Date: Mon, 9 Oct 2006 15:06:48 -0700 (PDT)
From: Kirk Landers <ilj4ever44@yahoo.com>
Subject: Phases- part 1

Copyright and Disclaimer:
1. This is a fictional story with fictional
characters.
2. No one is to steal this story under any
circumstances.
3. This story deals with relationships and not sex, so
if you're looking for a story with a lot of sex in it,
this isn't the story for you.


Well, here I go again.  For those who have read my
other story 'Dating and the Single Life,' I can only
hope that you find this story just as enjoyable.  This
story's set up is a different and I hope that it has
something for everyone.  It deals with three friends
and they are all in different phases of love.  One is
single and dating, another is in a relationship and
then one is reaching a crossroads in his relationship.
 I thought it would be a good concept to explore and
see how each one handles where they are in their
lives.  So here we go, into the new story. 'Phases.'
Here is chapter 1 titled 'Phase One."


"PHASE ONE"

    The club was pumping, guys were everywhere,
clearly everyone was enjoying themselves.  Especially
three friends; Kurt, Nick, and Leo.  Kurt, 24, 5'9,
runner's body, handsome boy-next-door type.  hopeless
romantic, very reserved in the things he does, is not
quite as out going as he would like to be.  Loves
running and watching movies.  He's a writer and has
hopes to one day be a novelist, but for now is writing
for a magazine.  Nick, 26, 6'0, athletic, sexy, can
get any man he wants.  He loves relationships, but is
very picky on who he dates.  He has a very specific
type of person and he won't settle for anything less.
As a result he is single for a long time.  Works as an
advice columnist.  Has been known as a cereal dater,
he dates a guy, things go well at first, but at the
first sign of seeing something he doesn't like he
flees.  Leo, 23, 5'10, swimmers body, youthful good
looks.  Very sweet, used to idealize love, but has
since been having a slightly more pessimistic outlook
on love from his current relationship.   Leo works as
a waiter, but hopes to be an actor.

     The three were on the dance floor enjoying their
time together, after having endured a tough week at
work and wanted nothing more than to relieve some
stress and have a fun night out.  After they danced
for a few songs they went to the bar to get some
drinks.

"This club is really good," Leo said after taking a
sip of his drink.

"Yeah, I'm glad we got in," Nick added. "It is opening
night and all."

"Who owns this club?" Kurt asked.

"It was opened by a few guys," Leo said. "I read about
it in the local paper.  One of the owners is that bar
tender, Randal, who worked for a while at that other
club we always went to."

"That's cool," Kurt replied.

"Oh yeah, I remember him and I hooked up one time,"
Nick said.

"Really?" Leo asked.

"Yeah," Nick replied. "We went out once and I found
out he wasn't into relationships so we just hooked up.
 Didn't talk to him at all after that.  That was years
ago though."

"Wow," Kurt said, "I'm surprised you hooked up with
someone.  You usually are so picky about who you date,
much less who you have sex with."

"I was drunk and he was a really cool guy," Nick
justified.

"All right," Kurt said giving Nick a pat on the
shoulder. "So where's Jesse I thought you said he was
coming?"

"He just text me," Leo answered. "He had a busy day at
work so he's just going to rest tonight."

"You and him okay?" Nick asked. "I noticed the last
few times we all hung out he didn't show up."

"Yeah, we're all right," Leo replied. "You know, we've
been together for over two years now.  It's just a bit
of a rut we're in now, that's all."

"What do you mean by a rut?" Nick asked.

"We're kind of in a crossroads right now," Leo
explained. "I told him last week that I thought we
should move in together."

"What did he say?" Kurt asked.

"He didn't say anything," Leo replied. "He never gave
me an answer."

"I don't get this," Nick said. "You and him have been
together for over two years, I'm surprised you haven't
moved in with one another a long time ago."

"I know," Leo said. "We've just been having some
problems lately."

"You two have been together for so long though," Kurt
said. "I'm sure at this point there's nothing you two
can't over come."

"I don't know," Leo sighed. "We both have just been so
unhappy lately."

"I'm really sorry to hear that," Kyle said
sympathetically.

"It's okay," Leo said. "Let's talk about better
things. How are you and Scott doing?"

"Good," Kyle replied. "Him and I are celebrating our
six months tomorrow."

"Wow," Nick said. "You and him have already been
together for six months?"

"Yeah," Kyle said.

"So is he going to move in to the apartment with you
since Shelly is moving out?" Leo asked.

"No," Kyle replied. "Too soon for us.  I've actually
set up some appointments tomorrow to meet possible
people to move in."

"Oh hey guys," Nick said getting their attention.
"Check out that guy across the dance floor, the one
wearing the red shirt."

"See something you like?" Leo asked looking.

"What do you think?" Nick asked.

Kurt and Leo both looked and saw the man he was
talking about.

"He's good looking in that tall, dark and handsome
kind of way," Kurt joked. "He's hot."

"Very," Leo agreed.

"I think I'm going to go talk to him." Nick said,
"I'll be back a little later."

Nick left and went up and talked to the guy, meanwhile
Kurt and Leo went back to talking.

"So why didn't Scott come tonight?" Leo asked.

"He's working late tonight," Kurt replied.

"I'm glad things are going well for you two," Leo
said.

"Yeah," Kurt said unenthusiastically.

"Are things not going well?" Leo asked.

"No, don't get me wrong," Kurt replied. "He's great.
But..."

"But what?" Leo asked.

"I don't know," Kurt said. "Ever since we've been
together I've been waiting for a moment when suddenly
it becomes clear to me that this is the guy I want to
be with."

"I don't follow," Leo said confused.

"I'm with him sometimes and I just wonder, 'is this
it?'" Kurt asked. "Is this the guy I'm supposed to be
with?  I can't help but think that maybe there's
something more out there for me."

"Or maybe you're just scarred to fully commit to him,"
Leo countered.

"Why would I be afraid of that?" Kurt asked.

"Because then you would just be one step closer to
getting what you want and having one less thing to
worry about in your life," Leo replied.

"That's not true," Kurt said. "I would love to be all
on board to living out my life with Scott, but I just
can't help but think that maybe it's not right."

"All you can do is give your all and do the best you
can," Leo said. "Some relationships are meant to
last."

"And some aren't," Kurt added. "You can't beat
yourself up over the problems between you and Jesse.
You've done all you could do.  If it's not working,
you owe it to yourself to get out and start over."

"But that would be two years of my life wasted," Leo
stressed. "If it doesn't work with Jesse then what was
it all for?"

"It was for helping you realize what you want and
deserve," Kurt said. "Some relationships are meant to
prepare us for future ones."

"Do you think that's what your relationship is with
you and Scott?  Something that will prepare you for
something else in the future?" Leo asked.

"I don't know," Kurt sighed. "Maybe."

"Well that was a bust," Nick said coming back to the
bar.

"That was fast," Leo noted.

"What was wrong with this one?" Kurt asked.

"He talked like one of those stereotypical surfers,"
Nick said. "Every other word out of his mouth was
'dude.'  I couldn't take it after a couple minutes."

"Classic Nick," Leo sighed laughing.

"What?" Nick asked.

"You are so damn picky," Kurt answered. "If there is
the slightest thing wrong with a guy you drop them so
quickly.  It will take a miracle to find you a guy
you'll like fully."

"I just have a type and I won't settle for less than
what I want," Nick defended. "What's wrong with that?"

"Nothing," Leo said. "I applaud you for not settling."

"But still, it might get lonely sometimes," Kurt said.

"It is at times," Nick replied. "I mean, I've been
single for almost two years now, but I just don't want
to get hurt again, you know?"

"We know," Kurt said, knowing full well what Nick was
talking about.

Nick then looked over and saw the club owner Randal,
on the other side of the bar.

"Hey look," Nick said. "It's Randal.  We should go
over and congratulate him on the club."

"All right," Leo said. "But after this can we please
go back and dance?"

"You got it," Kurt said.

The three went over and approached Randal.

"Hey Randal," Nick said. "My name's Nick, we met a
while ago."

"Yeah," Randal replied. "I remember.  Good to see
you."

"Thanks, we just wanted to congratulate you on this
club," Nick said. "It's a big step up from just being
a bar tender at the last club."

"Thank you," Randal replied. "Let me introduce you to
my friends."

Randal then got the attention of his other friends.

"This is Marcus and Kyle, they own the club with me.
And then that's David, Trevor, Tyler, Jake, and my
boyfriend Stan," Randal said introducing all of his
friends to them.

"Nice to meet you guys," Kurt said. "And again,
congratulations to all of you on the club."

"Thanks," Kyle said as David wrapped his arms around
him.

"Well it was nice meeting you guys," Leo said. "Have a
good night."

"You too," Randal said as Kurt, Leo and Nick headed
back out to dance.  They danced, drank and enjoyed
their night out together.

The next morning, Leo woke up to the sound of his
phone ringing.

"Hello?" Leo asked groggily answering the phone.

"Morning," Jesse replied.

"Oh hey," Leo said.

"How was last night?" Jesse asked.

"Fun," Leo replied. "It's too bad you didn't come."

"Yeah, well I was pretty beat from work," Jesse
explained.

"Okay," Leo said. "Am I going to see you today?"

"I don't know," Jesse replied. "I have a lot of work."

Leo sighed, clearly disappointed

"What's going on with us?" Leo asked.

"What?" Jesse asked playing dumb, "I just have a lot
going on right now."

"You always have," Leo replied. "But that never
stopped us from spending time together before.  We've
lost that spark we used to have."

"Then why did you want to move in together?" Jesse
asked.

"To try and get some of what we had back," Leo hoped.

"That would just be a little fix to bigger problems,"
Jesse said.

"And what are those bigger problems?" Leo asked.

"Look, I can't talk much right now," Jesse said. "I'll
call you when I get off of work okay?"

"Yeah, sure," Leo sighed. "Bye."

"Bye," Jesse replied hanging up.

"Love you too," Leo said frustrated, tossing the phone
on the bed.  He got up and looked out the window of
his apartment looking at the view of the park he has.
He sighed to himself, he knows what he has to do, but
he doesn't know if he can do it.

Over at Nick's apartment he just got back from running
and was continuing on with his daily routine.  He gets
up every morning at six, runs the three miles to the
gym, works out for an hour and then runs back.  He
gets back at eight, showers, and then eats breakfast
before working.  He enjoyed that luxury of being
single, not having to worry about anyone, he can go
and do his own thing, but at the same time, he was
lonely.  He wanted a relationship and wanted to meet
that perfect someone for him.  However, due to his
past relationship he has been so scarred to date again
and made a vow to not pursue anything with anyone
unless they were exactly his type.  He couldn't help
but be amused at the irony of someone who couldn't
seem to find someone suitable to date was giving
others advice about their dating lives.  He was just
sitting down to read some of the letters he took home
to work on when his phone rang.

"Hello?" Nick asked.

"It's me," Leo replied.

"What's up?" Nick asked.

"I don't think Jesse and I can go on like this much
longer," Leo sighed.

"Listen," Nick began, "Do you love him?"

"Of course I do," Leo replied.

"Do you want things to work out with him?" Nick asked.

"Yes," Leo replied.

"Then you have to talk to him," Nick said. "You and
him just need to go somewhere and talk and find the
root of your guys' problems.  There's so much history
between you two, after all this time I think you owe
it to your relationship to try and find a solution."

"But what if we find that we're just not good for each
other anymore?" Leo asked.

"Isn't it better finding that out than being in an
unhappy relationship?" Nick asked.

"I guess," Leo sighed.

"Look, the best advice I can give you is that you two
should talk," Nick said. "From what you've told me it
just seems like you two have been avoiding your issues
and just trying to go about your relationship with
blinders on.  You need to talk and come up with a
solution together."

"I know you're right," Leo said. "I'm just afraid of
what the outcome might be."

"It'll be okay," Nick said. "You know whatever
happens, Kurt and I will be there for you."

"I know," Leo said. "Thanks."

"No problem," Nick said.

"So are we still on for lunch today?" Leo asked.

"Yeah," Nick answered. "I'll meet you at one at the
restaurant.  Kurt said he might be a little late."

"Sounds good," Leo said. "I'll talk to you later.
Thanks Nick."

"Anytime," Nick replied before he hung up and went
back to work.

Over at Kurt's apartment his roommate Shelly just got
done moving all her stuff out.

"Well, that's it," Shelly said.

"I wish you the best of luck in Florida," Kurt said.

"Thanks," Shelly said. "Thank you for everything."

"We had a good time," Kurt said.

"Yeah, we did," Shelly said. "Oh, before I forget,
here's my key."

"Thanks," Kurt said as he took the key from here.  He
then gave her a hug. "Take care."

"You too," Shelly said and then picked up her bag and
left.  Kurt then got to work cleaning the apartment.
He was a neat freak and wanted to make sure everything
looked nice in the apartment before his interviews
began.  After an hour of cleaning his first interview
came.  Kurt opened the door and was looking at a very
attractive, young, woman.

"Hi I'm Debbie," she said cheerfully.

"Hi," Kurt said. "Come on in."

"Wow, what a great place," Debbie said.

"Thanks," Kurt replied. "So lets get started, what do
you do for a living?"

"Oh, I'm a dancer," Debbie said.

"Really?" Kurt asked. "Where at?"

"That club a few blocks away," Debbie replied.

"That's a strip joint right?" Kurt asked.

"I guess you can call it that," Debbie replied.

"So you're a stripper?" Kurt asked.

"I prefer the term, 'exotic dancer,'" Debbie replied.

"Okay," Kurt said.

"So while we're on that subject," Debbie said.
"Sometimes I meet guys at work and invite them home,
you won't have a problem with that will you?"

That was all Kyle needed to hear.

"All right, well it was nice meeting you and I'll let
you know," Kurt said ushering her to the front door.
"Take care."

He scooted her out and shut the door with relief.  He
decided no on the stripper who brought home strange
men.  About fifteen minutes later his next interview
arrived.

"Hi, I'm Roger," his next interview said as Kurt
opened the door.  Roger walked in and took his jacket
off and tossed it on the floor.  When Kurt went to
pick up the jacket he noticed that Roger brought in
muddy footprints.

"You know what, I think I have to re-schedule our
interview," Kurt said.

"What for?" Roger asked.

"I just realized I have to clean," Kurt replied.  He
then showed Roger out and started cleaning his floor.
He decided no against the sloppy Roger.  Over the next
two and a half hours he had about six interviews, all
horrible, they ranged from being a homophobe to one
who arrived drunk.  At around 12:30 his phone rang.

"Hello?" Kurt asked exhausted.

"find a roommate?" Nick asked.

"No," Kurt replied. "If I interview one more freak
then I am just going to try and suck it up and pay for
this apartment on my own."

"You can't afford to live at that place on your own,"
Nick pointed out.

Before Kurt could reply there was a knock on his door.

"Oh, that's my last interview for the day, I wonder
what will be wrong with this one," Kurt said. "I'll
see you guys soon."

"Bye," Nick said.

Kurt hung up and answered the door.

"Hi, I'm Ryan," he was about 6'1, very handsome,
wearing a nice leather jacket, jeans, and a blue
button up shirt.

"I'm Kurt, nice to meet you," Kurt said shaking Ryan's
hand. "Come on in."

"Thanks," Ryan said as he looked around the apartment.
"Great place, it's very clean, I like that.  I tend to
be a bit of a neat freak."

"Me too," Kurt replied. "So let's get started, what do
you do for a living?"

"I work at the Gay and Lesbian Clinic," Ryan replied.
"I help put together programs for some of the teens
that come in for help."

"Wow, that's really great," Kurt said impressed.

"Yeah, I love it," Ryan said, then handed Kurt a piece
of paper, "Here's my references there if you want to
call and check that I work there."

"Oh thanks," Kurt said taking the paper.

"So do you play loud music or anything?" Kurt asked.

"No, I actually probably won't be here a lot," Ryan
replied. "I have a boyfriend who's place I'm at most
of the time."

"Okay," Kurt said.

"But don't worry," Ryan assured. "When I am here, I
like keeping things clean and I like cooking, so I'll
probably cook a lot."

"Sounds good to me," Kurt joked.

"Do you think this might work out?" Ryan asked
hopeful.

"Yeah," Kurt replied. "When can you move in?"

"Anytime," Ryan said.

"Well, welcome home then," Kurt answered shaking
Ryan's hand.

"Great!" Ryan said excited. "Thank you so much.  If
this didn't work out then I don't know where I'd stay,
my boyfriend is probably sick of me being at his
place."

"How long have you two been together?" Kurt asked.

"A few months," Ryan answered. "When my old apartment
raised the rent I moved in with him for a few weeks
until I found something more affordable."

"Well I'm sure you'll like living here," Kurt said.
"You have a view of the ocean, it's a quiet area."

"Yeah, it's beautiful," Ryan said. "How did you manage
to get this place?"

"I took over the place from my parents when they
decided to move back east," Kurt said.

"Nice," Ryan replied. "Well I'm excited to move in."

"Yeah, it'll be great," Kurt smiled.

"So what do you do?" Ryan asked.

"I'm a writer for Update magazine," Kurt replied.

"I love that magazine," Ryan said. "There was some
article about finding love in a big city that I liked
a lot."

"I wrote that article!" Kurt enthused.

"You did?" Ryan asked.

"Yeah," Kurt replied.

"That's awesome," Ryan said. "I loved how you
mentioned that some people are so busy in the city
with always being on the go that they don't take the
time to slow down a bit and take in all the good
things around them and how they just walk by love."

"Thank you," Kurt replied. "Well, I have to meet my
friends for lunch.  Do you want to join us?"

"No thanks, I think I'll just start moving some stuff
over," Ryan answered.

"Okay," Kurt said handing him a key. "Well, I guess
I'll see you later."

"Sounds good," Ryan said. "Thanks again."

"No problem," Kurt replied grabbing his jacket and
then heading out.

At one the guys all met up at a small Italian
restaurant they like going to and sat down to eat.

"So, how did the roommate hunt go?" Leo asked.

"They were all nightmares right?" Nick asked.

"They were up until the final one," Kurt replied. "He
was just a great guy.  I said yes to him and he's
actually moving in right now."

"You already left him a lone in your apartment?" Nick
asked. "What if he's a crazy?"

"He's not," Kurt replied. "He works at the Gay and
Lesbian Clinic, I called and verified that he worked
there and the people there just said great things
about him."

"Very cool," Leo said. "So he's gay?"

"Yeah," Kurt replied.

"I'm sure Scott will love that," Nick said. "You're
living with another gay guy?"

"He has a boyfriend," Kurt said. "It's nothing, he's
not even my type."

"What does he look like?" Leo asked.

"He looks like he's around 6 feet tall, maybe a little
taller, brown eyes, dark hair," Kurt described.

"Body?" Nick asked.

"Awesome," Kurt replied.

"And that's not your type?" Leo asked.

"Okay okay, he's a hottie," Kurt gave in, "But Scott
doesn't have anything to worry about.  Nothing will
happen."

"You seeing Scott today?" Leo asked.

"Yeah, I wanted to work a little first and then see
him tonight," Kurt replied. "How about you?  You
seeing Jesse?"

"I don't know," Leo sighed. "He called this morning."

"How'd it go?" Kurt asked.

"It ended with him saying, 'I don't have time to talk
about our problems, I'll call you later.' Or something
like that," Leo replied.

"Ouch," Kurt said.

"I'm telling you Leo, talk to him," Nick said.

"I know, I will," Leo replied.

"No you won't," Kurt said.

"I have to agree with Kurt here," Nick added. "We've
told you so many times to talk to Jesse when you and
him are having problems and you always choose to avoid
the issues and just let things slide."

"There has to be a point where you stick up for
yourself," Kurt said. "You'd rather be in a rut then
try and face your issues head on."

 "I know you guys are right, but it's hard for me,"
Leo said.

"We know," Nick said.

"You're too nice," Kurt continued. "You have to be a
little selfish every now and then."

"You're right, I will make sure I talk to him today,"
Leo declared.

"Good," Nick said.

"It's so hard being in this relationship right now,"
Leo sighed. "I'm lonely even though I'm with someone."

"Don't worry," Nick said. "You're not the only one who
gets lonely."

"I think we all have moments of that," Kurt said.

"What do you have to be lonely about?" Nick asked.
"You have a good relationship with Scott."

"Then why don't I feel it?" Kurt asked. "I'm with him,
but I don't have those comforting, protected feelings
I think I should have in a relationship."

"We're all so messed up," Leo joked.

"Tell me about it," Nick said.

After the guys had lunch they went off on their busy
days.  Nick went back to working on some of the
letters he received for work, Kurt went back to his
apartment to do some writing, and Leo went to go work
up the courage to have his talk with Jesse.

At his apartment Kurt was in the living room writing
on his laptop when Ryan came in through the door
carrying some boxes.

"Do you need help?" Kurt asked.

"Oh no, don't worry about it," Ryan replied. "My
boyfriend is helping me.  Just keep doing what you're
doing, we won't make too much noise."

"It's okay," Kurt said setting his laptop down on the
coffee table, "I'm not having much luck writing, I
can't think right now."

Kurt then got up and went to the kitchen to get a
drink when Ryan's boyfriend, Craig came in with some
more boxes.

"I'll take those babe," Ryan said taking the boxes
from him. "Craig, this is Kurt my new roommate.  Kurt,
this is my boyfriend Craig."

"Nice to meet you," Kurt said shaking his hand.

"Nice meeting you too," Craig replied. "It's a great
place you have hear."

"Thanks," Kurt said. "So where do you live?"

"I live in the Anaheim area," Craig replied.

"Oh okay, cool," Kurt said as his phone started
ringing.  He looked down and saw Scott on his caller
ID, "Sorry, it's my boyfriend."

"No problem," Craig said.

"Hey babe," Kurt said answering the phone and walking
to his bedroom.

"Kurt's gay?" Craig asked.

"Yeah," Ryan replied. "What's why?"

"He's good looking and he's gay," Craig said.

"So?" Ryan asked.

"Do I have to put two and two together?" Craig asked.
"You're gay and he's gay and you're living together."

"What's the big deal?" Ryan asked. "I'm not interested
in him or anything."

"But you'll be living together," Craig replied. "You
two will grow close together and eventually something
might happen."

"You just have to trust me," Ryan said. "Nothing will
happen.  Besides, he has a boyfriend too."

"And I wonder how his boyfriend feels about that?"
Craig asked.

In his bedroom Kurt just finished telling Scott about
his new roommate.

"You don't have a problem with it do you?" Kurt asked.

"No," Scott replied, "Should I?"

"No," Kurt answered. "Nick and Leo thought you might
not be okay with it."

"No, I trust you," Scott said. "What we have is
special."

"Yeah," Kurt said, not too sure if he really felt it
was special himself.

"So when do you want to go out tonight?" Scott asked.

"I just have some work to do and then I should be free
at around seven," Kurt replied.

"I'll see you then," Scott said. "I love you."

"You too," Kurt replied as he hung up.

When Kurt walked back out into the living room Ryan
and Craig were in a heated discussion.

"I can't make excuses for my past, but I'm telling
you, there is nothing to worry about," Ryan
interjected.

"It just seems weird to me that you didn't mention
anything about it," Craig retorted.

"Just drop it, you have nothing to worry about," Ryan
said. "Just trust me!"

"Look, I'm going to go back to my place and get more
of your things," Craig said. "I'll be back later."

Craig then went and walked out of the apartment.

"Everything all right?" Kurt asked.

"Oh," Ryan said embarrassed. "I didn't want you to see
that.  Probably not a good first impression of us."

"It's okay," Kurt said. "Do you want to talk about
it?"

"It's just Craig," Ryan sighed, "He can't seem to
trust me."

"Why's that?" Kurt asked sitting down on the couch.

"Okay, here's the thing," Ryan said. "In a past
relationship I had cheated on my boyfriend, it's not
something I'm proud of, in fact if I could take it
back, I would, but it happened."

"Okay," Kurt said not following.

"Well," Ryan began sitting down next to Kurt, "Craig
thought I was keeping you being gay a secret from him.
 He thinks something might happen between us."

"That's ridiculous," Kurt said. "We're just going to
be roommates."

"Yeah," Ryan agreed, "I told him that, I told him that
the most you and I will be is friends."

"Exactly," Kurt said.

"But he's worried because of my past that I might slip
up," Ryan said.

"To be honest," Kurt said. "My friends were a little
concerned too that something might happen."

"Why is it so hard for people to accept two gay guys
living together and having a platonic relationship?"
Ryan asked.

"I don't know," Kurt sighed amused that Ryan felt the
same way he did.  "Well, just assure Craig that
nothing will ever happen between you and me.  I'm sure
after a little while he'll see there's nothing to
worry about.  Just keep being honest with him and
he'll see he has no reason to doubt your trust."

"Thanks," Ryan said. "I didn't know that moving in
here I'd also get someone to listen to my problems."

"Well, don't think it comes for free," Kurt joked, "I
might need your advice every now and then as well."

"Deal," Ryan smiled.

The two both gave a sincere smile to each other, both
knowing that a friendship has formed.

"Well, I better try and do some work," Kurt said
picking up his laptop.

"Yeah, and I should start unpacking," Ryan said.
"Thanks for the talk."

"Anytime," Kurt replied.

 Later that day Leo was at his place thinking about
his relationship, when Jesse called.

"Hey," Leo said answering the phone.

"Hey, I just got off of work," Jesse said.

"Wow, you got off early huh?" Leo asked.

"Yeah," Jesse said. "Well, I couldn't really
concentrate at work.  I thought we should talk."

"I think you're right," Leo agreed. "Do you want to
come over?"

"Yeah, I'll be there in a little bit," Jesse said.

"See you then," Leo replied before hanging up.

Meanwhile, Nick took his laptop and some of the
letters he was working on to the park to get some
fresh air.  As he was writing he kept looking around
and saw different couple walking by.  He saw a young
man and woman walking hand in hand and talking,
another older couple smiling and enjoying the view
together.  He then looked around him and notice how
isolated and alone he was by himself.  He sighed to
himself knowing that it would be a while before he
found anyone for him.  He shook out of it and began
reading one of the letters sent to him:

'Dear Nick,

    I am writing to you because it seems all of my
friends are in relationships except me.  I don't know
why it's so hard for me to find someone.  Everytime I
go out with someone I always seem to only find the
flaws and not see the good in them and as a result end
up alone.  I see my friends and they are so happy in
their relationships, and I always end up being the odd
man out because I am not with anyone or don't have
anyone to hold my hand.  As a result I often chose to
stay home than go out with my friends. I just want to
be with someone so badly.  Am I trying to hard to find
a relationship instead of just letting things go with
the flow?  How should I handle this?

From,
Lonely in Tustin'

 Nick took a deep breath, knowing this was a letter
has parts he could have written himself.  He couldn't
help but be amused at the irony of it.  He then
started responding to it from the heart.

'Dear Lonely in Tustin,

    I too know what it is like being the odd man out.
I find that the reasons why I'm single is because I
refuse to settle for anything less than what I feel I
deserve. Maybe you are doing the same?  Don't go
looking for a relationship, when you do that, more
than likely you'll end up being in a relationship that
you are not happy with.  You'll just be in a
relationship to be in one, rather than be in a good
healthy one.  I know it's hard and I know sometimes
you feel lonely beyond belief, but trust me, if you
just stay true to who you are.  If you wait, and don't
settle until you get what you want, then ultimately in
the end it will result for a happiness in the long
run.  We all want that instant satisfaction and when
it comes to love it's tough having to wait, but once
you find it, it will be worth it in the end.  In the
meantime just go out with your friends, be open to
meeting new people, don't hide in your home because
you're the only one with out someone, doing that will
only ensure your single status.  Enjoy life, meet
people and eventually I'm sure you'll find that one
for you.'

Nick took a few minutes to soak up what he wrote.  He
really took to heart the advice he gave, it was advice
he should be giving himself.  Yes, he was lonely, but
at the same time he knew he was doing the right thing
by waiting for the right person to come along.

That evening Kurt went out and went over to Scott's
apartment.  When he went inside he saw Scott, tall,
handsome, full of charm, everything he could ever want
in a guy.  'So what was the problem?' Kurt wondered,
why was it so hard for him to be in love with Scott?

"Hey babe," Scott said coming up and giving Kurt a
kiss. "How are you?"

"I'm good, how are you doing?" Kurt asked.

"Great now," Scott replied sweetly.

"I brought some wine," Kurt said handing him the
bottle.

"Thanks," Scott said as he set the bottle down on the
table. "Take a seat, dinner is all ready.  Mind
opening up the wine?"

"No problem," Kurt said getting a wine opener from a
drawer in the kitchen.

"So how's the new roommate?" Scott asked.

"He's nice," Kurt said. "You'll like him.  Him and his
boyfriend had a little fight though over him moving in
with me."

"Why's that?" Scott asked serving Kurt some of the
pasta he had made.

"He thinks that because him and I are both gay
something might happen," Kurt replied.

"That's ridiculous," Scott said.

"That's what I said," Kurt replied.

"I guess they just have some trust issues," Scott
said. "Not like us."

"Yeah," Kurt agreed as Scott gave him a little kiss.
After Scott dished out the food and Kurt poured the
wine Scott raised his glass to toast.

"To us," Scott said clinking Kurt's glass. "I love
you."

It was another one of those moments Kurt hated.  A
moment when Scott was being unbelievably sweet and
romantic, yet he couldn't find it in himself to
reciprocate those feelings.

"Like wise," was all Kurt could muster up as he
clinked his glass with Scott.

Meanwhile, over at Leo's apartment Jesse finally
arrived.  The two were sitting in the living room,
both in an awkward silence.

"Is one of us going to say something?" Jesse asked
finally.

"Yeah," Leo said getting up. "I think that we have a
lot of problems."

"Obviously," Jesse agreed.

"What have I done?" Leo asked. "Did I do something so
bad that makes you not want me anymore?"

"No," Jesse said quickly to make sure Leo knew it
wasn't his fault.

"Then what is it?" Leo asked. "I feel like I'm busting
my balls to try and fix this and things just seem to
get worse and worse for us."

"It's not you," Jesse replied.

"If you do that, 'it's not you, it's me' bit I'm going
to go crazy," Leo said working up the courage and
strength he knew he needed to get through this.

"It's us," Jesse said. "Don't you see it?"

"See what?" Leo asked.

"Leo, we've been together for over two years," Jesse
replied. "We've been together so long and gotten so
comfortable that we failed to see that over time we've
been drifting apart."

"How can we fix it?" Leo asked.

"I don't know if there is a way to fix it," Jesse said
sadly. "I think we've grown apart so long now that
we're just completely different people now."

Leo and Jesse's eyes both filled with tears, both
knowing what's happening.

"It's over isn't it?" Leo asked.

"I think it's been over for a while now," Jesse
replied. "We both just didn't want to accept it."

"So, what do we do now?" Leo asked.

"I guess," Jesse began sadly, "We say goodbye."

Leo's heart clenched, this was now how he wanted
things to go for him and Jesse.

"I never wanted this to happen," Leo said.

"Me neither," Jesse replied wiping his tears.

They came up to each other and gently gave each other
kisses and held each other for the last time.

"We had some amazing times together," Jesse sighed.

"Yeah, we did," Leo replied.

"Take care of yourself okay?" Jesse asked.

"I will, you do the same," Leo replied.

"Will do," Jesse said.

Jesse then picked up his coat and headed for the door,
he turned around and looked at Leo one last time, they
both did their best to give each other a smile and
slowly Jesse walked out of the door and out of Leo's
life.

That night Kurt came home late from Scott's place.
When he walked in Ryan was sitting in the kitchen,
bare chested, reading a book.

"Hey," Kurt said walking in.

"Oh hey," Ryan replied. "How was your night?"

"Good," Kurt said. "How about you?  Things better with
you and Craig?"

"Yeah, we're good," Ryan replied.

"Good," Kurt said as he headed to his room. "Well, I'm
beat so I'm going to bed.  Good night."

"Good night," Ryan replied and then went back to
reading.  Kurt went into his room and then slowly he
peaked back out quietly and took another look at Ryan,
bare chested, Kurt was able to see just how amazingly
fit Ryan was.

"Wow," Kurt said silently to himself and then smiled a
little bit, he then went and shut the door to his
room. "Wow."

****************************************************************************

To Be Continued...

Well, hope everyone enjoyed this first installment.
For those who read my last story "Dating and the
Single Life" I put in little cameos by the character
from that story in there as a thank you for taking the
time to read this new story.  Hopefully you'll all
like it as well.  With any comments, questions, or
feedback please e-mail me at ILJ4EVER44@yahoo.com
Take care!