Jason sat behind the small desk in his little corner office at Breyer Architectural Designs and smiled with self-satisfaction. He was more than pleased with his new job. Even as a newbie he was being given respect, not to mention a decent starting salary. His office was tiny, but all his. He looked at the photo of him standing with his arm around Gus' waist that was taken at the luau in Hawaii. A wide grin spread over his face. It hadn't been easy leaving Gus at home studying for his teacher's exam. He had looked so inviting at the kitchen table in his briefs with his head bent over the books spread out in front of him. Jason had tiptoed up behind him and wrapped his arms around his lovers shoulders, peering at the myriad of books Gus was devouring. He gave Gus a little neck nuzzle and kissed his ear.



"I'm off Gee," he informed his lover. "Promise to miss me?"



Gus swiveled around in his chair and pulled Jason's lips down to his. He gave him a tender kiss that answered the question.



"Go get 'em tiger," Gus ordered. "Show them why they're lucky to have hired you. I'll have dinner ready when you get home."



Jason quickly returned Gus' kiss and turned to leave. When he reached the entryway he turned back. Gus had already gotten back to his books. Jason smiled at Gus' back and headed for the front door. As he left the apartment, he congratulated himself again on how lucky he was to have his life just the way he liked it...a beautiful apartment, a wonderful new job, and the one man in his life that made him the most happy. He still couldn't believe his good luck in falling for a man who could forgive a stupid mistake the way Gee did. Not all men would have been so understanding. He shuddered to think of it....of how close he had come to losing what mattered most to him.



********************************



*Almost A Year Earlier*



Junior year at University had been tougher than any other so far. Gus and Jason had little time for each other any more. It seemed that all their time was dedicated to studying and getting the grades that would ensure a successful future. Both young men were quite studious by nature, but Jason found himself chafing at the tiring hours with little relief just for having fun. Summer wasn't far away, as Gus kept reminding him, but Jason had begun to feel impatient and longed for some down time now. A lot of friction was building up between the couple. Their circle of friends were amazed at how easily they got along and often referred to them as 'the perfect couple'. It was a lot to live up to.



One night after a heated argument with Gus over why he couldn't just put down the books for one evening of fun, an argument that had happened several times in the last few weeks, Jason decided he'd had enough. If Gus wanted to be a party pooper again, Jason decided to let him do it on his own. It was the first time he had walked out on an argument instead of taking their usual tact, which was to move on to separate rooms until they'd both cooled down. Makeup sessions were usually so hot that they often forgot about whatever petty thing they'd disagreed over in the first place. This time Jason decided he'd do his cooling down somewhere that had a little action.



Jason had not gone out with the thought of being on the prowl. It never even occurred to him. He just wanted to kick up his heels a little. No harm in that. He was a healthy young man of twenty one. He and Gus occasionally went to a local dance club called The Rainbow House, but it had been months since their last visit. Jason made the decision to try the place out solo for a change. A little dancing and a drink or two couldn't do any harm. At least, he reasoned, it would put him in a more amiable mood and he'd feel more like buckling back down to business with the studies again. He told himself that Gus would appreciate it. He would feel so much better with his boyfriend more relaxed and not nagging him to go out so much. Well that was the plan, but the pathway to hell is certainly paved with good intentions. At least that was what Jason discovered on that unfortunate night.



The night started out very pleasantly. Since Gus and he were not frequent customers, Jason didn't see any familiar faces when he first entered the club. He made a bee line for the bar and ordered a beer. This dance club was a lot more intimate than the massive space of Gus' dad's place, the famous Babylon. There was a nice sized dance floor, but it was encircled by lots of small intimate tables for two with fat purple candles burning atop wine bottles of every shape and size in the center of them. It was fairly early in the evening so Jason saw several empty tables. He grabbed his beer and took a seat at one of the tables closest to the dance floor. This club catered to couples for the large part, although singles were certainly welcome, and there were no go-go boys dancing on podiums.



Jason was working on his second beer and watching couples and the occasional single man dancing to the beat of the music when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He had been missing Gus and wishing he had waited to come when Gus was in the mood. He turned around quickly, half expecting to see Gus' smiling face. Instead he saw a different, yet familiar face. It was Tom Ulrey, one of Jason's classmates. He was fully aware that Tom was gay since the poor guy never tried to hide his attraction to Jason. They had shared classes since Freshman year because both were studying to be architects. Jason had made it a point to introduce his boyfriend to Tom when the guy began cruising him in earnest. It seemed to do the trick and he and Tom had become fairly good friends afterwards now that the boundaries were understood. They had even studied together dozens of times and Tom had ceased his blatant flirting.



It was for this reason that Jason welcomed the sight of a friendly face. He and Tom spent the next few hours knocking back beers, dancing, and talking about their hopes and dreams for the future. As the hours dragged on Jason found himself enjoying Tom's company more and more. Tom, who had longed to be really close to Jason for a long time, took full advantage of his lucky break. Eventually the fast dances turned to slower dances and Tom, who was half a foot taller than Jason, found the object of his still smoldering affection in his arms as they swayed close together to a romantic song. Finally the closing hour arrived for the club. Tom had been careful to avoid drinking nearly as many beers as his companion. He was just tipsy enough to feel emboldened. Jason, on the other hand, was full on drunk.



Tom called a cab and poured his friend into it, giving the cabbie his own address. The rest of the night was a blur to Jason. He woke up the next morning with a head twice as big as it should be and eyes plastered shut to avoid the small stream of light peeking through the dark curtain of his bedroom...only he discovered it wasn't his bedroom once he could force himself to pry open one eye. The forest green curtain in the offending window wasn't his...his was maroon. The bed was too small...his was king size, this was smaller. The furniture was all wrong. Jason began to feel uncomfortable, his stomach lurching. He jumped up from the bed naked as the day he was born and stumbled around looking for a bathroom in the unfamiliar bedroom. Finally spotting it, he tripped his way hurriedly into the strange bathroom. The sound of retching filled the small tiled room.



Jason felt slightly better as he re-entered the bedroom. It was then that he noticed for the first time that he had a sleeping companion. The figure moved under heavy blankets and let out a small snore. Panic began to rise in Jason's stomach again. He pushed it down and crept over to the sleeping figure. Just then the man turned over onto his back and Jason saw for the first time that he had been sharing a bed with his classmate, Tom. Jason's heart sank. In the nearly three and a half years that he and Gus had been a couple there had never been another man. They had never discussed it, but faithfulness had been an unspoken promise to each other. He tried hard to remember how he had gotten to this place, but nothing came to him. He remembered a cab ride, but nothing else.



Jason made quick work of gathering up his belongings and dressed as fast as possible in the living room. He couldn't remember much, but he had the feeling his car was still at the Rainbow House parking lot. He pulled out his cell, which had been turned off sometime during the previous evening although he couldn't recall when, and called for a cab. He thought seriously about calling Gus, but his head hurt too much to deal with the repercussions of his screw up at that moment. He quickly switched his phone back off. He knew that Gus would be ready to kill him by now, but he was already screwed. An hour longer wouldn't make things any worse, he reasoned.



Jason found his car and quickly slid into the drivers seat. He debated whether to go straight home to Gus or take a different tact. He settled on visiting his parents and getting a good strong cup of coffee into him. He'd call Gus from there. Jason drove to the Tyler house, being careful not to drive too fast since his vision was still a touch blurry from his throbbing headache. His mom opened the door to find her hungover son wobbling in the doorway. She hurriedly poured the poor thing a mug of black coffee. She was wise enough not to question her son on what brought him to this state. She knew he'd talk about it if the time came he wanted to share. She set the pot down beside Jason on the table and went back to her usual morning chores, leaving the young man to his thoughts. Jason waited till he was on his second cup and knew it was time. He picked up the kitchen phone. His stomach churned again as he waited for the voice on the other end.



"Hello," came Gus' voice.



"Gee?"



"Where the fuck are you? I woke up this morning and you weren't here. Do you have any idea what crap ran through my mind? I was this close to calling hospitals and...."



"Calm down Gee...please! I'm fine. I'm at my parents house. I kind of drank too much last night so I crashed here."



The lie rolled off his tongue far too easy, but he'd already dug the hole. There was no going back now.



"You didn't fucking drive there, did you?"



"Shit Gee. Give me some credit. I was drunk, not insane. I took a cab. I'll take another one and pick the car up and be home just as soon as I say goodbye to Mom. And Gee...I'm really sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen. I...I didn't want to scare you."



Gus could hear the pathetic plea in Jason's voice. He sounded sincerely sorry. Gus softened towards his boyfriend. Mistakes happened. At least the dum-dum didn't get himself killed on the streets in a car accident.



"I know Jase," he told him, his voice much calmer now. "Just get home as soon as you can. I'm just glad you're alright."



Jason hung up. He felt like a total shit. He had never lied to Gus in all their time together. But what was done was done. He'd make it up somehow. Jason finished up one more mug of coffee, found his mom vacuuming in the living room and kissed her good bye. He went out to his car and headed for his apartment. He was anxious to get home and wrap his arms around Gus again. Maybe the feel of his lover in his arms would dispel the memory of the fool he'd been the night before. He had no way of knowing, as he drove back home, that Gus had made a call to the Tyler house moments after Jason left in order to ask his boyfriend to pick up some milk at the convenience store on the way home. By the time he had hung up he was fully aware that Jason hadn't spent the night at his parents house like he had led Gus to believe.



Gus sat quietly seething on the living room couch when Jason walked in. He hurried over to Gus and leaned down to give him a hug. He pulled away when he got no reaction from the stiffened body of his boyfriend. He stood back up, a puzzled look on his face.



"What's up Gee? I told you I was sorry for staying out all night without calling or anything. I thought you understood."



"That you stayed out all night...yeah, I understand. Just one question Jason. Where were you, cause your mom just told me that you weren't at their house," Gus asked through clenched teeth.



Jason looked like a deer caught in headlights. He looked around the room as if looking for a place to hide. His head throbbed even harder now. He couldn't think fast enough to make up some other story, and didn't really want to anyway. It was time to bite the bullet. He slowly walked to the other end of the couch, as far from Gus as he could sit. He eased down and began the tale of his lost night at the dance club. He could see Gus stiffen even more when Tom's name came up, but he plunged ahead with the rest of the gory details...or at least as many as he could bring back to mind. When he reached the part about waking up in Tom's bed he lowered his head in shame.



"I really don't remember anything past climbing in a cab, Gee. I swear to you. I don't even know if we did anything. Oh gawd, Gee, I'm really sorry. You know I wouldn't hurt you for the world. I didn't plan any of this. It was just a stupid mistake. I should never have been drinking like that. I just wanted to let loose a little. Please say you forgive me. Nothing like that will ever happen again. I swear to you," he pleaded.



Gus listened to the whole story, growing more angry with each new picture that Jason painted of his night on the town. He was well aware of Tom's infatuation and knew that the man probably enjoyed promoting Jason's state of mind, but that didn't excuse Jason's behavior. Not in his eyes. Didn't the idiot know how much he had wanted to go out and let loose a little too? Not long after Jason had left the apartment he had regretted not going with him for a few hours. He had tried to call to find out where he had gone but the phone was turned off. He had given up sometime after midnight and gone to bed, expecting to find Jason lying beside him in the morning. He had figured they would have one of their hot make-up sessions and then he'd promise to go with him the next time.



Instead Gus had found an empty spot next to him in the morning and spent the next couple of hours trying to get hold of his missing boyfriend and worrying his heart out. He had called his dad, but Brian had suggested he calm down and give Jason time to call. Before they hung up, Brian ordered Gus to call back if he didn't hear from Jason in the next hour or so. They'd figure out what to do after that. Jason called ten minutes later, giving Gus his made up story. Gus called Brian, who said 'I told you so'. Now Gus wished he had never called Gus back at his mom's house. If he had used the cell he never would have spoken to Mrs. Tyler and learned the truth. But it was too late now.



"Gee? Say something."



Gus wasn't aware that he hadn't responded. He was in turmoil. How was he supposed to respond? Suddenly he knew he couldn't handle this alone. He needed to talk to his dad and DJ. They would help him deal with this...this deception. He loved Jason more than anything, but right now he didn't even want to look at him. He jumped up from the couch and looked down at the repentant Jason. He wasn't moved by the obvious pain in the man's eyes. There would be no make-up sex for this problem. Not this time.



"I'm going out Jason. I have to think, and I can't do it here." He started to move away.



"But you'll be back, right Gee?"



"I'll be back...later."



Gus had said all he wanted to say right now. He needed to talk to someone else more and he needed to do it right now. He left the apartment to get to his dad's house as quickly as he could.



To be continued..........................