They finished breakfast and Justin went to take his long awaited shower. He turned the water on as hot as he could stand it and just stood under there while the pelting water cleared his mind. After a few minutes, he grabbed the bar of soap and started to work up some lather to wash his body. Ordinarily he would grab his favorite shower gel and his loofah; but that required more brain power than he could afford after the morning he’d had. He ran his soap covered hands all over his chest and arms then scrubbed his face before rinsing off. He lathered up his hands again and one at a time he brought his feet up and placed them on the little seat that Daphne said made it so much easier to shave your legs in the shower. He ran his hands over his right foot and leg and then did the same with the left – soaping himself from toes to thighs. Remembering once again the realism of his dream, Justin reached down and wrapped his hand around his cock. Keeping his eyes closed, he was able to relive the dream like he was watching it on TV. He couldn’t see the guy’s face because it was buried in Justin’s lap, but he had short brown hair – ‘just like Brian’s he heard in his subconscious. His cock was rock hard now and he was getting closer and closer to his orgasm. He leaned forward, letting the wall hold him up. Never missing a stroke, Justin bent at his waist and let his left hand run down the length of his crack. He was getting so tired of jerking off alone. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had a decent blowjob and he hadn’t had anyone in his ass since he left Pittsburgh. It had to be the phone call with Brian that sparked his dream last night. The call had given Justin hope that things weren’t totally lost for them. The feel of his finger pressing against his own hole was making his head spin. Good God he needed to be fucked – often and by someone who knows how! He laughed to himself. Why on earth was he quoting Gone With the Wind now?! Daphne had forced him to watch it the other day. She told him she couldn’t decide which character was Brian and which was him. “Stop thinking about that shit right now!” he yelled in his mind. Breeders were the last thing he wanted to think about at this particular moment. Bringing everything back into proper focus, Justin increased his strokes and just as he felt his balls finally letting loose; he pushed his finger inside his hole and came harder than he had in months. He remained with his body leaning against the wall for a few minutes, trying to catch his breath then rinsed off again and turned off the water. He wrapped a towel around his waist and threw another one around his neck. He’d been in here longer than he had expected to be and he figured he could dry off in his room and free up the bathroom in case Daphne or Keith needed to use it. He went straight to his room, rolling his eyes as he heard Daphne call out, “Keith, close your eyes baby, Justin is parading around in a towel again!” Not able to think of a decent comeback, Justin walked back to the hallway where Daphne was standing there trying to hide a laugh. He draped his arm around her and said, “You know Daphne, you are SUCH a fag hag!” Her smile broadened and she replied, “So true my dear, but that is why you love me!” “Actually,” Justin corrected her, “that is why you love me!” He smiled at her and was walking away when he heard Keith add in, “Yes, and I love everyone!” Justin playfully rolled his eyes again and went to get dressed. He came back out a few minutes later in a pair of black sweats and a PIFA T-shirt. “Justin,” Keith called him over to the kitchen counter, “will you write out the subway route for me to get back to the mall? I’m going to go kill some time at the arcade or something while you and Daphne visit for a while.” Justin wrote out all the train changes and a couple of stores in the mall that he thought Keith may like but hadn’t had a chance to check out yet. Keith gave Daphne a kiss and then took off. Justin was sitting in the recliner sketching when Daphne came in with a couple glasses of ice tea and sat on one end of the couch. “One second…” Justin muttered as he found a stopping point. He closed his sketchpad and sat it back down on the stand next to his recliner. He went over and joined Daphne on the couch. He wasn’t real sure he wanted to know all the details, but he definitely wanted to know how this all came about. He took a deep breath, then looked at his oldest friend and said, “Ok girlie – spill!” “Well, we both know how lucrative a standard business degree is in the wondrous Steel Valley,” Daphne began. “So when my Grammie got real sick and mom and my aunts asked me to move in and take care of her, it was no big deal. The first few months I was so busy with Grammie that I didn’t have time to be bored. Then as things started to deteriorate with her, mom and the aunts started taking turns coming down on the weekends. Partly it was to give me a break, but a lot of it was because they wanted to say their goodbyes on their own terms and not in some rush with a bunch of strangers standing around.” Justin reached out and brushed Daphne’s arm and she smiled through the hint of tears. “Anyway, if you think Pittsburgh can be boring, you should spend a couple months in Steubenville, Ohio. When people there want excitement – they head to Pittsburgh!” she laughed as she said this because she knew that after L.A., Justin thought Pittsburgh was – to quote him – “boring as fuck”. “There is only one cinema in the whole damn town! Although they did renovate it in the last few years so now there are five screens instead of three!” She rolled her eyes. “Of course, in the summer there is also a drive-in if you can believe that. I didn’t even think drive-ins existed anymore!” “Other than going to the movies, the only things to do are to go to the high school football games or go bar-hopping. ‘Big Red’ is the name of their main high school and their football is pretty awesome. They went undefeated this year and won the state championship! But it is a bit difficult to really get into the games without knowing a single person who is playing. As far as the bars go; after Babylon – Steubenville just doesn’t compare.” “I ended up spending most of my Friday and Saturday nights hanging at a local pizza shop reading. That place is one of the few things I like about the area actually. It’s just a small hole in the wall type place, but they have the best pizza! That is where I met Keith. He works there. I would show up almost every Friday and Saturday with whatever book I was reading, I’d grab one of the tables close to the counter and make a night of it. We exchanged glances and smiles and such and after a few weeks he came and sat down and started talking to me on his break. He worked every weekend and that was my only time I had free, so we couldn’t really go out. It was cool though because we got to take our time to talk and get to know each other a lot better than we might have otherwise. “When Grammie died, he came to the funeral and really helped me get through it; just like you would have if you had been able to stay longer.” She said this as she gave him the look that he knew meant he better stop the guilty feeling before it took hold. He had made it down for the funeral, but had to be back in New York the following day. He’s hated leaving so soon, but there was nothing he could do. Daphne had been touched that he was able to make it at all. He didn’t know her Grammie; he had made the trip to be there for her and they both knew it. “Mom and the aunts asked if I would mind staying at the house a little longer until all the legal stuff could be handled and of course I agreed. It gave Keith and I a chance to actually go out and stay in” she blushed a little at the last few words, but continued. “A few weeks later I was starting to worry. We had been kissing and necking of course, but it never really went any farther. He kept saying he didn’t want to rush anything; that we had all the time in the world, etc. It was sweet, but made me wonder if he really wasn’t attracted to me. That didn’t make sense – I’d been pressed up against him enough times to know he had to be at least a little his attracted!” Her blush deepened. Justin was always amused that Daphne could listen to the most graphic descriptions of his sexual escapades and barely blink; but discussing her ‘necking’ with someone made her blush. “I finally took a page from your book and confronted him. I wasn’t rude or anything, I just asked him why we were still dating if he wasn’t interested in anything else. It was so confusing because one minute he would seem interested and the next he would be backing away. He pulled out his wallet and started flipping through the pictures. Before I could say anything, he looked up and said, ‘No – I am not married and I don’t have any kids’.” Justin laughed a little at that because that was just what he was wondering. “He showed me pictures of his parents, grandparents, brothers and sisters. Then he showed me the last picture in his wallet. It was a gorgeous looking guy about our age – bedroom eyes, sexy smile – the whole package. I looked up and asked if it was his cousin? Best friend maybe? He shook his head and took a deep breath. He looked up and then said, ‘we were lovers, Daphne. The reason I haven’t tried to go any farther with you is because you have the right to know. I am bisexual.’” “Wow.” Justin said. He had really thought they were teasing him earlier – even after Daphne had said that part was not a joke. “He already knew everything about you; so he knew I wasn’t homophobic or anything.” Daphne continued. “I wasn’t sure what to say at first. I just sat there for a minute. I thought about you and how hard it was for you to come out to the people you cared about and realized that this might be even a little harder. The main people you were concerned with were your family and me; but it wasn’t like you were trying to start a relationship with any of us.” She explained as Justin nodded his understanding. “Then I remembered walking in on Brian and the zucchini guy. I remembered the way I couldn’t take my eyes off of them – even though I was pissed as hell at Brian for hurting you like that. In the blink of an eye I was picturing you bent over the couch and Brian pounding into you.” Justin felt his cheeks light up with this comment, but Daphne barely noticed as she continued. “Then all of a sudden I was picturing Keith under Brian instead of you.” With that Justin’s eyes about popped out of his head and Daphne just started laughing. “The point of that little confession is that I liked the idea of watching him with another guy. I liked it a lot!” she stressed those last words strongly. “I knew that as long as he was careful and always used protection I was ok with it.” She saw the look on Justin’s face. “I know; it was as big a surprise for me then as it is for you now.” “I don’t know how long I sat there running all that through my head, but Keith looked like he was being lowered into a pot of boiling water. So I decided to take pity on him. I moved to sit right next to him and asked him about playing safe and being tested regularly. He said he was always safe no matter whom he was with and that he was tested every six months. I nodded and the picture of Brian and Keith popped back into my head again. I couldn’t keep myself from smiling and when I looked back at him I could tell he was a bit confused. I got a real serious look on my face and said, ‘I only have one thing to say.’ He nodded his head and readied himself for the worst. I leaned in and started kissing his neck and then whispered ‘I want to watch.’” She sat back, crossed her arms and beamed her smile at Justin. Justin shook his head while laughing softly. “Daphne, I swear, you are the ultimate fag hag! Debbie would be so proud!” They both got a good laugh at that comment. “Doesn’t it bother you that he wants to be with someone else? Or, more importantly,” Justin clarified as his eyes stared off for a moment of reflection, “aren’t you worried that someday it will bother you?” “Not really.” Daphne began to explain. “There are things that a guy can give him that I can't… even if I wear a strap-on it’s still not the same.” She added as she slipped into deep thought about this. “For future reference Daphne; I don’t need to know all the details ok?” Justin said as he shivered. He did not ever want to picture Daphne wearing a strap-on! “So is your relationship completely open? I mean does he sleep with other women? Do you get to sleep with other men?” Justin had to admit it was a bit ironic to hear himself asking how an open relationship worked. Then again, if his and Brian’s had worked as well as Daphne and Keith’s relationship seemed to be working; they might still be together under the same roof instead of “together” via email and phone calls. “Usually it is just our gay friends that we invite over; but we have also been known to bring a hetero couple home as well.” She answered; knowing that would bring more questions. Justin was too engrossed in the conversation to stop now. “So you wife swap basically, even though you’re not married?” He wasn’t sure he wanted to know the answer to this question, but he asked it anyway. “It’s not exactly wife swapping. No one is actually singled out or anything.” She paused for a minute and shrugged innocently. “We all just enjoy each other.” She gave a small smile as the blush crept into her face again. Justin let that sink in for a second before asking this last question. “Daphne, are you bisexual as well?” She smiled. “I don’t go looking for relationships with other women. I just enjoy them when we happen to invite them home. I don’t know how to define it exactly. I guess we could always just say that I ‘dabble’ with it.” She said and laughed. Justin was a bit shocked. He never saw any of this coming. The look on his face gave him away and Daphne smiled softly. The look was just what she expected – acceptance. The shock was still there, but the acceptance was there as well. “Ultimately, Justin, I can tell you this in all honesty. I love Keith and he loves me. Whatever we do with others does not change that. In fact, if we didn’t love each other and trust each other as much as we do, the rest of it wouldn’t exist. I know you hate this phrase; but sometimes it really is just fucking. Even the sex we have together while others are present is not the same as when we are alone. When we are alone it is about sharing a part of ourselves with each other. It brings us closer on a level beyond friendship. When we are with others it is about making everyone feel good.” “Don’t get me wrong – there are emotions there as well. We don’t sleep with people who are not already our good friends. But the emotions are just on a completely different level. It’s a different headspace. Sex with others is what we do for fun. Sex between just the two of us is about love.” She smiled softly, hoping he was hearing and understanding everything she was saying. He nodded his head as he continued to process all the information she had given him. They were both shocked when they realized it was after 4pm. It seemed like it had only been an hour or so. “I guess I should go track down my boyfriend.” She said with a laugh. “Ok, I think I’m going to go take another shower, maybe it will help clear my head.” They both laughed at that. Justin gave Daphne a kiss and hug before heading to the shower. He also thanked her for sharing all of that with him; secretly wondering if he could some how relate it to his own life. Justin leaned into the water and let it envelope him for the second time that day. He had definitely learned a lot about Daphne that afternoon and he had to admit he liked this new side of her. He also wondered how her parents felt about all of this – if they even knew at all. He wondered if they would try to “blame” him for somehow corrupting her back in high school. He did his best ‘mental Scarlet O’Hara’ and decided to worry about that another day. He just decided to stand there for a while and enjoy the hot water beating down on him. While Justin was getting back in the shower Daphne went and did her make up and checked her hair. Once she was happy with how she looked, she grabbed her purse and headed out to find Keith at the mall. She grabbed Justin’s extra key and locked the door on the way out. As she reached the doors to the apartment building, she saw a cab pull up and wondered if Keith had run out of things to do at the mall. “Not likely.” She thought to herself. In fact, she highly doubted he had ventured beyond the arcade. She started to move a little faster, hoping to catch the cab if it indeed was not Keith. She opened the lobby door without looking at who was stepping out of the car and started to yell, “Hold that cab!” All she got out was “Hold that -” before she ran into “- Brian.” Brian smirked. “Well, hello Daphne, my dear. You are looking wonderful.” “Thanks.” She smiled up at him. “Did Justin know you were coming?” “No; as a matter of fact he didn’t. I had a last minute business trip. He is probably busy. I should just go grab a room somewhere and try and call him later.” Brian was trying to play everything down – act like the cold hard ass everyone knew and… well… expected. To anyone who had never met him or been a witness to his year with Justin, he might have been able to pull that off; but even Daphne knew him better than that now. She also knew him well enough to hide the smile on her face before she spoke up again. “No, he is not busy at all. I was just wondering because he didn’t tell us to make ourselves scarce for the evening.” She opened the door to the building and walked through and then held it for Brian as well. “I don’t know if you have a key or not;” she started – explaining why she was walking up to the apartment with him, “but we are using the spare for the week and Justin just got in the shower so he may not hear you knock.” Brian nodded and thanked her. He didn’t make it to New York often so the necessity of having his own key had never really come up thus far. Daphne let him into the apartment and said goodbye as she headed out for the mall once again; this time with a different smile on her lips. Brian walked over to Justin’s painting area and looked at the completed canvases leaning against the wall. He nodded his approval to himself but also made a mental note that although an improvement over the one Justin had painted when he first got here; they were still not quite up to par with what he had been painting back home. Maybe he would have been better off if he had stayed in the Pitts after all, he thought to himself. He stopped that train of thought immediately. This trip was to admit to Justin how much he missed him and to make sure that he did not doubt himself because of Brian’s confession on the phone. He heard the water turn off in the bathroom and walked quietly back into the kitchen to grab a cold drink. As Justin opened the bathroom door he heard noises in the kitchen. Making sure his towel was secure around his waist, he threw the other one over his head and started drying his hair as he went to see why Daphne hadn’t left yet. “Daphne, why are you still here? Is something wrong?” he asked without even looking up from the floor as he continued to towel dry his hair. All of a sudden his eyes scanned across the floor and stopped at the pair of Prada’s pointing directly at him. He looked up and his blue eyes locked with hazel ones as one word escaped his mouth… “Brian…"