Date: Mon, 6 Jan 2003 10:31:04 -0800 (PST) From: Jason Calme Subject: Boy Bands: All the Ways I Love You - Chapter 4 All the Ways I Love You This story is about male/male relationships and contains graphic descriptions of sex. You should not read this story if it is in any way illegal due to your age or residence. This is a work of pure fiction. It mixes fictional characters and events with real people. However any real person mentioned in this work is purely an actor playing a part. This story in no way is meant to imply anything about the sexuality, personality, or behavior of the actual person. Copyright 2003 Jason Calme. This story is the sole property of its author and may not be copied in whole or in part or posted on any website without the permission of the author. Questions and commentary can be sent to "JasonCalme@yahoo.com". ------------ Thanks to everyone who has written to me about this story. I'm glad you're enjoying it, even if some of you find the cliffhangers frustrating! But hey, got to keep you interested... Chapter 4 I stood there for a second. "Well..." I began quietly, but I didn't really know what to say. "I don't want to do the movie," Justin blurted out. "What?" I gasped. He didn't want to do the movie? We hadn't even figured out what it was going to be. That must mean he didn't want me on it. "It's not you," he continued. 'It's me' I thought to myself. "I just never wanted to do a movie," he said. He's coming up with anything to get out of this, I thought. He must really want to get rid of me. Did I do something wrong? Did I misread his signals? Was he upset that I liked him, or was he upset that I hadn't made a pass at him? I was so confused. What the fuck was I supposed to do? I just stood there dazed. Did this mean the money was gone? Were they still going to pay my expenses? Justin stared at me. "Do you understand? It's nothing to do with you." "Yeah," I said absently. I knew it had everything to do with me. "So..." he went on, "I wanted to ask you a really big favor." "A favor?" I said. Oh, he wants me to pull out so he doesn't have to tell anyone what happened. Well, that was probably a good idea. Better for me to pull out than have them make a big fuss about my sexuality. Fuck! I thought I'd been good. Had I really upset him that much? "Umm," he began, "I want you to pretend to still work on the script." I looked at him in surprise. "I know, I know," he said, "it's a lot to ask you, but you'd really be doing me a big, big favor, and, well, you'd still get paid." "I don't understand," I said. "I told you, I don't want to do a movie. Any movie. This is just...sometimes it's easier to just, you know, let people work on something rather than start causing problems elsewhere. I haven't wanted to do this project but the movie studio is pushing us because they have a contract. I just, I'm trying to postpone things before I pull out." "Why don't you just say you don't want to do it?" I asked. "I can't," Justin frowned. "Not at the moment." "So this has all been a charade?" "What?" he asked. "You hanging out with me?" "No! No, I've really had a lot of fun hanging out with you. Really!" he looked at me nervously, "I mean, I hope you have too. This is going to sound bad. I could have just said 'hi' to you and let you go off and work on the script." He paused, "But I really had fun...I really like you...and I...well I was trying to get up the courage to tell you. I just couldn't let you go off and pour your heart into some script when I knew it wasn't going to happen." I stood there silently, trying to digest it all. "I'm sorry," he repeated. "So this isn't about me?" I asked again. "No...no!" he repeated. "Oh," I said breathing out, and then I don't know why, but I started laughing. A small giggle at first, and then I just couldn't stop laughing. "What...what's so funny?" Justin asked, looking confused. "This..." I choked out, "it's... oh God! I thought you hated me and wanted me off the project...but you don't!" I was almost having a laughing fit, "you never wanted to do a movie in the first place! Oh my God! Just my luck!" "I'm sorry," Justin said sadly. "It's okay, it's okay," I said almost collapsing against him. I grabbed his shoulders and squeezed them. "It's fine, really! I'm just glad it wasn't something else." "Something else?" Justin asked, looking puzzled, and then there was a look of understanding and he smiled at me. "It's nothing to do with that," he said, which brought me back to earth damn quickly, wondering exactly what Justin was thinking. What 'that' was he referring to? But Justin didn't give me a chance to pursue that. "So what do you think?" he asked. "About what?" I asked nervously. "Do you want to pretend to work on this project for a couple of months? I'll understand if you don't. We'll let you out of the project." "So what exactly would I have to do?" "Just pretend as though you were working on it," Justin said. I noticed that he couldn't seem to look me in the eye. He kept looking off in the distance, then glancing back at me for a second before looking off at something else. Or looking down at the ground. "Probably come up with an idea and a storyline," he went on. "We can fake something. Then you pretend to work on the script. In a couple of months I'll pull the plug, I promise, and you won't have to deliver a script." "Isn't that being dishonest?" "Well," he said thoughtfully, "not if you're working for us. Just because you're not being productive doesn't mean you're not working." "I don't know," I said shaking my head. "If you feel guilty, write a few pages," he suggested. "That's all I ask. Listen. We're paying for this. As you pointed out before, it's my money we're spending. If it's my money, and I know you're not doing anything for it, and I've asked you not to do anything, then you're not doing anything dishonest, are you?" Put that way it seemed hard to argue. "I don't know if I could fake it," I said. "Just throw something together." I glared at him for a second. "If someone asked you to write a song that would never be recorded, what would you do? Could you write a 'bad' song? What if someone saw it and thought that was the kind of thing you did?" Justin pursed his lips thinking. "You'll never have to submit anything except an outline. That wouldn't be too hard would it?" "As if!" I said, rolling my eyes. "Okay, I'll pull the plug now," he said, and he took out his cell phone. "No. Don't do it just yet," I said grabbing at his phone. He looked at me with a big smile and I felt like I'd been tricked. "I'm not saying I'm going to do it, just give me some time to think about it, okay?" "Okay," he said, still smiling, and finally he was able to look me in the eyes, though I couldn't read his expression. He put the phone away and we turned and continued walking along the beach. "How long do you need to think about it?" he asked. "Oh, I don't know," I said looking at him and seeing the hopeful expression on his face, and I so much wanted to please him. "It might be a month or two," I said, and I looked at him and smiled. We made it back to his house with plenty of time to spare and I packed up my stuff and then Justin drove me to the airport. I insisted he just drop me at the door. If he came in with me the chances of him being recognized were too high, and I was also feeling a little nervous about saying goodbye. A quick goodbye in the car seemed to be the best idea. He pulled up at the drop off area and turned to face me. I pulled out a card from my wallet. "Here's my phone and email," I said handing it to him. "Oh, great," he said. "You got another one?" "Sure," I said, pulling out another one and handing it to him. He took out a pen and wrote on the back of the card and then handed it back to me. "That's my cell and email," he said. "Thanks." "Call me and let me know how the script is going," he said grinning mischievously. "Sure," I grinned. We sat there for a moment and then I held out my hand. "I had fun," I said. "Me too," he said and he reached out and took my hand, but then he pulled me towards him and wrapped his other arm around me in an awkward embrace that went on a little longer than I expected. He felt so warm and nice. I resisted the urge to kiss him or run my fingers through his hair. Barely. We separated and I hopped out and went around the back to grab my bag. He surprised me by getting out and coming around to meet me. He held the tailgate as I pulled out my bags and put them down, then he closed the door and smiled at me and we hugged again, this time much quicker, and he patted my back. "Thanks man," he whispered. "Hey, thank you," I said. He looked at me, his expression a little sad and he nodded a couple of times and then flashed a small smile. "See you," he said, and raised his hand in a wave, and then he turned and went back to the front of the car. I stood there for a moment. Thinking about saying something. Asking him something. I knew what I wanted to ask him, I just didn't know how to ask it. And I wasn't sure what answer I would get. Or wanted. I turned and walked into the concourse. New York. I woke up to the sound of my phone ringing. I looked at the clock radio, which read 9:10 and said "Shit!" Guess I better answer it. "Hello?" I grunted. "Ethan! Hey, did I wake you?" it was my friend Abby bubbling on the other end of the phone. Abby and I have known each other since our first year at college. She and I really became best friends - we had similar outlooks on things - but then she went and met some guy and got married! Fortunately, I get on well with her husband Tony, even though he and I don't have a whole lot in common. They are probably my best friends. I go over for dinner every couple of Fridays, hang out, and often sleep at their place and then we have breakfast and maybe do something the next day. It's always fun. "No, the phone woke me," I joked. "Oh sorry..." "It's okay," I sighed, "I should be getting up anyway...get back on East Coast time." "That's right! You should! I'm doing you a favor here," she laughed. "Remind me to thank you some day." "So how was the trip?" she asked changing the subject. I rolled over on my back and stretched out my legs and felt comfortable in the warm bed. Well I'd been dieing to tell someone about the trip and Abby was one of the best people to share some gossip with. "It went great," I said. "So what happened?" "I got the job!" "What!" she almost screamed, her excitement evident. "Yes, I'm writing a movie script...and getting paid to do it!" I didn't add that it was never going to be finished. Might as well bask in the glory for a moment or two. "That's great..." there was a pause, "so...did you meet him?" Abby knew I had been going out to talk about writing a script for Justin, and she'd told me she thought he was cute. Maybe she thought he was more than cute I wondered. "Yeah, I met him briefly," I lied. "What's he like?" "Uh...you know it's hard to really tell, ...he seemed nice." "So will you be going out again? I wonder if you'll get to be there while they are filming?" She was gushing. "I think you're getting a bit ahead of things!" "This is so great!" she said. "Yeah I know..." I paused, then just blurted out, "I met someone." "What?" "I met this really nice guy while I was out there." "Oh yeah?" Abby asked ruefully. She had been less than thrilled with the last couple of guys I had dated. 'Trolls' was the term she'd used for them. I was beginning to think she thought I had no taste at all. "Yeah," I said. "So?" she asked suspiciously. "What?" "So tell me about him? Where'd you meet him?" "He works for the record company," I figured I wasn't really lying. "We hung out together and had a great time. He's funny and smart and really good looking, and..." "And...?" she asked. "And straight." "Well that's too bad...he know you were attracted to him?" "He knew I was gay," I said. "I didn't tell him I had a huge crush. We had such a great time though." "It happens. Don't go pining over what can't be. Him living out in LA would have made it difficult anyway." "Yeah," I said wistfully. "I guess. I just...I can't stop thinking about him." "You've got it bad," she laughed. "Lucky you got out of there before you made a fool of yourself." "Thanks!" "I know you! You would have thrown yourself at him eventually." "I would not have," I argued. "I am the master of self control!" "I'll believe that when I see it," she was laughing again. "I'd bet money he knew you wanted to jump him, but was too polite to say anything." "Now you've got me all embarrassed. What am I going to do if I see him again?" "You kidding me! You're going to try and jump him," and she hooted with laughter. "You make it sound like I give gay guys a bad name," I said defensively. "If I was as bad as you make out, I wouldn't be lonely all the time." "The reason you're lonely is you keep falling for people you can't have," she pointed out. "Yeah, it's the story of my life. Unrequited love is mine!" I told her a little about the things we did, leaving out any details that might incriminate me, and rang off promising to go over and have dinner that Friday. I got up and thought about the stupid movie project. Justin said all I had to do was submit an outline and waste some time. Well that was easy right? I decided there was no time better to waste then the present, and I sat down and started writing an outline. Much to my surprise, I actually had something that I liked after only a few hours. It just poured out of me. I'd been thinking about it on the plane back and suddenly it seemed to be there in my mind. I just had to type it out. It was pretty much as I'd first imagined it when talking to Justin that first day. Justin's a bored and lonely pop star who wants to sample 'everyday' life. But he's on a long tour in Europe. He gets entangled in an intrigue, meets a beautiful woman who might be a spy or a double agent or both, and generally has a crazy adventure in which he gets to sample everyday life a bit and at the end he decides he prefers the music business. And he gets the girl. Okay, it was hardly great literature or anything very original, but I felt like I could put a lot of Justin's personality and sense of humor into the character, and his character was the central part of the whole thing. By the end of the second day I'd polished the outline to the point where I felt I might as well start writing. If I was actually going to write something. I knew that the final script might drift from the outline a bit, but I wasn't worried - the ace up my sleeve was that I didn't have to actually finish the script. I sent off the outline to Rob, telling him to forward it to the record company. I didn't tell him I wasn't expecting any feedback. And just for fun, I decided to write the script. Or as much of it as I could stomach. It would be a great exercise in case someone else was silly enough to ask me to write a script for them. Without any constraints or obligations, I found I could write and write. Or maybe it was the fact that I was in love with the central character. I don't know what it was, but three weeks later I'd actually finished a first draft, and a week after that I'd gone through it and polished it a bit and liked it so much I showed it to Abby who told me it was great. She says that about everything I show her, but it's always good to get positive feedback. I toyed with the idea of contacting Justin. He'd said to stay in touch, but I felt awkward about it. I had the business card with his email and phone number pinned up on the notice board in front of me. Now and again I'd stare at it and think about calling him. Just to hear his voice. But what would I say to him? I guess I was worried that if I called him or wrote to him, I might somehow reveal that I liked him. That I 'liked him' liked him. And he'd never called or emailed me. I guess I thought that if there was something there, if it wasn't just my imagination, that he would have done something. But he never did. I sat on the script for a while because I wasn't sure if Justin really wanted me to send in a script. Rob, however, kept checking in on me to see how it was going. He was nervous and wanted everything to go well. He hadn't heard anything back from the record company - as I expected - but he didn't want me to fail to deliver. And I couldn't just tell him not to worry. So finally I just told him the first draft would be finished at the end of the week, and would he let the record company know it was coming. That was really a warning to Justin in the hope he would pull the plug before it arrived. I'd lived up to my promise of giving him a couple of months and now it was time to pull the plug. But I never heard anything, so I sent the script along. A couple of weeks after I submitted the script word came back that there had been a big argument between the record company and the movie studio. The record company - or as Rob described it, 'Justin' - loved the script and wanted to do it pretty much as written. The studio hated it because it would cost three or four times what they had budgeted to spend. They were looking for a little teen movie, not a James Bond action adventure with a huge effects budget and overseas locations. I knew Justin didn't want to do it, so he was probably pretending to like it when the studio had said they wouldn't do it. A dangerous game I felt; what if the studio turned around and said 'okay, do it?' Luckily that didn't happen. Justin got a delay on the project, I got paid, and I had a script - an unmade one admittedly - under my belt. Rob was already talking about other possibilities and about sending me out to LA again. The only reason I even entertained the idea when he suggested it was the thought that I might be able to see Justin again, though I quickly gave up on that idea. For while I was excited about getting paid and the possibilities of other projects, I was really disappointed that I never heard a word from Justin. I thought he might have acknowledged that I finished the script or something, but he never called or emailed. Abby's comments about him probably knowing I had a crush on him had hit a little close to home and I didn't want to come across as some desperate freak who was going to pester him. If he had no interest in getting back in contact then at least I knew where I stood. We'd been friends for a couple of days, had fun, and I'd done him a favor by playing along with his desire to waste some time. It hadn't been a one-way street. He'd gone out of his way to show me a good time, and he'd also had me paid quickly and without problems. My credit cards were all paid off for the first time in ages thanks to him. I couldn't complain. Which didn't mean I didn't dream about him a little, or wonder what he was doing. It was a Friday night and I was getting ready to go over to Abby's and have dinner with her and Tony. I was just about to go out the door when my buzzer rang. I pushed the button and yelled into the speaker, "Yeah?" "Ethan? It's Justin." Justin? I stood there for a second trying to think who Justin was. I didn't know any Justins...well only one Justin, but it couldn't be him...yet the voice sounded familiar. I pushed the door button and held it down for three or four seconds. Then I walked slowly to the door, opened it and stepped out onto the landing. My building is rather old, with a central stairway that you can lean over and see down into the lobby. You can also see people as they walk up the stairs. There is an elevator too, but I am on the third floor and mostly take the stairs. Most visitors do the same - the elevator looks old and a little unsafe. I only use it for heavy items I don't want to carry up the stairs. I heard someone walking up and leaned over the balcony. I saw him on the second level. "Hey!" I called and he looked up and I saw the short curly hair and the huge smile and my legs turned to jelly. "Whatsup?" he called. I stood there waiting until he made it to my floor and he walked up to me smiling. He was dressed in jeans and hooded sweatshirt - his favorite disguise I guess - and he was carrying a bottle of Champaign that had a big red bow on the side of it. He stopped a step or two away from me and held up the bottle. "This is for you!" he said and held it out. "For me? Thanks!" I said, and took it from him. He stepped closer and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me into a hug. Not sure what to do, I put my arms around him, though it was kind of hard with the Champaign bottle in one hand. "Great to see you!" he said as he hugged and then released me. "You too," I said, "come in," and I waved towards the apartment door. Justin took a step forward, then stopped to wait for me. "You first," I said, pointing with the Champaign bottle, and he walked in ahead of me. I followed him in, closing the door and putting the bottle on the end table in the hallway. He stood in the living room, turning slowly while taking it all in. It wasn't really much, just your average one bedroom apartment. The living room is half living area and half writing space with desk, filing cabinets, book shelves and computer. And stacks of papers strewn across every flat surface. I realized it was a bit messier than usual, and a lot messier than most people would be comfortable with. I thought of Justin's neatly tidy house and wondered what he must be thinking. "So what are you doing here?" I asked. "Oh," Justin turned away from studying my desk and looked at me with a sheepish expression on his face. "I'm in town for some interviews and I was down at MTV this afternoon." "That fun?" "Sometimes," he nodded. "Thanks for the Champagne." "Yeah, well that's for...," he shrugged, "you know...you did a great job on the script." "You liked it?" I asked. "Yeah, I loved it, they didn't tell you?" he looked concerned. I thought for a second, "My agent said something about you liking it...I just assumed that was the usual bullshit." "Oh no! It was great. I might even have done it!" he smiled. "Sure you would," I teased. "I'm really sorry," he said earnestly, "they were supposed to tell you how much I liked it...how much I appreciated what you'd done...I really thought it was awesome...I was going to call..." and he trailed off. "Well even better, you came in person and I got Champagne too!" "Yeah," the smile came back briefly to his face and he looked around again and then in a casual tone asked, "you have any plans tonight?" "Uh, well I was just about to go out actually. I'm having dinner with some friends." "Oh," Justin replied, trying to look unconcerned though his smile tightened. "Well I better let you go then." "You could come with me," I suggested, trying not to sound too excited. Hell, I'd call Abby and cancel if I had to. "That'd be okay?" he asked hopefully. "Yeah sure!" I answered. He smiled wide. "I'll just call and let her know," I said. I went and called Abby from the phone in the kitchen while Justin glanced over the papers on my desk. I tried to remember if there was anything incriminating in plain sight. I didn't think there was. "Hello?" came Abby's voice. "Hey it's me. Would it be okay if I brought someone to dinner?" "Sure...who?" "Just a friend who turned up on my door step and is hungry." "That's fine," said Abby. "We were going to order Chinese." "Want us to pick it up?" "Sure. I'll call in the order. Your friend like anything in particular?" she asked. "Hang on, I'll ask." I put my hand over the phone and called out over my shoulder, "Justin, you okay with Chinese food?" "Sure," he called back. "Anything you like in particular?" I called, and turned and realized he was right next to me. "I'll eat anything," he said. "Hey Abbey, just order what you like..." I put my hand over the receiver again. "You really hungry or just a little hungry?" I asked Justin. "Ahh...really hungry." "We're both really hungry" I told Abby, then said good-bye and hung up. "Okay," I said to Justin, "Let's go." "Is it far?" he asked. "No, not far on the train. Is it okay if I bring the Champagne? We can drink it tonight!" "Ah sure...is it okay if we take a cab? I'll pay." "Sure," I said. We went outside, and Justin put up his hood and put on his sunglasses, even though it was early evening. We walked down to the end of the street and flagged down a cab in short order. It took about fifteen minutes to get to the Chinese take-out place that was a block from Abby and Tony's. Justin wanted to have the cab wait for us but I said we could walk and he hesitated, but then paid the guy. As the cab pulled away I turned to him. "Are you uncomfortable walking the streets?" I asked. "Sometimes," he shrugged. "Sorry," I apologized "It's okay," he smiled and we went in. He kept the glasses on and the hood up, which I felt just made him stand out more, but I didn't say anything. Abby had obviously taken us at our word, as there were two large bags of food waiting. I managed to pay for the food even though Justin tried to do it, and we each took a bag and headed out the door. It was only a half a block to their apartment building, which I was grateful for, as Justin was tense the entire way. I thought it was being out on the street that was unnerving him, but he seemed to get even more nervous when we were buzzed into the building. We rode the elevator in silence and I caught Justin's eye and smiled at him. He returned a nervous smile. "You nervous?" I asked. "A little." The elevator door opened and I patted his shoulder. "Just relax and be yourself...have fun!" "Sure..." he said quietly, then added, "they don't know who you're bringing do they?" I stopped and he stopped beside me and he looked at me slightly accusingly. "I guess I thought it would be a surprise..." I trailed off. Here I was using him as a surprise and I hadn't even told him or asked him how he felt about it. He must think I'm showing him off like a new toy or something. "Shit Justin, I'm sorry, " I said, "I'm screwing everything up." "It's okay," he said softly. "No, oh man, I feel like such an ass for doing this to you. Look if you don't want to go that's fine. You wait here, I can go drop the food off for Abby and we can go do something else." "You don't have to do that," he said and he smiled. "No I...I really want to spend some time with you...and I'm really sorry about treating you like this. I didn't really think. I want to make it up to you." "No, it's okay," he smiled, "I'll let it go this time," and he shoved me playfully. "Okay, well...let's see...how about if I go down and break it to them first..." Justin grimaced. "That'd be worse!" "Would it? Oh shit! Well what do you want me to do? I'm not thinking straight! This is all your fault you know," I said poking him. "My fault?" he said shoving my shoulder gently. "Yeah, why didn't you call me rather than just turn up? Then I could have had time to think this out," and I pushed him back. "No, just more time for you to panic," Justin joked, and he pushed me back gently and I realized that we were standing there, holding bags of Chinese food in one hand and shoving each other with the other. I had a feeling that at the rate we were going we'd be wrestling each other any minute now. I could go for that. "Hey!" came a voice from down the hallway. "Where'd you get to?" I looked up and Abby was standing in the hallway by her open doorway. "Sorry Abby!" I called. "We got lost in the elevator." I heard Justin snort. 'Well at least you're here now," Abby said. I could tell she was trying to see who was with me. "Come on," I said to Justin, and grabbed his arm, and we walked down the hall. Abby didn't faint, but I saw her eyes bulge just a little as she saw who was coming down the hallway beside me. "Abby," I said as we drew up to her, "this is Justin. Justin, this is Abby." Abby smiled nervously and then held out her hand and Justin shook it politely. "Glad you could come Justin," she said. "Come on in," and she waved him through the doorway. He stepped in and Abby turned to me and made a face like the figure in the painting 'The Scream.' I shoved her gently with my free hand and gave her a 'don't be silly' glare. She ignored it. We walked into the apartment and Abby introduced Justin to Tony, who obviously didn't recognize Justin. We put down the bags of food on the dining room table and Abby took our coats and hung them up. "Justin, why don't you help Tony set out the food?" Abby suggested, "and Ethan, why don't you help me get some plates in the kitchen?" "Sure," we both said, and I followed Abby into the Kitchen, Abby pulling the door closed behind us as we went in, and then grabbing my arm and pulling me into the pantry. "Why didn't you tell me you were bringing Justin Timberlake you asshole?" she hissed. "I didn't know I would be! He just showed up at my door as I was leaving!" "Well, you could have told me when you called!" she said, her eyes huge, her mouth still hanging open. She looked like a teenage girl. "I know! I'm sorry! I screwed up! I thought it would be this fun surprise but you're both pissed at me about it." "Oh, it's okay," she said. "I don't think Tony even knows who he is." "Not Tony, Justin." "What?" she asked. "He was pissed I didn't tell you I was bringing him. I think it made him feel like I was showing him off." "Well weren't you?" she asked, smiling. I grinned, "Maybe...a little." "So how come?" "What?" I asked. "Why's he...visiting you?" "Oh, he was just dropping off a bottle of Champagne, kind of a thank you for doing the script," I said. "That's nice of him..." she said thoughtfully, "just turning up like that...on a Friday night." "Yeah," I hastily agreed, "we better get back before they wonder what we are doing." "Yes," Abby agreed, but I could see her thinking and she suddenly looked at me with this look of understanding. "I'll grab some plates," I said stepping back out of the pantry, and opening the cupboard door to take out the plates. I turned and found Abby standing staring at me. "What?" I asked nervously. "Oh my, God!" she blurted, "He's not your guy that works at the record company is he?" "Of course not," I said trying to sound convincing, and quickly stepped around her and out into the living room. Tony was giving Justin a quick tour of the apartment when I got back in there, and they seemed pleased to see I had the plates. "Where's Abby?" Tony asked. "She's bringing the silverware," I said, as Abby came out with her hands full of forks and serving spoons. "Here I am," she said brightly. "Oh, what would you like to drink Justin?" asked Tony. "I don't mind," he said. "I'll have wine," said Abby. "I'll have a beer" I called and Justin said he'd have one too. Tony went out to the kitchen to get the drinks and Abby handed Justin a large spoon and pointed to the food and told him to dig in. It was rather quiet as we got food and settled down around the dining room table. Abby kept casting looks at me. I felt she wanted me back in the kitchen for some more conversation but I wasn't budging. Justin sat and smiled at me and we ate quietly for a few minutes. "So Justin," Tony finally broke the silence, "how do you know Ethan?" "Ah, well he was writing this script for us..." Justin began. "You're in the movie business then?" Tony asked. "Ahh...no," said Justin smiling nervously. "Tony," Abby said, "Justin is a singer, he's in the band NSYNC." Justin blushed and Tony looked up with a thoughtful expression, "NSYNC, really?" Tony said. Justin nodded. "What's that like?" Tony asked. "Tony!" Abby snapped at him. "What kind of question is that?" "What do you mean?" said Tony looking confused. "I just was asking him what it was like. I'm just trying to make conversation." "Justin, please excuse Tony," said Abby, "he doesn't get out much." Tony hooted. "That's okay," said Justin, "I don't mind, I get worse questions at most interviews." "See," said Tony. We were quiet for a moment and I was feeling like the whole evening was being ruined and it was all my fault. But Justin came to the rescue. "It's pretty exhausting really," he began, "but I love making music and most of the time I like what I'm doing. Some of the promotion stuff sucks though and it's difficult to get out and do things sometimes," and he trailed off, lost in thought. "It must have its good points too though?" Tony prompted. "Oh, of course!" Justin smiled, shaking off the moment. "I'm not complaining really. I mean the recording and the performances are great. I really couldn't imagine doing anything else." "That's great," said Tony, I think because he wanted to keep the conversation going to prove to Abby he hadn't been a jerk, "So Ethan wrote a script for you?" "Yes, it's for a movie I was going to do." "You're not doing it?" Abbey interrupted. I hadn't told her about that yet. "Ahh..." said Justin, unsure what to say next. "Justin and the record company loved the script," I jumped to his defense, "but now the movie studio are being jerks about it. Not because they don't like it, they just don't want to spend that much on making the movie, so it's kind of on hold." "Oh, I'm sorry Ethan," said Abby. "Don't worry about it," I said. "I got paid whether they make it or not, and I think I'll get more work because of it." "Really?" asked Abby. "Yeah, Rob's already lining up a couple of meetings so I'm probably going out to LA in a couple of weeks to talk to some people." "That's great!" said Tony. "You're coming out to LA in a couple of weeks?" asked Justin. "Yeah...probably," I nodded. "You can stay at my place," he said with a smile on his face, "I'm gonna be there then." "Well...it's not definite yet." "Well let me know," he repeated. "Okay, thanks Justin," I smiled at him and then I caught Abby staring at me and quickly wiped the smile off my face. "So Justin, Ethan was telling me you just dropped by to give him a bottle of Champagne," said Abby "Oh, shit! it's in the refrigerator!" said Tony, "Why don't we have it with dessert?" Tony said to Justin. "Well it's kind of up to Ethan," said Justin. "I brought it to drink it!" I said in a party voice. "So Tony, how's work?" I asked, trying to change the subject. "Oh it's okay. The company is still in business, so that's something." "What do you do?" asked Justin. "I work for a software company, I'm a computer programmer." "What kind of stuff do you do?" And Tony talked a bit about what he did, and the company he worked for. Justin seemed genuinely interested and I was relieved we'd changed subject. Of course, Abby wasn't going to be deterred. We'd all had second helpings and Abby said she was going to grab the ice cream for desert. "Ethan," she said casually, "could you help me with the plates?" "Sure," I said, and stood to gather some plates. Abby picked some up and went out to the kitchen, and I was standing holding the rest but I had a sudden urge not to go in there. "Hey Tony, could you take these?" I asked, "I have to go to the bathroom." "Sure." I went to the bathroom while Tony took out the plates and helped Abby with the dessert. When I came back everyone was sitting as the table, scooping out ice cream, though I saw Abby giving me the eye. I gave her an innocent look and sat down and grabbed one of the pints of ice cream and started spooning out a big scoop. "So Ethan," Abby began, "when you go out to LA, are you going to be getting together with that guy you met out there?" "What?" I looked up startled, and I saw Justin cast a glance at me but I couldn't read his expression. "You know," she went on, "you said you were hanging out with a guy from the record company." I blushed, but it only got worse. "Oh," said Tony brightly, "that's the one you have a...Oww!" he yelped as Abby kicked him under the table. Justin snickered and I went bright red. I was opening my mouth but I didn't know what to stay. "I think that was me," said Justin answering the question for me and smiling widely. "Oh," said Tony, and he went bright red. "Oh, so that was you?" said Abby, turning to Justin. "Uh...maybe," said Justin nervously, and now he was reddening. "What did Ethan say?" "He just said he met this really nice...person...who took him to Disneyland and out to a club." "That was me," said Justin. "That was really nice of you," said Abby and she glanced at me with an expression like a Cheshire cat. Justin shrugged. "It was fun hanging out with Ethan, and I was right!" "You were right?" I asked. "I knew you were the one to work on the project and you did a better job than I could have imagined," and he gave me this huge smile and I felt my self turning red again. "How about pop corn?" asked Abby. We were sitting on the floor around a game of Trivial Pursuit that we'd been playing for the past half hour. Tony, Justin and I looked at each other and then nodded our agreement. "Maybe something to drink," suggested Tony. "Ethan," said Abby, "take care of the drinks." "That's Tony's job, he lives here!" I complained. "Huh!," said Tony, "I have to entertain the guest," and he waved at Justin. "What? I'm not a guest? I'm hurt!" I complained. "Just shut up and get me a beer," said Tony. "Justin?" I asked. "Okay," he nodded. "Or maybe we should have something a bit stronger!" said Tony. "What?" I asked. "Anyone for Brandy?" he suggested. "You'll have us all drunk!" I laughed. "You're just trying for an unfair advantage, I'm sticking to beer." "How about you Justin?" Tony asked. "I think I'll stick with beer." "Well," said Tony, "if no one's going to join me, I'll have a beer too." "Fine" I said, and went into the kitchen and fished out some beers from the fridge. Abby was getting a bowl out from under the counter while the pop-corn was popping in the microwave. "You want anything to drink?" I called. "I'm okay," she said. I went over to the drawer by the sink and started searching for the bottle opener. "It's here," said Abby, and I turned and she was standing in front of me waving the opener with a big smile on her face. "What?" I asked, grabbing it from her. "Why didn't you tell me it was him?" she asked. "Uh...well it was kind of embarrassing and I just..." and I trailed off not sure what to say. "Sorry," I said finally. "Hey, I understand," she said and then she put her arms around me and hugged me and said "I'm very happy for you, he seems really nice." "He is," I agreed, then I had a sudden thought, "ahh...what are you..." and she had this big smile on her face, "Oh...you don't think that we're...he's not...I told you...he's straight." "You think so?" she said quietly, looking around as though worried someone would hear us. "Yes," I hissed. "This is so good," and she laughed. "What's so funny?" "You two," she said. "You're making puppy dog eyes at each other all the time, I don't care if you think he's straight, he likes you as more than a friend." "You've been drinking too much," I said and gathered up the beers and the opener and as much dignity as I could find, and went back out to the living room, leaving her to the popcorn. Justin and Tony were leaning together, talking about something when I came back in, but they saw me and suddenly stopped talking and straightened up. What was that about? Shit! Now I'm becoming paranoid. I handed them the bottles, and when Tony looked at me questioningly I handed him the opener, "It's self-service after 10," I said. Sitting down I looked over at Justin and he looked up and smiled at me and I smiled back and then we both looked away quickly. to be continued.