Justin just sat there for a minute, totally dumbfounded and frantically searching his brain for some memory that would explain everything. How on earth did he end up in bed with Daphne and Keith last night? What in the hell had happened to cause Keith to make that comment? As Justin was about to open his mouth and ask for some clarification, Daphne walked into the bedroom. “Well, you are nothing if not determined I guess,” Daphne laughed at Justin as she climbed onto the bed with the two men. “Ya know,” she continued, “if you were going to try and sneak in a quickie this morning, you should have started when I first got up to make breakfast. Now it’s too late – your breakfast will be cold if we don’t eat soon.” She said matter-of-factly. “Daphne!” Justin exclaimed, his mind still racing. “I wasn’t trying to convert Keith yesterday in the hallway and I am not trying to fuck him now!” His mind kept racing, feeling like he had left something out. Finally, the thought came to him as he added, “And I don’t even like quickies!” Realizing how that was so not the point, he finally just ran his hands over his face. Something else dawned on him as he heard Daphne and Keith kissing. “Wait a second! Assuming I was trying to convert him yesterday, and assuming I was trying to fuck him a minute ago – which I wasn’t, but just assuming I was, you don’t seem very upset about the whole thing!” Daphne chuckled. She knew Justin hadn’t been trying anything, but it was funny watching him slip into the role of a child vehemently denying any wrong doing while trying to figure out what would happen if he actually had done something wrong. “Why would I be upset, Justin? At least once or twice a week I am lucky enough to get to watch Keith fucking one of our gay friends back home. Why would it upset me to see the two of you fucking? In fact, this would have been even hotter since I have first hand experience with what you can offer him.” She explained with a wink to Keith. Her voice and mannerisms so casual one would think she was discussing what to make for dinner later. Justin’s mouth dropped again as she spoke. He was sure he must still be drunk or high – that was the only logical explanation for this conversation. He could see Keith moving towards him out of the corner of his eye, but couldn’t move – he was frozen in a state of shock continuing to stare at Daphne. Keith brought his hand up to Justin’s face and gently pushed up on his chin. “For someone who swears he is not trying to seduce me, you seem to have your mouth just hanging open every time I look at you dude,” Keith said as he and Daphne started laughing softly. “There were so many thing running through Justin’s mind at that second, he just grabbed the first thought he could and started talking, “And you have no idea what I could offer him. That time with you was not what I am typically like during sex. I was being very slow and gentle trying to make sure it was not too uncomfortable for you but also trying to make sure you still enjoyed it! When I top other men, it is typically rougher and a lot wilder!” The grin that erupted on her face made Justin realize, once again, that he was picking details that were really beside the point in the grand scheme of things. “What the fuck am I saying?!” he said as he felt what he was sure was the last of his sanity slipping away. Daphne leaned over and kissed his cheek before hugging him. “Justin - relax. Everything is cooked ok? Let’s go eat before it gets cold and then I’ll explain everything.” “Yea, let’s do that,” Justin replied, “at least I know what breakfast is and understand the concepts behind it.” He muttered as he threw back the blankets only to discover that at some point during the night his boxers had ended up around his ankles. It only took him a second to regain his composure, get himself untangled and stand up to put them back on before grabbing a pair of sweats and a T-shirt. Typically, he was up and had taken a shower before he would eat anything, but so far this morning, things had proven to be anything but typical. As Justin pulled his shirt over his head, he remembered how realistic his dream had been and decided he needed one piece of information before he would ever leave the room. He sat down on the folding chair and ran his fingers through his hair and then looked at Daphne and Keith. “I need to know one thing before we leave this room,” he said as he glanced back and forth between the two of them. “Did I have ANY kind of sex with either of you last night?” Daphne and Keith looked at each other with one of those ‘should we tell him’ looks and Justin felt his stomach start to head for his feet. They looked at his reaction and both of them burst out laughing. Daphne took a minute to gain her composure and then said, “Justin – relax. The only person you had sex with last night was yourself and whoever you were dreaming about.” Justin looked shell-shocked, “Then what was all that about how hungry I should be and why were my boxers around my ankles?” he asked. This is when Keith spoke up, “Well whatever you were dreaming must have been pretty good because you were moving around so much and making so much noise you woke us up.” He laughed. “This whole thing just now was kind of like a payback…” “Well, not the whole thing.” Daphne corrected. “Only the parts about what you thought happened last night. Everything I said about Keith and my relationship is very true.” She clarified with a naughty grin appearing on her face. “But I can explain that all later…” Justin didn’t know whether to be relieved or embarrassed. Then he thought about what could have happened and decided embarrassment was the least of his worries. He could feel his stomach starting to growl and stood up. “If we have finished taping the latest episode of the Twilight Zone, I’m hungry and I need a drink!” With that, he walked out of the bedroom and into the kitchen to pour a glass of something - anything… “Justin – it’s only 9am! Don’t you think it’s a bit early for that?” Daphne asked as she and Keith followed him into the kitchen. “It’s 5 o’clock somewhere.” he replied before taking a big gulp of Jim Beam. “I’m sure I heard that in some country song once.” ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ Brian woke up to find his cock hard as a rock. He remembered the conversation / confession he’d had with Justin. He remembered listening to their song before going to bed last night. Unfortunately, he was no closer to knowing what to do to prevent the potential fallout. Trying to ignore his hard-on, Brian got up to take his shower and get ready for work. Once he stepped into the shower however, he knew he was fighting a losing battle. He had noticed that he was still holding on to Justin’s favorite shampoo and conditioner and even though Justin has been gone for months, his extra loofah and favorite shower gel were still in the same place they had been off and on for the last five years. Ordinarily, the only time the stuff ever moved was when the cleaning lady was there. Everywhere Brian looked in the shower stall he saw Justin. When he took in a deep breath he could smell him. He was never going to be able to get any work done at this rate. He opened Justin's shower gel and took a big deep breath, taking in Justin’s scent – or at least part of it. He kept his eyes closed while he did that a couple more times. He realized suddenly that the erection that he had willed into submission before stepping into the shower was now back with a vengeance. Before he knew what he was doing, he had poured some of Justin’s shower gel into the palm of his hand and began stroking his stiff cock. He leaned back against the wall and let out a long breathy moan. With all the thoughts of Justin already in his head, it didn’t take long for him to come. As he stood there in the shower afterward he tried to figure out when he had become such a dyke. He finished his shower and as he went to step out, he grabbed Justin's toiletries and tossed them in the garbage can hoping their absence would make it easier for him to get through each day. He dried off and got dressed and was standing in front of the bathroom mirror checking his hair when he glanced into the shower stall. He looked at it for several minutes before realizing what was bothering him. He grabbed Justin’s things out of the garbage can and put them back in the shower. He checked his hair one last time and when his gaze caught sight of Justin’s things back ‘where they belonged’, he smiled before he could stop himself. Shaking his head in disgust he grabbed his car keys and muttered to himself as he walked out the door… “I swear, I must have grown a uterus while I was sleeping.” It was going on 11 o’clock. Brian had made short work of the two meetings scheduled for that morning and the rest of his day looked disgustingly empty. He leaned back in his chair, trying to figure out what to do about Justin. About a half hour later, Ted buzzed him and said he had a handful of papers for Brian to sign. Brian told him to bring them up now since he wasn’t really busy at the moment. “Be there in just a minute!” Ted replied. Brian went back to troubleshooting his current problem. When Ted walked in five minutes later, Brian was deep in thought. He didn’t even realize Ted had come in until he tried to get his attention by clearing his throat. All of a sudden, Brian looked at him and realized that Ted was waiting for him. “Sorry Ted, I’ve been brainstorming, trying to solve a problem I am having with one of the older accounts. I didn’t even see you come in or hear you for that matter. What accounts are due for renewal?” Brian asked as he looked at the contracts Ted had placed in front of him. “These aren’t renewals,” Ted explained with excitement written all over his face. “These are for the clients you met with this morning! Both of them signed the contracts before leaving!” he said. “No shit?” Brian asked, obviously impressed – not only with his own abilities to present the ideas; but also with Ted’s abilities to take “we will call you with our decision by the end of the week” and turn in into a signed contract before the end of the same business day! “No shit!” Ted repeated. He knew this was a big deal to Brian, even if Brian wasn’t bubbling over with excitement. Brian’s response was actually proof enough – he obviously had not been expecting either of these contracts to be in his hands today. “You did real good, Charlie Brown” Brian replied. This was a huge compliment coming from Brian. “Thanks!” Ted said, still obviously thrilled with the day’s events. “So, what’s the problem with the older account? I have some free time, maybe I can help you with it.” he offered. “I don’t really think anyone can fix it but me unfortunately.” Brian replied. He noted that his response took some of the wind out of Ted’s sails and he cursed himself. Ted had just wrapped up two big accounts and was feeling great – as well he should. Brian didn’t want to mess that feeling up for him. “Of course, I guess it wouldn’t hurt to bounce some ideas and such off of you…” Brian said in hopes of replenishing Ted’s mood. It worked. “Absolutely! I’m all ears!” Ted said, barely able to contain his excitement. He loved the interaction that was present in this job. That was what had always been missing at Workshafters. He was still doing accounting; but here he was more than a nameless, faceless accountant. At Kinnetik, his input was valued and the people here were personable and cared about each other. It was so much more than he had ever had at Workshafters and the fact that it was that much better inspired him to do more as well. “As you well know,” Brian began, “I can usually bluff a client better than anyone else I know. That campaign for those nasty PoolBoy drinks being a prime example. I convinced that asshole to hand me fifty thousand dollars and I had no more of an idea for how to market that piss at that moment than he did!” Brian explained as Ted nodded. “Well, I have a client that I discovered was looking to move his business elsewhere. I played it off like it was no big deal even though I really don’t want to lose his account. I played the ‘If you can find better representation elsewhere, then I would want you to go’ card. I didn’t really think he’d find anything better and still don’t. The problem is that I overplayed my hand the other day and inadvertently let the client know that I had been thinking about his account a lot more than I let on originally.” Brian was on the verge of rambling, but it had also become apparent to Ted that he was trying to work all this out while describing it to him. Ted decided to go out on a limb and interjected. “So you are trying to decide whether to fess up to the client and admit that you would like to keep his business; or continue to play it cold and hope he comes back around…” “Exactly,” Brian said as he continued to run a pencil back and forth through his fingers. “That’s a tough call,” Ted continued. “Is it a big money account?” he asked. “Not so big that it would really hurt Kinnetik if we lost it,” Brian replied. “So it is more of a pride issue than anything else.” Ted stated rather than asked. Brian laughed softly, “Yea – pretty much.” “Well then, my friend,” Ted said as he collected the new contracts and headed for the door, “I’m afraid you were right – this one is completely on you. I’m sorry Brian, I’d help if I could…” “I know you would, Ted, thanks.” Brian replied. Right before Ted disappeared Brian asked him to send Cynthia in to see him. Cynthia walked in and they talked for a few minutes before she went back to her desk to make some necessary phone calls. When Brian walked out of his office ten minutes later Cynthia looked up at him, “Your flight is arranged and there will be a car at the loft in an hour to take you to the airport as well as one waiting for you when you land.” She smiled as she handed him a copy of all the details. As Brian walked past Ted’s office he stopped and let Ted know he was going to go deal with the problem they had discussed and should be back on Monday. “Not a problem; I’ll help Cynthia hold down the fort here.” Brian started to walk away when Ted called out: “By the way Brian…” Brian popped his head back into Ted’s office with a questioning look on his face. “Tell Justin I said hello.” Ted smiled as he watched Brian’s face as he realized that Ted had seen through his story. Brian looked at Ted with one of his annoyed looks and simply said, “Fuck you Theodore!” With that, Brian walked out to his car. He needed to hurry back to the loft and pack so he could make the flight to New York.