Thank You very much Becky!!! :) Chapter 7----------------------- Considering the exciting and eventful years I’ve spent beside Brian, it’s almost impossible to surprise me. At least that’s what I like to think about myself. Well, I’m sure that there aren’t too many people who can make me surprised. But I managed to meet one of them yesterday evening. The whole thing was so surreal, like some kind of sick joke, or an absurd dream you just can’t wake up from. I was speechless – and that’s something that doesn’t happen very often. Just ask Brian, he’ll tell you. I got to know the queers pretty well, but I don’t know very much about the way things are going in the straight world; no wonder it was a straight environment which reminded me of what it felt like to be really astounded. It was all Daphne’s fault. She was the one who’d gotten me into that weird situation when she’d visited me two days ago. As I pulled the loft door open I could see how excited she was. She didn’t give me time to ask her about it. She didn’t even say hi, just looked over my shoulder and asked impatiently, “Is Brian home?” I had no idea what she wanted but she got me nervous. I thought that maybe something terrible had happened. I told her that Brian was at work. “Thank God” She looked relieved, “I hoped he wasn’t here. I want to talk to you…privately.” She scared the shit out of me. I couldn’t imagine what it was that Brian couldn’t hear. I told her to come in since we were still standing at the door. She stepped inside and I pulled the door closed. She stopped in the middle of the loft and stared at me for a moment. “What?” I asked her carefully, because she really looked intimidating. “I…” She cleared her throat, “I want you to be my boyfriend.” “What??” I asked again in disbelief. At first I thought she was joking. But the desperate look on her face didn’t allow me to think so. I got so frustrated. I couldn’t believe that we had to go through that again. I’d thought we‘d gotten over it. I did her a favor once and it almost ruined our friendship. I’d already forgotten about that nightmare. I thought to myself ‘please, not that shit again!’ She noticed my pained expression and added quickly, “Oh no, I mean…not for real. How could you think something like that?” She giggled nervously. I told her I didn’t get it. She continued her little scene and kept on talking, more to herself than to me. She was definitely trying to work something out and I wished I could read her thoughts. “Or maybe that’s not a good idea because he may think that I’m not available. Anyway, you should just act like you were interested in me.” I was getting kind of annoyed so I stood in front of her with my arms crossed and said, “Would you mind telling me what the fuck you’re talking about?” That brought her back from her thoughts at last. “Oh, sorry. I just, I don’t know where to start.” She looked unusually embarrassed. “Well, how about starting from the beginning? That way maybe I can understand what you’re trying to tell me.” I smiled at her reassuringly. I could see that it wasn’t easy for her. Then she started slowly, “There’s this guy…” I gave her a teasing smirk and cut her off, “Guy? What guy? Tell me every…” “Well, that’s exactly what I’m trying to do, asshole! Would you let me speak? And don’t interrupt me again.” She looked really serious so I shut up and listened with interest. “His name is Brett. I met him at a party at my friend’s house. Oh Justin, you should see him! He’s so…” She became more enthusiastic as she tried to describe him, “so gorgeous and attractive, not to mention hot! He’s intelligent and witty; we were talking all night. I think he kind of liked me.” Then she stopped. I told her it sounded like the perfect guy for her. I asked her what she needed me for. “Well, he’s not perfect though. That’s why I need your help. If anyone knows how to handle this type, it’s you.” “Oh. And what type would that be?” I asked inquiringly. She definitely got my attention. She sighed and flopped down on the couch. I sat beside her and waited for the answer. “Well, a friend told me about him. According to the general opinion he’s a stud. He has probably fucked every girl who met his requirements. He doesn’t have to work too hard for it; the girls are standing in line. He’s never had a girlfriend; and he doesn’t do repeats. He fucks the girls then walks out on them. And he makes no secret of it. Nevertheless, the girls admire him and don’t mind being used by him. He’s got that certain charm; no one can resist him.” I couldn’t believe what I’d just heard. I realized why Daphne was asking for my help. These things sounded too familiar for me. I wished Daphne were exaggerating. Otherwise she was in deep trouble. “Looks like you’ve found yourself a straight Brian Kinney.” I said with a laugh. But to tell the truth I was feeling sorry for her. Studs live by their own rules and it’s almost impossible to tame them, unless they want to be tamed. But that’s a completely different story. “Yeah, that’s exactly what I thought too.” She replied with a bitter smile “What should I do?” She looked at me helplessly. “First, I think we should clarify what it is that you want from him.” I told her and she shook her head. “Isn’t it obvious Justin? I want to be with him. But I don’t want to be just another quick fuck.” At this point I had to ask something, “Have you…” She didn’t let me finish my question, “No, we haven’t. I only met him once anyway.” She gave me a look of disapproval. “Well, usually that’s enough time for something like that.” I tried to cheer her up a bit but I didn’t succeed. Daphne went on, “But I wouldn’t do that anyway. I don’t want him to think I’m like the other girls. I want him to think I’m special. It’s not impossible; he said that he’d enjoyed our conversation that night. Do you know what that means?” I didn’t have a fucking clue. “Um…that he was totally stoned?” “No!” She laughed at my stupid answer, “It means that he could have fucked anybody there, but he spent the night with me, talking. “Yeah, that’s pretty strange. Studs don’t waste time on talking.” I saw her face light up, “No, they don’t! So it definitely means something!” It seemed that I cheered her up after all. “And how do I fit into the picture?” I really wanted to know what she was planning. “Do you have anything planned for tomorrow night?” She asked innocently. I told her I hadn’t since Brian was working on a huge account. “That’s great! I’m invited to another party tomorrow night and he’ll be there too!” She blushed instantly and continued, “I want you to come with me. I want you to act like you have a crush on me. I want to see his reaction. I want to know if he’s really interested in me.” She giggled like a little schoolgirl. I gave voice to my disappointment, “Oh no. The good old ‘jealousy test’. I thought you were more creative than that, Daph. That’s just too boring.” “It might be, but it definitely works Justin.” She replied and looked at me with her eyebrow raised. “I don’t know Daphne. Maybe you should ask someone else. I don’t know shit about straight men.” “But you know everything about studs, and that’s the point. Come on Justin, you’re my best friend. You’ve got to help me.” She never takes no for an answer. “And what exactly am I supposed to do?” She laughed at my scared expression, “Just act like you usually do when you want to get someone’s attention. Don’t worry, I don’t want you to fuck me on the dinner table.” “What a relief, thanks a lot. But…I don’t know what to expect. A fucking straight party? What if this Brett tries to beat me up? What am I going to say to Brian? You know how easily I get bruised.” “Don’t be ridiculous Justin. And as for Brian; please don’t tell him why I want you to come with me.” She got embarrassed again, “I don’t want him to think I’m pathetic.” “But you are anyway.” I laughed and she shoved me playfully . Finally I gave up and told her I’d go with her but only if she’d stop whining. We went to that party yesterday evening. I didn’t tell Brian the real reason since Daphne asked me not to; I just said that Daphne didn’t want to go by herself. Brian didn’t mind since he had to work on his project at the loft. But he didn’t let me go without one of his sarcastic remarks. “Have fun, Sunshine. But I expect you to come home as gay as you’ve left.” He said with his tongue-in-cheek smirk. I had to laugh, “And how gay is that?” He didn’t answer, just stood up from the chair and put his arms around me. He bent down slowly and started to trace light kisses along my neck. I closed my eyes and wished I could stay at home. Then I felt his warm tongue tenderly licking my lips and I parted them instantly to let my guest in. There’s nothing in the world like Brian’s kiss. It’s absolutely beyond compare. I’m addicted to it; and I would be so lost without it. We were kissing passionately for a few minutes then he pulled away. He ran his fingers through my hair and said softly, “Just in case you forget.” I wasn’t in the mood to party, especially not in the mood for a straight party. But I’d promised Daphne I would go with her. We met an hour later and headed towards her friend Anna’s house. Daphne looked really great; I thought there wasn’t any straight guy who wouldn’t notice her. She wore a red satin dress, which I think was pretty expensive. The house was filled with people when we arrived. Anna let us in and Daphne made the introductions. I was hoping not to meet anyone I know; I didn’t want anybody to upset Daphne’s plan. The house was really huge and I was pretty impressed. It really was stunning. I didn’t know what kind of music was playing, but I was sure as hell that it was something a demanding gay would never be listening to. Daphne told me to shut up when she heard me say that and pulled me closer to her. “He’s here! Right behind you!” She whispered to me. I wanted to turn around but she stopped me, “Don’t turn around! He might notice us!” “I thought that would be the point.” I smiled at her. She’s so funny when she’s nervous. “Yeah, but…not like this.” She held me firmly. “Whatever. Want to drink something?” She nodded. I left her standing there and approached the bar. I poured some vodka in our glasses then turned around to get back to my friend. I stopped immediately. A tall, handsome brunet stood in front of her and Daphne was laughing at something he’d said. I could see how embarrassed she was; and that had to mean only one thing – it was that Brett whom she was talking to. I took a good look at him. He was tall and slender, with a beautiful face and intoxicating smile. That beautiful face reflected confidence and intelligence. And I wouldn’t be a real gay if I‘d missed the impressive bulge in his pants. He definitely reminded me of someone I know very well. But this guy was a bit younger and - much to our queer community’s dismay - he was straight. No wonder Daphne fell for him! I wanted to help her as much as I could but somehow I didn’t want this hot guy to be mad at me. I had no idea what I was going to do. I returned with the glasses and handed one to Daphne. The boy looked at me and - listen to this one – raised his eyebrow. The resemblance was frightening. I wouldn’t say I would mistake him for Brian, but his character was definitely similar to my boyfriend’s. I had to remind myself that I was supposed to be straight there. “And you are?” He asked me with a smile. Daphne cut in, “Oh, sorry, this is Justin. Justin is a friend of mine…a very special friend.” She added with a hint. “Justin, this is Brett.” We shook hands and he didn’t seem jealous at all; he was kind of friendly really. Though he’d been the center of interest undoubtedly. He was getting longing glances from women, envious glances from men. Except for me of course, but it didn’t matter. Daphne put her hand on my shoulder gently; I guess she wanted to see Brett’s reaction. I knew that she wanted me to show my craving for her. This whole situation was so awkward; I had no intention of making fool of this boy or myself. But I wanted to help Daphne so I did what she expected me to do. Finally I managed to kiss her cheek gently and she giggled like she was really enjoying it. Brett excused himself and left. He said he wanted to find some friend of his. I didn’t know what to think. Maybe he really liked Daphne and thought I was his rival. But I found that idea ridiculous. A man like him doesn’t even know what rivalry means. This type always wins. We were sitting on a couch and watching the people around us. Some of them stopped to chat for a while, and some of them sat on the couch beside us. I didn’t know anybody; I wasn’t surprised since they were all straight. My reliable gay-dar didn’t sense anything. Brett didn’t return to us, he spoke with others. The girls kept him busy anyway. Daphne was more than disappointed. She was holding my hand though and we acted like we were whispering sweet words into each other’s ear. I started to feel that our little show was ridiculous and unnecessary, since Brett didn’t seem to care about it. I thought that maybe this jealousy-test was a bad idea after all; it looked like he’d lost his interest in her. “It’s okay, really. At least I know what to expect – nothing.” Daphne tried to look casual, but she didn’t convince me. Some other boys tried to win her over, but she wasn’t interested in anyone else. Who could blame her for that? After a while our “straight Brian” seemed to get tired of the constant attention. And I noticed that he’d started to throw eager glances in our direction. Daphne moved even closer to me and put her hand on my thigh. I almost laughed out loud; I found that so funny. Like we were playing in a crappy old movie. She considered Brett’s attention a good sign and I told her to do something about it. “Are you out of your mind?” She looked at me like I really was. “I’m not going to throw myself at him. That’s your technique.” “Fuck you.” I said and we started to laugh as I told her, “At least my technique works.” But something definitely was going on; we could feel Brett’s gaze. Anna came to us and asked me, “May I take Daphne away for a while? I’d like to show her something.” “Of course.” I said and they disappeared before I knew it. I decided to go out to the garden and take a look around since I was alone. I took some deep breaths and then I lit a cigarette. The smoke felt fucking great. It was quite cold outside but I didn’t mind a bit. At least I was alone. For a while. After a few minutes I heard someone coming out too. I wasn’t happy about that; I hate to be forced into stupid discussions. “Hey.” A soft voice greeted. I turned around and saw the subject of Daphne’s desire. He went on, “Sneaking out for a smoke?” “Yeah, something like that.” I answered with a laugh. “Are you looking for Daphne? She’s inside.” “Yeah, I know. I saw her giggling with the girls. She’s really cute.” He said as he lit his own cigarette. I was so glad to hear that. Maybe Daphne could win her own Brian. That would be great. “So, you’re friends.” He said and I nodded. “For how long?” I told him we’d met in high school. “She’s my best friend.” I added. “And you’re…you’re just friends? Nothing more?” He asked carefully and looked at his shoes intently. I had to smile, he was so sweet. I wondered where that confident stud had disappeared. Maybe he wasn’t so self-confident when it came to Daphne. I didn’t care what Daphne had planned, I decided to help her in my own way. Which means I told him the truth. “Nothing more. I’m not her type anyway. As a matter of fact, she’s free.” I tried to convince him completely. “But it seemed like you were…” He started carefully. “Nah, she just...” I knew that she would kill me for that later but I didn’t care, “She just wanted to get your attention.” “That’s great.” He smiled shyly, “It’ll be easier for me to make a move then.” “Just go ahead.” I said encouragingly, “Daphne won’t be protesting.” He looked at me for a while then took a deep breath, like he was about to say something important. And he really was. “I’m not talking about Daphne.” He said while watching my face for some kind of reaction, “I’m talking about you.” I thought I didn’t hear him right. I didn’t know what to think. First I thought he was just making fun of me. This guy was known as the pussy’s biggest stud. He couldn’t be…like us. “You’re just joking, aren’t you?” I asked after a minute. He looked me right in the eye and said in a whisper, “What do you think?” I couldn’t say anything. Then he spoke again, “You’re gay, aren’t you?” I didn’t see why I should deny it since it seemed to be so obvious to him. I nodded. He nodded as well and started again, “I knew you had to be. No straight boy looks as beautiful as…as some gay boys.” I was so glad it was dark outside; he couldn’t see me blushing. But it was still so hard to believe him. “And you’re straight. At least that’s what everyone thinks about you.” I finally managed to say something. “Well, it depends.” He answered and kept looking at me. “On what?” I really wanted to know what he meant. “It depends on who it is that I want at that very moment.” He answered as he was blowing the smoke out. “But the girls…I heard that you’re always surrounded by them. You’re always seen with girls.” It was a stupid thing to say but I couldn’t say anything better. “Well, I’m more confident around them as you may have noticed. They’re fun, but I guess I could never be in love with one. Probably that’s why I spend most of my time with them. Because I know I won’t get hurt.” He sighed and I had the feeling that he was thinking about someone who had hurt him once. “But with boys, it’s always been so much harder. I’m afraid of a relationship.” At this point I realized that he wasn’t exactly like Brian; Brian would never admit something like that. But I’m sure as hell that Brian would never pretend to be someone he’s not. Brett continued, “But when I meet someone I really like,” He smiled at me and I started to feel bad, “I just can’t resist.” “If you knew I was gay then why did you ask if I was just friends with Daphne?” I asked quietly. He smiled and replied, “Well, I just wanted to make sure.” He took a step towards me and I was desperately trying to think of something to say that would stop him. “I think you should talk to Daphne.” He looked at me questioningly and I went on, “She…she has feelings for you.” Shit, I thought, Daphne will definitely kill me for this one. “Okay, I will. She’s really sweet and amusing…” I felt so sorry for Daphne. I knew how disappointed she would be. And I didn’t have any idea how I was going to get out of that awkward situation. Before I knew it Brett stood so close to me I could feel his breath on my face. I wanted to step back but I tripped over something and almost fell down. He caught me and held me close to him. He was about to kiss me when I pulled away. “Look I have to tell you something.” I started and I could see he knew exactly what I was going to say, “Unlike Daphne, I have a boyfriend.” “I see.” He smiled bitterly, “So much for my latest attempt with a boy.” And with that he turned around and headed back towards the house. I wanted to stop him and say something to make him feel better but I didn’t do that. He really looked helpless. Which was such an absurd thing considering how gorgeous he was. I wondered what kind of dark secret he kept in his heart, why he was afraid of boys so much. Well, it’s something I’ll never know. I hope that one day he’ll find the right person. He deserves it. He left soon with two pretty girls after we’d gone back to the house; and I didn’t tell Daphne what had happened. I didn’t tell anyone for that matter. It’s something Brett should tell her. I hope she’ll get over it pretty soon. When I arrived home Brian was already in bed. I thought he was sleeping when I cuddled up to him. But then I felt his hand grabbing my ass gently and he pulled me closer to him. “Mmm…Just checking.” He murmured in a sleepy voice. I chuckled when he got on top of me. After three incredible rounds, he found that I was still gay as hell. Like it ever was a question. Later, “J” PS: I think there’s something wrong with my ‘reliable’ gay-dar. But where can I get it fixed?