"What are you so perky about?" He asked.
"Remember how I told you that my English teacher suggested that I get a tutor?" Lindsay hurried over and sat next to Justin with a big smile on her face.
"Yeah. You hated the idea." But he was sure that the reason she didn’t hate the idea anymore had to have something to do with a woman.
"I met my tutor today. Her name is Melanie." Lindsay started to giggle before going on to describe Melanie in the most dramatic fashion possible. "She’s tall and thin, she has this long dark hair, and she’s just so beautiful."
"Is she straight? Remember the last one was straight." Justin pulled on his other shoe and started tying the laces. He had gotten tired of sitting around the apartment being miserable so he decided he was going to go for a run.
"She was telling me that she just broke up with her girlfriend!" Lindsay nearly shrieked. "I can’t wait until our first real tutoring session. She’s so smart, Justin. She’s a law student." Lindsay was off in dreamland and it was starting to make Justin sick.
"Hey, Linds?" He decided to change the subject.
"Yeah?"
"What do you know about Brian Kinney?" Justin asked. He had been thinking about the gorgeous guy with the kind hazel eyes quite a bit over the past few days. Actually, he was thinking about Brian more than he was thinking about his newly single status.
"Why do you want to know? Do you like him?" Lindsay looked a little suspicious. From what she knew from Daphne, Brian was a bit of a slut and she didn’t want Justin to get involved with him.
"I don’t know. I only talked to him for a few minutes." Justin shrugged. He didn’t really know what was drawing him to the other guy. The only thing he knew for sure was that he wanted to know more about him.
"Daphne told me he’s a slut. With a different guy every night." Lindsay shrugged. "Kinda like Anthony, only he isn’t nice to them afterwards."
"What do you mean, he’s not nice to them?" Justin asked.
"Apparently he kicks them out of his bed as soon as he’s finished with them. And then if they try to talk to him again after, he pretends he doesn’t know them." Lindsay didn’t know if what she was saying was the whole truth, but she really wanted to protect Justin.
"Really?? Hmmm..." Justin started taking off his shoes. He decided he didn’t want to go for a run anymore, staying in and wallowing was much more appealing.
***
"What do you know about that blond kid Justin?" Brian asked as he and Daphne sat in front of the TV before he had to get ready to meet his friend Michael for a drink at a local gay watering hole.
"Lindsay’s friend?" Brian nodded. "I don’t know much. When Linds left the party the other night, apparently it was because Justin broke up with his boyfriend. I don’t know much more. He’s in the art department, freshman, grew up in some swanky neighborhood." Daphne shrugged. "Seems like a spoiled little rich kid to me."
"I talked to him at that party..." Brian said, letting the sentence fade out. He didn’t want Daphne to know that he actually liked the kid. Apparently, however, Daphne knew him too well.
"You like him!" She started to chuckle. "Do you want him or do you want him?" She asked, trying unsuccessfully to wiggle her eyebrows.
"Fuck off." Brian grumbled. If he were being honest he would have say that he didn’t know in what way he wanted Justin, there was just something about the young man that made him want to be around him.
"You want me to find out what I can from Lindsay about him?" Daphne offered. She had been hoping that Brian would find someone for more than a one night stand for a while and she hoped that the cute young man Brian was mooning over could be the one.
"How junior high is that?" Brian asked, wanting very much to say yes. He wasn’t sure why, but he really wanted to know everything he could about the guy he met at the party.
"I’ll talk to her tomorrow." Daphne said with a smile.
"She’s a dyke, you know." Brian said matter-of-factly.
"No!" Daphne was seriously surprised.
"Don’t pretend like you didn’t notice the way she was looking at you when we walked into the party. And god, she followed you around like a puppy dog as soon as you said come." Brian chuckled. He knew that Daphne wouldn’t have a problem with the fact that Lindsay was gay, and she’d probably revel in the face that someone had a crush on her.
"No, I didn’t notice." Daphne smiled. "But I guess that explains that hurt look she got on her face when I said I was looking to get some dick that night," she chuckled. "I just thought she was really religious or something."
"God, Daph. You hang out at Woody’s and Babylon and you don’t know how to spot a dyke a mile away yet?" Brian feigned disappointment. "I may have to take away your honorary fag button and membership card."
"Asshole." Daphne chuckled.
***
Anthony glanced over at Justin as the two of them sat watching some reality TV show where some guy dates 25 women and then proposes to one of them in the end. "I think they need to make a show where they put 25 fags in a house and see what happens." Anthony quipped.
"They certainly wouldn’t be able to air it on ABC." Justin laughed. "Maybe Showtime." He reached over and took a sip of his coke.
Anthony laughed. "I wouldn’t mind being one of those 25 guys... long as the rest of ‘em were hot." Justin laughed along with him.
"So, how’d it go with that Brian guy the other night?" He asked, trying to sound casual.
"He left before I could talk to him again. Doesn’t matter though, I found and even hotter guy and we went back to his place." Anthony grinned. "Besides, I heard Kinney is a top too, and that just wouldn’t work."
"Oh." Justin tried to bite back the wide smile that was threatening to break out on his face. Anthony noticed and smiled.
"Linds told me she found you and Kinney holding hands outside." He looked at Justin’s reaction out of the corner of his eye. He laughed when his roommate looked scared. "Don’t worry, Justin. If you want him, you should go for it."
"Really?" Justin was surprised that Anthony was giving up a trick to Justin.
"God, Justin, you need to live a little. You’re 19 and you’ve been with what, 2 guys in your life? You need to experience what’s out there. Fuck a few frogs before you go in search of your prince." Justin laughed when Anthony said the exact same thing Brian had said.
"Why didn’t you and I ever fuck?" Justin asked.
"What??!!" Anthony laughed. "If you hadn’t been with that idiot Chris Hobbes when I met you, I probably would have tried. But now, man, we make really good friends and I don’t want to fuck that up. Besides, I don’t do boyfriends the way you do."
"I know. Your longest relationship is, what, 2 days? That weekend when you were stuck at your grandparents cabin and you seduced the guy next door?"
"Yep, I think that’s probably the longest." Anthony looked down at his watch. "I’m bored staying in. I’m taking you to Woody’s."
"Woody’s?" Justin gulped. He hadn’t been there since he and Chris had ventured out to Liberty Avenue once when they were seventeen.
"Come on, boy, live a little." Anthony grabbed Justin’s hand and pulled him off the couch. "If I don’t take you away from these horrible straight reality shows, it’ll be my fault when you turn into a breeder."
Justin let himself be dragged into Anthony’s room where he was poked, prodded, and dressed in a skin tight baby blue t-shirt and a pair of cargo pants that molded to his ass perfectly. "I’m going to make you into the best fag you can be."
"I’ve been a fag for two years. Don’t act like I’m some little boy just out of the closet." Justin slapped Anthony’s hand away as he tried to mess his hair. He had to admit that he liked the way Anthony’s clothes looked on him and was a little curious about where their night out on Liberty Avenue would take them.
***
"Hiya, Mikey." Brian said, slipping an arm around his best friend who was sitting at the bar at Woody’s. "Sorry I’m late, had to get a couple of books from the library on the way over here."
"Oh, that’s no problem." Michael looked up at Brian adoringly. "Do you want a drink?"
Brian called the bartender over and ordered his usual, a double Jim Beam. "Wanna shoot some pool?" Brian asked his friend once he had his drink in his hand, seeing that there was an open table.
"Sure, Brian."
Brian led the way and Mikey following behind and they started a game of pool. Michael kept going on and on about his day at work. He worked in a comic book store. "This guy actually came into the store looking for an Archie comic! I told him to go down the street to the grocery store."
"Sounds thrilling." Brian teased. Suddenly, the door opened and a blond head caught Brian’s attention. He wasn’t sure how, but he knew that it had to be Justin. When he saw Anthony walk in behind him, he was certain. "I’ll be right back, Mikey. I see someone I know."
Justin and Anthony sat down at a table in the corner. "I’ll go get us some drinks, alright?" When Justin nodded, Anthony stood and walked over to the bar.
"Hi, Sunshine." Brian said, sliding himself into the seat across from Justin.
"Brian... Hi." Justin was surprised to see Brian sitting across from him, but tried not to let it show on his face. "What are you doing here?"
"Playing pool with my friend Mikey. Do you and Anthony want to join us?" Amusement played in Brian’s eyes.
"Uhm... sure." Justin said with a smile. Moments later, Anthony returned with the drinks. "Ant, you remember Brian, right? He invited us to play pool with him and his friend."
"Well, then, let’s get over there."
Both Anthony and Justin knew exactly who Brian’s friend was, the short skinny guy who had been watching Brian the entire time he was away from him. Justin smiled a little when he felt Brian’s hand on the small of his back, leading him along.
"Mikey, this is Anthony and Justin. Guys, this is my friend Michael." Brian introduced as he grabbed his cue and grabbed one for Justin. He wanted to make sure that Anthony knew that his interest was in Justin, and Justin alone. Even though Brian had wanted Anthony badly before, he now paled in comparison to the blond at his side.
"Hi." Michael said with a big goofy grin. He reached out to shake each of their hands. Anthony decided that the geeky little guy with Brian had to be kept busy so that Justin could test out his seduction skills on Brian.
"Nice to meet you." He said, bringing Michael’s hand to his lips and gently sucking one finger into his mouth.
Brian chuckled when he saw this. Apparently, he didn’t have to worry about fending Anthony off for the evening, and with both him and Michael preoccupied, Brian would have Justin all to himself.
"Teams?" Justin suggested.
"How about me and you versus Michael and Ant?" Brian suggested, raising an eyebrow as if to challenge Justin to play with him.
"Sounds good." Justin surprised himself. Being that he was so inexperienced with guys, having only had two boyfriends in all of his 19 years, he was usually really shy. However, something was different with Brian. Hell, everything was different with Brian.
"You break." Brian said to Justin. Anthony and Michael were in their own little world. Michael was mooning over the attention Anthony was giving him-- and Ant was laying it on thick. Justin bent over to shoot and then thought of something.
"Brian? I haven’t played pool in forever. Do you think you could help me?" He tried to raise an eyebrow the same way Brian had. Brian stifled a laugh, but walked over and stood behind Justin.
"You hold the cue like this." Brian slipped his arms around Justin from behind and showed him how to hold the cue. "And you shoot it like this." As he was helping Justin shoot, he pressed himself close to Justin and felt the blond push back against him.
"Thanks." Justin said, breathlessly. Brian stood and took a long gulp of his beer, trying to calm the hard on that was beginning to grow in his pants.
Brian chuckled when he looked up at Anthony and Michael. They were grinding together next to the pool table and it looked like both of them were so lost in what they were doing that they wouldn’t be playing pool any time soon. "Looks like it’s just me and you." He said to Justin.
"I get you all to myself," Justin flirted. "Why don’t we raise the stakes?"
Brian raised an eyebrow at Justin’s challenge. "Wouldn’t be fair. You don’t even know how to hold a cue stick."
"Still bet I could beat you." Justin replied playfully. He figured he’d plan on losing anyway, but make the stakes so that he was a winner even after losing at pool.
"You’re on." Brian smiled. "So, what are the stakes?"
"If I win, you give me a ride home." Justin smiled slyly. Brian couldn’t believe that all the kid wanted was a ride home.
"And if I win?"
"You can give me a ride back to your place." Brian could see the mischief in Justin’s eyes as he said the words and he knew it was a bet that he couldn’t turn down.
"Deal." He grinned. "I guess it’s my turn now then." He took his first shot and sunk two balls at once.
"Uh oh, I think I’m in trouble." Justin feigned being scared to lose. As Brian was about to make his next shot, he came up behind him and caressed his thigh. When Brian missed his shot entirely, Justin gasped. "Oops! Was that my fault?"
"You’re a little vixen, aren’t you?" Brian asked with a chuckle.
Twenty minutes, and several caresses and whispers later, the game was over. "Looks like you beat me." Justin pretended to pout, even though he was thrilled at the thought of going home with Brian.
"Wanna back out of our deal?" Brian asked. Justin grinned and pressed his hand to Brian’s chest. Brian, in turn, took Justin’s hand in his own and held it there.
"I’m a man of my word." Justin smiled. "You ready to take me home?"
"Hell yes." Brian grasped Justin’s hand a little tighter and with a quick "We’re leaving!" tossed over his shoulder, they left the bar.
***
"Is Daphne home?" Justin asked as Brian led him into his apartment. He was amazed at cool their apartment was for young students. It seemed like a mishmash of different design styles, but it seemed to work.
"She’ll be studying in the library until the wee hours." Brian told him as he threw his keys down on the kitchen table and quickly checked the answering machine.
"What is she taking?" Justin knew that he was probably talking too much considering that there was no question as to the reason they ended up at Brian’s place.
"She’s a History major." Brian shrugged. "I don’t know what she plans to do with a History degree, but..." he shrugged and walked to the fridge. "Do you want anything?"
"Uhm, no, I’m okay." Justin said as he walked over to the couch and sat down. When Brian returned to the room with a can of 7Up in his hand, he gave Justin a weird look.
"Do you want to stay out here?" He asked.
"Uhm... no... ok..." Justin wasn’t sure how to answer so he looked away. He felt Brian’s hand on his shoulder and he looked up. Brian was looking down at him with a smile on his face.
"Come in my room." He said quietly. Justin stood and slipped his hand into Brian’s, following him into the bedroom and closing the door.
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