Date: Tue, 18 May 2004 11:49:23 -0700 (PDT)
From: Shannon <swimfan_777@yahoo.com>
Subject: Model Me Chapter 15

Disclaimer: Anything mentioned in this story is complete fiction. The
sexuality of anyone in the story is not necessarily true, but just written
to entertain. If you are underage or if it is illegal to read pornographic
material where you live, please leave now. Also, if you are uncomfortable
with gay relationships, you should not read any farther. For everyone else,
enjoy the show....

       JC walked back into the living room looking at Lance closely as he
sat down next to the man, bottle of beer in hand.
       "So you want to talk or what?" he asked turning his body towards the
man.
       "About what?" Lance asked repeating the motion with his own body.
       "The car accident," JC said lifting the bottle to his lips.
       "What about it? I was drunk and I drove big deal."
       "It is a big deal."
       "Why?" he asked standing. "Because I'm not Justin?"
       "Granted Jay has done some pretty dumb things when it comes to
alcohol, but that's no reason for you to repeat his actions. You're a lot
older then him."
       "And I'm older then you so I would appreciate you not treating me
like I was your son or something," he said walking towards the kitchen.
       "Lance I'm sorry. Come sit back down okay?" he said waving the man
back over. "I just want you to talk to me. All this doesn't seem like you."
       "I know," Lance said sitting back down and staring into the man's
eyes. "I don't really feel like myself."
       "Talk to me then, please," JC said eyes pleading with the man.
       "It's just, I guess I'm having a few personal problems. Like
relationship stuff."
       "I didn't know you were seeing anyone," JC said sipping his beer.
       "Yeah kind of," Lance lied.
       "So what happened?" he probed when Lance stopped talking.
       "I kind of saw him with another guy."
       "At the club?"
       "No. I went to his house."
       "I'm sorry," he said looking down for a minute. "Why wouldn't you
want to talk to me about that though?"
       "It's just kind of embarrassing."
       "Lance you are seriously a great guy. Anyone would be out of their
mind not to see that," he said placing a hand on his friend's arm.
       Lance half way smiled at the man almost wanting to laugh at the hole
he had dug himself into. He probably would have laughed if the hole hadn't
been his own life.
       "I think I'm going to try to get some sleep," Lance said finally.
       "It's only eight," JC said glancing at his watch.
       "I didn't sleep too good last night," he said standing.
       "Alright, I'll give you a call in the morning," he said draining the
rest of his beer.
       He tossed it in the kitchen garbage and walked to the door with
Lance on his heels.
       "Have a good night," JC said touching the man's shoulder, "and don't
worry about that prick you can do a lot better."
       Lance nodded and watched the man speed away in his fully restored
'79 Firebird. He wished and prayed he could just forget about JC but that
didn't seem possible after tonight's exploits. There was no way Lance could
do better then the beautiful man that had stolen his heart. After all how
can you do better then prefect?

***

       "Justin I'm so sorry," Lynn said hugging the boy tighter.
       "Its okay momma, I'm just sorry I have to leave so soon like this,"
Justin said kissing her on the cheek.
       "Don't be ridiculous. How is your friend doing?" she asked finally
releasing him.
       "He's alright. Better then I thought he would be."
       "Do you need me to take you to the airport?"
       "He's actually coming here to pick me up."
       "Well I don't think he should leave his car there for a couple of
days so I'll drive you both. He can keep his car here."
       "Are you sure?" he asked folding a few shirts to place in his
suitcase.
       "Of course I am," she said stepping into his closet. "I don't think
you have anything black sweetie."
       "Yeah I do," he said joining her. "What about this?"
       He held up an all black Armani suit that had been placed in a black
garment bag.
       "Isn't that a little expensive to wear?"
       "Momma it's a funeral."
       "You're right," she said throwing up her hands, "you're
right. That'll be fine."
       She sat on the bed while he finished up packing the clothes he would
need for Italy.
       "When did you find out about this?"
       "Tonight," he said forgetting he was supposed to have been on a hot
date with a girl.
       "Oh, did your date get interrupted?"
       "Not exactly," he said slowly.
       "What do you mean?"
       "We were done already and Craig called me on my cell phone."
       "You haven't mentioned him before how did you guys meet?"
       Justin thought back to the fashion show with Britney seeing Craig
for the first time outside and then for the second time in his tight boxer
briefs that formed around his sculpted ass just right.
       "Sweets?" Lynn said.
       "We met at that Abercrombie fashion show."
       "Is he in music too?" she asked refolding his shirts for him.
       "No he's a model."
       "You're friends with a model?" she asked looking up at him.
       "Yeah why?" he asked suddenly extremely uncomfortable with the line
of questioning.
       "I don't know I just didn't think that was you're crowd, you usually
just hang out with other musicians and stuff."
       "He's not the average model momma. He's really smart, funny, and we
just get along really good," he said staring down at the suitcase. "He's
great actually."
       Lynn looked up at him as he went on and on about Craig not knowing
exactly why her little boy was gushing over another boy. She figured they
must have just hit it off really well. It was rare in Justin's line of work
to find someone you click with that isn't after your money, your status, or
just wants a connection in high places. Or at least that's what she told
herself.
       "He paints too momma really well," he said not able to hide the
sparkle in his eyes when he talked about the man he was in love with. Lynn
noticed it was the same sparkle he had when he got off the phone with his
"mystery woman" earlier that day.
       "That's great honey. I'll have to talk to him about that," she said
shrugging off the odd feeling that crept over her by trying to concentrate
on folding clothes.

***

       In the morning after a short somewhat mushy conversation with Craig
complete with six "I love you's," Justin jumped in the shower feeling
extremely excited to be seeing the man in an hour or so. As he brushed his
teeth with just a towel clinging to his lower body he stared at the smile
on his face in the mirror. He didn't like the feelings he was having at the
moment. There was a mix of anticipation about seeing Craig and traveling
with the man to Italy stirring somewhere low in his stomach but above all
he wasn't sad. This wasn't a happy occasion for a trip by any means but he
wasn't feeling that way. True he had never gotten to meet Jeremy so to him
the man was only a name spoken with a solemn look and down cast eyes
instead of an actual person. His main focus on the trip was to just make
Craig feel better he decided as he threw on a pair of jeans. He would do
everything in his power to make sure the man was comfortable and feeling as
good as possible.
       He bounded down the stairs pulling on a white hooded sweatshirt as
he rushed to open the front door before his mom could. He skidded to a halt
in the foyer almost knocking into her.
       "I'll get it," he tried to say as calmly as possible kissing her on
the cheek.
       She smiled up at him and moved on to the kitchen.
       "Hi," Justin said opening the door quickly.
       Brian and Craig stood on the front steps looking more put together
and modelesc then Justin had ever seen either of them look. Of course he
had only seen Craig model little more then small swim trunks before and
that was only once. Justin suddenly felt out of place with his casual
attire, Brian darning a bright red collard shirt tailored to his body
perfectly and remarkably pristine white slacks with shoes that looked more
expensive then Justin's entire outfit, red tinted sunglasses low on the
bridge of his nose to glance at the man, and huge sparkling diamonds in
each ear that managed to catch the early morning sunlight as did the
platinum chain around his neck speckled with diamonds. Craig was less
dramatic with his look, showing Justin the reason why he loved the man so
much, wearing a striped white red and black shirt just as tailored as
Brian's and neatly ironed light khakis. It was simple, clean cut, and made
him look outstandingly stunning.
       They were definitely more then pretty faces, gorgeous well toned
bodies, and expensive clothing though. They had an air about them that said
they were important that they belonged at high society parties and fancy
dinners, although Brian's seemed to be more cocky while Craig looked
sincere. Justin had never noticed a huge difference between Craig and other
models before he was here on his front porch standing with one that seemed
to embody most of the stereotypes, although as far as he knew Brian wasn't
into drugs and didn't seem like a dick or a drama queen.
       "Hi," Craig said smiling at him and walking into the house with
Brian right behind him almost like a pseudo body guard of sorts.
       "How are you doing?" Justin asked placing a hand on the small of
Craig's back.
       "I'm good, had kind of a rough night."
       "You should have called me," he said frowning.
       "I didn't want to wake you," Craig said seeing that the look of
concern wasn't leaving the man's face. "I'm fine," he said touching
Justin's abs lightly through the white hooded sweatshirt.
       "Hi," Lynn said walking back into the foyer.
       Justin's hand dropped from Craig's back as he smiled at his mom.
       "Momma this is Craig and Brian," he said referring to them with hand
gestures.
       "It's nice to meet you both," Lynn said shaking their hands. "I'm
very sorry it's under these circumstances though."
       "Me too," Craig said managing a weak smile.
       "Well," Lynn said, "Justin's told me so much about you it feels like
I know you already."
       "All good things I hope," he said feeling very awkward.
       "I just told her you were a model," Justin said sensing Craig's
uneasiness.
       "And an artist I hear," she said.
       "I try."
       Lynn smiled at him, "I guess we should get going then you boys don't
want to be late for your flight."
       "My mom offered to take us to the airport," Justin said when Brian
and Craig looked at him quizzically after her statement.
       "Oh I already arranged for a car and everything," Brian said. "The
driver's outside."
       "Okay then you kids should get going," she said glancing at her
watch.
       Justin grabbed his rolling suitcase and a black garment bag from by
the door while Brian and Craig filed out of the house.
       "Bye," Craig said to Lynn, "it was nice meeting you."
       "You too sweets," she gave Justin a hug and kissed his cheek. "And
you be careful okay?"
       "Always," he said kissing her forehead. "Call Jayce or one of the
other guys if you need anything."
       "Okay bye baby," she said waving as the driver helped him put is
bags in the trunk. She shut the door leaning against it for a second and
sighing. She always hated seeing Justin leave like that ever since he was a
little kid. It never got easier. The fact that he was going off to a
foreign country with people who were practically strangers didn't help the
situation either. She dialed a phone number on the kitchen phone and waited
through about seven rings before someone finally answered.
       "Hi Josh," she said. "It's Lynn. I was wondering if I could ask you
something."
       "Sure," he said slightly out of breath. "Is everything okay?"
       "I'm not sure. How much do you know about Craig?"
       JC cursed the day he had met Justin Timberlake quietly in his head
as he pushed Wade off of him and sat up on the couch.
       "What do you mean?" he asked.
       "You've met him haven't you?" she asked tapping her pink nails to an
unknown song on the granite counter top.
       "Yeah a few times, why?"
       "I just met him this morning and, well he and Justin just act so
weird around each other. Do you know why that is?"
       "No Lynn I don't," he said starting to pace the length of his living
room.
       "Well what do you know about him Josh?"
       "Not much I guess. He's a model that's about it."
       "Why hasn't Justin told you more?"
       "Like what?"
       "I don't know there's just something odd about the two of them, like
they're keeping a secret. Justin just talks about him way too much like
he's trying to, I don't know, give just enough information so I don't get
suspicious."
       "Suspicious of what?" he asked his heart starting to pound a little
harder in his chest.
       "I'm not sure," she said pausing for a moment. "Have any of the
other guys met him?"
       "Not that I know of."
       "Okay, well I should get going. Thanks Josh."
       "Sorry I couldn't be more help."
       "Don't worry about it sweets. I'm probably just being silly right?
Justin tells me everything he's not hiding something."
       "Yeah," was all JC could say before hanging up.
       He looked at Wade who was lying on the couch shirt discarded to the
floor; pants unbuttoned and unzipped his long slender hard cock resting on
his belly causing a pool of shiny liquid to form there.
       "What?" he asked when the man just stared at him.
       "Nothing," JC said shaking his head to clear it of thoughts of
licking the pre cum off of Wade's stomach and driving the man's hard cock
into his mouth. He sat on the loveseat parallel to Wade and ran his hands
over his face.
       "What's wrong?" Wade asked trying to push his erection back into his
pants and zip them up.
       "Nothing, I just need to call Jay in a bit."
       "It doesn't look like nothing," he said finally successful with his
tug of war. He stood walking over to JC and sat on the edge of the coffee
table across from him. "Do you want to talk about it?"
       "With you?" JC asked laughing. He frowned at the hurt look that
crossed Wade's face. "I'm sorry. I just didn't think you'd want to hear my
problems."
       "Why not? I thought we used to be friends before all this. But I
guess all I am is your fuck toy now huh?" he asked standing and grabbing
his shirt from the floor.
       "Wait, where did all that come from?" JC asked extremely confused.
       "It doesn't matter," he said throwing on the shirt. "Where are my
keys?" he asked feeling his pockets for them.
       "No Wade, talk to me what's wrong with you?" JC asked standing and
grabbing the man's arm when he started to head out of the room.
       "You can talk to everyone else, Lance Justin whoever but you can't
tell me what's going on? I just thought we were closer then that."
        "I just didn't think you'd want to hear any of it," JC said
releasing him.
       "Why, because I'm just some airhead choreographer you fuck when you
get bored?" he asked practically spitting the words at the man.
       "Look you're the one who came on to me and keeps coming back over
and over again okay? If you don't want me to fuck you stop waving your
fucking ass in my face," he said walking into the kitchen.
       Wade let his eyes fall to the floor half because he was still
looking for his keys and half because he didn't want the man to see him
cry. He wasn't sure when exactly he had developed feelings for JC but he
knew he had them. He had never wanted to cry over a guy before now so that
must have meant something.
       JC walked back into the room and threw Wade's keys at him hitting
him in the chest and then falling into the man's hands.
       "Are you crying?" he asked, walking closer to the man who had
averted his eyes quickly.
       "No," Wade said willing the tears to disappear from his eyes.
       "Wade," he said reaching out to touch his arm.
       "Don't," he said dodging the hand. "I'll see you later." He walked
quickly to the front door.
       "Wait," JC said running after him. "For someone who wants to talk so
much why can't you just tell me what's up?"
       "I already did," Wade said spinning around on his heels to stare at
the man.
       "You think all I want from you is someone to fuck?"
       "We never do anything else you don't talk to me, nothing."
       "You're right," he said shrugging. "I thought all you wanted was a
physical relationship, I mean come on Wade you're not really the poster
child for marriage or anything."
       "That doesn't mean I don't like you," he said quietly. "I really
like you JC."
       "Okay," he said running his hand across the back of his neck.
       "It's alright if you don't feel the same way. I mean how could you
after I threw myself at you like that and then all the other guys I've been
with. How could you-" he said but was cut off by JC pulling him into his
body and kissing him deeply.
       Wade let the man kiss him passionately melting as their tongues
touched gently.
       "I like you too," JC said still close to the man's face.
       "You do?" Wade asked amazed.
       "Yeah, why don't you let me take you out so I can show you?"
       Wade nodded, that was really all he could do. In his wildest dreams
he couldn't imagine having actually fallen for a guy especially one that
felt the same way as him.
       "And I'm sorry okay?" JC said. "I've never treated anyone like an
object before and I shouldn't have done it with you."
       Wade nodded again, "I didn't really help any either I guess. But I
really do like you and I kind of want to be with you, you know?"
       JC smiled at the younger man. Although Wade had slept with more
guys, thus having more sexual experience, JC could still tell that he
didn't have much when it came to relationships. He was innocent and naive
but he couldn't help but like that about the man.
       "Let's have dinner and we'll take it from there," JC said.

***

       "You're sure?" Justin asked Brian.
       "Yes, you and Craig sit together and I'll take the other seat in the
front."
       "Okay, thank you," Justin said staring at himself in the red
reflection of Brian's glasses. This was their last flight, about two hours
away from Naples, and the only one Brian was unable to get seats together
on. The flight from New York to London had been the longest at about twelve
hours, but Justin didn't really remember much about that one, he had fallen
asleep soon after they took off holding on tightly to Craig.
       "Don't mention it," he said. "I'll see you guys when we land."
       "Do you think he'll be okay?" Justin asked sitting down in the isle
seat next to Craig.
       "I think he'll be just fine," he said watching a long stream of hot
young Italian guys in University of Naples Federico II soccer team
sweatshirts walk towards Brian's area. "His Italian's not that great but
his French is really good if you know what I mean."
       Justin laughed, "Sure you don't want to trade with him?"
       "No," he said holding the man's hand and cuddling up close to him,
"I've got my perfect guy already."
       "Good," Justin said kissing his forehead. "Do you think things went
well with my mom?"
       "Um...well they went. It was just kind of awkward, not really under
the best circumstances and stuff you know?"
       "Yeah, I still think she likes you though," he said smiling.
       "How do you figure that?"
       "A son knows," he said shrugging.
       "Does he really?" Craig asked leaning closer to him and placing his
lips over the man's. They continued kissing Craig placing his hand on
Justin's thigh and running it up to his stomach sliding it up his
sweatshirt and t-shirt to touch his bare warm skin.
       Justin couldn't help but get aroused by the action but this was
neither the time nor the place to get a hard-on.
       "Maybe we should pay attention," Craig said when Justin started to
run his tongue over his neck up to his ear.
       "To what?" Justin whispered seductively to the man.
       Craig laughed and pushed him off of him playfully.
       "We don't want to attract any attention Mr. Superstar," he said
pulling the baseball cap further down on Justin's head causing him to look
even hotter.
       "I don't care," he said going for Craig's lips again.
       Craig only kissed him lightly noticing that most of the first class
lounge was focusing on them rather then the flight attendants giving their
spill on seats doubling as floatation devices.
       "I really would rather not out you to the entire world via the cover
of the Enquirer," he said quietly into the man's ear.
       "I know," Justin said looking forward avoiding eye contact with
anyone who glanced his way but still touching Craig's thigh. "What are we
doing when we get to Italy?"
       "Brian said we have to take a train to Campobasso from Naples then
we check into a hotel and sleep for a few hours until..." he said sighing a
bit.
       "You okay?" Justin asked eyeing the man.
       "Yeah I'm fine I just have such a mix of emotions. It's just so
weird. Half of me is so in love with you and happy you're here but then the
other half is like broken or something," he said looking down at his hands,
"like I'm empty inside."
       "That's okay," Justin said holding onto his hand. "All of that's
normal. He wouldn't want you to be so sad anyway. He'd want you to feel
happy that you were in love."
       "I do. It's just sometimes all I can think about is kissing you and
not about the service tomorrow."
       "I actually feel kind of the same way. It's like I'm so happy to
have you back in my life that I want to kiss you and hold you forever. But
then I feel like I should be thinking about how I wasn't there for you."
       "Justin," Craig said disapprovingly.
       "No Craig, I wasn't there and I swear to God I'll be making it up to
you for the rest of our lives together. And then I think about Jeremy and
that I should be really sad. I mean I feel bad he's not here and that
you're hurting but I can't grieve like you because I never met him."
       "I wish you could have. He would have loved you," Craig said kissing
the man on the cheek.
       "Just don't feel bad okay? You're doing a lot better then I could
have done."
       "I hope you never have to go through this but if you did you'd be
very strong," he said looking into the man's eyes.
       Justin let his lips fall over Craig's again wanting to kiss him
deeper and more passionately but deciding against it because of the close
quarters with people who could recognize him.
       "Buona sera questo e Andrea Sicuso vostro parlare del capitano.
Dovremmo arrivare a Napoli, Italia a circa 7:30 a.m.," the pilot said over
the intercom as they broke the kiss. "Possiamo avvertire una poca
turbolenza attraverso la meta del nostro volo ma quello non e niente
preoccuparsi circa. In generale dovrebbe essere navigazione regolare."
       "What did he say?" Justin asked.
       "That we'll be in Naples by 7:30 and there could be some
turbulence," he said squeezing Justin's hand.
       "I love that you speak Italian," he said smiling. "Say something."
       "Like what?" he asked laughing.
       "I don't know...something."
       "Would you two care for anything to drink?" a woman in a crisp blue
uniform asked in an Italian accent.
       "Due vetri del succo di arancia per favore," Craig said.
       "Naturalmente. Posso chiedere da dove provenite? Avete un accento
interessante."
       "Campobasso, Molise."
       "Mi sono sviluppato in su in Molise. Provenite da la anche?" she
asked Justin.
       "I don't know," he said looking at Craig for help.
       "No he's from the States," Craig said answering for the man.
       "I will bring out your drinks in a minute," she said smiling at both
of them.
       "Okay don't do that again," Justin said to him.
       "What? You said you wanted me to speak Italian so I did."
       "To me not to other people, it's weird not knowing what you're
saying. You could be talking about me."
       Craig laughed, "And how good you are in bed?"
       "Or bad."
       "Believe me it'd be good but you might have to get used to it for
the next day or so. Brian doesn't speak much Italian and where we're going
not many people speak English."
       "I'll bear with it I guess," he said in mock exasperation.
       "Grazie l'amore della mia vita," Craig said kissing his lips.
       "I have no idea what you said, but say it again."

***

       As Justin fiddled with his tie letting the smooth silk fabric slide
between his fingers he glanced over at Craig who had been sitting on the
bed amidst the ruffled bed sheets flipping the television channels rapidly
for about an hour. His eyes were glassy making him appear as though he was
on the verge of tears and his hands shook slightly as he pushed the up
button on the controls. Justin tore his eyes away from the man trying to
concentrate on the tie one last time before he officially gave up. Usually
he could put on a tie with his eyes closed but today his fingers just
wouldn't do what he wanted them to. He guessed it was a mixture of being so
terribly worried about Craig and the lack of sleep he had gotten in the
last few days, the nine hour time difference wasn't really helping matters
much.
       "We need to get out of here in about ten minutes," Brian said
walking into the room. "Are you guys good?"
       Justin glanced up at the man who looked surprisingly stunning in his
traditional black suit complete with the diamond earrings he always seemed
to wear and a tie clip with three small diamond chips set in the platinum.
       "Yeah," he said turning back to the mirror.
       "You okay sweetie?" he asked sitting next to Craig on the bed. He
hadn't had any problem getting up after a short nap when they finally got
to Campobasso and getting dressed but as time clicked closer to the event
he seemed to slip further and further into a catatonic state. Actually
getting him in his suit had taken a little persuasion on Justin's part
which made Brian grateful to have him there. "Do you want to talk?"
       "No, I'm fine," he said still staring at the TV which blazed with
some Italian soap opera.
       Brian ran his hand in a few small short circles on his friends back,
"There's lunch still set up in the living room."
       "No thank you," he said finally turning off the TV.
       Brian kissed his cheek and left the room.
       "You look nice," Craig said looking up at Justin.
       "Thanks you do too. I'm glad I decided on this suit."
       "You could have worn anything," he said walking over to the man.
       Justin relinquished the stubborn tie to Craig's nimble fingers which
had it perfect in a matter of seconds. Craig ran his hand over the black
silk smoothing it and the black collard shirt underneath.
       "There," he said stepping back.
       Justin looked down at the man he had inadvertently matched his
clothing with. He was wearing a black cloth tie with stripes of black silk
diagonally across it, a neatly ironed black collard shirt, and an Armani
suit reminiscent to Justin's although Craig's had been sent to the hotel by
Giorgio Armani himself. Justin hadn't asked questions when the garment
arrived, carried by Giorgio's personal assistant, but a million thoughts
ran through his mind. He chocked up the abundance of models and high
fashion designers that sent presents to the hotel room as friends or
acquaintances of Craig's before his Abercrombie days or maybe Jeremy had
been a model also or worked in fashion. Justin had no idea though; because
Craig never told him and he didn't think it was the time to ask.
       "Thank you. That might have taken me days to do."
       "No problem," he said walking back over to the bed.
       Justin followed him sitting down next to him and wrapping his arms
around him tightly.
       Craig clung to him feeling his hard body underneath the soft
suit. Neither one of them spoke, Craig didn't have the words to express how
much Justin being there meant to him; and Justin, well he didn't know what
the hell to say.
       "The car's waiting downstairs," Brian said standing near the open
doors separating the master bedroom from the rest of the suite.
        Justin nodded at him as he left the room leaving them alone to do
what they seemed to do best, read each others minds. Justin ran his thumb
across Craig's cheek wiping away the single tear that had slipped from his
eye and kissed him softly on the lips.
       "I love you," he whispered quietly to him.
       Craig nodded, "I love you too Justin."
       They both stood Justin placing his arm around Craig's waist, more
for emotional support then physical, and walking to the elevator at the end
of the hall. The hotel they stayed at was modest by Justin's standards but
had a quiet elegance about it. It was one of only three hotels in the small
town which caused all of the twenty rooms to be filled with guests for
Jeremy's funeral. Justin had been surprised at how many solemn nods they
had gotten when arriving at four in the morning and how many people came up
to Craig to give their condolence, most of who were executive types. He
knew this day wasn't about him but he couldn't help but feel a little
jealous at the fact that all of these people, all of who were complete and
udder strangers to him and probably to Craig as well, knew that Jeremy was
his father. He guessed he still just didn't really understand Craig's
thought process on that whole issue but he chose not to dwell on it.
       When they got outside there was a string of black limos lined up in
a row waiting for passengers, drivers standing by them in all black
perfectly starched uniforms. Brian led the way to their car, the driver
opening the back door for them as they piled in. Justin held Craig's hand
tightly glancing at him every once in a while as they drove to the
graveyard. He had to admit that the view outside wasn't too shabby but the
sunny day seemed to be overcast because Craig wasn't smiling.
       Craig looked down at his hands, not wanting to see the expanse of
beautiful homes below them on the huge mountain the town was placed on and
exquisite ancient structures that stood far off in the distance from the
main road. He had seen them all before probably hundreds of times, but was
always excited when he came back to the small town he had been born
in. This was not a happy occasion though and seeing those familiar old rock
formations and temples at this point would have tarnished them in his
mind. He thought back to the conversation he had with Dr. Martin, who could
not attend the service because of obligations to the hospital, shortly
before they left the hotel. The man had told him that he would always have
family, a friend, and a shoulder to cry on as long as he needed one. Craig
had never been extremely close to the good doctor but that had meant so
much to him and suddenly he wished the man could have made the trip. He had
been right, Craig did have family. He had Brian, Uncle Giuseppe, and of
course Justin. They had all traveled with him all the way to Campobasso to
give him support. That was his real family, not the people who actually
lived here and wanted nothing to do with him. The car crash that killed his
mother had nothing to do with Jeremy or him but they still had a chip on
their shoulders because of it. He wasn't even sure if Brian had called any
of them, probably not. Either way they wouldn't be there and they didn't
care about him anymore. He had to make his own family now, no matter how
dysfunctional and untraditional it seemed.
       As the limo slowed to a stop in front of rows of tombstones Craig
finally looked out of the window. Brian had told him that he had decided on
an outside service because they were generally quicker and that was what
Craig had wanted, although in February the high temperature in Campobasso
is about forty five degrees Fahrenheit.
       The driver opened the door on Craig's side, a gust of cold air
blowing through the warm cabin tossing his hair around. He exited the
vehicle trying not to make eye contact with the hundreds of people already
gathered on the surprisingly bright green grass. He didn't really want to
make an entrance; he never had in his life. He felt a warm wool coat slip
over his shoulders as Brian, who on the other hand loved to be the center
of attention, stepped up behind him and placed an arm around his waist.
       "Ready?" he asked quietly his words almost getting lost in the
arctic wind that whipped around them.
       Craig nodded as Justin clasped his hand around the man's
tighter. This was all he needed, his best friend and his boyfriend by his
sides forever.
       They made their way through the crowd, stopping every once in a
while for someone to hug or kiss Craig on the cheeks or lightly on the lips
as they gave their commiseration.
       Justin looked out over the large crowd wondering how so many good
looking people could be in the same place at the same time without the
earth imploding. He noticed many of the famous designers that adorned his
closet there in person, wiping at their read teary eyes with expensive silk
handkerchiefs.
       A woman in a short black dress, showing just enough cleavage to be
deemed classy, showed them to their seats. There were white folding chairs
set up in a half circle around an open grave, a sleek black casket poised
over it, adorned with tons of white and red tulips. There must have been
only ten or so chairs, most likely for close friends and family. They sat
down as the crowd of people gathered around them. A man that Justin
recognized as Craig's uncle kneeled in front of the man to his right.
       "So che forse ora figlio troppo ritardato, ma io amava il vostro
padre e sono spiacente," he said tears slipping down his tanned wrinkled
face and stopping in his bushy white mustache.
       Craig nodded hugging the man close to him as tears slid from his own
eyes. He kissed him softly on the lips, Brian moving down one seat so the
two could sit next to each other. Craig hadn't really known what to say
when his uncle showed his sorrow and emotion over the pain he had caused
Jeremy over the years, directly or indirectly. He held the man's hand;
weathered from years of working in the family's vineyard and the hard labor
he had endured in the States for so many years before earning enough to
open his own restaurant. He could have just taken money from his family who
had been very wealthy at the time but he wanted to make his own fortune
when he turned eighteen. Uncle Giuseppe and Craig were a lot alike in that
respect.
        The woman in the black dress, who Justin now assumed was the
funeral coordinator or some other equally grueling profession, singled out
a few more people, filling up the chairs in the front row. She disappeared
to his left just as the priest, all in black robes with a simple white
collar and beautiful hand beaded rosaries adorning his neck, appeared in
front of them.
       "We are gathered here today," he started in a heavy Italian accent,
almost reminiscent of wedding vows, "to pay tribute and respect for a man
many knew and loved. Jeremy Walsh touched many lives with his work, his
kindness, and his compassion. His body may no longer be with us, but his
spirit remains. Let us pray."
       Everyone hung their heads and listened as the priest said a simple
prayer in Italian to lay Jeremy's body to rest.
       "Amen," everyone said in unison.
       "At this time if anyone has anything they would like to say about
Jeremy please come forth," he said looking over the crowd.
       A cold bitter wind blew, tossing perfectly cut hair and expensive
clothing as silence fell over the graveyard once more. The only sounds that
could be heard were the small sniffles from the semi circle around the
casket and the leaves blowing in the trees overhead. An older man walked
forward, standing in front of the crowd and clearing his throat. Justin
glanced at Craig to see if recognition showed on the man's face, but his
head was down, his eyes towards the crisp grass under their feet.
       "I've known Jeremy for quite some time now," he said in a British
accent. "We met a few years ago when I first came to the States, and was
living in New York. My company went under right before I left England and I
spent my last few hundred dollars on a plane ticket. I met Jeremy at a bar,
of all places, and he offered me a job and a place to stay for a while. It
wasn't as though he was giving me a hand out exactly, he didn't seem like
that kind of person, he expected me to work for it and make something of my
life. I'm now the president of one of his largest companies and every
chance I've gotten I've thanked him for what he did for me. So thank you
Jeremy, for being the kind and thoughtful man that you were." He paused by
the casket looking down at it and then moved back into the crowd.
       Justin watched person after person come forward with stories of how
Jeremy had touched their lives, even in the smallest way. As he heard more
of the tales he wished he had known the man more and more. He looked over
at Craig when he shifted in his seat, the man's eyes were still downcast
and it didn't appear that he was hearing any of the words spoken about his
father. Justin wrapped a strong arm around him running his hand up and down
his side and kissing the side of his face.
       "Are you okay?" he whispered in his ear.
       Craig nodded still not looking up but grateful that the man had put
an arm around him to support him. He wasn't going to collapse in a fit of
sobs and wails flinging himself on the casket or worse in the hole Jeremy
was going to end up living out the rest of his days. He wasn't sure what
had come over him. He knew it was going to be an emotionally draining day
but as soon as people started getting up to talk about Jeremy it had turned
from bad to worse. Sure the good things they said about him were wonderful
but the man hadn't been all good. That may have been what hurt Craig the
most, not the fact that Jeremy was actually dead, the fact that his father
had never been alive. He had never had someone to talk to about guy stuff
or play sports with or learn how to shave from. Jeremy was too busy running
his companies and not being available emotionally to even care about him
until Craig's twenty first birthday, when the man ruined his day by telling
him he had AIDS and would most likely die within the year. He had managed
to hang on a bit longer then that but once again he had made a selfish move
and Craig was the one left holding the bag like always.
       Suddenly Craig stood and stepped forward towards the casket
interrupting a woman in mid sentence. "I'm sorry," he said to her quietly.
       She gave him a sorrowful smile and hugged him to her tightly before
going back to her place in the crowd.
       "I just wanted to thank everyone for saying such beautiful things
about Jeremy," he started his eyes still downcast blurring the small
daisies that grew around the tombstone. "But Jeremy wasn't a saint by any
means. I think we all remember the bad things as well as the good. I don't
think he would want to be remembered as a saint though, more like a regular
guy who occasionally did a good deed." He shifted his weight from foot to
foot and crossed his arms over his chest against the cold breeze that
picked up. "Jeremy was biologically my father I've known that since I was
born, but it was by name only. He didn't act like a father to me he was
always too busy and honestly if he hadn't been I don't think he would have
known what to do with me. We never played catch, he never taught me how to
tie my shoes or ride a bike, he never told me about love, and he was never
there for me when I needed him so I stopped depending on him. Over two
years ago he tracked me down, which probably wasn't too hard at the time,"
he said smiling despite the tears that constantly streamed down his face,
"in Milan where I was doing a show for Ms. Versace," he smiled at the woman
sitting at the end of the row of white chairs, "I hadn't seen or talked to
him in six years and right before I went on he told me he was dieing from
the AIDS virus. It's not exactly something you want to hear before you hit
the runway and I pretty much told him to fuck off," he turned to the
priest, "sorry father."
       The priest smiled faintly and nodded his head.
       "Anyway after a few days I got in touch with him and we talked
everything out right there at that little street cafe in Milan," he said
closing his eyes to remember the smell of the streets and the hot sun that
would beat down on him. "That five hour conversation was longer then all of
our conversations added up in my entire life. I moved to Orlando with him
after that, some may say I ruined my career, but I say that it just really
had begun. There was no way that Jeremy could ever have made up for not
being there for twenty one years, even if we were together a lifetime, but
he did make me love him again, that unconditional love that only children
have for their parents before they figure out their not superheroes. But I
didn't just love him as a human being or a friend, I learned to forget
everything in the past and focus on the present with my father. That was
the one thing he was actually able to teach me, how to forgive and forget
and how to love again. I love you Jeremy," he said looking down at the
casket. "I love you daddy."
       The tears that had been flowing down his face the entire time he
talked flowed heavier and his throat choked up a bit as his face turned
into a deep frown.
       Brian stood and walked over to him hugging him tightly and running
his hand over the man's back. He held him tighter when Craig almost
collapsed in his arms and walked him back to his seat where Justin took
over consoling the sobbing man.
       For some reason all of the feelings had just sprung back into Craig,
the feeling of holding the dieing man's hand all of those long days in the
hospital and in his room at home, all of the pent up anger from his
childhood, all of the sorrow he had been feeling over the past few days but
not expressing, everything just came pouring out of him in a flood of
tears. He leaned forward resting his elbows on his knees and covered his
face, splashing his hands with salty drops.
       Justin ran his hand over he man's back in small, he hoped,
comforting circles.
       "It's okay," Justin said to him softly. "Let it out."

***

       JC sat in the booth waiting patiently for about fifteen minutes. He
tapped his fingers on top of the polished wood to the beat of the music
that drifted out of the speakers overhead. He was just about to figure he
had the wrong restaurant when he spotted Wade off in the distance. He made
eye contact with the man and watched as he made his way through the small
stream of people by the door.
       "Sorry I'm late," he said slipping in across form JC. "I couldn't
figure out what to wear."
       "Looks like its well worth the wait," he said having already checked
the man out repeatedly before he even reached the table. The bright orange
collared shirt he was wearing surprisingly made his body look even more
radiant then usual.
       Wade smiled at him glancing around the small restaurant. They had
agreed to go very simple for their first date, just grabbing a burger and
fries at a local cafe. Wade wasn't sure if it would be as easy to talk to
the man as it had been in the past after everything they had been
through. He had never made friends with any of the guys he'd ever slept
with, unless fuck buddies counted, which he assumed they didn't.
       "You look good too," he finally said feeling his cock get hard in
his pants as he pictured JC ripping off the tight t-shirt he was wearing
exposing his rock hard upper body.
       There was an unmistakable sexual tension running through both of
them. They hadn't had sex with each other all day and having to sit
patiently through dinner and general conversation wasn't on either one of
their minds.
       "Are you hungry?" JC asked.
       "Not really," Wade said pushing away his closed menu.
       "Do you want to get out of here?"
       "Yes."
       They both stood rushing quickly to the exit. As soon as they hit the
crisp outdoor air; JC grabbed Wade and kissed him patiently pushing him up
against the side of the brick building. He pressed his tongue into the
man's mouth swirling it around as his hands groped and pulled at the warm
skin underneath Wade's shirt.
       "I want you," Wade said groaning as JC placed his knee between the
man's legs and massaged his cock through his tightening jeans.
       JC kissed him again passionately almost taking his breath away and
led him silently to his car. He got in the drivers seat quickly starting up
the automobile and putting it into drive after Wade was in the passenger
seat.
       Wade leaned over kissing and licking at JC's neck, taking the sweet
tanned skin into his moth and sucking on it as the man drove. His hands
dropped down to JC's black pants rubbing and pulling at his cock which was
pushing against the thin fabric. He unzipped the pants, JC's cock
immediately popping out into view and started stroking it with his hand
flicking his tongue over the head of it.
       "Suck it," JC said placing his hand on the back of the man's head to
urge him on.
       Wade wasted no time and placed his lips over the pulsing red head
sucking on it and swallowing the shots of pre cum that squirted into his
mouth.
       JC pushed harder on his head causing the man to move his mouth down
farther still sucking as he went.
       "Oh yeah," he said trying to still concentrate on the road in front
of them as Wade slurped and sucked his trembling member.
       He continued to deep throat JC loving the feeling of the hard cock
in his mouth and the firm hand on the back of his head urging him to surge
ahead. He longed to feel the hot cum that would inevitably flow, squirt
into his throat. He sucked harder needing to taste the man as JC yelled out
exploding in his mouth. Wade continued to nurse his dick feeling it twitch
in his mouth a few times before he raised his head. He cleaned off the head
of it and placed it back in JC's pants.
       "God you're good," JC said stopping at a red light.
       Wade kissed him deeply urging the man to fall in love with him,
praying that he would like Wade was.

***

       Justin sat on the floral printed comforter, his head against the
wall, his legs straight out in front of him as his fingers ran through
Craig's soft black waves.
       Soon after Craig's speech the funeral ended with the lowering of the
sparkling black casket into the ground, something Craig had assured both
Brian and Justin that he had wanted to see. Now downstairs in the main
ballroom there was a reception going on that neither Justin nor Craig had
the heart to attend.
       Justin looked down at the sweet relaxed face of the man who was
sleeping on his lap that had been twisted in agony and pain only a few
hours before. It was like someone had turned on a faucet in Craig's brain
that made water just gush out of the man's eyes. Even when he was smiling
weakly or not sobbing loudly, tears still flowed steadily down his
face. Justin had never felt so helpless in all his life, watching the man
cry as his father was placed in the ground never to return to him. He just
held him and told him it was okay to cry, that was all he could really do.
       Once they had gotten back to the hotel Craig had been so drained
emotionally and physically, because of the lack of sleep although Justin
wasn't sure if they had gotten there a week earlier if Craig would have
slept all that good, that he just wanted to go to sleep. Brian had given
him a few pills of something to insure that his sleep would be a dreamless
peaceful one and then went down to the reception to make apologies and play
the role of host for Craig. At that point Justin had never been happier to
have the man around. If it had just been them he wouldn't have known what
to do really, especially when it came to talking with and schmoozing people
he had almost nothing in common with.
       He ran his fingers through Craig's hair again feeling the soft curls
cascade through them like they had done millions of times before. The
action felt so familiar to him, it was something that he never wanted to
give up. Since Craig was in a drugged sleep he probably wasn't aware of the
comforting action Justin was doing, he assumed it was more for him then
Craig anyway. It made him feel close to the man.
       "How's he doing?" Brian asked walking into the room. Unlike Justin
he was still very well put together, tie and diamond clip still perfectly
in place, hair miraculously shiny and vibrantly red, Louis Vuitton suit
crisp as ever.
       "Still sleeping," he said looking back down at Craig.
       "Good. I just came up to get the check for the coordinator," he said
going through a black bag on the desk to the right of Justin. He placed a
folded piece of paper into his pocket. "Are you doing okay?"
       "Yeah," Justin said managing a weak smile. "I'm just worried about
him."
       "He'll probably sleep well into the morning," he said glancing at
his diamond encrusted Rolex.
       "How much did he take?"
       "Just two tablets, he'll be fine before we leave tomorrow."
       "What time is our train?"
       "Three," he said moving towards the door. "Try to get some sleep."
       Justin nodded although the man was already out of the room and
moving around the living room of the suite. He heard the front door close
softly and click to lock it into place. If he hadn't been so worried about
Craig he would have probably been freaked out to be in an unsecured hotel
room out of the country without a body guard or five. But all of his
thoughts were on the man lying peacefully on his lap.

***

       In the morning, or was it afternoon Justin had stopped trying to
figure out the time difference a long time ago, Craig woke up as good as
new just like Brian had promised.
       "How did you sleep?" Justin asked turning his body all the way
towards the man. He had slept in his Armani suit but the four thousand
dollars of wrinkled imported silk surrounding him was twenty times less
important then Craig.
       The man smiled weakly at him, "Good. Kind of out of it still I
guess." His eyes closed again causing his face to go completely
relaxed. "What time do we have to leave?"
       "Our train leaves at three."
       Craig nodded as his eyes opened again showing the bright green
emeralds to Justin. "Thank you for being here."
       "You don't have to thank me," Justin said touching the side of his
face. "I wanted to be here."
       Craig leaned into the touch and then closer to Justin, placing his
lips over the man's. He left his lips pressed softly against Justin's as he
brought his own hand up and ran it along the man's bristly cheek. "I love
you," he said when they broke the kiss. His face was still so close to
Justin's that he could feel his eyelashes softly brush against his cheek.
       "I love you," Justin said pressing his lips against the man's
again. It wasn't like he wanted to make out with the guy the day after his
father's funeral, well he did but he wasn't going to do that, it was more
like he just wanted to be as close as possible to him.
       "Ahem," Brian said loudly in the doorway.
       The two now smiling men looked up at him.
       "We need to leave in an hour," he said tapping the face of his watch
with a finger, "and we should all go down and have something to eat."
       "I'm really not hungry," Craig said pushing himself up from the bed.
       "You haven't eaten since we left Orlando," Brian said
disapprovingly. "I'm at least going to order some stuff from room service."
       Craig shrugged looking through his bag for clean clothes, preferably
nothing that would wrinkle since they would be sitting in three different
airplanes and a train for a good twenty hours.
       "We don't have to go back today," he said taking a step closer to
Craig.
       "I want to," he said pulling out a pair of old faded jeans that were
actually so new they weren't even available to the public yet, "plus don't
we have to meet with Jeremy's lawyer?"
       "He can wait."
       Craig shook his head, "I want to go home B."
       "Okay, I'll go order some food then," he said walking out of the
room.
       Justin came up behind Craig placing his arms around the man when he
stopped pulling clothes out of his bag and hung his head. "You okay?"
       "I'm just not looking forward to the whole will thing I have to do
when we get back," he said leaning back against his hard chest.
       "It'll be alright," he said kissing the side of his face.
       Craig turned around in his arms and hugged the man letting the
strong arms wrap tightly around him and rock him back and forth. He
definitely wasn't looking forward to hearing Jeremy's last words in the
form of a will but he also wasn't looking forward to what it was actually
going to say.

To be continued...

**Hey everyone, hope you liked the new chapter, email me at
Swimfan_777@yahoo.com with any comments and/or criticisms, all are
appreciated.**