Luke

Copyright and Disclaimer: 1. This is a fictional story with fictional characters. 2. No one is to steal this story under any circumstances. 3. This story deals with relationships and not sex, so if you're looking for a story with a lot of sex in it, this isn't the story for you.

Hope everyone is great. I really appreciate those who e-mailed me with their feedback on the first chapter. I hope to not disappoint you with this story. Please e-mail me with any suggestions or other forms of feedback. I also wanted to let you all know that I have recently started a blog (http://thatgaymansblog.blogspot.com/). It's a blog that I will be writing different pieces about being gay and the gay community and also update with current events. If any of you would like to write about your growing up experience being gay such as coming out, dating, relationships, etc. please submit it to me and I will add it to the blog. I want it to be a place where people can read about other's experiences and thoughts. So if you have the time I would appreciate it if you checked it out. Anyway, back to the story. Here's part 2 titled, `Competition.'

`COMPETITION'

Luke has been living in a hotel in San Diego for a month now and he decided that it was time to find a place to live. So he went out to go apartment hunting. However, he hasn't had much luck in it. When it came to the game of the shitty apartments vs. Luke, the shitty apartments are winning 6 to 0. When he told Shane about the trouble's he's been having, Shane insisted on helping Luke out and the two went out together to look at a few places.

"Thanks for helping me look at apartments," Luke said as him and Shane walked up the stairs to a small apartment complex with the landlord in front of them, getting ready to show them one of the vacant apartments.

"It's no problem," Shane replied. "Besides, you were looking at apartments near SDSU and UCSD, it was clear that you needed some help."

"What was wrong with those places?" Luke asked.

"Have you ever lived by a college?" Shane asked.

"No," Luke replied as they reached the door to the vacant apartment.

"It's non-stop parties and loud music," Shane said. "Trust me, I made the mistake of living near San Diego State when I moved out on my own, I don't think I got any sleep that year."

"Well lack of sleep isn't really a problem for me," Luke replied.

"Still not getting any sleep?" Shane asked.

"It's getting a little better," Luke answered. "I got a whole three hours last night."

"Well here's the apartment," the old, husky landlord said as he unlocked the door. He was one of those men who looked like he spent most of his days sitting in front of a TV drinking beer and eating potato chips. When Shane and Luke walked into the apartment they both did their best to hide their disgust, there were holes in the walls, the carpet was stained with things that they didn't even want to imagine and the whole place smelled of dirty socks.

"This is um---interesting," Luke said trying to be polite in front of the landlord.

"Oh who are you kidding? This place is a dump," Shane said bluntly. "Let's go."

Shane didn't care what people thought of him, he was very direct and honest about things, he told it how it is and Luke found this refreshing. He liked that Shane didn't beat around the bush. Shane grabbed Luke's arm and yanked him out of the apartment.

"Any longer in there and I was going to have to get a tetanus shot," Shane said as they made their way down the stairs. "Don't worry, we'll find you a much better place." As they were walking down the street together towards Luke's car Shane brought up the fact that Luke hasn't been getting any sleep. It was then when he got an idea, "You know, Rich practices meditation and herbal therapy. Maybe he can help you out."

"Herbal therapy? Are you talking about weed?" Luke asked.

"No," Shane replied. "It's this new-age stuff, he just lights some aroma therapy candles, drinks some herbal tea and stuff like that. He's always very relaxed and well rested. You should try it."

"I'm not very into the new-age type of stuff. I was thinking of just getting some sleeping pills," Luke said.

"Don't do that," Shane warned. "Those things can fuck with your body. Just try out the meditation with Rich. It can really help."

"I guess it can't hurt," Luke shrugged as they got into his car and drove off to the next apartment complex.

Meanwhile, Ford was out with Benji at a new bistro that opened up. Ford was there for work, he was going to give a review of the restaurant while Benji was there for the free food that came with going out to restaurants with Ford when he worked. Ford loved being a food critic because it was the one aspect of his life where he felt he always won, he could decide the fate of a restaurant and he had to admit that the power that he felt with it was rather intoxicating.

"This place is pretty fabulous," Benji said. "I've seen two waiters that I wouldn't mind sleeping with."

"Is sex all you can think about?" Ford asked taking a sip of his wine.

"I'm a twenty-five year old gay man, what else am I going to think about?" Benji asked.

"Maybe things like life and goals," Ford replied.

"My life is about sex and my goal is to have sex as much as I can while I'm still young and hot," Benji smiled. Ford just rolled his eyes. He knew that the two of them would never see eye to eye on most things, but they loved each other anyway. It was amazing that the two of them were so close considering they had practically nothing in common. Even though many would call Benji a `manwhore,' no one could ever deny his heart. He was a good friend and was always there for his friends.

When they got their meal Benji looked around the table for some salt, but saw that their table didn't have any.

"Ford, be a dear and ask the table behind you for their salt," Benji said.

Ford turned around and tapped the shoulder of the man sitting at the table behind him. "Excuse me, could we borrow your salt." When the man turned around Ford's eyes grew wide, he was quite possibly one of the most handsome men that he'd ever seen before. And since the bistro was located in a very gay-friendly area he felt that the chances of the guy being gay were pretty good.

"No problem," the man said. He then flashed a gorgeous smile, "But if you try to steal it, I'm going to come after you."

Ford found himself speechless, he just smiled as politely as he could and took the salt shaker from the man, their hands barely grazed each other.

"He's delicious," Benji whispered as Ford handed him the salt. "Go talk to him."

"I can't, he's way too good looking," Ford replied.

"Ford, look at you!" Benji retorted, "You're the second hottest guy in this room. I'm the first of course."

"No, he was wearing a Rolex, he's way out of my league," Ford said.

"Bullshit," Benji said, he then stood up from his seat and yelled across the table, "Excuse me Rolex!" The man at the table behind Ford glanced at his watch and then turned around.

"Me?" he asked.

"Yes you," Benji replied. "What's your name?"

"Roland."

"Well Roland, my friend thinks you're very attractive," Benji said.

"Shut up!" Ford said through gritted teeth. He looked around the restaurant to notice a few tables and servers were staring at them. His face immediately turned bright red.

Benji simply ignored him and continued talking to Roland, "Don't you find my friend attractve?"

Roland's face turned red, he was obviously very embarrassed by the attention everyone in the restaurant was giving them. But he then admitted, "Um, yes."

"Well since you find him hot and he finds you hot, why don't you two exchange numbers and agree to call one another later?" Benji asked.

"You don't have to," Ford whispered to Roland, humiliated.

"No, I want to," Roland said taking out a business card, he handed it to him, "Call me later."

Even though Ford was embarrassed beyond belief he couldn't help but smile, "Okay."

"Good boys," Benji smiled.

"Is it okay if I go back to eating my lunch?" Roland asked Benji.

"Go ahead," Benji said sitting down and he began to eat his lunch as if nothing happened.

"I'm mortified!" Ford hissed at Benji.

"Oh shut the fuck up, I just got you a phone number from a hot man," Benji said half jokingly. He then took a bite of his salmon, "This is delicious, so much better with the salt." In the span of one minute Benji scored Ford a date with Rolex Roland.

After lunch Benji went back to his boutique and opened up. While he was going over some new clothes that came in, he couldn't help but notice that his store was much more quiet than it normally is. He looked around and noticed there was only one person in the store. That was very uncommon. To be sure he wasn't being paranoid he went to his computer and looked up last year's sales and compared it with the amount of sales he's done today. He was down 30% from the previous year. Benji walked outside and that was when he noticed that on the other side of the street a couple stores down was a big `Grand Opening' sign for a new clothing store.

"Son-of-a-bitch," Benji mumbled out loud. He quickly went back inside and told his sales associate, Kimberly, to keep an eye on the store while he went to check out the competition. When he walked into the new store he found that it was crowded with people, and the clothes were the same style that he sold at his own store. Benji's mouth dropped in horror. He's been at that location for the past four years and would be damned if he went out of business to someone who sold the same type of clothing as him.

"Excuse me," Benji said going up to the sales woman behind the cash register, "Can I speak to the owner?"

"Is there a problem?" the sales woman asked.

"Oh you bet there's a problem," Benji fumed. The sales woman quickly ran off and when she came back she was followed by a sexy man, tall, black, a perfect body was hidden under a tight fitting shirt and jeans. While Benji was furious he found himself unbelievably turned on by the man before him.

"Hi, I'm Dwayne, the owner. Is there a problem?" the sexy man asked.

Benji found himself speechless, he wasn't sure whether to rip off Dwayne's clothes or chew him out for opening a store so similar to his right across the street.

Later that night all the guys got together for drinks at trendy new bar in the downtown area.

"A store opened up across the street selling the same shit as me," Benji vented.

"That's horrible," Ford asked. "You going to be all right?"

"I don't know," Benji replied. "It's been open one day and I'm already down 30% from last year."

"Have you said anything to the owner of the new store?" Ford asked.

"That's the other problem," Benji said. "The owner is so hot that I just want to tear off his clothes and go down on him."

"I guess since he's bringing your business down the only thing to do is go down on him," Shane joked.

"Benji, everything will work out for the best," Rich said taking a sip of his drink. "I'm sure your store will be fine."

"And stay away from the other store owner," Ford warned. "Don't mix business with pleasure."

"Why not? You met a guy while working today," Benji pointed out.

"Oh?" Rich asked. "Who?"

"His name is Rolex Roland," Benji joked.

"His name is Roland Reed," Ford said ignoring Benji's joke.

"The Rolex was just the watch on his wrist," Benji said.

"I talked to him after lunch and he works in real estate and we're going out tomorrow night for dinner," Ford said.

"And what does this Roland look like?" Rich asked.

"He's very handsome," Ford said.

"He is," Benji agreed, "He's quite fuckable, like that store owner."

"Still hung up on that guy, huh?" Rich asked.

"I guess I'm just going through a dry spell. I haven't had sex in two days," Benji quipped. Rich, Ford and Benji all laughed together taking a sip of their drinks when they noticed that Luke and Shane could barely keep their eyes open.

"You two all right?" Ford asked.

"We're exhausted," Luke yawned. "Shane was helping me look for an apartment today."

"I never knew how many shitty apartment complexes there are in San Diego," Shane said. "I don't remember it being this hard to find a place to live."

"It seems you guys got all the good places," Luke said taking a sip of his drink.

"Someone in my building moved out recently." Ford said. "So I think there's an apartment free."

"Really?" Luke asked hopeful.

"Yeah, you should come by tomorrow and we can check it out," Ford said.

"That would be so great. Thanks Ford," Luke said gratefully.

"No problem," Ford replied. "But we have to do it early in the afternoon. I have my date later."

"Ford, don't get too excited about this date," Benji warned.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Ford asked.

"It means that you have the habit of putting all your eggs into one basket," Shane replied.

"And then you get the rug pulled out from underneath you when the guy doesn't turn out to live up to your expectations," Benji added.

"It's like you're playing a big game and whenever you think you're going to win, someone makes a move that causes you to strike out," Shane said.

"Well isn't everything in life one big game?" Ford asked. "It's all a game or a competition that we all want to win."

The guys all contemplated what Ford said for a moment. Maybe life was all one big game and we're but mere pawns in it.

After they had drinks together, Rich went home early. he had to rehearse for a play that he wrote. He had written a one-act play that he was to perform at a local playhouse the following Saturday night. It was a play that Rich said he wrote for Shane and it was about his feelings for him. Shane had repeatedly asked Rich if he could read the script, but Rich wouldn't let him, he wanted him to be surprised when Shane saw it performed on opening night. Shane was very anxious to see it, he was sure that he was going to love it. That night when Luke got home he was determined to not lose his battle against getting a good night's sleep. He's gone too long with out getting some rest and it needed to end now. He quickly got ready for bed and took a couple sleeping pills to help him out and he turned out all the lights in his hotel room and closed his eyes tightly.

"Go to sleep," Luke told himself.

Four hours later, it was 3 AM and Luke was still awake. His eyes were still closed tightly and he tried so hard to go to sleep, but he couldn't stop thinking about Nick.

"Go to sleep," Luke sighed, hating that he was still awake. After another couple minutes he opened his eyes and sat up in his bed and looked at the nightstand next to him where he had a picture of Nick. It was taken a month before Nick's death when the two were hanging out with Nick's friends, Kurt and Leo. Luke leaned back against the headboard of the bed and sighed, he lost another battle against a good night's rest and wondered if he'd ever get a good night's sleep again.

The next day Benji was at his store resisting the urge to go over to the new store across the street and tear off Dwayne's clothes, he kept himself occupied by cleaning the store. However, after an hour he had the place completely dusted and the windows sparkling. His store once again only had a few people in it while Dwayne's store was filled with people. Benji couldn't decide if he hated Dwayne or lusted him more. As he was spying at Dwayne's store he spotted him coming out of his store and headed towards him.

"Shit," Benji said to himself as Dwayne came into his store.

"Benji, right?" Dwayne asked walking in.

"Yes," Benji replied keeping it cool. "What do you want?"

"I just came here because I'm hoping that we can be friends despite the fact that we're competitors," Dwayne said sincerely.

"Friends?" Benji asked.

"Yeah," Dwayne replied. "In fact, let me buy you a drink tonight."

"Fine," Benji replied. "See you tonight."

"Great," Dwayne smiled. "I'll see you later."

Dwayne then left the store while Benji smiled to himself, he was definitely going to sleep with him. While he knew he was going to score with Dwayne, he was uncertain who was going to win the battle between the two stores. When Luke arrived at the apartment complex Ford lived at he was immediately impressed by how beautiful the building was. The apartment building was called Serenity, and it was. It was a lush white building with a marble entryway; fresh clean-cut flowers aligned the front of the building. It was a very fitting place for Ford to live, Luke thought. It represented his clean-cut personality perfectly. And to match the clean-cut flowers, a clean-cut Ford came into the entryway in his clean-cut clothes.

"Hey Luke!" Ford greeted him warmly. "Welcome to the building."

"Don't say that yet," Luke replied. "I haven't seen the place yet."

"You're going to love it," Ford said. "I've lived here at Serenity for five years now. It's a little pricey, but you can't beat the accommodations here. There's a pool, tennis court, gym, and a sauna. It's like living at a private resort."

"Sounds a hell of a lot better than anything I've seen so far," Luke said.

"And I'm really close with the landlady, she gave me the key to the free apartment so I can take you there myself," Ford said. "You'll love it. You even have a view of the ocean."

When they walked into the vacant apartment Luke loved it immediately. It was everything Ford hyped it up to be and more. It was a beautiful one-bedroom apartment; clean white walls, white tile on the kitchen floor, marble counter-tops, it was a little slice of heaven. The best part was the double doors that led to a huge balcony that had a perfect view of the ocean. Serenity was very serene indeed.

Luke could only say one word after looking around, "Wow."

"It's great, isn't it?" Ford asked.

"I am home," Luke smiled.

"Yeah?" Ford asked.

"This is it. I know it," Luke replied.

"Well then lets cross some T's' and dot some I's,' Ford smiled. "This is great! We'll be neighbors."

Luke smiled to himself. He finally found a home for himself. After 6 bad apartments, it was lucky number 7 that one the race.

After Ford helped Luke find an apartment he got ready and was off for his date with Rolex Roland.

On their date they went to a tiny café where they dined over a delightful pasta meal and complete with delightful conversation. It was the perfect first date. Roland was just the type of man that Ford could hope for, he was smart, had a good job, funny, sweet, and it didn't hurt that he was rich. By the end of dinner, Ford felt like Roland just may be `the one.'

After dinner the two of them took a walk together and sat on the end of a nearby pier and watched the waves.

"So how would you rate this date?" Roland asked.

"A definite 10," Ford smiled.

"And how would you rate this kiss?" Roland asked before leaning in and giving Ford a sweet kiss. Ford melted into it, it was the perfect first kiss.

"A definite 10," Ford said between kisses and just like that Rolex Roland became known as Mr. 10. Ford felt that he might just win this game after all.

Across town, Benji was having drinks with Dwayne. Turns out Dwayne was more of a competitor than he imagined. Not only is his store successful, but it's also a chain. He owns three other locations. While Benji only has the one location, he's sure that he can still kick Dwayne's ass when it came to business, but he was even more sure he could get Dwayne's ass when it came to sex. While they were talking about clothes and sipping on their mojitos, Benji looked deep into Dwayne's eyes and slowly moved his hand across the table and lightly brushed the top of Dwayne's right hand with his fingers. Dwayne didn't move his hand, which then led him to carress it a little more and give him a suggestive smile. Benji then turned on his charm and completely enamored him.

After a few more minutes of this Dwayne leaned in to whisper into Benji's ear, "My apartment is close. You want to come over?"

While Benji wanted to go over, he knew that he had to wait first and set his plan into motion. For the next week Benji would go into Dwayne's store and flirt a little and make sure that he was all Dwayne could think about. It was a little secret move he learned that always got the guys he wanted.

"Not tonight," Benji teased, "I'm just a little bit tired." With that, Benji paid for his drinks and leaned in and kissed Dwayne on the cheek, making sure that he also lightly breathed on his neck so he would get completely turned on before he left for the night.

A Week later Luke was moving into his new apartment. Because he wanted a new start he got all new furniture. Shane and Ford were helping him move in. The three just got done bringing in the new couch and setting it down in the living room.

"Maybe we should move it a little to the left," Luke said observing the location they put his new white leather couch.

"I think you should move it more to the right," Ford suggested.

"And I think we should just hurry and get this over with," Shane said, "I can't be late for Rich's play tonight."

"Oh that's right," Luke said. "He wrote it for you, right?"

"Yes he did and I'm anxious to see it," Shane said.

"I can't believe he wrote you a play," Ford smiled, "That's the most romantic thing I've ever heard."

"Romantic if it's good," Shane replied.

"He wrote it for you. Of course it'll be good," Luke pointed out.

"I hope so," Shane said. "To be honest I've been preparing myself for what I'll say to him if it turns out to be horrible."

"That's awful," Ford said. "You'll love it."

"What are you going to say if it's bad?" Luke asked.

"I'm going to just smile and lie and tell him, I loved it!'" Shane replied giving an over enthusiastic tone to his I love it!'

"Here's hoping you don't have to lie," Luke said patting Shane on the back. "Cause you're lying aint so hot."

"That's why Rich is the actor, not me," Shane replied.

"Even if it isn't the best play, you can't deny the gesture behind it," Ford said.

"I'll admit, it is very sweet of him," Shane said.

"Okay, so we just need to move in my bed and we'll be all done with the big stuff," Luke said getting back to business.

"I need to leave afterwards," Ford said. "I have a date tonight."

"Mr. 10?" Shane asked.

"Yup," Ford gushed.

"Isn't this your forth date with him?" Luke asked.

"Yes it is," Ford replied. "He's really special. I think this may be it."

"You've only known the guy a week," Shane pointed out. "How can you possibly know he's the one? I've been dating Rich for three months and I still don't know if he's the one."

"I just have a good feeling about him," Ford replied. "He's everything I've ever wanted."

As Ford gazed dreamily out the window, Shane looked at Luke and rolled his eyes. Typical Ford, he thought.

"Let's get the bed," Shane said snapping Ford out of his daze.

"Right," Ford replied as the three headed outside.

"So what are you doing tonight?" Shane asked Luke as they made their way to the big moving fan that Luke rented.

"Just going to stay in and organize this place a bit," Luke replied. "I also have to write my column."

"How did Farrah like your last piece?" Shane asked.

"Better than the first," Luke replied. "She thinks that my topic of sleep deprivation was at least more relatable than my first one."

"Still not getting sleep?" Ford asked.

"Nope," Luke replied.

"You should let Rich help you out," Shane suggested. "He practices meditation and aroma therapy. I bet he can help you clear your mind and relax so you can finally get a good night's rest."

"I don't know," Luke said as they began to lift the queen-sized mattress out of the van. "I've never been into that stuff."

"I'm not either, but he swears by it," Shane said. "Just give it a shot. Can't hurt."

"Sure," Luke replied. "Nothing else seems to be working."

"What's causing the sleep deprivation?" Ford asked as they made their way up the staircase to the second floor where Luke's apartment was.

"It's a long story," Luke replied, not wanting to get into the topic of Nick.

After they moved his bed into the apartment, Shane and Ford left to get ready for their evenings while Luke continued to unpack his things.

That night Ford and Roland went to dinner in a nearby park where Roland cooked a delicious meal for the two of them. Ford was deeply touched by how romantic the evening was. It was the perfect night in his eyes.

"The crab cakes were delicious," Ford said taking a sip of his wine. "The whole meal was fantastic. I would definitely give this place a good write-up."

"Well, the only diner I want tasting my food tonight is you," Roland replied giving Ford a kiss.

"I think you may just be too good to be true," Ford smiled.

"Funny, I was going to say the same thing about you," Roland replied. "You're smart, attractive, funny, you're everything I could want in a guy."

It was without a doubt one of the best night's Ford has ever had. He usually waits until date number three or four to make love, but he had a good feeling that this guy was the real deal and he wanted him that night.

"You want to come over to my place?" Ford asked.

"I would love to," Roland answered taking Ford's hand in his.

That night, Ford and Roland made love two times. Ford definitely felt like he was a winner.

Shane sat in the front row of the small theatre that Rich was performing in and nervously shook his leg as he waited for the show to start. The play was called Re-Born.' The stage was very bare, the only thing on it was a small wooden chair. Shane read the description of the play in the program and all it said was; A man's journey to finding love.' Shane noticed that he was the only one in the theatre wearing anything with color (he was wearing a green button-up shirt and a dark wash pair of jeans) everyone else in the theatre was dressed in black. They clearly weren't the type of crowed he normally surrounded himself with.

The lights finally went dim and a single spotlight illuminated the stage. The sound of a bass drum began to beat in a rhythmic pattern. Rich walked out to the beat of the drum dressed head to toe in a black leotard. Shane furrowed his eyebrows, curious to where Rich was going to go with this play. When Rich stepped into the center of the spotlight the sound of the beating drum stopped.

"I am born into love," Rich said out loud as he began to peel off his leotard. "I am pushed out of the lonely uterus and into a new world where everything is fresh and new." Rich now stood naked in front of everyone. Shane raised an eyebrow, he was definitely not expecting this at all.

"This is brilliant," Shane heard someone in the audience behind him whisper. "It's so deep and moving."

"I begin to explore this new world and all the joy it brings," Rich said, and then he slowly began to touch himself and bring himself to erection. When Shane saw this his eyes grew wide. This definitely wasn't what he was expecting. Shane was hoping that Rich's play would be a winner...he was wrong.

After the play was over Shane stood in front of the theatre waiting for Rich. He was pacing back and forth not sure what to say to Rich. After a few more minutes Rich emerged from backstage and gave Shane a kiss.

"Thanks for waiting babe," Rich said giving Shane a kiss. "So what did you think?"

"It was very interesting," Shane said. "You masturbated on stage."

"But you understood it right?" Rich asked. "The masturbating symbolized our hearts opening up and the orgasm symbolized when you and I fell in love. It was good, right?"

Because Shane didn't know what else to say, he just repeated the line that he had practiced all week and through gritted teeth and a plastered on smile he said, "I loved it!"

"It was essentially live porn," Shane complained to Luke later that night. Because he felt too uncomfortable to spend the night with Rich he decided to go over to Luke's place and help him unpack. However, he mostly just sat on the couch while Luke hung up paintings and pictures on his walls. "He stripped naked and masturbated on stage for over an hour!"

"Wow, he can masturbate for over an hour?" Luke asked impressed as he was hanging up some pictures on the living room walls.

"Not the point," Shane replied. "This was supposed to be a play he dedicated to me. I thought it was going to be a sweet play, not a triple x-rated romp."

"Well, Rich is very different in his lifestyle, isn't he?" Luke asked. "He obviously felt that this was an artistic expression for him to express his love for you."

"But it was gross," Shane said.

"Shane, you write reviews for plays and art shows, I'm sure you've seen weirder things," Luke suggested.

"Yeah, but this is my boyfriend," Shane said. "And he just jacked-off on stage in front of a room full of strangers."

"What would you have thought of the performance if it wasn't Rich?" Luke asked.

"Excuse me?" Shane asked confused.

"Well, you've probably seen your share of sexually charged performances before, right?" Luke asked.

"Yeah," Shane replied. "What's your point?"

"Maybe the only reason you're not seeing his performance for the artistic reasons he was hoping for was because it's Rich," Luke said. "Obviously you can't look at this objectively."

Shane thought that over for a bit before he said, "No, it's still gross."

"I'll admit it's not something I would ever want to see, but I think that he had true artistic intentions when he performed it," Luke said. "I just think you're upset because your boyfriend came in front of people who aren't you."

"But now I have to pretend I liked it," Shane said. "And he's going to be performing it again tomorrow night and he wants me to see it again."

"If it's going to bother you that much, then maybe you should talk to him about it," Luke suggested.

"I can't," Shane sighed. "You should have seen the look on his face after the show. He looked so proud and happy. I can't tell him that I hated it."

"Well, then you're going to have to suck it up then," Luke shrugged seeing no alternative for him.

Shane glanced and noticed that it was getting was midnight, "Oh my God. It's late. I'm sorry for staying so long."

"It's fine," Luke replied. "It's not like I was going to get sleep anyway."

"Oh that's right," Shane remembered. "Well, tomorrow I'll ask Rich to come over and help you with some of his meditation stuff."

"Okay," Luke said giving Shane a hug. "I'll talk to you later."

"Good night," Shane replied. "Thanks for the talk."

"Anytime," Luke answered as Shane headed out the door.

The next day, Benji was in his store looking at porn on his computer (he had no shame) and fantasized about Dwayne tearing off his clothes and having sex next to the cash register. He imagined Dwayne's piercing brown eyes looking deeply into his as he thrust himself deep into him and the way small beads of sweat would look dripping off his bulging biceps. As he was imagining this he didn't even notice when a group of teenage girls came into his shop to look around.

"Can I help you ladies find something?" Benji asked once he noticed the girls.

"We're just looking for right now," one raven haired teenage girl asked, "Your clothes here are so much better than that new store across the street." In the past week Benji made an effort to get a few different pieces of clothes in his store, clothes that would distinguish his store from Dwayne's. When Benji heard the girl say those words he couldn't help but feel pride. Maybe he would conquer Dwayne in both sex and in work.

"Thank you so much for saying that," Benji beamed. "I'm trying to kick that store's ass."

"Well don't worry, I think you are," another girl in the group asked. "Some of these items you have here are so `Sex and the City.' I love it!"

"if you girls need any help, feel free to ask," Benji replied. "In fact, buy anything and I'll let you have something else for half off."

"Seriously!" all the girls squealed at once. They then immediately began to look through the clothes as if they were searching for buried treasure.

Meanwhile, over at Luke's new apartment, Rich came over to help Luke try to relax and get some sleep.

"I like your place," Rich said looking around and setting down his backpack that he brought on the couch. In truth, Rich wasn't a huge fan of the way Luke decorated it. The apartment had a very clean and modern feel to it, while Rich has a more bohemian, eclectic taste. "So Shane came over last night for a bit right?"

"Yeah," Luke replied pouring Rich and himself a cup of tea in the kitchen and coming back into the living room to join Rich.

"Did he say anything about my show?" Rich asked curious, "He didn't say too much to me. Did he like it?"

Luke suddenly felt himself put on the spot, much like Shane, Luke wasn't a good liar either, but he knew he had to lie. When he looked at Rich's face and his hopeful green eyes, he knew how much Rich wanted Shane to enjoy the performance. Luke did his best to try and tap into the skills he learned in the one acting class he took in college and lied, "He loved it!"

"Yeah?" Rich asked. Luke could see a sense of relief wash over his face. "Groovy!" Luke just smiled, glad that Rich bought his lie. "So let's try and get you some sleep."

A few minutes later Rich laid out two-dozen candles in a circle and some incense sticks that he had packed in his backpack. In the middle of the circle Rich and Luke sat together on two pillows with their legs crossed and their eyes closed with their hands resting on their knees.

"Let the aroma from the candles and incense go through you," Rich whispered. "The two different scents mixed together will bring you a calm and relaxation that you've never felt before. Can you feel it?"

Luke took a deep breath and trying to take in the aroma and feel the relaxation that Rich was talking about. "I can't feel anything," Luke sighed.

"Just keep breathing in through your nose and out there your mouth," Rich whispered. "I'm going to do a little bit of chanting to change the karmic balance in this apartment."

"Um, okay," Luke said opening one eye and looking at Rich to see if he was being serious. He couldn't believe how seriously Rich was taking all of this and then suddenly he began to chant in some pseudo language that he was sure Rich had made up.

Twenty minutes later Rich fell asleep from his own chanting and meditation while Luke got up from the circle of candles and got a blanket to keep Rich warm. After he put the blanket over Rich, Luke blew out the candles and put out the incense. The smells were so strong that Luke had to open up his windows to air out the apartment. Luke looked out the window for a couple minutes before looking back at the sleeping Rich.

"Oh well," Luke shrugged.

To give Rich some peace and quiet while he was sleeping he went over to Ford's apartment to see how his date went. Ford lived four doors down from him. As Luke was about to knock on the door, it opened and Roland walked out with Ford standing in the door way.

"Luke!" Ford smiled. "Hi."

"Hey," Luke replied.

"Luke, I want you to meet Roland," Ford introduced.

"Nice to meet you," Roland said shaking Luke's hand.

"You too," Luke replied. He was impressed by how good looking Roland was, he was the type of man found in the pages of GQ, he had a slim physique and, but there was something very masculine about his looks.

Roland then turned back to Ford and gave him a sweet kiss, "I had a great night. I'll call you later."

"Okay," Ford smiled as Roland left. Ford gave Luke a big smile; he was on cloud nine. "I had the most amazing night."

"I bet," Luke replied. "So I'm guessing that was Mr. 10?"

"Yup," Ford nodded.

"Well, from the looks of him he looked more like Mr. 11," Luke said.

"He is perfect," Ford gushed. "Come in and I'll make some coffee."

While Ford was making the coffee he talked about Roland the entire time, "He is just so nice and charming and smart. He's the perfect man. I think him and I are going to be together for a very long time."

"Yeah?" Luke asked. "That's great." Luke felt that he wasn't good enough friends with Ford yet to give his true opinion on the matter. In his eyes, he definitely felt that Ford was rushing into the relationship way too quickly. But instead of giving his opinion, he decided to just smile and be happy for his new friend.

That afternoon Benji was getting ready to close the store when Dwayne came in. "I have to talk to you," Dwayne said.

"Sure," Benji replied as he closed the door to his store and putting the closed sign up. "What is it?"

"Ever since last weekend I haven't been able to stop thinking about you," Dwayne replied. "I need you now."

"Excuse me?" Benji asked playing coy.

"I don't know what it is, but I haven't been able to stop thinking about you," Dwayne said, "I've hardly been able to work. My store did so shitty this week because of it."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Benji said, inside though, Benji was rejoicing, his plan had worked.

"I want you...now," Dwayne replied.

"Now?" Benji asked wondering if his fantasy was about the become a reality.

"Now," Dwayne replied.

"Well," Benji said closing the blinds on his store windows so no one could see them, "All right."

The two immediately began to tear each other's clothes off. Benji ran his hands up on Dwayne's biceps that he fantasized about and began to kiss his neck which caused Dwayne to moan with delight. They made their way to a table that had some accessory pieces laid out on it and Benji threw them off so they could lay on top of it and continue their escapades.

Benji not only won the sexual contest with Dwayne, he also won the work one as well. A month later Benji not only screwed Dwayne physically, he screwed his business and his store quickly ran out of business. While Benji was going to miss the great sex with Dwayne when he left town he couldn't help but feel proud that his little store kicked his store's ass.

That night Shane once again went to go see Rich's performance. He had a day to think it over and decided to try and look at it from a more objective point of view. After all, he was a well-cultured man who appreciated the arts and how artistic expression can take on many different shapes and forms. He was determined to enjoy Rich's performance.

The lights dimmed and the single spotlight went on. The audience tonight was very similar to the audience the night before. Rich walks out on the stage dressed in his black leotard. Rich was very alert tonight, he felt more excited than ever, he wasn't sure if it was because of the positive feedback he received from audience members last night or if it was because he had a four hour nap over at Luke's place, but he had a feeling that this performance would be even better than the first. He felt alive.

"I am born into love," Rich said as he begins his performance again.

Shane watched Rich intensely and desperately tried to enjoy it once again. He wanted to see it the way Rich saw it. He didn't. Once again all he felt was completely weirded out by seeing his boyfriend masturbating on stage. This is one situation that he would not win.

After the show Rich greeted Shane with a kiss and a hug. "I think this show turned out better than the first one, don't you think?"

"Um, yeah," Shane replied putting on his best smile.

"So what did you think? You didn't say much yesterday," Rich said.

Shane thought it over, what was he going to say? "Can I be honest?" Shane asked hesitantly.

"Of course," Rich replied. "I want to know your full opinion on it. It's really important to me."

Shane had a choice, he could either tell the truth or lie. If he told the truth he knew that they would both end up as losers of the situation. So he decided to say what he knew Rich was hoping to hear.

"I thought it was absolutely brilliant," Shane lied. "I understood everything you did and the way you blended the eroticism and the heart of the dialogue together was genius."

Rich flashed a big smile of pride that Shane knew he had said the right thing, even if it wasn't what he really felt. Shane realized that there were times when you didn't have to be honest with your partner, there were times when it was best to just tell them what they want to hear and make them happy. In the end, it makes both sides winners.

The next day after work, Luke and Shane were hanging out at Luke's apartment. They were sitting on the couch in the living room and watching TV.

"So I never told Rich I didn't like his play," Shane said taking a sip of his beer he was drinking.

"That was probably the right decision," Luke replied.

"Yeah I think so," Shane said. "It made Rich happy to think that I liked it."

"Good for you," Luke said.

"So I guess his mediation didn't work for you?" Shane asked.

"Nope," Luke replied.

"Can I ask you something?" Shane asked.

"Sure," Luke said.

"Would you mind telling me a little bit about Nick?" Shane asked carefully. He knew that hearing Nick's name would be tough on him.

Luke took a deep breath, it wasn't a topic he liked to get into, but with Shane he felt at ease and felt like he could talk to him on a more intimate level then he could talk to other people, "What do you want to know about him?"

"Well, it sounded like he was a really great guy," Shane said. "I just wanted to know a little about him. You don't really talk about him."

"He was perfect," Luke smiled at the memory of Nick, "He was everything I could ever want in a guy. He was strong yet sensitive and very caring. You should have seen the way he was with his friends, he was so nurturing and protective. He was my world."

"What did he do for a living?" Shane asked.

"He was an advice columnist," Luke answered as he let out a small yawn, "It was the perfect job for him. No one was better at giving advice than him."

"Oh yeah?" Shane asked curious.

"Yeah, he had such a big heart," Nick replied. "There's not enough good things I can say about him."

"It sounds like he was a real catch. I wish I could have met him," Shane said. "I know it's hard losing someone like that, but I think that you just have to be grateful in the end that you knew such an amazing person. Don't you think?" Shane looked over to Luke and was surprised when he saw that Luke had fallen asleep. It turns out that the release that Luke needed to finally win the battle over getting a good night's rest was to talk about the one thing that kept him awake, Nick.

Shane smiled, glad to see that his new friend was finally going to get some sleep and he put a blanket over him and turned out the lights.

With any comments, questions or feedback please e-mail me at ilj4ever44@yahoo.com. Thanks so much! Also, please remember to check out my blog, http://thatgaymansblog.blogspot.com/. Thanks so much!