual, more so than either of us, who were on the flashy club kid side of incognito.
"Josh?" I asked finally, and he turned toward me, squeezing my hand. "Who's our friend?"
"Oh, Jack, I totally forgot!" Josh said, smacking himself on the forehead. He turned to our mystery guest, motioning him to step closer. "Jack, this is Andrew. He's going to be our guard for the honeymoon."
"Hi," Andrew said, holding out his hand. I knew we had a bodyguard, since we never went anywhere without one anymore, but Josh hadn't mentioned it to me, and I was a little taken aback. "Pleased to meet you."
He seemed nice, but was also kind of intimidating. He had long straight blonde hair, kind of sandy, pulled behind his head into a ponytail. He was wearing a light jacket over his plain black t-shirt, and I wondered if we needed to let him know that nothing screamed "bodyguard" like all black, especially in warm weather. Under his shirt I could tell that he was built, and I knew that was supposed to make me feel safe, but when he shook my hand I saw a side holster and a handgun beneath his jacket.
"Oh my God!" I blurted, knowing my eyes were wide. "Are you allowed to bring that on the plane?"
"I have a special permit," he said, shrugging. His voice was hard to read, and for a second I got the feeling that he didn't like me, but then he smiled thinly. Maybe it was the best he could do. "Besides, I'm kind of hoping not to have to use it, you know?"
"Yeah, I guess," I said, squeezing Josh's hand. "Josh, can I, um, see you for a minute? Over there?"
"Sure," Josh said, his face uncertain. I tugged him over by a potted plant, noticing that Andrew was watching us. "I'm sorry I forgot to tell you, Jack."
"Josh, I'm not mad," I said quickly, leaning forward. He bent forward a little, too, so that our foreheads were touching, and I rested my hands on his shoulders as he put his on my chest. "I just, well, why not Hank? I mean, who the hell is this guy? I know the trip can't be just us, but I don't know this guy, Josh. I know he's supposed to make us feel safe, but I don't know him. I wish you had said something. I know it's because he's a stranger, but I just don't feel right, Josh."
Josh's eyes widened, blue and warm with their little flecks of green mixed in.
"Oh, God, baby," Josh said, his voice suddenly filled with concern. Sometimes I was nervous around strangers, and unknown people in my space, because of what had happened to me. "I'm sorry. Are you ok? Do you feel ok?"
"Yeah, I'm fine, I think," I said, feeling a little unsettled, but not dangerously so. "Don't worry about that."
"I should have thought about that, though," Josh said, his arms sliding around to hug me tightly. "I should have thought about how this might affect you, but I was all caught up with the wedding, and Justin, and Lance, and I just didn't think of it. I'm sorry, Jack, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to just spring him on you."
"Stop, Josh, please," I said, holding onto him, feeling his strong heart beating against me. "I don't want to start our trip like this, with apologies and fighting, especially over this. This isn't worth getting upset over. I'm sure he's a nice guy and all, and I'll get to know him, and everything will be ok. I mean, he's not Hank or Dom, but I'm sure he'll grow on me."
"Hank has a part on a soap, and Dom wanted to stay in LA," Josh said. "Andrew's from the same agency, though. If you really don't like him, I can get someone else. I just don't want us going to all of these different places without someone accompanying us."
"No, Josh, it's not that I don't like him," I said quickly. "I just don't know him, but I guess we have the whole trip to work on that. God only knows what he thinks of us already, standing over by a column to whisper to each other. What time is our flight, anyway?"
"Give me your hand," Josh said suddenly, holding his out. Confused, I gave him my hand, and he deftly unhooked my watch and pocketed it. "There."
"Hey!" I said, reaching for his pocket. He caught my hand in his, and then my other hand as I tried with that one. "Josh!"
"No watch for the rest of vacation, Jack," Josh said, pecking me quickly on the lips. "I don't want you worrying about anything, or checking the time, or anything else. This whole trip is up to me, and all you need to do is relax, and enjoy the ride. OK?"
"That's my watch, Josh," I protested, still feeling it on my wrist. I needed it. I was always the one who kept us on a schedule, or watched the clock. "You bought it for me."
"Josh giveth, and Josh taketh away," he said, smiling. "I told you, I'm not giving it back."
"I could always just check the time on my phone," I said, smiling back at him as he still held my hands. He brought one to his mouth, kissing the palm, and then the other, chuckling.
"Don't make me take that, too," he said. Josh let go of my hands and took my face in his long, soft fingers, tilting it up toward his. "I mean it. After the wedding and everything, you are to completely relax on this trip, and that's an order."
To reinforce his directive, Josh pressed his lips down to mine, their soft texture seeming to caress my lips as they brushed over me. He pressed his tongue into my mouth, dancing around my teeth and over my own tongue. I sighed, and he began to sigh against me as well, his fingers dancing along my jawline. My tongue pushed past his and into his own mouth, and he began to suck lightly at it, twirling his tongue around it. When we finally pulled apart, with a wet, sucking sound, there was a little spit on my lip, and Josh leaned down and licked it off. Right when he did we heard a camera go off.
"Shit," I whispered.
"Busted," Josh added.
Andrew appeared behind us as we turned and waved at the photographer. It looked to be a family of tourists, unless the paparazzi were having "Bring your family to work day", and they seemed rather harmless.
"We should get you guys inside," Andrew said, putting a hand on each of our shoulders. I shrugged it off, but he didn't seem to notice. "Before someone else recognizes you."
"Andrew, they're harmless," I said. "It's just some family that saw us and wanted to take our picture. I'm sure they don't mean any trouble."
"It's that kind of trusting thinking that got you in trouble the last time, isn't it?" Andrew asked, staring down at me. I stepped back, against Josh, my mouth dropping open.
"Andrew, calm down, please," Josh said, his arms around my shoulders. "Jack's right; it's just a family taking pictures. Andrew, you're right, too. If someone recognized us, someone else probably will soon, too, so we should probably get inside."
I stepped away and turned to stare at him as Andrew crossed his arms. Obviously neither one of us was happy with the compromise that both of us were right, and I couldn't believe Josh was going to let him speak so harshly to me.
"Josh!" I said sharply, feeling pissy suddenly.
"Look, guys," Josh began, looking from me to Andrew and back again. "It's obvious we all need a little time to get used to each other. Jack, Andrew's just trying to keep an eye on us for possible threats. We've gotten a lot of hate mail about the wedding, from people who, you know, don't like gay people, and I wanted someone who could handle any kind of stuff we might run into."
Andrew crossed his arms smugly, the butt of his gun peeking out again beneath his jacket. Josh was right about the mail, even though he tried to hide some of the worst ones from me. As much as we got a lot of letters and mail from people who said they supported us, we also got a lot of mail from people telling us what we were doing was wrong and unnatural. They might have been nothing, but you never knew what people might do, and I wasn't in a big hurry to get kidnapped again, or worse.
"Andrew, we want to be safe, but not smothered," Josh continued, turning to him. "That's why you're flying back in coach. We need protection, but we also need space. And for future reference, we don't talk about what happened to Jack, not like that, and not with strangers."
"I'm sorry," Andrew said to me, holding out his hand. "I'm just, you know, trying to do my job."
"It's ok," I said, taking his hand. His grip was so firm I thought he might be deliberately trying to snap the bones in my fingers, but I kept smiling as if I was completely comfortable. He was a big guy, and maybe he couldn't help having a viselike handshake.
"Clearly we all need a little time to get used to each other," Josh said, smiling as we shook hands. I was still trying to decide how I felt about Andrew, but Josh seemed ok with him, and I trusted his judgment of character. "Why don't we just chalk this up as, you know, getting off on the wrong foot a little, and go in and get ready to catch our plane."
"OK," I said, taking his hand.
"Sure," Andrew said, shrugging.
The three of us walked over to the cart piled high with our luggage, and the skycap followed us inside with it. Josh and I were just kind of meandering along, and Andrew was scanning the airport lobby, his eyes swinging side to side. He seemed good at his job, although I kept comparing him in my head to Hank and Dom. I didn't know Dom as well as I did Hank, but I considered both of them friends, and would rather have had either of them on the trip with us than some complete stranger. Hank hadn't even mentioned the part on the soap when I saw him at the wedding yesterday, and I made a mental note to send him a card.
"So, Andrew, where are you from?" I asked, my arm linked through Josh's as Josh picked through his bag for our tickets.
"I've been living in Los Angeles for about six years," he answered, making eye contact with me for a second before going back to his continuous scanning of the area around us.
"How about before you moved to LA?" I asked, remembering how everyone in Los Angeles joked that no one was actually from the city.
"Seattle," he answered. He definitely wasn't chatty, but maybe he was just shy. After all, how could he not want to talk to me? Everyone loved talking to me. Maybe he just wasn't comfortable yet.
"What brought you to LA?" I asked, watching as he pulled a leather packet out of his jacket. I assumed it was his pistol paperwork, which we would need to get through customs.
"I was in a band," he answered, smiling finally. "You know. Grunge rock, garage band, the whole thing. We were sure we were gonna be the next big thing, and I just got into the bodyguard thing to, you know, pay the bills."
"What happened with the band?" Josh asked, half listening. I knew if they were any good that Josh would help them get a break. He'd probably try to get them signed on with Lance's company, or invite them to go on the next tour, like he had his friend Tony.
"We broke up about a month after we got there," Andrew said, shrugging again. "It's just as well, since, you know, grunge rock was on the way out by then anyway. But I already had this job, and I had a lease on a good apartment, so I kind of stuck around."
"Do you still play?" I asked. Somewhere in our luggage Josh had a small electronic keyboard packed, but I didn't know if all musicians carried something around with them.
"Not with a group or anything," he answered. "I don't always have time now, anyway, but I might get back into it someday. As it is, I mainly just play when I'm alone, trying to relax."
"I know what that's like," Josh said, smiling. "What's your instrument?"
"Bass guitar," he answered. "Come on. Let's go get these bags checked in."
We checked all of our bags in, and then headed through the security checkpoints. As we had expected, it was a little bit of a chore getting Andrew through, but all of his paperwork was in order, and eventually they let him pass. The process attracted a lot of attention, though, and as soon as we were past the metal detectors Andrew sent Josh and I straight to the first class lounge, away from all of the people now staring. His manner was a little brusque, but I was starting to think that might just be the way he was. He seemed pretty friendly to Josh and I, but glared suspiciously at every person that walked near us as we approached the lounge. As we stepped in, Andrew pointed out the bench where he'd be waiting when our flight was called.
"See, he's not so bad," Josh said, resting sleepily against me as we sat in the lounge.
After the hustle and the stress of the past couple of days I wasn't surprised that all he wanted to do was sleep. I read quietly as Josh leaned against me, asleep within minutes, despite the fact that he'd had plenty of sleep the night before. The guys called him Mr. Sleepy on tour, because it was practically all he did when they had a free moment, and sometimes he lapsed back into it when we were together. It was kind of a reflex gesture with him, almost. If we weren't actively doing something, Josh nodded, half awake, and I'd just gotten used to it. His head rested on my shoulder, his soft hair brushing against my cheek. One of his hands was draped across my chest, resting on my shoulder, and he nuzzled against me, murmuring.
"I love you, Josh," I whispered, oblivious to the glances from the other first class passengers. The lounge was big enough that they could move away from us and sit elsewhere if they couldn't deal.
"Love you, too," he slurred sleepily.
When they called our flight I roused him and packed up my book, and we rejoined Andrew, following him to our gate.
"I'll see you guys when we land," he said, smiling. "Remember, don't wander off to get your bags or go to the bathroom or anything until I'm off the plane, ok?"
"OK," I said, as Josh and I both nodded. I still felt a little smothered, but if the two of them felt it was necessary, then going along with it seemed like the least I could do, especially if it meant I wouldn't be spending any more time locked in anyone's basement, or worse. After we got settled in on the plane, our fingers linked through the takeoff, Josh pulled the little blanket down and arranged it over himself. "You're not actually planning to sleep the entire way, are you?"
"Did you have something else in mind?" Josh asked, laying his head on my shoulder. "I have the chess set in my bag if you want to do that."
"No, that wasn't quite what I was thinking," I sighed, smiling. I leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.
"What were you thinking?" Josh asked, nuzzling under my chin. He nipped at my neck, worrying his mouth over that giant hickey he'd left last night. I felt a little shiver run through me.
"Well," I began, sliding my hand under his blanket. I rested it on his thigh. "I was thinking about what you said this morning."
"I said a lot of stuff this morning," he chuckled, still leaving a little wet trail on my neck. I slid my hand up his thigh, drifting closer to his basket.
"Yeah, but only part of it was about the mile high club," I whispered, dropping my hand over his crotch. I could feel his cock through the thin fabric of his pants, and immediately began to massage it. Josh stiffened against me, his head jerking up in surprise.
"Jack, what are you, unh, what are you doing?" Josh asked, his brilliant blue eyes wide. I kept squeezing him, feeling his cock throb and press itself against my hand.
"What does it feel like?" I asked, unzipping his fly. I slid my fingers inside, and then maneuvered them through the flap in his boxer briefs. I wrapped my fingers around the hard, hot tube of his shaft and he gasped against me, glancing down at the blanket. "I'm giving you a handjob, silly."
"Oh, God, Jack," he whispered as I rolled my palm over the head of his cock. "Stop. We'll get caught."
"Only if you keep making so much noise," I said, moving my hand a little faster now. His cock was hard, like stone, but covered in soft, smooth skin, and I felt it throbbing in time to his heartbeat. His breathing was picking up, better whether it was from being turned on or from being nervous I couldn't tell.
"No, I'm serious," he whispered, although I noticed he wasn't really doing a lot to stop me.
"Me too," I said, smiling. I leaned in, close to his ear, which I began to lick. "I love you, Josh. I love feeling how hard you are, and touching your cock. I love holding it in my hands, and feeling it throb, and thinking about you putting it inside me."
Josh was a sucker for dirty talk, I knew, although his idea of it was a little tame.
"Jack," he whined, sweat breaking out on his forehead. My hand was moving faster now, sliding up and down him. "Jack, oh, God."
"I love running my hands up and down your cock, and your body," I whispered, chewing at his ear now. His breath against my neck was coming hard and fast, urgent little pants. "I love touching you, and feeling your skin, and feeling all those muscles. I love putting my hands on you, and my mouth. Do you want me to put my mouth on it, Josh?"
"Unh, Jack," he whined, his hips moving a little now. His hands were gripping his armrests, his knuckles white.
"You're so fucking hot, Josh, and I'm so hard right now," I whispered, chewing on his earlobe now. He was trying to keep quiet, stifling his moans and whines, burying his mouth against my neck. "I'll ask again, Josh. Do you want me to put my mouth on it? Do you want me to lean down, right now, and stick my head under the blanket? Do you want me to slide my tongue down it, and suck you off, Josh? Do you want me to swallow your hot cum, right here, right now?"
Josh looked up at me, his mouth hanging open, sweat standing on his forehead, and I leaned forward, catching his bottom lip between my teeth.
"Jack!" he breathed, and then his body tensed in the seat. I felt hot wetness flood over my fingers as he gasped. I pulled my hand carefully out of his pants and licked my fingers clean, smiling at him.
"Can I get you gentlemen anything?" the flight attendant asked, leaning over suddenly. "Are you ok, sir?"
"He's a bad flyer," I answered, letting Josh catch his breath as he stared at her in wide eyed panic. The blanket was still in place in his lap. "Could we have some water?"
"Sure," she answered, leaning over us. She flicked the air thing open above Josh. "Let's just get some air on you, and you'll be fine."
"Thanks," I said for Josh, watching him nod. "I don't know why I didn't think of that."
"No problem," she said, handing me two cups. "Just buzz if you need anything, ok?"
"Thanks," Josh panted finally. He turned to me.
"I love you," I sighed, sipping my water.
"When we land, we're going straight to the hotel," Josh whispered, kissing the sensitive spot right behind my ear. "And we're not leaving until the morning."
I settled back against him, sighing contentedly. That was just fine with me.
To be continued.