Date: Sat, 24 Jan 2004 11:23:43 -0500 From: joey miller Subject: 'Learning how to Fly' Chapter 7 LEARNING HOW TO FLY Chapter 7 ~ The Ties that Bind ~ Hi all. Back again with chapter seven. Thanks to everyone who has let me know what they think of the story. Feedback is what makes this all the more fun. So, as always, comments, praise, and criticism are appreciated and should be send to Pandora0071@lycos.com. Disclaimer: The usual stuff about how this is all fiction and that I am not implying anything about the sexualities of the celebrities in this story. If you don't like the homosexual content, move your butt outta here. If you are underage, please try not to get caught or, even better, leave. Enjoy! *** "Oh man, and all this time I thought that I am the master of `Tekken 3'!" AJ laughed. He was sitting on the floor in the hotel room he shared with Howie. Right now, he was playing video games with Jamie though. Jamie jumped up on the bed and threw a pose. "Well, that was before you met the real master! I am invincible!" He let himself drop down on the bed and rolled over on his stomach. AJ shook his head, laughing. "Are you ready for another round?" "You bet. And this time I am going to beat you!" AJ announced. He turned around to pull Jamie off the bed. Jamie wriggled around and ended up falling on top of AJ. Their faces were just inches apart and for a second, time seemed to stand still. Then Jamie hastily scrambled to get up. They both stood mute for a second, trying to asses the situation. "What just happened?" Jamie finally asked. "We were about to kiss?" AJ replied. He moved up to sit on the bed and pulled Jamie down next to him. "Okay, listen." AJ sighed "I'm sorry about this." "Don't apologize. I don't know what this was ... but it wasn't all your fault. I mean, it just ... happened." "Well, yes. But the truth is that I am bisexual. And I'd have to lie if I said that I'm not attracted to you." Jamie gave AJ and appraising sideways glance. His face was unreadable and AJ sighed again. "Too much information? I don't want to make you uncomfortable. I swear. I just want to be honest." "But that's just it." Jamie exclaimed. "It didn't make me feel uncomfortable. It was kind of ... exciting." "Okay, well ... if you ever want to find out how a guy kisses -- I'm right here." Laughing, Jamie picked up the controllers. "Alright, I might get back to you on that. But first you owe me a round of Tekken." The knock on the door was soft, almost inaudible. Colin, sleeping in the bedroom closer to the door of the suite, heard it first. He was already up by the time the light in Dave's room went on. "Don't worry, I got it." Colin said as he reached the door and peeked through the spy hole. "Who is it?" Dave asked. "It's Nick." Colin replied. He pulled the door open. Nick was standing in the hallway, clad only in boxers and a white T-shirt. He had thrown on a robe, but the belt had come undone and he was shivering in the cool, air-conditioned air. "May I come in for a second? I need to talk to you." He asked and Colin nodded. He stepped back, waited for the Backstreet Boy to enter and closed the door. "My room is over there." Colin pointed in the vague direction of his bedroom. "Let's go in there so Dave can go back to sleep." Nick walked over to the bed and sat down. Colin closed the door and flung himself into an armchair. "Alright Mr. Carter, what can I do for you?" "Actually ... I just ... I mean ... " Nick started, groping about for words and finally falling silent with a heavy sigh. "If this is about last night, don't worry. I know how to keep my mouth shut." Colin said and Nick smiled a weak smile. "Thanks. I was kind of worried about that. I mean, you're practically a complete stranger. But the reason why I'm here is because ... well, you're the only gay person I know. I guess I just want to be able to talk about it." "Oh. Okay. Sure, I'd love to talk to you." Colin replied, feeling flattered. He'd never much talked to anyone about his sexuality. Sure, he'd answered all of Dave's questions back when he'd first come out to him. And he and George had shared their experiences of how they had discovered their own sexuality. But other than that, no one had ever really cared. "I don't even now where to start. I've always been on my own with this and it feels really odd. Not having to watch what I say all the time." Nick stated. He was leaning forward now, towards Colin. His cheeks were rosy with excitement and embarrassment. As he took a second to collect his thoughts, Colin noticed Nicks incredibly blue eyes in his boyish face, the chapped lips. The boy was built. There was a hint of muscle beneath the tight shirt, but he didn't look like he spent a lot of time in a gym. Colin took a deep breath. What was he thinking?! "So ... when did you first notice?" Colin only considered his reply for a second, then smiled. "Freshman year of High School. I fell in love with this kid in my math class, Jack. He was so pretty, I just couldn't take my eyes off him. It took me the better part of the first semester to figure out what was going on, but once I knew, I decided that I was alright with it." "Wow. I didn't realize it until about a year ago. I was channel surfing in a hotel room. They had all those channels, the porn ones. I ended up watching this movie and all of a sudden I realized that I was looking at the guys, not the girls. And it all made sense. I mean, I've had girlfriends. But I never enjoyed anything we did as much as I thought I should. I always thought that I'd just have to wait for the right one, but that night I realized that the right one would be a guy." "So what does kissing girls feel like?" Colin asked. "You don't know?" Nick asked bemused. "No." Colin laughed. "I was a late-bloomer. And by the time girls started paying attention to me, I already knew that I'm gay." "Oh. Well, I could tell you what it feels like. But I couldn't explain it in a way that makes sense to you. I couldn't compare it to the way a guy kisses cause I've never kissed one." This time the redness on his cheeks was definitely a blush. "Don't worry. You'll find out soon enough." "No, I won't. I'll never find out. How am I supposed to find a boyfriend if no one knows about me?" His voice sounded tired and he closed his eyes for a second. Then he shook his head as if to shoo away unwanted thoughts. Changing the topic he asked, "How did you get your first kiss?" "When we were sophomores, Dave got sick of my complaints about my non-existent love life, so he dragged me to this community center for gay kids. There wasn't much going on there, but there was this one guy, who was about my age, and we got talking. We became friends and a couple of weeks later I begged him to kiss me, just so I would find out what it feels like." "Did you ever regret that it wasn't with someone you really liked?" "No. Every kiss is different. When I kissed my first boyfriend years later, it had nothing in common with that first kiss." "Okay." Nick drew a shaky breath and Colin knew what the next question would be. "Colin, could you ... I mean, just so I'll know what it's like?" Colin sighed. "Are you sure about this?" He asked. Nick nodded. He was chewing his bottom lip in nervous anticipation and Colin noticed that it made him look incredibly attractive. "Alright." He left his armchair and sat down next to Nick on the bed. When Nick closed his eyes and pursed his lips, Colin couldn't help but laugh. "Nick, this isn't your first kiss ever. You know the technicalities of this. Relax!" Nick opened his eyes to look at Colin. "Just do it." He whispered. Before he was even done speaking, Colin covered Nick's lips with his own. *** Hm. There ya go. Stay tuned for more! joey