Date: Fri, 9 Jul 1999 00:30:30 -0400
From: coryj51@mindspring.com
Subject: Bring Your Own BSB - Part 9

This story is a work of fiction and is not intended to imply anything
aboutthe sexuality of any actual person or persons.This story should only
be read by those of legal age who do not have anobjection to homosexual
relations between consenting adults.Once again, I am grateful to those of
you who have expressed yourencouragement to me. Special thanks go to
Luckylou and R C for their patience and assistance to me in this effort.
Please direct any commentary to coryj51@mindspring.com

			    Bring Your Own BSB

				 by Cory J

				  Part 9

Alex smiled as he looked out the small window of his private aircraft at
the lightly clouded sky. It wouldn't be long until he arrived in LA. It was
always something of a curiosity to Alex how much he enjoyed flying. After
all, his parents had been killed on an aircraft somewhat like that one. He
had been devastated by the loss, and there wasn't a single day that he
didn't think about it. It had changed his life, and Alex knew that in some
part the grief would always be a part of him. Still, he had managed for the
most part to put the tragedy behind him. He had set himself to continue his
parents' work, to be the successful heir that he felt they deserved. For
the most part Alex didn't seek acknowledgement for his accomplishments. He
knew that he had been more fortunate in many ways that most people. In rare
moments such as this one however, he permitted himself a feeling of pride
in those accomplishments.

Leaning back in his chair, Alex slipped his headphones on and resumed
listening to one of the CDs he'd brought with him. He smiled again as he
made out Nick and Brian's voices with no difficulty. He hadn't gotten much
work done during this trip, and his new friends were the reason. Alex
marveled for what seemed the thousandth time that he had known Nick and
Brian only a few days. Already they had shared so much. It had been so easy
and natural to trust them with his most personal secrets--his sexuality,
the feelings of loss over his parents, even the humiliating incident with
one of his coaches so long ago. He had known that they wouldn't betray him,
and apparently they had sensed the same in him. Alex was one of a handful
of people in the world to know that the two of them were not just friends,
but deeply in love and committed to one another. Alex covered his mouth
reflexively. He would never betray that trust. He feared that his friends
were right in their worry that the band's success would suffer if the truth
came out.

There was an irony here. Alex had researched the BSB enough to realize that
the band also had a strong following in the gay community. Though the
numbers most likely did not balance, there were undoubtedly a number of
young men who pined after the group every bit as much as the hordes of
screaming young women. Alex couldn't help but wonder which group would be
more disappointed to learn the truth. In any case, it seemed that the gay
community was more tolerant of differences. There was a never a cry of
outrage at the band's official straight image, though the idea must have
been annoying to their gay fans. Growing up as he had watching the news and
reading endlessly about current events, Alex knew only too well that the
reverse was not true. Homophobia had been kicked into high gear by the
onset of the AIDS crisis, but it hadn't just appeared out of nowhere. No
doubt it extended back as far as racism, sexism, and all other irrational
prejudices.

To overcome hatred, it was necessary to overcome fear. The cure for fear
was understanding--making an unknown thing known.  Alex remembered the
words of Anne Frank. She had believed even at the end in the basic goodness
of all people. Alex's mother had believed that they key to resolving the
world's problems was in communication. The sharing of ideas, of
understanding, between all peoples no matter how distant or diverse. She
also believed in the basic goodness of people. She had told Alex once that
people only needed an excuse to do the right thing. A way of being kind
that didn't seem to weaken them in the eyes of others.  The fear of being
victims kept them from being heroes.

Alex shook himself lightly. After a few minutes, he turned to his laptop
and began to type rapidly. There was an addition to be made to his plans
for the future. It was one that made him feel good and also scared the hell
out of him. He sighed. Apparently his own fears were the first in line to
be overcome. By the time the pilot signaled their imminent landing in Los
Angeles, Alex had completed his addition and was looking forward to the
city ahead. If the meeting went well, perhaps he could take some time to
enjoy himself as well. Gathering his few bags together, Alex waited until
the plane came to a stop before he was out the door and down the short ramp
toward the waiting car. It was a dark blue sedan with the TIC lettering in
silver on the side. Alex was struck by the odd thought that the company
cars were starting to looking like props from a movie about the FBI. He was
still laughing quietly as the car pulled away.

On the way to the hotel, Alex spoke with man in the back of the car with
him. He was a corporate liaison, one of the many skilled and talented
executives who worked to keep Alex informed about the activities in the
corporation. An entire arm of TIC was dedicated to this effort, a creation
of his father's that Alex had found invaluable across the country and
around the world.  After a few minutes of discussion about general matters,
Alex learned that the meeting had been arranged successfully. He would be
able to unveil his initial plans for the new media campaign for the
corporation. There were advertising and publicity experts to be had in
every major city, but somehow LA seemed particularly fitting for any
discussion of such things.

Just prior to arriving at the hotel, Alex remembered that he had meant to
let the guys know when he had arrived. After checking in and getting to his
suite, Alex picked up his headset and dialed the number of Brian's cell
phone. After several rings, someone picked up. Alex recognized the voice as
Brian's.

"Hello?"

"Brian, hey, it's Alex."

"Hey, Alex, how's it going? Are you in LA? Hey, everyone, it's Alex!"

"Yeah, just got in a few minutes ago. How are you guys doing?"

"Just fine, we're just hanging out, watching some TV and stuff."

Alex could hear the mixed voices of the rest of the guys yelling 'Hi' in
the background.

"The guys say 'Hi', if you somehow didn't hear that." Brian was clearly
amused.

"Well, tell them 'Hi' for me. I really hate that I didn't get to spend more
time with everyone. I really couldn't get out of this meeting though, a lot
is riding on it."

"Well, just remember that you are welcome to come back and hang with us if
you want after you've got things settled out there. Hey, the other guys
want to talk with you, let me pass you around. Take care, buddy." There was
some static as the phone was fumbled over slightly and Alex spoke with each
guy in turn. Nick only spoke briefly. Alex could just imagine he and Brian
cuddling on a couch or something similar. Likewise, AJ didn't have much to
say. Kevin spoke for a few minutes, asking about his trip and surprising
Alex by complimenting his singing.  Finally, the phone was passed to Howie.

"Umm, hi, Alex."

"Hey, Howie, how are you doing? Sounds like you guys are having a good time
there." Indeed, Alex could hear the sounds of the guys talking and laughing
in the background, perhaps it was a party of some kind.

"Yeah, it's cool to hang out and relax for a change, I guess." It was hard
to tell over the background noise, but Howie sounded a little down.

"I bet it is, I wish I was there with you guys, sorry I had to cut out."

"That's ok, it's like Kevin said - we all know what it's like to have to
drop stuff and take care of business. Are you going to come back?"

Alex paused for a moment, somewhat surprised at the apparent interest in
Howie's voice. He had gotten the impression from his brief contact with
Howie that they guy didn't care for him very much. Maybe that hadn't been
true.

"Yeah, probably in a few days, after things settle down here, if the
invite's still there."

"No sweat, you're welcome any time, dude. Hey, I gotta go, ok? You need
anyone else?"

"No, just say bye to everyone for me. Take care, Howie, I'll be in touch
soon."

Howie said bye and they hung up. Alex smiled - it would be great to get
back with his new friends after his work in LA was finished.

After taking care of some last minute details before the meeting, Alex
decided to go out and sample some of the infamous LA nightlife. After all,
he knew that he wouldn't have as much opportunity to go out as a relatively
private person down the road if his plans for the future played out as
expected. Feeling a bit daring, Alex did some research and found some
interesting looking places where the gay and celebrity communities were
rumored to overlap a bit. Alex controlled his excitement with some
difficulty. It was well enough to toe slowly into the waters as far as
potentially meeting celebrities, but what was really exciting was the
prospect of meeting a nice guy, maybe THE nice guy, the one that he hoped
would love him as much as Brian loved Nick.

After getting cleaned up and dressed, Alex called for a car and headed
out. After long minutes of anticipation, the car pulled up in front of the
first club on Alex's list. Making his way inside, Alex was pleased to note
that the club was active but not loud. There was a casual and friendly
atmosphere and the place was fairly busy, with numerous mixed and same sex
couples at many of its tables. He recognized several faces, both from TV
and from movies, and in both kinds of couples. Looking around the room, his
attention was suddenly captured by the sight of two very familiar
faces. Alex's heart was suddenly beating very loudly as he recognized Matt
and Joey Lawrence. The younger Matt was actually meeting his glance and
smiling. After a startled moment, Alex smiled back. Matt looked as handsome
as ever and Joey, oh Joey. The pretty teen had grown into a fine hunk of a
man. With his short hair and muscular build, beautiful deep eyes and
sensuous lips - Alex feel his knees get a bit wobbly at the sight of
him. After a bit of hesitation, Alex tried to pull himself together and
headed over toward their table. The brothers had been talking briefly after
looking at him and turned to greet Alex as he walked up.

Matt stood up and offered his hand. Alex clasped it after a moment or two.

"Hi Alex. I'm Matt Lawrence. And this is my brother Joey."

"Oh, I know who you are. I've always dreamed of meeting you actually." Alex
cringed mentally, hoping that he didn't sound too much like an infatuated
fan.

"It's nice to meet you Alex." Joey said. "I remember watching you in the
Olympics. And reading about you in some magazine articles."

"Uh, thanks. Can I buy you guys a drink? If that's not too...." Alex
trailed off, mentally cursing himself as he noticed that both guys already
had drinks.

"Sure Alex." Joey smiled, and drank the rest of his Coke.. "Just a Coke if
you don't mind."

"Nothing for me, thanks." Matt said. He still had most of his Coke left.

"Okay. I'll be back in a minute." Alex said. He then hurried away toward
the bar to get the Coke. His mind was whirling with a mixture of excitement
and nervousness. He had fantasized about these guys for years, especially
Joey, and now he was actually meeting them. It was incredible - if only he
could avoid saying something stupid and messing things up. Where they gay,
or were they just hanging out in the club? With the mixed couples in the
club, there was no way to be sure.

Alex seized the Coke for Joey as well as one for himself and headed back
toward the table.

As he approached the table, Matt stood up. "Here, Alex, take my seat. I've
got to find the bathroom." Alex looked at Joey for a moment and then eased
into Matt's seat. He slid one Coke over to Joey, who accepted it with a
smile.

There were a few moments of awkward silence. Alex wondered how he could
figure out if Joey might be gay without coming out and saying anything.
Even in a crowded place, that might be something that Joey wouldn't want to
deal with, even if he was gay. It was rather hard to think though, with a
man he had literally dreamed about for years sitting right there, within
reach. Alex suddenly realized that he could feel the heat from Joey's
body. He glanced up quickly from the thick muscles of Joey's torso to his
handsome face. Joey's eyes flicked away after a second, but Alex thought
that Joey might have been checking him out too. He was just about to say
something when he heard a familiar sound. He turned and noticed that there
was a large TV suspended from the ceiling near the bar. Alex realized that
one of BSB's music videos was playing, "Quit Playing Games". He hadn't seen
any of their videos before, and was momentarily caught up. The slow motion
effect combined with the rain was very sensual. Brian and Nick were
gorgeous as always, but Alex found himself noticing how hot the other guys
were, his eyes lingering on Howie in particular.

"Pretty hot, aren't they?" Joey said quietly.

Alex turned back and saw Joey smiling at him. "Yeah, they are - very hot."

Joey's eyes flickered over Alex's shoulder for a second and then he leaned
forward.

"Listen, I know it's sudden, but would you like to go out with me - maybe
get dinner? I know a nice place."

Alex was slightly startled, but recovered quickly. "Sure, how about
tomorrow, say tomorrow at eight? I can give you my hotel, that might be
easier than meeting you somewhere. I don't know the town very well."

"Sounds good to me. Tomorrow at eight."

Joey looked over Alex's shoulder again and stood up. Alex turned and stood
also as he noticed Matt returning to the table.

"Thanks for the drink Alex. We really should get going." Joey offered his
hand to Alex. Alex shook Joey's hand then Matt's.

"It was nice to meet you, Alex." Matt said.

"It was nice to meet both of you." Alex said.

Alex sat down slowly as the brothers exited. He couldn't believe it! He
actually had a date with Joey Lawrence! He sat there for a few moments, his
body tingling with excitement at the prospect of going out with his dream
man. Maybe this was it--maybe Joey would be the one. Alex found himself
grinning foolishly as he slipped over into the chair that Joey had
occupied. The chair was still warm and he could just imagine Joey's husky
arms wrapping around him and pulling him close.

Alex snapped out of his daydream and blushed at the need to rearrange
himself before standing. He would have to get his act together - he didn't
want to freak Joey out by coming on too strong. As Alex headed toward the
door, he was again amused to notice that several sets of eyes, male and
female alike, lingered on him as he passed by. He was still grinning
broadly as he left the club and returned to his waiting car.

After returning to the hotel, Alex spent the remainder of his evening torn
between preparation for his meeting the next day and thinking feverishly
about his date with Joey. His workout was more strenuous than normal, both
to try and relax him and to look his best for his date. After exhausting
himself, Alex took a soothing shower and slipped into bed for his nap, as
he liked to call it. He fell asleep with some minor difficulty - it wasn't
easy getting too relaxed when he could almost feel Joey's body pressed
against his own.

After he woke up, Alex spend some extra time trying to relax and clear his
mind. It wouldn't do to be obsessed with thoughts of Joey during his
meeting. He concentrated, drawing on years of training and practice. When
he had finished, his felt calm - mostly. It would have to do.  Dressing
slowly, Alex resisted the temptation to relieve his body's needs himself.
After all, he wanted to be at his best for Joey if things worked out. Alex
sat at his desk and began to carefully prepare for the meeting, casting a
frequent eye at the time - it wouldn't do to be late. Eventually, the time
for his meeting came, and Alex gathered his materials together.

Alex paused in front of the large mirror in the suite's bathroom and
studied the reflection. The young man staring back looked fairly sharp,
hair neatly brushed, the fine dark blue suit simple yet elegant. Alex
smiled, and headed out the door and down to the front of the hotel. After a
moment, his car pulled up and he got in. Several minutes later, the car
delivered him to a large office building where the meeting would occur.
Alex entered the building and soon stood outside the large double doors of
the main conference room. He was a few minutes late, and could hear the
sound of multiple conversations inside. Taking a deep breath, Alex adjusted
his tie one last time, opened one of the doors, and stepped inside.

The conference room was impressive, luxuriously dominated by the large oval
conference table in its center. A quick glance around indicated that
everyone else had arrived. There were perhaps two-dozen people, all dressed
in power suits or the equivalent in the case of the small number of women
in the room.  Moments after entering, Alex was noticed and everyone at the
table stood. He approached the vacant chair at one end of the table, and
the others sat down after he did.

Alex gave what he hoped was a friendly, confident smile as a pair of his
assistants began passing out copies of his proposals around the table.

"Gentleman, Ladies. Let me begin by saying that I believe that the
proposals I am placing before you represent an extremely lucrative business
opportunity for all of us. I realize that it represents a significant
committment of resources and that it is effectively uncharted territory for
many of you. I have come here on very short notice in order to establish my
committment to this project. To resolve any doubts you might have about my
ability to follow through with what will be required of me. I will answer
any questions you might have after my initial presentation. Shall we
begin?"

A few hours later, Alex walked back through the door of his hotel suite and
sat wearily on a nearby sofa. It had been very tiring, but the meeting had
gone well. He had made arrangements to set his new multimedia ideas into
motion in the next couple of months. Once things got under way, the
corporation would become very high profile, as would Alex himself. He
glanced back over at the large mirror. After a few moments, he got up and
checked the front door to make sure that it was locked. Then he stepped in
front of the mirror and began to slowly undress. A few minutes later, he
stood completely naked next to the small pile of his clothes and looked at
his reflection.

"Well, you'd better get used to it." He said out loud. "You are going to be
naked in front of the world in a few months." Alex indulged in a few
seconds of flexing and posing before laughing at himself. "I think I've got
it, but I have a lot to learn about flaunting it." He blushed hotly at the
thought that maybe Joey could help him practice. Joey, Joey, Alex found
himself shivering once again with excitement at the thought of making a
connection with the hunky guy. He winked at the obviously horny young man
in the mirror. "Well, Joey, I hope you don't scare easily."

Alex went through his customary set of exercises, although doing them naked
was certainly not customary for him. He found, however, that there was an
exhilarating feeling of freedom as his bare body moved through the cool
air. Perhaps he would shed his clothes more often, at least for workouts.
He completed his workout and the cool down routine that he used, prior to
taking a shower. Emerging clean and relaxed, Alex pulled some jeans and a
shirt from one of his waiting clothing bags and spent the next several
minutes online, answering his email.

As always, Alex quickly got engrossed in the numerous personal and business
messages that had piled up, and glanced up some time later only to realize
that it was almost time for Joey to come pick him up for their date. Over
the next several minutes, Alex scrambled around his room, trying on one set
of clothes and then another. Realizing that he was now late, Alex spent a
last second fussing over his appearance and dashed out the door. Emerging
from the elevator, Alex walked quickly into the lobby, making a conscious
effort to slow himself down. He had to stay calm, or he would come across
like some squealing fan and really freak Joey out. He suddenly noticed Joey
across the room, just as Joey apparently noticed him. They smiled and met
at the front door.  They shook hands and went outside.

Alex followed Joey to his truck, and they drove off. The drive to the
restaurant had some uncomfortable silences. A brief discussion of the
somewhat chilly weather trailed off and Joey seemed to be at a loss as to
what to say. Alex struggled to find something to say, but was more than a
little distracted. It was a bit chilly in fact, and in his haste he hadn't
thought to dress a bit warmer. Even worse, he could once again feel the
heat of Joey's body as he sat beside him. His hands twitched slightly as
thoughts of warming them on the hunk beside him kept flashing through his
mind.

Joey didn't seem to be looking at him much. Of course, he was driving, but
Alex worried that maybe he was bored with Alex already. It was a small
relief when they pulled up to the restaurant that Joey had mentioned,
"Tony's Place".

Joey held the door for Alex as the entered the restaurant. An older Italian
man in the front of the restaurant stepped forward with a very friendly
smile to greet Joey.

"Ah, Mr. Lawrence, It's good to see you again." He said.

Joey smiled. "Tony, I've told you before. Mr. Lawrence is my father. I'm
just plain Joey."

Tony bowed a little. "As you wish, Joey. Your table is waiting. Right this
way."

They followed Tony to a table in the back of the restaurant.  Alex noted
that the table was hidden from view of most of the restaurant by several
large plants. It was cozy and very private.  Alex found himself wondering
how often Joey came here, and if he had brought dates here
before. Certainly, Tony seemed to know Joey very well and didn't so much as
raise an eyebrow at the two of them being seated at such an intimate
table. Once he and Joey were seated, Tony motioned to a young man across
the room, who headed over toward them.

"Can I bring you something to drink?" Tony asked.

Joey glanced at Alex. Alex said, "Perhaps some water."

"That would be good, Tony." Joey said. "Maybe we'll have something a bit
later."

"Very good sirs." The young man Tony had motioned to arrived at the
table. "This is my nephew Antonio. He has just come to America from Italy,
and is getting started working here at the restaurant. He will be looking
after you tonight." Tony clapped the younger man on the shoulder and spoke
to him briefly in Italian.

It was apparent to Alex that Antonio was a bit nervous, but he seemed to
calm somewhat at Tony's words of encouragement. Tony passed on their drink
order, and then told Antonio that this was a special friend and to come get
him if there were any problems.  Tony then smiled at Joey and Alex once
again and departed.  Antonio glanced at the two young men for a moment,
then bowed his head slightly and headed back toward the kitchen.

Alex picked up his menu and studied it. It looked like the restaurant had a
mix of American and traditional Italian fare, with a pretty extensive
selection. His eyes slipped up to study Joey's face as he looked at his own
menu. Once again, he wondered how many dates Joey might have had, perhaps
at this very table.  Certainly, between Joey's good looks and hunky body,
as well as his celebrity status, it was likely that the young man could
have as much company as he wanted. Alex began to worry about his own
inexperience with dating and sex. Was he boring Joey already? If Joey
really did get whatever he wanted, how would Alex compare to his past
experiences? Alex quickly glanced back down at his menu when Joey suddenly
met his eyes.

"The steak is really good here." Joey said.

Alex was slightly startled and looked up again. He felt his whole body
tense as he met Joey's eyes. He fought to keep his voice steady as he
replied.

"Oh? Well, maybe I'll have that then."

Joey's eyes continued to hold his for a moment. Antonio suddenly appeared
at the table with their water and a basket of fresh bread.

He smiled at them both and said in a thickly accented voice, "Are you ready
to order?"

Joey tried to place the order with Antonio, but it quickly become obvious
that the young man spoke little or no English.  Though he was clearly
trying his best, both he and Joey appeared to be getting a bit frustrated.

"Joey, let me give it a try." Alex said. Joey shrugged and waved him
on. Alex turned to the somewhat flustered Antonio, who had turned to look
at him, and spoke to him in Italian.

"Hello, Antonio, my name is Alex." The young man's face immediately
brightened.

"You speak Italian! Thank goodness - as you can see, my English isn't that
good yet." Antonio looked greatly relieved.

"Yes, though I'm afraid I don't get to use it very much these days. I hope
my accent isn't too bad."

"Oh, no, no, it's beautiful, you sound like a native." Antonio looked a bit
embarrassed. "I'm sorry, I'm trying to learn English but it's difficult for
me."

Alex put a hand lightly on Antonio's arm. "Hey, don't worry about it. I've
heard that English is one of the hardest languages to learn. You'll do
fine, I'm sure. Some country, huh?" The two of them laughed briefly.

Antonio smiled, and clasped Alex's hand warmly. Alex then gave him their
orders. With another thanks to Alex, Antonio turned and headed back to the
kitchen.

Alex smiled at Antonio's departing form and then turned back to Joey. There
was a slightly perplexed look on the young man's face.

"Well, that's sorted out." Alex said. "I gave him both our orders."

"That's handy. You speak Italian? " Joey said.  "Where did you pick it up?"

Alex waved dismissively. "Bits and pieces here and there.  My mother was
very good with languages and I guess I inherited some of the talent. It
does come in handy, though. I use it in business a lot."

"Yeah, I guess it would come in handy." Joey said.  "What did you say to
him?"

"Just tried to give him a little encouragement. It must be hard for him,
starting out in a new country and all. He seems like a nice guy, I hope it
works out for him."

Joey nodded and there were a few moments of silence. Joey picked up a piece
of bread and nibbled absently on it. Alex tried not to be too obvious as he
watched in fascination. Joey's mouth was very sensuous and Alex wondered
again what it would be like to kiss him. When Joey finished his bread and
sucked the butter lightly from his fingers, Alex started slightly and
focused on drinking his water. He ordered himself again and again to calm
down, to be cool, but he knew that he was losing the battle. Try as he
might, Alex just couldn't think of anything good to talk about. He kept
imagining what it would be like just to make out with Joey. Right here,
right now. Just to reach over and grab the hunk. Alex imagined pushing Joey
down on the table, savoring those incredible lips. He'd pull Joey's shirt
open and caress the muscles beneath. Joey's own strong hands would strip
Alex's clothes away. He could almost feel the excitement of cool air on
burning skin. Losing themselves in each other's bodies, each other's
passion. The hunger, the terrible need to ravish each other, not caring if
anyone or everyone saw.

"So, what brings you to LA, Alex?"

Alex managed not to jump out of his chair. He hoped Joey didn't notice how
white his knuckles were clenching his glass. He tried to pull his thoughts
together quickly and respond coherently to Joey's question.

"Oh, it was a business trip, I'm afraid. I got this sudden call to come out
and meet with a bunch of potential corporate contacts. I'd have normally
just set up a conference call, but I was told that these people wouldn't
think I was taking them seriously enough if I did that. So, I flew out last
night, so I could attend the meeting today." Even as he said it, Alex felt
like a real stuffed shirt. What a boring thing to talk about. Joey was
surely just being polite; he didn't want to hear about Alex's stupid
business deals.

"Will you be here long?"

Oh great, he must really be boring Joey - it sounded like the guy was
already wanting to get away from him.

"Oh, I haven't really decided yet. It could be a few more days."

Joey looked down at the table, and Alex studied his face, trying to figure
out what he was thinking, what he wanted. Joey looked confused, maybe even
a little sad. Alex found himself experiencing something other than lust for
his hunky date. Well, something in addition to it, anyway. He wanted to
hold Joey close and soothe his troubles away. Alex imagined that he and
Joey would fit together nicely, if only he could find some common ground to
get to know one another.

"Er, would you excuse me for a moment, Alex? I'll be right back." Joey said
as he stood up, and walked away from the table.

Alex watched Joey's rapidly retreating form for a moment and then looked
down at the table. This wasn't working. Joey was clearly uncomfortable
around him. They didn't seem to have anything to say to one another. Could
it be the money? Joey had mentioned reading some articles about him after
the games. He probably knew about the business and everything. Maybe that
was it. Or, maybe, Joey just wasn't interested in him. Alex rubbed his eyes
- this wasn't going well at all.

"Is there a problem, sir?"

Alex was startled. He hadn't noticed Antonio coming to the table with a
pair of trays. They spoke briefly for a few minutes.  Antonio was bright
and friendly, and it was a relief to speak to someone without the tension
that had been between him and Joey.

After Antonio left, Alex surveyed the food briefly. Joey had been right
about the food--the steak smelled delicious. Alex was about to take a bite
when his cell phone rang. He fumbled in his jacket for it, before he
managed to answer it. The caller was one of the corporate associates in
Tokyo, wanting to go over some of the details of his new publicity
campaign. The gentleman apologized for the interruption and agreed to be
brief. Alex held the headset up to his face at first, but then slipped it
on. They were still speaking in Japanese when Joey returned to the table.
After a few moments, Alex ended the call, informed the American associate
who had relayed the call that the gentleman would call back in about an
hour.

Joey looked slightly flushed as he sat down. He began eating his steak
while Alex was still on the phone.

"Sorry about that, I had to take that call. This thing just rings off the
hook sometimes."

"Yeah, sure, no problem." Joey said. He continued to cut his steak quietly.

The remainder of the meal passed largely in silence. Alex made an effort to
talk about the food and the restaurant, but nothing seemed to click. After
a sentence or two of exchange, things always fell silent. Alex couldn't
tell what Joey was thinking. At times he looked sad, or even angry. Alex
wanted to take Joey in his arms and ask him what was wrong, but there just
didn't seem to be an opening.

Alex felt empty as he walked into the lobby of his hotel and stepped into
an elevator. Despite his best efforts, the evening had been a complete
failure. Joey had been polite on the way back from the restaurant, but it
was clear that he was glad to get rid of Alex. As Alex entered his suite
and sat down on the sofa, he continued to run the evening through his
mind. What had gone wrong? Joey had been interested enough to ask him out,
so it had to have been the dinner itself. Was it the money, the talk about
business? Certainly Joey hadn't been very responsive on those subjects. Did
they really just not have anything in common? Alex had tried to avoid those
subjects that he thought would have bored Joey or make him uncomfortable.
He had no idea how the man would have felt about discussing his acting or
singing careers.  Discussing Alex's own plans for the future would have
fallen between boring and showing off, he thought.

Alex got up and stepped in front of the large wall mirror, slipping his
clothes off once again. At multiple points during dinner, he had been
painfully erect but that was no longer the case. He ran his hands over his
body. Was he just not attractive enough for Joey? He'd thought before about
how the hunky star was probably used to having whatever he wanted from a
date. Had Alex not been forward enough with him? No, that didn't make
sense.  Joey himself never made any comments that suggested that he was
interesting in having sex with Alex. Alex dropped his hands at his sides as
he had another thought. No, maybe he had been too forward. Maybe Joey had
picked up on how horny Alex had been and it had scared him off. He had
almost run away to the bathroom, after all. The more Alex thought about it,
the more it made sense. He had fantasized about having sex with Joey for
years.  Alex turned and frowned as his eyes fell on his laptop. He walked
over to it and turned it on. What's more, he had been drooling over
pictures of Joey and Matt for a long time. Joey must have picked up on that
- no doubt the star would be very sensitive to being treated as a sexual
object. Alex wiped at his eyes and pressed keys rapidly. He deleted the
pictures of Joey and Matt.  Then he deleted all of the pictures of men that
he had on the laptop. He was embarrassed to realize just how many there
were.  Yes, he had treated Joey just like a piece of meat. No wonder the
guy dropped him as soon as he could. Alex resisted the desire to hurl the
laptop across the room and against the wall. Going back in front of the
mirror, Alex pulled his boxer briefs back on.

At the appointed time, the associate from Japan called again, and Alex
pulled himself together to finish their conversation.  After hanging up,
Alex turned off his phone and sat quietly thinking about the night's
events. If his money and position had in any part been responsible for his
problem with Joey, it would only get worse once his plans started
rolling. It grew late, and in time Alex went to bed. He lay there for a
long time, holding a pillow close.

"I'm sorry Joey." He whispered. "I think I could have loved you. I'm sorry
that I messed it up for us."


Tears came freely as Alex sat there alone in the dark, thinking how many
such nights he had spent and how many more might lie ahead of him. In time
he was exhausted, and lay back on the bed. However, for the first time in
years, sleep did not come.

---------------------

In addition to his usual insights and assistance, I would like to thank
Luckylou for his help in writing this chapter. This is a sort of crossover
between this and Luckylou's wonderful story, Boy Meets BSB. The events in
this chapter are written from another angle in a chapter of Boy Meets
BSB. I encourage anyone who enjoyed this chapter to read the corresponding
material in Luckylou's story, if you have not already done so.

For those readers of both stories, please note that the overlapping
characters are counterparts rather than the same. In my story, Nick and
Brian are a couple. In Luckylou's story, Nick and Matt are a couple.
However, the stories are separate - Nick is completely loyal in both
universes and is not cheating on anyone.