Chapter One

'Tom, you're on in three,' the assistant director shouted across the hall towards Mr Bergeron's dressing room. He turned and clapped his hands for the celebrities' attention. 'Places everyone!' Nine major stars followed him out onto the set where they took their seats and the audience applauded. When they were all settled, the assistant director turned to the audience and spoke in a loud clear voice to be heard by all. 'Hello everyone. My name's Joey Westwood and I'm the assistant director on Hollywood Squares. Now, if any of you people here are in the wrong studio now's the time to leave.' He smiled and added, 'Oprah is across the hall!' There was a slight murmur of laughter across the audience at Joey's weak joke. 'Now,' he continued. 'We all want this to run smoothly, so if you'll just bear with us, Tom Bergeron will be out in a minute. And when he does come on, I want everyone in the audience to go wild, got it?' The audience erupted into cheers and applause. Joey laughed. 'Well, I can see you've all been practising!' He nodded to the sound-man in the corner and then left the set.

Moments later, all the lights flashed on and a voice over for the show said, 'This is Hollywood Squares! And here's your host: Tom Bergeron!' Tom danced out from behind the set to a burst of applause and cheering. He waved at the audience and took his place between the two contestants.

When the crowd finally subsided it's noise, Tom said, 'Hi and welcome to Hollywood Squares - with a difference this week! You'll see that Whoopi Goldberg has relinquished her center square-' the audience gasped in rehearsed shock '-and not only that, we have nine of the hottest, hunkiest Hollywood stars to see us through the week of Whoopi's absence!' Again the audience cheered. 'Okay, let's introduce the stars, shall we? On the top row, we have: Josh Hartnett of Holloween H20 and The Faculty fame! Beside Josh, also of The Faculty fame, we have Elijah Wood! And on Elijah's left we have Mr Brad Pitt! Middle row we have Adam Rickitt all the way from England. Adam releases his first single here in the States next week. And in Whoopies square this week, we're joined with that hunk of a star, you're see him in I Know What You Did Last Summer and Cruel Intentions, it's Ryan Phillippe! Next to Ryan it's... Ryan Phillippe! No, that's not right, it's Justin Timberlake of N'Sync! Is it just me or do Ryan and Justin really look alike? And on the bottom row, we have Nick Carter from Backstreet Boys; also Brian Littrell from that very same group! And last but not least, he's been the center of attention sinse Good Will Hunting, it's dear old Ben Affleck!'

Once again, when the audience ceased applauding, Tom said, 'That's the stars and this is Hollywood Squares! Let's play the game!'

Tom continued by introducing the two contestants. Greg Watts and Mary Taylor. Mary had seventeen cats, they were told, and Greg had an obsession with model aeroplanes, so-much-so that he owned over three-hundred and thirty of them - and he only began collecting them six months ago! And then the questions began. Mary won the coin-toss backstage and she picked Ryan Phillippe to answer her first question. Tom said, 'Hello Ryan!'

'Hello over there,' Ryan replied, a little shyly. He was slightly nervous. Not only was this his first time on such a major show, he was also sitting center square!

'You ready for some tricky questions, Ryan?' Tom asked.

'Well, I don't know about tricky ones,' Ryan said. 'Give me an easy one. Or just give me the answer.'

Mary laughed and Tom said, 'I'll see what I can do, Ryan. Well, here's your question for an X: True or false, Ryan - actor Leonardo DiCaprio admitted paying a bus-boy $2000 for taking his dog for a walk while Leo had dinner in an exclusive restaraunt. True or false?'

'Good old Leo,' said Ryan. 'Well, if I had a dog, I probably wouldn't take it to the restaraunt in the first place! But that's Leo for you, right? No, he's a sweet guy. Met him once. I think he loves that dog, so I'm gonna say true.'

'I...' Mary said, stalling, 'I'm... going to... agree.'

Tom played his poker face and said,' Actor Leonardo DiCaprio, star of the box-office smash hit Titanic... has admitted paying $2000 to have his dog walked! You do right to agree, Mary; X gets the square.' Then they moved on to the next question. 'Greg, who do you want?'

'Well, um, I really loved Meet Joe Black, so I'm gonna go for Brad Pitt.'

'Brad!' said Tom. 'Welcome to the show.'

'Thanks for having me, Tom,' Brad answered.

'Your question, Brad: What was actress Jodie Foster's directorial debut-'

Brad cut in, saying, 'I haven't the foggiest, Tom!'

'Well, I haven't given you the options yet, Brad,' Tom said. 'Jodie Foster's directorial debut - was it Nell, Little Man Tate, or Contact?'

'Um,' Brad hesitated. 'You know, that's a good question, Tom. I once-'

Jokingly, Tom said, 'Brad, no one cares about your life stories! Do we, folks?' The audience screamed 'Yes we do!' in time.

'Well, Tom,' said Brad, playing along with the joke, 'with an attitude like that I don't think I wanna be here!' Laughed ensued and then they turned serious again. 'Okay, the answer. Let's see, I reckon it'd have to be... Little Man Tate, cos it's the only one I haven't seen!'

Tom turned to Greg. 'Greg? What are you going to do - agree or disagree?'

'I... oh, um, I think I'm going to disagree.'

'You disagree,' Tom said. He read from the card: 'The answer is... Jodie Foster's directorial debut was... Little Man Tate. Greg you were wrong to disagree; X gets the square. Mary, that means you have two squares up there, Greg you still have none, but there's still time to make it up.' He turned to the camera then and said, 'Join us after this to see who'll win the game.'

The audience applauded again and a moment later the assistant director shouted, 'Clear!' Quickly the celebrities went backstage for a minute's break.

Behind the set, Nick Carter asked the others, 'Does anyone know if there are any good night clubs in this area? If we're going to be here a week we may as well enjoy ourselves, right?'

'Only if you're over twenty-one,' Elijah Wood said. He was still only eighteen.

Brian Littrell said, 'What about the hotel bar? Won't that have some form of entertainment?'

'Yeah, for people under twenty-one,' said Ryan with a smile, patting Elijah on the shoulder.

Adam Rickitt, with his sexy English accent, said, 'Never mind, Elijah, if we were in London I'd take you out some places. You can drink at eighteen back home!'

'Oh!' said Nick. 'Elijah has a lover-boy!'

'Leave it out, will ya?' said Adam. Then they were called back onto the set.

The show passed in much the same way. The stars popping on and off stage as the program cut for commercials, Tom Bergeron making witty quips and the celebrities playing him off on them. With two minutes left of the show, Mary had won and was now to choose a star for the final question.

'Each of our fine celebrities has an envelope containing anything from $1000 to a round-the-world-vacation for two. Mary, who'll it be?'

'Well,' said Mary, 'Adam Rickitt has been right every time so far, so I'm gonna pick him.'

'Adam,' said Tom, 'Open up your envelope!'

'Okay, Mary, you're playing for...' Adam said. He fumbled with the envelope, tore it open and pulled out the card. 'Isn't it exciting!' he said. He read the card and said, 'It's $25,000.' The audience erupted and Mary gasped.

'Okay, Adam. You question: In the Book of Genesis, in the Bible, God destroyed what city - was it Soddom and Gomhorra, Jerusalem, or Mount Crystal?'

'I guess I should have payed attention in Sunday School, right?'

'Well,' said Tom, 'you never know when you might need it.'

'Right. Well, I remember somethings. I've never heard of Mount Crystal, and wasn't Jerusalem where Jesus was born? Anyway, I'm going to say Soddom and Gomhorra.'

'Are you sure?'

'Definitely!'

'Okay, Mary. For an extra $25,000, what city did God destroy in the Book of Genesis?'

'Oh, I don't know... Um, I think I'm going to trust Adam's judgement. I'm going to agree.'

'Mary,' said Tom gravely, 'you have $15,000 so far, you said you'd agree with Adam's answer, the correct answer is: Soddom and Gomhorra. You get that $25,000 which brings your total to $40,000. Congratulations!'

In the hotel that King World Studios had placed the nine celebrities in, they were getting ready to hit the town that evening. Brad Pitt had arranged to meet with an old friend and Brian Littrell decided to have an early night. Elijah Wood, too young to go galavanting around the pubs retired to his room and soon afterwards a knock came to his door. 'Who is it?' he called.

An English accent answered. 'It's me, Adam.' Elijah went to the door and let the English star in. Once inside, Adam said, 'You're not going with the rest of the gang?'

'Nah,' Elijah replied. 'I'm not old enough to drink yet, plus I think I'm just gonna spend the night in front of the TV.'

'Josh is going,' Adam said.

'Yeah, Josh is a bit of a wild thing!' Elijah laughed. 'And he looks older than me anyway!'

Adam nodded. 'So, what's on tele tonight?'

'Tele?'

'TV. Sorry, some English-ness coming through there!'

'Oh. Um, nothing much. HBO is showing some old movie. A who-done-it kind of thing, I think. It's not that good, but at least it's something. And then there's General Practice on some other channel and...'

'Lots of fun then, eh?' said Adam. 'Listen, if you want, I can stay behind and keep you company.'

'Nah! You go on. I don't mind. Enjoy yourself. You won't be in grand old USA for long, will you?'

Across the hall, in the room that Nick Carter and BSB partner Brian Littrell shared, Ryan Phillippe entered and asked if they were ready to go. Suddenly Justin Timberlake blurted into the room, holding up his new jeans, and said, 'Anyone happen to have a spare belt? I bought these without trying them on and they're a bit wide at the waist!'

'Sorry, man!' said Ryan. 'Why don't you go in your boxers?'

'Yeah, wouldn't that be fun!?!' Justin said. 'No seriously; got a belt?'

Both Backstreet Boys said they didn't, and then as Justin was about to leave, Ryan said, 'Actually, I think I might. Come on.' He led Justin to his room and showed him inside. 'It's around here somewhere, I'm sure.' Once he found the belt, he threw it over at Justin and then he began to undo his pants. He had decided to change into something else.

As Ryan dropped his pants, Justin could not help but notice the package he had in his jocks. Stop staring, Justin, he told himself. He turned away, to hide his embarrassment and to hide the growing mountain in his own boxers. He buckled the belt, said thanks to Ryan and left the room, saying he'd go round everyone up. When he had gone, Ryan smiled. He liked Justin. Ryan insisted he wasn't gay, but a fuck was a fuck and right now he was desperate. He'd been with a few men before and loved it. Now he had his eyes on Justin. He was sure he'd have him before the week was over.

Chapter Two

'Okay, okay, okay,' said Ben Affleck. 'The strangest place I've ever done it was in a car on Interstate 87, not far from Kingston in New York. Seriously. She was this bird I picked up in a bar the night before and we were at it all night, right? Then come the morning she says she needs to get to Kingston and I say, "Sure, I'll take you. It's the least I can do, right?" and so we get in the car and we're driving down and all of a sudden I feel this hand on my crotch - no seriously - and she says "Stop the car. Pull over" so I just stopped, right there on the interstate and we did it.'

'That's nothing,' said Ryan. They were seated around a table in a bar they had found called Le Garr Monde, six of them: Ryan, Ben, Justin, Nick, Josh and Adam. 'I once did it in an elevator with two girls. I was going up to the twenty-third floor and these two blondes got on at the second floor. The elevator was empty all the way up and we just did it. We were nearly caught, too. The elevator stopped at fifteen and the doors opened but no one got on. May have been better if someone did get on!'

'Even,' said Nick, 'if it was a ninty-year-old man with a Zimmer frame?'

'Hey,' Ryan shrugged, glancing from the corner of his eye at Justin. 'A fuck's a fuck, right?' Everyone laughed.

Justin missed the glance but felt a little uncomfortable with the remark. He hadn't had sex with a man before, but often thought about it. He started flicking peanuts into his mouth and then Ryan shot one across at him.

'Catch!' Ryan shouted. Justin opened his mouth and stuck his tongue out but missed and Ryan threw another. He missed again. 'Man, you're useless!' Ryan said. 'Are you better in bed? Come on, where's the strangest place you've ever done it?'

Justin was reluctant to answer. He'd never actually dine it anywhere strange. Sure, he'd been with women, but only ever in a bed. He'd have to lie. 'Okay, gee, there are so many places... I once did it in a cemetery.'

'Yeah right!' said Ryan.

'No, I did!' Well, he had made out with a girl in a cemetery once. He was only fifteen at the time. 'Seriously! She was this Hispanic girl I knew since high school. Great pair of legs on her, man! Awesome! Really! It was like after midnight and the keeper was down in his little hut at the bottom. He flashed his flashlight over us once or twice and nearly caught us. And she was like so scared the whole time.' In actual fact, it had been broad daylight, on the way home from school, there was no cemetery keeper, and all he got was a kiss.

Just then, the waitress passed and Ryan stopped her. He wore his best come-to-bed face and said, 'Excuse me miss...' he checked her name tag, 'ah, Chloe. Could you tell us where the best nightclub in town is? I'm sure a girl like you must know all the great places!'

She smiled. 'Well, you know, like, there are lots of places in town you could go. Le Garr Monde has, like, a dance floor upstairs and Michael's on Cedar is, like, probably a good place to go, but I'm not sure what it's like on Mondays. Then there's probably The Restroom across from Michael's - I think that, like, opens till four on Mondays. And then there's-'

'Okay, thanks, love. That's enough,' said Ryan. Chloe had said all that in one breath and reminded Ryan of an air-headed bimbo he once dated. She smiled and left. 'Next time I do that, someone hit me!' he said to the others. 'God what a bimbo! She should be taught to keep her mouth shut. Bimbos should be seen and not heard, that's my motto. It's Latin for "Shut the hell up and suck!"' That got a laugh from the others.

They ordered another pitcher of light beer before moving on to a nightclub. They decided on trying out The Restroom; it sounded like a good pick-up joint! When the pitcher was finished, Josh drummed his hands on the beer-soaked table, which rocked on it's one shorter leg, and said, 'Okay, let's hit this Restroom place! I'm up for it tonight!'

'Well,' said Ryan. 'Who can stand in the way of a man getting laid, eh?! Let's go.'

To get to Cedar Street and The Restroom, they needed to order a couple of cabs. Adam, Josh and Ben said they'd take one cab while the other three took another. Nick got into the front of the cab and Ryan and Justin got in the back, just as Ryan had wanted it. It took all of five minutes ot get there but the cabbies charged a fortune for their service. The too cabs rolled up together outside The Restroom and from the street it looked like it was bouncing inside.

At the door, the security guard stopped them and asked Josh for some id. He showed him one and the guard said, 'Where'd you get that? From a cornflakes pack?' He smiled, rather broadly, and let them enter.

As they were going in, Josh said to Nick, 'What was that all about?' Nick shrugged.

The dancefloor inside was packed with the sweating bodies of half-naked men and Ryan began to laugh hysterically. The others asked what was wrong and Ryan said, 'Look at the sign over the bar: Monday night is Gay Night!' He continued laughing. The night couldn't have been any better.

'Now I know what that smile was for!' Josh said.

'Shit!' Ben annouced. 'Now what are we going to do? We just paid $20 each to get in here!'

'You can afford it,' said Nick. 'Let's just go somewhere else.'

Ryan turned to them. He had somehow assumed authority over the others tonight. Perhaps it was his demeanor, perhaps it was something else, no one could have been able to say. 'Why leave? Looks like the place is rocking! You wanted a nightclub; Ladies, I give you The Restroom, where Monday night is Gay Night!' He smiled.

'Are you serious?' asked Ben. 'Come on, let's just go.'

'No, I mean it,' said Ryan over the noise of the thumping music. 'You'll like it. Really. Good music, no blonde bimbos, good beer. It's all the rage these days! All the stars are doing it! Come on, what do you say?'

'Well,' said Josh, 'the music is good. I can't see anyone in drag. As long as we stick together, we shouldn't get into any trouble!'

'Excellent, Josh! I knew you secretly loved me!' said Ryan. He flipped his hand in a camp gay manner and swung his arm over Josh's shoulders, dragging him, laughing, into the middle of the dance floor.

'Well?' Adam asked. 'Are we staying?'

'Looks like we don't have a choice, doesn't it?' Ben said.

Ryan spotted Justin over by the bar and he pushed his way through the dancing crowd toward him. 'Hey,' he said as he came up to him. 'What's up?'

'Nothing's up,' Justin answered. 'Just getting a drink.'

Ryan smiled. 'Man, you've had that Bud in your hand this last five minutes! You okay?'

'Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just taking it easy. Too much dancing on so much beer isn't good for the system! In fact, I think I might go get some fresh air.'

'Tell me about it!' Ryan said. 'It is damn hot in here! Mind if I come too?'

Justin shrugged. 'Nah.' He actually wanted a few minutes alone. All those half-naked men was turning him on too much. They went outside and sat on a low wall, finishing off their beers, and after a moment's silence, where neither could think of anything to say, Justin blurted, 'Man, did you mean that earlier when you said a fuck was a fuck?'

Ryan looked striaght into his eyes and smiled. 'You making me an offer?' He saw that his remark annoyed Justin and he softened his smile, saying, 'Well, I guess. I mean, a fuck is a fuck, right? It's a cock and somewhere to stick it, you know?'

'Yeah, but-' Justin tried. Suddenly he felt compelled to lean over and kiss Ryan on the lips. He fought it for a moment, then, as Ryan stared at him, probably wondering what he was thinking, he just sat his Bud bottle on the wall beside him, placed his hand on Ryan's knee and kissed him square on the lips. He was shocked when Ryan did not pull away, and shocked more-so to find Ryan begin to stick his tongue into his mouth. He let it in, the cool wetness filling his mouth, probing, pushing this way and that. In his jeans, a tingling heat erupted and his cock stirred to life.

Suddenly, Ryan pulled away, leaving Justin with his mouth half open expecting the kiss to continue. He opened his eyes and looked at Ryan. 'Come on,' Ryan said. 'The other's'll probably miss us.' He got off the wall and began walking back towards the nightclub. He smiled to himself. He had given Justin enough to hold him. Soon he would go in for the kill.

Elijah stretched across his bed and flicked the TV off. The movie had been a dumb one and he couldn't be bothered to watch the end of it. As he lay there, staring up at the ceiling, wondering how to fill in the rest of the night before going to bed, his hand involuntarily roved down his stomach to his crotch. He was getting hard. He unzipped and delved inside for his stiffening cock. Bringing it out, he sighed heavily. It was always a relief taking your cock out of its confines, he thought. Especially when it was hard.

Slowly, he began to clench his fist around his rod, tightening, loosening, tightening, and moving his hand up and down, feeling every pleasure, heightened by the fact that he hadn't jerked off in nearly a week. He closed his eyes and thought of Ryan Phillippe. Ryan seemed to be a hit with everyone. He was good looking and good humoured. He imaginged Ryan bending down to lick and suck at his cock, his tongue moving first slowly, then swiftly, up and down, teeth gently nippling at his foreskin. Elijah's cock was so stiff now it almost hurt. He pounded on it, his fist going fast, right from the tip to the base, his other hand moving inside his pants to caress his balls. 'Unnnph!' he muttered as he brought himself to a quick climax. Ryan, in his mind, was stripping for him. First his shirt, revealing a lightly tanned, taught torso and well developed pecs, then his pants, slipping them down over his strong legs, a bulge in his boxers, and then his hands were moving all over his body and he was saying, 'I want you, Elijah. I want to take you. Oh God Elijah, I need your body.'

And then that English boy was in his head too. What was his name? Adam? Yeah, that was it. His blond hair and striking features revealed a young man that was beautiful. And that accent was to die for! As Ryan continued to tease his own body, Adam tore his jeans off and stood there, naked, a throbbing hard-on awaiting a hole to enter. Then Ryan bent over the edge of the bed and suddenly Adam was on top of him, taking him from behind, while Elijah watch on in silence in his mind's eye.

'Ohhh... ahhhh... Yes! Adam! Go for it!' said Ryan through gritted teeth. Adam pushed forward, grabbing onto Ryan's hips, and Elijah could imagine Adam's thick cock forcing itself into Ryan's tight ass. First the head, popping in, then the long shaft, moving slowly, pulling out again, pushing in again... With every movement, with every moan issued from Ryan and Adam's lips, Elijah gave a stroke on his erect penis, his hand working overtime, and his balls drew up tight in their sac and he knew he was about to cum. 'Harder!' Ryan screamed. 'Faster! Adam, fuck me good, fuck me real good! Oh man! Oh yeah... uhhhh, man! ohhh, fuck! FUCK!!!

And Elijah shot his load all over his shirt, a wad of cum striking his chin, another landing on his chest, and then he slowed his pumping action and sighed again. If only his fantasies could come true, he thought. If only.

Chapter Three

Loud voices and heavy footfalls came down the corridor outside his bedroom. Elijah stirred in his sleep, half-opening his eyes and listening to the indistinguishable voices, then he rolled over and fell asleep again, back into the peacefulness of slumber with dreams of sexual awakenings...

'Hey, Nick! You got any beer in your room?' Ben Affleck said rather loudly.

'Shhh!' Nick Carter whispered, then he giggled drunkenly, fumbling for his roomkey in his pocket. 'Brian's asleep!'

Ben widened his eyes, acknowledging the reprimand. He placed a finger to his lips and turned to Josh Hartnett, saying, 'Shhh!' Then he looked back at Nick and said, 'Brrrian's a w-hhhhhh-imp! Geez, I need a whizzz!' He clutched his crotch and mumbled to himself, 'Where's - hic - the toil't?' and he pranced off to his room.

Just then, the elevator went ping and the doors whooshed open. Ryan, Justin and Adam Rickitt stepped out, Adam looking quite pale and sick. 'I- I-' he began, but couldn't finish what he wanted to say. He covered his mouth and dashed off.

Ryan Phillippe picked a leaf from the plastic plant by the elevator and threw it into the air. 'You can't keep with the pace, Brit-boy!' he called after Adam, then laughed.

In silence, Ryan and Justin Timberlake walked slowly down the now empty corridor to their rooms. In spite of all the drinking he had done, Justin was feeling pretty sober - the effects of his momentary kiss with Ryan having played heavily on his mind ever since it happened. Following that moment in the parking lot outside the nightclub, Ryan said very little to him all night. And now that they were alone, it seemed neither of them had anything to say.

When they reached Ryan's room, near the end of the corridor (with Justin's two doors further down), Ryan delved into his pocket for his key and then smiled at Justin. 'Well,' he said. 'The night wasn't that bad, was it?'

'Hmmm,' said Justin, preoccupied.

Another moment of silence. Finally: 'Um, I have some vodka in my room. I brought it with me. You wanna join me for a night cap?'

'Huh?' Justin said. 'Well, I- Um, I don't know... We do have to get up early tomorrow for the show...'

'Come on, just a quickie. Nightcap, I mean.'

Justin pouted his lips in thought. He suspected his next move would be against his better judgement, but he decided to have that nightcap with this mysterious, arousing guy, who seemed to play his advances one moment and perform a complete turn-around the next and not even acknowledge him.

'Excellent!' Ryan said. He opened his door and stepped aside to let Justin preceed him. 'After you, my good man,' he said in a butler-style manner.

Justin nodded gracefully, caught up in the display, and reached into his pocket for a quarter. 'Thank you, Jeeves. Here, a quarter for your services.' Then he stepped over the threshold and Ryan followed.

Ryan held up the twenty-five cents and raised an eyebrow. 'Paying me for my services already? Man, people'll start to talk!' He smiled. Justin did not. He threw the quarter back at him and said, 'Right, let's get drunk!'

'I- I'll just have a little bit,' Justin said. 'I get the worst hang-overs imaginable and vodka makes me hyper! Don't wanna still be drunk on the show tomorrow, do I?'

'Oh, I don't know,' said Ryan as he opened a drawer and pulled out an un-opened bottle of vodka, 'that might be a nice sight; one to be remembered, at any rate!' He grabbed two hi-ball glasses from the counter and handed one to Justin, then unscrewed the cap on the bottle and began to pour.

'That's enought, thanks,' Justin said, even before the measure was halfway up the glass. 'No, really.'

'Oh, go on,' Ryan said. 'You only live once. And you should never look a gift horse in the mouth - whatever that means! This is free alcohol for you; what are you worried about?'

Justin shrugged and took a gulp from the glass, his face cringing as the hot liquid seared his throat. Ryan laughed. 'What are you laughing at?' Justin said. 'Go on, dare you to down the entire glass!' - Ryan had filled his glass all the way.

He looked at it, then at Justin, smiled, and, without saying a word, put the glass to his lips and swallowed the lot! When it was empty, his eyes clenched tight and his mouth formed into a grimace. And then he tipped some more of the vodka into the glass and added some to Justin's glass, even though Justin insisted he didn't want any more. Ryan nodded then at the glass and motioned for Justin to swallow it.

'What? All of it?'

'Well, it's probably best if you don't swallow the glass - the hotel might not be pleased when they finds one missing.'

'Funny,' Justin said flatly, rolling his eyes.

Ryan smiled. 'Well, go on. I dare you.'

'Oh! Don't dare me! You'll have me running round like a chicken next!'

'There's an idea-'

Immediately, Justin bit his fear of drunkenness and a second later the glass was empty and held out to Ryan for a refill. Ryan smiled and filled both glasses again. 'So,' Justin said, after swallowing a second time, false courage arising from the drink. 'What are your plans for the rest of the week? Apart from the show, I mean.'

'Oh, I don't know,' Ryan said, again refilling the glasses. He placed his glass on the bedside table and flopped down across the neatly make bed. 'I think I might wanna get laid. Once or twice, I suppose. What about you?' He looked across at Justin with his famous pout and those heart-melting eyes and Justin felt a pang of heat rushing through his loins. Ryan raised an eyebrow and said in a sensuous voice, 'Do you wanna get laid this week, Jus?'

Justin cleared his throat. 'Ahem... Well, I guess if the right person came alo-'

He was suddenly silenced by Ryan's hand on his arm. Ryan jerked him across the bed, the glass in his hand going flying and landing with a thud on the blue carpeted floor, the vodka spilling out and soaking into the carpet. Neither cared. Justin was on the verge of protesting this swift move, but Ryan's mouth covered his, his tongue probing deep into him, feeling all around his teeth and his own tongue. As Justin was sprawled across him, Ryan's hands roamed down his back onto his firm buttocks, kneading them, and his mouth issued minute moans of ecstasy as his cock stiffened in his pants.

Justin did not pull away, although his heart raced. He did not pull away even though his palms were sweating profusely and his heart was slapping him about and saying in no uncertain terms, Stop it! Stop it, you fool! You ARE NOT QUEER! He did not pull away as his stomach lurched and made it quite clear that it did not - could not - agree with this weird saliva exchange. He simply closed his eyes, opened his mouth, and let his 'sensibility' fly out the window. When the kiss broke and Ryan sighed, Justin kept his eyes shut and knew right then that it was the right thing, that this was what he had longed for all his life, all his petty little straight life with blonde girls and large breasts, with annoying girlfriends that needed to show him off like a prize ('Look everyone! My boyfriend's famous!'). He smiled to himself.

'What are you smiling at?' Ryan asked, a grin on his face.

'Nothing,' Justin said, and he went back in for a kiss.

Nick Carter lay awake, his confusion sobering him up. The walls still span around him and he felt mildly sick. He looked across at Brian and wondered what possessed him to say they could share a room. He didn't mind the share, but in a room of his own he could easily jerk off; not so in a room with someone else there.

He sent his mind back to the events of the night, how it seemed that Ryan Phillippe had become the 'ringmaster' and everyone else his little pawns - it was his idea to stay at that gay nightclub, the others just agreed. There was something about Ryan, though, Nick admitted to himself, something that made you want to obey, something that made you want to reach out and touch him just for the hell of it. He wondered if Ryan actually knew this, if he played on it. Most likely, he suspected.

He closed his eyes and tried to sleep, but his stomach got the better of him and he had to dash to the bathroom to throw up into the toilet. 'If I ever drink again,' he mumbled to the toilet bowl, 'bite me!' He gargled some water, brushed his teeth, and returned to bed.

As he law down again, his thoughts returned to Ryan. RyanRyanRyan. Why was this guy running through his head so much? Ryan Phillippe appeared to be the straightest guy on Earth; what made Nick think he could persuade him otherwise? Yes, Nick was gay. He hadn't told a soul, except his brother Aaron - who admittedly was too young to realise what 'gay' really was. You can't expect an eleven year old to understand, can you?! But at least he said he would keep his mouth shut about it, and it was a relief to finally tell someone.

There was a stirring in his boxers and then he thought, Who needs boxers anyway? He reached under the comforter on the bed and eased his Bugs Bunny shorts down his legs and off. He would sleep naked. Hey! Why not? He rested his head back against the pillows and licked his lips, looking across at his friend for signs of wakefulness. Brian appeared to be asleep, but Nick didn't want to chance it. He got out of bed, his cock expanding, and covered himself with his hands - just in case - then went to the bathroom and locked the door. Inside, he faced the full-length mirror on the far wall, next to the shower, and admired his body. He looked good and he knew it. Maybe not as good as some, but he was way better than a lot of people he could name. In the mirror, he watched his cock grow to full erection.

He gripped it in one hand, his other hand moving lightly over his chest, his nipples hardening, and down to his stomach, then his balls. He began to pleasure himself, slowly at first, his hand moving up and down all eight inches of his stiff cock, teasing every micro-muscle, every pulse. Them he gathered up momentum and speed, his fist tightening around himself, moving faster and faster, long, qiuck strokes. His forearm began to hurt with the exertion but he would not stop until he had shot his cum.

He raised his other hand to his mouth and sucked on his middle finger, making it slick with saliva. When he deemed it moist enough, he bent at the waist slightly and started to insert the finger up his ass, carefully, slowly, the tight feeling making him harder as he pumped on his rod still. When he was in to the hilt, he stopped for a second, allowing himself to grow accustomed to the presence, and then he started pounding his cock again and he began to move his finger gently in and out of his ass, pushing in far enough to be able to touch his prostate, and drawing out almost all the way before pushing back in again.

He was drawing near to climax. He rammed his finger in hard and worked so fast on his cock that he almost broke the pain barrier on his forearm, and in an instant he rapidly withdrew his finger from his hole, the walls of his ass closing tight around him, and he pushed his hips forward, continuing to jerk his cock. Cum shot forward with force, the first globule landing inches short of the mirror in front of him, the second actually hitting it, and the third, fourth and subsequent ones falling shorter and shorter with each one. He still milked himself untill he was dry, tiny gasps of ecstasy and relief escaping his slightly parted lips. And then he relaxed, sitting down on the toilet to take the weight of his weak legs. He hadn't cum so good in a long time.

Chapter Four

Slowly, the sun's rays crept across the room through the window to fall on Justin's face. He moaned, his head hurting, and turned onto his stomach, his face buried in his pillows. And then suddenly he sprang upright, remembering the night before. He looked around; he was in his own hotel bedroom, alone. Had it happened? It all hadn't been a dream, had it?

No, it hadn't been - his hang-over told him that. They had gone out to that gay nightclub and he had... he had kissed Ryan Phillippe! And then... then they were in his bedroom, kissing and... stuff. Justin was getting hard just thinking about it. He got out of bed, noticing only then that he had slept naked, and went to the bathroom. He relieved his bladder of a pint or two of undiluted alcohol and then got into the shower. He twisted the dial on the showerbox and a burst of ice-cold water slapped him in the face, and he turned the dial to a more appropriate setting, the water gradually warming up. Then he began to think back to last night.

Things were a little fuzzy, but he thought he could remember most of it all. He had gone to Ryan's room for a 'nightcap' - huh! Some nightcap! An entire bottle of vodka between the two of them! And he wasn't even twenty-one yet! They had had - what - two? Three full glasses of neat vodka? Something like that. And then the drinking had been interupted by Ryan pulling Justin down onto the bed and kissing him. But Justin didn't mind. Anymore drink and he'd be well and truly over the limit for driving for the next year!

Ryan's tongue had felt so... right in his mouth. That was the only word he could think of to describe the feeling.

'What are you smiling at?' Ryan says.

'Nothing,' Justin says and he kisses him again, their lips smashed together, their tongues meeting and greeting, hands moving to places that hadn't been touched by a man before on Justin.

Ryan positions himself on the bed so that he can feel Justin's growing bulge in his pants while he kisses him. Justin moans in ecstasy. This is Heaven for him. 'Ohh, Ryan!' he breathes.

'Shhh,' whispers Ryan. 'Kiss me.'

Justin feels Ryan's stiff cock pressing against his leg and his own dick gets harder. Ryan's tongue probes deeper in Justin's mouth, washing over teeth and tongue, a hand between Justin's legs, his other hand running through Justin's hair. Then he begins to unzip Justin's pants, slowly, sensuously, minute moans and sighs emitting from his mouth.

Justin swallows a pang of fear. What is he doing? He spreads his legs further and Ryan's hand slips inbetween the fabric of his pants, gripping tightly to the boxer-covered erection. He closes his eyes as Ryan moves his hand up and down the hard on.

'I want to taste you, Jus. I want to taste your cock in my mouth, your hot liquid on my tongue. Do you want that, Jus?'

Justin nods. 'Uh-huh.' Divine. It feels divine.

And then his cock is out and bathing in cool air. He can faintly hear the breathing of the air conditioning overhead. Outside, yet as if in a world that he can only ever remember, a car honks its horn and a police siren passes swiftly by. 'Ryan...'

Ryan eases down the bed. 'I need you in my mouth, Jus.'

'Ryan... I- I... No, stop. Please, Ryan. Stop... I...'

Ryan's face is near the stiff cock. 'I know you want it. You want it as much as I do.'

'But Ryan...' Justin pulls away. Ryan looks at him with his puppy-dog eyes. 'I can't. I'm sorry.'

'Jus, you-'

Justin gets off the bed, and tucks his penis back inside his pants. 'I'm sorry. I- I want to, but... but I'm just... I'm not ready yet. I can't do this yet. I'm sorry.'

Justin towelled off. How would Ryan react today when he saw him? He could not face him. Not alone. He decided to go directly to the studio and wait for everyone to turn up there. They should all go together, in transport arranged for them by King World West but he would put a note on his door saying he'd gone for a jog and would meet everyone there. That would work. He dressed and tried to remember what he had said to Ryan as he was leaving his room last night.

'I'm sorry. Not tonight. I need time. Don't hate me. I'm sorry.' God, he must have sounded lame! He could remember the sound of the door closing behind him, like an iron-clad door pulling to on an iron wall. Once closed, it would be impenetrable. He hated himself for passing up perhaps the only chace he would have of anything with another guy.

He wrote the note for his door, and left the room to leave. As he was going towards the elevator, it opened and that English guy stepped out in sweat pants, his sweatshirt in his hand, sweat dripping down his well-defined torso. 'Morning, Justin. Where are you off to?'

'Good morning, Adam,' Justin said. 'I, ah, I'm just going for a walk. You've been for a jog?'

'Yeah. I wouldn't go far, if I were you. Remember what the producer said? Anyway, how's your head this morning?'

'Head?'

'You know, after all that drinking we did. Hang-over?'

Justin shrugged. 'A little bit. You?'

Adam Rickitt shook his head. 'Nah! I never get hang-overs. No matter how drunk I get the night before. Always right as rain, that's me! Well, you better be quick. Don't wanna miss the show!'

'Yeah,' Justin said. 'I might just catch up at the studio so if I'm not back when you all leave, don't hang around for me, okay?'

'No worries, mate,' Adam said and they went their seperate ways.

In the hotel's breakfast lounge, Brad Pitt and Elijah Wood sat at a table together awaiting the others while eating toast and drinking coffee - black, no sugar for Brad, cream and one for Elijah. 'So, I hear you're about to do this JRR Tolkien thing, yeah?'

Elijah nodded. 'Yeah. Three movies, shot consecutively. New Zealand, of all places!'

'You don't like New Zealand?'

'Well, I've never been, to be honest. It just seems a long way to go to make a movie, you know? Not that I'm complaining.'

'Yeah, well, it is Tolkien. You gotta go to great lengths to match the things he wrote.'

'You've read it? Lord Of The Rings?'

'Uh-huh,' said Brad with a mouthful of toast. He swallowed and spoke again. 'Several times. Not bad. Good, in fact.'

'What are we talking about?' a third voice said. They looked up. It was Adam Rickitt, looming over the table. 'Something interesting?'

'If you call the greatest British writer of all time "interesting", then yeah, I guess we are,' said Brad with a smile. Adam raised an eyebrow questioningly and Brad said, 'Tolkien.'

'Oh, never read him. Oh, no, I did. Wasn't he the guy that wrote The Habit, ages ago?'

'The Hobbit,' Elijah corrected.

'Yeah, that was it. I read it... years ago.' He sat down at the table and a waiter approached. 'Just a cup of tea, thanks.'

Brad laughed. 'You English! What is it with you and your tea?'

Adam shrugged. 'Why do you like coffee so much?'

Elijah finished his coffee and before he got up to leave, he asked, 'How was last night?'

'Yeah,' Brad said. 'How was it?'

Now Adam laughed. 'Long story. It wasn't that bad, considering.'

'Considering what?'

'Considering we ended up in some nightclub that has a "gay night" every Monday!'

'Wow! That must've been fun!' said Brad.

Just then, Josh Hartnett walked into the lounge and came up to them as Elijah left to get ready to go to the studio. 'You look like death warmed up,' Adam remarked.

'Shhh, not so loud,' said Josh.

'Sore head?' Brad said loudly and he and Adam laughed.

Josh slumped into the chair next to Brad and rested his head in his hands. 'Anyone got a power drill? I think I should take my head off before it gets any worse.'

When all the eight celebrities were gathered together again in the hotel lobby, Ryan was looking around eagerly for someone.

'Lost something?' Ben Affleck asked.

Ryan smiled. 'Nope. Where's Jus?'

'Justin? No idea.'

'He said we should go on without him if he's not back in time,' said Adam. 'I met him on his way out this morning when I was coming back from my jog. Said he was going for a walk. I don't know, but he seemed like he had a lot on his mind.'

'Justin?' questioned Brian Littrell. 'He never has anything on his mind. He's the life and soul of the party! Hey Nick, remember when N'Sync and Backstreet went to that launch party thing for that radio station - what was it called? Anyway, remember? Justin was bouncing around all day like he was on Ecstasy.'

'Well, maybe he's had some ecstasy and he's on his downer,' Ben put in. 'Anyway, what the hell's keeping that driver?'

'Ben!' beamed Tom. 'True or false -'

'False! I deny those accusations! It wasn't me! You can't prove a thing! I have an allibi! I was at home all night, knitting! Honest!'

The audience laughed. Tom laughed. The contestants laughed. 'We have witnesses, Mr Affleck,' said Tom Bergeron.

'Oh, okay! It was me! I'm sorry. Cuff me. I'll go willingly.'

Everyone laughed again. 'Okay, Ben,' said Tom. 'Seriously - true or false: sheep's brains are eaten by Eastern Europeans to deter their many wives of wanting a bit of love making. True or false?'

'Many wives?' Ben asked. 'Hey! I think I'll move to Eastern Europe.' He looked above him and to his right, towards Adam Rickitt. 'Hey, Adam. D'you know anything about this?'

'Sorry, Ben,' Adam called down. 'Can't help you!'

'Hmm,' Ben mused. 'Well, I don't know about this many wives thing, and those Europeans, you know, they seem a bit dodgy if Adam here is anything to go by!' Adam laughed. 'But aren't sheep's brains supposed to be an aphrodee-- aphrod-- sex tool! Aphrodisiac. Can't even say it now! I think... what do I think? What was the question again?'

'Come on, Ben, where's your concentration? Are sheep's brains used to deter the wives of Eastern Europeans from love making?'

'Um, I'm going to say... tr- false. No, they're not used as that. Believe me.'

'The voice of experience,' said Tom as he turned to Tony, one of today's contestants. 'Tony, what's it going to be? You want to agree with Ben's firm belief?'

Tony, a forty-five year old social worker from West Virginia, nodded his head. 'I'm going to agree, yes.'

Tom turned to his card. 'Tony, you agreed with "false", the correct answer is... false. O gets the square and puts you in the lead.' The audience applauded. 'We'll see who wins right after this.'

Backstage, for a quick break, Justin sat in a corner sipping a coffee. He had skipped breakfast and was hungry but there were no nibbles prepared for them yet. Suddenly a Snickers bar hit him on the lap. 'You look hungry,' said Ryan.

Justin looked up at Ryan, straight in the eye. 'Hi,' he said.

'You okay?' Ryan asked.

'Yeah,' Justin said. 'Look, I- I'm sorry about last night.'

'Don't be. I know how you must've felt. I shouldn't have forced you.'

'You didn't force me.' They were talking quietly so that the others couldn't hear them. 'It was... nice. But...'

'But you got scared? Worried? Thought "This isn't right! I shouldn't be doing this!" Right?'

'Something like that, yeah,' said Justin.

'That's okay, Jus. Everyone gets like that the first time. I know I was. You wanna talk?'

Justin nodded. 'Yeah, okay. But not here. Later, maybe.'

'Sure thing, Jus,' said Ryan and then they were called back onstage.