The next day on set was almost torture for poor Justin. His asshole still tingled, and it bounced between pleasure and discomfort. And he wouldn't have had it any other way. Being able to still feel it only reminded him again, over and over, of his glorious night with Brian. He had not lied to his lover when he said that he had never dreamed he could feel the things that Brian made his body feel. That didn't even take into consideration the emotional feelings that Brian brought out in him. Those feelings were in a class all their own.

Justin followed every instruction for the day's work... practicing scenes and blocking for shots... going to wardrobe, hairstylist, and makeup, but the entire time all he could think of was getting to see Brian again. The ad man had promised Justin that there were a lot more lessons to learn about being a gay man and the actor was more than a willing student. By the time the director got to the love scenes in the film, Justin was pretty sure he'd know how to play the part... after all, he WAS in love now.

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

Brian found it hard to concentrate on the job at hand. He was thoroughly distracted with visions of Justin dancing in his head. Even now, while in a meeting with his top employees on the Rage campaign, he couldn't stop picturing Justin lying underneath him. And, of course, he occasionally heard the young man's voice as it announced his love for Brian so quietly. Every time that memory came up, Brian felt a shiver run through him. Frankly he was a bit scared. He had spent his entire adult life disavowing love as a trap and a fool's game. Now, here was this young man who declared that it was exactly how he felt and Brian wasn't sure what to do with that declaration.

A part of Brian was warmed down to his very core by what Justin had said. In truth, he felt something strong for Justin too, but Brian was also chilled by the declaration. Justin was a virgin and Brian was only his first taste of the world of gay men. What if he discovered that Brian wasn't enough for him. If he was stupid enough to give his whole heart and soul to Justin, what would he have left when the kid decided to move on. Brian knew he had to slow this thing down between he and Justin before they crashed and burned, but he wasn't ready for that yet. There was so much more he wanted to show Justin. The time wasn't right to discourage him, but he wouldn't string the young man along either. Tonight he would set some ground rules to continue their affair.

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

The day finally came to an end and Justin was tickled to see Brian waiting for him in his usual spot. He ran across to throw himself in the older man's arms. Brian caught him up and held Justin close to his body as he bent over to place a welcoming kiss on the blond's eager mouth. A few of the other actors noticed the exchange and felt a tingle of jealousy at the scene they witnessed, or at least the gay ones did. After a couple of minutes spent reexamininghow much they enjoyed the taste of each other, Brian finally pulled back to gaze into Justin's clear blue eyes.

"Miss me?" he inquired.

"Every minute," came Justin's reply. "Especially when I had to practice kissing scenes with Dirk...you know, the guy playing Rage." Justin grinned innocently at Brian.

Brian felt a very brief moment of...of...well hell, he didn't know what it was, but he didn't like it. Then he recognized the look on Justin's face and realized he'd been played.

"You wouldn't be trying to make me jealous, now would you young man? Because if you are, I must warn you that I don't do jealous."

"Of course. I understand," Justin answered back, but he hadn't missed the momentary look of irritation that crossed Brian's face when he mentioned Dirk and kissing in the same breath.

"Well, if you're finished for the day, I thought we'd try something different. You wouldn't happen to bowl by any chance?"

"Bowl?"

"Yeah, you know...like in ten pins, a big ball, and a long lane? The gang have a team called the Liberty Balls and we bowl every Wednesday. Deb's team captain. It's good exercise and you get to see some pretty nice asses as they bend to throw the ball. So what do you say? Want to join us? We usually have dinner there too."

"I'm always up for a challenge, but I have to warn you, I've never bowled in my life."

"Don't worry, you can sit and admire my form while we bowl the challenge match we have set up with the Boys in Blue team. Then we can try a few frames alone. Are you up for it?"

"It's kind of hard to picture you bowling, Brian. Actually it's kind of hard picturing you involved in any sports, but I'm game if you are."

"Oh, my dear boy, you've just scratched my surface. I was once a track star and a pretty mean hockey player in school. And as for being physically fit, I believe I've proven that. Oh, and I presume you keep your lean figure with visits to the gym...I hear most actors do. You can join the whole gang at our gym later on, then we can talk about my fitness."

Justin laughed. "Oh, I will attest to your physical fitness, but I'd love to hear more about your athletic past. And, no, I don't work out at a gym...can't afford it. But I would certainly enjoy checking you...I mean your gym out with you."

"Okay, it's a date," Brian confirmed, never realizing how shocked his friends would be to hear him utter that forbidden word.

The men took their places in the jeep, and after one more enjoyable kiss, Brian whisked Justin off to his hotel. When Justin went in to shower, it was a very different scene from the previous one a few days earlier. Justin had no problem with stripping down in front of Brian, and instead of waiting patiently for Justin to finish his shower, Brian joined him. The space was limited, unlike Brian's loft, but the couple managed to scrub the day's labors off them while having a little fun at the same time. They exited the shower stall thoroughly refreshed. A quick redressing later, and they were on their way to the Liberty Avenue Bowling Lanes.

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

The bowling match offered up a lot more than just a few games of skill. Justin realized once more how ordinary and everyday gay folks were. His father had done his best to scare Justin at the thought of anything queer sounding, but the man was just plain wrong. Justin had always sensed it but, thanks to Brian, he now knew it. The only thing different about these folks was who they chose to love or sleep with. Well, that and the fact that some (like the adorable Emmett) had extremely colorful tastes in clothing.

The bowlers on the Liberty Balls team all wore maroon shirts with the team's name emblazoned on the back and their names on the front, except for Emmett who had added a few personal touches to his shirt. The large rainbow that covered the team's name in sparkly colors definitely made a statement. The Boys in Blue wore dark blue shirts. One cop was obviously special as he couldn't stop hugging Debbie during the entire game. Carl was written on the front of his shirt. Later, Debbie introduced him to Justin as her boyfriend.

Brian was quite impressive with his skills, but the star of the team was obviously Ben. Justin was even more impressed with the man when he heard Michael warn him to be careful after just getting out of the hospital. Brian explained, in a whisper, that Ben had had some medical problems due to new medication to treat his HIV positive status. Justin stared at the strapping Professor and found it hard to picture the man sick at all. Justin knew a few positive guys from Hollywood so he had no uninformed fears of the disease, but Ben's condition was an eye opener, especially in the way that he and Michael interacted. Justin's estimation of Novotny rose a couple of notches.

The entire evening turned out to be much more fun that Justin had anticipated. Brian's team won, thanks to some excellent moves by Ben and everyone, gays and cops alike, gathered around a large table in the bowling establishment's cafe for burgers and beer. There was a lot of good-natured ribbing and Justin ate it up. He had had more fun in the last week with Brian and his friends than he had the entire five years in Hollywood. The camaraderie between the friends was something new to Justin who had avoided forming bonds with anyone before. He had never been rude or unkind to fellow actors during auditions or on sets, but he had never allowed anyone to get too close either. He simply did his job and lived for the next one. When he needed a friend, he would call Daphne.

Now Justin was seeing the fun that could be had when one was surrounded by caring people, and he loved it. He loved his job, but being with Brian was fast becoming more important. After winning the three game match with the cops and having dinner, the gang started drifting off leaving Brian and Justin alone. Brian suggested a game for the two of them, but Justin had other thoughts in mind.

"You're kind of sweaty from all that exercising. Don't you feel the need to freshen up?" Justin asked with a wicked gleam in his eye.

Brian wasn't immune to the suggestion. He raised his arm and took a whiff of his armpit.

"Hmmm, I do stink. Do you want to come back with me to the loft while I take care of my problem?"

"Thought you'd never ask," Justin eagerly responded.

The drive to Brian's loft was held in casual talk about the progress of the film while Justin laid his hand in Brian's lap and proceeded to distract the driver who struggled to concentrate on the road. By the time Brian pulled up in the back of the apartment building, he was more than ready to punish the young man for nearly causing him to lose control of the Jeep. He pulled Justin over to him and began kissing the young man passionately, leaving the blond breathless and hard as a rock. Brian rubbed his free hand over Justin's bulge, causing whimpers to pour out of him. Brian grabbed an ear lobe and sucked on it before using his tongue to explore the ear he'd just assaulted. Whimpers turned into moans. Just then, the back door to the building opened and Brian's downstairs neighbor stepped out into the lot.

Brian and Justin froze. Only the sound of ragged breathing could be heard. "Let's take this upstairs," Brian whispered hoarsely against Justin's ear.

Justin bobbed his head up and down and pulled away from Brian's chest. A moment later the men exited the Jeep, adjusting their swollen crotches. They made a beeline for the stairs and took them two at a time until they were on the top floor and standing at Brian's loft door. Moments later, they were back in each others arms with the door sliding closed behind them. Brian escorted Justin to his bedroom and the men quickly undressed and moved to the over sized shower stall.

The lovers stood under the steamy water spray chest to chest and kissed over and over, tongues exploring...erections meshing against each other as Brian pulled Justin up to him. When Brian felt his need take over, he grabbed a condom from the small shelf behind him and handed it to Justin who squatted down in order to roll the protection onto Brian's weeping dick. Justin gave Brian's cock a few quick tugs first and then Brian was set. Brian raised Justin up by his arms and turned him around. He raised Justin's arms onto the glass wall and sucked his way from the blond's neck to his crack, tonguing the crevice thoroughly before rising back up and placing his cock head against the spot he'd just abandoned.

Brian rubbed some of the mild soap along his sheathed shaft and around the target it was aiming for. When he felt Justin was ready for him, he gently pushed forward against Justin's ass. The hole was still tight, but it only took three stops and starts before the muscles relaxed enough to welcome the invader at their door. Once Brian was firmly embedded and Justin was beginning to push back against him, the older man began a practiced rhythm that soon had Justin begging for more and deeper penetration. Much too soon Justin was crying out for release and Brian reached around Justin's middle and began pumping the blond's hardened shaft in time with his thrusts forward. Soon after that, Justin was decorating the wall with his orgasm as Brian filled the condom head with his own. Brian held onto Justin until the young man finally could stand firmly on his own.

Later, the men sat in the den area of the loft taking turns taking a hit off Brian's top quality weed. As their bodies and minds relaxed further, their casual conversation about their lives began to get more serious. Brian relived a painful experience at the bowling alley with his drunken father that almost turned him off the sport altogether, and Justin revealed his painful experience with his own father when the man frightened him into hiding his very nature even from himself. Eventually Brian saw an opening to warn Justin that no matter how close they had become, he must not think it was forever.

"You know I care about you... a lot, Sunshine. But we're not like straight folks who tell each other they're in love so that they can get laid and then break each other's hearts when they realize it was all a mistake. We're men and we fuck when we want to and don't when we don't. I refuse to pretend that it's anything more. I usually am never with the same guy twice, but you're the exception. First of all, because you're the best I've ever known and secondly because I didn't want some heavy handed asshole teaching you what being gay was all about and making a mess of it. I just don't want to lie to you. Sooner or later, you'll be moving on and so will I."

Justin sat next to Brian and quietly took in all the man said. When Brian paused, Justin stepped in.

"You do know that you just spouted a load of bullshit at me. I am falling in love with you, Brian Kinney, and it isn't just because you are one hell of a good fucker... which you are. And as for men being men, you're surrounded by couples who are obviously in love... Ted and Blake, Emmett and Drew, and particularly Michael and Ben. Last time I looked they were men, and I believe they would laugh at your idea that they can't be in love because they're men. And one more thing... you don't spend all this time with me for altruistic reasons. I may not have known you long, but I know enough to know that you don't do anything unless you really want to. You spend all this time with me because you love being with me and you are falling in love with me too. You just haven't got the balls yet to admit it. That's okay, I'll wait. You're worth it. Now, it's getting late, so you can either call me a cab and send me home, or you can take me up those steps and further my education by showing me another position."

Justin stared Brian down, waiting for an answer. Brian was stopped cold. No one had ever challenged him on his thoughts before, not even Michael. He could see it was a lost cause as he watched Justin watching him. The blond beauty wasn't backing down. Brian had no choice. There was no way he could let this magnificent creature walk out the door. Just the thought of that made Brian feel cold inside. He stood up and reached his hand down to Justin. Justin smiled and took the hand with his. Brian pulled Justin up and wrapped his arms around the young man tightly.

"Are you ready for more lessons then, young man?"

"Ready when you are, teacher," came the eager reply.

To be continued........