Date: Mon, 6 Jan 2003 10:31:04 -0800 (PST)
From: Jason Calme <jasoncalme@yahoo.com>
Subject: Boy Bands: All the Ways I Love You - Chapter 4

All the Ways I Love You

This story is about male/male relationships and contains graphic
descriptions of sex.

You should not read this story if it is in any way illegal due to your
age or residence.

This is a work of pure fiction. It mixes fictional characters and events
with real people. However any real person mentioned in this work is
purely an actor playing a part. This story in no way is meant to imply
anything about the sexuality, personality, or behavior of the actual
person.

Copyright 2003 Jason Calme. This story is the sole property of its
author and may not be copied in whole or in part or posted on any
website without the permission of the author.

Questions and commentary can be sent to
"JasonCalme@yahoo.com".

------------
Thanks to everyone who has written to me about this story. I'm
glad you're enjoying it, even if some of you find the cliffhangers
frustrating! But hey, got to keep you interested...


Chapter 4


I stood there for a second.

"Well..." I began quietly, but I didn't really know what to say.

"I don't want to do the movie," Justin blurted out.

"What?" I gasped. He didn't want to do the movie? We hadn't
even figured out what it was going to be. That must mean he didn't
want me on it.

"It's not you," he continued.

'It's me' I thought to myself.

"I just never wanted to do a movie," he said.

He's coming up with anything to get out of this, I thought. He
must really want to get rid of me. Did I do something wrong? Did I
misread his signals? Was he upset that I liked him, or was he upset
that I hadn't made a pass at him? I was so confused. What the fuck
was I supposed to do? I just stood there dazed. Did this mean the
money was gone? Were they still going to pay my expenses?

Justin stared at me.

"Do you understand? It's nothing to do with you."

"Yeah," I said absently. I knew it had everything to do with me.

"So..." he went on, "I wanted to ask you a really big favor."

"A favor?" I said. Oh, he wants me to pull out so he doesn't have
to tell anyone what happened. Well, that was probably a good idea.
Better for me to pull out than have them make a big fuss about my
sexuality. Fuck! I thought I'd been good. Had I really upset him that
much?

"Umm," he began, "I want you to pretend to still work on the
script."

I looked at him in surprise.

"I know, I know," he said, "it's a lot to ask you, but you'd really
be doing me a big, big favor, and, well, you'd still get paid."

"I don't understand," I said.

"I told you, I don't want to do a movie. Any movie. This is
just...sometimes it's easier to just, you know, let people work on
something rather than start causing problems elsewhere. I haven't
wanted to do this project but the movie studio is pushing us
because they have a contract. I just, I'm trying to postpone things
before I pull out."

"Why don't you just say you don't want to do it?" I asked.

"I can't," Justin frowned. "Not at the moment."

"So this has all been a charade?"

"What?" he asked.

"You hanging out with me?"

"No! No, I've really had a lot of fun hanging out with you. Really!"
he looked at me nervously, "I mean, I hope you have too. This is
going to sound bad. I could have just said 'hi' to you and let you go
off and work on the script." He paused, "But I really had fun...I
really like you...and I...well I was trying to get up the courage to tell
you. I just couldn't let you go off and pour your heart into some
script when I knew it wasn't going to happen."

I stood there silently, trying to digest it all.

"I'm sorry," he repeated.

"So this isn't about me?" I asked again.

"No...no!" he repeated.

"Oh," I said breathing out, and then I don't know why, but I
started laughing. A small giggle at first, and then I just couldn't stop
laughing.

"What...what's so funny?" Justin asked, looking confused.

"This..." I choked out, "it's... oh God! I thought you hated me and
wanted me off the project...but you don't!" I was almost having a
laughing fit, "you never wanted to do a movie in the first place! Oh
my God!  Just my luck!"

"I'm sorry," Justin said sadly.

"It's okay, it's okay," I said almost collapsing against him. I
grabbed his shoulders and squeezed them. "It's fine, really!  I'm
just glad it wasn't something else."

"Something else?" Justin asked, looking puzzled, and then there
was a look of understanding and he smiled at me. "It's nothing to
do with that," he said, which brought me back to earth damn
quickly, wondering exactly what Justin was thinking. What 'that'
was he referring to? But Justin didn't give me a chance to pursue
that.

"So what do you think?" he asked.

"About what?" I asked nervously.

"Do you want to pretend to work on this project for a couple of
months? I'll understand if you don't. We'll let you out of the project."

"So what exactly would I have to do?"

"Just pretend as though you were working on it," Justin said. I
noticed that he couldn't seem to look me in the eye. He kept looking
off in the distance, then glancing back at me for a second before
looking off at something else. Or looking down at the ground.

"Probably come up with an idea and a storyline," he went on.
"We can fake something. Then you pretend to work on the script. In
a couple of months I'll pull the plug, I promise, and you won't have
to deliver a script."

"Isn't that being dishonest?"

"Well," he said thoughtfully, "not if you're working for us. Just
because you're not being productive doesn't mean you're not
working."

"I don't know," I said shaking my head.

"If you feel guilty, write a few pages," he suggested. "That's all I
ask. Listen. We're paying for this. As you pointed out before, it's my
money we're spending. If it's my money, and I know you're not
doing anything for it, and I've asked you not to do anything, then
you're not doing anything dishonest, are you?"

Put that way it seemed hard to argue.

"I don't know if I could fake it," I said.

"Just throw something together."

I glared at him for a second. "If someone asked you to write a
song that would never be recorded, what would you do? Could you
write a 'bad' song? What if someone saw it and thought that was
the kind of thing you did?"

Justin pursed his lips thinking. "You'll never have to submit
anything except an outline. That wouldn't be too hard would it?"

"As if!" I said, rolling my eyes.

"Okay, I'll pull the plug now," he said, and he took out his cell
phone.

"No. Don't do it just yet," I said grabbing at his phone. He looked
at me with a big smile and I felt like I'd been tricked. "I'm not saying
I'm going to do it, just give me some time to think about it, okay?"

"Okay," he said, still smiling, and finally he was able to look me in
the eyes, though I couldn't read his expression. He put the phone
away and we turned and continued walking along the beach.

"How long do you need to think about it?" he asked.

"Oh, I don't know," I said looking at him and seeing the hopeful
expression on his face, and I so much wanted to please him. "It
might be a month or two," I said, and I looked at him and smiled.


We made it back to his house with plenty of time to spare and I
packed up my stuff and then Justin drove me to the airport. I
insisted he just drop me at the door. If he came in with me the
chances of him being recognized were too high, and I was also
feeling a little nervous about saying goodbye. A quick goodbye in
the car seemed to be the best idea.

He pulled up at the drop off area and turned to face me. I pulled
out a card from my wallet.

"Here's my phone and email," I said handing it to him.

"Oh, great," he said. "You got another one?"

"Sure," I said, pulling out another one and handing it to him. He
took out a pen and wrote on the back of the card and then handed
it back to me.

"That's my cell and email," he said.

"Thanks."

"Call me and let me know how the script is going," he said
grinning mischievously.

"Sure," I grinned.

We sat there for a moment and then I held out my hand. "I had
fun," I said.

"Me too," he said and he reached out and took my hand, but then
he pulled me towards him and wrapped his other arm around me in
an awkward embrace that went on a little longer than I expected.
He felt so warm and nice. I resisted the urge to kiss him or run my
fingers through his hair. Barely.

We separated and I hopped out and went around the back to
grab my bag. He surprised me by getting out and coming around to
meet me. He held the tailgate as I pulled out my bags and put them
down, then he closed the door and smiled at me and we hugged
again, this time much quicker, and he patted my back.

"Thanks man," he whispered.

"Hey, thank you," I said.

He looked at me, his expression a little sad and he nodded a
couple of times and then flashed a small smile. "See you," he said,
and raised his hand in a wave, and then he turned and went back
to the front of the car.

I stood there for a moment. Thinking about saying something.
Asking him something. I knew what I wanted to ask him, I just
didn't know how to ask it. And I wasn't sure what answer I would
get. Or wanted.

I turned and walked into the concourse.


New York.

I woke up to the sound of my phone ringing. I looked at the clock
radio, which read 9:10 and said "Shit!" Guess I better answer it.

"Hello?" I grunted.

"Ethan! Hey, did I wake you?" it was my friend Abby bubbling on the
other end of the phone. Abby and I have known each other since
our first year at college. She and I really became best friends - we
had similar outlooks on things - but then she went and met some
guy and got married! Fortunately, I get on well with her husband
Tony, even though he and I don't have a whole lot in common. They
are probably my best friends. I go over for dinner every couple of
Fridays, hang out, and often sleep at their place and then we have
breakfast and maybe do something the next day. It's always fun.

"No, the phone woke me," I joked.

"Oh sorry..."

"It's okay," I sighed, "I should be getting up anyway...get back
on East Coast time."

"That's right! You should! I'm doing you a favor here," she
laughed.

"Remind me to thank you some day."

"So how was the trip?" she asked changing the subject.

I rolled over on my back and stretched out my legs and felt
comfortable in the warm bed. Well I'd been dieing to tell someone
about the trip and Abby was one of the best people to share some
gossip with.

"It went great," I said.

"So what happened?"

"I got the job!"

"What!" she almost screamed, her excitement evident.

"Yes, I'm writing a movie script...and getting paid to do it!" I didn't
add that it was never going to be finished. Might as well bask in the
glory for a moment or two.

"That's great..." there was a pause, "so...did you meet him?"

Abby knew I had been going out to talk about writing a script for
Justin, and she'd told me she thought he was cute. Maybe she
thought he was more than cute I wondered.

"Yeah, I met him briefly," I lied.

"What's he like?"

"Uh...you know it's hard to really tell, ...he seemed nice."

"So will you be going out again? I wonder if you'll get to be there
while they are filming?" She was gushing.

"I think you're getting a bit ahead of things!"

"This is so great!" she said.

"Yeah I know..." I paused, then just blurted out, "I met
someone."

"What?"

"I met this really nice guy while I was out there."

"Oh yeah?" Abby asked ruefully. She had been less than thrilled
with the last couple of guys I had dated. 'Trolls' was the term she'd
used for them. I was beginning to think she thought I had no taste
at all.

"Yeah," I said.

"So?" she asked suspiciously.

"What?"

"So tell me about him? Where'd you meet him?"

"He works for the record company," I figured I wasn't really lying.
"We hung out together and had a great time. He's funny and smart
and really good looking, and..."

"And...?" she asked.

"And straight."

"Well that's too bad...he know you were attracted to him?"

"He knew I was gay," I said. "I didn't tell him I had a huge crush.
We had such a great time though."

"It happens. Don't go pining over what can't be. Him living out in
LA would have made it difficult anyway."

"Yeah," I said wistfully. "I guess. I just...I can't stop thinking
about him."

"You've got it bad," she laughed. "Lucky you got out of there
before you made a fool of yourself."

"Thanks!"

"I know you! You would have thrown yourself at him eventually."

"I would not have," I argued. "I am the master of self control!"

"I'll believe that when I see it," she was laughing again. "I'd bet
money he knew you wanted to jump him, but was too polite to say
anything."

"Now you've got me all embarrassed. What am I going to do if I
see him again?"

"You kidding me! You're going to try and jump him," and she
hooted with laughter.

"You make it sound like I give gay guys a bad name," I said
defensively. "If I was as bad as you make out, I wouldn't be lonely
all the time."

"The reason you're lonely is you keep falling for people you can't
have," she pointed out.

"Yeah, it's the story of my life. Unrequited love is mine!"

I told her a little about the things we did, leaving out any details
that might incriminate me, and rang off promising to go over and
have dinner that Friday.

I got up and thought about the stupid movie project. Justin said
all I had to do was submit an outline and waste some time. Well
that was easy right? I decided there was no time better to waste
then the present, and I sat down and started writing an outline.

Much to my surprise, I actually had something that I liked after
only a few hours. It just poured out of me. I'd been thinking about it
on the plane back and suddenly it seemed to be there in my mind. I
just had to type it out. It was pretty much as I'd first imagined it
when talking to Justin that first day.

Justin's a bored and lonely pop star who wants to sample
'everyday' life. But he's on a long tour in Europe. He gets entangled
in an intrigue, meets a beautiful woman who might be a spy or a
double agent or both, and generally has a crazy adventure in which
he gets to sample everyday life a bit and at the end he decides he
prefers the music business. And he gets the girl.

Okay, it was hardly great literature or anything very original, but I
felt like I could put a lot of Justin's personality and sense of humor
into the character, and his character was the central part of the
whole thing.

By the end of the second day I'd polished the outline to the point
where I felt I might as well start writing. If I was actually going to
write something. I knew that the final script might drift from the
outline a bit, but I wasn't worried - the ace up my sleeve was that I
didn't have to actually finish the script.

I sent off the outline to Rob, telling him to forward it to the record
company. I didn't tell him I wasn't expecting any feedback. And just
for fun, I decided to write the script. Or as much of it as I could
stomach. It would be a great exercise in case someone else was
silly enough to ask me to write a script for them.

Without any constraints or obligations, I found I could write and
write. Or maybe it was the fact that I was in love with the central
character. I don't know what it was, but three weeks later I'd
actually finished a first draft, and a week after that I'd gone through
it and polished it a bit and liked it so much I showed it to Abby who
told me it was great. She says that about everything I show her,
but it's always good to get positive feedback.

I toyed with the idea of contacting Justin. He'd said to stay in
touch, but I felt awkward about it. I had the business card with his
email and phone number pinned up on the notice board in front of
me. Now and again I'd stare at it and think about calling him. Just to
hear his voice.  But what would I say to him? I guess I was worried
that if I called him or wrote to him, I might somehow reveal that I
liked him. That I 'liked him' liked him.

And he'd never called or emailed me. I guess I thought that if
there was something there, if it wasn't just my imagination, that he
would have done something. But he never did.

I sat on the script for a while because I wasn't sure if Justin really
wanted me to send in a script. Rob, however, kept checking in on
me to see how it was going. He was nervous and wanted
everything to go well. He hadn't heard anything back from the
record company - as I expected - but he didn't want me to fail to
deliver. And I couldn't just tell him not to worry. So finally I just told
him the first draft would be finished at the end of the week, and
would he let the record company know it was coming. That was
really a warning to Justin in the hope he would pull the plug before
it arrived. I'd lived up to my promise of giving him a couple of
months and now it was time to pull the plug. But I never heard
anything, so I sent the script along.


A couple of weeks after I submitted the script word came back
that there had been a big argument between the record company
and the movie studio. The record company - or as Rob described it,
'Justin' - loved the script and wanted to do it pretty much as written.
The studio hated it because it would cost three or four times what
they had budgeted to spend. They were looking for a little teen
movie, not a James Bond action adventure with a huge effects
budget and overseas locations.

I knew Justin didn't want to do it, so he was probably pretending
to like it when the studio had said they wouldn't do it. A dangerous
game I felt; what if the studio turned around and said 'okay, do it?'

Luckily that didn't happen. Justin got a delay on the project, I got
paid, and I had a script - an unmade one admittedly - under my belt.
Rob was already talking about other possibilities and about sending
me out to LA again. The only reason I even entertained the idea
when he suggested it was the thought that I might be able to see
Justin again, though I quickly gave up on that idea. For while I was
excited about getting paid and the possibilities of other projects, I
was really disappointed that I never heard a word from Justin. I
thought he might have acknowledged that I finished the script or
something, but he never called or emailed.

Abby's comments about him probably knowing I had a crush on
him had hit a little close to home and I didn't want to come across
as some desperate freak who was going to pester him. If he had no
interest in getting back in contact then at least I knew where I
stood. We'd been friends for a couple of days, had fun, and I'd done
him a favor by playing along with his desire to waste some time.

It hadn't been a one-way street. He'd gone out of his way to
show me a good time, and he'd also had me paid quickly and
without problems. My credit cards were all paid off for the first time
in ages thanks to him.  I couldn't complain. Which didn't mean I
didn't dream about him a little, or wonder what he was doing.


It was a Friday night and I was getting ready to go over to Abby's
and have dinner with her and Tony.

I was just about to go out the door when my buzzer rang.

I pushed the button and yelled into the speaker, "Yeah?"

"Ethan? It's Justin."

Justin? I stood there for a second trying to think who Justin was.
I didn't know any Justins...well only one Justin, but it couldn't be
him...yet the voice sounded familiar.

I pushed the door button and held it down for three or four
seconds. Then I walked slowly to the door, opened it and stepped
out onto the landing.

My building is rather old, with a central stairway that you can lean
over and see down into the lobby. You can also see people as they
walk up the stairs. There is an elevator too, but I am on the third
floor and mostly take the stairs. Most visitors do the same - the
elevator looks old and a little unsafe. I only use it for heavy items I
don't want to carry up the stairs.

I heard someone walking up and leaned over the balcony. I saw
him on the second level.

"Hey!" I called and he looked up and I saw the short curly hair
and the huge smile and my legs turned to jelly.

"Whatsup?" he called.

I stood there waiting until he made it to my floor and he walked
up to me smiling. He was dressed in jeans and hooded sweatshirt -
his favorite disguise I guess - and he was carrying a bottle of
Champaign that had a big red bow on the side of it.

He stopped a step or two away from me and held up the bottle.
"This is for you!" he said and held it out.

"For me? Thanks!" I said, and took it from him. He stepped closer
and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me into a hug. Not sure
what to do, I put my arms around him, though it was kind of hard
with the Champaign bottle in one hand.

"Great to see you!" he said as he hugged and then released me.

"You too," I said, "come in," and I waved towards the apartment
door.

Justin took a step forward, then stopped to wait for me.

"You first," I said, pointing with the Champaign bottle, and he
walked in ahead of me. I followed him in, closing the door and
putting the bottle on the end table in the hallway.

He stood in the living room, turning slowly while taking it all in. It
wasn't really much, just your average one bedroom apartment. The
living room is half living area and half writing space with desk, filing
cabinets, book shelves and computer. And stacks of papers strewn
across every flat surface.

I realized it was a bit messier than usual, and a lot messier than
most people would be comfortable with. I thought of Justin's neatly
tidy house and wondered what he must be thinking.

"So what are you doing here?" I asked.

"Oh," Justin turned away from studying my desk and looked at
me with a sheepish expression on his face. "I'm in town for some
interviews and I was down at MTV this afternoon."

"That fun?"

"Sometimes," he nodded.

"Thanks for the Champagne."

"Yeah, well that's for...," he shrugged, "you know...you did a
great job on the script."

"You liked it?" I asked.

"Yeah, I loved it, they didn't tell you?" he looked concerned.

I thought for a second, "My agent said something about you liking
it...I just assumed that was the usual bullshit."

"Oh no! It was great. I might even have done it!" he smiled.

"Sure you would," I teased.

"I'm really sorry," he said earnestly, "they were supposed to tell
you how much I liked it...how much I appreciated what you'd
done...I really thought it was awesome...I was going to call..." and
he trailed off.

"Well even better, you came in person and I got Champagne
too!"

"Yeah," the smile came back briefly to his face and he looked
around again and then in a casual tone asked, "you have any plans
tonight?"

"Uh, well I was just about to go out actually. I'm having dinner
with some friends."

"Oh," Justin replied, trying to look unconcerned though his smile
tightened. "Well I better let you go then."

"You could come with me," I suggested, trying not to sound too
excited. Hell, I'd call Abby and cancel if I had to.

"That'd be okay?" he asked hopefully.

"Yeah sure!" I answered. He smiled wide.

"I'll just call and let her know," I said.

I went and called Abby from the phone in the kitchen while Justin
glanced over the papers on my desk. I tried to remember if there
was anything incriminating in plain sight. I didn't think there was.

"Hello?" came Abby's voice.

"Hey it's me. Would it be okay if I brought someone to dinner?"

"Sure...who?"

"Just a friend who turned up on my door step and is hungry."

"That's fine," said Abby. "We were going to order Chinese."

"Want us to pick it up?"

"Sure. I'll call in the order. Your friend like anything in particular?"
she asked.

"Hang on, I'll ask."

I put my hand over the phone and called out over my shoulder,
"Justin, you okay with Chinese food?"

"Sure," he called back.

"Anything you like in particular?" I called, and turned and realized
he was right next to me.

"I'll eat anything," he said.

"Hey Abbey, just order what you like..." I put my hand over the
receiver again. "You really hungry or just a little hungry?" I asked
Justin.

"Ahh...really hungry."

"We're both really hungry" I told Abby, then said good-bye and
hung up.

"Okay," I said to Justin, "Let's go."

"Is it far?" he asked.

"No, not far on the train. Is it okay if I bring the Champagne? We
can drink it tonight!"

"Ah sure...is it okay if we take a cab? I'll pay."

"Sure," I said.

We went outside, and Justin put up his hood and put on his
sunglasses, even though it was early evening. We walked down to
the end of the street and flagged down a cab in short order. It took
about fifteen minutes to get to the Chinese take-out place that was
a block from Abby and Tony's. Justin wanted to have the cab wait
for us but I said we could walk and he hesitated, but then paid the
guy.

As the cab pulled away I turned to him.

"Are you uncomfortable walking the streets?" I asked.

"Sometimes," he shrugged.

"Sorry," I apologized

"It's okay," he smiled and we went in. He kept the glasses on
and the hood up, which I felt just made him stand out more, but I
didn't say anything.


Abby had obviously taken us at our word, as there were two
large bags of food waiting. I managed to pay for the food even
though Justin tried to do it, and we each took a bag and headed
out the door. It was only a half a block to their apartment building,
which I was grateful for, as Justin was tense the entire way. I
thought it was being out on the street that was unnerving him, but
he seemed to get even more nervous when we were buzzed into
the building.

We rode the elevator in silence and I caught Justin's eye and
smiled at him. He returned a nervous smile.

"You nervous?" I asked.

"A little."

The elevator door opened and I patted his shoulder. "Just relax
and be yourself...have fun!"

"Sure..." he said quietly, then added, "they don't know who
you're bringing do they?"

I stopped and he stopped beside me and he looked at me slightly
accusingly.

"I guess I thought it would be a surprise..." I trailed off.

Here I was using him as a surprise and I hadn't even told him or
asked him how he felt about it.  He must think I'm showing him off
like a new toy or something.

"Shit Justin, I'm sorry, " I said, "I'm screwing everything up."

"It's okay," he said softly.

"No, oh man, I feel like such an ass for doing this to you. Look if
you don't want to go that's fine. You wait here, I can go drop the
food off for Abby and we can go do something else."

"You don't have to do that," he said and he smiled.

"No I...I really want to spend some time with you...and I'm really
sorry about treating you like this. I didn't really think. I want to
make it up to you."

"No, it's okay," he smiled, "I'll let it go this time," and he shoved
me playfully.

"Okay, well...let's see...how about if I go down and break it to
them first..."

Justin grimaced. "That'd be worse!"

"Would it? Oh shit! Well what do you want me to do? I'm not
thinking straight! This is all your fault you know," I said poking him.

"My fault?" he said shoving my shoulder gently.

"Yeah, why didn't you call me rather than just turn up? Then I
could have had time to think this out," and I pushed him back.

"No, just more time for you to panic," Justin joked, and he pushed
me back gently and I realized that we were standing there, holding
bags of Chinese food in one hand and shoving each other with the
other. I had a feeling that at the rate we were going we'd be
wrestling each other any minute now. I could go for that.

"Hey!" came a voice from down the hallway. "Where'd you get
to?"

I looked up and Abby was standing in the hallway by her open
doorway.

"Sorry Abby!" I called. "We got lost in the elevator."

I heard Justin snort.

'Well at least you're here now," Abby said. I could tell she was
trying to see who was with me.

"Come on," I said to Justin, and grabbed his arm, and we walked
down the hall.


Abby didn't faint, but I saw her eyes bulge just a little as she saw
who was coming down the hallway beside me.

"Abby," I said as we drew up to her, "this is Justin. Justin, this is
Abby."

Abby smiled nervously and then held out her hand and Justin
shook it politely.

"Glad you could come Justin," she said. "Come on in," and she
waved him through the doorway.

He stepped in and Abby turned to me and made a face like the
figure in the painting 'The Scream.' I shoved her gently with my free
hand and gave her a 'don't be silly' glare. She ignored it.

We walked into the apartment and Abby introduced Justin to
Tony, who obviously didn't recognize Justin. We put down the bags
of food on the dining room table and Abby took our coats and hung
them up.

"Justin, why don't you help Tony set out the food?" Abby
suggested, "and Ethan, why don't you help me get some plates in
the kitchen?"

"Sure," we both said, and I followed Abby into the Kitchen, Abby
pulling the door closed behind us as we went in, and then grabbing
my arm and pulling me into the pantry.

"Why didn't you tell me you were bringing Justin Timberlake you
asshole?" she hissed.

"I didn't know I would be! He just showed up at my door as I was
leaving!"

"Well, you could have told me when you called!" she said, her
eyes huge, her mouth still hanging open. She looked like a teenage
girl.

"I know! I'm sorry! I screwed up! I thought it would be this fun
surprise but you're both pissed at me about it."

"Oh, it's okay," she said. "I don't think Tony even knows who he
is."

"Not Tony, Justin."

"What?" she asked.

"He was pissed I didn't tell you I was bringing him. I think it made
him feel like I was showing him off."

"Well weren't you?" she asked, smiling.

I grinned, "Maybe...a little."

"So how come?"

"What?" I asked.

"Why's he...visiting you?"

"Oh, he was just dropping off a bottle of Champagne, kind of a
thank you for doing the script," I said.

"That's nice of him..." she said thoughtfully, "just turning up like
that...on a Friday night."

"Yeah," I hastily agreed, "we better get back before they wonder
what we are doing."

"Yes," Abby agreed, but I could see her thinking and she
suddenly looked at me with this look of understanding.

"I'll grab some plates," I said stepping back out of the pantry,
and opening the cupboard door to take out the plates. I turned and
found Abby standing staring at me.

"What?" I asked nervously.

"Oh my, God!" she blurted, "He's not your guy that works at the
record company is he?"

"Of course not," I said trying to sound convincing, and quickly
stepped around her and out into the living room.

Tony was giving Justin a quick tour of the apartment when I got
back in there, and they seemed pleased to see I had the plates.

"Where's Abby?" Tony asked.

"She's bringing the silverware," I said, as Abby came out with her
hands full of forks and serving spoons.

"Here I am," she said brightly.

"Oh, what would you like to drink Justin?" asked Tony.

"I don't mind," he said.

"I'll have wine," said Abby.

"I'll have a beer" I called and Justin said he'd have one too.

Tony went out to the kitchen to get the drinks and Abby handed
Justin a large spoon and pointed to the food and told him to dig in.

It was rather quiet as we got food and settled down around the
dining room table. Abby kept casting looks at me. I felt she wanted
me back in the kitchen for some more conversation but I wasn't
budging. Justin sat and smiled at me and we ate quietly for a few
minutes.

"So Justin," Tony finally broke the silence, "how do you know
Ethan?"

"Ah, well he was writing this script for us..." Justin began.

"You're in the movie business then?" Tony asked.

"Ahh...no," said Justin smiling nervously.

"Tony," Abby said, "Justin is a singer, he's in the band NSYNC."

Justin blushed and Tony looked up with a thoughtful expression,
"NSYNC, really?" Tony said.  Justin nodded. "What's that like?" Tony
asked.

"Tony!" Abby snapped at him. "What kind of question is that?"

"What do you mean?" said Tony looking confused. "I just was
asking him what it was like. I'm just trying to make conversation."

"Justin, please excuse Tony," said Abby, "he doesn't get out
much."

Tony hooted.

"That's okay," said Justin, "I don't mind, I get worse questions at
most interviews."

"See," said Tony.

We were quiet for a moment and I was feeling like the whole
evening was being ruined and it was all my fault. But Justin came to
the rescue.

"It's pretty exhausting really," he began, "but I love making music
and most of the time I like what I'm doing. Some of the promotion
stuff sucks though and it's difficult to get out and do things
sometimes," and he trailed off, lost in thought.

"It must have its good points too though?" Tony prompted.

"Oh, of course!" Justin smiled, shaking off the moment. "I'm not
complaining really. I mean the recording and the performances are
great. I really couldn't imagine doing anything else."

"That's great," said Tony, I think because he wanted to keep the
conversation going to prove to Abby he hadn't been a jerk, "So
Ethan wrote a script for you?"

"Yes, it's for a movie I was going to do."

"You're not doing it?" Abbey interrupted. I hadn't told her about
that yet.

"Ahh..." said Justin, unsure what to say next.

"Justin and the record company loved the script," I jumped to his
defense, "but now the movie studio are being jerks about it. Not
because they don't like it, they just don't want to spend that much
on making the movie, so it's kind of on hold."

"Oh, I'm sorry Ethan," said Abby.

"Don't worry about it," I said. "I got paid whether they make it or
not, and I think I'll get more work because of it."

"Really?" asked Abby.

"Yeah, Rob's already lining up a couple of meetings so I'm
probably going out to LA in a couple of weeks to talk to some
people."

"That's great!" said Tony.

"You're coming out to LA in a couple of weeks?" asked Justin.

"Yeah...probably," I nodded.

"You can stay at my place," he said with a smile on his face, "I'm
gonna be there then."

"Well...it's not definite yet."

"Well let me know," he repeated.

"Okay, thanks Justin," I smiled at him and then I caught Abby
staring at me and quickly wiped the smile off my face.

"So Justin, Ethan was telling me you just dropped by to give him
a bottle of Champagne," said Abby

"Oh, shit! it's in the refrigerator!" said Tony, "Why don't we have
it with dessert?" Tony said to Justin.

"Well it's kind of up to Ethan," said Justin.

"I brought it to drink it!" I said in a party voice. "So Tony, how's
work?" I asked, trying to change the subject.

"Oh it's okay. The company is still in business, so that's
something."

"What do you do?" asked Justin.

"I work for a software company, I'm a computer programmer."

"What kind of stuff do you do?"

And Tony talked a bit about what he did, and the company he
worked for. Justin seemed genuinely interested and I was relieved
we'd changed subject. Of course, Abby wasn't going to be deterred.

We'd all had second helpings and Abby said she was going to
grab the ice cream for desert. "Ethan," she said casually, "could you
help me with the plates?"

"Sure," I said, and stood to gather some plates. Abby picked
some up and went out to the kitchen, and I was standing holding
the rest but I had a sudden urge not to go in there. "Hey Tony,
could you take these?" I asked, "I have to go to the bathroom."

"Sure."

I went to the bathroom while Tony took out the plates and
helped Abby with the dessert. When I came back everyone was
sitting as the table, scooping out ice cream, though I saw Abby
giving me the eye. I gave her an innocent look and sat down and
grabbed one of the pints of ice cream and started spooning out a
big scoop.

"So Ethan," Abby began, "when you go out to LA, are you going
to be getting together with that guy you met out there?"

"What?" I looked up startled, and I saw Justin cast a glance at
me but I couldn't read his expression.

"You know," she went on, "you said you were hanging out with a
guy from the record company."

I blushed, but it only got worse.

"Oh," said Tony brightly, "that's the one you have a...Oww!" he
yelped as Abby kicked him under the table.

Justin snickered and I went bright red. I was opening my mouth
but I didn't know what to stay.

"I think that was me," said Justin answering the question for me
and smiling widely.

"Oh," said Tony, and he went bright red.

"Oh, so that was you?" said Abby, turning to Justin.

"Uh...maybe," said Justin nervously, and now he was reddening.
"What did Ethan say?"

"He just said he met this really nice...person...who took him to
Disneyland and out to a club."

"That was me," said Justin.

"That was really nice of you," said Abby and she glanced at me
with an expression like a Cheshire cat.

Justin shrugged. "It was fun hanging out with Ethan, and I was
right!"

"You were right?" I asked.

"I knew you were the one to work on the project and you did a
better job than I could have imagined," and he gave me this huge
smile and I felt my self turning red again.


"How about pop corn?" asked Abby.

We were sitting on the floor around a game of Trivial Pursuit that
we'd been playing for the past half hour.

Tony, Justin and I looked at each other and then nodded our
agreement.

"Maybe something to drink," suggested Tony.

"Ethan," said Abby, "take care of the drinks."

"That's Tony's job, he lives here!" I complained.

"Huh!," said Tony, "I have to entertain the guest," and he waved
at Justin.

"What? I'm not a guest? I'm hurt!" I complained.

"Just shut up and get me a beer," said Tony.

"Justin?" I asked.

"Okay," he nodded.

"Or maybe we should have something a bit stronger!" said Tony.

"What?" I asked.

"Anyone for Brandy?" he suggested.

"You'll have us all drunk!" I laughed. "You're just trying for an
unfair advantage, I'm sticking to beer."

"How about you Justin?" Tony asked.

"I think I'll stick with beer."

"Well," said Tony, "if no one's going to join me, I'll have a beer
too."

"Fine" I said, and went into the kitchen and fished out some
beers from the fridge. Abby was getting a bowl out from under the
counter while the pop-corn was popping in the microwave.

"You want anything to drink?" I called.

"I'm okay," she said.

I went over to the drawer by the sink and started searching for
the bottle opener.

"It's here," said Abby, and I turned and she was standing in front
of me waving the opener with a big smile on her face.

"What?" I asked, grabbing it from her.

"Why didn't you tell me it was him?" she asked.

"Uh...well it was kind of embarrassing and I just..." and I trailed
off not sure what to say. "Sorry," I said finally.

"Hey, I understand," she said and then she put her arms around
me and hugged me and said "I'm very happy for you, he seems
really nice."

"He is," I agreed, then I had a sudden thought, "ahh...what are
you..." and she had this big smile on her face, "Oh...you don't think
that we're...he's not...I told you...he's straight."

"You think so?" she said quietly, looking around as though
worried someone would hear us.

"Yes," I hissed.

"This is so good," and she laughed.

"What's so funny?"

"You two," she said. "You're making puppy dog eyes at each
other all the time, I don't care if you think he's straight, he likes you
as more than a friend."

"You've been drinking too much," I said and gathered up the
beers and the opener and as much dignity as I could find, and went
back out to the living room, leaving her to the popcorn.

Justin and Tony were leaning together, talking about something
when I came back in, but they saw me and suddenly stopped
talking and straightened up. What was that about? Shit! Now I'm
becoming paranoid.

I handed them the bottles, and when Tony looked at me
questioningly I handed him the opener, "It's self-service after 10," I
said.

Sitting down I looked over at Justin and he looked up and smiled at
me and I smiled back and then we both looked away quickly.

to be continued.