Date: Sun, 9 Apr 2000 13:24:29 -0400
From: JM <jm_stories@yahoo.com>
Subject: Home 6

Disclaimer: This story is fiction. It makes no claims to the true
personality and sexuality of anyone involved. You already know if you
shouldn't be reading this.

Note: This is the complete story with a few corrections. It only differs
slightly from the numbered versions previously posted to Nifty.


------------------
HOME
by JM


Part VI

Eleven-thirty rolled around and they still hadn't arrived. I was
starting to get worried. Maybe they called and said they were running
late. I started down the steps to see if they had called, only to meet
David on the way up.

"There you are," David said.

"Did they call?"

"Yea. They had a flat tire. They were just passing I275 when they called
about 10 minutes ago, so they should be here in 10 minutes or so."

"Okay," I said relieved that nothing bad had happened, but annoyed that
I would have to wait longer. David and I walked down to the garage,
opened the door and waited. 

Just before midnight, a black Toyota 4-Runner pulled into the garage --
slightly startling David and me. I hit the button to close the garage
door before Kevin's 4-Runner even came to a stop. Kevin opened the door
and rolled out. He was obviously exhausted. I didn't waste any time
going up to him and wrapping my arms around him.

"Hey, Vin."

"Josh. Finally. Better late than never," Kevin said squeezing me tight.
We parted to see Brian and David embracing on the other side of the
truck. 

"Hard drive?" I asked.

"The longest 2 hour drive in my life," Kevin sighed. 

"Well, you're here now. I hope you're not too exhausted," I said.

"What exactly did you have in mind, Mr. Matthews?" Kevin hinted.

"Nick is pulling an all-nighter and I promised I'd bring him some coffee
and food at four," I said. "What did you have in mind?"

"A shower and a bed," Kevin smiled.

"Can do." We turned to notice David and Brian were gone already. Kevin
started snickering.

"What?" I asked.

"Brian. You know they haven't had sex yet, right?"

"Yea."

"Well Brian has been agonizing over it for the past month and decided
that he was going to do something as soon as they got together again. He
was so nervous on the drive up. He kept babbling and asking me about how
to do it so he'd be perfect," Kevin laughed.

"Perfect?"

"His words."

"Somehow I don't think it'll matter," I laughed. "I hope they don't wake
up the kids in the sixth family."

"Well if Brian's sex with another person is anything like his
masturbation, it could get pretty loud. He's a moaner."

"Too much information," I said covering my ears.

"I'm just preparing you for what could be a loud night," Kevin laughed
as he pulled his bags out the truck.

"Fortunately, I had the space between the apartments insulated pretty
well to stop all but the loudest sounds."

We walked back to Home and took the elevator upstairs. Kevin dropped his
bags in the bedroom and pulled out a small bag and threw it to me. 

"What's this for?" I asked as I pulled out a hair bleaching kit.

"My disguise while we're here so I can have a chance of going out in
public without being mobbed."

"Okay. Tonight?"

"Why not? We're gonna be up anyway."

"Fine with me," I said and started reading the instructions. Kevin
started getting undressed. I was still reading the instructions when he
cleared his throat. I looked up to see him standing naked in front of
me. "You gonna bleach those too?" I asked pointing to his pubic hair
with a grin.

"Ummm... No, but I need a shower. Let's go," he said as he pulled me off
the bed and started undressing me. I was soon as naked as he. We grabbed
the dye and went to the bathroom. We took our time in the shower. Aside
from some very sensual touching and kissing, we only showered. When we
got out Kevin shaved off his mustache and goatee. 

Kevin wrapped a towel around himself, lowered the toilet seat and sat
down while I prepared the hair dye. 

"Okay, are you ready for this?" I asked standing in front of him.

"Yea, but could you wrap a towel around you. It's a bit too tempting to
have you standing like that so close."

"Oh, I guess," I sighed exaggeratedly. "Better?" I asked with a towel
wrapped around me.

"No, but better for this right now," he smirked.

"What about those bushy black eye brows? Blonde hair and bushy black eye
brows?" I asked.

"We'll see how it looks first. I don't want to look like an albino."

"Okay. Here we go," I said as I started applying the goop into his hair
-- doing my best to get everything evenly. After a few minutes it was
all ready and I wrapped the silly hair bag around it.

"Now we wait," I said.

"How long?"

"How blonde do you want to be?" I asked as I picked up the box to read
the instructions again.

"Blonde. Not light brown. Not platinum. Not orange."

"I'm not a hair dresser, Vin. The box says black hair to blonde should
take a half-hour. If it's not enough we'll do it again."

We went and sat down in the living room after setting the timer on the
oven. I couldn't help laughing at Kevin. 

"What?"

"You look funny in a towel and a hair bag," I laughed.

"It's worth it if I can go out anonymously."

I just smiled and grabbed his hand -- holding it in mine.

"Miss me?" Kevin asked.

"Only all the time," I answered. "Miss me? Even with all those screaming
12 year old girls and queens?" I joked back.

"Especially with all those screaming 12 year old girls and queens."

I leaned in to kiss him. It felt somewhat awkward not being able to
touch his hair, and felt a bit strange with his facial hair completely
gone. As we parted from the slow kiss, I licked his lips and he giggled.

"I feels strange not having a mustache. It's been years since I've been
clean shaven," Kevin said as he rubbed his face.

"I like it," I said.

"You think it looks better?" He asked.

"It looks different. It makes you look softer."

"Okay," he said and pulled me into another kiss. I let my hand drift
down and slide under his towel to rub his inflating cock. He moaned
lightly as his kisses became more insistent. 

All too soon the timer went off and its horrible noise interrupted our
moment. I slowly pulled away from him and then ran into the kitchen to
shut the timer off. Kevin got in the shower and rinsed the dye out of
his hair. After he was done, I applied the second stage stuff and rubbed
it in. Five minutes with that and he rinsed it out and washed his hair. 

Kevin stepped out of the shower and said, "Well? How does it look?"

"Blonde," I said. "And really strange."

"How's that?" He asked looking in the mirror. "Wow. I do look really
different," he said with a huge grin.

"Mission accomplished. This is going to take some time to get used to,"
I said running my fingers through his hair. I kissed his neck and
shoulders while standing behind him.

"What time is it?" Kevin asked softly while enjoying my lips on his
shoulders.

We parted and looked at the clock in the living room. 3AM. 

"Let's go early so we can get back," Kevin said.

"Good idea. Let me make a pot of coffee."

I put on a pot of coffee and we got dressed. The coffee was soon done; I
poured it into a thermos and we were out the door. I drove to a Subway
that was open all night to get Nick something to eat. Kevin came in with
me. The girl behind the counter was probably around 19. We ordered, got
the sandwich and left without incident. 

We parked at a meter on the street in front of Nick's office building.
After pressing the night buzzer half-a-dozen times, the guard came to
the door with his gun drawn.

"Step away from the door," he yelled through the door. This guy was old
enough to be my grandfather. 

"We're here to see someone. You should have my name on the list," I
yelled back holding my driver's license up to the glass door. 

"Stay right there," he yelled back and disappeared. A few minutes later
he returned with a clipboard. I held up my driver's license again and he
squinted to read it. After finding my name on his board, he opened the
door and let us in. 

"Who are you?" The guard asked Kevin.

"He's with me," I answered.

"You both need to sign in," the guard stated and handed me the
clipboard. After we signed in, the guard escorted us to the elevators.
"Fifth floor," he told us. "Nowhere else."

"Yes, I know," I replied. We got in the elevator and hit the button to
go to the fifth floor. 

"I know I'm a bit tired, but was that Barny Fife?" Kevin said with a
smirk.

"His brother, I think," I said dryly and then busted up laughing. 

The doors opened on the fifth floor. We walked down the hall to Nick's
office and pounded on the door. A minute later Nick let us in.

"Hey Josh. I really didn't expect to see you. Where's Kevin and
who's...Kevin? What the hell happened to you?" Nick said somewhat
shocked by Kevin's new look.

"My incognito look," Kevin said with a smile.

"I'd say so. Come on back," Nick said guiding us back to his office.
Plans were all over the place and a wall of Sweet's books were open to
different pages and hiding his desk.

"How's it going?" I asked.

"Slowly but surely," Nick answered. 

"What are you doing?" Kevin asked.

"Specs."

"Which is?"

"Specifications. Everything has to have exact specifications for every
part of a building. Everything. From type and size of lumber to brand
and model number of bathroom faucet. Most of it is pretty stock, but
each time we introduce some new designs all the fixtures have to be
spec'ed individually. And before you ask, yes, it is shit work." Nick
explained.

"Messy work too, apparently," Kevin added with a smirk and a yawn. 

"This? Oh, this is nothing. I just cleaned up last week. You should have
seen it then." Nick said as he poured himself some coffee.

"Well, we'd love to stay and talk, but..." I said.

"That's perfectly alright. Thanks for the supplies."

"You're welcome. See you Friday?"

"Absolutely."

Kevin was leaning against the wall and half-asleep.

"Well, good night. I think someone's tired," I said pointing to Kevin.

"Night."

I grabbed Kevin and lead him back down to the truck. At this point he
was non-verbal. By the time we pulled into the garage he was sound
asleep. There was no way I could carry him, so I had to wake him up
enough to guide him across the campus, into the elevator and into my
apartment. 

He lay down on the bed and was out again. With a little bit of hassle, I
got him undressed and under the covers. I got undressed and snuggled up
to him. It felt so nice to have him back. It wasn't too long before I
fell asleep.

*** 

When I awoke the next morning we were in the same snugly position. I
could tell Kevin was awake because he was gently rubbing my arm, which
was around him. I squeezed him tight and kissed the back of his neck. I
slowly opened my eyes and saw the blonde hair. Huh? Who was in bed with
me? My mind slowly woke up and I remembered dying Kevin's hair last
night. I decided to have a little fun.

"Oh Nick," I moaned as I kissed his neck again. "What if Kevin finds
out?" If I wasn't busy kissing his neck I would have been laughing. I
was met with a jab to the ribs.

"Ouch!" I half laughed.

Kevin quickly rolled over on top of me. "I think Kevin already knows,"
he said.

"Do you think he'll want to join us?" I asked in a hushed voice.

"I think he'll insist," he said and quickly kissed me. "But first,
nature calls." Kevin jumped out of the bed and ran to the bathroom. I
was right behind him.

We both hung our morning wood over the toilet and tried not to look at
each other so it would go down enough to piss. After relieving ourselves
we brushed our teeth and cleaned up. 

On our way back to the bedroom I picked Kevin up and carried him over my
shoulder into the bedroom. I threw him on the bed and immediately jumped
on him and started kissing him. I held his hands over his head and
continued kissing him passionately as we ground our bodies together.
After a few minutes of this I pulled back and flopped down beside him,
pulled him on top of me. 

Kevin sat back and straddled my legs so that our erections were
together. He then lay down on my chest and just held me tight as he
lightly ground our cocks together. Just the slightest of sexual
sensations and an overload of physical and emotional ones. I felt really
good. Really...comfortable. I wrapped my arms around Kevin and held him
tighter. Kevin didn't look up, but held me tighter and continued his
slight gyrations. Who knows how long later, we were quite slick from all
the precum and the feelings were getting more and more sexual. 

Slowly, Kevin pushed himself up until we were face to face. His
gyrations were getting a bit more insistent.

"You like this?" He asked with a grin.

"Yes," I said with a kiss. We were both grinning from ear to ear so the
kiss was kinda sloppy, which made us grin more.

"You're really close, aren't you?" Kevin asked in a whisper.

All I could do was nod. This got a goofy grin and a, "me too" in reply.
I reached up to kiss him again and it started. I started shaking and
pulled him down onto me fully and held him tight as orgasm took over my
body. Kevin was in the same state. We held each other as if we were one
while our cum tried to shoot its way out. We held that way until well
after we had calmed down. 

Kevin leaned back up slightly so we were face to face again and giggled
a little as he started rubbing our cum drenched bodies together. I
started giggling as well.

"You horny bastard," I teased.

"It's been a month," he laughed back.

"You're right," I said and rolled him off me. "Let's clean up. This is
getting a little cold," I said and started to get off the bed. Kevin
grabbed my hand and gave me a sad puppy dog face. "Don't look at me like
that. We can make more," I said with a grin. He smiled again and I
pulled him off the bed and we went into the bathroom. 

We laughed when we saw ourselves with cum all over our chests in the
mirror. I got the water ready and we got in the shower. We washed each
other slowly, carefully, and sensually. The water was getting cold, so
we finally got out.

I looked at the clock as we walked back into the bedroom to get dressed.
1 PM. Damn. Half the day was already gone. I had no idea when it was
that we woke up.

"Damn. It's already 1," Kevin said.

"Yea, I noticed. How about some lunch. I'm starved."

"I'm with ya. Let's go out."

"Okay. Where do you want to go?"

"Uh, you live here..."

"Right. Okay, anything in particular you want to don't want?" I asked.

"Just someplace quiet with good food."

"Hmm," I thought for a minute. "How about York Street Cafe?"

"That's fine since I don't know anything else or anything about it,"
Kevin said while putting on his shoes. "Walk or drive?"

"Drive. It's across the river in Newport."

When we were both dressed we went downstairs. Tina was in the office on
first.

"Hey Tina," Kevin and I said.

"Hey you two," Tina said looking like the proverbial cat who ate the
canary. "It's about time you got up."

"We didn't get to bed until late because we took food and coffee to Nick
this morning," I said.

"Uh, huh. Sure," she said.

"Whatever. Where is everyone?" I asked to change the subject. 

"Well, Ryan went to the library, and I haven't seen David since wake-up
call this morning. By the way, your cousin is quite the moaner, Kevin,"
Tina said barely able to contain her laughter.

Kevin and I didn't bother and just started laughing.

"Ryan and I thought they'd never go to sleep! I hope this doesn't
continue the whole time you guys are here," Tina laughed out. "I'm
surprised you couldn't hear it."

"Lots of insulation between the floors, but I guess the doors don't stop
sound that well," I answered.

"Apparently not."

"You'll just have to ask them to confine their...activities...to the
outside bedroom with the door shut."

"If it happens again, I will," Tina answered.

"Anyway, we're going to lunch at York Street. We should probably be back
by the time the kids get off school," I said.

"Okay. See you later."

Kevin and I said good bye and turned to go.

"Oh, I like the new look, Kevin. I don't think you'll be recognized,"
Tina yelled after us.

"Thanks," he yelled back. 

We made our way across campus to the garage. Kevin walked to the
passenger side and started to get in.

"It's gonna be hard for you to drive sitting on this side," I said.

"I'm not driving. You know where it is and how to get around."

"Exactly why you're driving. You need to learn your way around."

"How about I drive back after we've had something to eat?"

"Alright," I conceded and got in the driver's side.

By the time we got to York Street, most of the lunch crowd was gone. We
sat at a table with big fluffy chairs in front of the windows.

"This place is cool," Kevin said as he looked around at the eclectic
decorations.

"Yea it is. If it were warmer we could sit on the patio out back. It's
really nice out there too."

Our waitress brought over the menus and took our drink orders.

"What do you recommend?" Kevin asked.

"Anything. It's all good."

The waitress came back with our drinks and took our orders.

"So what are you planning to do for Thanksgiving?" Kevin asked.

"Having it at Home," I answered.

"Not going to see family?"

"You mean my parents? Nope. I get along with my parents best when we're
no where near each other, and beyond that, I have a bunch of kids who
are more my family than my parents will ever be. They'd have to come
here if they wanted to be around me, and that's not likely to happen."

"Oh, that's right. I forgot about the kids. Why wouldn't your parents
come here, though?"

"How could you forget about forty kids?" I asked incredulously, ignoring
his question about my parents.

"Well, I didn't really forget about them, but I don't have kids, so I
really don't think about how they affect where and when I can do
something."

"I understand. Why do you ask, anyway?"

"My mom wants to meet you and wants us to come down to Lexington for
Thanksgiving."

"Meet your mom?" I asked a bit apprehensively.

"Yea. Don't be scared. She's really nice."

"Yea, okay, but I still have to spend Thanksgiving with the kids. Why
doesn't she come up here? It would be easier than her finding a place
and food for 40 kids in addition to whatever other family would be
there."

"They've already made plans for a bunch of family to be there from out
of town. Are Ryan & Tina going to be at Home?"

"I think they're going to Ryan's folks."

Kevin's face turned serious while the gears spun looking for a solution.
"How about this," he said. "We spend the day up here, and then drive
down to Lexington in the evening. It's only an hour-and-a-half drive.
Mom will be upset about us missing dinner, but we'll probably be in time
for desert. We can sleep there and come back the next day."

"That could be okay, but are you sure you want to drive for an
hour-and-a-half after stuffing yourself? I don't know about you, but I
usually get pretty sleepy after Thanksgiving dinner."

"Then we'll just hire a limo or something to take us."

"That sounds more than a bit extravagant," I smirked.

"Maybe," Kevin smirked back, "but it's better than falling asleep at the
wheel. And much better than pissing off my Mom. Besides, we can probably
split the cost with Brian and David. A limo would also be big enough for
us to all take a short nap before you have to face our families."

"That sounds so ominous."

"It'll be fine. Besides, you don't have anything to worry about. Brian
and David, on the other hand, may have an...interesting...time."

"You're being cryptic, again," I said.

"Brian hasn't come out to his parents yet. He's gonna tell them after
they meet and get to know David." Kevin explained.

"Does David know this? How do you think they'll handle it? And is
Thanksgiving the right time to drop this on his parents?" I asked
quickly, thinking about a very tense evening.

"I know what you mean. Brian and David have talked about it, so I assume
he knows about it. Brian has already told his brother, and that went
okay. They accept me, so I don't think it will be that big of a deal."

"Okay," I said hesitantly. "Well, as long as we're planning the
holidays, what about Xmas and ny2k?"

"If everything goes well at Thanksgiving, I think we might get my mom to
come up here for Christmas," Kevin said.

"Then I'll be on my best behavior for Thanksgiving," I smiled.

"As for New Year's, we have to perform. Big show with MTV broadcasting
from everywhere. We'll be doing our part at Universal in Orlando."

"Oh," I said somewhat disappointed.

"You're gonna be there, too," Kevin stated matter-of-factly.

"Really, and how is that gonna happen? You already know I'm not gonna
leave the kids behind, and the chance of being able to get enough rooms
at this late notice for 40 kids is slim to none."

"Oh ye of little faith," Kevin smirked.

"So you've already planned it, huh? Where are you gonna put 40 kids?"

"We've got five suites reserved at the Hilton. They're huge two bedroom
suites. Plenty of room for 8 kids and an adult or two."

"Or three," I added.

Kevin looked confused and recalculated the people concerned in his head.
"Where do you get three?"

"Well, maybe not three, but two adults in most of the rooms. I don't
know if they can come, but I'm gonna invite Nick and Susan. I really
want them to be there."

"Absolutely. I forgot about asking them. This is just too many people to
keep track of, Josh," Kevin said kinda sheepishly.

"Don't worry about it. It takes time, and then you still forget
someone," I laughed. 

The waitress brought out our orders and, after making sure everything
was okay and our drinks were filled, left us alone. We were both very
hungry, so not much was said while we inhaled our food.

Kevin drove on the way back Home. We made it back just as the school bus
was dropping off the kids. Well, actually we got stuck behind the bus
well before the stop at Home. When we finally got a break, we turned
around the block and into the garage.

"This'll be a good test," Kevin said as we were walking through the
campus to Home.

"What will?" I asked.

"If the kids recognize me right away or not."

"I don't think it will be. They know you and kinda expect to see you.
You'll probably just get some double-takes."

"Perhaps..."

It turned out that we were both right. The younger kids recognized him
right away. The older kids didn't. We ended up joining the kids in
Second for dinner and didn't get back to my apartment until ten.

Kevin and I just decided to relax when we got back. We curled up on the
sofa together and watched who-knows-what on the TV until I fell asleep. 

***

I awoke in bed at five the next morning with the alarm clock screaming.
Kevin had rolled away from the alarm clock and had the pillow over his
head. As soon as I slammed the alarm off, Kevin sat straight up.

"I'm up! I'm up!" He yelled.

I started laughing. "Oh really?"

"Huh?" Kevin looked around and slowly became aware of where he was. He
groaned and flopped back down. "Why are we up so early?" He mumbled.

"Morning duty. It's my turn Tuesdays and Fridays."

"Okay," he yawned.

"You can stay in bed if you want. I'll be back in a couple hours to wake
you up."

"Okay," Kevin mumbled again and was out cold.

I pulled on a pair of sweats and went up on the roof to do my morning
T'ai Chi. Afterwards I took a quick shower and had some coffee before
making the rounds. After the last of the kids left for school at 7:30, I
went back to my apartment. Kevin was still asleep. I briefly debated
waking him up, but we really didn't have anything pressing to do. These
could just be nice relaxing days, so I snuggled up behind him and soon
fell asleep.

I awoke again around nine. I was laying on my back and Kevin was on his
side with his head propped up and rubbing his hand across my chest. I
smiled at him.

"Mornin'," I said.

"Mornin'," Kevin said and gave me a quick kiss. "I thought you were
going to wake me up."

"You're up, aren't you?" I smirked back.

Kevin slapped me playfully on the stomach. "Yea, but it's already late
morning."

"Do you have anything you needed to be up early for?"

"I guess not," Kevin said after a pause.

"Is there anything in particular you wanted to do this morning?"

"Other than the usual," he said reaching his hand around my cock with a
smile. "No, nothing in particular.

"'The usual,' huh? Has it become that routine for you?" I asked as my
hand found his growing erection.

"No. I think I'll have to wake up next to you and make love in the
morning for a couple more decades before it becomes routine. It's a rut
I'd be happy to fall in, though."

"If I decided to keep you around that long," I smiled and gave him a
short kiss.

"If you decide to keep ME around?" Kevin said in mock indignation. "I
could have my pick of thousands who would be thrilled for me to even
look at them."

I started laughing. "Now I know what we can do today. We'll have guard
rails put on that ego!"

Kevin just stuck his tongue out at me. I leaned forward and grabbed his
tongue between my lips and sucked it into my mouth. We started kissing
and Kevin rolled on top of me. While we were kissing he reached over to
the bedside table and pulled out the lube and a condom. Our lips never
broke contact as he rolled the condom down my cock and lubed us both up.
He positioned my cock at his hole and slowly pushed himself down until
just the head was in. After a minute or two of kissing with just the
head of my cock in his ass, Kevin pulled away from the kiss and sat up
-- impaling himself completely on my cock in the process. His eyes
closed and his head went back as he softly moaned and relaxed again
after the initial penetration. After a moment he looked back down at me
with a big goofy grin. I'm sure my face looked somewhat similar.

Kevin slowly started bouncing up and down. His hard cock was bouncing in
front of him. I leaned forward as much as I could and sucked the tip of
his bobbing cock into my mouth. Almost immediately, Kevin started
shooting his load. I wasn't far behind him and came just as he was
coming down.

"That is so cool that you can suck me and fuck me at the same time,"
Kevin said like an excited child.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it," I said and pulled him down into a kiss to
give him some of his cum back. We parted and went to take a shower and
get dressed. 

We decided to go out again for lunch. We were both curious about David &
Brian, so we stopped by David's apartment to ask them to join us. We
hadn't seen either of them since Kevin and Brian arrived. There was only
the sound of the television coming from David's apartment as we
approached it. We both knocked on the door pretty hard until it opened.

"What!" Brian yelled as he quickly pulled open the door. 

"Just checking to see if you two are still alive," Kevin smirked.

"And to ask if you wanted to join us for lunch," I added.

Brian blushed -- I'm sure at Kevin's comment and not mine. He wasn't
wearing a shirt and his entire chest turned red as well. 

"Uh, let me ask David. Come on in," Brian said and walked into the
living room.

We followed him in. Brian was walking kinda funny, and we tried not to
snicker. David was lying on the sofa. 

"Wanna go get lunch with Kevin and Josh?" Brian asked.

"Sure. Where at?" David asked. Brian turned to look at Kevin for the
answer. Kevin turned to look at me for the answer. 

"I was just thinking simple. We could walk down to Kaldi's," I said.

"That sounds good. Let us get dressed and we'll meet you downstairs,"
David said.

"Ten minutes," I said and Kevin and I walked out and down the stairs.

"Was it just me, or was Brian walking a bit...funny?" Kevin snickered as
we were halfway down the stairs. 

"Not quite a Monty Python walk, but definitely not his normal walk. If
they've been doing it the past 36 hours or so, they've got to be sore.
I'm surprised they can walk at all." I snickered back.

"Oh yea," Kevin agreed.

David & Brian joined us a few minutes later and we started our walk down
to Kaldi's for lunch. I pulled Brian back while David and Kevin walked
ahead.

"So...?" I asked Brian, putting my arm over his shoulder as we walked.

"What?" Brian replied.

"How do you feel now that you've lost your virginity?"

Brian blushed and looked away from me.

"So...? I don't want details, but I want details. Was it what you
expected? Are you glad you did it? Uh, this all sounds so gossipy,
but... I'm just remembering a scared and lonely Brian who ran to hide
from a kiss. Now..."

"Now you're laughing at a Brian who is walking a bit funny," Brian
smirked.

I smiled. "Yea, that too."

"I don't regret it at all. It was great, and that's all I'm gonna say
about it," Brian said.

"As long as you two are happy, I don't need to know anymore. Besides, if
I want to know more, I'll just ask Tina or Ryan -- who you kept up
Wednesday night, by the way," I laughed.

Brian blushed again. "Geesh," he sighed.

We caught up with David and Kevin and walked into Kaldi's. The lunch
crowd hadn't rolled in yet. We got a table in the back right away. 

"Hey, Josh," I heard a woman say. I looked up to see Anna, from
Rhythmwright.

"Hey, Anna. What's up?"

"Workin'. Gotta pay the rent, ya know," Anna said with a smile.

"Yea, I remember rent. How's the CD selling?"

"Not at all, yet. We just got it back yesterday."

"Well, stop by Home and I'll buy one."

"You recorded it, Josh. You don't have to buy one; we'll just give you
one."

"I really think I can afford to buy one more than you can afford to give
them away free," I said with a smile.

"Oh yea, Mr. Millionaire. In that case, I'll let you buy as many as you
like."

"Just one is fine, thank you." I noticed that everyone at the table was
watching me. "I'm sorry. Anna, this is Kevin, David and Brian. Guys,
this is Anna. She's the singer and guitar player for Rhythmwright: the
band I recorded a couple weeks ago."

They said their hellos. A dozen or so people walked in the door.

"As much as I'd like to stand here and chat, lunch is starting. Does
everyone know what they want?" Anna said.

***

The next couple days were nice and relaxing. Kevin and I would make love
in the morning, go for a long walk in the afternoon, and spend the
evenings with the kids. It didn't last long, however, and soon it was
time to pick up the rest of the guys and get to work.

Kevin and I got to the airport to pick up the rest of the guys a little
early. We shared a blueberry muffin and drank coffee until their plane
landed. Instead of meeting them at the terminal, we went to find their
luggage, knowing they'd soon be there. Kevin pretty much had everyone's
bags memorized. Of course, Howie's was quite easy to recognize -- bright
pink with fluorescent green stripes spray painted on it. It seems he
usually has his bags lost, so he made his bags easily stand out so it'd
be easier to find. You could probably see his bags from space!

We had most of the bags when I felt someone grab me from behind and lift
me up into the air. I was caught off guard and reacted accordingly. I
kicked back my legs and hooked them behind the knees of the person who
had grabbed me. Suddenly he was on the ground with me landing on his
stomach. I quickly hopped up and turned around ready to fight, only to
see Nick with longish black hair laying on the ground gasping for air.

"Damn, Josh," Howie smirked. His hair was down and he looked kinda
shaggy with a full goatee. AJ, on the other hand, was clean-shaven and
had a crew-cut -- believe it or not.

I reached down to help Nick up. "Sorry, Nick. You startled me."

"That's okay, psycho. I'll know better next time," Nick groaned out.

In the mean time, Kevin was laughing and AJ & Howie were trying so hard
not to laugh that they were almost crying. 

We gathered the bags and headed out to the truck. 

"Fuck! It's cold here!" Nick grumbled loudly.

"It's only 55¡ you wus," I shot back.

"Yea, 'wus'," AJ repeated.

"Some of us were smart enough to not wear shorts and a t-shirt," Howie
teased.

"'Some of us were smart enough...'" Nick mocked until he got smacked in
the back of the head by AJ.

They started arguing. Kevin sighed and looked at me. "The kids are
back."

I just laughed, pulled out of parking lot and headed Home.

We got Home a little after 8pm. The kids attacked them when we walked in
and Nick ended up being dragged off to a Quake challenge. That being the
case, Howie and AJ got the two bedrooms. By nine, Nick escaped and was
back to unload his bags.

"I'm not gonna sleep on the sofa the whole time we're here," Nick
announced when he saw that the beds had been taken.

"Well, I'm not giving up my bed," AJ said.

"Don't look at me," Howie added.

Nick looked at Brian & David, who were there to catch up.

"No way!" Brian & David said at the same time.

"Please!" Nick pleaded. "It's not like you're using the other bedroom."

They held firm, however, and told him 'no' again.

Nick turned to his last chance. He got down on his knees in front of
Kevin and me. "May I please use your available bedroom so I have a real
bed to sleep in and a space for some privacy while we're here? Please?"
He was literally begging on this knees.

Kevin and I looked at each other. Kevin shrugged his shoulders. I really
didn't want anyone else in the apartment with us, but I also knew Nick
needed some privacy for their long stay.

"I suppose I could set up a bed in the basement," I said with a straight
face. Nick looked up at me with shock. "Oh, okay. You can have the
bedroom," I relented.

"Thank you. Thank you. Thank you," Nick said jumping to his feet and
hugging us both.

"Down boy!" I said as I pushed him away.

Nick grabbed his bags and triumphantly carried them to his new room.

"Well, now that that's solved. Everyone hungry?" I asked and was
answered with nods all around. "Good. So am I. Let's go eat."

I made Kevin drive. We got in his truck and I guided him to Dewey's
Pizza. The place was busy as usual, but we got a table for seven after a
short wait. I was teased by the McDonald's lovers about the strange
names of the pizzas and the strange toppings.

"Socrates' Revenge?" AJ joked. "Is that a pizza with little boys and
hemlock?"

"Why would anyone put goat's cheese and artichokes on a pizza?" Nick
said in disbelief.

"Don't knock it 'till you try it," I said. 

They argued back and forth over what pizzas to get. It fell to me to
order for everyone since I had been there before. I ordered four large
of different types.

We talked about what everyone had done on their short vacation while we
were waiting for the food. AJ said he spent it on the phone and
sleeping. Nick spent it sleeping and working on his BSB comic book.
Howie spent it sleeping and clubbing. Pretty typical and uninteresting.
The food eventually came and disappeared quickly. I guess artichokes and
goat's cheese aren't all that bad.

We got back to Home at a little past eleven. Everyone went straight to
their respective apartments. Nick went to take a shower while Kevin and
I cuddled on the sofa and watched TV. About a half-hour later, Nick
walked into the living room wearing only flannel pajama bottoms.

"Whatcha watchin'?" Nick asked as he flopped down on the other side of
the sofa.

"Some movie on SciFi. I have no idea what it is," Kevin answered.

We sat there in silence and watched the horrible made for SciFi movie.
Nick fell asleep sometime during the movie and was leaning against our
legs. After the movie was over, we were ready for bed. Kevin leaned
forward and pushed Nick to lean the other way so we could get up. 

I stood and shook Nick's shoulder. "Nick. Get up and go to bed." I only
got a grunt from him in return.

"Good luck," Kevin laughed and went to the bathroom.

"Nick!" I said a bit louder and shook him again. Nothing. I kneeled down
and slumped him over my shoulder and started to stand up. Damn, he's
heavy. Using the sofa to push myself up, I finally got to my feet. Nick
was slumped over my shoulder, bent at the waist. He didn't wake or stir
at all. Talk about a heavy sleeper... I carried him to his room, flopped
him down on his bed and pulled the covers over him.

"Why didn't you just let him sleep on the sofa?" Kevin asked from the
doorway.

I shrugged. "I don't know. He begged for a bed instead of the sofa, so I
guess he should have it."

"Yea, sure, dad," Kevin chuckled and went into our bedroom. 

I got ready for bed and joined Kevin in bed. I started to snuggle up
behind him, but Kevin turned around and kissed me.

"This is gonna be great," Kevin said with a grin and kissed me again.

"It's always great," I smiled back and slid my down his side to touch
his butt cheek.

"Not that," Kevin giggled. "I mean being here for the next couple months
and getting to work and live together."

"Maybe. Or maybe we'll end up hating each other. It's hard to be with
someone 24/7," I said seriously.

"I know, but I think it's worth the effort," Kevin said just as
seriously. "We still have to do promo stuff, though, so we will be able
to take short breaks apart."

"I'll try not to worry about it. Night." I said with a kiss.

"Night," Kevin said softly as he rolled back around and cuddled against
me.

*** 

I woke up at six the next morning out of habit. The alarm wouldn't go
off for another two hours, but I was wide awake. I quietly slid out of
bed so as not to wake Kevin up. I put on some sweats and quietly closed
the bedroom door behind me. I could hear "South Park" on the TV. I
walked into the living room. Nick was sitting on the floor with a
blanket wrapped over his shoulders watching TV.

"Mornin', Nick. What are you doing up so early?" I asked.

Nick jumped and looked back. "Mornin', Josh. I didn't wake you, did I?"

"No. I'm usually up around this time. What about you?"

"I don't know. I just woke up and couldn't get back to sleep."

"Okay," I said and started up to the roof.

"Whatcha doin'?" Nick called out behind me.

"Morning exercise," I said and continued up. I started my T'ai Chi
routine. A few minutes later I noticed Nick sitting on the park bench
watching me. I ignored him and continued my routine. Nick sat and
watched me the whole time. I finished and headed back down to the
apartment. Nick followed.

"That was T'ai Chi? Right?" Nick asked as I started making a pot of
coffee.

"Uh huh."

"When did you start doing that?"

"I used to do it regularly before I moved to Cincinnati. I just started
again a few weeks ago," I answered.

"Where'd you learn it?"

"My freshman year at university."

"Does it work?"

"Huh? Does it work how?"

"I mean, how does it compare to a real workout?"

"It is a real workout, Nick."

"You know what I mean."

"It's different. T'ai Chi is more about meditation, movement and
focusing of energy. What you call a 'real workout' is mainly focused on
the physical. You're unlikely to get buff by doing T'ai Chi, but you are
likely to be as strong, or stronger."

"How stronger? You're not lifting any weights."

"Not external ones. Strength is more about being able to focus energy
than being able to lift heavy weights, grasshoppa," I said with a smirk.


Nick caught the joke and made a face. "Prove it," he said with an air of
defiance.

"How?"

"Show me something that proves you are stronger than me. I work out with
weights and can bench press 240. How do you measure strength if not by
how much you can lift?"

"Why do you need to measure it?"

"So other people know how strong you are."

"And that's important because....?"

"So people don't fuck with you."

"You have body guards. What's your excuse?"

"Girls like it."

"Not a concern for me. Where are your girls?" I said. 

"Just in general, I mean. It makes you look healthy and attractive."

"Are you saying I look sickly and ugly?" I joked.

"Not sickly, anyway," Nick smirked.

"Fuck you," I shot back as I poured myself a cup of coffee.

"So prove it."

"I'm not gonna fuck you, Nick."

"Sick. No. I meant prove how strong you are."

"Well, I did put you on your ass yesterday," I smiled. 

"That was Judo crap and you caught me off guard. Not strength."

"So what do you want?"

"I don't know. Something impressive."

I thought for a moment. I remembered a showy display my old instructor
used when giving demonstrations.

"Okay, Nicky," I said. "I've got the perfect demonstration." I put down
my coffee cup and held my hand up in front of me in a fist. "You push
against my fist and see if you can push me over. Okay?"

"Come on," Nick said with a chuckle. "You'll be on the floor right away.
At least give yourself a chance."

"Stop talking and start pushing. No running and throwing your weight.
Just try to push me down. Your strength against mine."

Nick took my fist in both hands and started to push a little. I'm sure
he figured I'd at least move a little bit. I didn't. He got a more
determined look on his face and adjusted his stance to push harder. I
focussed my attention to hold him back. He pushed harder and I still
didn't move. Nick put his foot against the wall and used that for
leverage. I still didn't move.

"Is that all you got?" I asked with a smile.

"Damn," Nick grunted as he continued to push as hard as he could.

"You might want to take your foot off the wall so you don't fall when I
push you back," I said. 

Nick lowered his foot a little, but still kept it where he could gain
some leverage from the wall. "Go ahead and try," Nick said with gritted
teeth.

I closed my eyes and concentrated. A few seconds later I gave a push
forward. I opened my eyes to see Nick flat against the wall with a big
grin on his face.

"That is so cool! I didn't think you could do it, but... You gotta show
me how to do that!" Nick said excitedly as he picked himself up.

"It takes a few years, Nick. It's a demonstration trick, not a goal."

"Yea, yea, yea. Can you teach me?"

"T'ai Chi? Yes. Tricks? No, or at least not until you've been doing it
for a couple years."

"Years? I don't have years."

"Why's that? You planning on dying soon?"

"You never know. Rock stars die young."

"You're not a rock star. You're a pop star. Pop stars don't die young.
They get fat, go bald, and become agents for other pop stars."

"Someone kill me now," Nick laughed, but the tone wasn't completely
joking.

"You'll be fine, Nick," I said patting him on the shoulder. "Just
remember not to believe your own press. When you can't reconcile your
private self with your public self, then you've got problems."

"How would you know?"

"You don't have to experience everything first hand to learn from it.
But, I do know. Being gay is very similar. It's not easy to be gay. Many
people hate you and want to kill you even though you've done nothing to
them. Unlike fame, however, being gay is not a choice. The only choice
is to stay in the closet and hate yourself, or come out and have other
people hate you. Understand?"

"I guess. So will you teach me T'ai Chi?" Nick asked.

"It depends. If you're going to commit to it and do it every day, then
yes. Otherwise, no."

"I can't do it every day. What about when I'm on the road?"

"You may not be able to do it at the same time every day, but you always
have at least a half-hour that you can be by yourself."

"But then he wouldn't get as much masturbation in," Kevin said as he
walked into the kitchen.

"Morning, asshole," Nick said to Kevin.

"Morning, Master Bates," Kevin said back as he got a cup of coffee.
"What are we talking about?"

"Josh is gonna teach me T'ai Chi," Nick answered quickly.

"Really? You're a glutton for punishment, aren't you," Kevin smirked to
me.

"So I'm told," I answered. "So does that mean you're going to commit to
it?" I asked Nick.

"Why not," Nick answered.

"So what brought this up?" Kevin asked.

"Nick watched me doing T'ai Chi this morning."

"You never told me you knew T'ai Chi," Kevin said.

"Sorry. I didn't think about it. It's just something I do. I stopped
when I moved to Cincy and just recently started again."

"Anything else I don't know about?" Kevin smiled.

"Probably lots of things. I can't give out all my secrets at once," I
answered and gave Kevin a kiss.

"Umm. Another person in the room," Nick said clearing his throat loudly.

Kevin and I slowly broke the kiss.

"Sorry, Nick," I said and gave him a big wet kiss -- sans tongue -- on
the lips, and then went to the bathroom.

"Yea. Sorry, Nick," Kevin said and did the same. 

Nick just stood there in shock. Kevin was closing the bathroom door when
Nick yelled, "You two are sick!" Kevin and I were laughing so hard we
didn't hear if he said anything else.

"It's such fun to tease him," Kevin said.

"Yea. He takes it as well as he gives it. I think he likes to be
teased," I said.

"I've noticed that. I think it makes him feel wanted or something."

"Has everything been okay with him?"

"What do you mean?" Kevin asked.

"I mean he was talking about dying young like he was planning it,
earlier."

"He does that every so often. Probably to get more attention," Kevin
said as he started shampooing my hair.

"That's not really healthy. Maybe he'll do something about it to get
even more attention."

"I don't think so. The most he does when he gets depressed like this is
smoke himself into a stupor. We check him into rehab for a couple weeks
and then he's fine again for a while."

"What?!"

"Probably once a year it happens. I used to be concerned about it, but
now it's routine."

"I don't like that routine. He obviously needs other help before this
becomes a routine he has for the rest of his life." I stated.

"Good luck. I didn't have any, but if anyone can help, it's probably
you."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence. I don't give up easily," I said
determined.

"I know. That's why if anyone could help, it's you."

We finished our shower and got dressed. AJ and Howie were in the dining
room eating our breakfast baguettes, as was Nick. I hadn't planned on
feeding anyone breakfast other than Kevin and myself, so I only had
three baguettes delivered. 

"Why are you eating our breakfast?" I asked as I walked into the dining
room.

"We don't have any food," AJ said.

"We'll have to go grocery shopping this morning," I said.

"I'll make you a list," AJ said.

"Am I your bitch? I said 'we'll' have to go to the grocery, not that I
would do your shopping for you."

"But what if I'm recognized?" AJ said with a smirk.

"Then you'll have to sign a few autographs for the housewives and anyone
else who would be grocery shopping on a Thursday morning," I threw back.
"Wanna walk down to Kaldi's for breakfast?" I asked Kevin. 

"Sure."

"Can we join you?" Nick asked.

"But what if you're recognized?" I said directly to AJ.

"I'll risk it," he answered back.

"Vin?" I asked to see if he was okay with it.

"Yea. Fine with me."

"Okay. Get your coats and let's go," I said. We stopped to ask David and
Brian if they wanted to join us, but they had already eaten.

Kevin and I sat at a small booth along the wall and AJ and Howie sat at
another. Nick kinda hopped back and forth so he wouldn't miss anything.

Afterwards, we went to the grocery store. Nick joined Kevin and I, and
Howie and AJ went off with their own cart. When we got to the checkout
it was obvious AJ & Howie would not be cooking dinner for anyone anytime
soon. Their cart was full of TV-dinners, cola, chips, and other food
just as healthy and fulfilling.

*** 

Rehearsals for "Henry V" ran until 9PM on Fridays, so someone had to
pick up the kids from school. It was my turn this week, so Friday night
pizza with Nick and Susan started and ended early. Rehearsal was still
going when Kevin and I got to the school. The school had a medium sized
theater with a thrust stage and a fairly steep rake to the seats. We sat
in the back row and watched what was apparently a speed-through. 

When it was over, the director gave notes and then let them go for the
night. The five of my kids in the show and the director came up to the
where we were sitting.

"Hey, Dad, this is Mr. Richardson, the director," Wil announced.

"Ah yes, the masochist who chose 'Henry V.' Nice to meet you," I said as
I shook hands with the director.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Matthews. And no, not a masochist, just someone
who loves Shakespeare and likes a challenge. And you are?" He said
turning to Kevin.

Kevin smirked. "Mr. Richardson."

That got a small laugh all around.

"No relation that I'm aware of," Kevin added.

"Anyway, Mr. Matthews..."

"Please: Josh."

"Okay, Josh. The boys have been telling me you are a musician," Mr.
Richardson started.

"An engineer and producer, actually. I wouldn't go so far as to call
myself a musician," I corrected.

"Oh. Well, the reason I'm asking is that we need music for the show, and
I was hoping to have someone write something original."

"Isn't it a bit late to be talking about that? The show is in less than
three weeks," I said.

"Yes, it is a bit late. I did have a local band lined up to do it, but
they dropped out last week and left me high and dry. I know it's late
notice and all, but I'm not expecting a fully scored show. Pre-show,
post-show and intermission is it. And maybe something for scene
changes."

"And sound effects and mood pads," I added.

"Oh no. Sound effects are already being taken care of and I don't want
any music during any of the scenes. We're doing this in modern dress, so
it would be fine that the music was rock," Mr. Richardson continued
hoping I would agree to help.

"Style of music is not an issue, but time is. I don't want to promise
something I can't deliver. I have a band in the studio for the next
couple months, so my time is limited..." 

"Josh," Kevin interrupted and pulled me towards the door. "Excuse us."

"Yea?" I asked Kevin.

"Let's do it," Kevin whispered.

"It's gonna cut into your studio time for the next couple weeks.
Besides, you can't do it anyway unless your label says you can," I
whispered back.

"They don't have to know. We'll use fake names. Come on. It'll be fun
and different from what we normally do. Get our creative juices flowing
for the BSB album," Kevin begged.

"Do you think we can write and record two hours worth of music in two
weeks? And what about the rest of the guys?"

"Don't worry about the rest of the guys; they'll love it. Two hours of
music should be easy enough with the way you improvise on the piano.
Please..." Kevin said and gave me a hopeful look.

"Okay. You can break it to the guys," I said.

Kevin smiled.

I rejoined Mr. Richardson who had been watching us hopefully. 

"I'll take care of it," I said.

"Thank you very much. This is gonna be great!" Mr. Richardson said.

"Thanks for the confidence, but you haven't heard anything yet," I
replied.

"I'm sure it'll be fine."

"Alright. So I can start on this, can you write down what you need, how
long it needs to be and what you want where by tomorrow?"

"Certainly. How should I get it to you?"

"How about emailing it to me?"

"Perfect. You'll have it in your mailbox before the sun rises tomorrow,"
Mr. Richardson said excitedly.

I gave him my email address and we rounded up the boys and went Home.
The kids thanked us over and over again on the way Home. They were
really excited about how well the show was going and, although tired, a
bit hyper from the speed-through at rehearsal.

"Thanks for doing this, Josh," Kevin said as we walked into our
apartment.

"Doing what?" Nick asked from the sofa where he was sitting watching TV.

"We're gonna write the music for the kid's production of 'Henry V,'"
Kevin said happily.

"That sounds familiar. Who wrote it?" Nick asked.

I stared at him in disbelief. "Are you serious?" I asked.

"I should know this, shouldn't I?" Nick asked.

"It's Shakespeare," Kevin stated.

"Doh!" Nick said and slapped himself on the forehead.

"I'd say so. I knew the education system in Florida was bad, but not
this bad," I said.

"I've read 'Romeo and Juliet,'" Nick said to temper my disbelief.

"Read or watched the movie?"

"Both, actually. Claire Danes is really cute," Nick said with a huge
grin.

I just sighed. 

"I'll let the rest of the guys know and we'll start work on it in the
morning," Kevin said and started for the door.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" I asked.

Kevin walked back and gave me a kiss. "Sorry."

"No, I mean we can't work on it tomorrow. We're going to Athens to pick
up James. Remember?"

"That's right. Well, it'll give some of us time to read the play, then,"
Kevin said looking at Nick.

"I'm thinkin' the movie may be required as well," I sighed.

"Unfortunately, you're probably right," Kevin agreed.

"You go tell the others and I'll go get the movie. Come on, Nick. Let's
go," I said as I grabbed my jacket to head out again.

Kevin headed across the hall and Nick and I went to find a copy of
"Henry V."

"I'm not as stupid as you think," Nick said as we got in the truck.

"I don't think you're stupid, Nick. Just uneducated. There's a
difference."

"I do have my High School diploma."

"What about university?"

"Who has the time? Maybe in a couple years when BSB isn't so popular."

"So you are planning to go?"

"Maybe. I mean, it's not like I really need it to find a good job in the
music biz."

"You're not going to be a cute pop star forever, Nick."

"I know, but hopefully I'll be dead by then."

"Why do you keep saying that?"

"What?"

"That you hope you'll be dead."

"It's just how I feel. I mean, other than BSB, what do I have going for
me? I don't have a girlfriend, and the chances of finding one I can
trust are pretty slim because of who I am. The few friends I had before
BSB hit it big just want to use me now. The rest of the guys have been
okay friends, but they all see me as more of a little brother than a
friend. Brian was the only one who treated me like a friend, but since
David, he doesn't have any time for me. This should be the peak of my
life, but it's... If this is the peak, then it's all down hill from
here. I'd rather be dead," Nick said in a sad matter-of-fact manner.

"It's not the peak of your life, Nick. You're just starting. Life isn't
a mountain you climb straight up to the peak and then all down hill.
It's more like a long hilly walk. Peaks and valleys all over the place."

"Whatever," Nick dismissed.

"No. Not 'whatever,'" I said as I pulled into a parking spot and shut
off the truck.

Nick started to get out, but I pulled him back.

"I'm serious, Nick."

"Can we just get the movie?"

"Nick. You do have friends and people who love you for you..."

"Just drop it, will you?! I'm not one of your kids and I'm not your
boyfriend. The only reason you even talk to me now is because you're
fucking Kevin," Nick yelled.

"Kevin is how I know you, not why I consider you a friend."

"Just drop it. Okay?" Nick said softly. "I'm just tired. I'll be fine in
the morning. I always am," he added almost inaudibly.

I realized I wouldn't get anywhere by continuing, so I let it go and got
out of the truck. Nick sat in the truck. I paused and waited for him to
join me. A minute later he got out and joined me. His eyes were red, but
dry. We got the movie and drove home in silence.

Nick mumbled something about being tired and going to bed and walked
straight to his room when we got Home. I flopped down on the sofa next
to Kevin and sighed.

"What happened?" Kevin asked.

"I don't know. He started talking about dying again and I asked him why.
He went on a long explanation about how worthless he is and how alone he
is and then blew up."

"Then it's starting again."

"I know."

"And there's nothing you can do except be there," Kevin added.

"I know."

"I'll give the movie to AJ and Howie, and then let's go to bed. Okay?"
Kevin said softly.

"Okay," I said and went to the bathroom to get ready for bed.

I was already in bed and half-asleep when Kevin got into bed and wrapped
his arms around me. I pulled him tight and fell asleep.

*** 

I awoke at six the next morning, as usual. I really didn't expect to see
Nick up, but he was waiting for me.

"I didn't think you'd be up for T'ai Chi this morning," I said to him.

"I'm sorry about last night, Josh. I just get depressed sometimes. I'm
feeling better today," Nick said honestly.

I walked up to him and gave him a hug. "I'm not upset with you, Nick.
I'm just concerned. I do care about you. Don't forget it and don't
question it."

"Don't get all mushy on me. I said I'm fine," Nick dismissed. "Let's do
this T'ai Chi stuff."

"Okay, Master Bates," I said with a grin.

"Whatever, Mr. Swallows," Nick said with an exaggerated sigh and started
up to the roof. 

It was a brisk 30¡F this morning. The cold wasn't really bothering me,
but Nick wasn't used to it and was shivering as he was trying to sit
quietly. I was starting him off with simple breathing exercises while
sitting, but he was shivering so much, that it wasn't doing much good.
To his credit, however, he didn't complain once. I finished and we
headed down to the warm apartment.

"It's hard to focus on breathing when you're shivering," Nick said in a
shaky voice as he made himself some hot cocoa.

"Yea, it is, but you'll get used to it. When you're doing it right and
focused, you won't even notice the cold," I said as I made a pot of
coffee.

"I only hope I get it before spring," Nick joked, his teeth still
chattering.

"Morning," Kevin mumbled as he walked into the kitchen.

"Morning," I said and gave him a quick kiss.

"Mornin' Kev," Nick said as he poured the hot water into his cup.

"What time are we leaving?" Kevin asked.

"As soon as possible. It's at least a three hour drive each way."

"Where's the movie at?" Nick asked.

"AJ and Howie have it," Kevin answered.

"Okay," Nick said and went across the hall to get the movie.

I poured Kevin and myself a cup of coffee and we sat down in the dining
room to eat breakfast.

Nick soon returned with Pedro and Davie right behind him.

"Look who I found in the hallway," Nick said.

"Can we go with you to pick up James, Dad?" Pedro asked.

"Sure. We'll leave at eight."

"Do you mind if I join you guys?" Nick asked.

"No, but don't you have a movie to watch?" Kevin answered.

"I can watch some now, and some tonight. I'll read some of it on the
drive."

"Okay," I said.

"Thanks," Nick said and walked into the living room to watch the movie.

Pedro and Davie joined him and explained all about the show, as well as
recited their lines with the movie.

Kevin and I finished breakfast and then took a quick shower. Nick hopped
in after we were done. Everyone was finally ready and we took off.

Pedro, Davie and Nick sat in the back seat with Nick in the middle.
Davie had his own script and Pedro and Nick shared Pedro's. They read
the script aloud the whole way there. It was pretty fun. Nick would make
up bizarre voices for the characters he was reading and the kids would
correct him when he mispronounced a word. We pulled up to James' dorm at
half-past-eleven.

Pedro and Davie jumped out of the truck right away and ran for the front
doors. I laughed as the rest of us got out of the truck and walked in.
Pedro and Davie were waiting for us.

"Is there a problem?" I laughed.

"Yea. What's James' room number?" Davie asked.

"410." No sooner had I got it out when they took off up the stairs. 

The rest of us walked up the stairs at a regular pace. When I reached
his room Pedro and Davie were already there and asking all sorts of
questions and generally being hyper. James was loving it and didn't
notice us in the doorway.

I cleared by throat loudly. James pushed Davie out of the way and
quickly walked over to give me a hug.

"Hey, Dad," he said as we hugged tightly.

"Hey, James. You ready to go?"

"Definitely. Let's get out of here," he said with a smile as we parted.
"Hey...Kevin? and, uh.. Nick?" James said, somewhat unsure. "Man, you
guys look different."

"Incognito," Kevin explained.

"Absolutely. Here. Take these," James said as he threw a duffel bag at
Pedro and another at Davie.

They both caught them and then threw them back at him.

"Carry your own dirty clothes," Davie said.

"Yea!" Pedro added.

"I'll take one of those for you," Nick offered.

"Thanks."

"No problem."

Nick threw the large duffel over his shoulder and started down the hall.
Pedro followed behind him and pulled down on the bag, giggling as Nick
would stop and push him back. The rest of us followed. 

We stopped to have lunch, and then drove Home. The drive was uneventful,
but loud. James joined in the reading of the script and it got quite
loud in the truck as they tried to out do each other. 

James would be using the sofa bed in AJ and Howie's room while he was
Home. AJ, Howie, Brian, Mark and Wil were watching the movie of "Henry
V" when we walked in. James dropped off his stuff and went down to 4th.
Nick, Kevin and I joined the others watching the movie. 

"I've got it," I said during the movie, jumped up and ran over to get my
"Complete Works of Shakespeare" book.

"What have you got?" Kevin asked as he followed behind me.

"The concept and lyrics for the music. I think..." I answered while
scanning the table of contents.

"Care to share?"

"'Henry V' is a history."

"And..."

"Something comes before and something comes after. Pre-show and
post-show. 'Henry IV' for pre-show. 'Henry VI' for post-show." I
explained.

"That's a great idea, but how are we going to summarize a three hour
show in a half hour of music?"

"We'll use Shakespeare, of course. Monologues are everywhere. If we pick
the right ones, then we'll tell the story of what leads up to the show
and hint at what follows. If I remember correctly...yes, here it is.
'Henry VI' starts with a kinda eulogy to Henry V. We can use that for
the post-show. We'll have to dig around for the pre-show stuff," I said
starting to quickly read through "Henry IV."

"Do you have another copy so I can scan through as well?" Kevin asked.

"Sorry. I only have this one. You could borrow a script from one of the
kids and scan for intermission stuff," I offered.

"Be right back," Kevin said and disappeared.

I grabbed a pad of post-it notes from my desk and sat down with the
script for "Henry IV." 

About a half-hour later, Nick, AJ, Howie and Brian walked into my
apartment. Kevin still wasn't back.

"So what is it you got?" Brian asked.

"Lyrics," I said and continued reading.

"Got it," Kevin said as he walked in.

I looked up from my script. "What took so long?"

"I went down to the office and made a photocopy of it."

"Can someone fill the rest of us in?" Howie asked.

I explained what I had in mind and they all agreed that it could be
pretty cool.

"So what do we do while you two are looking for lyrics?" Nick asked.

I thought for a moment. "Uh, well, we already have the post show lyrics
picked out, so you could work on making a song out of them."

"What are the lyrics?" Brian asked.

I flipped back to "Henry VI" and gave a brief explanation of the scene
before reading the opening lines about Henry's death. Brian said he'd
like to work on that one. We ran downstairs to the office to make a
photocopy of the lyrics. 

Brian grabbed the photocopy and Nick's arm. "Come on, Nick. Let's go
write a song."

Nick looked genuinely happy as they walked out to go to the studio.

"And us?" AJ asked.

"Give me an hour and I'll have something for you to work on," I said.

"Can do," Howie said. 

I rejoined Kevin in our apartment and continued going through "Henry
IV." About a half-hour later I had a handful of passages that would make
good lyrics. 

"Can you take a look at these and let me know what you think?" I asked
Kevin.

"Yea, sure," he said putting down his photocopies.

Kevin read through all the passages I'd marked. 

"I haven't read 'Henry IV,' but I get a pretty good idea of the story
from these. I think this'll work," Kevin said.

Just then there was a knock on the door and Howie stuck his head in.

"Have you got anything yet?" Howie asked.

"All ready. Just have to make some copies," I answered.

"Cool. We'll work on them tomorrow. AJ and I were thinkin' about hittin'
a club tonight. Interested?"

Kevin and I looked at each other, and then answered at the same time.
"No thanks."

Howie looked at us weird. "Okay... Well, are there any clubs around
here?"

"Most of them, actually," I answered.

"Which direction and which ones do you recommend?"

"Remember how to get to Kaldi's?"

He nodded.

"Go to Kaldi's and continue up the street. There's a bunch in that
area."

"Any recommendations?"

"Not my thing. I think they all kinda suck."

"Okay. Which one has good dancing?"

"Of the ones I know...I'd say DV-8. They at least had a mix of styles of
music the one time I've been there. I don't remember which street it's
on, but it's in the same area. If you get down there you can ask
someone."

"Thanks. Later," Howie said and disappeared.

"I'm gonna go photocopy these and then check up on Brian and Nick," I
said.

"Okay. I'll be right here," Kevin said as he went back to his reading.

I grabbed my jacket and went down to the office. I made a couple copies
and then headed over to the studio. I slipped into the studio as quietly
as possible. Brian was playing guitar and Nick was holding the lyrics
and singing. It sounded pretty good. Definitely not a BSB song. They
stopped and Nick scribbled something.

"I can't get this to fit in there. I think we need a change. The rhythm
changes," Nick said to Brian.

"I agree. What about -- Hey, Josh," Brian said noticing me across the
studio.

"Hey. How's it going?" I asked.

"Listen to what we have so far and tell us," Nick said.

"Okay. Play away."

Brian started the song. Slow chords. Sorrowful. Minor key. Perfect for
the eulogy. Nick started singing and I was surprised by his voice.
Apparently he did have some range because it didn't sound like the voice
he used for BSB stuff. 

"'Hung be the heavens with black, yield day to night. Comets, importing
change of times, brandish your crystal tresses in the sky...'" Nick
sang.

They got as far in the song as they had written, and then stopped and
looked at me.

"It sounds great, guys."

"Thanks," they both said.

"You don't think it's too dark?" Brian asked.

"For a eulogy? No. It's perfect."

"This is kinda fun -- doing something so different. I'm glad Kevin
talked you into it," Brian said.

"Good. And Nick: I'm impressed. I didn't realize you had the vocal range
for different styles," I said.

"Thanks...I think," Nick smirked.

"You're welcome. Howie and AJ went out clubbing a few minutes ago. You
can probably catch up to them if you're interested. No need to work on
it all night unless you're on a roll," I stated.

"I think we've about hit the end of our roll," Brian said.

"I'm still rollin'," Nick said.

"Come on, Nicky. I'm getting tired," Brian sighed.

"Fine," Nick said curtly.

"What's your problem?" Brian asked.

"Nothing. I'm just not tired yet."

Brian sighed. "Okay. We'll work another half-hour and then call it a
night."

"No. If you want to quit now, then don't continue because of me."

"Are you in your 'poor me' mood again?" Brian asked.

"Fuck you, Brian," Nick stated calmly and walked out.

"I guess that answers that question," Brian said to me.

"I guess it does," I replied.

"I hate it when he gets like this."

"Yea. I understand it's a pretty regular occurrence."

"Unfortunately. I figured he'd grow out of it as he got older. Guess
not," Brian sighed.

"He blew up at me a few nights ago. He said that you are the only friend
he has and now he doesn't even have that since you started dating
David," I added.

"That's ridiculous -- on both counts. We're around each other 24/7 when
on tour, and he's got the rest of the guys as well."

"I'm just telling you what he said."

"I think I'm gonna have to haul his ass off to a psychiatrist," Brian
stated.

"I think that's probably a good idea."

"Why does everything have to be so melodramatic?" Brian sighed.
"Sometimes it's almost as bad as those stories on Nifty."

"On where?" I asked.

"On Nifty. It's a gay story site. There's a whole bunch of stories about
us and 'NSYNC," Brian explained kinda sheepishly.

"Okay..."

"Yea, it's tacky, but it's kinda fun. They have us doing the craziest
things. It's like reading the tabloids: you know it's fake, but the
story is fun," Brian said as he put on his jacket to go.

"What's the strangest thing they have you guys doing?" I asked as we
walked down the stairs.

"I don't know. That'd be a difficult decision. Mostly I guess is that
one of us, usually me, falls in love with some guy in each city and
takes them on tour with us. Oh, and someone is always in the hospital
for some reason," Brian laughed.

"And what's so strange about those?" I joked.

"Just that it happens in every story..." Brian laughed. "I must have a
thousand boyfriends who all are the love of my life...and here one comes
now," Brian said as he saw David coming towards us.

David met us halfway across the campus and pulled Brian into a kiss. I
continued.

"Night, Josh," Brian yelled as I walked in the door.

I picked up my book from the office and headed upstairs. When I walked
into the apartment, Kevin was sitting at the dining room table going
through the script and Nick was in front of the TV watching "Real World"
on MTV. 

"How's it going?" I asked and gave Kevin a kiss on the neck.

"Done!" He said pushing away the papers.

There was a knock at the door and James walked in.

"Anyone up for some Euchre?" He asked.

"Euchre?" I asked.

"Yea. I play all the time in the dorms. I think it's a requirement,"
James smiled.

"I could kick your butt a bit. Vin?" I said.

"I'm not very good," he said.

"That's okay," James said happily. "We'll need a fourth. Nick? Up for
some Euchre?"

"What?" Nick asked as he pulled his attention from the TV.

"Up for some Euchre?" James asked again.

"Don't know it. I'll just watch TV," Nick said.

"Come on, man. We need a fourth person. We'll teach you," James prodded.

"I'm kinda into this show," Nick said without looking away from the TV.

"It's MTV. It'll be repeated a thousand times. Come on."

No answer.

"Nick! Come on. Let's play Euchre," James said and turned off the TV.

"I guess I don't have a choice," Nick said with a smile in spite of
himself.

"No, you don't," James stated.

After about a half-hour of teaching Nick and bringing Kevin up to speed,
we started to play for real. Kevin and Nick were both horrible players.
The game was fun, though, and stretched into the night. Eventually Nick
chilled out and I think was even having fun. I would even venture to say
that he and James were starting a friendship. I hadn't thought about it
before, but they were both about the same age. Nick was just a few
months older.

James. My first kid. The first one who had shown up at my door the
evening the story about Home ran in the paper. Now he was an adult --
mostly. It's so strange to look at your kid and see an adult. Even
stranger that I'm only eleven years older than this adult who calls me
"Dad." 

We broke off the game around 3AM when Kevin and I went to bed. James and
Nick stayed up and talked all night about who knows what. Nick was just
going to bed when Kevin and I got up at nine.

"Night," Nick said walking into his bedroom.

"Morning, actually. You just getting to bed?" I asked.

"Uh, huh," Nick mumbled and closed his door.

I went up to the roof for my morning T'ai Chi. Kevin made some coffee
and then came up on the roof to watch me.

"You could learn this too," I said when I saw him sitting on the bench
drinking his coffee.

"Maybe someday."

I finished my exercise and we went downstairs to have breakfast. 

***

We spent the next week writing the rest of the music for "Henry V," and
then the following week recording it. It was very much straight ahead
rock-n-roll. Not poppy at all. Anyway, it was all done on time and we
delivered the CD two days before Thanksgiving.

***

The night before Thanksgiving and Fermata smelled like food. Like lots
of food. Amy was having a ball with the volunteer cooks and the sheer
amount of food that was everywhere. We would have to make a huge dinner
and have it at Fermata so everyone could sit together, so I decided to
open it up to the community. The Walk-In Center and the Free-Store Food
Bank jumped at the opportunity and sent crates of food and dozens of
volunteers to help prepare it. 

AJ had been following Amy around, but she was giving him less attention
than usual with everything else going on. He finally just got out of the
way and watched her in her element. 

We would be serving dinner from noon until five tomorrow. Banquet tables
were set out and we could seat about 200 in the main hall and 40 in each
of the coffee houses if necessary. I really wanted to put Antheil's
"Ballet MŽcanique" in and blast it through the sound system, but held
back. It would have made a great score to the activity, though. Amy had
everything under control and I wasn't needed there, so Kevin and I
walked back Home. 

"What do you want to do now?" Kevin asked.

"I'm suddenly in the mood for 'Ballet MŽcanique.' Let's go listen to it
through the studio system," I said.

"Listen to a ballet? Aren't you supposed to watch a ballet?"

"'Ballet MŽcanique.' You haven't heard it?"

"Not that I know of."

"Oh, man. Vin, have I got a treat for you," I said with a smile.

"You're scaring me," Kevin smirked.

"Why? Just because the first time it was performed it caused a riot and
has hardly been performed since?" I laughed.

"It's that bad?"

"No. It's that good. It's just really difficult to perform. Something
about ten pianos, eight xylophones, four bass drums, sirens, electric
bells and airplane propellers, as well as time signature changes every
measure that tends to scare people off," I grinned.

"I can't imagine why?" 

We went up to get the CD out of my apartment and then went over to the
studio. I grabbed Howie, Nick, Billy and Pedro along the way. They all
sat down around the studio while I turned everything on and cued up the
CD.

"Here we go," I said with a smile and dropped down on the sofa next to
Kevin.

The first three tracks of the CD were pretty tame.

"This is boring," Billy said.

"This is okay, Josh, but not something that could cause a riot," Kevin
added.

"Just wait for the Ballet," I smiled.

"This isn't the Ballet?" Nick asked.

"No. These are the other pieces that were played at the same concert.
All same composer, though."

The "String Quartet No. 1" was coming to a close and I started smiling.
I loved to shock people with music. As the opening noise of "Roll One"
started I broke into a small laugh. Everyone's eyes got a little wider
at the noise -- somewhat melodic and very rhythmic. Even if I was
listening to it alone, this piece always made me smile. Such genius. I
just closed my eyes and let the sound engulf me.

"Is that a fire in the background?" Howie asked.

"Airplane propellers," I answered.

"Oh."

The music continued through the next two "Rolls" and then ended.
Everyone was still braced for the next barrage. 

"Well?" I asked.

"I think I'll be awake for the next week," Nick smirked.

"That's even weirder that than band you had in here," Billy said and
then left.

"Howie?" I asked.

"See if you can make a vocal arrangement for it so we can sing it on our
next tour," Howie said.

"Which part do you want? The propellers, the bells, the drums, the
sirens, the xylophones or the pianos?" Kevin asked.

"I'll take xylophones."

"Okay, you've made your point. You all have no taste in music," I said.

"Play some music first," Nick said.

"Shouldn't you be somewhere, Nick?" I asked jokingly.

"What time is it?"

"9:30."

"Shit! My folk's plane lands in ten minutes!"

"You're folks are coming?" We all asked.

"Yea. Of course. I told you that," Nick said.

"No you didn't," Howie countered.

"Yea I did. Just after... Oh, well, my folk are coming. I'm supposed to
meet them at the airport and take them to the hotel. Can I borrow your
car, Kevin?"

"Do you know how to get there?" I asked.

"Uh... Can you come with me, Josh?"

"I'll drive. Let's go before they realize you forgot," I said and got up
to go.

"It's not like they expect you to be on time," Kevin jabbed at Nick.

Nick gave Kevin the finger as he ran down the stairs. I was right behind
him. 

"I could have sworn I told everyone," Nick said as we pulled out of the
garage.

"I think I would have remembered."

"Oh well. They'll expect me to be late anyway," Nick said sheepishly.

Traffic was light and we were going a bit over the speed limit. We got
to the airport in fifteen minutes. I dropped Nick off at the loading
entrance and went to find a parking spot. When I walked in I saw the
whole Carter clan standing just inside the door waiting for me. Nick
made the introductions on the way to the car. They all talked non-stop
while I drove them downtown to the Omni Hotel. I dropped everyone off
and drove Home. Kevin was on his PowerBook when I walked into our
apartment.

"Anything interesting?" I said as I walked over and wrapped my arms
around him from behind.

"Not really. Just answering fan mail. Make it on time?"

"Yea, I guess. They didn't leave and we didn't have to wait."

"Nick stay with them?"

"Mm hmm. That means we have the apartment to ourselves tonight," I said
and slid my hand under Kevin's shirt to rub his belly.

"Great. I'll get the oil," Kevin said and ran into the bedroom.

"Oil?"

"Massage oil. I want a massage. Nude, of course," Kevin smiled.

"And what do I get out of it?"

"Oh, I'm sure something can be arranged," Kevin said as he pulled some
towels and a blanket out of the linen closet.

I spread out the blanket on the living room floor and then spread the
towels on top. Kevin denied me the pleasure and got undressed himself.
He did, however, undress me. Kevin laid down on his stomach. I warmed
the oil on my hands and then started the massage. I wasn't being gentle
and Kevin was groaning and grunting. I'm sure it didn't sound good to
anyone in the hallway. After I finished the back he rolled over so I
could get the front. I mostly ignored his cock as it would swell up, and
then go down, and then swell up again. As I finished I laid down on him
and gave him a kiss.

"So now it's my turn. Right?" I said hopefully.

"Yea," Kevin said sleepily. "Just give me a minute. Where'd you learn to
give such a great massage?"

"Acting class."

"Must have been some acting class."

"Everyone was clothed. It was part of relaxation exercises."

"Oh. Too bad."

"No. Considering the guy I was paired up with, it was a good thing," I
smiled.

Kevin sighed. "Okay. I'm gonna fall asleep if I don't get up," he said
and rolled me off him so he could sit up. I rolled onto my stomach and
waited for him to begin. 

Instead of using more oil, Kevin rubbed his body over mine before
starting. He was being way too gentle.

"I'm not gonna break. Put a little muscle into it," I said.

"How's this?"

"Uhhg. Better," I groaned.

When he finished the back I rolled over and he started the front. 

The lock clicked on the apartment door and Nick walked in.

"Hey, guys...Uh, oh, sorry... I'll leave..." Nick stuttered wide-eyed
and started to back out the door.

Kevin started laughing.

"Nick!" I yelled. "We're just giving each other a massage," I said and
then started laughing myself.

"Don't let me disturb you. I'll just go to my room and go to bed," Nick
said as he shut the door and started walking towards his room looking
away from us.

"Why aren't you staying with your family?" I asked.

Nick stopped to answer and looked at us as he spoke. "They only got...
Can you at least cover up while I'm talking to you?"

Kevin moved up so he was straddled across my crotch. Nick was behind
him, so he couldn't see anything.

"Oh yea. That's better," Nick rolled his eyes. "I'll have nightmares for
years about this image."

"Get over it. We've all seen each other naked on numerous occasions,"
Kevin said.

"Well, then I appear to be over-dressed," Nick smirked and started to
get undressed.

"I asked why aren't you staying with your family?"

"My clothes and my bed are here. I'll join them in the morning," Nick
said as he dropped his pants.

"You can stop right there," Kevin said as Nick reached for the waistband
of his boxers.

"'Get over it. We've all seen each other naked on numerous occasions,'"
Nick mocked.

"You proved your point. Now go to bed," I said.

"Thank you," Nick said smugly and walked into his bedroom and shut the
door.

"Now where were we?"

"If you keep sitting where you're at..." I smiled as my cock started to
rise.

"No. No. No. Just a massage," Kevin laughed and pulled back to where he
was before Nick walked in. 

After the massage was over we hopped in the shower to clean off the oil
and then went to bed.

***

Thanksgiving morning I started Nick off with a short T'ai Chi movement
routine and then let him work on it while I did my full routine. Kevin
had coffee ready when we went downstairs and was making phone calls. He
hung-up a few minutes later and joined us for breakfast.

"Everything's set," Kevin said.

"For?" I asked.

"This evening. The limo should be here to pick us up at five. We should
be at my mom's around 6:30-7:00. Spend the night, and then be back
tomorrow around noon."

"Brian's gonna come out to his folks?" Nick asked.

"That's the plan," Kevin answered.

"I'm glad I won't be there."

"You think it's gonna be that bad?" I asked.

"I don't know. Brian's folks are pretty religious."

"They accept me," Kevin said.

"Yea, but you aren't their son," Nick countered.

"I'm sure it'll be fine," Kevin assured us, as well as himself.

We finished breakfast and Nick took a shower before heading out to join
his family. Kevin and I had a quick shower before heading down to
Fermata to see if there was anything we could help with. Amy put Kevin
to work mashing potatoes and put me to work mixing dough for the dinner
rolls. We helped out until eleven, and then went back to Home to get
cleaned up. 

At a quarter-till-noon, we gathered all the kids. We had a prayer of
thanks at Brian's insistence -- which he lead -- and headed over to
Fermata. There were a couple news crews interviewing people walking in.
The BSB guys sneaked in without being seen and the kids slowly made
their way in. I knew I'd have to talk to them sooner or later, so I
walked right up to one of the reporters.

"And here we have the man behind this charity Thanksgiving dinner,
Joshua Matthews," the reporter said.

"No. I'm just a small part of it. There are a lot of people who have put
much more work into this that I have. Particularly the volunteers from
the Walk-in Center and the Free-Store Food Bank, as well as Amy Johnson,
the head cook for Fermata," I said.

The reporter asked a few more questions that I effectively dodged taking
any credit for. They finally stopped the interview and the cameraman
went elsewhere to get some generic shots.

"Do you mind if we go inside and interview some other people? Perhaps
this Amy Johnson person?" The reporter asked.

"Don't you have a family to be having dinner with?" I asked.

"I'm working right now. Family can come later. This is a story that
people want to know about," she answered.

"Family should come first, but, to answer your question: I'd prefer you
keep the cameras and interviews outside. I know that Amy is very busy
right now and people should be able to have a nice peaceful dinner."

"We won't get in the way."

"If you want to come in and have dinner with everyone, then you and your
crew are welcome, but cameras and recorders stay outside," I said
firmly, but friendly.

"Maybe we will," she smiled.

God, I hate reporters. I left her and headed inside. I told the guards
at the doors to not let any cameras or recorders inside. 

The place was packed. It's good we reserved off seats for Home. All the
other available spots were taken -- with more people waiting outside.
There were dozens of families and lots of single people. Some I
recognized from the neighborhood and some I'd never seen before. I
greeted a few people and eventually made my way over to the food line.
The food was wonderful and plentiful. I stuffed myself and then gave my
seat up for someone else as I walked around talking to people. We headed
back around three, just as Nick and his family arrived, and hung out
with the kids until the limo came at five.

Kevin and I lounged on one side of the limo and David and Brian sat on
the other side. Brian was visibly nervous and they talked quietly back
and forth. I just wrapped my arms around Kevin and fell asleep.

"Wake up. We're here," Brian said nudging us.

We slowly woke up and stretched.

"You sleep at all?" Kevin asked Brian.

"You kidding?" Brian tried to joke.

"I'm sure it'll be fine," Kevin reiterated.

"Probably," Brian said and squeezed David's hand.

The chauffeur opened the door. 

"Everyone ready?" Kevin asked and looked around. "Let's go."

We climbed out of the limo and walked down the sidewalk about
half-a-block to get to Kevin's mom's house. The driveway was full of
cars, as well as the street -- which was why we had parked so far away.
As soon as we got in front of the house an older woman ran out the door.
Kevin left my side and ran up and hugged her.

"Mom, this is Josh," Kevin said as I caught up to them.

She looked me over for a second and then gave me a hug. "Nice to finally
meet the man my boy has been raving about."

I blushed. 

"Hey, Aunt Anne," Brian said as he and David walked up.

Anne looked at Brian and David. "Yep. You two are in love," she said
with a smile and hugged them both. 

Brian looked shocked at Kevin. Kevin just shrugged.

"Kevin didn't say anything," Anne caught on and said.

"Then how..." Brian started.

"Intuition. Besides, it's obvious from the look in your eyes. That and
you're holding hands," Anne laughed.

Brian blushed and let go of David's hand. Anne grabbed their hands and
put them back together.

"Now don't feel you have to do that," she said.

Just then Brian's mom and dad came out the door. Brian and David parted
again. Anne looked confused.

"I haven't told them yet," Brian whispered and went to greet his
parents.

"This should be an interesting Thanksgiving," Anne laughed and ushered
the three of us into the house, leaving Brian with his parents.

The house was full of people -- from grandparents to infants. David and
I were introduced all around and then sat in the family room talking
with people as we were fed pie and coffee. Kevin was all smiles. I made
a face at him and he stuck his tongue out at me just before he was
attacked by one of his younger cousins. They roughhoused a bit and the
cousin soon dragged him off. 

It had been about forty-five minutes since we'd arrived and we still
hadn't met Brian's parents and they still hadn't come inside.

"Brian must be telling them now," I whispered to David.

"Yea. I think so. I told him I would be there with him," he said
somewhat sadly.

At that moment Brian walked in with his folks. He did the obligatory
greeting of everyone as his parents went to the kitchen.

"Meet me in the kitchen," Brian whispered to both of us as he walked by.
"Where's Kevin?"

"I don't know. He got dragged off," I answered.

"Everything okay?" David asked and squeezed Brian's hand.

"Uh, yea. I think it will be," Brian said somewhat distracted and
started to walk away. "Five minutes."

"Time to meet the 'rents," I said cheerfully as I pulled David up.

We made our way to the kitchen to find Anne talking with Brian's parents
in hushed tones. I felt Kevin's arm around me a second later. 

"Brian told them," he whispered into my ear.

"I know."

Brian walked into the room. He sighed and gave David a forced smile
before grabbing his hand and pulling him over to meet his parents. He
introduced David. They shook his hand formally, but it was obviously
forced. Not much was said. 

"Have you met Josh, yet?" Anne said and motioned for us to join them.

I received the same cold handshake. It was uncomfortably quiet.

"Well, I think you should get to know each other," Anne said to David,
Brian and his folks. "Let's go you two," she said to Kevin and I as she
pulled us out of the room.

"How are they taking it?" Kevin asked his mom after we were out of the
kitchen.

"They'll be fine once they get over that whole ridiculous 'burning in
hell thing,'" she smiled. "Now come and tell me what you've been doing."
She guided us into the living room and we spent the next couple hours
talking with her and some other family members.

The house was pretty much cleared out by ten. Brian left with David and
his parents around 9:30. Kevin and I helped Anne clean up. I was washing
dishes and Kevin was in the other room vacuuming. I turned around to see
Anne smiling at me.

"What?" I said with a smile.

"Oh, sorry. I'm just so happy. You seem like a really nice man and Kevin
is happier than I've seen him since his father died. I'm glad you two
found each other."

I gave her a smile and continued washing dishes. She dried and asked me
all sorts of questions about the kids at Home. She was acting like she
had forty-one new grandkids. Kevin joined us to put the dishes away.

"Mom!" Kevin admonished as Anne was asking about the kids.

"What, dear?"

"You'll meet them all at Christmas."

"But I should know a little about them beforehand, now shouldn't I?"

"I suppose."

"Then don't 'mom' me, young man," Anne said firmly, but with a smile.

I laughed.

After we had everything cleaned up, Anne said goodnight and went to bed.
We went to Kevin's old bedroom, which was now a guest bedroom.

"I think your mom likes me," I said.

"Definitely," Kevin said with a kiss.

We got ready for bed and fell asleep after about a half-hour of pillow
talk.

***

I awoke at seven the next morning. I left Kevin asleep in bed and went
out to the back yard to do my exercises. I noticed Anne watching me from
the kitchen window. When I finished and went inside, Kevin was up and
sitting at the kitchen table. The kitchen smelled of french toast and
coffee. We had a nice leisurely breakfast and just talked and drank
coffee until David and Brian arrived around ten. The limo was waiting,
so we said our good-byes and left.

"So?" Kevin and I said as soon as the limo pulled away from the curb.

"It'll take some time for them to get used to it, but I think it'll be
okay," Brian sighed.

"Yea. This morning they even acknowledged my existence and fed me
breakfast," David somewhat joked.

"That's a start," I said.

The conversation was slow and sparse. Brian was obviously emotionally
exhausted and didn't really feel like talking. He soon fell asleep with
his head on David's lap. The rest of us were quiet and let him sleep.

We got back in time to take the kids to the first dress rehearsal for
"Henry V." Kevin and I sat and watched the show for the first time. Mr.
Richardson thanked us again for the music and raved about it a bit
before rushing off to take care of something before rehearsal started.
The show was surprisingly good. Not RSC by any means, but darn good for
a middle school production. The set was bare stage with the exception of
a few platforms. Everything was defined by the lighting, which was
designed by a local designer who had volunteered to teach some workshops
and design the show.

The dress rehearsal ended at seven. We gathered the kids and went to
Uno's Pizza for dinner before going Home. Kevin and I walked in to our
apartment to find Nick on the sofa watching some old '80's comedy on
Comedy Central. 

"Did your folks leave already?" Kevin asked.

"Yea. This afternoon."

"You should tell them to stay a bit longer next time. I hardly got to
talk to them at all," I said.

"Yea, okay," Nick dismissed. He was obviously back to being depressed.

"Let's take a shower and go to bed," Kevin said.

"Good idea. Night, Nick," I said.

He just grunted. Kevin and I took a shower and made love before going to
sleep.

***

The next couple weeks were spent working on writing songs for their next
album. I mostly left them to themselves to write the songs -- only
coming in to listen and comment when asked. A dozen or so songs were
written. Only about two of which were any good. They also had a few
appearances they had to make and were gone for a day or two at a time.

The kid's production of "Henry V" came and went. Kevin and I went every
night. The opening night performance was horrible as the kids had their
first audience, but they got better each night. The closing night was as
good or better than the dress rehearsal we had seen. 

***

All too soon, it was Christmas time. Brian's parents asked him and David
to come down to Lexington for Christmas. Ryan and Tina were going back
to New York to spend Christmas with their families. Nick, AJ and Howie
were flying back to Florida to spend Christmas with their families.
Kevin's mom was coming up to stay with us the 23rd through the 27th.
Kevin was convinced it was because she was so thrilled that she now had
grandkids from her gay son. I agreed. Only one of Kevin's brothers would
be joining us on Christmas day.

Everyone who was flying out left on the same day, so we only had one
large trip to the airport. Unfortunately, not everyone's plane was
leaving at the same time, so we spent most of the day in the airport. We
got Home in time to have dinner before Kevin's mom arrived.

We were just finishing dinner when Kevin's cell rang. It was his mom.
She was lost somewhere downtown. Kevin handed the phone to me and I
guided her through the streets as we walked down to the garage to greet
her. She pulled into the garage in a big Subaru station wagon. The back
of it was packed.

"Hey, Mom," Kevin said and gave her a hug as she got out of the car.

"Hey, Anne," I said and gave her a hug after she and Kevin parted.

"Mom," she admonished.

"Mom," I said.

"That's better. Now get some of my grandkids down here to help unload
the car," she said with a smile.

"What all did you bring, Mom?" Kevin asked as he pulled out a box and
started to open it.

"Now never you mind," Anne said closing the box back up. "Just some
goodies. You'll get yours in time, but you'll have to wait like everyone
else."

I laughed and called the kids in Second to come over and help. Anne was
soon overwhelmed with eight kids, but she seemed to enjoy them. We soon
had the car unpacked and everything put in AJ & Howie's apartment. Anne
would be staying there for her visit. James stayed in my other bedroom.
After she was settled we introduced her to the kids, one Family at a
time. She was having a ball. It was soon late and we escorted Anne back
to her room. 

***

Christmas eve morning we had breakfast with Anne and then wrapped
presents until early afternoon. The way Christmas worked at Home is that
each Family would basically have their own Christmas together, and then
we'd all get together in the music studio and play music and eat until
whenever. This year, however, the gathering would be in the art studio
since the music studio was no longer a viable option. The kids in each
Family would trade names and make a gift or offer a service for that
person. Each Family would also make a gift for all of the other
Families. I would get everyone one gift. This way everyone got two
personal gifts and four family gifts. It seemed to work well. The day
was a bustle of activity. As soon as the kids had gone to bed I got all
their presents divided up by Family and ready to go. Anne, apparently,
had something for everyone and signed all the cards, "From Grandma
Anne." Kevin had also gotten something for every kid.

"We've got quite a pile," Kevin laughed.

"Ah, now I get to see Santa at work," James joked.

"You didn't see anything," I said back.

"Of course not."

"Besides, you can help now that you're all grown up and have discovered
Santa's secret," I smirked.

"Okay, where's my red suit?" James asked.

"Hmm. Must still be at the cleaners. You'll have to go as your are."

"Now I didn't forget anyone, did I?" Anne asked.

"Nope. I think you got everyone. You didn't have to get them anything,
Anne," I said.

"Were you talking to me?" She smirked.

"You didn't have to get them anything, MOM," I corrected.

"That's better. And, of course I didn't have to get them anything. I
wanted to."

"Well, let's start this so we get done before they wake up," Kevin
laughed.

We gathered up the packages for Second Family and quietly deposited them
under their tree. Back upstairs and the same thing for each of the other
Families. We were finished by 1:30AM and went to bed.

***

Christmas morning we awoke around eight. I'm sure the kids were already
up and had opened their gifts. When I opened the door to get the
baguettes I found five packages with, "To Dad & Kevin, From Santa." On
them. Cute. I guess I was Santa's dad, too. 

Anne joined us and we exchanged our gifts. 

I ignored Kevin and handed Anne her gifts first. She protested, but we
made her open her's first. I had gotten her a small metal sculpture by a
local artist. I thought it would look good in her house and she loved
it. Kevin got her a blue iBook. Anne gave him a weird look.

"I don't know anything about computers, honey," she said.

"Now's your chance to learn. I also got you an internet connection so
you can email everyone," Kevin smiled.

"It's really not that difficult," I said. "We'll have you up to speed
before you go back, and you can always call with any questions."

"Thank you. Both of you," Anne said and grabbed our gifts from her and
handed them to us.

We both opened our presents at the same time and pulled out matching
wool sweaters. Really nice wool sweaters. We thanked her and I handed
Kevin his gift from me.

"This is kinda big," Kevin said shaking the box.

"Packaging," I smirked.

Kevin took his time opening it very slowly.

"Just rip the paper, Kevin. I'm not getting any younger," Anne said.

Kevin laughed and ripped back the paper. It was a new PowerBook.

"Thanks, Josh," Kevin said and gave me a kiss.

"You're welcome."

"Now yours," Kevin said and handed me my gift from him.

I opened the package. Inside was a card that said, "This is a coupon
good for one romantic week in Paris with me this spring." I smiled and
gave Kevin a kiss. "Thank you."

We all opened the presents from the kids and then made our way
downstairs to each of the Families. Anne had given them all small boxes
filled with cookies, fudge and candy. Kevin gave her a hurt look.

"Don't I get any of your cookies and fudge?" He pouted.

"I've got plenty more. Now stop being such a baby," she smiled and
slapped him on the arm.

Kevin's oldest brother arrived later that day when we were over in the
art studio with everyone. We all played around together all day. I was
able to push some of the piano playing off on to Kevin and just watched
everything as I sipped my hot cider. 'This is as good as it gets,' I
thought.

*** 

Tuesday morning and all was chaos. Our flight to Orlando didn't leave
until two, but forty kids and a dozen adults had to get ready for it. 

I was up at five and did my morning exercises with Nick. Kevin was up
and had breakfast and coffee ready when we came down at six. 

At seven I started my rounds to make sure everyone was up and getting
ready. No need to worry. This was the first time flying for all the kids
and they were all very excited. Every one was up and packing anything
they thought they might need or running around fretting about what they
may have forgotten to pack. I only gave everyone a large carry on duffel
bag for clothes so no one would try to pack too much.

I checked over the younger kid's packs to make sure they had packed what
they would really need. We'd only be there seven nights, so I'm not sure
why some of them packed every pair of underwear they had. I lightened a
few packs of extras and had everyone stack their packs by the door as
soon as they were ready. I also made sure they all had eaten breakfast.
Most hadn't.

By nine, everyone was ready and the bus had pulled up out front. I
started the procession to the bus. David and Tina stood at the bus and
made sure the bags got stowed underneath and everyone got aboard. Ryan
handed out plane tickets to each kid as soon as he was seated in the
bus. 

Susan and Nick couldn't get the time off and wouldn't be joining us. The
BSB guys got on the bus as soon as all the kids were on. I grabbed my
bag and joined them.

"Everyone on board?" I asked Tina as I walked up to the bus.

"Unless we've got some kids I don't know about," she laughed.

"If we do then they're getting left behind. Sure you and Ryan don't want
to come with us?" I asked Tina.

"And give up a week of quiet with my man? You must be kidding," Tina
laughed. 

Ryan appeared at the door and handed me my ticket as well as the package
with all the return tickets.

"Everyone accounted for and ticketed," Ryan said.

"Great. Enjoy the quiet while we're gone," I said with a laugh, gave
them both a hug and got on the bus.

"That's everyone. Let's go," I said to the bus driver.

The bus was quieter than I would have imagined, but all the kids were
looking over their tickets. I dropped down into a seat beside Kevin with
a sigh as the bus pulled away.

Kevin just smiled and held my hand. I closed my eyes and tried to relax
until we got the airport to start the madness again.

We pulled up to the airport at a little before eleven. All the kids
stood up immediately and tried to get out.

"Sit back down!" I yelled.

"Okay. This is how it works," I yelled after they had sat back down.
"See the person next to you? That is now your buddy for this entire
trip. Stay with your buddy. Understand?"

They all nodded or said yes.

"Good. Now when we get off the bus everyone stays together. Wait on the
sidewalk and we'll hand all the bags out. Don't wander around and don't
lose your tickets. As soon as everyone has their bags, we'll all go
check in. Remember: Everyone stays together. Understood?"

Again they affirmed.

"Okay. Can you start pulling out bags?" I asked David.

"I'm on it," he replied and got off the bus. 

Brian started to get up.

"Hey. I didn't say you could get out yet, did I?" I said to Brian.

"Uh, sorry," Brian said and sat back down. 

I didn't think he'd take me seriously. I started laughing. "Get out of
here, Brian!"

Brian stuck his tongue out at me and got out. I walked about one-third
of the way back and let those kids get out. As soon as it was clear I
stepped back row by row until the bus was empty. I checked all the seats
as I made my way out. By the time I got out everyone had their bag.
Kevin had grabbed mine.

"I've got an idea to make this a little easier," Kevin said as he handed
me my bag.

"What's that?" I asked.

"We've got eight adults here. Each adult takes a few kids. It'll be
easier than you trying to keep track of forty kids by yourself."

"That's a good idea," I said. I explained to everyone what we were doing
and split them into their groups. Once that was done we filed inside. 

The check-in line was empty, but we quickly fixed that. It took 45
minutes to check everyone in, and then another hour to get past the
security checkpoint. Security was tight because of the fear of psychos
using Y2K as a reason to blow things up. 

A quick train ride out to the terminal and then a walk to the last
terminal to wait for boarding. Most of the kids rode the moving sidewalk
instead of walking. It was such a novelty for them. By the time we got
to our gate, it was only a short wait until boarding started. Because we
were such a large group and had most of the DC-9, they boarded us first.


The kids were now so excited that you could have run the plane on kid
power. They were looking out the windows, pushing all the buttons and
generally checking everything out. The older kids were trying to act
cool about it, but they were still excited. 

Once we were all seated and the packs were in the overhead compartments,
they let the remaining passengers on. There were only about thirty other
people, so we did have the majority of the small plane. Eventually the
door closed and the engines started to rev up. So did the kids' energy.
The pilot made the usual announcements as we taxied out to get in line
to take off. The stewardesses gave the safety instructions and made sure
everyone had their seatbelt on before taking their seats. Fifteen
minutes later or so it was our turn to take off. I really wanted to
watch the kids' faces as we took off, but that would be impossible. 

The engines throttled up and we started moving forward. Fairly soon we
were in the air. I heard more than a few sighs from the kids and had to
smile. As soon as we reached cruising altitude, the stewardess came
around with drinks and snacks. I just closed my eyes and slept for the
rest of the flight.

I awoke as we started our decent into Orlando International Airport.
Kevin was still asleep beside me. I gave him a slight nudge and he
opened his eyes.

"We there, yet?" He asked in a groggy voice.

"We're making our decent; so we're either there or crashing," I joked.

Kevin smiled and stretched. 

The landing was fine and we eventually got out of the plane and into the
terminal. We only had carry-on, so no need to wait for our luggage. The
bus was waiting to take us to the hotel. We checked in and got everyone
to their respective rooms. It was 6:30 by the time we were settled and
everyone was hungry. 

"Okay, Vin. Where to we take 48 people to dinner without a reservation
where they won't freak out?" I asked.

"We already have a reservation," Kevin said with a smile.

"Really? Where?" I asked.

"Hard Rock. I told you I'd taken care of everything."

"Well, I'm glad you did. Shall we round up the troops?"

"Let's go."

I'm amazed that no one was trampled in the stampede to the bus for
dinner, but no one was. Our reservation was for seven and we made it
there just in time. It was a pleasant, if noisy, dinner. We got back to
the hotel around 9:30. 

I suggested to the kids that they relax and get some sleep because
they'd be running around all day tomorrow. Well, at least they all went
to a room.

Nick came to the room Kevin and I were staying in.

"You're in the room next door with James," I said to him when he walked
in.

"I know. But you two are going out for a few hours," Nick said with a
grin.

"Are we?"

"Yep," Kevin answered.

"Where to?" I asked.

"Well, I've seen where you live, but you haven't seen where I live.
We'll just check on my apartment and then go out someplace quiet," Kevin
said.

"Let's not be out too late. We're going to Disney tomorrow."

"Then we'd better get going. Thanks, Nick."

"No prob."

We walked down to the front desk to get a rental car and briefly met AJ
and Howie's mothers who were on the way up. We handed the key to the
valet and waited for the car. Fairly soon we were on the highway. About
fifteen minutes after that we pulled into an apartment complex. Kevin
waved to the guards as we walked in the front door and they waved him
past. We took the elevator to the sixth floor, down the hall to the
right and into the apartment he shared with Brian and Howie.

"This is home," Kevin announced as we walked in the door. "Well, kinda,"
he added with a smirk.

I looked around. It was a nice modern apartment, but looked like someone
started to move in, but didn't bother to unpack anything they didn't
absolutely need.

"Seems kinda bare," I said.

"We're not here enough to make it all homey. Okay. You've seen it. I've
seen that it's still here. Let's go," Kevin said and ushered me out.

"That was quick."

"It's just an apartment. I just wanted to check to make sure everything
was okay."

"Okay," I laughed.

We got in the car and headed south. As soon as we pulled onto John Young
Parkway I started to get a bit tense.

"Where are we going, Vin?" I asked.

"To a jazz club in Kissimmee. Why?"

"Okay," I said noticeably relieved.

"Why?"

"Because my father lives around here and I was starting to worry you
were going to..."

"You're father lives around here?! Let's stop by," Kevin interrupted.

"Kevin..." I started.

Kevin pulled over to the side of the road. "What? Don't you want your
father to meet me?"

"It's not that... It's that I don't want you to meet my father, or
rather, I don't want to meet my father."

"Why? I thought you were out to your parents."

"Yea. That's not the issue. It's just... My father and I just barely get
along if we stick to certain topics. He's not a very warm or
understanding person."

"It can't be all that bad considering how you turned out. Come on. We're
in the neighborhood...and you've met my mom..." Kevin pleaded.

I sighed and realized I didn't have much choice. "Fine. But don't say I
didn't warn you."

"I've been warned. Now which direction," Kevin said happily as he pulled
back onto the highway.

"Just go straight. We'll turn right on Hunter's Creek Drive," I said.

"Okay, I know that neighborhood. A couple people from our management
company live there."

"I'm sorry."

"Huh?"

"Nothing. I just don't like the neighborhood. It's too plastic and
homogeneous looking."

"This is Florida, Josh," Kevin smirked.

"I know, and one of the many reasons I don't live here anymore. Turn
right at the next light."

"You lived down here?"

"Only for a few months after graduation," I said and looked for the
entrance into my father's subdivision. "Okay. Left here and then an
immediate right... Okay. Slow down a bit. It's on the right just around
this bend. 2930."

Kevin pulled into the driveway and shut off the car. My hands were
sweating and I dreaded going inside. At least my little brother, Adam,
was home -- or his car was.

Kevin gave me a quick kiss. "Come on. Let's go meet Frankenstein," he
said cheerfully.

"More like Spock after a stroke," I tried to joke back.

We walked up to the front door and Kevin rang the doorbell. The dogs
started barking and I could hear my father yelling at them to be quiet
as he made his way to the door.

"What!" My father yelled as he opened the door, and then stopped.
"Joshua. What are you doing here?" He asked calmly.

"Just in the neighborhood and decided to stop by," I said and shook his
hand.

"And who do you have with you?"

"This is Kevin. Kevin, this is Arthur, my father."

"Nice to meet you," Kevin said as he shook hands with my father.

"Is this the guy you've been sleeping with?" My father asked.

"This is my boyfriend, yes," I answered while trying to remain calm.

My father nodded and just looked at us.

Luckily or not, my stepmother appeared.

"Who's at the door, Art? Joshua!" She yelled and pulled me into a hug.
It was strange how well I got along with my stepmother and even stranger
why she would have married my father and have been with him all these
years.

"And is this Kevin?" Julia, my stepmother, asked with a twinkle in her
eye. 

"That's me," Kevin said.

"Nice to finally meet you. I'm Julia," she said and gave him a hug.

"You too," Kevin said and gave me a confused look -- I'm sure because of
the night and day difference between my father and stepmother.

"He's pretty cute," she said to me with a wink. "Come on in you two."

My father fell in behind us.

"Adam! Your brother is here!" Arthur yelled and beat on Adam's bedroom
door.

"What!" Adam yelled at the rude interruption as he opened the door.

"You're brother is here."

"Which one?"

"Joshua."

"I'll be out in a minute. I'm on the phone," Adam said.

"Make it quick," Arthur said and then joined us in the kitchen. 

Julia sat down at the table with us and talked away. Arthur made some
coffee and stood at the counter without saying anything. A few minutes
later Adam came out.

"Hey, Josh," he said and walked over to give me a hug. "What are you
doing in town?" He was quite a bit taller than when I had last seen him.


"Hey, Adam. We're down for the New Year's performance at Universal."

"You engineering?"

"Nope. Kevin's performing. This is Kevin. Kevin, Adam."

"Hey, man," Adam nodded his hello. "What band are you in?"

"Backstreet Boys," Kevin answered.

Adam started laughing. "Backstreet Boys?!"

"I take it you're not a fan," Kevin said somewhat good humored.

"Sorry," Adam said and tried to stop himself from laughing. "I like real
music. Not that poppy little girl and queer crap you guys play." 

I slapped Adam on the back of the head. He slapped me back.

"Hey! I'm entitled to my opinion."

"There's also a thing called tact. Try it sometime," I said.

We continued talking with Adam and Julia for about an hour while Arthur
stayed back and watched, or washed dishes or otherwise occupied himself
in the kitchen. It was finally time to get out of there. The exit went
about the same way as the entrance. Julia hugged both of us. Arthur
shook our hands and Adam hugged me and shook Kevin's hand.

"Sorry about the comment earlier," Adam said to Kevin. "You seem pretty
cool, even if your...even if I don't care for your music."

"Already forgotten," Kevin smiled.

"We're going to Disney tomorrow. Wanna join us?" I asked Adam.

"Hang around all day with you two? Thanks, but no thanks," he smirked.

"No. Kevin and the other guys won't be there. I've got all the kids with
me."

"So you want me to be a babysitter. How much does it pay?"

"Food and drink and you get into the park free. Plus, you get to finally
meet all your nephews. You are their uncle, you know."

"I'll think about it."

"Okay. We're at the Hilton. We'll be leaving at 10AM. Be there if you
want."

"Okay. Later."

We got in the car and got out of there.

"That was your home, right?" Kevin asked as we pulled onto the highway.

"Never would have guessed, huh."

"Not in a million years."

"I did warn you."

"It wasn't that bad, just strange. Your father and Julia are
like...totally different."

"I think a little more than that. I've never understood why she's stayed
with him."

"Maybe he was different when he was younger," Kevin offered.

"Not much. He's actually relaxed a bit in his old age. Believe it or
not," I laughed.

"Serious?"

"Honest. When Adam complains about how bad he is I remind him that he
has it easy now."

"How did you turn out the way you did?"

"I mostly lived with my mother."

"So she's much different?"

"Somewhat. She's somewhere between Arthur and Julia, but has no concept
of reality."

"Huh?"

"She knows I'm gay, but every time we talk she asks if I've met a nice
girl yet. If something happens she doesn't like, it never happened.
She's very much like Arthur in that respect."

"And I about freaked when I saw Adam," Kevin said.

"Why's that?"

"Are you kidding? He looks exactly like Nick!"

"Are YOU kidding? He looks nothing like Nick."

"Same build. Same height. Same hair color and hair style. Different
face, but I bet you couldn't tell the difference from the back."

"I guess."

"And they're both total smart-asses."

The conversation continued until we got back to the hotel room. We
thanked Nick and he went back to his room. All the kids were asleep. We
grabbed a quick shower and went to bed.

***

The next morning was hectic. Kevin and I had a quick shower and he was
gone by six for rehearsals. I started the procession through the showers
and waking everyone up. David and I more than had our hands full going
between the five rooms. As they finished I sent them down to the hotel
restaurant for breakfast. Everyone was getting the breakfast buffet. I
signed for the breakfast and, amazingly, we were ready to board the bus
at exactly ten.

I started counting kids as they got onto the bus and David handed out
tickets for Disney as they sat down. The last kid in line was Adam.

"Decided to show up, huh?"

"Obviously," he smirked.

"You ready to meet your nephews?"

"Yep. Who'd have thought that my gay brother would have more kids than
all my straight brothers and sisters put together," Adam laughed.

"Certainly not me. Now get on the bus, smart ass," I said and gave him a
shove up the stairs.

I climbed on and the bus pulled away.

"Hey everyone!" I yelled to get their attention. "This is my brother,
Adam. So I guess he's kinda your uncle."

The kids yelled 'hi.'

"He's gonna be with us all day, so introduce yourself sometime," I added
and took my seat. 

Adam looked a bit overwhelmed. He looked around and then sat down beside
James. James, of course, struck up a conversation almost immediately. 

David came up a few rows and sat beside me. "How's this gonna work?"

"At the park?" I asked.

"Yea."

"Well, Adam knows the park, so we'll let him take the 17 year olds. They
should fit well together. James can take the 16 year olds and you and I
can split the rest," I offered.

"Works for me."

"Adam. James." I called over to them.

"Yea?" they both said.

"Can you come over here a minute?"

I explained the plan and they both agreed. We all decided to meet up at
the castle at 10PM. I gave everyone cash for food and it was settled.

We got to the park and I split everyone up and made sure they all
understood that they were to stay in their groups before letting them
off the bus. They soon scattered and I was left with my group of seven
kids -- the youngest ones. We hit the kiddie rides first, but as soon as
their appetite was whetted, they wanted to try the bigger ones.
Christopher and Leroy were too short to ride some of the rides, so I
stayed with them while the others went on the rides. We had a late
lunch, more rides and Epcot, then dinner, then more Epcot. We made our
way down to Main Street for the Electric Parade and then had another
snack as we slowly walked to meet up with everyone at the castle. 

Everyone was pretty much on time. We made our way out of the park, onto
the bus and back to the hotel. I invited Adam to join us at the beach
tomorrow. He said he probably would and went home as soon as we got back
to the hotel. All the BSB guys were in my room and split to take the
kids. I made sure everyone was in bed, took a quick shower and went
straight to bed.

"Exhausted?" Kevin said as he pulled me around him tighter.

"Exhausted doesn't begin to describe how tired I am," I said and gave
him a kiss on the back of the neck. "How was rehearsal?"

"It went well. Night."

"Night."

I was out in a matter of minutes.

*** 

Thursday morning I got up early and had breakfast with Kevin and the
rest of the guys. The kids were still asleep. After they left for
rehearsals I went to the pool area to do my exercises. I finished and
went back up to my room and had a nice relaxing shower. I started waking
kids at nine for showers and breakfast. Adam got there while the kids
were still eating breakfast, so he joined them. I just drank coffee
until they were all done. 

We grabbed towels, swimsuits and sunscreen and boarded the bus. An
hour-and-a-half later we were at Cocoa Beach. The beach was pretty
empty. The weather was a perfect 80¡F and sunny -- not too hot, not too
cold. I played in the water a bit with the kids, but mostly just sat in
the sand keeping an eye on everyone, building pathetic sand sculptures
and handing out bottled water.

It started to cool off around 4:30 and the sun was low in the sky. They
were tired and hungry. I was too. We got on the bus and headed back to
Orlando. Almost everyone slept the whole way back. 

I figured that Kevin would have something planned for dinner, and I was
right. 

"Alright. Everyone get cleaned up and ready for dinner. You have
forty-five minutes," Kevin announced as we were entering our rooms.

"What's tonight's dinner?" I asked.

"You're gonna hate it."

"As long as we're not going to my father's..."

"Nope. Aladdin's Dinner Theater," Kevin said and then ducked.

I just rolled my eyes. "Blech!"

"It's not that bad. I worked there for a few months when I first moved
to Orlando."

"What about the food, though?"

"Not that good, but plenty of it. You don't have any choice right now,
anyway. So don't start complaining," Kevin smirked.

"You and I are going to have a nice dinner alone sometime during this
trip," I said and gave him a quick kiss.

Adam cleared his throat loudly. "I'll catch ya later guys."

"Where are you going?" Kevin said.

"Home," Adam replied.

"You're coming with us," Kevin stated matter-of-factly.

"Thanks, but..."

"No buts. Besides, you still haven't insulted the rest of the band yet,"
Kevin smirked.

"All I have with me is what I'm wearing. They won't let me in in a
swimsuit and t-shirt," Adam tried.

"Not a problem. Come with me," Kevin said and started to drag Adam over
to Nick's room.

Adam looked back at me and I just shrugged.

Kevin pushed open the door. "Nick! Come here a minute."

"You bellowed?" Nick said walking out of the bathroom with a towel
around his waist and another drying his hair.

"You have something Adam can wear to dinner tonight?"

Nick let the towel fall around his shoulders and walked up to Adam. "Ah
yes. Adam. The one who thinks our music is teeny girl and queer crap,"
Nick said in a serious voice and paused. He then put on his flaming
queen act. "Ooo baby, he's cute. Why give him some clothes? I like him
better like this," Nick said and looked him up and down. "Oh, I suppose
I could part with a pair of panties and a skirt. I've only worn them
once..." 

Adam was frozen. I couldn't hold it in anymore and cracked up laughing
just a moment before Nick and Kevin. Adam just stood there confused,
which made Nick laugh so hard his towel fell off, which made him laugh
even harder.

"So not only are you all a bunch of fags, you're also completely nuts,"
Adam said as he was starting to get the joke.

"No. Nick's the straight one," Kevin and I said at the same time Nick
said, "I'm the straight one." This, of course, caused another round of
laughter.

Nick picked up his towel and wrapped it around himself again. I noticed
Pedro, who had been giggling on the sofa before, practically fainted
when Nick's towel fell. That would definitely give him some masturbation
fantasies.

Nick walked into his room. Kevin, Adam and I followed. Nick dug in his
suitcase and threw a pair of boxers at Adam. Adam caught them and then
dropped them.

"What? They're clean," Nick said.

"I'm not wearing your underwear," Adam stated.

"Fine. Then make a diaper for yourself out of a towel, cause you're not
free-ballin' it in my pants," Nick laughed.

Adam looked to me for help.

"I'd go for the clean boxers," I said.

"Besides, you can probably sell those to some girl. Nick Carter's
Underwear. Should bring in a couple million at least," Nick joked.

"Dream on," Kevin laughed.

Nick threw a pair of pants and a shirt at Adam. "Now if you will excuse
me so I can get dressed."

"Don't want us to see you putting on the panties, huh?" Adam said with a
laugh and walked out. 

Nick was stunned for a moment, and then smiled. "He's gonna be fun."

Kevin and I went back to our room. I took a shower after Adam and got
ready. 

Kevin was absolutely correct about the dinner theater. I hated it. The
food was mediocre and the show was pure tourist trap crap. The kids
seemed to enjoy it, though, and had plenty to eat, so I guess that's
something. 

Adam didn't insult the rest of the BSB guys, but he and Nick did joke
back and forth all night. I think they fed off each other as the
comments got more outrageous and raunchy. James tried to keep up, but he
just wasn't enough of a smart-ass. Nick and Adam seemed like twins. Adam
was a younger, but more cynical, version of Nick. It was funny watching
them.

"See. I told you. It's like another Nick," Kevin whispered to me.

"You're right, and it's scary."

"That I'm right?"

"No. That there are two Nicks, or two Adams."

"Your brother is like having another Nick," Brian leaned over and
whispered to me.

I started laughing. "Yea, Kevin just said that."

"Must be a Floridian thing," Brian smirked.

Eventually, or finally, the show and dinner were over and we headed back
to the hotel. We got back around 10:30. AJ & Howie took some kids down
to the pool. Adam said he'd wash the clothes and give them back tomorrow
and left. Kevin and I relaxed on the sofa and watched a movie with a few
kids until going to bed around midnight.

*** 

New Year's Eve. Finally it was going to happen. The end of the Y2K
stories. The end of millennium retrospectives. Hopefully we'd get
through it without any self-fulfilling prophesies. Kevin said that
security had already removed about six bombs around the park over the
past week. I was really hoping not to be a statistic.

The BSB guys didn't have to be at the park until 5PM, so we all slept in
until 9AM. After that, however, it was the madhouse routine for showers
and breakfast. Adam showed up in time for breakfast with a small present
under his arm and a paper bag.

"Hey, guys," Adam said as he joined us at the table.

"Hey, Adam. Whatcha got?" I asked looking at the present.

"Well, here's your clothes back, Nick. Washed," he said handing over the
paper bag. "And here's something special for you," he added and handed
over the present.

Nick quickly grabbed the present. I looked at Adam. He looked back with
a grin.

Nick ripped open the paper and pulled open the box. He pulled back the
tissue paper and pulled out a pair of boxers.

"Huh?" Nick said as everyone was laughing.

"Those are Adam Matthews' Underwear. Autographed. Worth quite a bit more
than Nick Carter's Underwear," Adam smirked.

Nick held them up for everyone to see. "I'll treasure them always. Even
the skid mark," he said in a choked up voice.

"Can't be as bad as the skid mark in your supposedly 'clean' boxers,"
Adam retorted.

"There was no skid mark until you put them on. Besides, I though you
said you were going to give me your lacy panties and not these plain
ones." Nick shot back.

It had started again. 

"You're not moving to Cincinnati to stay with your brother anytime soon,
are you?" AJ asked Adam after the bantering had gone on for a bit.

"I wish. Kevin's met my father."

"Good."

"Why?"

"Oh, nothing..." AJ said causally and rolled his eyes as everyone but
Adam and Nick laughed. 

"Time to go," I said loudly.

We got on the bus and went to Universal. The groups were split the same
as at Disney, but we'd meet up at the main stage before the music
started at eight.

The day was long, but fun. I liked it better than Disney. It was a bit
of a struggle to find everyone with the crowds, but we eventually got
everyone together. We got something to eat as the music was starting.
The music was way too loud, or we were too close. BSB went on third.
They did a few songs live and then premiered their new video. After they
were done they joined us in the audience and we listened to the other
bands.

Finally the time had come. The monitors showed the ball on its way down.
The sound of the countdown was deafening as it seemed like every person
in the Eastern time zone was screaming the countdown in unison. 

"...Three...Two...One...Happy New Year!!" 

We were hugging everyone in sight. After the initial hoopla was over,
Kevin looked around and then pulled me into a kiss. The crowd noises
faded as our kiss continued.

All of a sudden, Nick broke between us and pushed us apart.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" He yelled over the noise.

Kevin and I were annoyed and confused. Nick pointed up to one of the
large monitors. Larger than life on the screen was the three of us. We'd
been caught on camera and broadcast to the world.