Please don't read if you are offended by gay sex. The usual disclaimer applies. Be warned that this next chapter is long. As always, I appreciate any feedback. -- May
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
The crowd was like a rush of water, crashing over A.J.'s thin body and carrying him off as their prize. He struggled to keep his head in the clear but as soon as he began to sing, he entered his usual trance, mired in the intoxicating whirlpool of human energy he craved like a drug. A.J. lived too much of his life on stage, Dani thought, he could be very ill at ease trying to decide who he was the rest of the time. He was a surprise addition to the scheduled list of performers, but the tip-off to the faithful had been given, and many fans held up signs with his name on it, images of their idol and sexual phrases, meaningless and ludicrous in their endless repetition. All the pieces of the puzzle were beginning to come together. The accusations had flown around the globe, shouted over cell phones and punctuated by broken glass, clenched fists, words which should never have been said aloud. Dani stood just off stage with A.J.'s mother, Denise, watching the tattooed singer strut around, a small flame from a larger fire, licking out into the space around him, uncontainable and undefinable.
"That's bullshit Kevin, and you know it!" Brian screamed into the phone before throwing it against the wall. The miniature black contraption snapped into separate pieces of useless plastic, and Misha nervously approached his shaking lover. "They want you to leave the tour," Brian said, stepping back and out of reach. "Who?" "Clive, Kevin, Nick. They think you and Dani are making trouble for us..." "What? That's ridiculous! They're using us as scapegoats." "I know that, but now I'm outnumbered..." Brian stumbled around in a circle, putting a hand to his temple, looking anguished. "When is this going to stop?" he howled. "What about Howie? I'm sure A.J. isn't going to want Dani to leave. So get Howie on our side and-" "No, you don't understand!" Brian shouted angrily. "It's not that simple!" "Well, what do you want me to do about it?" Misha yelled back. "It's not my fault if your management has their heads shoved up their asses, and if Kevin and Nick are acting like spoiled babies because they didn't get what they wanted!" "Don't flatter yourself," Brian muttered. "Excuse me?" "You heard me, Misha. This is not about you, so don't think that it is." Brian walked out of the room and onto the sunny balcony, overlooking the Mediterranean. "Fuck you, Brian Littrell," Misha said to himself, and he began packing up his things.
"I called about our flights," Nick said, sprawling out in the whirlpool bath with a drink in his hand. "We just need to give Leo two hours' heads-up and he'll take care of everything." "He's turning into quite the little personal assistant, isn't he," Kevin sneered, dropping his hotel robe to the floor and stepping out of his boxers. Nick looked him up and down and licked his red lips. "Very nice, baby." Kevin stood on the tiles, feeling his cock jut slightly out from his body from the simple excitement of being naked and watched. He stepped slowly into the bath and spread his legs, resting them on either side of Nick's body. "Don't you want a drink?" Nick asked. "Don't you want to know what Brian said?" "I know what Brian said," Nick scowled. He laid back in the tub and slid one foot into Kevin's crotch, gently rubbing against Kevin's dick. "The acoustics in here are really good," Nick said absently, looking around the room. Kevin slid over to Nick and wrapped his arms around the blonde's wet body. Nick was busy pretending that they didn't have any real feelings for each other, he had pulled away again, and Kevin stared deep into Nick's huge blue eyes, searching for him. He was tired of this little game of cat and mouse, and it didn't help that Nick had started drinking again. Kevin took the glass out of his hands and set it down, streaking Nick's formerly dry hair with water and kissing his way to one of Nick's hardening nipples. "Let's worry about that later," Kevin murmured.
Howie jumped out of his Corvette and slammed the door, handing the keys to a valet. "I won't be long," he said, "keep it close by." "Yes sir," the young man replied, unfolding the hundred dollar bill Howie had flung at him in his rush. "Yes, I'm supposed to be meeting somebody here," he said, "I think the table will be under Hernandes, party of two." "Of course," the maitre d' cooed sickeningly, "right this way." Howie wasn't surprised at all by what he saw, a tall, handsome young man dressed in immaculate designer clothing. He got nervously to his feet when Howie approached him. "Joaquim Hernandes?" Howie asked. "Yes, I..." "I'm Howie Dorough." "Yes, of course, I know your-" "Shut up, and sit the fuck down, now." Joaquim remained standing, but he swallowed hard. "You should know who I am, I'm Maria's husband. I don't know who the fuck you are, but the next time you leave my wife a message and tell her where to meet you for lunch, don't call her baby. We got caller ID for a reason." "Maria and I are just friends," Joaquim said hotly. "You stay the fuck away from my wife," Howie replied, "and if I find out anything's been going on, you're gonna hear from me again."
"Misha, please, just listen to me!" "No Brian, I can't deal with this right now. I need some space. Okay? We both do, obviously." After the photographer left, Brian collapsed onto the bed, feeling wracked by guilt and tension. He'd been thoroughly bitched out by Clive and Lorna for taking off with Misha, for not letting them know where he was and not being available to lie to the press. They were furious with Leighanne too, who had blown up at them and told them that she was sick of being used as a puppet and she wasn't going to keep her life on hold while they continued Brian's heterosexual charade. Her note to Brian had been cruel, but she had included her new cell phone number, and it was Leighanne that Brian reached out to. "Come to Nice, you can stay with me for a couple of days while things get sorted out," she said. "We're not filming yet, and I have a little bit of free time." "I really appreciate it, Leigh," Brian sighed, "I feel like I'm caught up in a storm and I'm just getting tossed around." Leighanne wondered if Brian even knew the rumour about A.J. doing a solo show.
As A.J. finished his concert in New York City and Howie fought with Maria late into the Orlando night, the earliest rays of the rising sun began to creep out of the night and shine through the hazy air of the European autumn. Brian dozed lightly on the train he took into Nice, accompanied by one bodyguard and two duffel bags. Kevin and Nick had decided to stay another night in Madrid, since they were in no particular rush to get back to France and dealing with the inevitable press conferences and public relations bullshitting. They had crawled into bed, exhausted after a long, slow, hot session of fucking in the jacuzzi. Kevin felt as though he was in touch with a part of himself which had never been able to emerge before, and he devoured Nick sexually, every barrier burned away by this intense passion. But Kevin was also ashamed, confused, and guilty. Nick wasn't a child any more, but he still seemed like one to Kevin, especially since he seemed to be acting purely out of impulse. Kevin slept heavily and uncomfortably, and he was woken up very early in the morning by Nick thrashing around, his own unhappy dreams evaporating into a murky puff of smoke.
"Uhh, no, don't," Nick was moaning in his sleep, and he kicked Kevin hard. "Nick, wake up," Kevin said, shaking him. It was always difficult to wake Nick in the mornings, and this was worse than usual. Nick struggled in his grasp, talking incoherently, until he finally blinked his eyes open. "Are you okay?" Kevin frowned at him. "Mmm," Nick groaned, and he stared at Kevin blankly. "What...?" "What were you dreaming about?" "Me, uh... Where are we?" "Spain. We decided to stay another night." After allowing him a minute, Kevin prodded him again. "Nick? What were you dreaming? Are you okay?" Nick cuddled up close to him, burrowing into Kevin's firm, sculpted chest, and Kevin put a strong arm around him, loving the scent and feel of Nick's silky blond hair. "I dreamed there was a big fire at my family's place," Nick mumbled into Kevin's body, "and I was trying to save them, and I couldn't, they were screaming, and I couldn't get to them." "That sounds horrible," Kevin said soothingly, stroking Nick's back. "It was my fault," Nick said. "You feel guilty about something you did, I guess," Kevin replied, trying to be helpful. Nick pulled away from him and wiped tears from his eyes. "I ruined everything," he said, "I feel so fucking old... like my life is over." "Don't talk like that," Kevin said, toying with Nick's hair. "You're still a baby," he laughed softly, and then added more seriously, "you're just depressed." "Yeah," Nick said softly, "I guess I am." He turned and looked Kevin in the eyes, taking a hand and caressing the shape of Kevin's face, tracing his high cheekbones with one finger and then outlining his lips, opening Kevin's mouth gently and letting him kiss his fingertip.
"You and your family will fix things, I know it," Kevin said softly. "Same with us guys. Just give it some time. Time heals a lot of things." "I'm not patient," Nick said quietly. "I have to learn that still." "You have to learn how to make yourself happy," Kevin said. He leaned over and kissed Nick softly on the lips, intending for it to be very chaste, but as soon as he encountered that luscious, tasty mouth, Kevin couldn't resist going deeper, and he sucked at Nick's tongue before releasing and backing away to look intently into Nick's blue eyes. "How do I do that?" Nick said, stroking Kevin's hair. "Do you know, Kevvy?" Kevin didn't know what to say, and he just gazed at Nick, who sat up suddenly and pushed Kevin on to his back. Kevin sighed slightly as Nick lifted his shirt and kissed his stomach, puckering his lips and sucking at his flesh. He felt his dick swell harder and Nick bumped against it as he climbed on top of him, pressing both of Kevin's arms up and back behind him and biting and licking his ears and neck. "Mmm, baby," Kevin moaned, "that feels real good..." Nick held both of his arms down with one hand while he pulled down Kevin's boxers with the other. Kevin spread his legs instinctively and shuddered slightly as he felt the wet tip of Nick's dick brush against his stomach. He whined slightly as Nick slid down, releasing Kevin's arms. "Ohh, Nicky... oh, yeah..." Kevin arched his back slightly as Nick grasped his throbbing dick hard and sucked the head of it into his mouth, licking around the slit and drooling strands of spit down the length, soaking the hot flesh and oozing into Kevin's pubic hair. He grasped at Nick's hair and tried to encourage him to go down further on his dick, but instead Nick prodded and licked just the head, teasing him, and nibbled and licked his way down the shaft to take Kevin's balls into his mouth. Kevin spread his legs wider, panting and beginning to sweat, grabbing his dick with one hand and pumping it gently as he felt Nick's hot tongue probe his hole. Nick looked up at Kevin and sucked on two of his own fingers, covering them with spit and then sinking them into Kevin's ass, working him around gently and licking his tongue around Kevin's cock, nudging his hand away. "Oh yes," Kevin moaned loudly, "suck me, god, Nick..." He looked down, wanting to watch Nick go down on him, feeling his throbbing cock sliding down that tight, expert throat. Kevin began to thrust into Nick's face, grabbing the blonde by the hair and writhing a bit from the added stimulation of his ass. Nick sucked Kevin hard, giving him three long fingers and feeling his own hard-on throbbing painfully, longing to fuck his partner properly. He slipped his fingers out and let Kevin's dick slide out of his mouth, smacking up into the air. "Ohh," Kevin groaned pathetically, "please don't stop..." "It's my turn," Nick said, his voice raspy with lust. Kevin just lay there breathing hard, watching Nick with large eyes as the blond slid a condom onto his stiff dick and squirted a blob of lube onto Kevin's ass, working it in and around with his finger while he eyed Kevin lustfully. "Turn over," Nick commanded, and Kevin got onto his hands and knees, his limbs shaky with arousal. Nick played with Kevin's asshole a bit longer. The lube felt warm and sexy, like a big pool of cum, and Kevin bit his lip and shut his eyes, feeling as though he was about to shoot just from thinking about it.
Kevin grunted loudly as Nick slipped the bulging head of his dick into his ass. "Oh fuck, Kevin..." Nick moaned, feeling his throbbing cock slide into his lover's tight, clenching ass, almost sucked inside, lodging deep inside Kevin. Nick was so turned on by the way Kevin's ass gripped his cock that he couldn't keep a slow pace, and he began fucking him hard right away, slapping his balls against Kevin's ass with every thrust. "Shit, oh god," Kevin thought he was seeing stars at first, his arms felt like jello and he could barely keep himself upright, and he buckled under Nick, who pulled himself out and turned Kevin over again to lie on his back, on top of a little accumulation of pre-cum which was dripping steadily from Kevin's own dick. The dirtiness of it all turned Kevin on more than he could have imagined, and he shut his eyes again, dizzy from being on the brink of an orgasm for so long. "Mmm... don't stop fucking me," he moaned at Nick, who gladly obliged, lifting one of Kevin's legs to get further into his ass. Both men were grunting, moaning and sweating profusely, and the room was full of the smell and sound of fucking. Nick's chest was just barely brushing against Kevin's, and that little bit of contact was enough to send Kevin over the edge. He began to shoot thick spurts of cum between their bodies, laying his head back and letting out a long, animalistic moan as he reached orgasm. "Ah, Kev, ah!" Nick moaned as he felt his cock swell in Kevin's clenching ass. He quickly pulled out and removed the condom, straddling Kevin, who leaned down and took the tip of Nick's cock into his mouth. Nick leaned forward, shoving his dick into Kevin's face, and almost immediately came down his lover's throat, grabbing the headboard to steady himself as Kevin sucked and swallowed Nick's cum. Kevin started to choke as Nick continued to shoot, and he turned his head away and spat out a mouthful of semen before returning to Nick's still-hard cock, pumping it tenderly as the last little spurts of cum drooled from the tip. Nick shuddered as Kevin licked the sensitive head clean and gave his dick a final kiss.
Nick collapsed on top of Kevin and lay there panting for a minute before he rolled to one side, still breathing hard. "So you do swallow a little," he said with a laugh. Kevin didn't respond and Nick looked over at him. To his surprise, Kevin had his eyes shut and there were tears streaking down his face. "Hey," Nick said softly, "don't cry, baby." He kissed Kevin's eyelids so gently that it felt as though they had been brushed by a butterfly's wings. Kevin opened his green eyes and gazed at Nick wonderously. In that instant, they both realised that nothing about their relationship would ever be the same again.
"Hello Clive, this is Howie," the message began. "I'm calling you to advise you of a few things. First off, I just found out about A.J.'s solo show in New York. This is the last straw. I have been stabbed in the back the last time. Second, don't try calling me at any number you know, because all my phone lines are going to be changed and the old numbers will not be operational as of this message. I am tired of being the one who is taken advantage of here. The next time you hear from me will be through my lawyers. Or maybe you'll read it in the newspapers over there in Europe by tomorrow morning. Howie D. quits the Backstreet Boys. Good bye."