CHAPTER TWO

Another day. Another city. Another hotel. Nick danced outside the hallway, bare-footed, pounding once more on the door. What the hell was taking so long? He was freezing.

Brian opened up, flustered and looking slightly out of breath. He tightened his robe as he blinked against the glare of the hall lights.

“Jeez, could you be any slower?” Nick grumbled and pushed past him. Throwing his cardkey on the dresser, he rushed toward the extra bed. With a flying leap he jumped under the covers, curling himself up into a tight ball.

“Just make yourself at home, Nick.”

Nick ignored Brian’s sarcasm. “Thanks. My room doesn’t have any heat and I’m too lazy to get another.” He shivered and burrowed deeper, the top of his hair the only thing visible from under the comforter. “Say… I’m not intruding on anything or …anyone, am I?” Nick asked, his voice muffled. Popping his head up, he peered around, then smirked. “Nope, I didn’t think so.”

“Ha, ha.” Brian gave him a sour smile and headed into the bathroom, closing the door with a resounding slam.

Nick cringed, mentally slapping himself. He really had to remember not to tease Brian about his non-existent love life, especially since he had been the one who begged Brian to help him find his Mr. Perfect. Nick heard the faint whoosh of the shower turning on and shrugged. Oh, well. He’d apologize later, after Brian finished showering. He tossed back and forth under the covers, experimenting, trying to find the best position. He finally gave up, deciding to sleep on his stomach instead. Punching his pillow a few times for good measure, Nick relaxed into the softness with a satisfied sigh. Perfect. He smiled and closed his eyes. Just perfect. A low rumble resonated within his stomach, a quick ripple of protest. Nick groaned into the pillow and flopped onto his side, trying to ignore the noise. His stomach gurgled some more, this time in earnest. Nick stared up at the ceiling in defeat. Damn. He might as well get it over with and call; he knew he’d never be able to fall asleep hungry. He reached for the phone, knocking over the remote control that was lying next to it. Propping himself up, trying to get comfortable, Nick dialed for room service. He saw the remote on the floor and leaned over to snag it. Yeah. He’d watch some TV while he waited for the food to arrive. He wondered if Brian was hungry and decided to order extra, just in case. He pointed the remote toward the TV, watching as it glowed to life as he placed his order over the phone.

Holy shit.

He immediately hit the off button.

Nah. No way. It couldn’t be.

Could it?

Just to be sure, Nick punched the on button. He stared, mesmerized.

Moans. Groans. Heavy panting. He clicked the TV off once more. Oh, yeah. No mistaking that. Porn.

There. Right there. On screen. And not just any porn. Gay porn. Triple X, from the look of it. He glanced guiltily at the closed bathroom door, straining to listen. The shower was still running. Thank God. Nick sighed in relief. How embarrassing would that be if Brian had discovered him gawking at gay porn? He wasn’t sure he could live it down. Or, if Brian would ever let him.

Nick glanced at the TV. He was tempted to take another look. He’d never seen two men getting it on before. Women, hell yeah. Men, no. Nick chewed on his lower lip, contemplating how long Brian was going to be in the shower. If he watched, just a little, maybe he’d learn a few tricks. Not those kinds of tricks, but maybe it would help him become more informed, more familiar on this whole gayness thing. Or biness. Biness? Was that a word? Whatever. Yeah, he’d better study it. Strictly for research, of course. Yep. Anything to help his friend. Nick grinned at his own line of bullshit. Just who was he trying to kid here? He was curious about this whole gay sex thing. Sure, he knew all about the mechanics of it, what went where, it’s just that he never considered viewing it first hand. Yep. He was going to check it out. That is, if he could get away with it without getting caught. Nick sneaked a quick peek at the closed bathroom door. Yeah. Now was his chance. He hit the remote.

Nick blinked. Huh. Well, whaddya know. Instead of two men, now there were three! Nick peered, then frowned, tilting his head sideways as he tried to figure which body part belong to which guy. It wasn’t all that easy, cause there was a wild mass of entangled arms and legs, but it seemed that they were all screwing at once, positioned on a mangy couch that looked barely able to support one person, much less three. Nick tried not to snicker as he watched the mustachioed, hairy-chested porn stars thrust away like mad to the sounds of disco music and psychedelic lights. Damn! Just how old was this movie, anyway? He kinda felt sorry for Brian, if the only gay porn available to watch on cable was this crap. He watched some more. Hmm. Well, he had to give those guys credit, they sure had stamina, not to mention some rather interesting positions, but there was definitely nothing worth...whoa! Nick caught his breath, staring in disbelief as one of the men pulled away. Holy shit. The guy was huge. Enormous. How in hell could anyone be that big? Nick shifted uncomfortably on the bed. He had always been fairly smug about his own size, but suddenly he felt like a freshman surrounded by a locker room full of seniors! Nick shook his head. Come on, Carter - you’re supposed to be watching this for information, not comparing sizes! Besides, those guys are probably over fifty by now, ugly and fat and couldn’t get it up if they tried. Yeah. That worked, cause he suddenly felt better. Nick continued to watch, switching his attention back and forth from the TV to the bathroom door. Knowing he was pressing his luck in getting caught, Nick finally hit the off button, grudgingly admitting that maybe the movie did had something to offer. He tossed the remote back onto the table, relaxed against the headboard and wondered if Brian knew this was available on his TV.

Wait a minute!

Nick bolted upright, his mind racing. Wait just a friggin’ minute! That was porn he’d been watching. Hard-core, triple X porn. It wasn’t like you could just turn the TV on and there it’d be! Which meant...you had to order it. Which meant… if he was watching it, the pay per view must have already been selected. Which meant... Nick glanced at the bathroom door, seeing a small sliver of light glow from under the door. Boy, Brian sure was taking a long time in there. He frowned. Since when did Brian take long showers?

A low moan, barely noticeable, filtered through the sound of the shower.

Nick froze.

Oh shit, no.

Another moan, this time a little louder, a little more in earnest.

Oh shit, yes.

It all made sense now. Brian had ordered this. Brian had been watching this. He must have interrupted Brian. Nick remembered Brian’s disheveled appearance at the door. Oh my god. No wonder it had taken him so long to answer! Brian had been...um, busy...and he had surprised Brian with his sudden appearance. Now, Brian was finishing what he had started. The light moans began to increase in pitch and Nick buried his face in his hands, shaking his head. Brian might be taking a shower, but Nick was pretty damn sure Brian wasn’t in there for the purpose of washing his hair. Oh hell, all right, he’d knew it was a normal, natural body function. They were guys, young and healthy. They got horny. They jerked off. But it wasn’t like anyone of them knew when someone else was doing it! Well...um, so maybe they did know. It happened, sometimes, occasionally, especially in tight quarters. Like on a bus. But, hey, it wasn’t like they wanted to advertise it, or something! Sheesh. And just because he was a little more vocal than the rest of the guys didn’t mean...

A loud crash resonated from behind the bathroom door followed by a livid curse and Nick jumped in surprise. Okay. What the hell just happened? What the fuck was going on? Thankfully, Nick stopped himself before jumping out of bed to check. No way was he going to ask! He stayed in bed instead, forcing himself to wait until Brian came out of the bathroom and explain what happened. He waited a little more. Cocking his head, Nick strained to hear for any sign of life behind the door. Nothing. Not even the sound of the shower running. Great. Now what was he supposed to do? Huh? Sit here forever? Shit. He was getting impatient and it sure didn’t look like Brian was going to come out any time in this century.

With a groan, Nick slipped out from under the covers and padded over to the closed door. God, why me? He really, really wanted to ignore the whole thing. Go back to his own room. Forget what he saw, what he heard. But he couldn’t. He had to ask, had to find out what happened. Was that weird? To ask? Was it wrong? He didn’t care. He had to know.

He rapped lightly on the door. “Bri?” Nick cleared his throat, trying again. “Brian?” No answer. He frowned, starting to feel uneasy. God, maybe…maybe he was wrong. Maybe Brian really was just taking a shower! And he had slipped! Was Brian now lying in a pool of blood? Oh, fuck!

“Brian!! Answer me! You okay in there?”

Nick heard Brian’s breathless voice shout out. “Yeah! Yeah! I’m...I’m okay, Nick. I...uh...I just slipped getting out of the shower. The curtain rod broke.”

Nick sighed in relief. So that’s what happened! Brian slipped! Nick remembered falling once too, had made a wild grab for the shower curtain for support. Only he had been jacking off at the time and lost his balance just as he climaxed.

Oh.

Oh.

Nick smirked. Uh, sure, Brian, whatever you say.

Damn. He was so gonna have fun with this.

He slumped against the doorframe, calmly waiting for Brian to come out. Brian finally opened the door, dressed only in dark blue boxers.

Nick gave Brian the once over, just to be sure he really was okay. Aside from looking annoyed, Brian seemed fine. And relaxed. Very, very relaxed.

Brian scowled at Nick’s scrutiny. “What?”

Nick raised an eyebrow. “You slipped?”

“Yeah.”

“Cumming out of the shower?” Nick tried not to laugh.

“Yeah.” Brian frowned, missing the emphasis Nick had placed on the word. “Why?” He headed over to his bed, jumped in, and grabbed the TV remote off the stand. He aimed the remote but caught himself just in time, a look of panic crossing his face when he realized what he had almost turned on.

Brian’s expression was priceless. Nick burst into laughter, unable to keep a straight face.

“What’s so funny?”

Unable to answer, Nick just shook his head, doubled over from laughing.

Brian’s eyes narrowed, not amused. “Okay, Nick. What’s so damn funny?”

Clutching his stomach, Nick staggered over to Brian and snatched the remote out of his hand.

“This!” He gleefully clicked the TV on, then blinked in surprise. Instead of three guys screwing, now there were four! Well, since they fucked like bunnies, it only made sense that they multiplied too! Oh, god! Nick was hyper-ventilating, feeling himself teetering on the edge of full-out hysterical laughter.

Brian slid out from under the covers and lunged for the remote, his face red with embarrassment.

Nick danced away from Brian’s reach.

“Oh yeah, oh yeah!” Nick panted. He made a few, quick jerking motions with his hand, his face twisting in ecstasy. Arms flailing about, he pantomimed a desperate grab for support, mimicking Brian’s so-called stumble. Nick shot Brian an evil grin. “Slipped, my ass! I know what you’ve been doing,” he snickered.

“Nick! Give that to me! Right now!”

“Ah, ah, ah! You didn’t say the magic word!”

“Bite me!”

“Eww!”

Roaring with laughter, Nick found it difficult to dodge Brian’s desperate leaps. Gasping for air, he climbed over the bed to avoid Brian’s wrath and waved the remote, taunting him.

“Nick! Goddammit! Give me the fucking remote!”

“Ooh! Such language! Do you kiss your mother with that hand?” Wait. That didn’t sound quite right. Oh, well. Nick dodged another attack.

“I’m going to kill you! Gimme that!”

A loud, orgasmic scream caused both of them to glance momentarily at the TV. The mortified look on Brian’s face was enough to make Nick lose it. He collapsed weakly onto the bed, hugging his sides as he howled. Brian reached over, easily yanking the remote out of Nick’s grip. He gave Nick a revengeful punch to his forearm before clicking the TV off.

“Aw, come on! It was just starting to get good!”

Nick chose to ignore Brian’s glare, wiping away the tears that had streaked down his face with the back of his hand. He lay limp on the bed, totally exhausted from his laughing fit. God, he hadn’t laughed that hard in a long time. He sighed. Then hiccuped. And hiccuped again. Nick tried holding his breath. Hic! Hic! Hic! Great. Now what? He hated getting the hiccups. Nick felt the urge to laugh again at the absurdity of it all. Right now, he should be asleep, warm and comfortable in his own bed. Yet here he was: cold, hungry, and yes, dammit, he was man enough to admit it, horny from that stupid porn! Nick smiled inwardly. He wouldn’t trade this moment for the world.

Hic.

"Water. I need water.” Nick moaned, giving Brian a pleading look. “Help me.”

Brian gave an exasperated sigh and shook his head, his anger fading. “You’re such as ass, Nick. You know that?”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know. Hic! Come on. Go get me something!”

Brian came back, holding a bottled water. “Here you are, ya big baby.” He waited until Nick finished drinking before he spoke. “You realize, payback’s gonna be a bitch.”

Nick wiped his mouth and grinned. “Ooh. I’m so scared.” He waggled a finger at Brian. “Next time, remember who you’re trying to fool, boy.”

Brian slapped his forehead. “Oh, right! How could I forget? You’re the group’s chronic masturbator!”

“And proud of it. By the way, I never did beat the crap outta Kevin for announcing it to the world. I’m gonna have to fix that. Hic! Damn.” Nick held up his empty bottle with a pitiful expression.

Brian snorted in disgust and went to fetch another drink. “I can’t believe I’m waiting on you after what you just did!”

“It’s ‘cause you love me, man!”

Nick was only able to catch a split second of what?...guilt?...panic? in Brian’s eyes before he lowered face from view.

Nick stared at him. “What? What’s wrong?”

Brian just shook his head and reached into the small mini bar to locate another bottled water.

“Brian?”

“It’s nothing, Nick. Forget it.”

“Come on. What’s the matter?”

“Nothing.”

“Are you sure? What’s going on?”

“Nothing, Nick! Nothing! Just forget it, okay?”

Nick wasn’t sure what had tripped Brian into such a foul mood, but from the bitterness in Brian’s voice and face, it was enough for him to back off. Something was wrong here, but Nick figured he’d ask later when things were a little more...

“What’s that?”

Glad for the interruption, Nick sprang from the bed. “Room service! I was hungry. I ordered a pizza for me. One for you too, just in case. Extra cheese, nothing else, right?”

Brian relaxed, giving Nick a small smile. “Yeah. Thanks.”

Nick sighed in relief, glad that the sudden tension between them was gone. He tipped the bellboy a generous amount, closed the door and sniffed the cardboard box. “Yum. Pizza. Let’s eat. I’m starving!”

"Since when aren’t you?”

Nick gave a sly grin. “Well, I’m sure you must have worked up an appetite too, huh?”

Brian groaned and grabbed his own pizza, going over to sit crossed-legged on his bed. “I’m never going to hear the end of this, am I?”

“Nope,” Nick mumbled, his mouth full of pizza. “Man, I can hardly wait to tell AJ!”

“Fine. You blab this to AJ, and I promise I’ll tell him what happened between you and that girl he really liked.”

“You wouldn’t.”

Brian smiled sweetly.

“Hey! It wasn’t my fault! How was I supposed to know that AJ had the hots for her? It was a total misunderstanding, I swear!”

“Uh huh. Sure. I believe you, Nick. But will AJ? Hmm. Tough question.” Brian snickered, enjoying Nick’s discomfort.

Nick pondered, weighing the pros and cons. He chewed slowly, not liking the odds. “Oh, okay. You win. Jeez. Talk about blackmail.”

Triumphant, Brian picked up a slice of warm pizza and watched in amazement as the thickly layered cheese slipped completely off the crust and right into the pizza box. He held the cheese-less piece of bread up for inspection. “Well, I have to admit, when you order a cheese pizza, you sure order a cheese pizza!”

“Of course. Eww…you’re not going to…” Nick grimaced as Brian folded up the heavy piece of melted cheese and shoved the whole thing into his mouth. “That’s gross.”

Brian licked his fingers. “No, that’s good.” He picked up another slice, this time managing to take a big bite before the cheese could skid off.

Nick grabbed the remote. “Hey. Whaddya say we watch some TV?”

Brian choked.

Nick smiled sheepishly. “Oops. Oh, yeah. I forgot. Sorry.”

Brian lobbed a piece of crust at Nick, managing to hit him squarely on the forehead and leaving a red smear. “Look! You’ve got pizza on the brain.”

Nick threw a piece back and Brian dodged it. “So, you’ve got sex on the brain. Or, should I say, in the hand?”

“All right, I thought you said you weren’t gonna joke about it.”

“Just to AJ. You’re still fair game. And speaking of sex, I think I’ve found the perfect guy for you.”

“Yeah, right.”

“No, really.”

“I thought you had forgotten all about finding Mr. Perfect.”

"You wish."

Brian heaved a sigh. “Okay, I’m scared to ask but I have to. Who?”

Nick took another bite of his pizza.

“You’re not going to tell me, are you?”

“You’ll see soon enough.”

Brian slumped, staring glumly at his half-eaten slice. “Great. I was afraid of that.”