For dinner that evening, they decided on a big, varied selection of Thai takeout, and JC said there was an awesome joint two blocks from his loft where he usually ordered from, so he and Justin walked down to pick it up and then back again, taking their sweet time, of course. The night was cool and thick, heavy clouds smothering any starlight that might have been visible overhead. Rain was coming, but they hardly noticed (or cared) as they strolled along leisurely, side by side, sometimes grasping and holding each other's hand, sometimes entwining their forearms, often brushing their hips or thighs together, laughing and talking casually and naturally about whatever came up. By the time they finally returned to the loft, a few warm sprinkles were beginning to pierce the night air. Before they left, however - in fact, not long at all after Justin arrived right at 7 p.m. - something else happened to start the evening off. Something that had quickly become a hot and pleasant tradition, sort of a necessity, for the times they spent alone with each other. Slipping up next to Justin in bare feet that were as quiet as pink-padded cat paws, JC smiled eagerly as he stood in front of him and slowly backed him up with his own body until Justin was pressed against the huge loft door standing up. Then JC held his hands, fingers folded around fingers, and raised them upward until they too were pinned flatly with his own against the solid wooden surface on each side of Justin's head. Still smiling, breathing a little heavier now, JC stepped forward, leaning the length of his body into Justin's, warm and hard. Justin moved under him, against him, eyes locked on JC's, lips parted and full, waiting and wanting. He could feel JC's cock swelling against his own between them. "I hate it when you do this to me," he panted. "Liar," JC whispered and inhaled slowly. "You smell damn fabulous." Justin writhed, grinding heat into JC. "So do you." JC kissed him then, as if he couldn't hold back any longer. It was deep and bold and hot and freefalling, alive with all the millions of shattered, breathless moments of an amplified eternity. "Hmm. The taste of you," JC hissed, his wet lips still hovering only inches from the steam of Justin's. "Is damn fabulous too." Justin exhaled audibly, his chest vibrating against JC's. "Krispy Kreme-like?" "Better. Much, much better." "Was I, um, going all antsy and restless again?" JC grinned. "Nope. You're smooth and calm as hell this evening. I just……….wanted to." Justin was getting used to times like this - times when he wondered if those ever-changing, deep-set eyes, this intensely close to him, were drowning the life out of his body or burning it back in. "Maybe I don't hate it so much, being pinned under you like this. It's not so bad, I guess." A bemused smile teased around his mouth and in his eyes. "Told you." ~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~ "Hey, Jace. You were right. This chow is heavenly," Justin declared, stabbing his chopsticks into one of the Thai takeout boxes he'd picked up from between them. He scooped out some of the Red Curry Pork onto the square black plate in front of him and mixed it with rice. "Just the right blend of spiciness. Just the perfect amount of heat. I'm loving it." "Like Mickey Dee's," JC snickered. "Man, way better than Mickey Dee's." Justin shook his head, smiling. "I'm just saying. That was their, um, little slogan, wasn't it? 'I'm loving it.' I caught it, Mr. Big Shot Ad Man." JC raised his eyebrows, pleased with himself. "See? I'm tuning in to that advertising lingo shit after all. You're a rotten-ass influence, Timberlake. Getting me tapped into your biz and stuff." Justin swallowed and giggled. They were sitting adjacent to each other on the floor of JC's den, at his large, low coffee table which was smattered with food to-go boxes, dishes to eat from, beer bottles, water bottles, and two black candles that gave off matching small golden-red glows from their dancing flames. Outside, a steady downpour of rain pelted the roof and windows around them. Inside, the mellow music of an acoustic guitar and the gentle voice of JC's friend floated through the room from the stereo system behind them. "'Slogan.' Hmm. I'm impressed." Justin widened his eyes, truly impressed. "But then it's not hard to be impressed with you." "Stop it, J. You and your damn flattery. I'll get you." JC laughed and rolled his eyes. Then he reached for another fried wonton and popped it in his mouth. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever. So. What have we left out? Not talked about yet?" JC frowned. "Damn. Are we out of stuff already?" Justin snickered. "No. You dork. Absolutely not." He laid his chopsticks down on his plate and cocked his head for a moment, listening. "You know what? This guy is great. I love his sound." JC nodded. "Yeah. Tony's serious about his music, man. He made this demo of some of his new stuff for me. He's got one little independent CD out there now, but he's on the lookout for a bigger label he can trust to go with." Justin nudged JC's knee under the table. "I still say you should give it a shot yourself, JC. Your sound is at least as good as his. If not better." JC shook a finger at him and tried to look stern. "What'd I just say about that flattery crap?" Justin laughed and rolled his eyes. "Blah, blah, blah. I'm serious, dude. You should definitely think about it. You could SO do it." JC shrugged and looked away. "I dunno. Maybe I just need the right motivation or whatever." "And maybe that motivation or whatever will just come up and slap you on that nice ass one day soon. The world will be a better damn place with your music, Jace." JC giggled. "Shut up. I warned you twice already." "And you're wasting your breath. So hush." "Okay. You talk, smartass." Justin pondered a subject, biting at his lower lip. "So. Which one is your favorite Angel?" "My favorite WHAT?" "Favorite Charlie's Angel. Did you see those movies?" "Uh, no. Neither of them. Sorry." JC's eyes crinkled at the corners, puzzled. "Do I need a favorite Angel? Is it, like, crucial for getting a damn passport or something?" Justin laughed out loud, his lips curling prettily. "No, you don't need one. I just thought I'd ask. It's one of the jillions of things we hadn't covered yet. I guess the Asian 'grub' flipped it into my lame brain." JC snickered, the skin around his eyes crinkling even more. "Um-kay. Whatever you say, man. I take it you're a big fan of those films." Justin shook his head quickly, not wanting to be mistaken for a big fan of the Charlie's Angels films. "Nah. Not me. They're for chicks and macho straight guys, mainly. But my friend Brit - she's a chick - loves 'em. She drags me to see the crap with her. Whopping yay for me," he added sarcastically. "So then you must like the Asian one? Am I, like, following along with your train of thought correctly? What's her name? Lucy something?" Justin lifted his hand in the air and let it perform a swift, graceful pirouette. "Actually, I was more into the Drew Barrymore one. She's got lots of guts and spunk. If I had to choose, I'd go with her. She was cool." "Not the blonde? Isn't there a blond one too?" Justin shuddered and rolled his eyes disgustedly. "There's a blond one all right. Um hmm. But the question going on there is: A blond WHAT? I mean fuck. Is it even a female at all? No ass, no tits, no legs. No fem body period. Hell, it's more masculine than a lot of GUYS I know. Totally unattractive as hell……….I just don't get it. She's GOT to be the token transvestite in the flick for, like, PC purposes or whatever. Don't you think?" JC had fallen over backward, holding his stomach and howling with laughter. "Oh, my God, J! Rant much? You don't like the chick or what? Speak your mind, why don't you? Or you know what? How about just dawging her the hell out!? You totally crack me up!" Justin blushed a little and laughed too, uncrossing his long legs beneath the table. "Well, c'mon! Get real. If you're gonna take the time to make a movie - or TWO fucking movies - about crime-busting super-babes, the actors ought to at least look and act like GIRLS? Right? Not chicks with dicks or skanky drag queens from the Amazon." "Justin, cut it out, man!!! You're making my guts hurt," JC gasped and giggled, rolling from side to side. Justin snickered and groaned as he stretched out his legs and the blood flow started circulating again. He turned over so that he could crawl to where JC lay sprawled out on the soft area rug. "Sorry, Jace," he rasped and straddled JC's squirming waist with his two thighs. "It was just something dumbass to talk about. I didn't mean to make you have a conniption fit and spazz out, but you're sort of cute laughing your ass off at me." JC sucked in air, trying to collect himself, and looked up at Justin. "Like we'll really ever run out of crap to flap our jaws about." He grinned, his eyes shiny-moist from guffawing so hard. "You are so damn hilarious, Timberlake. A little conniption fit once in a while is good for the soul." Justin giggled and settled down onto JC's warm crotch. "Well, I'm glad you find it so damn amusing. Lance says I'm a hissy-pissy-sissy diva bitch when I go off like that." "A what?" JC snickered again. "Ask him tomorrow night, man. I'm sure he'll be more than happy to yack-yack-yack all about me as much as you want to know." "Yeah, well, let's just hope we never run into the lovely Miss - or Mister, whatever - Diaz out in Hollywood anywhere. I'd hate like hell to have to pull you off her ass." "Her NO-ass you mean. And trust me. You damn sure wouldn't find me on it." JC giggled and smoothed his palms up Justin's thighs on each side of him. "Your buddy Lance sounds like a trip, J." Justin's face clouded up slightly, and his smile twitched. He'd already been feeling a bit guilty about it. The closer he got to JC, the more he didn't want JC to think he was keeping any secrets from him. "He is. I love his snarky little ass to death, but he's a damn handful sometimes. Just ask his partner Jesse." JC brought his hands slowly back down the outsides of Justin's legs. "Hmm. I guess I'll get a chance to see for myself tomorrow night, won't I?" "Actually," Justin whispered and knotted up his face. This was his platinum opportunity to come clean. "You've met him already, Jace. Lance and Jesse. At some art show in Santa Monica. Last Saturday," he rattled on quietly and hesitantly. JC narrowed his eyes but didn't take their relaxed focus off Justin's. "I don't think so. You're joking, right?" "They ran into you. Accidentally. I mean it was, um, totally unplanned. It just, you know, happened," Justin stammered. "No way! Into me?" "Well, more like into your friend Chris." JC considered things for a moment, and then his face brightened. "They had two busting-out dogs on leashes with them?" "That's them. Lance is sort of short and stocky with brownish-blond hair, and Jesse's tall and thin with really dark hair." "I gotcha now. I remember. They were cool. And their pooches were wild boys!" JC laughed at the memory. "And that's the infamous Lance? Wow. What a freak coincidence!" "Yes. Just one of those what-a-small-world fucking things. Them being there when you were there, crossing paths like that. Really weird." Justin smiled and breathed a little easier. But not for long. "Um, wait a damn minute. How'd they know it was me? Sure they met me and found out my name. But I mean, like, how many JC's must there be in L.A. anyway? How in the hell did they know it was the same one you knew?" Wistfully, mischievously, JC lifted an eyebrow and curled his fingers over Justin's hipbones again, warm through the denim he wore. Justin's cheeks scorched up with spreading fire. He chuckled and tapped his fingertips on JC's taut chest. "Can't tell you that. Sorry." "The hell you can't!" JC leaned up and tickled him. Hard. Justin squirmed on his lap and giggled, almost squealing. "Stop that, JC! I'm not giving up ALL my dark, dirty secrets!" JC's fingers crept up under Justin's T-shirt and slipped between the waistband of his jeans and his hot flesh. He tugged and grinned. Their growing erections rubbed together. "Tell me, you little brat. Now!" Justin laughed and stared into the shimmery eyes below him. "Nope. It's……….embarrassing." "Embarrassing enough to suffer through being tickled to death?" JC gently dug his fingers into Justin's abdomen again. "You'll pin me down too again, won't you?" JC nodded. "Totally. Bet on it. So tell me." Justin sighed, still laughing, and lowered his head down closer to JC's face. His hands fell to the rug to balance him on each side of JC's shoulders. "Promise not to hate on me after you find out?" "Like I could do that. Are you crazy? Now spill." "Well……….Lance and I……….sort of……….came to Trinity and……….sort of……….checked you out……….the night before my first lesson with you," Justin whispered, hot and thick over JC's mouth. JC's eyes registered surprise when he blinked them. But his lips arched slowly into a deadly semi-smile. "No you didn't!" "We did. I confess. It was Lance's grand scheme. He's wicked and misbehaving like that. But I went along willingly. I was, well, curious after talking to you on the phone……….So see? Lance knew what you look like. He spotted you at that park. But it was a total coincidence that he and Jess ran into you with the dogs. I swear, Jace. They weren't, like, tailing you or anything. That's the truth……….Are you pissed? I'll completely understand if you are," Justin finished in an earnest hush. JC's barely-there smile spread into a dark-pink seductive half moon. "I'm not." "Positive?" "Justin, relax. I'm absolutely positive. In fact, I'm kind of turned on by your devious little undercover investigation tactics here scoping me out, man! First, the fitness center stakeout. Then sneaking into the hotel lounge spying on me! You're the one who's wicked and misbehaving! Who do you think you are anyway? The Scooby Doo gang or what?……….Yeah, I gotta admit. I'm a little turned on by all this shit." JC winked and laughed. Relieved, Justin snickered and writhed against JC's hard groin. "A little?" JC chuckled. His fingers slid along Justin's wait, inside the denim. "Yep. You're like a surprise rush or something. I like it. A lot." "Excellent. I was afraid you'd be upset. I'm glad you're not." Justin smiled. "Is there anything ELSE you wanna lay on me, Mr. Private Eye?" "No! That's everything! I swear!" "Okay. At least you decided to come back for your first session." Justin sighed. "Of course I did. I liked what I'd 'scoped out.'" JC laughed. "Well, guess what. I have a confession too." Justin shivered at the warm touch of JC on his skin. "You do? A good one?" "Not a bad one." "I'm very scurred. What is it?" "You're crazy," JC snickered again and gently thrust upward into the heat of Justin's ass rocking on him. "C'mon, Jace. I came clean. Your turn now, dude." "It's the fucking strangest thing," JC squinted/crinkled a smile. "Seems that you've already had a little face-to-face with my boy Kirkpatrick too, J. Believe it or not." "No damn way." Agonizingly slow, JC rubbed his palm over the swell in Justin's jeans. "It's true. In the elevator and in the parking lot when you left the loft Monday morning. Remember that totally odd dude you talked to? It was Chris's lunatic ass." Only a few steamy whispers away from JC's face, Justin's own burst into bright recognition. "That was him? The one that stopped me to hand me something I dropped?" "That was him. You've been in the presence of, well, Kirkpatrickness." "And he knew it was me?" "He guessed. Early hour when you left. Kind of wrinkled clothes. And you looked to him like how I'd sort of described you. And plus. He's perverted and insane." Justin giggled. "Exactly like Lance. I swear they're twins separated at birth." "We should SO get them back." JC grinned devilishly. And Justin SO wanted to kiss him. "When we all hook up tomorrow night, we need to do something to both of them to shock the hell out of them. Since they think they're so cool already knowing us and stuff. Want to?" "Man, that would be awesome! Lance totally deserves a little payback for his sneaky ass. I'm just saying." Justin laughed. "Chris too. I can hardly wait to see his eyes bug out of his head. We'll think of something. Okay?" JC hissed and skimmed his hands up Justin's sides, under his T-shirt, and across his bare back. Justin was thinking of something already, far from the art of comeuppance for their friends. He moved his hips to grind into JC and squeezed JC's waist between his strong thighs. "Jace, this music is so……….sensual. It goes so great with the vibe here tonight……….so warm and moody and romantic." "Romantic, eh?" JC whispered as his fingertips roamed down Justin's spine and reached the curve at the small of Justin's back and the warm groove of his ass crack. Justin shuddered. A whimper eased out of his mouth and fell on JC's lips. "Yesssss. Romantic. Check out those lyrics……….And you look so damn kissable, laying there in the candlelight, your hair splashed all around your face like that." JC smiled. "Kissable, eh?" "Yessss." ~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~ You've got me in your eyes That's just where I wanna be I melt your thoughts together And show me what you think of me Seems that we're both thinking of What it'd be like making love Offering each other's best tonight So give me one more smile Let it shine some light upon my soul 'Cause, girl, it's been a while Since I've had half the chance to feel this whole Whatever peace you offer Is peace I've come to find Girl, I've done all I can do Sitting here staring at you Think it's time to say what's on my mind I wanna hold you tonight Girl, that's all I want to do Feel you tonight Each and every part of you If I move you just right I'll find a brand new point of view Looking in your eyes As I hold you tonight ~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~ It's not difficult for JC to slide his arms around Justin and flip them over while Justin has his mouth captured with a full-on deafening kiss that's so warm it slips down inside him and wraps around his soul. Justin is hot and limber under him, adhering to him and sliding against him, with him. They're feeling the rhythm of each other's roaring heartbeat. They're vibrating with the pulse in each other's aching erection. They're writhing together on the rug so in tune with the heat and the desire mounting and coursing through each other. JC isn't sure what time it is or how long they'd been sitting cross-legged on the floor eating and talking in his loft. He's lost track of how many CDs have played through completely in the stereo in the corner of the den and of how far down the candles have burned. He can't remember if that's the third or fourth thunderstorm crashing around outside. But he is positive of one thing. He knows for certain - his whole body throbs with the secret surety of it - that he wants Justin tonight in a way he hasn't wanted anyone in a very long time. It's been several relationships since he's felt like bottoming with a guy, since he's had that emotional and physical need for the intense sensation of being penetrated by someone, since he's wanted to give that much of himself to another person. And it has suddenly seized him once again this evening - the fierce craving to have each and every part of him touched that intimately and deeply by this man lying here on his rug tangled up in him now. For the first time in ages, he's ready for it again. He desperately wants the fulfilling heat of that kind of connection with Justin. He breaks their sweet-hot, into-the-abyss kiss and pulls back enough to gaze at Justin who gazes back at him. They're lying on their sides, face to face, joined at their hips, long legs vined around each other. The swollen mounds of their groins rock together, hard and thudding. "I want……….to feel you……….inside me," JC whispers with a hoarse gentleness. It's not a statement and not a question but more like a plea and a promise rolled into one. "Okay," Justin answers, and it's as soft as the light in his eyes. JC doesn't want to get up and leave the feel of Justin's beating heart. But he must. "I'll go and get……….the stuff we need. Don't disappear." Justin smiles easily and reaches up to smooth fingers over JC's cheek, as if to say he doesn't want the contact to end either. Even temporarily. "No way. Hurry back." JC scurries to the bedroom and grabs pillows and blankets from his iron bed, a quick handful of condoms from the nightstand drawer. He can feel his own pulse strumming at the back of his throat. And when he returns to the den, he swallows hard against the thickness of it. Justin is undressed and lying there waiting for him, shadows and candlelight dancing on his long, fine body. When they're together and horizontal again, more comfortable now with the pillows and sofa cushions around them, as comfortable with each other as ever, Justin moves slowly and gently, somehow sensing in JC that's how he wants it and thus wanting it that way himself. JC sways and trembles below Justin, seething and simmering with anticipation, as Justin massages the warm, sensitive, muscle-ringed hole with a cool lubed fingertip. He squirms and whimpers as a stiff digit is slowly inserted, then two, as Justin takes such patience and care to open him up and stretch him while keeping him relaxed and ohsoterribly aroused. When it's time, when they're both as hard as stone and aching to feel each other more closely, when JC is panting and moaning he's so ready, Justin thrusts his hips forward easily and slides fire inside him, leaning over him and watching his every gorgeous, intense reaction. JC clutches Justin's strong arms on each side of him and gasps. His legs, ankles over Justin's shoulders, tense sharply at the raw, exquisite feel of the sweet invasion of his body. It's far better than he remembers, this being filled up and stroked with something hot and hard, but gentle at the same time, from the inside out. And it's far better because this time he has Justin's stunning features hovering over him, stimulating him into the damn stratosphere, and moving him just right with the rolling of those slender hips and the delicious grinding of that pelvis. And he knows Justin is into it as well, that Justin is crazy about being buried in all that tight heat, the push and pull in and out of it, riding and rocking, slowly at first and then picking up momentum as their bodies synchronize the building pleasure. He can feel it throbbing in the muscles under Justin's skin and see it burning in the blue of Justin's eyes. Justin's with him in this place. Justin's right here by his side. This is it. This is the tingly, radioactive bond, the overwhelming sensation of feeling whole, of feeling connected JC had hoped for. It's almost too good to endure, and soon it will be. "Are you okay?" Justin hushes out in a continuous steam of breath that blankets the layer of perspiration on JC's upper lip. "Fuck……….I'm light years past okay……….This is……….incredible, J," JC growls and writhes when Justin's cock bumps against his tender prostate. "Fucking incredible." "Yeah, it is. You're so damn……….Damn, the heat is sucking me right in so tight……….It feels awesome……….You feel awesome, Jace. This is so good." "So do you," JC groans and releases his grip on one of Justin's forearms so that he can wedge it between their slick abdomens. "This is exactly what I……….needed." "Me too." "I'm about to lose it." Justin smiles. And pants. "Me too." His hard dick rubbing against both their hard bodies is close to being enough for JC. But when he wraps his fingers around its warmth and begins to slide up and down the sticky length, balanced with Justin's cock hot and swollen moving inside him, touching him that way, he's rocketed out to the ends of the galaxy with unparalleled warp speed and sparkly fireworks and blinding explosives and seismic eruptions and the whole nine yards of orgasmic firepower. He comes so forcefully and with such writhing, helpless energy that he sets off the chain reaction rumblings in Justin too, and Justin's grunts and groans of blessed singeing release follow right behind JC's. And throughout it all, their eyes never lose their focus on each other, never break the warm linkage they've locked onto. Almost as if they're sharing the same breath, the same moan of happiness. ~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~ "So……….Do you want to crash here or try and crawl to the bed? It's not far. I think." Justin smiles in the shadows and flickering reflections of the candles' flames. It's still raining outside the large loft windows, but quieter and more peaceful now. He and JC are still sprawled out together in the wrinkled blankets on the floor. Their flesh is still warm and wet and vibrating. JC's still curled around his body, long and hot and nuzzling. Justin smiles yet again and sighs, holding him and breathing in his scent. Pleased as fuck that they've seamlessly slipped past the "Are you staying?" stage into a mutual understanding that he will. Stay. He's so sleepy. And comfortable. And content. "I'm fine right where we are, Jace. Right here with you……….I'm fine." JC writhes beside him, into him, nips at his earlobe, licks at his neck. His voice is a thick, exhausted, satisfied purr. "Yesss, you are, J……….Just totally fine."