Part 15


As they strolled side-by-side back down the length of the beach toward the health club again, JC glanced at his watch and couldn't fathom how it had gotten so late. They'd been sitting in the gay-friendly pub over two hours, chatting about one topic and then another and then yet another the previous one had led them to, getting to know broad subtleties about each other, closing gaps of intrigue, and forming preliminary bonds. Time had seemed to fly by and stand still at once.

Discreetly, JC looked at his watch again, not quite believing it was after midnight. He also couldn't believe how genuinely connected and in-tune he'd come to feel with this new person walking next to him after talking to him for only a few hours, spending so little but such high-quality time with him. It was a refreshing, pleasant feeling, warm and tingly all over, one he hadn't felt with anyone else in years. One he hadn't realized he had missed until it was back, surrounding him, swallowing him up, and tickling him inside out once again.

The vibe, a strong and fluid one, a hot-wired one, the one that had fired up and swelled so warm between them in the aura of the bar, swirled around them now on the beach, throwing off tiny sparks like shooting stars that could be felt but not seen. It was as if he'd known Justin for a long, long time, as if they'd shared and survived so much together, had so many things in common. Hadn't they even picked up on each other's witty speech rhythms and adopted them into a single fluid one they now used between them? It was so real, so invigorating, and even more intoxicating than all the imported beer they had consumed with their assorted bar food munchies.

And he honestly didn't want the night to end, but rather have it go on forever this peacefully, this balanced and easy. Because it felt, well, damn good. But he also knew better than to hurry things in situations like this, especially when they were advancing so damn smoothly on their own without any help or interference.

So he satisfied himself with their slow pace down the beach in the darkness of the late hour, damp sand under their bare feet and between their toes this time since this time they'd decided to shed their shoes and carry them. "One layer of clothing closer to nature," Justin had murmured and laughed that soft, gentle laugh JC could hear warmly above the sounds of the other beach strollers or the ocean's roaring tide.

He found himself sinking teeth into his lower lip each time their two free hands brushed against each other at their sides. Biting into his own flesh at the crisp-shooting sensations of his skin touching Justin's skin in the humid night air.

Could it seriously be that somebody I'm actually into might be into me too? Really?

"So I'm curious," Justin broke into his reverie now. "What in the hell are all those jobs you speak of? What do you do to be working so hard and so much?"

JC giggled and glanced for a second at Justin's handsome profile next to him, bathed in filtered moonlight. "How much time do you have, man?"

"All the time we need. I'm not going anywhere. Too tired. You and all your boundless energy wore me out." Justin snickered and leaned in to nudge JC's arm, causing the bottom of the thick Adidas overshirt Justin wore to raise up over his waist, revealing a sliver of taut abdomen and a spray of dark-blond hairs that disappeared downward under his belted low-riding khaki slacks, a sight that definitely didn't escape JC's notice from the corner of his eye.

JC swept the wet tip of his tongue out and over his lips, swallowing slowly, forcing his mind back to the question at hand. "Well, let's see……….Besides the racquetball gigs which I do two or three evenings per week, I sometimes go out to Pasadena and ride horses. My brother manages a huge-ass spread of equestrian stables for a cool rich cat on a ranch outside the city. Dude pays me to saddle the horses up and give them some exercise."

"Really? You can make money doing that? That sounds awesome. I love riding horses."

"You do? No shit? Well, maybe sometime we could, I mean you and me, if you want, you know, head out there and, well, get our ride on or whatever." JC almost tripped over his own mouth before stopping himself.

Justin laughed quietly, already pleasantly fluent in the babble-ese. "Sure, JC. I'd like that. I really would……….And what else have you got your hands into?"

JC smiled and continued. "My neighbor pal Chris I mentioned before?"

"Straight guy who lives in the loft downstairs from you."

"Exactly. You were listening."

Grinning, Justin nudged him again. "Of course I was listening, man!"

JC's shoulders shook with a silent snicker. "Okay. Well, see, there's Chris. He owns an art gallery down in the valley. And, since he knows jack-shit about art, he contracts me sometimes to 'consult' for him and clue him in on which up-and-coming newbie artist is worth checking out or not. It's different. It pays. And I dig it. It's the closest thing to a 'corporate' job I've ever had. Weird, eh?"

Justin turned and squinted at him. "Wait. The guy has zero eye for decent art, and he owns a gallery?"

JC shrugged, smiling down at the soggy sand they walked on. "My man CK is like a bohemian free spirit, drifting from one unconventional stopping post to another. He tries one thing out to see if he can hang with it and then moves on. I'm always like, 'What the hell do you want to be when you grow up, dude?' He used to have his own clothing line. Didn't know jack about that either. Okay, well, maybe a little. I just give him hell about it. Haha. He's cool, and he's good people. Always there when ya need him."

"Sounds like an interesting guy."

"Yeah. He is."

"And so are you, JC. Seriously." Justin stepped in closer to bump JC's shoulder again with his own. "You know art enough to freelance advise for a pro gallery? Wow. That's something impressive, man."

"Ah, not so much. I just know what appeals to me, what makes me go, 'Hmm. Now that's some radical shit there.' It's not like I'm the world's greatest critic or anything. I just like to look. Does that make any sense?"

Justin studied him for a moment. "So is that all of the various and sundry hats JC Chasez wears in the working universe?"

"Nope. There's one more."

"And somehow that doesn't surprise me. Busy dude you are." Justin laughed. "Do tell."

JC sighed, hesitating, gathering his thoughts to spin them into words. "Well, on the weekends, like in the evenings, I can be found down at the Beverly Monarch. It's a hotel in, well, Beverly Hills. Duh. I do some stuff with them in the bar off their lobby, that little lounge called Avalon."

Justin turned again and stared at him as they trudged in the same slow pace over the sand, neither of them in any hurry at all, neither of them mindful of anyone else on the beach or the sidewalk. "THE Beverly Monarch? Are you fucking serious? That's, like, the ritziest, swankiest, most famous hotel in all LA! That's where all the billionaires and big-name movie stars and world leaders and shit stay when they're in town. Some of them even rent apartments there. But you know that already, don't you, man? And you work there? Damn. How'd you swing that?"

JC shrugged off the flurried reaction, seemingly embarrassed. "It's not a big deal. I know the dude who handles the entertainment in that lounge. He and I go way back to when I was living in Orlando years ago. Anyway, he hooked me up there, and I help him out some on the weekends. Saturday and Sunday nights. It goes a long way with footing the bills. And it's a cool gig. Low maintenance, not a lot of pressure. It works."

"Well, I gotta hand it to you, JC. You do have a lotta shit on your plate when it comes to employment. And that's great." Justin paused, taking it all in. "But I have to say it must be a miracle for me that you had some free time tonight. I feel honored."

JC turned a smile upward and sideways at him. "Ah, but so do I. And this has been major relaxing and fun. Just what I was needing."

"Yeah, me too. You know what they say about all work and no play."

"You'll never be a dull boy, Justin. Trust me. No damn way."

Justin grinned, vaguely aware that the alcohol he'd drunk had eased him into a casually bold, gently aggressive state of mind. "Neither will you. Nope. That won't be happening."

They walked along in warm, shadowy silence for a few moments then, moments that seemed deep and full and unearthly, no words exchanged aloud, just gentle breathing and murmured heartbeats to offset the nighttime sounds of the ocean beside them. But something distinct hummed between them, an intangible communication that they sensed rather than heard or saw.

As if magnetized or drawn by a force unseen, their hands, hanging at their sides in the middle of them, swung closer and closer until they brushed against each other, skin hot on skin, and clasped together easily, fingers coiling around fingers loosely and smoothly, as if it were the most natural happening in the universe. Both of them smiled quickly down at the sand in spontaneous response, as if, magically, they'd finally achieved the cohesive physical contact they'd been hoping for.

And they held onto each other casually like that, warm hand in warm hand, until the lights of their exit off the beach came into near view. Then, when the time was right, just as easily and soundlessly as they'd joined, their hands slid apart, leaving tingles of sweet, heated electricity up and down their spines.

"So when do the gods intervene next and make you available? Or do I need to, like, book reservations years in advance to see you again?" Justin purred quietly.

JC blinked slowly, restraining himself not to go too fast, reminding himself it was tomorrow already and that tomorrow was too desperate, too soon. "Well……….I'm at the Monarch Sunday."

And God help me, but can I wait that long?

"Oh, yeah," Justin whispered, instantly assuming he was getting the big brush-off, his voice drowning in disappointment.

"But my shift's over at eight. I'm free then. Does that fit into the Justin timetable, or is it too late and all that? I mean we could just plan to meet on the courts again if that's better for you. There's always that."

Suddenly hopeful again, Justin beamed. "Sunday sound great. I've got dinner with my mom tomorrow. But I'm clear for the next day."

"Excellent. Let's see……….Let's hook up at that bar called Raine right down the street from the hotel. Deal?"

"Or I could come to the lobby of the hotel and meet you. That might be easier. And it's no problem at all," Justin offered softly, eagerly.

But JC tensed up slightly, shyly. He sighed. "Nah, man. That's a stuffy, snobby, pretentious-as-fuck atmosphere in that joint. I'll spare you the misery. Raine will be just fine, if you don't mind. I'll escape and see you there. 'Kay?"

Justin let it go easily, not willing to rock boats or press issues or fuck up anything at all. He smiled. "Cool then. A little after eight at Raine on Sunday. I'm there."

"Me too. As soon as I change into something comfortable and get down there."

After they'd gone back inside Trinity to fetch their gym bags from their lockers and then walked out to the building's parking lot from a back door, their parting scene ended up being more comfortable than awkward, unlike either of them had been expecting. They stood at Justin's Beamer, and JC snatched two things from out of his bag before setting it down on the asphalt. Looking up and grinning, flashing the blue eyes like fire, he handed one of the objects to Justin.

It was a chilled bottle of Deer Park Spring Water. One for each of them.

"Congratulations, man, on a job well done. See? I didn't forget."

Justin accepted the bottle and smiled a huge, overcome smile. "Thanks, JC. Got me by total surprise there, didn't you?……….And you know what? This was a way better celebration than the Austin-Adair one. Trust me."

Lifting the bottles upward and outward, they tapped them against each other for a fitting plastic-on-plastic toast. JC brushed his other hand warmly down Justin's long arm, and, almost instinctively, they moved closer together for an easy, quick embrace. Each arm that held a water bottle laced around the other's shoulders, and their free hands reached up to hold the other's hip. Briefly, sweetly, chastely, their mouths grazed the flesh of the other's throat, lips parting and caressing, with moist steam, skin that was already hot and quivering. Reluctantly, with both hearts thudding, they pulled away after only a few far-too-short seconds, the sensation lingering in the air between them like a steady pulse that if they hadn't stopped when they did, they would have never stopped at all.

Colorful shadows in JC's eyes shimmered with his half-smile as he watched the moisture on Justin's lips shine under the overhead security lamps. "You okay to drive home?" he murmured.

Justin looked over his face one last time, his own smile deepening to a pleased, relaxed grin. He held up his bottle of Deer Park again. "Sure. I've got this, right? Plus the night breeze worked its mojo on my foggy head too. What about you? You okay?"

"I'm good. And I had a blast tonight. Really."

"Same here. Really……….Almost hate for it to be, you know, over."

"Yeah, I know. Me too." JC reached up and touched his arm again, for a moment. "But there's Sunday."

"Yeah. Sunday." Justin shuffled his feet on the asphalt, shoes back on now. "I'm looking forward to it."

"I know. Me too." JC winked.



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