BRIAN

I was lying there thinking about calling in dead. Justin wasn’t joking about having eight years to make up for. I couldn’t even open my eyes, I was so tired. Turning over I reach for him and pray he’s as fucked out as I am. The squeak I heard was not Justin. I quickly pried my eyelids open.

“What the fuck are you doing here, Honeycutt?” I ask Emmett. 

“Mr. Kinney, after having to explain to your sons that Daddy Dearest was busy thinking of new sounds to add to Mr. Taylor’s books, I spent the night camping out in the den with not only two very handsome boys, but Deb. We listened to the Olympics going on upstairs and somehow managed to convince your sons that you and Justin were exercising, not trying to break each others dicks.” Emmett tells me.

“Where is Justin?” I ask Emmett.

“Well, the ball of energy fixed the kids breakfast and took them to school. I called Cynthia and Ted and told them you were going to work from home today. I figured you needed the rest. So are you moving in?” Emmett asks me.

“Emmett, find some place else to be, you were not who I wanted to wake up to.” I tell him.

“You know, after the multiple orgasms, you should be in a better mood Mr Crankypants.” Emmett gets up and tells me he’ll be downstairs. Why is he even here?

“In case you wanted to know, I didn’t want Michael to show up at my apartment. Justin told me to stay here if I needed to.” Emmett tells me. Justin and I need to talk about his fondness for moving people in, I hope he’s not planning on running a ‘keep away from Michael’ boarding house.

I look at the clock and it’s past nine. Good thing my meetings are done, I get up and almost wished I just stayed in bed. I didn’t think I would ever not want to get a blow job, but being sore is new to me. 

BEN

Michael has been calling me every fifteen minutes. I need to just deal with him. I don’t want to waste any more of my life on him. I tried to be a good husband, but I made the mistake of thinking Michael was a good person under all the childish behavior. The last straw for me was Michael fucking Eli, in our bed.

I thought by moving away from Liberty Avenue we would finally have our marriage be about us. It always seemed to be about Brian, and Michael’s friends. I ignored the big warning signs because Michael was telling me what I wanted to hear - that my HIV wasn’t the whole of me. 

Brian no longer had time for Michael. Brian’s first priority was Gus, and Michael couldn’t stand not being the center of Brian’s universe anymore. Instead of focusing on our marriage, Michael was trying to get Brian to continue to play the Stud. Our marriage was in trouble, so I suggested moving to get away from Liberty Avenue. It was my belief at the time that half of Michael’s problems stemmed from Brian not letting Michael have his own life. I made the mistake of telling Michael it was okay to love someone else too. Michael thought that gave him permission to tell me about his and Brian’s friendship. 

The day I found out about Eli, I came home early to surprise Michael and received a surprise myself. The desperate househusbands wanted to spice up their lives. I was about to bust in on the little tryst, when I heard Michael,

“God I needed that, I can’t stand to let Ben touch me anymore.” Michael tells Eli. 

“Ben is hot, but I get what you're saying. I can’t figure out how you could let someone who obviously was so careless about his health touch you.” Eli tells him. I stood there in shock, this was supposed to be a moral upstanding gay man.

“It makes my skin crawl every time he comes near my kids. I want to carry sanitizer and clean the kids whenever Ben hugs them.” Eli tells Michael. Yet Eli tells everyone HIV shouldn’t turn people into lepers in the community.

“Well at least I was safe when I still had sex with him. I should have listened to my Ma when she told me she didn’t want me to be with Ben. It’s the only advice she ever gave me worth anything. I must have scrubbed the house with bleach every time he touched something.” Michael tells him. Yeah, Michael getting off his lazy ass and cleaning, that was something that would never happen.

I backed out of the house instead of walking into the bedroom and asking Eli how the monogamy was going. I mean, he spouts so much shit about not being Peter Pans and wanting to make straight people aware all gay men are not sexual deviants. He sat in judgement of Brian, while Michael played offended host. Yet the only difference is, Eli fucks my husband in my bed, instead of the backroom of Babylon.  

I wanted Michael to feel what it was like to lose everything you thought you had. I started with letting  him alienate anybody who would have once supported him. I accepted the loss of Deb and the gang, but I was making sure Michael lost his supporters. I encouraged Michael to try to win custody of JR. I plan to send Mel tapes I made of Michael. The ones where he’s fucking hustlers in my house and telling them to pretend they’re his slaves. 

As for Eli, he will get to share with Monty the threesomes and kink he does with Michael. I installed a camera in the bedroom, and made sure to get plenty of footage of the two of them and their wonderfully deviant behavior. They get to explain to the entire neighborhood the trash talking they do together, at the yearly block party. Eli likes to throw a big party, he uses it as his platform to say he and Monty want to live their lives the way gay men should, to be an example to the community. As my big fuck you to Eli, the hypocrite, I made a greatest hits sex video starring my husband, Eli, and whoever else they include.

I went to the coffee shop near campus and decided to let Michael stew for a couple more hours. This is not the person I wanted to be, but I made my bed by being blind when it came to Michael. My phone goes off again and I silence it.

“Hey Ben.” Blake greets me. He looked like he was trying to decide if he should even associate with the enemy.

“How are you? It’s been a long time.” I tell him.

“I’ve been doing okay.” Blake stands there, like he’s wants to say something.

“It’s okay for you to leave. I know I’m the last person you want to talk to.” I give him an out. I refuse to mess with their lives, they were innocent.

“It’s not that I don’t want to talk to you, it’s that you and Michael aren't making friends when you treat people badly. It’s hard to play nice.” Blake tells me, “I really want to ask how you and Michael could hurt Deb ?”

“Michael did that one on his own. I would never have hurt Deb.” I know it’s a lie, I could have stopped Michael, I just didn't want to.

“Then make it up to her and let her have her house back. It’s not like Michael paid for it, Deb did. I always thought you were a better man than your husband. I guess that was my mistake.” Blake tells me. He looks at me and then turns to leave. I can at least do one thing to right all the wrongs my revenge caused.

I call my lawyer and tell him I want Deb’s name put on the house. Michael’s credit was so bad that we put it in my name instead, so Deb wouldn't lose the house. It will be the one thing that makes me feel less dirty. I also told my lawyer I wanted to start liquidating all my assets. After the block party it’s time for the trip I canceled to be with Michael. I want to find the person I was before I became a chess piece in the world of Michael Novotny.

MICHAEL

Ben is useless, he never fucking answers me. Eli comes over and we decide to play a little bondage. Eli had been trying to convince me we should leave others out of our games. Eli actually wants to be with me. He was tired of the same old sex. I feel like Brian when he comes to me.

Eli and I fuck on the bed and I make him pretend he's a trick. I fuck him and pretend I want him gone. He is always trying to outdo the last time, and waiting to see if I'll approve. 

He brought over a couple butt plugs with horse tails on them and told me, he wanted me to wear one while he blows me. I figure why not, it's not like anyone will see us. 

 We were laying on the bed after sex and talking shit about all the people in the neighborhood. Eli was telling me that Monty isn’t very exciting in bed, Monty never wants to spice things up. 

“He thinks pulling out his dick is foreplay. I want to tell Monty the ten minutes he takes to cum isn't worth taking my shirt off for.” Eli is always talking shit about everyone. 

“What do you expect from the uptight assholes in this neighborhood.” I tell him.

We get cleaned up and I go. I wanted to see what Lindsay has found out. 

JUSTIN

I should be tired but all I want to do is throw Brian back in bed. I didn’t want to crowd him and become the guy who thinks we’re a couple now. Although I wouldn’t mind a repeat. I don’t want to become the guy who mistakes sex for a relationship. I did that the first time. Instead of going back to the house I just continue my plans and if he’s still at the house I’m not going to make a big deal out of it. 

Sydney and I made arrangements for him to come over on Saturday. He wanted to start getting everything lined up for the show and with Natalie coming they could get sit down and discuss the contracts for my work. He asked if he could bring a new employee to help in loading the paintings in the van.

“I would prefer not to have Lindsay involved if possible, so I’m fine with you bringing someone else to my house. Lindsay can’t leave our personal issues out of my professional life and I really don’t want her at my house, and especially near my son.” I tell him.

“That won’t be a problem. I’m training a new employee to take over for her. I want to bring fresh eyes into the gallery.” He tells me. We agree to meet at two o’clock on Saturday. The whole time I was sitting talking to Sydney my phone is vibrating. I walked back to my car and start reading.

“I feel so used. You left me in bed with Emmett, is that a hint?” 

“I at least showered with you and drove you to school.” 

“You got a high protein breakfast, why did I only get a cup of coffee?” 

“Hey, why did you leave your cat outside?”

“Emmett gave him some of your spicy chicken, the cat is freaking out.”

“We were looking for the litter box and your cat used the potted plant, is that okay?”

“Emmett wants to know if the furball has a name?”

“Brian, I don’t have a cat, so tell Emmett he can name it. Whatever gets Emmett to take it home.” I text back.

“That’s just wrong. First you use me then you abandon poor Yum Yum. Emmett wanted to name it Baby, but could you imagine if he was yelling during sex and called the guy Baby? The cat would show up. I told Emmett to name it something he wouldn’t scream during sex.” Brian texted.

“Are you two smoking crack or something?” I texted back. 

“I think you need to get a litter box, the cat is christening every potted plant in the house.” Brian text.

“This is a joke right, you really didn’t find a cat and feed it.” I text.