You Call It Madness - Chapter 2

Disclaimers: This is a work of fiction. Any similarities between the characters in this story and real people (appearances, names, etc.) are purely coincidental. This story may contain homosexual material, including love and sex, so if material like this is illegal in your region or if it discomforts you, please leave.

It takes quite a bit of time and effort, not to mention money, to run a site like this. Even more so when the service is FREE. So please take the time to donate what you can to Nifty HERE

You Call It Madness

Chapter II

Five weeks later Allison flew back to New York and Will returned to Victoria. Filming 'With Arms Outstretched' had completed three days before, and Will had three midterm exams to write.

Will took the elevator down to the main floor of his apartment complex and threw two loads of laundry into the wash. Three of his friends; Jacob Eaton, Harpreet 'Harry' Divye, and Delores 'Lori' McLeod, welcomed Will home with two six-packs, pizza, chicken wings, and season two of the American version of the television show 'Shameless'.

Will did not tell them about his role as the waiter in the upcoming film 'With Arms Outstretched'. He did not tell anyone. He wanted it to be a surprise. The group talked about drama between friends, breakups, hookups, school, work, and plans for Thanksgiving.

The next morning, Will drove to the University of Victoria at seven-thirty for his first midterm exam. He was sitting on the level three floor of the School of Child & Youth Care with his textbook on change theory open on his lap. Last minute studying.

"Hi," said a guy who stood against the lockers across from Will. "Never seen you around before."

Will smiled at the caramel-skinned guy and replied, "Yeah, I take the courses online because of work. I'm Will Ember."

The guy approached and shook Will's hand, "Gio Acri."

"Italian," Will observed with a smile. "Giovanni?"

"Giorgio," the Italian responded as he sat beside the blonde. "What job requires you to travel?"

"Construction," Will answered, lying, obviously. "My boss has offices here, in Edmonton, in Brandon, and in Toronto."

"Mm," Gio nodded. "You nervous about the exam?"

Will answered, "A little. I'm always a nervous tester."

"I've been nervous since last night," Gio offered with a small laugh. "How 'bout I give you a nice, relaxing blowjob in the bathroom?"

Grinning, Will replied, "You get straight to the point. Sure, we got ten minutes."

Will followed Gio down the hall and into the men's bathroom. There, inside a stall, Gio wasted no time in unbuckling Will's belt and undoing the fly. After pulling Will's jeans down to his ankles, Gio pushed Will down to sit on the toilet and removed his eyeglasses. Gio then took Will's half-hard uncut cock into his mouth and worked it.

Will fought hard to hold back his moans. He looked down, watching as the sexy Italian hold his gaze while bobbing his head wildly. His thick cock looked so hot sliding through those thick, pink, sinful lips. Gio's chocolate-coloured eyes were gorgeous and hungry. Will weaved his fingers through the short, soft, curly black hair and pushed Gio's head down, making the Italian deep-throat his veiny cock.

They were in a public bathroom. But Will didn't care. He pushed and pulled on Gio's head, not caring who heard the squelching sounds coming from Gio's throat as he skull-fucked for all he was worth.

Will threw his head back and held Gio's head down firmly, spilling his seed down the Italian's throat.

"Fuck," Will hissed in a whisper.

When Will released his grip on Gio's head, he dislodged the spent prick from his mouth and stood. He said a quick 'Thanks' and left the blonde their on the toilet with his pants pooled down at his ankles.

The second Will entered the classroom, Prof. Hyland closed and locked the door. He announced that they had ninety minutes to complete the exam.

Three hours later, Will was sitting in a classroom on the main floor. He was reading through his notes on his laptop on Ethical Decision-Making.

"Hi," Will recognized Jasmine Torlee's voice. "How was London?"

Will smiled and replied, "Hi, Minny. London was fine. Not as rainy as I expected. You look great as a platinum blonde."

"Thanks!" Jasmine touched and finger-combed her almost-white hair. "I have to condition my hair every other day to keep it so light. How was it working with Gregg Sulkin?"

"He's so hot!" Will answered brightly. "And he wasn't outright douchey. He joined us whenever we went out, and he even took a selfie of the two of us."

"God, I'm so jealous!" Jasmine gushed. "When does Allison film again?"

"Not til September," Will answered. "But I fly out to LA tomorrow. Umm... Ally has other work."

"All the way down?" Jasmine asked, perplexed. "That's gonna be a long-ass haul."

"No," Will responded. "It's only a five and a half hour day with a two hour layover in Vancouver. Three and a half hours in the air doesn't sound bad at all. How's John?"

Jasmine sighed heavily before answering, "Things are tense. We had a fight two days ago. He's pretty fucking sure that Corbin is trying to get into my pants."

"Corbin?" Will asked, surprised. "Corbin Henrik? Asexual, aromantic Corbin Henrik? What the fuck draws John to that conclusion?"

Jasmine shrugged her shoulders with a mother sigh. "Insecure li'l bitch, I guess. Me and Corbin were in the main building after a group project, we were playing Mario Kart 64 on a Nintendo emulator on his laptop. John joined us when we were racing and laughing. But John knows that Corbin is ace and aromantic."

Outside of arrivals at LAX, Will saw a woman in the small crowd. Her obviously dyed red hair was tied in a messy bun with a blonde stripe in it. She looked bored, one foot jutting out and the heel of her wedge boot balancing her. She was also holding a sign that had 'William J. Ember' written on it.

"Hi," Will greeted as he approached her with a smile. "I'm Will."

"Susan," she shook Will's hand, still looking bored. "I'm Ms. Jacobs's assistant. Do we need to wait for luggage?"

"Yeah," Will answered, "a suitcase."

"Okay," she said as she led him to the conveyor belts. "Ms. Jacobs is in a meeting so she sent me to pick you up. I am to take you to check into the hotel, and then take you to meet her at The Palm for dinner. The dinner reservation is set for eight o'clock, so Ms. Jacobs would like you to find a lawyer for the signing of your contract. I have a list of recommended lawyers that you can go through while we wait for Ms. Jacobs."

"The-" Will was a little overwhelmed with the information. "The contract?"

"Yes," Susan answered, unimpressed. "The contract. The contract that makes Ms. Jacobs your agent."

"Oh," Will said like he should've known. "Right. What else will I need a lawyer for? Besides the contract, obviously."

"Well, things like contracts for new projects, inter--"

"Wait," Will said, confused. "I'll need a lawyer every time I book new projects?"

Concerned, Susan asked, "You signed the contract for your first project without having a lawyer read it over?"

"I- yeah. Sounds stupid now that I think about it."

"It was idiotic," Susan chastised.

"But Allison Kellard read it before I signed it," Will offered, hoping that helped his defense.

Susan nodded slowly and responded, "I guess that makes it a little better. But the studio could still make trouble for you, but knowing Todd Manon, I doubt it. So what makes you so special? I mean you have this wholesome look, and pretty blue eyes. When Mr. Manon called Ms. Jacobs about you, I had to cancel her afternoon because he was so certain that Ms. Jacobs absolutely had to sign you."

"No clue," Will answered with a shrug. "I'm just a white guy who works construction."

"Construction, huh?" Susan replied, once again giving the blonde a once over. "Ms. Jacobs said you had a tiny role in Chris Shaifer's new film. The 1940-London-set, right?"

"Yeah, I played a waiter in a restaurant scene. Todd Manon saw me running lines with Allison Kellard and offered me the role because the guy who had the role first broke his leg."

Watching Will grab his suitcase of the conveyor belt, Susan asked, "Then you can do an English accent? Let me hear it."

Will cleared his throat before putting the British lilt in his voice, "Nuff waggin' off, love. Shall we? What hotel m'I staying at, darling?"

Susan nodded as she led Will outside. "That's pretty good."

Maintaining the accent, Will asked, "Y'ever smile, darling?"

"No."

"Well I reckon ya should. Y'have you some nice ivories."

Susan led Will right into the restaurant two and a half hours later, and the host said, "Hello, Ms. Corwin. Umm, the reservation was only for two p-"

Susan kept walking but turned her head to the young man with a glare that Death himself would be afraid off. The host, fearful, looked away. Will became nervous. A woman standing at five-foot-three with heels could shut a six-foot-one man up with a single look.

A woman with a blonde bob stood from her table and held her hand out, "Hello. You must be William."

Will shook the offered hand and replied, "Just Will. Delightful to meet you, Ms. Jacobs."

"Please," she said, sounding bored, "call me Casey. I've heard so much about you. Todd Manon and Allison Kellard had the highest of praises for you. Have a seat, Will. Here's your contract. Do not sign it until tomorrow when you have a lawyer to proof it and we'll sign at the office. Susan, what do you have for me?"

"Sony has a couple of upcoming projects and they're calling for actors who can pull off dark characters," Susan replied as she worked away on an iPad. "Mr. Ericsson called asking of-"

Will zoned the two women out as he skimmed through the contract.

'1. SCOPE OF AGREEMENT'

'William J. Ember, hereby known as Performer, employs Cassandra Jacobs and other representatives of United Talent Agency, hereby known as Agent, and Agent hereby accepts engagement to be Performer's exclusive booking agent With respect to Performer's services, live appearances, and endeavours as a professional performer.'

"Good evening," the waitress said and handed a menu each to Will and Casey. "My name is Ruby. May I get you anythi--"

Casey, while reading the menu, impatiently cut off the young woman with, "Two glasses of Rioja."

The waitress nervous looked at Will, and replied, "I- but- I'll need to see his photo--"

"Now, please," Casey said sternly as she went back to reading the menu.

"Yes, Ms. Jacobs."

Still not looking up from her menu, Casey said, "You're old enough for wine in Canada, you're old enough for wine here. Take your time with the contract, Will. Rule number one, know what you're getting yourself into."

'2. DUTIES OF AGENT'

'(a) Agent agrees to use reasonable efforts in the performance of the following duties: assist Performer in obtaining, obtain offers of, and negotiate engagements for Performer; advise, aid, counsel and guide Performer with respect to those engagements; reasonably promote and publicize the Performer and those engagements procured by Agent, carry on business correspondence in Performer's behalf relating to Performer's professional performance career; cooperate with duly constituted and authorized representatives of Performer in the performance of such duties.'

'(b) Agent will maintain office area, staff and facilities reasonably adequate for the rendition of such services.'

'(c) Agent will not accept any engagements for Performer without Performer's prior approval, which shall not be unreasonably withheld.'

'3. RIGHTS OF AGENT'

Will decided he'd leave that section for the lawyer.

"Thank you, Susan," Casey said as she handed the young woman the iPad back."

The waitress returned and set their glasses of wine in front of them. She asked, "Would you li--"

"I'll have the ahi tuna," Casey said, once again rudely cutting off the poor girl.

The waitress turned to Will and asked, "And for you, sir?"

Flabbergasted, Will responded, "I- uhh... I haven't looked at the menu yet."

"Do you like beef?" Casey asked, to which Will nodded. "He'll have the carpaccio."

'4. COMPENSATION OF AGENT'

'(a) In consideration of the services to be rendered by Agent hereunder, Performer agrees to pay to Agent commissions equal to the percentages, set forth below, of the gross moneys received by Performer, directly or indirectly, for each engagement on which commissions are payable hereunder:'

• '(i) Nine percent (09.0%) if the engagement compensates Performer sixty thousand dollars United States currency ($60,000 USD) or less.'

• '(ii) Eighteen percent (18.0%) if the engagement compensates Performer sixty thousand dollars and one cent United States currency ($60,000.01 USD) or more.'

"Nine and eighteen percent are kind of random numbers," Will commented.

"They are usually ten and twenty percent," Casey replied, reading something on her phone. "Todd persuaded me into lowering the rates or he would've given you the number to another agency. That's what told me that I had to have you, that Todd felt so strongly regarding your representation."

"Oh," Will responded, dumbfounded. "Did you- did they- have they sent you the dailies of my role in 'With Arms Outstretched'?"

"Yes," Casey answered as she grabbed her glass. "Normally the studios wouldn't do so because I'm not technically your agent yet. But Todd emailed me your filmed scene over the weekend. You are talented, Will. You could be better, and I'll getcha there. I guess that's why Todd set us up."

Will nodded his acknowledgement. He then brought his eyes back down to the contract. The compensation to the agent section took up another page, and Will decided he'd read that section further tomorrow.

'5. EXPENSES'

Will read that he would have thirty days to reimburse UTA for expenses such as postal correspondence, intercontinental telephone calls, publicity materials, and travel, after being invoiced.

The contract also stipulated that UTA would issue statements with itemized detailings of all expenses they would be requiring reimbursement for. It also stipulated that UTA would have one hundred days to invoice Will for each item, or they forfeit any right to invoice after one hundred days.

'6. DURATION AND TERM'

'(a) The term of this Agreement shall be for five (5) year(s) and Performer grants to Agent options to extend the term of this agreement for periods of one (1) year each upon all the terms and conditions hereof, if both parties agree to extend contract. Said options shall be exercised automatically unless thirty (30) days prior to the end of the then current term either party gives the other, written notice to the contrary.'

'(b) This Agreement may be terminated by either party, by written notice as provided below, if Artist:'

• '(i) is unemployed for sixteen (16) consecutive weeks at any time during the term hereof; or'

• '(ii) does not obtain employment for at least two (2) cumulative weeks of engagements to be performed during each of the first and second six (6) months periods during the term hereof; or'

• '(iii) does not obtain employment for at least twelve (12) cumulative weeks of engagements to be performed during each subsequent year of the term hereof.'

"Here you are," the waitress set their appetizers down. "Carpaccio of beef tenderloin for the gentleman, and the sesame seared ahi tuna for the lady."

"Thank you," Casey said, indifferent. "More wine please. How does the agreement look so far?"

Will shrugged with a smile and answered, "It's fine, I guess. This... this meat is raw."

"It's supposed to be." Casey looked up after slicing a piece of the fish and asked, "Any questions about the agreement?"

"No," Will replied, shaking his head. "Seems pretty straightforward."

"Feel free to ask me anything regarding it," Casey told the man. "Or ask your lawyer when you read it more carefully."

"You're right," Will said, chewing. "This carpaccio is delicious! The parmigiana balances so well with the lemon and pepper."

Casey merely nodded her head softly and went back to reading her emails. Will wondered if she was like this with all of her clients. Short, stoic.

'(c) Notice of such termination shall be given by certified mail addressed to the addressee at the address listed above unless such has changed and Performer has been given notice of the new address. Such notice of termination must be received by Agent no later than two (2) weeks following the occurrence of any event described above. Failure to give notice as aforesaid shall constitute a waiver of the right to terminate based upon the happening of such prior events.'

'(d) Performer's disability resulting in failure to perform engagements and Performer's unreasonable refusal to accept and perform engagements shall not by themselves either deprive Agent of its right to or give the Performer the right to terminate (as provided in (b) above).'

'(e) As used in this agreement, a "week" shall commence on Sunday and terminate on Saturday. A "week of engagements" shall mean any one of the following:'

• '(i) A week during which Performer is to perform on at least four (4) days; or'

• '(ii) a week during which Performer's gross earnings equals or exceeds the lowest such gross earned by Performer for performances rendered during any one of the immediately preceding six (6) weeks.'

"Okay," Will said softly, sitting the contract down on the table. "I'll finish reading this tonight."

Casey nodded softly as she set her fork down. "Any questions?"

"No," Will replied. "Well... So if you are unable to secure roles for me, I'll have to notify you of my desire to nullify this agreement within two weeks of the original sixteen months?"

Casey nodded, "Yes. Same with the other stipulations of that section."

"Okay," Will said, slowly grasping the idea.

"Do you have--"

Casey stopped herself as the waitress had returned. The young lady replaced their glasses with fresh wine, took their entree orders, and left with their dirty glasses and plates.

"As I was saying," Casey sipped her wine, "have you found a lawyer?"

"Mm-hmm," Will sipped his wine as well. "Erin Brickham."

"Mm," Casey nodded. "Latham & Watkins. Only six years in the business but she's blazing her trail."

"Well I'm meeting her for breakfast tomorrow to show her the contract."

Casey picked up her phone and asked, "What time are you meeting her?"

"Ten o--"

"Susan, I need you to move my one o'clock to ten o'clock and replace one o'clock with a Performer agreement signing. - Will and Brickham. - Yeah, that one. - Then you call Linus right now and tell him to reschedule that!"

Casey ended the call and Will asked her, "So Erin and I will be meeting you at one in the afternoon?"

"Three hours will be enough time to read the contract thoroughly. So tell me about yourself."

Two hours later, Will was back at Level Suites. He folded the freshly-emptied paper grocery bags and put them into the recycling bin. Inside the bedroom, tired, and lonely, Will opened the Grindr application on his phone and undressed.

'How's man as gorgeous as you single?' a young-ish man with a shirtless profile picture asked.

Will smiled, amused and bashful, and wrote back, 'Possibly because I don't put out enough and cuddle the hell out of guys.'

The man, whose username was cuddlemonstr, quickly replied, 'Swoon. A man after my own heart. I'm Jerry.'

Before Will could type a reply, another man with the username VersLatino wrote, 'You have excellent bone structure. From that with blonde hair I'm guessing you're Skandinavian.'

Will wrote to him, 'No clue. I grew up in foster care.'

Will went back to cuddlemonstr and wrote to him, 'I'm Will. Mind if I ask how old you are? Your age isn't listed on your profile. Not that I care, just curious.'

VersLatino wrote, 'Shit, my bad. You're the sexiest man I've seen on here. I mean that.'

Will blushed as he wrote to VersLatino, 'Thanks! Your humongous muscles look like they'd keep me safe from the monster under my bed ;)

Cuddlemonstr wrote back, 'I am 33. You a student?'

Will received another message, and he assumed it was from VersLatino. But it was from a man with the username StonyOTP and he didn't have a profile photo. He wrote, 'Will, you slut ;)'

Intrigued, Will didn't mean to ignore the other two, he was so engrossed in the new guy. And wondered how the man knew his name.

'You have me at a disadvantage. I don't know your name.'

Will then went back to the chat with cuddlemonstr and replied, 'I take courses online and work in construction.'

VersLatino wrote, 'But I have a monster between my legs too that I barely control.'

That amused Will. He smirked as he replied, 'My favourite kind of monster.'

StonyOTP wrote, 'You kissed me and touched my dingdong :D'

Will laughed as he typed, 'I have kissed many and touched a few dozen dingdongs. Another clue?'

cuddlemonstr wrote, 'Explains that sculpted bod of yours. I work as a journalist.'

I'll wrote to him, 'You look like you've got a sexy figure underneath your clothes.'

VersLatino wrote, 'He loves to be played with and exploring caves ;)'

Will replied, 'Well, my cave isn't up for exploration tonight. Just looking for a warm body to snuggle me to sleep.'

StonyOTP responded, 'I studied abroad.'

Will laughed softly as he typed, 'I already know it's you, Nicky. Just teasing. I'm too tired for sex tonight, but wanna spend a night bathing and cuddling?'

cuddlemonstr wrote, 'Shucks, you sweet talker you. What are you looking for on here?'

'I just want someone to big spoon me to sleep,' Will wrote back. 'And I found one already. It was nice chatting with you tho,'

Will laughed slightly at the response that he'd received from Nick, 'Fuck yes, Billy! Where are you staying?'

Twenty minutes later, Will threw the comforter off his body. He opened the music application on his phone as he walked into the bathroom, playing Fire Meet Gasoline. In the bathroom, Will plugged the bathtub and ran a hot bath. Just as he had dropped the lemongrass bath bomb into the tub there was a knock at the suite door.

"Hey!" Will said brightly after answering the door.

Nick offered the blonde a crooked smile, his eyes raking over Will's mostly naked body before stepping into Will's space. His big green eyes shone with affection as he gripped the waistband of Will's purple boxer-briefs and pulled him into a kiss on the lips of adoration.

"Mm," Will said, their lips still glued together.

Nick removed his lips from Will's but pressed their foreheads together and breathily said, "Hi."

Will gripped the unzipped polyester fabric of Nick's thin jacket and pulled him into the suite.

"How are you?" Nick asked as he followed the blonde inside.

"I'm tired," Will answered. "Want something to drink? I've only got bottled water, apple juice, and root beer. Fucking drinking age here is twenty-one, so I couldn't buy beer and wine."

"Apple juice is good," Nick answered, leaning back against the kitchen island.

"You look good. Well, hotter than I remember."

Nick accepted the glass, smiling, bashful, and asked, "You've been thinking about me?"

Smiling back at the brunette, Will replied, "Well, sure. I mean I have this thing for brunettes with green eyes. And your eyes are the brightest green I've ever seen."

Nick's face heated rapidly. Will watched as Nick smiled softly and leaned back in for another kiss. It was a small, chaste, sweet kiss, after which Will brought his hand up and swept the short brown hair on Nick's forehead up.

"Shall we get into the tub? I hope you don't mind that I put a bath bomb in."

Smiling like a Cheshire, Nick retorted, "You just wanna see me naked."

"Heh!" Will said. "I've seen you nude, Nicky. Your thingy is not impressive."

Nick laughed and replied sing-songily, "S'that so? I dunno, it seemed to have left you a mewling mess last time."

"Fine," said Will, trying, and failing, to add bite. "Stay out here in your perfectly fitting jeans, and sexy polo, and expensive-looking jacket, and your smug face while I soak in a hot, luxurious, lemongrass-scented bath."

Nick smiled, and sat his glass down on the island countertop. He stepped toward Will's back and wrapped his arms around the blonde's waist and pulled his back into his chest. Holding a laughing Will securely, Nick planted a dozen pepper kisses to Will's neck.

"C'mon!" Will cried, still laughing softly. "Let's go sit in a nice bath."

Will grabbed Nick's hand and pulled him into the bathroom. Inside, Will held Nick's gaze as he tentatively placed his hands on either side of Nick's black jacket and peeled it off his arms.

Watching Will hang his jacket on the towel rack, Nick said, "For the- for the record, I thought about you a little, too."

Will responded by giving Nick another chaste kiss and pulled the green polo up and over his head.

Unfastening Nick's jeans, Will asked, "Fe-feel free to say no, and I hope it doesn't make you change your mind about staying the night, but would you- would you consider a long-distance relationship? W-with me?"

Will watched as Nick's gaze flitted over to his eyes, slight surprise formed on his features.

"S'that a no?" Will asked, sounding not disappointed. "It's okay."

Will left Nick as he was, standing there shirtless and his fly undone. He pulled his boxer-briefs down and stepped out of them, shutting water off as he stepped into the hot water.

"You don't seem too bummed out," Nick commented, actually amused.

Will relaxed completely in the hot water and replied, "Nicky, you're a great guy I think. I'd like a relationship with you, a real relationship, but if that's not what you want then it's okay. If you wanna go you can go. If you wanna soak with me, hop in."

Nick bent forward as he slid his jeans down his muscular and hairy legs, and stepped out of them. He had gone commando, no underwear. His dick was half hard, hanging five inches with his huge, hairy balls.

"Slide over," Nick requested, motioning Will with his hand. "So you can lean back against me. C'mon, you promised me snuggles galore."

Will giggled as he sat upright and slid his tush to the middle of the tub. He watched as Nick stepped into the water behind him and felt him sit. He smiled softly as Nick carefully slid his legs past his hips, so he leaned back until he was being held by Nick.

Nick had begun rubbing slow, soothing circles on Will's firm, smooth chest and kissed his neck.

"I'm glad you asked me to come tonight," Nick stated quietly.

Will smiled again before replying, "I meant it when I said it was good to see you."

"I know you did," Nick replied softly and kissed Will's neck again. "When do you fly back to Victoria?"

"I fly out on the twenty-second," Will answered. "Why do you ask?"

Nick kissed Will's neck again before answering, "Because it would be nice to see you every day that you're here."

"Really?" Will asked with a growing smile. "That'd be awesome."

A grin grew on Nick's lips and he whispered right into Will's ear, "And... so that I can go with you."

Shock. That's what Will felt. He sat motionless with it.

After a moment, Will asked, "What? You- you wanna go to Victoria with me?"

"Well," Nick shrugged, "yeah. I mean, I think two weeks together would be awesome to start our long distance relationship."

Shocked, and giddy, Will sat upright and turned to face the brunette. Surprise ruled his face for a few moments. And then he smiled with happiness. He leaned forward, as did Nick, and they shared a passionate kiss. Their lips danced together expertly, with their hands touching the other's face.

Free the kiss, Will leaned back against the other side of the tub and beckoned Nick toward him. Nick happily obliged, turning and lying his back against the blonde's chest.

Nick asked, "What are you doing here anyway?"

"Your dad scored me another acting gig," Will answered, kneading the defined and slightly hairy muscles of Nick's chest. "But first I had to meet with my new agent, Casey Jacobs."

Impressed, Nick asked, "You're being represented by United Talent? That's great! They have amazing agents. You're in more than capable hands."

"I think so, anyway," Will agreed. "All thanks to your dad. He told Ms. Jacobs that she had to have me."

"What's the gig?" Nick asked with excitement. "When do you begin shooting your scenes?"

"I'm rehearsing my scenes with Monica Benson tomorrow evening," Will answered. "And on Friday, too. She's playing my mom. We begin shooting our scenes on Saturday. We are scheduled to finish our scenes on Tuesday. And I'm keeping my role a secret until the episode airs. But I will tell you that it's a guest appearance on Grey's."

"Grey's Anatomy!?" Nick practically shouted. "Billy! Holy shit! That's fucking fantastic! That's huge!"

Will laughed and his face coloured itself in a bright shade of pink. It was a pretty look, at least Nick thought so from the turning of his head.

"Your dad really helped me out a lot," Will responded. "Tell him for me that I appreciate it."

"You got it," Nick replied, smiling softly. "So what's going on tomorrow?"

"Well I'm meeting Erin Brickham for breakfast."

"Mm," Nick nodded. "Who's Erin Brickham? Oh, is she that entertainment attorney?"

"Yeah, that's her. Meeting for breakfast at ten o'clock to go over the booking agent agreement. And then at one o'clock we're meeting Casey and the UTA lawyer for the signing of it. And after that, Casey is taking me to get my hair cut and mani-pedis."

"A haircut?" Nick asked, sounding pained, and reached back to drive his fingers through Will's blonde side swept fringe. "I love your hair."

"I'm not excited about it," Will replied, not sounding sad. "But if it'll help my career... Do you live here?"

"No," Nick replied, nuzzling his nose into Will's long, beautiful neck. "I was having dinner with my family. I live in Santa Monica. It's only a half hour drive so I can come by whenever you want."

"I wanna see you every day," Will whispered before kissing Nick's cheek. "I can- I can rent a car for when you're too tired. I should be renting a car anyway for work."

"I don't mind driving every day to see you."

"Tell me about your family."

"You know my dad," Nick responded. "My mom is Claudette, from Marseille, France."

"No way!" Will was suddenly excited. "Je suppose que vous parlez francais."
(I assume that you speak French.)

Nick smiled and replied, "Oui. Mes frere et soeur et moi avons grandi bilingue."
(Yes. My brother and sister and I grew up bilingual.)

"Mm," Will nodded. "Votre pere parle-t-il francais?"
(Does your dad speak French?)

"Un peu," Nick answered unsurely. "Juste assez pour converser regulierement."
(A little. Just enough to converse regularly.)

"Parlez-moi de votre frere et de votre soeur."
(Tell me about your brother and sister.)

"Emily a trois ans de plus que moi," Nick told the blonde. "Elle a des filles jumelles qui ont quatre ans. Elle enseigne le francais aux lyceens ici a Los Angeles."
(Emily is three years older than me. She has twin daughters who are four-years-old. She teaches French to high school students here in Los Angeles.)

"Quels sont les noms de vos nieces?"
(What are the names of your nieces?"

"Grace et Margaret. Elle aime s'appeler Maggie."
(Grace and Margaret. She likes to call herself Maggie.)

"Ton frere?"
(Your brother?)

"Jack est quatre ans plus jeune," Nick stated. "Il est pre-med a Princeton. Il envisage d'etre un cardio-chirurgien."
(Jack is four years younger. He's pre-med at Princeton. He plans to be a cardio surgeon.)

"Est-ce que vous vous entendez bien avec eux?"
(Do you get along well with them?)

Nick shrugged nonchalantly and replied, "Ouais je pense que oui. Je visite ma soeur et nieces deux ou trois fois par semaine. Jack et moi appelons une ou deux fois par semaine."
(Yeah I think so. I visit my sister and nieces two or three times a week. Jack and I call once or twice a week.)

"Mm," Will hummed, kissing Nick's cheek again. "Il semble si doux."
(Seems so sweet.)

Nick chuckled darkly before replying, "Mes parents etaient tout pres de se divorcer d'innombrables fois. Mon pere etait fondamentalement marie a sa carriere aussi."
(My parents were close to getting divorced countless times. My dad was basically married to his career, too.)

"Aww," Will cooed sympathetically as he kissed Nick's neck again. "Avez-vous deja vecu en France a cause de cela?"
(Have you ever lived in France because of this?)

"No," Nick answered. "Devons-nous nous laver et nous detendre au lit?"
(Should we wash and relax in bed?)

"Oui," Will answered as Nick went to the other side of the tub, "l'eau devient froide."
(Yes, the water is getting cold.)

While rubbing shampoo into his hair, Nick asked, "Parle moi de ta famille."
(Tell me about your family.)

"J-j’ai grandi dans une famille d’accueil," Will answered uneasily. "Aucune famille ne m'a adopte parce que je n'etais pas un ange. J'ai rencontre ma mere a l'age de treize ans. Elle est toxicomane a la cocaine et alcoolique."
(I grew up in foster care. No family adopted me because I was not an angel. I met my mother when I was thirteen. She's addicted to cocaine and an alcoholic.)

Looking genuinely saddened, Nick stopped massaging suds into his hair in favour of grasping Will's hand.

Will gave Nick's hand a gentle squeeze back and said, "It's fine."

Will and Nick finished washing in silence. Well, Will's phone remained playing his playlist.

Towelling off, Nick asked, "What's this song?"

"It's the Joe Mason remix of a song called Elevated," Will answered. "I love the slight rasp to the singer's voice."

After hanging the used towels on the shower curtain rod, the two guys went into the bedroom while handing hands. Will stopped the music and put his phone on the charger while Nick climbed into the bed.

"Tell me about your childhood," Nick requested, pulling Will into him as the blonde now laid in bed. "When did you learn to speak French anyway?"

Will began scraping his nails against the short hair on Nick's chest as he answered, "One of my foster homes was French-Canadian and bilingual. I asked them to teach me before high school. So when I started high school I took French, and then Intensive French."

"You don't have to talk about your childhood," Nick said softly. "That was intrusive of--"

"--No, it's fine. Growing up in foster care was a lot better than growing up with a junkie. Before I met my mother I wanted so badly for her to find me and take me back. She was a mess. A total mess. Thin as a rail, greasy hair, shaky hands, unfocused eyes."

"How did you find out who she was?"

"Mr. Zanich, one of my foster carers, asked my case worker for the information. My mother didn't live at the address, but Mr. and Mrs. Zanich were able to search online for her new address. They took me to meet her. They already knew from my file that Gina Ember was an addict and an alcoholic so they warned me that she might not be a fully functional person."

"Were you always in the foster system?"

"No," Will answered before planting a small kiss to Nick's warm chest. "I was three when social services was notified that Gina Ember would leave her child home alone and pass out for hours on end when she was home. The only memory I have of living with Gina is her taking me to the playground on a nice summer day. I remember playing with the other kids on the playground and sliding, and looking over and seeing her arguing with a man. I'm guessing that was her dealer."

"How many homes did you grow up in?"

"I don't know. Like I said, I wasn't exactly the calmest of children. And I was so young when I went into foster care."

"Who were your favourite foster parents?"

"Umm... Sandra and Noel Harper. They were nice, never took anybody in for the money. And they never took in more than three at a time. I was with them the longest, about a year and a half. They didn't mind helping us foster kids with our homework."

"You become close with any foster siblings?"

"Two," Will answered around a yawn. "Lori McLeod and Xander Mirkolin. I work with Xander at Kinetic Construction."

"Let's go to sleep," Nick said before yawning. "I wanna be the little spoon."

"But you're taller than me," Will retorted, trying to keep the brunette from turning over. "I wanna be the little spoon this time."

Nick grabbed Will's wrist and pulled his chest to his back and replied, "C'mon, big guy. I'm your guest. And you're more muscular."

Still fighting the grasp, Will retorted, "But you're older!"

Smiling softly, Nick responded, "Okay, g'night."

Aghast, but also amused, Will smacked Nick's plump, firm ass. He then laid down. On his side. Holding Nick securely. He kissed the nape of Nick's neck and settled in for the night.

But I Call It Love

To Be Continued...

tyler.christopher36@yahoo.com