Part 33


JC checked his watch as he stood in the stark, cool hallway on the second floor of his building and waited. It was 10:15 a.m. He had to get a move on. He'd told Tyler he'd be out to Alpha Dog Ranch before lunch. His right foot tapped the polished cement floor as he sighed and knocked on the huge metallic door (one identical to his own front door) again. For the third time now, mind you. He knocked hard and loud.

"What the hell? Keep your pants on already! I'm coming! I'm coming!" was screeched from the door's other side as it was slowly pushed open on its steel track to the left.

JC's nose wrinkled, and he stared coolly at his wide-eyed neighbor. "Hmm. Definitely T-Fucking-M-I, CK. And if you really are, I definitely don't want to see it. Or even know about it. Okay?"

Chris leered at him through a squint and huffed. "If I really am what?"

"Coming."

Leaning against the doorway, Chris rolled the not-so-surprised-now brown eyes and grinned. "In your dreams, Chasez. What's up, dude?"

"I tried, like, a zillion times to get you on the phone. Got no answer, man. And your cell's not picking up either. Had to come and check on you in person. Unfortunately." JC smirked.

Chris made a pained face and huffed again. "Both of the fuckers are dead. I forgot to charge 'em."

"So hook 'em up to the chargers now, dumbass," JC said, matter-of-factly, and adjusted the strap of his backpack on his shoulder. "Unless you've got something better to do in there. You want to stay incommunicado with the rest of civilization forever? Duh."

"Okay, okay! And why don't you nag a little bit while you're here, eh, C? Get your skinny ass in here and tell me what you want," Chris snickered and beckoned JC with a flip of his hand.

"You busy? Am I crashing in on anything? I can come back, man." JC stepped past Chris to get inside.

"Nah. I'm just catching up on my Tivo-ed eps of 'The L Word.' Take a load off and have a seat." Chris closed the door with a solid thud and turned to join JC in the dark, cluttered den of his loft.

JC folded himself down into the first leather recliner he came to. "'The L Word'? The one about all the lesbians?" He squinted at Chris skeptically. "You're starting to worry me, CK."

Chris waved him off with a laugh. "Dude, I'm all about the babes getting it on with each other. I already told you that. Girl-girl love is HOT, C. Those chicks have better sex than I do. I'm just saying." From the couch where he'd fallen and stretched out comfortably, Chris aimed and pointed a trigger index finger at JC, chuckling.

"Um, let's back the hell up. Do you even have sex, man? Like with a real person?" JC lifted an eyebrow and set his backpack down next to him.

Chris switched fingers he was flipping at JC and smirked. "Of course I do. And thanks for asking. Maybe I don't get as much as YOU do, but I get by. You want a beer?"

JC stared at him. "At 10 in the morning? You're totally insane and warped, CK."

"Yeah, but in a totally lovable way, right?" Chris snickered. "Sorry. Been mesmerized by the Vagina Monologues on the tube too long, I guess." He peered across the den at JC. "Man, is your hair still wet from a shower? It looks all dewy and glisteny from here, C."

"Yeah, prob'bly. I'm kind of on the run out to the stables in Pasadena," JC sort of groaned, dragging fingers through his damp locks. "I'm in a hurry. I just stopped by for a sec to tell you -"

"About your sizzling date with the Boy Wonder last night?" Chris interrupted with playfully bright eyes and a hushed, excited tone. "So how was it? Is the dude still all that, C? Are you two-for-two in the ol' bah-dah-bing, bah-dah-BOOM game?"

JC couldn't keep from 1) grinning from ear to ear, 2) looking down at his idle fingers in his lap, and 3) blushing with a shiver all up his long spine. "Four-for-four. If you're counting, well, actual, um, touchdowns."

"Well, well! Obviously, you're counting, dude! And how cool is that? Did you spend the night?"

"Yep. He asked."

"And you jumped all over that shit, didn't you? And don't lie, man."

JC shrugged. "Hell. I wasn't going to pass that up."

"Way to go, C! What'd he do for dinner? Some fancy-ass takeout?"

JC glanced up again, smiling smugly. "Fuck no. He cooked. Really cooked. And it was excellent."

Chris's face screamed that he was genuinely shocked/impressed. "Damn, damn, damn. The kid's got brains, looks, AND he can Martha Stewart too? He's got ALL the right stuff. Whew. You oughta marry this one, like, ASAP, Chasez."

"I know. I should." JC blurted out the staccato whisper before he realized it. The warm flush returned to his cheeks.

"Um, what was that?" Chris raised his eyebrows and grinned.

"I mean……….Yeah, he's multi-talented all right."

And you don't even know the half of it, CK. Whoa.

"This is so fantastic! Look at you, man! You're so glowing and sparkly!"

"Dude. I am not," JC burned with the crimson in his cheeks. "Cut it out."

"When are you doing him again? Tonight?"

"No. Not tonight."

"Aww. The lovebirds need a night apart to rest and cool off. They've boinked each other raw and need a little time to relubricate. Oh, my bad. I mean to recuperate," Chris giggled.

JC sighed and smirked. "We're meeting up for racquetball again tomorrow night. And then after that, some guys he works with are going out for bowling……….J invited me to go with him."

"J?" Chris batted his thick eyelashes teasingly.

"That's what his friends call him. Some of them will be there too……….And here's where you come in, man. He suggested I ask you to tag along too."

"Me?" Chris barked, frisky and enthusiastic, as if he couldn't believe it. "Me?"

"As my friend, jerk-off. I've mentioned you to him a few times, so he was nice enough to ask if you'd come. I said I'd pass it along to you. Wanna go?"

"Whoa. Do I wanna go? Are you joking? I get to meet the Boy Wonder?"

"Yep. Officially this time." JC rolled his eyes. "So no pranks and shit. AbsoLUTEly no sniffing him - or anybody else either. You gotta behave."

"Dude, I'll behave! I'll totally behave! Hush yo mouth. But, damn. I suck at bowling. That could be a problem."

JC shrugged. "Who doesn't suck at bowling, man?"

"You don't, Chasez. And your pretty new boyfriend probably doesn't either………..See? You two are so MADE for each other. You both do everything perfectly. And look stunning and flawless doing it too. I hate you."

"CK, shut the hell up," JC said, trying to hide his ticklish little smile.

"Well, whatever. Count me in, man. I wouldn't fucking miss this evening for all the tea in Taiwan. Or wherever. It might be so wild."

"Cool. I'll let J know. And it should be interesting, to say the least. Now I gotta head out and go to work. Tyler's waiting." JC grunted as he shoved out of the chair and stood up.

"C, look. Don't ride those damn horses too hard out there today, dude. Be careful in that bouncy saddle. You don't want to hurt that thing between your legs now that it's finally getting some hot action."

JC glared down at the friendly sarcasm all over Chris's features and couldn't resist giggling. "Well, nice of you to be concerned and all that shit. But I think I've got it under control, man. Don't lose any sleep over it. 'Kay?"

Chris grinned and winked. "I can't wait to meet your boy, C. If you like him - and, damn, it's clear as hell that you like him - a lot - then he's gotta be pretty exceptional."

"He is."

"I'm sure. Now shake some dust and get out of here. Tell Tyler he needs to come into the city and do straight-guy things with me more often. You gay boys are influencing me way too damn much. Oh, and thanks a billion and a half for the invite. You've done made my whole day, Chasez."

JC reached down to grab his bag, laughing. "You're pretty fucking crazy, CK. But I love ya."

"Lovably crazy. Don't forget that part, C. Say, will there be chicks at this shindig?"

"I'm guessing yes. He works with more than just dudes. But they may not be lesbos, so don't get your hopes up, man."

~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~

"So do you two have His-and-His vibrators now, J, 'cause it's starting to sound major serious."

Justin cut his bluish eyes upward from the ad concepts that had been mocked up and boarded and lay spread across his desk. He glared icily. Lance shrugged and slumped in the guest chair, undaunted.

"What? Not vibrators? Matching dildos instead?"

"Lance. Is this all you have to do? Sit in my office all day and spew out that perverse crap of yours? Jesus Christ."

Lance tapped his perfectly groomed fingernails on the wooden chair arm and huffed. "And so what's your problem, man? You've got a head of your own. Why do you need to go and bite mine the fuck off at the shoulders? I thought you said you're getting the ol' seven inches of natural tension tamer from your foxy boyfriend regularly now. So whassup with the grouchy-ass attitude today?"

Justin sighed and let the foam board in his hands fall to his desk with a soft swoosh sound. "Okay, sorry. Look. I have a meeting in less than 90 minutes with the Legatto Bathroom Fixture people to let them look at these concepts to see if they like the finished product before we go and do the actual photo shoot. I'm trying to focus and get in the zone so I can sell them. Is that okay with you?"

Lance rolled his eyes. "I guess so. Ill ass."

"And seven inches……….You've sadly underestimated, man." Justin squinted and smirked. "Think higher."

Lance grinned, cunning and cagey. "I knew he was hung huge! You dawg! You measured it?"

"Sort of." Justin slowly swept the tip of his tongue out over his lips, slicking them with pink shine. "I did some rough calculating of size, you could say."

"Woo hoo! You remembered how! You didn't choke or gag or anything stupid like that, did you?"

Justin frowned. "No. And fuck you, Lance. Could you just go away?"

"I'm just asking, man! I got to watch out for my bud! So did he 'measure' you too?" Lance squirmed in his seat, excited and anxious for more explicits.

Justin's mouth curled up a shrewd, secret-keeping smile. "He 'measured' me expertly, I must say. Until the top of my head blew clear off."

"Ah, ha! 'Head' and 'blew' being the key words here! All right, J! Awesome! I knew you were looking sexed-up again today, dude!" Lance's face radiated his bubbling approval. "And is Mr. Hot Jock a keeper in the suckage department too then?"

Justin smiled again, remembering the night before in wicked, hot-steam detail. In his lap under the desk, his dick remembered too and jumped against his boxers with a flash of heat tingling through it.

"On a scale of one to 10? He gets a 217. At least."

"No chomping down with the incisors into prime-cut Timberlake meat this time?"

"No. No biting last night. But I can't say I would've minded if he had," Justin winked.

"Yeah, and now YOU'RE the perv, J. Way, way pervier than me," Lance chuckled. "You've scored yourself a real fucking winner with this one, man. Sexy as hell to look at and great in bed too. Classic!"

"Yeah, so when do I wake the hell up?"

Lance laughed again and shook his head. "Don't be so cynical, Justin. This is really happening. You're not hallucinating, dork. It's about damn time you found yourself somebody good for you. And ol' JC seems to be perfect for you. Congrats."

"So you and Jess will be cool if he shows up with me Thursday night? I mean since you've already met him and all?"

Lance grinned, and his green eyes sparkled like a cut gemstone. "Of course, man! Me and my boy will play it smooth and clean as a baby's butt. Don't you worry your gorgeous little blow-job-giving head about it for a sec. Okay? Nice and easy, and we'll be instant chums with the guy. Trust me?"

Justin sighed again and sat back in his big, comfortable exec chair. "I'll try. And don't hit on him either. Either of you. I'll kill you."

Lance snickered. "Possessive as hell already. You little shit. Not that I blame you, though. Look at him. Haha. But seriously. We're not going to mess with your hot, young, athletic love machine, J. Don't worry. He's all yours. Is that what's making you so cranky and unsettled?"

Justin rolled his eyes and frowned. "No. It's that freak Wade. Sometimes he just gets the crap under my skin. I don't know. I can ignore his weird ass most of the time and be fine, but sometimes he totally rubs me the wrong way. And that's been, like, a lot lately."

Lance scrunched up his face in a melodramatic, painful-looking grimace. "Okay, Justin. Trying to make me dry-heave or what? The thought of Robson rubbing you anywhere anytime is completely……….Eeww."

Justin smirked. "He's just, I don't know, sleazy, rotten, bad to the bone. It's like he's always up to something, something malicious and evil. And he's spookiest when he's in a good mood. Like today. I absolutely don't trust him."

"He's criminally smarmy, I'm saying. A genuine connoisseur of horse shit. And I'm not going near his ass again if he's drinking. He's always wanting to feel me up and shit. It's sick." Lance shuddered. "Want me to bust his kneecaps or something, J?"

Justin bit at the inside of his lower lip. "At least he won't be at the bowling thing Thursday, wrecking things for me like he seems to love doing. I can relax and have fun with JC around the cool people. I fucking hope, anyway."

Lance blinked and gave him the "yeah, right" look. "Yeah, right. Like you'll be doing any damn relaxing with JC around. I know you, man."

Justin's nose twitched. "Wrong. I'll chill out once things get going. I'll be okay. And Brit will be glad to hear he won't be there bugging on her either."

"Missy B's coming?" Lance brightened up.

"Even if I have to drag her hermit ass there. I want her to meet JC too. This is the golden opportunity."

"You gonna bitch at her about macking on him too?" Lance smirked.

Justin gave him a quick middle finger. "Shut your pie hole, Lance."

"Bossman! Did you just say Britney's hitting the bowling alley with us this week, dude?" Trace stood in the doorway of Justin's office, all titillated and jumpy. "For real? Wowee! I can't hardly wait! I'm pulling all the big bling for her, daddio!"

"Buttinsky much, retard?" Lance leaned toward the desk and hissed to Justin, rolling his eyes.

Justin let out a deep breath and looked up at his excited admin assistant. "Possibly, Trace. I invited her. But she hasn't decided yet. So we'll see."

Trace threw back his head like a wolf howling at the full moon. "Yabba dabba dooo! That'll be totally awesome, dawg!"

Inside himself, Justin scraped up all the patience he could salvage. He purposely avoided glancing at Lance for fear of losing it and bursting out laughing. When he spoke, he tried to be gentle while also getting his point across.

"Trace, Britney hasn't been feeling well recently. She may need her space if she goes out with us. So how about we just let her be and not crowd her or anything like that? Okay?"

Trace's face fell like a deflating balloon. He shrugged, disappointed. "Sure, dude. You're the boss."

"Thanks, man. Was there anything else?"

After a few long seconds of confused silence, Trace remembered why he was standing there in the doorway to begin with. "Oh, yeah. Man, your moms called. You need the number to ring her back?"

Lance made a muffled snorting sound in his throat, as if he were swallowing a snide chuckle. Justin sighed.

"No. I know her number. Thanks. I'll buzz her in a few."

Trace saluted theatrically and shuffled away. Lance couldn't start howling with laughter fast enough.

"Yabba dabba do? Are you fucking kidding me? That fruitcake's not baked! He's delirious! American Idiot in the flesh. I'm just saying."

Justin shook his head. "I know. He scares me sometimes. He scares Brit all the time."

"No kidding! I'd run like hell if Howdy Doody out there was crushing on me. Poor chick. The price you pay for being hot. Sucks for her."

"Howdy Doody." Justin giggled. "Lance you're an asshole."

"You just figured that out?"

"Um, no. It's common knowledge. And you've got a scary Howdy Doody of your own crushing on you, Lance, dear. Remember your homie Wade?"

Lance went on, ignoring him. "Tonight's your date with the Lynnster babe, right?"

"Yeah. Yippy yi aye." Justin answered blandly.

"Are you telling her about your new dreamboat, J? A mother has the right to know when her baby's got a new toy to, um, put in his mouth, you know." Lance snickered.

Justin rubbed his eyes and squirmed in his chair. "Not yet. Maybe after we make it to the two-week mark. If we do. Maybe I'll tell her then."

Lance made one of his dozens of faces. "Puhlease. You'll definitely make two weeks. Easy. You two are tight already. You'll hold onto his big package and nice ass that long for sure. Like I said, I know you, man."

Justin smiled across the desk at his number-one pal. "I hope so. You know, that I can keep him. And that he wants to keep me."

"You will. And he does. I'm jonesing like hell to see you two in action together, J." Lance grinned. "Poetry, beautiful and alive, in motion."

"Aww, Lance does have a romance side." Justin giggled.

"If you only knew." Lance's subtle wink was gorgeous. Then he glanced down at the ads spilled on Justin's desk, realizing he probably needed to leave Justin to his work. "Who's the art director on your little toilet-and-sink account there, man?"

"Pharrel. He did an awesome job. They'll go for it without much bullshitting from me. Check it out……….'Always appeal to their vanity.' Get it? Catchy, hmm?"

Lance smirked again, not all that charmed. "Brilliant. You'll razzle-dazzle them to their knees, J. Like usual. Don't sweat it."

"How long have you been with Jesse?" Justin whispered, from out of nowhere.

"I forget."

"So unforget."

Lance smiled. "One year. Four months. Two weeks. Three days. Exactly."

"You're so lucky, man."

"So are you, Justin. Just give it a little time. You'll be counting the Days of Heaven too."

"Yeah. That's my plan. Totally."

Lance left a few minutes later, after ordering Justin to "knock 'em dead" in the Legatto meeting. Justin got up, crossed his office, and closed the door, needing the solitude and quiet.

"I think……….I love him," he whispered into the silence, standing and staring out the wall of windows into a mostly smoggy Tuesday in downtown L.A.

He hadn't confessed this to Lance, this deep, hot truth that pumped from out of a secret, intimate place in his heart. He hadn't even admitted it to himself. Not before he let it out, swirling and smoldering, into this shadowy room.

"I do. I love him……….I love JC."



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