Gus ran into the house to tell Lindsay the good news. Her silver Mercedes was parked in the garage, so they knew that she was somewhere in the house. After checking the patio and the outdoor sauna, Gus and Brian found her taking a bubble bath in the large whirlpool tub in the master bathroom, bubbles up to her neck.

"Mom! Mom, we won, four to three!" Gus yelled. "I scored the winning goal!"

"That's nice, Baby," his mother replied, her shower cap covered-head tilted back and eyes closed.

"Remember that goalie for the Hornets, that big kid Zach?"

"Mm-hmm," Lindsay sighed, in an obviously un-interested manner.

"When I got the ball past him, he cried!" Gus exclaimed, laughing and clapping his hands. "Oh, you should have seen him. His dad had to carry him off the field."

Lindsay gave him a tiny smile, but did not open her eyes to acknowledge her son.

"Maybe we can both go the game next week. They're playing their biggest rivals, the Jaguars," Brian said, rubbing his son's shoulder.

"I can't," Lindsay replied. "I signed up for a kick-boxing class, which meets every Saturday at ten-thirty for the next ten weeks."

Brian looked down at Gus, who's smile had disappeared. "But Mom..."

"Sonny Boy, why don't you get out of those sweaty clothes and take a shower, huh?" Brian suggested.

After Gus had left the room, Brian sat on the ledge of the tub. "How convenient. What, there weren't any other classes available that didn't coincide with your son's soccer games?"

"You said that you would take him to all of his games this season. I still take him to practice on Wednesday evenings."

Brian rolled his eyes. "You don't even stay to watch; you drop him off and pick him up after!"

Lindsay finally opened her brown eyes. "Do you mind? I'm trying to relax here." She closed her eyes again, thus dismissing her husband from her presence.

"Well, pardon me, Your Majesty," Brian said in a fake British accent, standing up and walking into his office down the hall to check his email.

Brian sat down at his desk chair and hit the power button on his computer. While he waited for the machine to load, he looked over at a framed photo on his desk of Lindsay, newborn Gus, and himself taken at the hospital right after Gus was born. He and Lindsay both had big smiles on their faces as she held the swaddled baby in her arms. Although that was the happiest day of his life, he had no problem admitting that the day he found out he was going to be a father was one of the worst.

January 1991

Brian was pounding into the dark-skinned young man underneath him, who was face down with his wrists handcuffed to the headboard and a ball gag in his mouth, when he heard someone knock on the door of his dorm room.

"Yeah?" Brian yelled out, his rhythmic thrusting slowing slightly.

"It's me, Sweetie!"

"Shit," Brian whispered, reluctantly pulling out of the Peruvian exchange student he was servicing. "Hold on a minute, Linds!" After pulling the condom off, covering the trick with his blanket, and putting on his black bathrobe, Brian whispered to the trick, "No hacen un ruido de mierda," which translated to "Do not make a fucking noise."

"Hey, Babe," Brian said after he opened the door. "I thought your class ran until three."

"There was a note taped to the door saying that Dr. Fields is ill, so class was canceled. Anyway, there's something I have to tell you-" Lindsay said as she moved to let herself into the room, but was blocked when Brian put his arm in the doorway.

"Yeah, uh, something must be going around, because I haven't been feeling very well today, myself," Brian fibbed, forcing out a fake cough. "I was napping when you knocked."

"Oh, you poor baby," Lindsay fussed, placing her hand on Brian's sweaty forehead. "You do feel feverish."

"Yeah, so why don't I just call you tomorrow, huh?" Brian said as he began to close the door.

"Would you like for me to bring you some soup from the cafeteria?" Lindsay asked. "It's Monday, so they have chicken noodle."

"No, I'm really not very hungry..." At that moment, the unmistakable sound of a groan was heard from inside the room. Brian froze, the door still partially open.

"Who was that?" Lindsay asked, an anxious look on her face.

"Oh, that was Chris," Brian said, referring to his roommate. "He's been feeling sickly, too."

"No, it wasn't," Lindsay said. "I passed Chris in the courtyard on my way over here." She then shoved her way into the room, walked over to the bed, and threw the blanket off.

The next day, Brian received an encrypted message on his answering machine from his mother, demanding he come to their house as soon as possible. When he arrived and was led into the living room by the housekeeper, Brian observed his parents, Jack and Joan, sitting on the loveseat, along with a distraught Lindsay and an older man and woman on the couch. Brian had not previously introduced Lindsay to his parents, despite her requests, so he was very surprised to see her there, especially after she had broken up with him after her discovery the day before.

"Brian, this is Ron and Nancy Peterson, Lindsay's parents," Joan explained. "Nancy called me this morning with some disturbing news and I insisted that they drive down from Palm Beach to speak with us."

Brian looked at each person, wondering who was going to begin first. After a few more moments of silence, Brian finally said, "Okay yeah, so she caught me fucking a guy-"

"She what?" Jack yelled, standing up. "What the fuck did you just say, boy?"

Joan stood, grabbing Jack's arm to stop him from charging at their son. "Jack..."

"I'm pregnant, Brian!" Lindsay yelled, tears streaming down her face. "That's what I came to your room to tell you yesterday."

Brian stood glued to the floor, unable to breathe as Lindsay's parents whispered to each other, clearly surprised to hear Brian's revelation. "You're... but, we used condoms."

"Well, I sure as hell hope so!" Nancy shouted as she put her arm around her daughter's shoulders. "Lord knows how many diseases you've exposed her to!"

"Brian, the kitchen, NOW!" Jack roared, stomping out of the room after pushing Joan out of his way.

After looking at his mother, who had a solemn expression on her face, Brian followed his father into the kitchen. Once he got there, he stood toe to toe with Jack, bracing himself for the hit he knew was coming.

"Do you have anything to say, Sonny Boy?" Jack asked in his smoky drawl.

Brian stared into his father's eyes, trying to look brave. "No."

"So what, you're a fag now?" Jack asked.

Brian chuckled a bit. "I've always been a fag, Pop. Lindsay was just a... diversion."

Jack nodded and looked down at his shoes for a few seconds, taking a few deep breaths. Then, Jack grabbed Brian by his shoulders and drove his knee into Brian's family jewels.

After Brian fell to the floor in front of the refrigerator, holding his breath to keep from screaming in pain, Jack knelt down in front of him. "So, here's what you're gonna do," he began. "Tomorrow, you're gonna buy that girl a ring and you will insist that she marry you. Then, I will buy you a house for you to move into, and you will continue to go to school. You will be faithful to your wife and you will raise your child with her."

Despite the searing pain and the accompanying nausea, Brian had to hold back from laughing at his father's nerve. Everyone, Joan included, knew that Jack had women stashed all over South Florida. Also, his parenting skills were poor, to say the least.

"And," Jack continued, "you will never, ever associate yourself with that disgusting lifestyle ever again. If I hear of another incident like this, you will not have a job in my company, and I will take you out of my will. I'd rather see Claire's useless husband run things than some fucking fairy. Do I make myself clear?" After Brian didn't answer him, Jack grabbed his chin, forcing him to look at him. "Answer me, boy!"

Brian took a shaky breath. "Yes, sir."

Brian jolted when Lindsay, covered in a floral-print halter dress, popped her head in the doorway. "By the way, I invited my friend Melanie to have dinner with us tonight."

"Great..." Brian sighed after Lindsay walked away.

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

"Brian, you remember Melanie?" Lindsay asked as she led her friend into the living room.

Brian was sitting on the couch, his right foot resting on his ankle as he read a car magazine. "Of course," he said in a deadpan tone, not lifting his eyes to greet their guest.

"It's nice to see you again, Brian," Melanie said, her voice dripping with poorly concealed contempt.

"I'm sure," he replied sarcastically. Although he had never given Melanie a reason to treat him like dirt on her stiletto pump, Brian could only imagine the things that his wife had told her about him.

"Mel, why don't you show yourself into the kitchen and have Lupe make you a drink?" Lindsay suggested, placing her hand on Melanie's lower back. "I'm sure dinner will be ready soon."

After Melanie had left the room, Lindsay walked over to her husband and put her hands on her hips. "You know, we rarely ever have guests over to the house. Even if she's not a friend of yours, the least you can do is show her a little kindness."

Brian continued to stare at his magazine. "We have guests over here all the time."

"Our parents and your father's business associates don't count," Lindsay stated. "When was the last time we had a friend come over for dinner?"

"Michael, a few weeks ago."

Lindsay rolled her eyes. "He only came over to play some video game with you. He practically inhaled his food, he was in such a hurry to start the game."

Brian smiled. "Mikey always inhales his food, he's half Italian and half... whatever the fuck nationality his drag queen father is."

"Well, at least my guest knows how to hold a fork properly and doesn't dress like a five year old," Lindsay sniped.

Brian finally looked up at his wife, ready to come back with a rude retort about her guest. But, before the battle could begin, Lupe came into the room to inform them that dinner was ready.

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

At 7:16, there was a knock at the front door.

"Ooh, that must be him!" Emmett said as he pushed Justin, who had been pacing the floor for the past half hour, out of the way to answer the door. He pulled the door open, where Brian, dressed in a short-sleeved red button up shirt and black jeans, was waiting on the other side. "Why hello there, Luscious Beefcake."

"Huh?" Brian asked, confused.

"Don't mind me, I was just leaving," Emmett said, slipping his feet into some flip-flops next to the door. "Have a great night, boys!" he called out, intentionally rubbing past Brian's shoulder on his way out the door.

"So, that was Emmett," Justin explained. "He's pretty campy, but you'll get used to him."

"Luscious Beefcake?" Brian asked as he walked into the living room and shut the door behind him.

"Yeah... that's the nickname he bestowed upon you when we first saw you at the diner last night," Justin said, chuckling. "Anyway, your bracelet is in my room."

Brian sighed as he followed Justin, knowing what the blonde was probably thinking. He barely crossed the doorway when Justin grabbed him by his neck and attacked his mouth.

"Whoa," Brian said as broke the kiss a moment later. He held Justin away from him by his shoulders and said, "I just came here to get my bracelet, not to fuck."

"But-" Justin began.

"Look," Brian interrupted, putting his hands down. "Last night was great. Hell, it was the best I've had in months. But, it was a one-time thing."

Justin tilted his head. "But... why? If I was that great, why wouldn't you want to be with me again?"

Brian huffed out a breath. "I have a one-time-use only policy. Now, can I please have my bracelet back? I have somewhere to be."

Justin's eyes welled up as he made no moves to honor Brian's request. "But I... I want to be with you. I wouldn't have given myself to you last night if-"

Brian groaned. "I don't know what the fuck else to tell you. I picked you up, took you home, fucked you, then I left. That's all it was, end of story."

Justin sniffled and pointed over Brian's shoulder to his dresser, where the bracelet was sitting.

Brian turned to pick up his bracelet and walked out without another word.

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

"I swear, I have to stop fucking virgins," Brian said as he took another sip of his Beam and Diet Coke at the Palace Bar on Ocean Drive. "They always want seconds. Oh, and be sure to thank your mom for giving him my number, Mikey."

"Well, it sounds like you could have been a little nicer to the kid," Ted said as he cut into his steak.

"Why should he have been nice?" Michael asked as he chewed his fettuccini. "The brat should have thanked him for the fabulous fuck and said good-bye."

Brian chuckled as Ted pulled his ringing cell phone out of his pocket.

"Hello?" Ted answered. "Yeah, this is Ted... how... oh yeah, I did slip you my number before, didn't I?" A few seconds later, he glanced over at Brian and said, "Yeah... we're at the Palace Bar... mm-hmm... okay, see you soon. Bye."

"Who was that?" Michael asked when Ted didn't offer.

"Hmm? Oh... uh, nobody," Ted answered nervously as he put his phone back in his pocket.

"So, nobody is meeting us here?" Brian asked, signaling their server that he wanted another drink.

"Yeah, it's just a friend of mine," he answered, taking a bite of his steak.

Brian snorted. "You have friends?"

"Yes, asshole, I have friends," Ted said, shooting Brian a dirty look.

A few minutes later, Brian let out an "Oh, shit." Ted and Michael turned around and spotted a pissed off Emmett making a bee line to their table.