"Shit," Brian said as he wiped his damp eyes with the sleeve of the robe. After staring at his reflection in the shiny elevator doors for a moment, he turned and walked back up the hallway to his room, wondering how the fuck he was ever going to fix this. Once he got back to the door of his room, Brian remembered that he left the room without taking a key, and that Michael was still inside.

"Mother fuck," he whispered through clenched teeth as he lifted his fist to knock on the door. After waiting for a few seconds with no response, he knocked again, harder this time. Several seconds went by, and Michael still had not come to answer.

"Goddamn it Michael, open the door!" Brian yelled, banging on the door again. A man from the room across the hall opened his door and stuck his head out.

"Is everything alright?" the man asked.

"It won't be if this asshole doesn't open the fucking door!" Brian roared as he banged on it again.

Then, Brian heard Michael's voice on the other side of the door. "Why should I open it?" 

"Probably because this is my room, dumb ass!" Brian yelled back.

"I'm calling security. I'm tired of all of this yelling and cursing," the man said as he turned to walk back into his room.

Finally, a few moments later, Michael cracked the door a couple of inches. Brian had to force the door open with all of his weight to get in, which shoved Michael into the wall. Brian then stomped back in to the room.

"Oww, Jesus!" Michael screamed, rubbing his shoulder.

Brian turned around and yelled, "What the fuck are you still doing here?"

"Well, I was hoping that we could talk and sort things out-"

"There is nothing to sort out! We're through, Michael. This was a mistake from the beginning, alright? So, get the fuck out of here and go home!"

"You don't mean that!" Michael screeched.

"Oh, yes I do!" Brian answered, his face inches from Michael's. "And all your shit better be out of my loft when I get back home Sunday."

"Brian..." Michael pleaded.

Just then, the room phone began to ring. Brian walked over and snatched it up.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"Sir, this is hotel security," the man on the other end said. "We've had a noise complaint from someone on your floor, and something about a man in the hallway trying to get into the room..."

"Everything's fine," Brian answered. "We're just having a little disagreement."

He put the phone up against his chest and asked Michael, "Am I going to have to ask security to come up and haul your ass out of here?"

"No, I'm leaving," Michael said, pouting.

Brian put the phone back up to his ear and repeated, "Everything's fine."

"Okay, just please keep the noise down."

"Will do," Brian said, and hung up the phone as Michael pulled the door open to leave.

"Brian?"

Brian closed his eyes and abrasively answered, "What?"

"This... this can't be it, can it?" Michael asked, his voice cracking. "I mean..."

Brian looked through the window in front of him at the church across the street. "Michael... Go."

He heard Michael's footsteps retreating, followed by the door closing behind him. Brian sighed roughly and rubbed his hands over his eyes. After taking a few calming breaths, he picked up his cell phone that was sitting on the desk and pulled the charging cord out of it.

Flipping the phone open and scrolling through his contact list, he hit the "Send" button when he came to Justin's name. Brian had added the number for the new cell phone that he bought for him the day before.

A moment later, Brian could hear a generic ring tone coming from the bedroom. He sighed and hung his phone up, then sat it back on the desk. Brian walked into the bedroom and found Justin's cell sitting on the dresser, along with his extra key card.

He picked the phone up and looked through Justin's contact list to see who he had added to it. The only two numbers saved in the list were his and one called "Home." Brian figured that because it had only been a few minutes since Justin left, it would be a while before he found his way back to his apartment.

Brian turned his head when he heard his cell phone begin to play the chorus of Madonna's "Material Girl," which was the ring tone he had saved for Cynthia's number. Brian sat Justin's phone back on the dresser and walked out into the living room to answer his phone.

"Yep," Brian somberly answered.

"Hey, I just wanted to make sure that you were awake," Cynthia said. "Remember, we're meeting in the conference room at nine, and then we have to get over to the Armani office before ten."

"Yes, Warden," Brian murmured.  

"You alright, boss?" Cynthia asked, hearing the sad tone in Brian's voice.

Brian sighed and said, "Yeah, I'll be down at nine." He flipped the phone closed and sat it back down on the desk.

Justin unlocked the door and turned the knob, flinging the door open. He ripped his keys out of the door and threw them carelessly onto the floor. After he slammed the door closed, Justin walked through the small living room and into his bedroom, where he threw his duffel bag, messenger bag, and jacket onto the floor.

He then kicked his shoes off and threw himself face-down onto his bed, then balled his pillow up and screamed into it. A moment later, Daphne shuffled into Justin's open doorway, wearing a long Princess Jasmine night gown, her curly hair standing up in all directions.

"I thought I heard you come in," Daphne said, scratching the back of her neck.

Justin looked up and turned when he heard her voice, his face red from crying.

Daphne noticed Justin's miserable appearance and asked, "What's wrong, Boo?" She walked over to his bed and sat down beside him, placing her hand on his back.

Justin laid the side of his head on his pillow and mumbled, "That fucking asshole..."

"Who, Brian? What'd he do?"

"He fucking lied to me, Daph... or rather, he omitted, which is as bad as lying," Justin said, sniffling hard. "He's had a boyfriend this whole time. I had the displeasure of meeting him this morning."

Daphne huffed out a breath. "That bastard."

"The guy showed up out of the blue, and I woke up hearing him and Brian having a screaming match out in the living room." Justin sat up, crossed his legs Indian-style, and continued. "Get this: not only does Brian have a boyfriend, but they live together. He bought the guy a car, paid off his comic book store, his mother's house.... Oh,and Brian has a kid that he didn't tell me about."

"God..." Daphne said, shaking her head.

Justin rubbed his eyes. "I mean, we weren't technically dating, but he's been fucking me for the past two nights, so I think I had the right to know that he had someone waiting for him at home. I went with him to his business dinner last night, and he introduced me as his ‘associate,' which is technically true, I guess. I thought I was only there as his date, but then one of the clients started flirting with me, and Brian told him that I was his new art director.

"He did offer me the job, and I accepted it, but I'm not working for him yet, so in reality, all I really was to him at the moment was a fuck."

"But that doesn't excuse him for not being truthful with you," Daphne reminded Justin. "He did ask you to spend the week with him."

"Yeah, as his ‘fuck buddy' and ‘arm candy'- his words," Justin answered, shaking his head. "How could I have been so stupid? This rich, gorgeous guy gives me a thousand dollars to make a nude portrait of him, and as soon as I was finished with it, I jumped him like a horny teenager!"

"Nude?" Daphne asked.

"Yeah! When we got to his hotel room Monday night, he said he wanted me to do it of him nude. He took his clothes off, and I wanted to suck his dick right then and there. Then the next morning, he offers me a job and says that we were going to be spending a lot of time working together- ‘long, hard hours.' That clearly meant that he intended for it to be more than just this week; at least that's what I thought... He led me on into believing that he actually wanted to be with me."

"Well, obviously it wouldn't have been a committed relationship; he has a boyfriend at home."

Justin sighed. "The way that Brian was talking to him, it doesn't sound like they are going to be together much longer... that was even before I walked out and made my presence known. The guy screamed out ‘I should have known' when he saw me, like he wasn't surprised that Brian would have someone there."

"What'd the guy look like? Was he as hot as you?" Daphne asked, trying to lighten the mood.

Justin curled his top lip. "He was kind of cute, but I probably wouldn't fuck him. Definitely not hotter than me... But that doesn't matter. I never want to see that piece of shit again. He can take his money, his job offer, and his huge cock and shove them all up his ass."

Brian was sitting in a comfortable leather chair behind a large conference table, listening to his advertising associate, Jared, make the pitch to several of Armani's U.S. representatives, including Mr. Klein and "just call me Quinn." Although this was one of the most important meetings of his career, as well as a very important meeting for his company's future, Brian couldn't help but think about Justin and the mess that he created with him.

How could he have been so selfish? Was Justin right? Did he not tell him about Michael just so he could fuck him? At first, that may have been the case. But, as much as Brian hated to admit it, the blonde quickly began to grow on him.

After spending only one night with him, he knew that Justin was different. While Justin was sketching him, it took every bit of strength Brian possessed to not jump off of the bed and eat Justin alive. He was surprised he didn't cum all over himself like a little virgin while Justin was sketching his naked body. Once Justin was done with the portrait and began kissing and touching him, Brian felt a surge of energy flow through his body like he had never felt before.

It had been several years since Brian had gone down on a guy, but before fucking Justin, Brian wanted nothing more than to taste the beautiful blonde, feel his dick in his mouth, and have his cum run down his throat. It had been even longer since Brian had wanted to cuddle with someone after fucking, let alone fall asleep with him in his arms. He rarely even wanted to hold Michael for very long after they got done. Never before had Brian thought about offering a job to a trick- mostly because he never wanted one to stick around beyond the alarm clock going off.

"... and we will put up the billboards in all the big 'gay neighborhoods' around the country: Liberty Avenue in our hometown of Pittsburgh, Chelsea here in Manhattan, The Castro in San Francisco, South Beach in Miami... the list goes on," Jared said.

"I've always said that we should focus more on marketing to the gay demographic; they are some of the biggest label queens on the planet!" Quinn remarked, looking very proud of himself for pointing out the obvious.

"And it would be great if we could find a young gay or gay-friendly celebrity to be the new face for the campaign," Jared added.

"Ooh! I vote for Jai Rodriquez from Queer Eye for the Straight Guy... he is so hot," Quinn stated.  

"Any suggestions, Brian?" Ted, who was wearing the only Armani suit he owned, asked, noticing that Brian didn't seem to be paying much attention.

"Hmm? Oh... any hot, young guy with a tight ass will do," Brian said, putting an elbow on the table and resting his chin in his hand.

Quinn laughed. "I bet that's your only requirement, ever, especially considering your dinner companion from last night... where is Mr. Taylor today?"

Ted looked over at Brian, confused. "Mr. Taylor?"

"Yes- that's Kinnetik's new art director," Quinn answered.

"I don't know of any new art director," Ted said, tilting his head at Brian.

Brian glanced at his watch. "We only have a verbal agreement right now; I was going to officially hire him after today's meeting."

If it will ever end, he thought to himself.

Jared continued, "And, of course, we should target the younger demographic with the Armani Exchange collections..."

The limo driver pulled over in front of the apartment building and cut the engine. Brian pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and called Justin and Daphne's home number, which he lifted from Justin's cell and saved to his own. It rang three times, and then someone picked up.

"Hel-lo-o," Daphne sang out sweetly.

"Hey Daphne, it's Brian. Is Justin there?"

*Click*

"Shit," Brian whispered as he hit the buttons to redial.

He figured that by now, Daphne would know the full details of what had happened in his hotel room that morning. The phone rang six times before the answering machine picked up. Brian had stepped out of the limo and walked onto the sidewalk, looking up at the building and wondering which windows belonged to them, when the message began.

"Hi, you have reached the hovel of the delectable Daphne Chanders and the scrumptious Justin Taylor," Daphne said enthusiastically. "We either aren't home right now, or we're passed out drunk on the floor, so please leave us your name and number, and we will try our damndest to call you back just as soon as is humanly possible. Say thank you, Justin."

"Thank you, Justin," Justin repeated.

*Beep*

Just as Brian was about to take a breath to begin speaking, he saw a window on the fourth floor open and Daphne's head peek out.

"What do you want, ass wipe?" she yelled down.

"I need to talk to him. Is he up there?" Brian asked into his phone so he wouldn't have to yell.

"Even if he was, I wouldn't let you in, you lying sack of shit."

Brian sighed. "So he's not home, then?"

"Fuck off, Brian," Daphne answered as she pulled back and slammed the window shut.

Brian closed his phone to end the call. "Those two must be twins," he said out loud to himself.

Staring down at the sidewalk, an idea popped into Brian's head. He climbed back into the car and told his driver where to go.

Justin was in the middle of sketching the view of the pond and the trees in front of him when he heard a car stop on the road behind him.

"Sunshine."

Justin closed his eyes and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. He looked over his shoulder a moment later and saw Brian sitting in the back of the limo with the window down. He turned back around and resumed sketching.

Brian told the driver to turn off the car, and he got out and started walking towards Justin.

"I thought you'd be here," Brian said as he stopped a couple of feet behind the blonde, who was sitting on his little camping stool. "Nice sketch."

Justin sat up a bit straighter, still continuing his sketch. He felt Brian place his warm hand on his right shoulder a second later.

"Don't touch me," Justin said, not stopping his work.

Brian removed his hand and put it in his pants pocket. "Will you please talk to me?"

"We have nothing to talk about, Mr. Kinney. Will you kindly leave me alone?"

Brian walked around to stand in front of Justin, who made it a point to not look up.

"Justin..."

Justin continued to stare at the sketch pad, his hand shading in a tree trunk.

Suddenly, Brian grabbed the top of Justin's sketch pad and pulled it off of the easel.

"Goddamn it, Brian, get the fuck out of here!" Justin yelled, his sweet face pulled tightly into a scowl.

Brian tucked the sketch pad under his arm and bent over to pick up Justin's messenger bag. "Let's go to the hotel." He slung the bag over his shoulder, walked back to the limo, and opened the door.

Admitting temporary defeat, Justin stuck the charcoal pencil he was still holding into the pocket of his jeans, broke down his easel and camping stool, and carried them over to the limo. He threw his stuff onto the floor of the limo and said, "I'll listen to what you have to say; that doesn't mean I will believe you or accept any feeble apologies that you may have to offer."

"Okay," Brian said.

Justin climbed into the car and Brian followed, shutting the door. The driver started the engine and began to drive out of the park.

Justin pulled the pencil out of his pocket and shoved it into his bag. "So, where's Michael?" he asked in a sardonic tone, ripping the sketch pad out of Brian's hands and putting it in the bag. Justin then moved to the seat opposite Brian and started picking at a callus on his hand.

"I told him it was over and to get the fuck out. He went home, where I instructed him to get all of his shit out of my loft before I got back."

Justin puckered his lips and continued looking at his hands.

"Justin... I was planning on breaking it off with him after I got home, even before I met you. See, Michael and I have been best friends since we were fourteen." Brian looked down at his lap and continued, "Do you remember when we first met, I told you that my dad was an asshole? Well, he was an abusive, alcoholic asshole. Since I could remember, he regularly beat my ass; the older I got, the worse it would get. I didn't have any close friends until I met Michael.

"I had known for a while that I was probably gay, and when I met him, I felt right away that he probably was, too. That was one of the first things we bonded over, because we were the only gay kids we knew. Then one night, my old man really did a number on me. He lost most of his paycheck playing poker that night, and then came home and took it out on me. I was able to knock him down, and then I ran out the door and over to Michael's house."

Brian looked up at Justin, who was attentively staring back at him. Brian continued to look into Justin's eyes and said, "When I got to his house, he and his mom were in the living room, watching TV. I was bruised and bleeding, and they took care of me. I begged them not to call the cops, and his mom let me stay the night. After that, I would often stay over at their house, just to avoid my dad. I spent more time over there then I did at home.

"I always knew that Michael had feelings for me, but I never really let on that I knew. Michael was always too chicken-shit to try to make a move on me, so we just stayed good friends up until a couple of months ago. He showed up at my place one night when I was watching TV and smoking pot, and he told me that his partner had confessed that he had cheated on him. We ended up getting bombed out of our minds, and one thing led to another..."

Justin rolled his eyes.

Brian continued, "Anyway, one of the main reasons that I always just wanted to stay friends with him was because I knew that if anything were to ever happen with us, I would regret. And, I was right..."

Brian stopped for a moment and ran his hand through his hair. He loosened his tie and said, "Justin, I have to explain a few things about myself: before Michael, I never had a real boyfriend or partner before, ever. I didn't do boyfriends; I made a rule about that back in college after a guy I was fucking on a semi-regular basis ended up hurting me.

"I won't lie; I have fucked a lot of guys in my time, and most of them I never fucked more than once. If I ever did, it would be months or years in between. At this point, I've probably been with nearly every do-able fag in Pittsburgh, so I have to do repeats every once in a while."

Justin snorted, shaking his head. He let Brian carry on. "I would rarely go to a guy's house with him, and I would rarely let them stay the night with me. Usually, I'd either let them suck me off or I'd fuck them against a wall, and that would be it. I certainly never fucked any guy I considered a friend; the few friends I actually have, that is. So, when Michael and I fucked that first time, it was a big deal.

"Like you may have heard me say to him, I was afraid to tell him that I just wanted to go back to the way things were before, because he was already heartbroken over his boyfriend cheating on him, and because his Uncle Vic had just died suddenly from AIDS-related complications a couple months before that. Also, I have always felt like I had to protect Michael. See, he was a big comic book geek when we were kids. Hell, he still is, but it was a bigger deal then. The jocks and other assholes would always pick on him, and I would stick up for him. I'd let them hit me before I would let them get near him. So even now, I hate to see anyone hurt him. I didn't want to hurt him, but I just couldn't take it anymore..."

Suddenly, the limo came to a stop in front of the hotel. The driver got out of the car and walked to the back door, opening it up for the guys. "Here we are, gentleman." 

Brian grabbed Justin's stool and easel and got out of the car, waiting on the sidewalk for Justin to join him. Justin grabbed his messenger bag and climbed out, and the guys walked into the hotel.