They didn't get separated or lost from each other on the short drive to JC's loft. Nor did they lose steam or cool down. Neither of them. Not in the least. Each licked at last by hungry flames from the other, ablaze now with a searing heat that wouldn't be extinguished by a brief car ride. Justin had been trying not to fidget with the gear shift next to him in the car, trying not to twist his ass around obnoxiously in the leather bucket seat, trying not to tap his left foot impatiently on the floorboard while he breathed in and out regularly and focused intently on keeping JC's car's rear lights in view in front of him. The deliberate breathing repetition was meant to slow his sprinting pulse, but it wasn't doing any good at all. His heart hadn't been this revved up in ages and was obviously dead-set on taking full advantage of the delicious acceleration circling through him. He could feel the anxious heavy thuds on that side of his chest. His mind, thankfully, wasn't running at the same break-neck speeds, but was quieter, maybe altogether blanked out and numb. It seemed stuck in one particular looping groove, reliving over and over mere moments ago, in that parking lot, outside his car, moments which seem so surreal now - the feel of JC on him, warm and strong and pushing against him, the smell of his hair and his skin so close, the taste of his mouth that was still so sweet on Justin's own. The promise in his touch of more, the silent knowing that it felt so absolutely right. He knew his way around the North Hollywood area a long shot better than he knew the Venice Beach area. He was even familiar with the neighborhood where JC had described his loft was located. But he didn't want to risk even the slightest mishap at this crucial point in matters. So he practiced slowing his breathing pattern again and watched that "vintage" Beamer's tail lights with his hushed, undivided attention, as second after aching-long second ticked off the digital clock on the car's wood-grain stereo panel. ~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~ Ahead, JC glanced in his rear-view mirror for the 57 hundredth time since they'd left Raine to make sure Justin was still back there, on his trail. Not because he was afraid Justin had come to his senses and gone home instead. No, but because he feared he might pull some spazz-crazy lamebrain trick he was notorious for and leave the poor guy in the dust without even realizing it. And that would certainly suck ass. He rolled his eyes in the shadowy interior of his car and gripped the wheel tighter. "It could happen, Chasez. Don't be rolling your eyes." "I know it could. I didn't need you to zip in and tell me that. Fuck off. Go away." "As a matter of fact……….it already DID happen once, didn't it? You came this close to never meeting that cute boy back there altogether 'cause you went space-tripping that night at the fitness club and didn't pay attention to the time zone you were in! Right?" JC made a sneer with his nose and mouth, for no one but himself. "And so? I needed you to tell me that too? Your point is? And do I have to remind you how that incident worked itself out okay? It wasn't a disaster after all. Luckily." "Luckily, hell! That was like some kind of time-bending cosmic intervention or something stepping in there and helping you out with that one, bay-bee. Saving your mind-warped ass. Luck. Right." "What the fuck?" JC squinted and frowned. "Who invited you and all that psychobabble to this party, man? Like I even need you here right now! Get your snarky ass out of my head and get lost, damnit!" "Chasez, I am your head. So get real. And my point, since you asked, is that you somehow managed to survive that potential fuckup of not meeting the sexy boy behind us at all. The gods, wherever they are, smiled on you and let you guys hook up. Like it was supposed to happen all along. See? So don't go doing something else retarded and lose him now. 'Cause you might not get another chance. And, second, he, you know, likes you. A lot. Don't blow it on the way home to your place." JC pursed his lips, bit at the inside of his jaw, and sighed. "Knock that shit off. He doesn't like me. Not necessarily." "Not necessarily? Are you serious? Oh, give me a damn break! He likes you as much as you like him! You both know that. We all know that." "He just wants to get laid," JC mumbled to himself, to the solitude around him. "Chasez, you're crazy, plain and simple. Stop arguing with me. You know it does zero good. You two are major attracted to each other. In all kinds of ways. It's so obvious between you that the blind could see it. You could cut it with a knife. And if you want to get laid, you'll give yourself a little credit and stop denying the blatantly clear." "I'm not denying anything. I like him." "And he likes you. Admit it. For more than just a good lay." "Maybe." "So are you nervous? About when you get him back to your pad?" "No, not really. Isn't that weird?" "Yeah, but you're weird. So it fits." "Oh, shut the hell up already! Why'd you even start, dude?" "You got condoms?" JC rolled his eyes again and growled. "Of fucking course. What do you take me for anyway?" "Um, somebody who didn't even think about a protection and lube supply with a gorgeous guy on his way to your house?" "Fuck off. I was counting on you to be up on that department." "Ah. Because I'm the sensible one. I see." "Because you're an asshole who keeps jerking off in my business." "It's my business too, Chasez. Don't forget." "How the fuck could I?" JC smirked. "Well, then go on. My job's done. You're up now. Have us a great time tonight." JC shivered a little and finally shut off the persistent, irritating voice in his mind. No, he wasn't nervous. Or if he was, it wasn't bursting through the thick waves of heat and anticipation writhing and rolling inside him. He licked his lips, slowly, and yes, it was still there. That intoxicating taste of Justin, the essence of that flavor he wanted more of. And he smiled at the sound of squealing tires - his or Justin's or both - as they pulled into the covered parking deck of his building. ~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~ "Hey, that was a short ride," Justin says, jangling his set of keys and smiling as he approaches where JC shuffles anxiously beside his own car waiting for him. And it isn't forced or awkward, not too high-pitched or broken. Neither his voice or the mood between them now that they're back in each other's presence. It's relaxed and easy-going, exactly like they'd been before the ride. Exactly like JC's tone when he grins and replies, "Yeah, well, everywhere in L.A. is only 20 minutes from anywhere else. So they say." "Yeah. I've heard that." They get the elevator all to themselves and stand so close together against the back wall that they can hear each other's irregular breathing. And they're both aware of it too - aware of every little heartbeat, each passing warm moment together. There's no hesitation, no reconsidering what they're doing, no changing of either of their minds about it, no backing away after they'd come this far. And they're both aware of that too. It goes unspoken between them as the elevator carries them upward. It's confirmed silently as Justin's hand moves a little to his right and easily slips into JC's, fingers and palms interweaving cohesively. The dorkiness, the little quirks, the insecurities they'd worried about within themselves no longer matter. They're used to it all in each other by now. It's just part of the mix. JC can't stop himself, can't wait any longer, and turns to face Justin, gripping his hand and letting his gaze fall from those ice-blue eyes down to the dark-pink full lips. They're slightly parted, and he can almost feel the steam of Justin's breath slicking over them. "You have such a……….wicked-gorgeous mouth," he whispers. And the lips widen, flicker a little with a shadow of a smile. "Thanks. So do you." Then they're kissing again, tasting, taking, marking each other, two similar bodies tangled in the heat that swells the moment, touching tips of tongues together, hot mouths and tight abdomens shoved against each other. Never noticing the stoppage of the elevator and slideage open of the steel doors - not until a throat is cleared discreetly out in the hallway to wrangle their attention. JC pulls back a single step and giggles very softly, his chest heaving against Justin's. "Oops." "We're so busted," Justin whispers through a snicker. JC spins around to see who they're holding up, putting on a show for, and sighs, relieved. He steps out of the elevator and onto his floor, gently pulling Justin by the hand along with him. He stops and grins as they brush past a thin, tattooed black man wearing a colorful knit cap and snuggling the waist of a beautiful Italian girl. "Whassup, my main man? Fancy meeting you here, dude!" "Yo, C! How's it hanging, man?" "Caught my ass there, didn't ya? Sorry about that. My bad," JC laughed. "Hey! No sweat on the public spit-swapping, dude. You know I'm down with that. Ain't no thang. Get it where you can is what I say!" The black man high-fives JC and then turns to smile at Justin, extending a closed fist. "I'm Dallas. Me and this wild man here are back-to-back neighbors. Nice to see the boy actually all close up on somebody, man." Justin blushes and laughs. Still weak and quivery from JC's kiss, he somehow knows he's supposed to bump the friendly fist Dallas is holding out to him. So he clenches his own and does so. "Hey, man. I'm Justin. Nice to meet you." "Yeah, me too. This is my lady Carmen, and we're out to hit some clubs. Gonna leave you two be so you can get your play back on. Nothing sucks like freakus interruptus, yo. Know what I'm saying?" JC laughs, big and loud, quaking Justin's hand in his grasp. "Dude, don't be filling this one's head with your jive bullshit. He's an innocent bystander. Leave him the hell alone." Dallas punches JC shoulder and laughs too. "I'm just saying, man. Go on and knock it out tonight. Make all the noise you want. We won't be back to the crib to hear you through the walls. So pop it. Ah-iight? Later, Chasez." As the steel doors swoosh shut again, Dallas stops laughing long enough to blow them a kiss. Carmen smiles prettily and waves, never having to say a word. Then they're breathlessly alone again. "He seems cool." "That crazy cat is a genius at the turntable, man. We'll check out the club where he DJs one night if you want. People come from all over for one of his parties," JC says, the flow of adrenaline lacing his voice. "Sure," Justin answers. But he's hardly listening. He's more distracted by the spectacle of JC just ahead of him, leading the way to their final destination - his loft. The dark-green khaki slacks and sport coat hang on his body so gracefully. Like the wrapping on some sweet, exotic candy, just waiting to be peeled off. Justin licks his lips. "Does the Dallas dude get to hear you, um, knock it out through the walls a lot?" Justin wants to know. And doesn't really want to know. "Like never," JC answers quickly. "Really?" "Very really," JC assures him, glancing over his shoulder to see him again. "You can't hear through these thick-ass walls anyway. They're as insulated as crap. That smack-talking ass." JC snickers. "He was in total shock just then seeing me bring someone home with me. Especially someone like you. Really." Justin smiles with that last part echoing gently in his head. "Hmm. I'm still sort of lost in shock myself." "Do you want the grand tour of the place?" JC asks with lots of extra breath as he fumbles with the keys in the lock of his front door. It's a wide, heavy door and finally slides open to the side, and Justin feels cool, fresh air waft out over them. "Is there a tour?" he says quietly. "Not really. But I could wing one, if you like. So you won't be disappointed." Justin watches JC shut the big door and bolt them in. Alone. Together. Thousands of butterflies take flight in his stomach at the abrupt thud of sound. At what it means. And at the sight of the glow of a smile JC glances up at him. "Um, I'm not disappointed, JC. Not at all. No way." "Cool. Then, in that case, you might, well, be more, you know, comfortable in there……….Through the den, to your left." Justin breathes slowly even though his heartbeat is speeding away again. Quickly, his eyes scan the den, mostly dark except for a streetlight filtered through the translucent windows. "In there" must surely mean - ohfuck - the bedroom. So, because it feels like the thing to do, he stretches out his hand and clasps JC's again. It's warm. And a little sweaty. Just like his own. "Um, not without you." "Well, of course," JC whispers. Then they're standing in his bedroom, beside his bed. He's still whispering hoarsely, "Let me take your coat," as he eases up behind Justin and slips the jacket off his broad shoulders. Bottle rockets go off in his crotch as he eyes the contracting back muscles under Justin's knit Polo shirt and the way his torso tapers nicely downward to his trim waistline. Another urge seizes him now, like in the bar's parking lot and in the elevator. He can't resist pressing closer to Justin from behind, his throbbing groin against Justin's firm ass. Heat shimmies through him at the contact, and he reaches around Justin's hip and brushes his hot palm down the front of Justin's trousers, over the hard mound nestled between his thighs, pushing out beneath the zipper. Justin flinches and shoves backward into JC, slowly rubbing against JC's erection. "Make yourself at home. 'Kay?" JC groans. "'Kay." The floor lamp in the corner of the room is too bright, too much for the atmosphere. So JC releases his prey and glides over to dim it and to quickly light a thick pillar candle instead that sets on a column pedestal that reaches up out of the floor. Pleased with the mood its light creates, he turns around again to find that Justin has silently and swiftly undressed and dipped under the covers on the iron-framed bed. Sheepishly, dark-blue sheet draped haplessly across his bare lower abdomen, a few silky golden-brown hairs visible at the fold, Justin grins and blinks hooded eyes. "Sorry." "Sorry?" "Well, you said to make myself at home. So, see, if I were at home and you were standing there by the bed looking as good as you do right now, I'd hop in as fast as hell and beg you to get in here with me. That's exactly what I'd do at home." JC smiles, dying to reach down and rub the warmth strumming in his crotch. "Justin. You don't have to beg." Then it's happening, finally, slowly and tenderly at first. Shadows flirting with the candlelight and slinking all around them, JC crawls beneath the dark covers and lays on the pillow next to Justin, stretched out on his side, facing this stunning creature in his bed. His fingertips are soft and gentle as they tap a trail down Justin's thumping chest. And his cock is so hard and aching he thinks it might burst. He shudders as the head of it rubs against Justin's naked thigh. Justin winces and writhes his lower half under the sheet. His own cock is making a significant rise in the soft material and a few wet spots too. And no wonder that's happening, he thinks, with JC sliding those long legs up against him, his naked chest and arms so close, so alive with tensed muscles, begging to be licked, sucked, that mouth so wet and shiny and hot, hovering just inches from his body, making his shaft twitch with anticipation. He can't decide which part of it he wants most. It's all so breathtaking now that it's this near to him, this all over him. His bellybutton quivers as JC's hand reaches it, and Justin grabs the fingers of it and shoves them down to where they need to be: his crotch. JC's fist closes around the length of his cock and squeezes, moving the hot slide up and down slowly. Moaning, Justin uses his other arm to slide his hand around JC's neck and pull him closer. That's when the energy driving them both transforms from slow and tender to feverish and hallucinogenic. And neither of them can contain the overflow inside any longer. Not that they wanted to. JC is tearing away the sheet and rolling over half-way onto Justin's long, laid-out body, moving a lean leg between Justin's parting thighs, taking Justin completely for himself, exactly as Justin wants to be taken by him. His slick mouth and deft hands are everywhere at once - sucking Justin's reddened lips between his own, licking and biting at Justin's salty throat and collarbone, tonguing Justin's nipples to tiny tingling dark peaks and nipping at them 'til they sting, grabbing and squeezing Justin's biceps and sides and hips, holding him down as best as he can and snaking over the length of him, flesh on flesh, bristling and hot. Justin's consumed and blinded by it, by the pure heat of it, by the raw velocity and voltage of JC. The clothes had been concealing how muscled and fit the fine athletic body is. He squirms and groans beneath it, wrapping his arms around it as it slides against him, sleeking his fingers on hidden spots he's now allowed to finally touch and grope. It feels so tight and warm and alive on top of him, moving skin on fire against him. It feels far better than he'd dreamed it might. And yet it feels so natural at the same time. As if they've done this - this anticipating each other's every shivery sensation, this feeling each other's thrumming internal rhythm and playing to it - countless times, as if they know exactly how and where to touch each other for optimum physical reaction. JC moans from deep inside his chest at the burning flash that rides over him when their hard, thick erections slide together between their abdomens. Justin purrs steam in response and moves his legs, slowly, parallel with JC's. He thrusts his pelvis into JC's for more touch, more friction. And the feel of his strong thighs tensing around JC's hips gives JC another powerful urge. Justin feels JC's hands slithering, rough and gentle, on him again, teasing his tender nipples, smoothing shudders down his chest and stomach, shimmering heat down the length of his cock, reaching those slender fingers to regions below to rub the ache that's settled in his heavy balls, then slipping under the sac to probe the small hot opening there, with the firm pad of his middle digit. Justin's hips arch upward off the mattress, bucking into JC, and he squirms and groans out of control. His cock is throbbing hot, and he shoves his hand down between their bodies to close his fist around JC's swollen penis. Slowly, he strokes up and down the warm, slick, solid flesh while JC massages his turned-on little hole. Then, like a snap-flash in a dream, Justin's rolling them over, spreading himself out over JC's body like a hot, long-limbed, tight-muscled angel. Legs tangled around each other, chests close and thumping together, Justin laces the fingers of both their hands and stretches their arms outward to each side of them like sleek wings. He can feel JC's quick pulse in the veins in his wrists, and the slow, circular movements of his hips against JC's grind their dicks flat against each other like the rest of their bodies. JC feels wet, electric sparks trickling off his forehead and down the center of his ribcage. He clenches Justin's hands in his own and writhes under him. The grasping groan the comes up out of his balls and through his lips is swallowed up in the kiss Justin's mouth lays on his. The communication of touch whispers for them again, and they both know what comes next. And how it is to happen. Fire tears through JC like a rushing tidal wave, and he knows he must get to the nightstand drawer fast. He's perspiring and panting, and he knows Justin isn't the only one in the room making those desperate guttural noises. Flipping Justin over to his back again and sitting up on his knees, he grabs what he's going for from beside the bed and rips open the foil packet with his teeth. "Let me help," Justin rasps below him with a voice that sounds choked on cotton. JC's gaze shoots up to his face at once. And he sees a musky reflection of the same merciless want he feels inside, there in the colors of blue under the heavy-lidded eyes. "Sure." Justin's lips are glistening and cherry-red as his fingers take the thin sheath from him and roll the tight slickness of it downdowndown the fat length of JC's erection, slowly, taking in the full view of it for the first time. The condom keeps descending, lower and lower, covering the flesh, inch after inch, and Justin swallows hard at the size of it. It's so true, he muses silently and sucks in a pleased smile. The skinny dudes always have the biggest dicks. "Wow. You're more beautiful than I even thought you were," JC whispers huskily moments later, looming over Justin, sweeping his face and his body with those lust-dark eyes, pressing closer to his hard cock until it jerks and his taut abdomen muscles ripple. "You've got a fantastic……….body……….All of it." "Funny. That's what I was thinking of you," Justin says back to him, spreading his thighs a little wider to accommodate him. JC lowers himself and moves forward until they both know it's right. Justin hisses and squirms as the round head rubs its cool gel over his hot opening. When JC slowlygrowlingslowlyrestrainingslowlyburning pushes forward again, he gasps as the snug-as-hell, warm-as-hell walls of muscles let him in and then close around him like smothering blankets of heat. Justin's cock thuds, full and darkened, beneath him, between them, and he maneuvers a hand down to stroke the heat of it, hearing Justin grunt and sigh under the penetrating touch. The feel of Justin's long legs lifting up around his ass and Justin's big hands gripping his forearms for balance are icing on the cake. And when Justin winces out a breathy, "Fuck……….Can you feel that? I can feel it. And it's so unbelievably fucking intense," well, that's about enough to turn JC's most recent urge into a full-blown, got-to-have-you-fucking-now primal surge. "Yesss. I'm feeling you. And you're so……….yessss." Then Justin feels it more. Immediately. It's fire rocking on him, sliding into him like a drawer being slammed shut, swimming in flames in his body, bumping against things inside there, igniting them, filling him up to dangerously high levels. He holds onto JC's sweaty lean body and thrust upward against him, pushing back into everything JC's giving him, into the wall-of-red orgasm exploding through him. JC laps at Justin's neck, listening to and feeling every little whimper and moan and gasp mewling out of him. Then, when the desperate writhing and contracting muscles overpower Justin and Justin's groaning out things JC can't understand, he's helpless to the sensation of the sliding-tight heat too and sinks his teeth into the salty, damp flesh of Justin's shoulder and comescomescomescomes for what feels like three or four days. "Damn, Justin……….You feel……….unreal," he growls and shudders. Justin's hot embrace is a pillow as JC falls onto him. Justin's soft whisper is a pillow as well. "Yeah. I do now……….After that, if I can feel anything at all, it's fucking unreal………Whoa, JC. Man, that was hot." ~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~ JC watches the rise and fall of Justin's broad, smooth chest now lying on the pillow beside him. The breathing is deep and almost steady again, but he knows Justin isn't asleep. The ash-blond eyelashes - same color as the damp pubic hairs below the flat abdomen - flutter softly when JC brushes circles of nothing around the naked hipbone with his fingertips. It's late, very late. But still Justin hasn't been here next to him long enough. "You'll stay, won't you?" The eyelashes, golden in the candlelight, twitch again. "Should I?" "You shouldn't go. You're tired. It's close to morning." "I can still drive home. I'm okay." "I want you to stay. Please." The eyelashes raise slowly, like silk, giving back to the room those crystal blue eyes. They turn to JC. They're heavy with exhaustion, yes. But they shine now with something else, a shade or layer or depth that hadn't been in their shadows before. "Okay. If it's not a bother. I didn't want to assume, you know." "And I didn't want you to leave." Justin bites at the half-smile that won't stop breaking out over his lips. "Then I won't. I'd like to stay. Thanks." "Cool. It's settled. Bathroom's right over there if you need it."