Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2000 18:09:41 EST
From: That's The Way I Like It <bsb_stories@hotmail.com>
Subject: gay/celebrity/boy-bands/changes "Changes" Chapters 27-28

Please don't read if you are offended by gay sex.  The usual
disclaimer applies.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Brian stood at the end of the bed, wearing boxers and a very penitent
expression on his face.  Misha sat cross-legged, his arms folded across
his chest, an unaccomodating jumble of thin, pointy limbs.  They had
passed the ride home in the limo in dead silence, and now Brian was
pleading for forgiveness.  "I can't make it end just like that," he
said, snapping his fingers.  "We have to tie things up, I can't just
seal it off and forget about it."  "Let me put it to you plainly,"
Misha said, "I only want to be in a relationship with you.  Just Brian.
Not Brian and Nick."  "Baby, let me make it up to you," Brian said,
giving Misha his best sultry, sexy look.  Misha shook his head.  "I
don't exist as an accessory to you," he said.  "I have my own life
and I'm my own person.  I'm not here for you to get over Nick."
Brian sighed and sat on the edge of the bed.  "I know, Mish.  I'm
sorry if you feel that way sometimes.  I shouldn't have ever gotten
back with Nick, it's just ... I don't know how to explain it.  It's
like having exactly what you want right in front of you, but you
still can't have it."

"I can't believe you," Misha hissed.  "What?"  "How can you say that
to me?  First off, how do you think it makes me feel when you start
talking about your soul mate, your one true love?  Huh Bri?"  "I'm
sorry, Mish, I-"  "No, let me finish.  It's hard enough knowing that
the way I feel about you is not how you feel about me.  Brian, you're
like my perfect man.  Okay?  So don't give me any shit about not being
able to have what's right in front of your face."  They gazed at one
another, and Brian's sad, clear blue eyes sought some kind of hope in
Misha's fiery gaze.  "Misha, I'm sorry,"  Brian said for what seemed to
be the thousandth time that night.  "There is something powerful
between you and me and I don't want to fuck it up."  "I'm not your
groupie," Misha said, pain apparent in his voice.  "I'm giving up a lot
to be with you too, Brian, and I can walk away just as easily as you
can."  Brian stroked Misha's leg soothingly and sighed.  "I understand
that.  Look, it's over between me and Nick.  It's only memories now."
It killed him to say it, as though part of his heart was breaking off,
frozen solid.

"Let me show you how much I care about you," Brian whispered in Misha's
ear, sending a rush of sexual excitement through Misha's body.
"Brian," Misha sighed, caressing Brian's strong shoulders and back,
"I want you to be honest with me.  Please give me that much respect."
"I have never been dishonest with you, baby," Brian said, backing away
and looking him right in the eyes.  "Trust is part of what was so
wrong with me and Nick..."  His voice faded out as Brian realised that
he was doing it again.  Misha let out a fatigued sigh.  "Look, Brian,
I know your life is wrapped up with Nick's because you too shared a
lot together.  But you are two separate people.  Even when you were a
couple, you were still two separate people.  Right?"  Brian dropped
his gaze.  He and Nick had both believed that they weren't separate
people at all, but two halves that made one whole.  He'd said as much
to Leighanne, who went off on him with more pop psychology.  "I'm
going to take a shower," Brian said, and he got out of bed and trudged
into the bathroom, leaving Misha lying there confused, hurt and angry.

Dani went rushing out to the tour bus, herded there by security.  A
large crowd of fans was gathered in the early morning mist, pushing a
blockade of police who were trying to keep things under control and
let the guys just get on the bus and leave Paris in peace.  "Dani,
wait up!"  It was Leighanne, and Dani managed to wrench her arm free
of one of the big goon's grip to meet her.  "You're taking the other
bus?" she asked.  "No," Leighanne said, "here, give this letter to
Brian.  I have to go."  "Where are you going?"  "Never mind, I'll tell
you later.  Bye."  "Wait, Leigh-"  "Come on, we have to get on the
bus NOW," the guard said, pulling Dani away as the fans started
screaming for Leighanne, tossings things at her and snapping flash
photos as the blond rushed off to get into a taxi.  It took all of
Dani's moral fibre to keep from ripping open the sealed envelope, but
she didn't.  The fans screamed and surged as the guys hurried on board,
shielded as best they could by the guards, who didn't appreciate being
beaned repeatedly by the gifts that the faithful had brought as
offerings.  Howie and Nick weren't on board yet, and while they waited,
a couple of fans broke through the barricade and ran to the bus,
banging on the side and screaming like banshees.  Dani was frightened
by their intensity, but at the same time, the emotional release the
girls were going through was powerful, transforming.

"Howie, please... I'm really sorry about last night."  Nick put a
hand on his old friend's shoulder, but the smaller man brushed it off
and glared at him.  "Fine, Nicky," he said.  "I was just really
upset, it wasn't even your fault," Nick went on, his eyes open wide
as he sought some reassurement from Howie.  "You know what really
pisses me off," Howie said.  "It's being taken for granted.  Oh,
Howie won't care.  Howie's our least valuable player.  Everybody can
dump on him whenever they want.  Take what they want from him."  "D,
it's just because you knocked and-"  "I'm not talking about last
night," Howie interrupted.  "I'm more angry about what you're doing
after Chartres," Howie said.  "Your little solo show."  "Oh, God,"
Nick sighed, "Howie, I tried to get out of that."  "Yeah right.  You
know, Nicky, it wouldn't be so fucking sad if we didn't used to be like
a family.  Where I come from, family doesn't mean stabbing people in
the back and using them.  But I guess your family is a little different
from mine.  Aren't they."

Nick flushed with emotion and folded his arms tightly over his chest.
"Howie, what can I say.  I did some dumb things while we were apart,
and I guess I let my mom push me around.  I never wanted to break up
the group!"  "No, Nicky, I don't think you even care about that,"
Howie said hotly.  "I think you just don't want to be blamed for
anything, and you don't want to take responsibility for anything.
Well, this is your doing, whether you want to admit it or not."
"That's not fair," Nick said in a whiny way, "you don't know what kind
of a position I was in with my family and all..."  "We all have our
problems," Howie said, "stop feeling so goddamned sorry for yourself
all the time."  Nick just stared at him, feeling as though he'd been
slapped across the face.  "Howie, I feel so bad," he said finally.
"Really?  I didn't know you felt anything any more," Howie said more
quietly.  "You should feel bad, Nicky.  Wake up and take a good look
at what you've done."  He walked out and was rushed to the tour bus
by his little cluster of guards.  "We should go too," one of the
others said to Nick.  Every cell of Nick's body wanted to run in the
opposite direction.

The bus rushed through the French countryside to the inn outside of
Chartres where the guys were staying.  They were the last act in the
show and had to suffer through a "hurry-up-and-wait" schedule, doing
a quick rehearsal early on and then puttering around for hours waiting
to go on.  Dani cuddled with A.J. in the one of the seats up front,
watching the scenery.  "I bet those 'N Stinkers are laughing it up
right now," he said glumly.  "Instinkers?" Dani chortled.  "I know
for a fact they're not pleased that we're headlining the show, even
though we haven't released a new album in two years and they're
topping all the charts right now."  "So there is a bitter rivalry
after all," Dani said, pushing a stray piece of hair behind her ear.
"Yes and no," A.J. said.  "We get along okay, but you know it's there,
not being talked about."  He watched the rich pastures fly by and his
conscience stabbed at him; his Backstreet brothers needed to stick
together to get through this rough patch, and what he was doing could
be the final blow.  But it was too late to back out of his plans now.
A.J. sighed.  "Damn, I need a cigarette," he said.  "Bad boy," Dani
laughed.  "We'll be at the inn soon, you can sneak a quick puff before
we head out to the fair grounds."  She glanced over at Nick, who was
curled up in a ball in his seat, listening to music on his headphones,
his thumb resting on one lip as he daydreamed.  Seeing him at his
most childlike, it was inconceivable to Dani that Nick and Kevin were
even involved in a physical relationship, let alone anything more.

Brian folded the letter from Leighanne carefully and slid it into his
pocket, refusing to think about it at the time being.  He sat down
with Kevin in the kitchenette and made himself some tea.  "Where's
Misha?" Kevin asked in a nonchalant way.  "I think he's reading,"
Brian said, staring at him coldly.  "We need to talk."  "Bri, we're
gonna be there in ..."  Kevin glanced at his watch.  "This won't take
long," Brian said in the same monotone.  "Fine, Rok," Kevin sighed,
sensing that he had no choice in the matter.  "The least you could
have done was tell me," Brian said quietly.  "I didn't need to find
out the way I did."  Kevin scratched his head.  It had been a long
and very sleepless night for him.  "Now I don't know what the hell is
going on with you, or who you are anymore," Brian continued, "but we're
family, and I never expected this from you.  You took advantage of
Nick, and you hurt both us when you did it."  "Nick can take care of
himself," Kevin said.  "And why was this all a big secret?" Brian asked,
his eyes narrowing at his cousin.  "I know why.  Because you aren't
having a relationship.  Because you're ashamed that you're even
sleeping with Nick.  How can you treat him like that?  That's just
wrong, Kevin."  "Brian, Nick doesn't belong to you any more and he
can do whatever he wants."  "I know you don't like to be in the wrong.
Kev," Brian said, his voice shaking.  "But this time you fucked up.
Nick can do what he want, but it doesn't have to be you, Kevin.  It
doesn't have to be my own cousin."

After dropping off their things at the hotel and hurriedly changing
into the clothing supplied for them, the Backstreet Boys were carted
off to a tent at the fairgrounds, where they went through rapid-fire
make-up before a special meet and greet and photo session with children
from a local cancer clinic.  Once that obligation was fulfilled, they
broke for a quick bite to eat.  "I'm frankly shocked," Lance said to
Kevin with a big smirk as he slid his butt next to him at the long
bench style table.  Kevin just sighed.  "Look Lance, I'm not in the
mood."  "Sorry," Lance shrugged, "I just thought Nicky preferred younger
guys."  "Hey," Kevin frowned.  "Relax, Kevin, that was a joke!"  "Well,
it wasn't very funny."  Lance grinned broadly.  "You know he was
hitting on Justy last spring.  Did you ever hear about that?"  "No,"
Kevin said flatly.  "I don't think Justy would have made it up," Lance
shrugged, munching on his baguette.  "He called me from Sweden to tell
me, because he thought it was so funny.  He says, 'yo Scoop, I gots
some funny shit to tell ya' ... just like that..."  Kevin nodded,
staring off across the tent, looking for Nick, who wasn't around.  "I
guess that guy Mario that Nicky was seeing was hitting on Justy pretty
bad at dinner, and he said... oh, what was it..."  Kevin wanted to talk
to Nick, but then, he didn't know what he wanted to say.  His anger
about Nick blurting out their little secret had faded quickly and was
turning into a dull sort of hurt.  Nick was just using me to get back at
Brian.  Well, why should that bother me, I was just using him too.
I'm too damn sensitive these days.

"And then Nicky came to Justy's room all coked out and dressed like
a pimp, and starts asking Justy 'what are you doing tonight?  you want
to come *hang out* with me and Mario' and Justy was like, uh, not
really, I was going to call my *GIRLFRIEND* and of course Nicky is
clueless and-"  Kevin tuned Lance out again.  It seemed to him that
he was most angry about feeling that he'd lost control of his "affair"
with Nick.  It was supposed to be on my terms.  He looked up and met
Lance's sea-green eyes again.  "They would make a cute couple, I have
to admit," the blond was saying, "but I told Justy, I would *kill*
you if you fucked *Nick Carter* ... I mean, please, here you've had a
Southern belle right here at your disposal, and you go for that piece
of white trash first?  At least he's lost some weight.  My God, I
thought he was going to turn into a hippo for a while..."  "You know
Lance," Kevin said, "you're very bitchy when you're jealous."  He
got up and walked off, leaving Lance turning a deep red colour.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

The music festival was chaotic.  It rained hard all day and crowd
control became an increasing problem.  'N Sync's set was delayed by
almost half an hour due to an electrical gaffe and a riot nearly
broke out.  Finally the Backstreet Boys were up, doing an abbreviated
set, eight songs and then an encore with 'N Sync, a song that Brian
had written called "True to You."  A.J. took a quick shower and then
he and Dani hit the road, hopping a taxi and then getting on a train
to Amsterdam.  "We'll fly out in the early a.m.," he said, rubbing
Dani's neck, which was tight with pent-up nerves and exhaustion, "I
know Howie and Nick are both flying out of Paris."  "So we're going up
to Holland just to avoid them?"  "It just makes it easier," A.J. said.
"Besides, I like Amsterdam."  Dani made a face at him.  "Yeah, we're
going to be there for what, ten minutes?"  A.J. laughed softly and
reclined his seat back, spreading a blanket over the two of them.
"Come on, relax, this is gonna be fun.  Our secret getaway."  Dani
snuggled close to him, relishing the feeling of his arm around her
shoulders. A.J. almost smelled incredible and she breathed in his
cologne as the train rushed through the pitch-black French country.
Which A.J. am I going to get, Dani asked herself as she felt his lips
nuzzling her neck, the down to earth, "real" A.J.?  The egotistical,
superficial star A.J., who needs to be surrounded by groupies and
lackeys?  His hands slid over her thigh under the blanket and Dani
felt herself relax into his caresses.  She kissed him back and giggled
as his hands found the curves of her waist, tickling her slightly.
"Come on, Alex," she whispered, "we are still in public."   "Sorry
baby," A.J. purred, "something about trains does that to me."

"I don't think there's any nightlife in Chartres," Chris was saying
to the group gathering in his hotel room.  "Well, we're going to find
something," Joey said, "right Lance?"  "Good luck," J.C. laughed.
"Yeah, we'll find *something*," Lance said.  "I just need to find
Justin first."  "I think he and Larissa went to their room already,"
Joey said, wiggling his eyebrows meaningfully.  "So?" Lance chirped.
He went flouncing out of the room in an exaggeratedly nelly manner,
causing the other three to bust out laughing.  "Oh, Lansten is in fine
form tonight," Joey said, checking himself out in the mirror, smoothing
one of his eyebrows which seemed to be askew.  "I think tonight was
important for us," J.C. said, looking out of the window of their hotel.
"It was pretty clear who had their shit together and who didn't.  When
this shows on MTV Europe, there's going to be some fallout."  "Yeah
right," Chris said with a scowl.  "All it's been non-stop for the past
month is Backstreet's back-"  "all right!" they all said together.  "I
am so sick of their hype machine," Chris continued.  "They're already
jumping the gun on our live video by releasing their own at almost the
same time."  "Can't we all just get along?"  Joey grinned.  "Come on,
we're doing great."  "Joey," Chris said irritably, "it's not a personal
thing.  Their management has it in for us and you know it.  That whole
crap about threatening to sue us for that TV special?  How about
Justin doing those shows with Nick and not even getting paid?  You
think that was a random thing?"  "Chris, all I know is I'm not going
along with any mud flinging bullshit you want to stir up," Joey said,
folding his arms resolutely over his broad chest.  "I'm a big grown-up
and I don't play kindergarteners' games."

"Justy?  Are you in there?"  Lance knocked lightly on the door and
pressed his ear up to it, listening intently for any tell-tale moans
or bed squeaks.  "Looking for me?"  Lance jumped and put a hand on
his chest.  "You scared the shit out of me, Curly!"  "Sorry.  I was
just talking to Nick.  Come on in..."  Justin unlocked his door and
let Lance into his suite.  "Where's Larissa?"  "She and Nikki went
to buy something at the mini mart," Justin said casually, flinging
himself into an easy chair, his long limbs resting lazily here and
there.  "What's up?"  "Were you trying to get your money out of Nick?"
Justin rolled his eyes.  "We were just talkin', Scoop."  "Nobody just
talks to Nick," Lance said snidely, "it's not really possible to carry
on a normal conversation with him if you wanted to."  "You need to
get laid, Lance.  Your perverted little mind is goin' off again."
"Did he say anything weird to you?" Lance prodded, "like about
something Kevin might have said?"  "What did you say to Kevin,"
Justin groaned.  "Oh nothing.  We were just chatting earlier..."  "You
need to stop playing with people," Justin said, getting up and walking
to the refrigerator.  "You want a drink or something?"  "No, I'm cool.
Just, you know I'm not trying to play with you."  "I didn't say you
were."  "I just think it's interesting, how Kevin reacted when I told
him some things."  "Lance, you better not be talking any crap about me
and Nick," Justin said angrily, "cos nothing is going on there."  "I
didn't say there was!"  Lance eyed Justin intently.  "I just think
it's odd, that's all.  You and Nick.  Why won't you talk about it?"
"I don't think I have to," Justin said.  "Since you make up enough
stories without me sayin' a word."

"Come on," Brian whispered, "give me a boost."  He and Misha had found
a way through the wrought-iron gates of a medieval church and walked
through a garden of stone figures up the steps to a set of enormous
carved wooden doors.  Brian had pried open a small window to the right
and was trying to shimmy his way into the building.  "Look at all
that above the doorway," Misha gasped, staring up in the dark at the
relief sculptures of religious figures, mythical animals, and Latin
inscriptions.  "Hey, little help here!"  "You know this is totally
illegal," Misha laughed, "and we're in a foreign country."  Brian
scrambled through and dropped to the ground inside with a little thud.
"Are you okay?" Misha whispered through the window.  "Bit higher up
than I was anticipatin'," Brian laughed.  "Come on to the door, I'll
let you in."  They tip-toed into the main hall, feeling the eyes of
thousands of saints, gargoyles and kings upon them.  They explored for
a while, but it was just too creepy in there, and they snuck out the
back into another garden, more secluded and featuring an ornate
fountain.  "I think we should be naughty more often," Misha laughed.
"I agree," Brian smiled.  "I'm tired of being a good boy."  "You
have to look out for yourself sometimes," Misha said.  "Go a little
wild."  "Sounds like a plan," Brian smiled, and he unbuttoned
Misha's shirt and began kissing his chest, loving the feel of his
nipple becoming hard against his cheek.

"We are still on church property," Misha laughed, and then he let out
a little gasp as Brian's insistant teeth nipped at his flesh.  "Lay
back," Brian said in a husky voice, and Misha did so, reclining on
the grass, stray leaves moist from the rain.  It was very dark outside,
and the alternating sensations of cool puffs of air and warm laps of
Brian's tongue sent an erotic charge deep through Misha's body.
Brian kissed Misha's belly button and nibbled along the thin trace
of hair leading down his pelvis, unfastening Misha's trousers and
taking in the scent of his crotch.  Misha pulled Brian back up on
top of him and they kissed each other intensely, releasing their
swollen dicks from their clothes one by one.  They were not quite
out in the open, but there was a little thrill of possible discovery
which tinged their every action.  Misha trembled in anticipation and
groaned loudly as Brian forced the big head of his cock into his ass,
resting there and allowing Misha's bowels to invite him further inside.
"Oh Brian," Misha sighed, "I love you so much."  "I love you too,"
Brian replied softly, a tear forming in his eyes.  He felt twisted
inside, unsure of what part of him was being honest and what part of
him was lying.  Brian stroked Misha's hard dick and kissed him
sloppily as he felt his balls tighten and tingle.  He arched his
back and slammed his cock in harder, moaning and letting drops of
sweat fall from his bare chest on to Misha's body.  Misha wished
that Brian didn't close his eyes during sex.  "Oh God, yes, oh..."
Brian grunted with release and continued to fuck Misha's ass while
his erection subsided, feeling the last spurts of cum shoot into
his condom, sliding himself out carefully and dumping the sodden
latex to the side of their squirming, sweaty bodies.  "Oh baby,"
Brian panted in Misha's ear, "let me take care of that for you..."
He stroked Misha's throbbing cock and then slid down to suck the
tip of it into his mouth, squeezing the base and licking around
the head, coated with thick pre-cum.  Misha gasped loudly and
wriggled around.  "Bri, ahh... don't stop!"  Brian went down further
on Misha's cock and pumped him hard while sucking, and his lover
came quickly, filling Brian's mouth with his salty cum and moaning
loudly.  Misha cradled Brian in his arms as they lay together
breathing hard, smelling of sex and coming back to reality and
the awareness of their surroundings.

"Oh hey Kevin, what are ya doin'?"  "It's late, let me in, Nick,"
Kevin said, brushing past the blond and into his messy room, almost
tripping over a pile of clothing.  "You want a drink?"  "No, come sit
down with me, we need to talk."  Nick walked very carefully over to
the couch and sat down by Kevin, sliding close to him and resting
his chin on Kevin's shoulder.  Kevin backed away; Nick reeked of
alcohol.  "You're really drunk, aren't you?" he said in a flat voice.
"Just a little bit," Nick said, running his hand up Kevin's thigh.
"Tonight was pretty good huh?"  "Wonderful," Kevin said irritably,
and he leaned forward and took an unopened bottle of beer out of the
ice bucket.  "So you're going to Madrid tomorrow," Kevin said as he
took a big gulp of the cold beer.  "Uh huh," Nick replied, curling up
on the couch and laying his head on Kevin's lap.  "Nick, get up, we
have to talk," Kevin said, and he shoved Nick rudely.  "I don't feel
like talkin' Kev..."  "Well, I don't care," Kevin said, "we're going
to talk."  "Okay fine," Nick said too loudly, "let's talk then!  Blah
blah!"  "You make me so mad," Kevin sighed, setting the bottle back
down and staring across the room.  "I didn't do anything," Nick said,
resting on Kevin again.  "I'm mad at you, you're the one makin me mad."
"Why did you just say that last night," Kevin said, turning to look
Nick in the eyes, which wasn't much use since Nick seemed like he could
hardly see.  "Brian is an asshole," Nick proclaimed, "and you are too.
That's why."  He crawled on to Kevin's lap and kissed Kevin on the
neck.  "Can we stop talking now?"

"This whole thing is so fucked up," Kevin said, and he stroked Nick's
hair back from his face.  "You are so fucked up and I am so fucked up
and everything is so fucked up."  He felt his words choke in his throat
as he said it.  "Uh yeah," Nick laughed, "good idea Kev, let's fuck..."
He kissed Kevin's neck again and licked around his jawline, sucking on
his chin and then biting at his lips hungrily.  "Where are you," Kevin
said, "are you even in there, Nick?"  "I'm right here," Nick slurred,
"I'm here with you.  Are you drunk?"  Kevin rested his head on the
back of the couch.  He felt like he straddled two worlds, a world of
order, which made sense, which was cold and lonely, and another world,
which swirled and vibrated with emotion and sensation, but which
threatened the core of his sense of self.  "Get drunk with me," Nick
said in his sexy voice, stroking Kevin's hard chest.  "You're so hot
when you go wild."  "I'll show you going wild," Kevin said angrily.
"Oh yeah," Nick moaned as Kevin sucked hard on his neck, shoving him
against the back of the couch.  They tore each other's clothes off
and Nick straddled Kevin's lap, sinking himself greedily down on
Kevin's big cock with a loud groan of pleasure.  "Yes, oh, fuck me
hard!"  "Uhh, yeah..." Kevin let himself moan out loud, which was not
typical, and he grabbed Nick by the throat with one big hand and
shook him slightly.  "Get on me, fuck this dick!" he commanded.  Nick
gasped, hardly able to breathe, his own dick rock hard and flat
against his stomach as he met Kevin's fast, angry thrusts, his
insides burning.  "Kev, I can't- I can't-" Nick groaned, gasping
for air, but incredibly excited by the sensation of Kevin's hand on
his neck, Kevin's other hand grabbing his hip painfully and thrusting
him down harder on Kevin's dick.  "Oh God," Kevin groaned, shutting
his eyes in pleasure as he shot his cum up into Nick's tight ass.  He
let go of Nick's neck and went to grab Nick's other hip, but Nick
lost his balance, gasping and panting for oxygen, and they both
tumbled off the couch and on to the floor.

Kevin lay on top of Nick, breathing hard and feeling his cock reaching
another full erection, still inside Nick's ass.  "Oh God," Nick moaned,
wrapping his legs around Kevin's body and squeezing him close.  "I
think I'm gonna puke..."  "If you throw up, I'll kill you," Kevin said,
and he raised himself up on his elbows and looked Nick in the face to
see if he was actually going to be sick.  "I feel so dizzy," Nick moaned
again, and he buried his head on Kevin's shoulder.  Kevin shut his eyes
and began to pump his hard dick in and out of Nick, taking his time and
letting every part of his body enjoy the sensations.  Nick felt very
disoriented and sick, vaguely aware that his ass was being punished
and his throat was bruised, and he waited for Kevin to cum again,
fading in and out of consciousness.  "Please baby," Nick said, stroking
Kevin's back, "cum for me baby..."  Kevin sensed Nick's lack of
enthusiasm and pumped harder, but the magic was gone, and he didn't
come any nearer to orgasm.  He pulled his dick out and kissed Nick
softly on the lips.  "I'm sorry," Kevin said.  "What's wrong," Nick
mumbled.  "You're really drunk, you should go to bed," Kevin said,
smoothing Nick's damp hair back.  "No, it's okay," Nick said, and he
trembled involuntarily.  "It's cold lying on this floor," Kevin said
tenderly, "and your ass is naked."  "No, don't go," Nick said.  His
eyes were shut, but Kevin saw the tear slide down his cheek.  "Baby,
it's okay," Kevin said, "come on, I'll help you go lie down."  "I
don't want you to go," Nick sobbed.  "I'm not leaving," Kevin said,
and he helped the young blond up and over to the bed.  He lay down
beside Nick and cuddled him in his arms.  "It's okay Nicky, stop
crying."  "Don't leave me," Nick repeated.  "I won't, baby."  Kevin
stayed until Nick was asleep, and then he gathered his things and left.