Chapter 4 Aedan sat at his desk thinking about the other night. He had left Babylon frustrated and angry. After the stud had been rescued by his friends, he had made inquiries, trying to find out more about this mystery man. No one seemed to know who he was. No one had ever seen him before and Aedan was still baffled by what had happened. He couldn’t believe that the guy had walked out on him after the brief interlude they had shared in the back room. There had definitely been heat and after the man’s initial reluctance, the sparks were coming from both sides. The guy with the dark curls had said his hunk was straight and drunk and had no business being there. Maybe he ‘thought’ he was straight, Aedan said to himself, but that’s not what his body was saying. He had left his business card under the windshield wiper, on the off chance that the guy might call. Someone had said the BMW belonged to him. He wasn’t sure, but he left his card anyway. The license plate on the car was personalized and said Kinnetik 2. That name sounded familiar but he couldn’t remember where he’d heard it before. He supposed that if he really wanted to, he could find out who owned that car. He had enough contacts in this town to make that happen. He just didn’t know if he really cared enough to go through all the trouble. After all, he’d known this guy for all of five minutes. Maybe he should make it a point to stop in at the club again for the next few nights until he was satisfied that what happened was just some random thing. Some straight guy who happened to stumble in to the wrong bar, on the wrong night, and as luck would have it, the wrong guy. Aedan didn’t think of himself as the wrong guy though. Actually, he was a great catch for anyone who dared to try. However, no one had been successful in pinning him down yet, and he doubted that at this point in his life anyone would. He’d been in a few relationships that had gone sour because his career had always interfered. There was never a doubt in his mind as to which took precedence when a choice was presented. Eventually, the men he got involved with realized they were competing with an inanimate object and could never win the fight. Aedan was a driven and ambitious man. Single minded in his pursuit of answers that had intrigued him since he was in college. He had started out as a medical student but half-way through had realized that his interests lay in the world of research and pharmacology and so he had switched his major, earning a degree in pharmaceuticals and then moving on to get a masters and finally earning a doctorate in a world that was continually changing with discoveries being made almost every second. What held his interest was the knowledge that for every disease, there was a cure. It was just a matter of finding it. The world of medicine had grown light years in the last half century alone and every day, new discoveries were being brought forward. A case in point was the entire HIV pandemic that had wiped out a huge population of people in the last half of the twentieth century. Now, with the advent of all the new drugs, a perfect combination of pills had been put together and a large number of HIV positive patients survived well into their sixties; something unheard of thirty or forty years ago. The pill discovered to cure Parkinson’s had also taken the world by storm and fortunately Aedan had been around to see that and had actually had a major role in its development. It had been the most rewarding thing he had ever done so far and when his team of researchers had won the Nobel prize for their achievement, it had justified all the long hours put in and all the relationships laid to waste getting to that point. The fact that people now had a pill to ward off the devastating effects of that disease made everything else seem inconsequential. This is what Aedan would tell himself every night when he went home to his quiet house and his empty bed. Rarely would he think about what might have been if he had listened to his parents and married Brooke, his high school friend and sometimes date. His coming out had been gradual though, no big moment of epiphany, no major drama. He just knew that something wasn’t right when he was completely unmoved by the sight of the naked female form. He had tried over and over, hoping to meet the right girl, to make his parents happy and fit into the mainstream, but each time the results were always the same; complete and utter boredom. He was no more interested in being with a woman than he was in taking up line dancing. Eventually he had realized that the only thing that held his attention and made his heart rate go up was the thought of hard maleness pressed up against his body and the night he got down on his knees for the first time and tasted another man was the night he broke his parent’s heart and never turned back. He had simply told them in no uncertain terms to stop pushing women down his throat because it was otherwise occupied. He decided to go to Babylon again tonight, to see if his mystery man would show up. He didn’t understand why he was so intrigued by the guy. Yeah, he was good looking, with a body to match his face, but the look in his eyes was what Aedan kept thinking about, and the memory of the kiss that the young man had finally bestowed on him. He was getting hard thinking about it. Definitely a good sign and one he felt was worth the bother of a chase. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Gus put the phone down after finishing up a conversation with a client. He had been hard at work all morning, trying to keep himself occupied. There was plenty to do and decisions were constantly being made on art projects that Kinnetik was involved in. Having Brian away only added to the work, which was really the best thing for him at this point. It left little time for dwelling on his personal life. He’d thought about the other night way too much as it was, wondering over and over if he had lost his mind and gone completely insane. He couldn’t understand where this was coming from, out of the blue like this. His rational mind knew that what Emmett was trying to tell him was true. He wasn’t Gay, or if he was, no one had bothered to tell him. In all his twenty-six years, he had never once fantasized about getting it on with a guy, so why all of a sudden now? Sure, he’d been devastated by the break-up with Ashley and he’d been drowning his sorrows in booze and women for the last two years, so obviously he was in some kind of depression. However, he’d noticed that he was getting less and less interested in the women who were throwing themselves at him. In fact, he had to really concentrate to get excited by them at all. The last one he had brought to the loft had actually been disappointed because he just couldn’t get it up, he was so uninterested. And maybe that was just it, he thought to himself. He was completely bored with his choices. He had not met anyone that could make him forget his first love and even though he was over Ashley and would never take her back at this point, he still missed the memory of the girl she was and the glow of the special relationship they had shared for years. He wished that Brian was in town so he could talk to him; on the other hand, maybe not. He had a feeling that his adventure at Babylon would not sit well with any one of his parents and there would probably be a major melt-down if they found out. Actually, it really didn’t matter what they thought, because it would probably never happen again. Then why did his mind keep going back to the other night? The memories of his encounter kept coming back to him in bits and pieces and the thing that stood out clearly was the feeling of excitement that swept through him when he thought about the kiss. He remembered how shocked he had been, kissing another man on the mouth, feeling the roughness and the facial hair, however, he also remembered how easy it had been to get into the whole thing and how quickly his body had reacted. He was hard right now, just thinking about it. Maybe he was bi-sexual? It wasn’t unheard of and he remembered conversations he’d had with Brian years ago, when he was told that Brian had slept with both sexes before he was comfortable announcing his choices to the world. Maybe his path was the opposite one. Start out hetero and go bi? Or maybe it was genetic, after all, both his parents were gay. Why shouldn’t he be? Or did it work that way? Unfortunately, there wasn’t anyone he could talk to who could relate to him. Uncle Ted was definitely not going to understand and Emmett and Max had already made it pretty clear where they were coming from. Which left Uncle Michael and or Ben? Now that would definitely cause some major gossip. Once the Novotnys got involved in anything, all hell would break loose. He should see a shrink, because he was probably having a walking nervous break-down and someone needed to fix him. This was all very disturbing and he wanted someone to talk to but he couldn’t figure out who that person should be. Austin would blow a gasket if he told him that he had kissed a guy. He would look at him with absolute horror in his eyes, not understanding for one minute. Which brought him back again to the same starting point. Was it the booze talking the other night, or was it the man? Wouldn’t it be worth exploring just to find out which? Gus leaned back against the chair and shut his eyes. He tried to picture the guy but he was having trouble with many of the details, simply because he had been too drunk. He couldn’t remember what the man was wearing but he did remember smoldering blue-gray eyes; eyes that looked even lighter in contrast with the dark blond hair and darker eyelashes. He recalled full lips that were outlined by a thin mustache and a beard perfectly placed around the generous mouth, as if it were drawn there by an expert hand. He remembered the man asking him if he was alone. Then his memories became completely erotic as he recalled lips slowly touching his, surprising him with their softness in contrast with the rough facial hair that scraped across his cheek. He remembered how different it was, yet not unpleasant in any way, and when he felt the tongue pushing into him and tasting him for the first time he remembered how natural it had felt and how he had pulled the hard body up against him. It was strange not feeling breasts, there was no softness anywhere, only the tight muscular firmness of an opposing male body, mashing up against his, the rigid outline of another dick pressing insistently against his very own hardness. It was different, but not repugnant in any way. Gus groaned as he felt his erection painfully pressing against his pants. What the hell… ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Sasha and Sorina lay in bed chatting in the dark. Tonight was their last night in Italy, tomorrow would be the start of the Russian tour. Sorina could hardly contain her excitement at the thought of finally seeing, live and in person, all the ballet stars she had admired and read about from home. Sorina’s entire world revolved around Ballet. The minute she had put on the little pink Tutu and ballet shoes that Brian had bought her when she was three years old, she was hooked. It had started out as a Halloween costume but had turned into so much more. She had begged Daphne to let her have lessons and after her mother reluctantly signed her up, she realized that ballet was her calling, just as Sasha knew that art was hers. It felt so natural to be in the big studio with the mirrors on three walls and the wooden bar running down one wall, with the small piano in the corner of the room. She felt only excitement when Madame Fedarova entered the room for the first time and looked the girls over with her intimidating scowl. Sorina scored many brownie points when she answered Madame’s questions in fluent Russian, all of a sudden becoming more then a pupil, turning into Madame’s newest protégée. The fact that she actually had talent and was surprisingly advanced for someone who had never had lessons was a huge plus in Madame’s eyes. There was no such thing as being too young in the ballet world. Dancers started training when they were barely out of diapers and by the time they were ten or twelve they were well on their way to a lifelong career. Therefore, the fact that Sorina was only five when she started meant nothing to her teacher. Sorina was the perfect size for a ballerina. Not too tall, yet not too tiny. Her limbs were long and graceful and her extensions were by far the best that Madame had seen in years. She had strength and stamina and strong ankles, critical when she began going on pointe. Aside from all the physical aspects necessary to excel in ballet, Sorina was first and foremost an actress. She was able to express emotions through her eyes and her beautiful face, a feat that many ballerinas could never accomplish. Madame had seen that from the beginning. Sorina loved being the center of attention and basked in any little bit of praise that Madame heaped on her. But Fedarova applied praises very sparingly. She was exacting and dramatic in her own right, an ex-Bolshoi dancer who had left her country and her career as a soloist many years ago when she had passed the age where her choices were no longer plentiful, and prime spots were being given to younger performers. She had family members in the United States and had decided to come and try her luck, establishing her studio in Pittsburgh. It had started out small but as word grew, she developed a respectable clientele. When young girls with big potential started graduating from her school, joining corpse de Ballets in New York and Boston, her reputation as a fine teacher spread. By the time Sorina had joined her class, Madame Fedarova was in her sixties. She continued to teach in the time-honored tradition, employing a pianist who came daily to accompany the girls, rather than putting on a tape or CD. Her studio remained on the small size, devoid of anything but the necessary mirror, hard wood and bar. When Sorina stepped into the room though, she was transported into another world. A beautiful forest where swans turned into princesses or nutcrackers began to move and dance; where lovely Spanish ladies flirted with their fans all the while doing the most intricate steps on pointe. Ballet was Sorina’s world and she was at the point in her career where she would soon have to move on to a more challenging environment, one Madame Fedarova could no longer provide. She had given Sorina a few names of people to contact in St. Petersburg to get recommendations for more advanced schooling. Even though Sorina was barely eleven-years-old, she was at the brink of many changes, and the necessary tools to help her enter the elite world of great dancers had to be in place. Brian had taken a personal interest in Sorina’s choices because he was the one who introduced ballet into her young life. He felt obligated to find the best teachers and the best environment for her. He knew that Daphne and Alex were far too busy in their medical world to really take the time to investigate every single school or teacher and so Brian had offered to take on this responsibility, not withstanding the fact that it was Sorina they were talking about after all. She had Brian twisted around her little finger the moment he set eyes on her. Previous to Sorina, there were only two people that occupied Brian’s heart, Justin and Gus. The moment he had seen Sorina’s blue eyes staring at him, she took up the third spot. Brian loved Sasha as well, as much as he could love anyone or anything that was a part of Justin. But no matter how hard he tried not to play favorites, Sorina always came out ahead. As a result, Justin paid a little more attention to Sasha, to even things out. Both girls knew what the situation was and there were no hard feelings at all. There was an over-abundance of love in their lives and neither one went without. They were well-adjusted and secure and despite the fact that Alex was, in reality, their adoptive father, he was the closest to their heart. He had changed their diapers, stayed up at night with them, driven them to and from school, held them when they fell and hurt themselves and had always been kind and patient with any trivial question they presented him with. He was Papa, and would always be the special man in their lives. The relationship the girls had with Brian and Justin was completely different in that it was more a mental connection than physical. Justin could almost read their minds before they even knew what they were thinking and it was wonderful to not have to explain why they did certain things, or walked a certain way, or wanted something they didn’t have. Justin just seemed to know and was always able to anticipate their needs. And because Brian could, for the most part, read Justin like a book, his daughters were easy reads for him as well. “Are you excited about tomorrow, Nina?” Sasha asked, reverting to her special name for her sister. “I can hardly wait! I’ve been thinking about nothing all day, in between going to the bathroom every half hour,” Sorina answered. “You, too?” “Why, Sash, have you been sick too?” “I don’t know what I’ve been. I feel like I want to go to the bathroom but then when I get there, nothing happens. Like I have the crouch but nothing wants to come out. It’s so annoying. I had to leave Daddy so many times to go to the restroom today.” “I know,” Sorina joined in. “The lady at the Armani salon kept giving me dirty looks every time I’d ask Dad if I could go to the bathroom.” “And what? Do you have diarrhea or what?” “Nothing!” Sorina answered, annoyed. “Just cramps and a tummy ache.” Sasha sat up in bed and looked at her sister who had gotten up a few minutes ago and was now lying down on the floor, doing stretches, holding both her feet and spreading her legs as wide as she could into a split. “Doesn’t that hurt at all?” “Not at all. And I have to do my stretches everyday or I’ll get all stiff and when I go home Madame will kill me,” Sorina said. “You are allowed to take a break once in a while,” Sasha said, with an eye roll. “No I’m not! If I want to be a prima, I have to practice every single day of my life,” Sorina replied dramatically. “Whatever,” Sasha said, lying back down again. “You’re such a diva! Do you think aspirin will help with the cramping?” “I don’t know. Call Mama and ask her,” Sorina replied. “Now? What time is it in the Bahamas?” “I don’t know. Sash, why are you asking all these stupid questions? Go wake up Dad and tell him to call Mama.” “What time is it?” Sasha said, leaning over and peering at her wrist watch which she had sat on the nightstand. “Sorina, it’s almost one in the morning. I’m not going in their room.” “Why not?” Sorina asked. “Cause, you know, they might be doing something.” “Sasha,” Sorina said, getting up and pulling down her nightgown. “Dad and Daddy don’t do anything! They are old. Old people just sleep!” “They’re always hugging and kissing,” Sasha said indignantly. “So what! That doesn’t mean they hug and kiss in bed. Only Mama and Papa do that.” “You’re an idiot,” Sasha said to her sister. “Why?” Sorina asked. Sasha exhaled a huge sigh and just shook her head. She got up off the bed and opened the door of their room which led to the living room of the suite they were staying in. Brian and Justin’s bedroom was on the opposite side of the room. She walked up to the door and knocked, tentatively at first, then a little bit harder. She was surprised when Brian opened the door almost immediately. He was bare-chested but had thrown on a pair of sweat pants. “What’s wrong Sasha?” “Can we call Mama?” “Why?” “Sorina and I both have tummy aches and we want to know if we can take something for it.” “Did you guys eat something weird? I don’t remember you two having anything we didn’t,” Brian said, trying to recall the menu of the day. “No, but we both feel sick,” Sasha said. “Crampy, like we need to go to the bathroom, but we haven’t.” “I’ll go get you some aspirin. I don’t think we have to disturb your mother for this.” Brian turned around and went into the bathroom and came back holding a bottle of aspirin. He handed it to Sasha and told her to take two pills and give Sorina two as well. “You should be fine in the morning. Now, go get some sleep cause tomorrow is going to be a long day,” Brian said. Sasha reached up for him and gave him a tight hug. “Thanks Dad,” she said. “You’re welcome, Sasha. Sleep well,” Brian said gently. She went back to the room she shared with her sister and Brian went back to bed. He stood at the edge of it and took off his pants, getting under the sheets and sliding over to Justin’s side. He pulled him up against him, feeling the warm butt pressed against his groin, spooned together perfectly. “What was that all about,” Justin asked sleepily. “The girls are feeling sick, so I gave them some aspirin.” “What kind of sick?” Justin asked. “Oh, nothing specific, just some vague, tummy aching, crampy thing.” “I wonder if they’re about to start their periods,” Justin said under his breathe. “What?” Brian said. “You know, periods, blood, girly shit!” “What the fuck! That never even occurred to me,” Brian said, letting go of Justin and sitting up. “They’re the right age,” Justin mumbled. “I think Molly was around twelve when she got hers.” “I can’t believe you remember and even know about this shit, Justin. I had no idea Claire had a period, let alone when the fuck she got it.” “That’s ‘cause you hated her. I loved Molly and was always in touch with my feminine side,” Justin mumbled again, still half asleep. “Don’t tell me you even have a clue what to do in this situation, do you?” Brian asked, pushing Justin on the shoulder, hoping he’d get an affirmative answer. “I think all we need to do is go to the drug store and get some tampons,” Justin replied sleepily. “Yeah, and who the hell is going to show them what to do with the motherfuckers?” Justin finally opened his eyes and said, “Not me.” “You bet, not you! I can remember how you queened out the first time you had to change one of their fucking diapers,” Brian spat out. “That’s because they had so many folds, Brian,” Justin whined into the pillow. “They weren’t as easy to clean as Gus; women just have too much stuff down there,” Justin said. “It’s all too gross.” “Well, you almost drowned them with the hand held shower, as I recall. I’m sure leaving you up to this task would be just as bad. Call Daphne,” Brian said, reaching over for his cell and nudging Justin. “Come on, sit up and call her.” “Now? Why, now, Brian? I’m sleepy and I’m sure this can wait till later,” Justin said, rolling away from Brian, hoping to get back to sleep. “Fine,” Brian said, annoyed with the whole situation. “I’ll call her.” He scrolled down on his phone and found the number quickly and hit send. “Hey Brian,” Daphne answered, after a few rings. “Is everything okay?” “Daphe, hey, everything is fine. I just had a quick question,” Brian said. “What is it?” “Have the twins had their periods yet?” “Oh, I was afraid this would happen. I was talking to Alex about this just a few weeks ago,” Daphne said. “Well,” Brian asked, “Have they?” “No, not yet, but it should be happening any minute now,” she replied. “Why?” “Because they’re all crampy and shit. You think it’s going to happen now? On our watch?” “It might,” Daphne said. “But, don’t worry. They know what to do, I’ve already had several talks with them about this.” “Yeah, but do they have the stuff they need?” Brian asked. “No,” she replied. “You’re going to have to go get some napkins. Don’t make them wear tampons yet, I’ll have to show them how to use them and I’m sure you don’t want to do that, right?” “Fuck, no,” Brian said. “Okay, no need to get testy,” Daphne said, switching to doctor mode. “I’m not. I just don’t see why you didn’t send them better prepared.” “They are mentally prepared, Brian. All you have to do is buy the fricking sanitary napkins.” “I’ll let Justin do that,” he said. “Whatever,” she replied. “Do you want me to talk to them?” “No need. Nothing’s happened yet so the point might be moot. Let’s wait and see what develops. I’ll call if I need to.” “Okay, or have them call me and I’ll walk them through this. It’s no big deal, Brian. This is just part of being a woman.” “Yeah, well, as of the last sighting, I still have a dick, so this is a big deal for us, Daphne. How could you have not prepared for this?” “I have prepared them, Brian. They know what’s going to happen.” “Yeah, but you didn’t buy the shit they’re going to need and now I have to do it. This is disgusting and I can’t believe you didn’t send them with all the right equipment.” “Brian, I think you are having a DQ moment here,” Daphne said. “What the fuck is that?” Brian asked. “You’re being a fucking drama queen,” Daphne yelled at him, laughing at his discomfort. “That’s Justin’s department. I don’t do drama,” Brian replied coldly. “Well, you’re certainly giving me a good imitation of it,” she said. “Brian, if this is such a problem, I could FedEx a box of Kotek,” Daphne said, unable to keep the amusement out of her voice. “Fuck you, Daphne. Stop making fun of this.” “I’m not,” she said, laughing aloud. “The hell you’re not,” Brian said, cracking a smile himself. “Okay, let’s get serious here,” Daphne said. “Is there anything I can do to help you through this?” “No,” Brian answered. “I’m on it.” “Good,” she said. “Aside from this little issue, how’s it going? Are you guys having a good time? Where are you, by the way?” she asked. “We’re still in Italy but we leave for Russia tomorrow. Everything is fine Daphne, we’re all having a good time.” “We are too. It’s wonderful to sit and watch the ocean and just veg out. Alex is in seventh heaven.” “That’s great! Well, I’ll let you go for now. Say hi to Alex,” Brian said into the phone, disconnecting and putting it back on the nightstand. He turned off the light and reached for Justin, moving his hand down towards Justin’s cock to hold it reassuringly, breathing a sigh of relief. TBC