Brian leaned back casually on the bar and surveyed the club, seeing little more than the usual crowd. Spring had come and gone, carrying the college coeds that had stampeded in for a good time and to spend their parents' money. Summer seemed to be more of a time for family vacations which meant the party scene was severely lacking compared to the previous season. At the moment all he could see were newlyweds and younger couples, a few locals, and several older women who seemed to be on a women-only tour. He could definitely look into that.

No. It wasn't Babylon. But at the moment it was one of his few sources of income and he did what he had to do to get by. Even if that meant kissing a little middle-aged female ass. He was already making progress with one of the younger women from the group. She was very blonde, very petite and if the diamond beach ball on her finger said anything, she was also very married and very rich. That fact, of course, didn't seem to matter in the least to her drunken mind as she thrust her obviously silicone heavy breasts forward and smiled prettily in his direction.

"Hi," he said, moving to lean leisurely against the bar beside the woman, who sat perched prettily upon a stool.

"Hey," she replied, her obviously hard southern drawl drawing the word into two syllables.

"Shawn," he lied smoothly.

The woman fluttered her eyelashes prettily. "Sandy."

"Sandy. That's a pretty name."

"Why thank you," she giggled merrily, indicating that she was at least a little tipsy and ripe for the picking.

"Well Sandy... My date has apparently stood me up tonight. I was wondering if you might care to dance?" Brian raised a mischievous eyebrow and held out his hand. The blonde woman latched her fingers onto his without hesitation. Signaling to her friends that she was off to dance, Sandy struggled to gracefully hop down from the stool while keeping her black leather miniskirt from sliding up too far.

The music had thankfully turned rather slow and somber. He could handle slow and somber. Wrapping his arms around the woman's too small waist, he forced himself to smile as she rubbed her hands up and down the front of his shirt.

"So, you were stood up? Why ever would someone stand you up, doll?"

Brian shook his head and shrugged helplessly. "I just don't know. I can't say that I mind either. I mean, if she had shown up I wouldn't be here dancing with the beautiful woman that's in my arms right now."

The woman blushed and giggled again. "Do tell." Feeling bold, she squeezed herself into his personal space, her chest pressing firmly against his ribs, and her head resting just below his chin.

Earlier, he had noticed a pair of rubies dangling from each of her ears. It was one of the things that had attracted him to her in the first place. The ring...that would be far too noticeable a lift. But the earrings were perfect.

He delicately cupped her face, bracketing it between his hands. She looked up at him with wide, expectant eyes and leaned in to kiss her. First on her forehead, each cheek, then her lips. Short but sweet. Just enough to disorient without pushing her into the throes of passion. When he pulled back, he saw her eyes sparkle as brightly as the jewels which he had only just pocketed.

"Is there...somewhere else we could go? Somewhere quiet. So we can...talk?" she murmured this against his ear. He made a show of thinking it over before nodding slyly. He knew exactly what she was asking and he was already forming an escape plan.

There was no doubt that he would get away with this. He was, after all, a fucking great con-man. Though he preferred to look at it as sustaining life. Namely his. He had gone to school for advertising and it was nice to know that he hadn't lost his flare for selling ideas as well as faith in him. That skill had come in handy many times. Whenever Luc threw him out, when he lost one of his many jobs... It happened more than he would've liked, but never to an extent that anyone might catch onto his game.

"Be right back," she said, holding up a finger. Again he nodded and watched her go back to her friends, grab her purse and make her way towards the ladies' room.

He had counted on it being an easy ditch, but this was too easy. The music had changed to a fast, more club-like song, so the number of people grooving on the dance floor was increasing. Though there wasn't that many people there, perhaps she would simply blame his disappearance on getting lost in the crowd. Turning to leave, Brian immediately bumped into a familiar figure.

"Sorry!" The shorter blonde man said, before actually looking up into Brian's face. "Oh! Hi!" His face registered shock, but he also seemed to be genuinely pleased.

What the fuck was this kid doing here? "Are you following me?" Brian asked, guardedly. For all he knew, the young artist was one of Luc's spies. But, no. This one - Justin - just didn't fit the profile.

Justin gave him a withering glare. "Hardly. I assure you I have better things to do with my time than to follow you."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yes."

"Such as..."

"Such as dancing. Which is what I was doing before you so rudely bumped into me."

"Actually you bumped into me," Brian pointed out fairly, thoroughly enjoying the site of Justin's face going red with frustration.

"I..."

Just then, Brian noticed Sandy emerging from the bathroom. "Look, I don't have time for your drama, okay?" The blonde sputtered incoherently in confusion and disbelief at Brian's nerve. "Just...watch where you're going next time." Brian winked at Justin and slipped through the crowd and out the back door.

When he was several blocks away, he pulled the blonde man's wallet out of his jacket pocket and flipped through it. Stupid tourists. Didn't they know not to carry anything so obvious as a wallet?

There was several credit cards, his driver's license, and a rumpled twenty stuffed into a hidden compartment. Brian had made it a point never to use stolen credit cards so it had been a fairly useless lift. Still... It piqued his curiosity about the man. Provided that his gaydar was still in working order, Justin was definitely not straight. He knew he came from New York. He was an artist. Beyond that, there was nothing. Not that Brian was interested. Oh no. Besides his on-again/off again lover, Luc, Brian had formed absolutely no attachments in years. He had learned his lesson. Attachment cost far too much.

Taking one last look at the wallet, he refolded it and shoved it back into his pocket with Sandy's earrings before heading back to Luc's to face the music.

***

"Oscar...my dear!" Brian cringed as he walked through the side door of Luc's home and heard Leanna's voice.

The house was palatial. So big, in fact, that Brian had yet to actually get an accurate count of the rooms in the place. Yet, no matter how hard he tried, there seemed to be no way to enter the house without being detected right away by one of the three occupants; Luc, Luc's sister Leanna, or Rosa, their maid.

"Leanna," he said cautiously. The woman was in her late twenties, beautiful and rich thanks to her brother's good fortune, but she was also quiet and reserved in a way that always left you guessing as to what she might be thinking. She had shown him great kindness in the past, but she had also stood by many times and watched Luc berate and beat him down like an animal, without saying so much as a word. With his latest refusal of one of Luc's customers, he couldn't be sure how his presence would be received..

Leanna surprised him though by smiling kindly. Perhaps she hadn't yet heard.

"Don't worry," she said, as if reading his mind. "Luc was called away on business early this morning. He'll be in Spain for another week or so. Which means..." she smiled, "he won't be told until he returns."

"So...you know?"

"Of course I know. News travels fast around here. You should know that."

Brian nodded. He knew that all too well. "You won't tell him?"

She confirmed this with a slight nod. "I will not. But you realize that he WILL eventually be told."

"Yeah...but I'll burn that bridge when I come to it." Leaving the woman, he exited the main house and went the long way around to his apartment which was settled above the four-car garage.

What the hell would he do when Luc found out? He had angered Luc in the past and it would all depend on just how important the man he had turned down was to Luc as to what extent the loss would be taken out on Brian.

Beginning to strip off his black slacks and black t-shirt, Brian turned on his stereo and sighed as the first strains of Bach was heard.

He moved around the small apartment in the dark, locating his bed with ease, and settled down for a good night's sleep. There was no telling how many more of those he would get.

***

"Mother... Mother... Yes... Yes I know. Yes I do realize that I have responsibilities. No. No. No I do not think that I can go flitting off without... No mother. Yes I know that Sasha is devastated. Well...well too bad! I don't care!"

Justin listened to his mother rant on as he began the heavy task of unpacking all of his supplies. Unrolling his paint brushes, he stuck them, bristles up, into a large glass vase that was in the dining room. He stood back and looked at the surreal flower-like arrangement with appreciation.

He was only halfway listening to his mother now. She had, for some unknown reason, suddenly taken to being concerned for Sasha. Nothing too new there. Sasha was rather well off. Jennifer had made it very clear that she wanted what was best for Justin. She just couldn't see that Sasha was no longer it. He had been good to him but...

Something his mother said caught his attention. "What?! NO mother! Look my wallet was stolen last night. Look, stop it, mom! I've already canceled the credit cards. ALL I need you to do is send me my birth certificate and a little cash." A long pause, then a sigh. "Thank you. Love you too."

Shutting off his cell phone, Justin repressed his urge to hurl the device through the nearest window.

Apparently his mother had gotten it into her head that he was in some kind of trouble - ‘with DRUGS', she had said in a loud stage whisper. He found that extremely funny, seeing as how Sasha was the designated pill-popper between the two of them. Sure, he wasn't entirely without his own experiences, but he in NO way had a problem.

Pushing the entire nasty conversation with his mother out of his head, he pulled a large piece of canvas out of his second suitcase and unfolded it. Yes. It was just right. Not too big, not too small. Definitely good for a warm up piece.

And he definitely needed to paint. So far, the day had been a disaster. When he woke up, he started to go out for breakfast. Quickly Justin had realized that his wallet was no longer with him. As far as he could tell, he had probably lost it in the club. On top of that, the repair guy was supposed to have come in the morning. It was already long past noon and still no repair person had been seen. Nothing made him want to take a shower more than the idea that he couldn't.

As soon as he picked up his canvas and started outside into the garden, the doorbell rang. "Please let that be the repair man!" he begged aloud.

Opening the door, he started at the face before him.

"Still following me, I see."

Justin grinded his teeth in agitation as he took in the familiar face, fine features, and grey jumpsuit. "Yeah. I call to have my shower fixed JUST on the off chance that you actually work for them too!" He bit out sarcastically.

"Hey - that's just a coincidence! They needed the extra help."

"Shower is that way then." He pointed towards the open door in the hallway.

Oscar...no - the stranger - gave him a charming smile and brushed past him, taking just a moment longer than actually needed to complete the movement. Justin held his breath as their chests touched ever so lightly and shook his head as he watched the man turn and walk down the hallway. His hips swaggered gracefully when he moved and his right arm was taught and bulging as it held the weight of a large black toolbox.

This was definitely not what he had expected at all. All Justin had wanted was his shower fixed. A little peace and quiet. Yet, he couldn't help but be curious about this stranger that kept showing up. As a firm believer in the idea that nothing happened without reason, Justin shrugged and waited to see what would happen next.

TBC...