Date: Wed, 10 Aug 2005 08:32:45 -0700 (PDT)
From: Kirk Landers <ilj4ever44@yahoo.com>
Subject: Dating and the Single Life- part 19

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.

Hope everyone is enjoying the story.  Here's part 19
entitled "A New Beginning"

It has been two weeks since the accidents, Randal,
Stanley, David and Kyle were all out of the hospital.
Jake and Tyler had come home and Marcus has fully
moved on from his ordeal with Thomas.  Kyle
fortunately had insurance for his important valuables
lost in the fire and has now moved in with David.  The
seven of them were back to normal and everything was
perfect, the police had even found Brett and arrested
him.  They were all over at Randal and Stanley's place
helping them paint the apartment.  All of them were
collected in the living room painting different areas.

"I think we may need one more coat of paint on this
wall then it should be done," Marcus said looking the
wall over.

"Thanks again you guys for helping us do this,"
Stanley said as he dunked his paint brush in the
bucket of paint.

"Oh please, you know we'd do anything for you guys,"
Tyler replied.

"Looks good babe," Jake said as he looked over the
painting that Tyler did.

"Thank you," Tyler replied as they leaned in for a
kiss.

A few feet away Kyle and David were painting near each
other when David playfully stroked Kyle's cheek with
his paint brush causing a white streak to appear on
the side of his face.

"You jerk," Kyle laughed and brushed David's shirt
with paint.  The two of them laughed as they dabbed
paint on each other.

"The wall you guys," Randal called over to them
laughing.

"Yea David," Kyle quipped innocently as if he had no
part in the paint fight between him and David.

"You all are killing me with cuteness," Marcus
half-joked as he looked at the three different couples
in the room.

"I'm sorry," Tyler replied sincerely. "Is it bugging
you?"

"No, don't get me wrong, I'm extremely happy for you
all," Marcus said as he painted. "I just think it
would be nice if I could meet someone who was somewhat
normal."

"You will," Stanley encouraged.

"A normal person is so hard to find," Marcus
complained.

"I know," Kyle replied. "That's another reason why I
used to not date, that's why I gave up on trying to
find a normal person and just settled for David."

"Punk," David said smiling as he gave Kyle a slight
shove.  Kyle looked over at David and laughed. "Just
kidding, you know I think you're the best of the
best."  Kyle leaned in and gave David a kiss.

"I have an idea," Jake suggested. "We'll go to the
club tonight and see if there's anyone there worthy of
you."

"Worthy of me?" Marcus asked laughing at that comment.

"it's true," Jake replied. "You're the best Mar, and
you deserve someone equally great."

"Thanks," Marcus said.

"So it's settled," Randal said. "We'll all go out
tonight and find someone for Marcus."

"It'll be like a game!" Tyler joked.

"This will be interesting," Kyle added as David came
up and wrapped his arms around him.

"It'll be fun," David said.

"You guys think we should take a lunch break?" Stanley
asked looking over all the work they did.

"Yea, I'll go get the food while you guys finish up,"
David volunteered.

"No!" Kyle, Tyler, Jake, Randal, and Marcus said in
unison.

"Whoa, why don't you want David to get food?" Stanley
asked.

"Thing you need to know about David," Kyle said
putting an arm around Stanley as they all looked at
David. "He'll do anything he can to get out of doing
any sort of house work."

"He helped with the painting today," Stanley brought
up.

"David, want to show us how much you actually
painted?" Randal asked.

David didn't answer, he just stood there with a
sheepish smile on his face.

"Kyle, want to show us how much David did?" Tyler
asked.

Kyle went to the wall and pointed to a small area of
the wall that he painted.

"He didn't move from this little area the whole time
we painted," Kyle grinned.

"You all suck," David said smiling from embarrassment.

"We just needed to show Stanley that if he ever needs
help doing something around the place, that asking you
is a last resort," Jake joked.

"That's it," David said heading for the door.  "See if
I get you all anything to eat."

They all laughed as David opened the door to leave.

"I'll be back with food," David turned back to them
getting serious again. "You want pizza or burgers?"

"Pizza sounds good," Marcus said.

"Yea, bring back a large pizza please," Tyler agreed.

"All right," David replied. "I'll be back in a bit."

"Thanks," Stanley called out as David left.

"I'll be back," Kyle said heading for the bathroom.
The other guys went and grabbed some beers and sat
down on the covered up furniture.  Kyle came back out
and Tyler held up a beer.

"You want a beer?" Tyler asked.

"Thanks," Kyle replied as he took the beer and sat
with the others.

"I think this place will turn out to look really
great," Jake said surveying the room.

"Yea and we're going to get a few things from this
great furniture store a few blocks away from here,"
Randal said.

"Hopefully in a couple days everything will be
finished," Stanley said.

"Well I'm happy for you two," Tyler said.

"Thank you, we're pretty happy too," Randal replied
giving Stanley a kiss.

"Hey Marcus, what's your type of guy?" Stanley asked.
"I mean when we go to the club tonight I won't be much
help if I point out guys you aren't remotely attracted
to."

"I don't know if I have a real type," Marcus replied.
"I mean there are some guys I'm attracted to, but none
of them have a real particular look that I go for."

"Really?" Stanley asked. "So it probably has more to
do with the personality then huh?"

"Yea," Marcus agreed. "I mean, being physically
attracted to someone is one thing, but being attracted
to them on a more personal level is another."

"So what's your personality type?" Stanley asked.

"Someone who's very driven and smart, someone who
knows what they want from life and goes for it, you
know?" Marcus described. "I see myself with someone
who's successful in their profession, but also isn't
too stiff and knows how to have a good time."

"You pretty much described yourself," Randal pointed
out.

"What?" Marcus asked.

"Think about it," Randal began. "You're driven, smart,
you're a successful lawyer, and you're also a fun,
sweet guy on top of it.  You want someone who's going
to be your equal and not be in a relationship where
one has an edge over the other.  Right?"

"I guess," Marcus said thinking it over.

"How is it you're not in a relationship?" Jake brought
up. "I would think he'd have a boyfriend before any of
us.  You're the perfect catch."

"That is true," Kyle agreed. "Great looks, great
personality, great job; you've got it all Mar."

"That's why I love you guys," Marcus said with a
slight laugh. "You know how to boost up my
self-esteem."

"We'll have no problem finding Mar a perfect guy,"
Jake said.

The guys continued talking for another ten minutes
before David came back with the pizza.  All of them
took a slice and began eating.

That night they were all hanging out at the club
together sitting at the bar.  Randal was busy
bartending while the others were surveying the club
for prospective guys for Marcus.

"What about that one?" Tyler suggested pointing to a
tall, muscular guy on the dance floor.  Everyone
looked over and checked out the guy he suggested.

"You serious?" David asked laughing.

"Yea, why not?" Tyler asked.

"His shirt looks like he skinned a disco-ball,"
Stanley joked.

"What do you think Mar?" Tyler asked.

"Thanks, but no thanks," Marcus replied simply.

As they were looking around a tall, average build,
nice looking guy came up to Kyle.

"You want to dance?" he asked.

"No thanks," Kyle began, feeling awkward with David
next to him. "I don't think my boyfriend would like
that very much."

"Well he doesn't have to know," the guy replied.

Kyle looked over at David and gave him a look that
asked for help.  David leaned in and kissed Kyle
deeply and full of passion.

"I'm sorry, did I introduce my boyfriend?" Kyle asked
breaking the kiss.

"Hi," David said in an overly-friendly tone.

The guy just smiled quickly and turned to walk away.

"Thank you," Kyle said kissing David some more.  The
two then started a mini make out session together
while the others continued looking around at different
guys.

"Oh, I think I found a nice one," Stanley pointed to a
guy with dark hair, wearing jeans and a nice blue
button up shirt, he was strong looking, but also
seemed to have a fun quality about him.

"Very nice," Tyler agreed.

"What do you think?" Stanley asked Marcus.

"He looks really great, but it all comes down to the
personality," Marcus replied.

"What do you two think?" Jake asked Kyle and David.
The two didn't hear as they were still kissing.  Jake
then leaned over and gave them a slight push.  "Earth
to David and Kyle."

"Sorry, what's up?" David asked.

"We think we found a good one for Marcus," Tyler
answered showing them the guy.

"Very nice," David agreed.

"Wow," Kyle replied looking at the guy. "He's hot."

"Excuse me?" David asked looking at Kyle with
mock-jealousy on his face.

"But not nearly as hot as you babe," Kyle said
quickly, and the proved it by starting up the kissing
session with David again.

"That's better," David said between kisses.

"You guys find one yet?" Randal asked leaning over the
bar.

"Yea, that one over there," Stanley pointed to the guy
they were all looking at.  "He looks familiar for some
reason."

"Now that you mention it, he does," Marcus agreed.
"Have we seen him somewhere before?"

"Oh, he's cool.  He's a regular here," Randal replied.
"I think his name is Travis, or Trevor or something."

"Maybe that's how we recognize him," Marcus said.

"Well, Marcus, how you going to make a move?" Tyler
asked.

"I'll wait until he comes over to the bar and then
start talking to him," Marcus replied.

"Well, now that we've accomplished that I think a
little dancing is in order," Jake said getting up from
his seat.

"Let's do it," Tyler replied getting up as well.

"I better stay here and wait," Marcus suggested.

"Oh, good idea," Stanley agreed.

"Come on you two," Jake said grabbing Kyle and David
by the arms and pulling them out of their make out
session.

"I'm going to borrow your man for a bit," Tyler called
out to Randal as he put an arm around Stanley.

"Take care of him for me," Randal called back.

"Will do," Tyler replied as they all made their way to
the floor and started dancing.  They formed a small
circle with each other and all just danced together
and had a good time.

An hour later Randal and Marcus were talking at the
bar while the others were still dancing when the guy
they were all checking out had finally taken a break
and headed to the bar.  When he got to the bar he
stood right next to Marcus as he ordered a drink.

"Can I get a Corona, please?" he asked.

"You've got it," Randal replied as he went to get it.

"You were dancing pretty well out there," Marcus said
smoothly.

"Thanks," he replied holding out his hand, "My name's
Trevor."

"Marcus," they shook hands with each other.

"So why aren't you out there dancing with your
friends?" Trevor asked.

"How'd you know they were my friends?" Marcus asked.

"I saw you talking with them earlier," Trevor replied
as Randal handed him his drink. "Thank you."

"Well, if I was out dancing then I wouldn't have been
able to meet you," Marcus boldly stated.

"Is that what you've been wanting to do?" Trevor
asked.

"Maybe," Marcus answered coolly.

"Well, you've met me now, any way I can interest you
to dance?" Trevor asked.

"Sure," Marcus answered as the two got up and headed
to the dance floor together.  Kyle, David, Tyler, Jake
and Stanley all looked over and saw Marcus and Trevor
start to dance together.  They all cheered, laughed,
and smiled as they watched their friend having some
fun, then they continued back to dancing feeling a lot
more energy after seeing Marcus and Trevor together.

"Good job group," Jake said giving each of them a high
five.

Later that night all of the guys left the club
together...well all of them except Marcus who had left
with Trevor a half hour earlier.  He told the guys he
would call them if it turned out to be a dud, but so
far they haven't heard from him and the guys are
hoping that that's a good sign.

"Just think how great it would be if it worked out
with Marcus and Trevor," Tyler said as they walked
back to Randal's. "That would be the first time that
all of us were in a relationship at the same time."

"He just met the guy, so let's not jump the gun quite
yet, but I am hoping that it works out," Randal
reasoned.

"I just hope that he didn't feel pressured into
meeting someone tonight by us," Kyle brought up
feeling that maybe the they tried to hand Marcus off
to the first eligible guy so they wouldn't have to
worry about him.

"He said he wanted to though," Stanley reasoned.

"Yea, and besides did you see the guy that he ended up
with?" Jake asked with a smirk.

"He was yummy," Kyle agreed.

"Excuse me?" David asked the same way he did when Kyle
called Trevor hot.

"But not nearly as yummy as you," Kyle said innocently
as he put an arm around David.

"That's better," David replied smiling as he in return
put his arm around Kyle.

"I think that this is the final thing that Marcus
needed to fully get over Thomas," Tyler brought up.

"God, don't even talk about that freak," David replied
shuddering at the udder thought of Thomas.

"I'm just glad he's locked up," Jake agreed.

"From the sound of it, he really wasn't that bad,"
Randal chimed in.

"What?!" All of the guys said in unison.

"Now just listen," Randal began. "Marcus told me what
happened when he went to go visit Thomas in jail and
Thomas told him some stuff that really explains why he
snapped the way he did."

"Oh my God, I completely forgot he went to visit him a
couple weeks ago," Tyler said feeling like a bad
friend.

"What happened?" David asked. "He never really told me
the whole story."

Randal then began to tell them what Marcus had told
him a couple weeks ago...

***FLASHBACK***

Marcus entered the hospital room that Randal and
Stanley were in and quickly gave each of them a hug,
relieved that they were all right.

"So everything is fine?" Marcus asked concerned.

"Yea, we're fine," Stanley replied with a grateful
smile.

"How'd it go with Thomas?" Randal asked.

"It was uh...interesting," Marcus revealed with a
sigh. "I mean, after what he told me, I almost feel
bad for him."

"What did he tell you?" Randal asked, "Or is it too
personal?  I don't want to pry."

"No, no," Marcus answered. "I'll tell you.  Well, it
started when he was younger.  His father had sexually
abused him.  He was so ashamed of it that he never
told anyone so his father did it until he was 18 and
finally moved away.  When stuff like that happens, it
does stuff to a person's mental state you know?  I
mean, that's all he's ever known really since that's
how he was treated.  When he was out on his own he
didn't have any money or anything so he essentially
prostituted himself."  Marcus took a big sigh as he
remembered the rest of the horrible things Thomas had
to go through in his life. It was all so much that he
couldn't go on. "It was a lot.  He's had a rough life
and little things set him off and he essentially has a
mental break down.  I mean, I've had some cases at
work with people like this but I never really
understood it fully until Thomas told me.  I feel bad
for him and I hope he finds peace."

****End Flashback****

"Whoa," Kyle said in shock as he took a seat on
Randal's couch as they all walked through the door of
the apartment.

"I guess, I can understand him a little bit now,"
Tyler said equally surprised by that revelation.

"Still, it didn't give him the right to do that to
Marcus.  If he didn't like the feeling of being abused
then why did he try and do it to Mar?" David asked
still not feeling too badly for Thomas.

"It goes deeper than him knowing right from wrong,"
Kyle explained. "Those traumatic experiences set off
something in him.  He probably knows what he did was
wrong, but it was almost as if he couldn't control
it."

David sighed. "I guess that's somewhat
understandable."

"Well, it doesn't matter if we can understand Thomas
or not, the important thing is that Marcus is fully
over all of that part of his life," Jake brought up to
lighten the mood. "He looked really happy when he was
leaving that club with Trevor."

"That's a nice name," Kyle said. "It has a nice sound
to it."

"Excuse me?" David asked jokingly, mostly just said to
get another kiss from Kyle.

"But not nearly as nice of a name as yours," Kyle
responded in an over the top sweet tone as he gave
David a kiss.  David then wrapped his arms around Kyle
and they cuddled on the couch.

"Marcus and Trevor," Stanley said out loud. "The two
names flow nicely together."

"Yea," Randal agreed, then tried out a test sentence.
"Marcus and Trevor are coming,' 'Marcus and Trevor
want us to visit them,' 'Marcus and Trevor are
pregnant.'  Yea, the two names to sound nice
together."

The others laughed as they all started cuddling with
their significant others.

"Marcus and Trevor would make a nice couple," Jake
said as he surveyed the couples in the room.

Over at Marcus' place, Trevor and he were sitting on
Marcus' couch talking and having a beer.

"So, you work as a personal trainer.  That would
explain why your so fit," Marcus said as he reflected
back what Trevor had told him about his job, more to
make sure that Trevor knew that he was really
listening and interested.

"Yea, well it's not what I'm going to make a career
out of, but it pays the bills while I go to school,"
Trevor replied.

"You're still in school?" Marcus asked.

"Graduate school," Trevor responded.  "So what do you
do?"

"I'm a lawyer," Marcus answered.

"Wow, your pretty young for a lawyer aren't you?"
Trevor asked.

"I know, but I graduated college early and from there
went right on to law school," Marcus replied.

"Impressive," Trevor said clearly smitten with Marcus.

"Thank you," Marcus replied equally attracted to
Trevor.

"So, I saw you with your friends, what are they like?"
Trevor wondered, he had figured that the person's
friends say a lot about the kind of person they are.

"They're the best," Marcus answered with out
hesitation. "I couldn't imagine my life with out them.
 All of us are so different from each other, but at
the same time we all click well together.  I'd go on,
but I don't want to ramble."

"No, please do," Trevor insisted. "I'm interested in
hearing about them."

"All right, well one of them is the bar tender Randal,
he's changed the most I think out of all of us.  He
used to not date, he would just hook up with guys and
all that, but now he has a boyfriend who's really
great, his name is Stanley.  He was an intern at my
office, and I set him and Randal up.  Then there's
Tyler and Jake, they're a couple.  Tyler's a manager
at a restaurant.  Jake he grew up wealthy, private
school, all of that, but he got to a point where he
wanted independence and he set out on his own.  Then
there's Kyle and David who are a couple also.  Kyle is
probably the sweetest out of all of us, he's not
really big on partying or anything or drinking a lot,
real caring guy.  David is very spontaneous, and he
likes parties and drinking, he has this personality
where sometimes you think he's being cocky, but that's
just his sense of humor and his personality, he's
really a great guy and really thoughtful."  Marcus
then realized how much he'd been talking about his
friends. "Did I ramble enough?"

"No, it's great," Trevor responded sweetly. "It's nice
to see how much you care about your friends."

"I do, they're really important to me," Marcus
replied.  "So what about you?  Were you at the club
with friends?"

"Yea, I was dancing with a couple of them," Trevor
answered. "I have three best friends, and we hang out
all the time."

"That's great," Marcus replied. "What are they like?"

"They're my life," Trevor said. "One is named Luis,
him and I are best friends.  He's the funniest guy,
he's always making us laugh.  He works at the gym with
me as a kick boxing instructor.  Real caring guy, I
don't know what I'd do with out him.  Then there's
Zack, he's a little more serious, but he's still a fun
guy, he's a cook at a restaurant, and then there's
Miles, he's the flirt out of all of us, he works at a
clothing store.  They're all so awesome."

"That's great," Marcus said liking everything about
Trevor. "I think having friends like that is so
important."

"I agree, I mean your friends are your family.  It's
always good to have that support group," Trevor
replied.

"Actually you and me being here tonight has a lot to
do with my friends," Marcus confessed. "They're the
ones who pushed me into going to the club tonight and
meeting someone."

"Why did they want you to meet someone so bad?" Trevor
asked curious.

"Well, my last relationship was basically a disaster,"
Marcus understated. "And I finally had gotten the
closure on it that I needed and was finally open again
to really date someone.  All of my friends are in
relationships and seeing them all happy made me want
to go out there and find someone.  So they decided
that tonight, that would be our main task."

"Well, I'm glad your friends pushed you into doing
this," Trevor said with a smile.

"I am too," Marcus replied.  "You know, I'm sorry, but
for some reason you look really familiar like I've
seen you somewhere before tonight.  Is that possible?"

"Could be," Trevor replied.

"Where from?" Marcus asked.

"Well, I used to be a model," Trevor answered.

"A model? Really?" Marcus asked. "What type of stuff
did you model?"

"Underwear," Trevor said sheepishly.

"Oh my God," Marcus recognized.  "You were the model
that was on the huge billboard in West Hollywood!"

"Yup," Trevor replied a little embarrassed, "That was
me."

"Whenever my friends and I were in that area we would
always take a detour by that street with the billboard
on it," Marcus confessed.

"Well, glad to see that you enjoyed it," Trevor said
with a smile feeling more relaxed.  "I usually don't
like mentioning it because then guys tend to think
that I'm nothing but a dumb model."

"No, I don't think that at all," Marcus replied.  He
then leaned in and kissed Trevor. "Wow, that's just
how I always imagined it would be when I fantasized
about you."

"Marcus!  Stop, you're embarrassing me," Trevor said
laughing.

The two laughed a little more before falling back into
their kiss.

****The Next Day****

"You're dating the underwear model?" Tyler said in
shock then he turned to Stanley. "Stan, you did an
awesome job in finding that guy for Marcus last
night."

"I know when there's a good one around," Stanley
replied and then winked at Randal letting him know
that that was really a compliment for him.  All the
guys were hanging out at Randal's place putting the
final touch ups on the apartment.

"You're dating the underwear model we would go out of
our way to drive by.  Do you know how lucky you are?!"
Kyle said.  David then turned and looked at Kyle. "But
not nearly as lucky as I am."

David laughed, "Seriously though Marcus, that is
pretty cool."

"Is he still modeling?" Jake asked.

"No, now he's in graduate school now," Marcus replied.

"Oh, what waste of a good body," Tyler sighed.  All of
the guys looked at him.  "I'm just kidding."

"Well, he's not putting his body to waste.  He's a
personal trainer," Marcus defended.

"Wow, nice," Randal replied.  "So when are you seeing
him again?"

"Tonight actually," Marcus said. "Would this be
considered our second date or first?"

"Well, last night you just met and talked," Randal
began.

"And kissed," Marcus added.

"You two kissed also?" Stanley asked. "Nice."

"It didn't go any farther then that did it?" Kyle
asked.

"No," Marcus replied.

"Okay, good," Kyle said. "Never sleep with someone on
the first date."

"Who says that?" Randal asked.

"People who aren't former sluts," David joked.

"Ass," Randal laughed as he whipped a little paint at
David.

"I just want to make sure that Marcus isn't rushing
into it and that he's taking the time to get to know
Trevor," Kyle said.

"That's my guy, always the concerned friend," David
said wrapping his arms around Kyle.

"Well, don't worry.  I have no intentions of rushing
this one.  I really like him and I don't want him to
think I'm easy or anything," Marcus said.

"Good," Kyle replied.

"Well, since you guys kissed last night, then this can
qualify as a second date," Tyler brought up.

"Then that makes tonight a little less stressful,"
Marcus sighed with relief.  "If it was the first date
then I would have to follow the first date rules."

"Did you follow the first date rules last night?" Kyle
asked.

"Yup, we had a good first date conversation; our
interests, friends, work, and all that stuff.  The
furthest thing we did was kiss and we exchanged phone
numbers," Marcus answered.

"Sounds like a good first date to me," Stanley said.

"Then tonight should be a breeze," Randal said. "Don't
forget to have a condom on you."

Marcus then froze at the prospect of that.

"What?" Marcus asked nervous.

"Oh come on, if you guys think having sex on the first
date is bad then it must at least be okay to have sex
on the second date right?" Randal asked.

"We didn't have sex on our second date," Stanley
brought to Randal's attention.

"Yea, but that was because I was just easing into the
whole relationship thing and wanted to be extra slow,"
Randal replied. "I didn't want to fall back into my
routine of 'wham, bam, thank you mame' type thing."

"Wham, bam, thank you mame?" Jake asked.

"All I'm trying to say is that should the opportunity
arise at least Marcus will be prepared," Randal said.

The guys all looked at Marcus and saw the look of
worry on his face.

"And now you guys have scarred him," Kyle said going
over to Marcus and putting an arm around his shoulder.
"Don't worry about it Mar, don't do anything you don't
feel you're ready to do with him yet.  If he's the one
for you then he'll be patient and wait and not want to
rush it either."

"I know, but what if we do have sex tonight?" Marcus
asked.

"Then take Randal's advice and have a condom on you,"
David said simply.

"It's not just that, I mean, sex is a big step and I'm
not even sure where Trevor and I are in terms of our
dating status," Marcus said. "We just met last night."

"Then don't worry about it," Tyler said. "Sex most
likely won't happen."

"You got Marcus all worried now," Stanley scolded
Randal.

"Mar, I'm sorry," Randal said feeling bad for scarring
Marcus, "All I was trying to say that you should just
be prepared so that you won't be caught off guard or
anything."

"I know," Marcus replied. "I just never really thought
much of all this until now.  I was kind of just living
in the moment of this relationship."

"That's good," Kyle encouraged. "You can't map out a
relationship.  Just take it step by step and together
the two of you can choose what is best."

Marcus nodded taking in Kyle's advice.

****THAT NIGHT****

Tyler and Jake were at home lying on the couch
together talking.

"So how are you?" Tyler asked.

"I'm good," Jake replied as he laid in Tyler's arms.
"I'm real good.  You?"

"I'm great," Tyler answered. "I feel like everything
is going to be just fine."

"Me too," Jake said. "And I promise, I will never hurt
you-"

Tyler cut Jake off, "You don't have to keep telling me
all the time.  I know that you mean it."

The two kissed.

"Okay," Jake smiled.

"So, now that you're home again where are you going to
work?" Tyler asked.

"I don't know," Jake replied. "I'll figure something
out."

"Well, I was thinking," Tyler began, "You could work
at the restaurant with me."

"Really?" Jake asked curious about the proposition.

"Yea, think how great it would be," Tyler began, "We
could be together all the time."

"And you could keep an eye on me," Jake said
understanding what Tyler was doing.

"No, I wasn't saying that," Tyler defended.

"No, it's okay Tyler," Jake said, "It will take a
while for you to really trust me again.  And I want
you to trust me, so I think that would be a good idea
if I worked there with you."

"No, Jake, you don't have to," Tyler replied. "I
wasn't implying that I don't trust you."

"Do you?" Jake asked.

Tyler didn't answer.

"Then it's settled," Jake said. "I'll come work at the
restaurant."

"Okay," Tyler replied feeling awkward about the whole
situation now.

Over at Randal and Stanley's place the two finally
finished the apartment and sat on the couch to look at
the newly decorated place.

"I love it," Randal said giving Stanley a kiss.

"Me too," Stanley replied.

"With everything done it just seems really official
now," Randal began, "We're living together."

"Yep, and I couldn't thank you enough," Stanley said.

"What do you have to thank me for?" Randal asked.

"Everything," Stanley said, "For letting me into your
life, for introducing me to such a great group of
people, for getting me out of a crappy apartment.  I
owe it all to you."

"Well, actually we owe it all to Marcus," Randal
replied. "He's the one who introduced us."

"I hope things work out as well for him and Trevor as
they did for us," Stanley said.

Meanwhile, over at an Italian restaurant in the
downtown area Marcus was enjoying his date with
Trevor.

"This is a great place," Marcus said taking a bite of
his food, "Do you come here often?"

"Yea, actually this is the place my friend Zack is a
cook at," Trevor replied.

"Well, he's a great cook," Marcus gestured towards the
food.

"I actually brought you here because I wanted you two
to meet," Trevor confessed, "Unless you think it's too
soon."

"Oh no, not at all," Marcus said, "I'm actually really
flattered you want to introduce me to your friends
already."

"Well, I know a good thing when I see it," Trevor
began, "And after our date last night I had a sense
that something really good was in store for us and I
just wanted to get a head start on it."

"Really?" Marcus smiled, very taken with Trevor.

"Really," Trevor confirmed with a warm smile.

As the two gazed at each other for a few more moments
a man about 5'9, good build, brown hair, brown eyes,
wearing black pants with a white chef's shirt on came
up to their table.

"Hey Trev," the man said as he approached.

"Oh hey," Trevor replied getting up to give the guy a
hug and then turned to Marcus, "Marcus, this is Zack."

"Hi, nice to meet you," Zack said extending his hand
towards Marcus.

"Very nice meeting you too," Marcus said shaking
Zack's hand, "The food was excellent."

"I'm glad to hear it," Zack replied. "I just wanted to
come out and say hi.  Trevor told me some great things
about you earlier today."

"Trevor was saying some nice things about you last
night," Marcus replied.

"Oh hey Zack, do you think you can make us that really
great Tiramisu?" Trevor asked.

"You got it, and it's on the house," Zack agreed. "I
should be getting back to the kitchen, but it was
really nice meeting you and I'll see you soon."

"Sounds great, nice meeting you too," Marcus replied.

"And I'll call you tomorrow okay?" Zack said to
Trevor.

"All right, thanks," Trevor replied as he gave Zack a
hug goodbye.

Zack then headed back to the kitchen.

"He was nice," Marcus replied.

"Yea, he's a great guy," Trevor replied.

"So how did you and Zack meet?" Marcus asked.

"It was a few years ago, and my best friend Luis set
Zack and I up on a blind date," Trevor replied. "We
met and we liked each other a lot but not in any
romantic sort of way.  We realized that we'd make
great friends, bad lovers."

"Wow, and just from then on the two of you became real
close?" Marcus asked.

"Yea, it's kinda weird how we were introduced but in
the end all that's important is that him and I became
friends," Trevor answered. "So what about you?  You
ever date any of your friends?"

"No," Marcus replied. "I'm the only one I think who
never fell for anyone in our group of friends."

"So when was your last relationship?" Trevor asked.

"That's a long story," Marcus sighed. "It was over a
year ago.  This guy I was seeing, he appeared to be
this great guy.  But then he just went ballistic and
tried to kill me."

"Oh my God," Trevor said in shock.

"Yea, he's in jail now," Marcus continued, "I hadn't
been able to date anyone for a long time, but then I
went to visit him and I finally got closure.  That's
what gave me the strength to start dating again."

"I can't even imagine how hard that must have been for
you," Trevor said.

"It was tough, but I'm fine now," Marcus said upbeat.

"I'm glad to hear it," Trevor replied.

"So what about you?" Marcus asked.  "When was your
last relationship?"

"It's been about ten months now since my last
relationship," Trevor answered. "We were together for
a little over a year, but ultimately our lifestyle and
goals in life were too different.  He never thought of
the future and didn't want to move forward with life.
You know, there comes a time where you just have to
grow up and he wasn't ready to do that.  So we both
agreed it would be better to just end it."

"Well, that's good at least it ended amicably," Marcus
said.

"Yea, it is," Trevor answered, "But yea, that's what
brings me here with you tonight.  You have a career,
you're not like other people I've dated in the past,
you're a grown up.  Some people are so into holding
onto the party lifestyle and not thinking of the
future.  And I want to be with someone who has that
drive and ambition in life."

"Sounds like a good thing to want in someone," Marcus
said.

"It's even better because you have it," Trevor
replied.

Marcus and Trevor both shared a sweet smile towards
one another, knowing that this is definitely the
beginning of something more.

Over at David and Kyle's place the two were in the
kitchen cooking dinner.

"So, the guy that Marcus is seeing now, do you really
find him attractive?" David asked.

"Trevor?" Kyle asked.  "David, remember we all used to
think he was the hottest thing that God ever created
when we went by his billboard."

"I know, but that's when he was just a model, now he's
real and in our lives," David replied.

Kyle looked up from cutting up some carrots and looked
at David. "You're not jealous or anything like that
are you?"

David didn't say anything, he just took a sip of his
wine.

"Oh my God," Kyle smiled as reached and wrapped his
arms around David. "Babe, what are you jealous about?"

"'He's hot,' 'he's yummy,'" David impersonated Kyle
from the day before.

"David, I didn't mean that I wanted him or anything,"
Kyle said slightly amused by how silly it is for David
to get jealous. "After all that we went through to be
together do you honestly think that there is anyone
else that I would want to be with?"

"I know, and I'm sorry," David sighed. "It's just
that, I remember when we would go and check out his
billboard that he was the only guy that I ever saw you
show any interest in, even though it was just a
picture.  And I remember that I would always wish you
showed that same interest in me at the time.  Trevor
has just always been the guy that I know would get
your attention and I was always jealous in a way.  And
now that he's in our lives now it just worried me a
little."

Kyle smiled, truly touched by what David just said.
"Babe, at that time me being attracted to him was safe
because he was just a picture.  He was never a person
in my life.  If he actually was in our life at the
time I wouldn't have found him any more attractive
then the rest of you guys because at that time I was
scarred to like anyone or be with anyone and I never
had to worry about that prospect with him."

"Still though, now that he's in our lives and you are
open to relationships, is he still as attractive to
you?" David asked.

"David, you and I will always see people we think are
hot or good looking," Kyle began, "But that doesn't
mean that we're going to go off and try and get with
them."

"I know," David sighed. "I guess I just get a little
worried sometimes that you'll realize you can do
better than me."

"What?" Kyle asked shocked by that statement, then
joked, "I can't believe that David Ford, the most
conceded guy on the planet, is actually saying this to
me."

David laughed, "Well, I know I come across as being
very confident and all that, but when it comes to you
I worry a lot.  I wanted us to happen for so long that
now that it's finally come true I'm really worried
that I might lose you."

Kyle kissed David tenderly. "I wouldn't leave for
anything better, because for me there is nothing or no
one better than you.  You'll never lose me."

"Promise?" David asked with a smile.

"I promise," Kyle replied sealing the deal with
another kiss.

Over at Marcus' place him and Trevor were kissing
passionately and slowly headed for the bedroom.

"You sure?" Trevor asked.

Marcus nodded and the two continued to kiss as they
entered the bedroom.

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

Hope everyone enjoyed.  I know some of you may be
disappointed that I wrapped up the story with Brett so
quickly, but I wanted to move forward with the
characters and not have them in a dark place for too
long so I wanted to move it back into the light.  So
anyway, hope you liked it.  With any questions,
comments or feedback please e-mail me at
ilj4ever44@yahoo.com   Thanks!