Looking for Love in all the Right Places - Chapter 8

Looking for Love in all the Right Places

By Dream Howler

Standard Disclaimer: This story is a work of fiction and is not intended to imply anything about the true sexuality of the celebrities mentioned or with any personal knowledge about their private lives.

Author's Note: Here you go, hope you enjoy it. I know that some of this is not in Aidan's part of the story, but some of the behind the scenes stuff will move the story along a bit more than if I had totally left it out. So enjoy some of the behind the scenes stuff that is going on behind the main story.

Standard Note: As with the last several chapters, you may recognize some of this from the original version of the story.

Dream Howler Contact & Story Information:

Cast Pictures: Click Here. Link also has pictures of cast vehicles, tattoos, and eventually pictures and floor plans of houses.

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Chapter 7 – Recap

Drew and Dominick finally sign the final paperwork to purchase Jive from Sony and Zomba. When they get back to Atlanta, they tell their employees about the move to Orlando, and ask them to fill out a sheet by the door if they are planning on moving with the company.

Aidan's brother moves to town, which pushes off Josh's late Christmas plans. When Josh finally gets to give Aidan what he has been waiting for, very patiently, sex, the both of them are glad they waited.

The members of both bands go to Jive, now a part of Wolf Sound Entertainment to talk about their new contracts. During the meeting, they find out that their new company is very gay friendly and that they have no problems with any sexuality they might have. Most of the members of both bands clearly know their own sexuality. Sadly, several still seemed to be confused about what that is.

Chapter 8

The Celebration

After the meeting had let out, the groups decided that some lunch would be a good idea. Since they were still in negotiations for new contracts, Dominick invited everyone to join him at the Golden Lotus, a nearby restaurant that served some of the best Chinese food in the Orlando area. Both groups eagerly accepted his offer and he motioned Jayden to make the reservations. Jayden pushed back his chair, nodding his head as he stood, and walked over to the phone in the board room, reserving room.

The group arrived at the restaurant pretty quickly since the normal lunch time traffic was not out yet. The group was ushered into the back room and orders for drinks were taken by the waitress. The guys settled themselves around the table, and Jeremy sat next to AJ with a big grin on his face. He had noticed that AJ had been staring at him since he came into the room at the meeting.

Jeremy was the more spontaneous and aggressive of the twins. He had heard a lot of rumors about what went on when the guys went to clubs and figured that AJ was the one to party with. He looked up as the waitress came back in to take orders and slid his hand into his lap, adjusting himself slightly, before glancing at the menu again and placing his order.

AJ sat quietly next to Jeremy, noticing how close he was to his chair and how he just adjusted himself, causing attention to his crotch. AJ grinned. He's flirting with me... he thought. Usually it was AJ that made the first move, but it seemed that Jeremy was already one up on him already.

The meal went well, with lots of great conversation. As friendship bloomed, several of the guys made plans to go out that night after the bosses got off of work. Nick, Brian, Kevin, and Joey were going out to dinner with Aidan, Josh, Dominick, and Drew after Aidan and Drew got back from the airport with their sister and brother who were coming into town. The rest of the group was going out to a club to do some dancing.

The groups decided that since they were splitting up for the afternoon, that it would be best to go home and take a nap before the partying that evening. Aidan, by now, was still clearly nervous about his brother staying in his new home. He just hoped that his brother would like Josh and that they would get along since they were all staying in the same house for the time being.

Airport Taxi Service

Later that afternoon, Drew and Aidan got into Drews' car and headed toward the airport to pick up their siblings. Drew spent the beginning of the trip telling Aidan about the fact that his brother was coming along with his sister because he was out of control and needed a firm hand.

"They should have given you more notice that Chaz was coming. I don't understand this. They know you just acquired a new business, and need to focus on that right now, not take care of your brother."

"Yeah, I can't believe that my parents still think it's my responsibility to take care of Charles," said Drew. "Though, I am glad that we have them all coming in at one time and that we can ride together."

"Yeah, it's much easier to keep him under control with so many mature adults around him."

"Yeah, I just wish Charles wasn't coming today too. I am going to be forced to put him up at my house to keep an eye on him. That is really going to be so fun," Drew said sarcastically. "Of course, since he is a designer, we can have him redecorate the new headquarters so hopefully that will keep him out of trouble. Anyway, we have been meaning to call you and see when you were getting out of school to see if you wanted a job or something. I guess you beat us to it, huh?" Drew laughed.

"Yeah, well actually that is kind of an amusing story." Aidan laughed softly at the thought.

"Oh? How did you two meet again? You two make a pretty hot couple, you know." Drew grinned and winked at Aidan as he looked at him.

Aidan grinned and flushed slightly, though it was hard to tell with his dark coloring. "I met him online about a year ago. We were in a chat room, and we got to talking because he liked my nickname and I liked his. I didn't find out it was Josh until after the concert in Atlanta."

Aidan laughed softly and Drew joined him. "Go on... I didn't get a chance to ask you what happened before I had to leave," said Drew.

Aidan grinned. "Well, as I said, he never really did tell me who he was, or whatever. I did however figure out that he must have been in a group of some sort; he was always talking about practice. Later he started dropping more clues like rehearsals, so I figured it was a band after a while." Aidan stopped a moment as they made a turn off the highway toward the airport terminal.

"Anyway, we officially met after the concert in Atlanta. The funny thing is that, I had never listened to them before. Until you called and invited me, I was completely clueless. You saw how I had hit it off with Howie one minute and was suddenly running around with Josh the next day I assume?"

"Yeah, that did have me completely confused," Drew replied.

"Well, that night when I got home after the concert, Josh e-mailed me and confessed who he was and that he wanted to date me. Needles to say, I was pretty shocked."

Drew laughed. "I can imagine. A cute guy like that, wanting to date you? Although won't it be hard since he isn't really out?"

Aidan nodded. "Yeah, but as you have seen, I am teaching Josh Cherokee."

Drew nodded and then laughed softly. "You're a genius thinking about that, I would have never thought of using that to keep a relationship quiet. I have been out so long I kind of forget what it's like to keep quiet, though I guess if I ever got involved with Brian or someone else famous I would have to learn, wouldn't I?"

Aidan nodded, "How is Brian? Have you talked to him since the meeting? I know that you were upset."

Drew blushed. "Well, for a few moments. He apologized for what he said, but he said he is just not sure what he is anymore. He says he is still attracted to girls, but he likes me too. I told him that would probably make him bisexual. He didn't comment."

Aidan nodded. "Drew, I am sure that if he doesn't come around, you can have anyone else you wanted. I mean he would be crazy to turn you down."

Drew smiled. "Thanks Aidan. I do hope so..."

Drew pulled into a parking space and they got out, both pulling the flight information out of their pockets for their siblings. Aidan's brother had decided that he needed a change of scenery and was moving to Florida. He looked around the airport and then over at Drew. "Well, I guess we should just go to baggage claim and meet them both there. That's where I told Riley to meet me. What about you?"

"The same. I figured it was the best way. I don't know where I will be meeting Chaz. I guess I should go see if I can meet him somewhere after he gets off the plane, just in case he tries to bail on me. Oh, we need to make sure we get a cart for the luggage. Didn't you say your brother was staying here for a while?"

Aidan nodded. "I told him we had plenty of room in the house and he was welcome to stay with us. He is moving into the bedroom downstairs that opens to the pool. We spent most of the week with a designer making it look nice."

Drew grinned. "I bet he will like it. He has always been kinda a bare essentials kind of guy anyway for someone with so much money. I doubt he would tell you if he hated it, he loves you a lot."

Aidan nodded. "Yeah, he is. I hope he finds someone soon. He deserves to be happy; but he hasn't had a lot of luck with men or women lately."

Drew smiled. "Yeah, he does deserve someone nice... and he has twice the playing field."

The guys stood next to the baggage claim waiting for their siblings. Riley was the first one that showed up and he grinned as he hugged his brother tight. "Hello, Waya."

"Hello, Iginvtli... have a good flight?" replied Aidan.

"It was okay. I did manage to take a short nap. Though after awhile, the turbulence kept me awake."

"Sorry to hear that, bro. Hopefully, you can get some tonight then."

Riley grinned. "Yes, hopefully so, let's catch up later. I have someone I see that needs a hug." He then turned and hugged Drew. "Drew, what a great surprise! Is Jen here too? It's been a while since I've seen her. In fact, not since she started on her European modeling tour."

Drew nodded. "Yep, she should be here shortly. I haven't seen her in a while either. Seems she is on vacation at the moment. Her agent called me and told me to make sure she gets some rest. Seems she has been working too hard lately or something. Anyway, I think I see her."

Jennifer walked over to the baggage claim and, as luck would have it, her luggage popped out a few moments later. Drew walked over, picked it up, and briefly hugged his sister. "Hey sis, are you okay? You look really tired. Are you sure you want to go out with us tonight?"

Jennifer smiled slightly. "Yeah, I will be okay as long as I can take a nap first. You know me - I can't sleep on the plane."

Drew nodded and led his sister over to the rest of the group. They hugged each other before heading out to the car with the luggage and Drew decided to break the news to his sister. "We still have one more passenger to wait for. I figured we might as well take the stuff out to the car first so it will be less hassle later."

"Who are we picking up?" asked Jennifer.

"Well Jen, ummmm, it's Charles. Mom and Dad sent him for me to deal with; didn't give me much notice either."

Jennifer nodded and sighed. "Figures. I hope he doesn't ruin my vacation like last time. I need rest badly. I think I should stay at a hotel. The last time I was under the same roof with him, he ended up dead drunk in my bed in the middle of the night and I had to go sleep on the couch, he smelled so bad."

Drew laughed. "I remember. Well, it's up to you. I know having Chaz end up in your bed after one of his binges isn't fun. He did it to me several times too. At least you didn't wake up to him fondling your balls in his sleep."

"True, though not having a pair kinda helps with that." She said with a chuckle. "You can just take me to a nice hotel. I like room service anyway," she replied.

Drew nodded and headed back inside to pick up his brother. Fifteen minutes later, Drew was seen walking back out to the car, his brother in tow. The group got into the car and drove back to WolfSound, dropping Aidan and Riley off at Aidan's car in the parking lot. Aidan moved Riley's luggage into his Camero and, as they got into the car, he realized how nervous he was about introducing his brother to his boyfriend.

Aidan pulled up outside his house and, while he waited for the garage to open, he looked over at his brother nervously. He had been dreading this all week and he didn't know what to do about it. Aidan really valued his brother's opinion, and it was the one that meant the most to him. He didn't quite know what to do if his brother decided he didn't like Josh.

Aidan shook his head. 'Of course he will like him. How could he not?' he thought.

They got out of the car and Aidan walked around to the back, grabbed the luggage, and headed through the back door into the kitchen. Walking inside, Aidan put the luggage down at the foot of the stairs and they walked around trying to find Josh. They found him stretched out on the couch, looking completely adorable. His hair was curled over his forehead, falling just over his eyes. His right arm was curled up behind him on one of the big fluffy couch pillows. He had no shirt on, and his jeans were slung low on his hips.

Aidan groaned. 'Man he looks hot, even when he is asleep!' Aidan walked over and knelt next to the couch, forgetting momentarily that his brother was behind him. He caressed Josh's face and leaned down to kiss him gently.

"Time to wake up, auatseli anidawehi," Aidan whispered in his ear.

Josh groaned and stretched slightly. "Waya? Is that you?"

Aidan smiled. "Yes dear, it's me. Time to wake up, we have company."

Josh bolted up, almost knocking Aidan in the head. "Oh no, I was supposed to be dressed and..." Josh trailed off as he looked up and saw a man standing behind Aidan chuckling softly.

"Uhh... Hi... I will be right back... going to go get a shirt on and..." Josh stuttered as Riley cut him off.

"It's okay, really. You don't have to get dressed on my account." Riley winked and blushed slightly as he looked over his brother's boyfriend. Aidan had good taste.

Josh blushed. "Well, I... Okay... Well, I guess we will have to get used to it since you're going to be living here for a while, right?"

Riley nodded. "Very true. So what do I call you? JC? Josh? I don't think calling you 'my angel' would be appropriate," he said with a laugh.

Josh blushed again and smiled. "Josh is fine. Yeah, Aidan calls me his angel, though he hasn't quite told me why yet."

Aidan grinned. "Maybe, I will tell you later."

Josh chuckled softly and stood up, wrapping his arms around Aidan's waist. "Well, I might just have to make you, huh? I think I could get you to talk."

Aidan smirked. "Really? I am very good at keeping secrets – just ask my brother."

Riley nodded. "Yes, he is. I didn't know he was gay for a long time. In fact, I didn't even know that he had a boyfriend up until recently. Though I knew he had to have one, I just didn't get to hear about it. My brother has never lacked in the looks department."

Aidan blushed. "Riley..." he whined.

Riley laughed softly and winked at his brother. "Awww, did I embarrass you, brother dear?"

Aidan glared at his brother for a moment then shrugged. "No, just annoying me as usual."

Riley smiled. "I am not annoying, and even if I am, you love me anyway."

Aidan chuckled softly. "Yeah, I do, even if you are annoying."

Riley chuckled and shrugged. "Anyway, where is this room of mine? I want to take a shower and maybe a quick nap before dinner."

Josh watched the two interact and smiled. Aidan's brother was funny. It was interesting to see the banter between the siblings. They were a lot alike in some ways, and in others they were totally opposite, though there was no mistaking that they were related. Josh smiled to himself. 'It's going to be fun having Riley around,' he thought. 'At least there was someone to keep Aidan on his toes.'

Josh followed both of them as Aidan turned and walked toward Riley's room, both of them picking up his bags along the way. "Here we go. The room opens out onto the pool deck. It has its own bath, huge walk-in closet, and it's been recently decorated. I hope you like it."

Riley walked in the room and smiled. "Wow, it's great, and you remembered to get a springless bed, didn't you?"

Aidan nodded."Yes I did. I remembered you didn't like them. The controls for the air are next to the bed."

Riley smiled and hugged his brother. "Thanks, the both of you. Now shoo! I need some sleep and a shower, and I sure can't do that while you're in the room, now can I?"

Aidan and Josh laughed softly. "Nope, you sure can't," they both chorused before walking out of the room.

Later upstairs...

"So, are you going to tell me why you call me your angel?" Josh asked, smiling at his boyfriend.

Aidan nodded and turned toward his old tape collection, putting a tape in the stereo before pushing play. He walked over to Josh and pulled him onto the bed, wrapping him in his arms. A moment later a song started and Aidan began to sing.

I hear a voice in my mind
I know his face by heart
Heaven and Earth are moving in my soul
I don't know where to start
Tell me, tell me, the words to define
The way I feel about someone so fine

How do you talk to an angel
How do you hold him close to where you are
How do you talk to an angel
It's like trying to catch a falling star

At night I dream that he is there
and I can feel him in the air
Tell me, tell me, the words to define
The way I feel about someone so fine

How do you talk to an angel
How do you hold him close to where you are
How do you talk to an angel
It's like trying to catch a falling star

How do you talk to an angel
How do you hold him close to where you are
How do you talk to an angel
It's like trying to catch a falling star

How do you talk to an angel
How do you hold him close to where you are
How do you talk to an angel
It's like trying to catch a falling star

Yeah, yeah

Aidan smiled and nuzzled Josh's ear. "Of course, I changed the words slightly, but every time I watch you sleep, or we are making love, or just kissing and holding each other, I think of that song when I look at you. It's an old song from a television show called 'The Heights.' It's called 'How Do You Talk to an Angel.'"

Josh smiled. "I know that show, or at least I used to. There was this guy with really long hair that was really cute..."

Aidan nodded. "Yep, he was my favorite..." Aidan trailed off talking and suddenly pulled Josh closer, kissing him passionately before pulling back and whispering in Josh's ear, "Make love to me, auatseli anidawehi, please?"

Josh blinked and studied Aidan quietly. "Aidan? You want me to... Do we have time?" He stuttered and trailed off again, looking confused. Aidan had always pretty much been the top in their relationship, and here he was asking Josh to make love to him?

Aidan nodded, pulling Josh close. "I need you, anidawehi, please?"

Josh leaned down, tenderly kissing Aidan. "Aidan, it's been a long time. I may hurt you. I..." he whispered.

Aidan lifted his hand to Josh's lips, stroking his luscious bottom lip, and smiled. "You won't hurt me Josh – you just need to loosen me up really well. It's been a while for me too."

Josh hesitated for a moment. Before he met Aidan, he was the top in every relationship he had. There was just something about Aidan that made him want to be held and protected from the world. He knew, however, that he could do this; he just had to concentrate on pleasing his lover.

Josh's hand nervously took the tube of lube that Aidan was holding out for him as Aidan got up and crawled on all fours to give him better access to his ass. Josh grasped the tube in his hand, unscrewing the cap before slowly squeezing out some of the cold lube into his hand. Before he knew what he was doing he dropped his hand to Aidan's ass and tried to apply it to his lover's hole. "Hey!" Aidan exclaimed over his shoulder as he began to laugh, his ass flexing tight. "Try and warm it up first."

Embarrassed, Josh flushed bright red as he failed to notice that Aidan was trying his best to relax him. Josh warmed up the lube and began lubing both of them up, causing Aidan to moan loudly and gasp as he was stretched. When Josh could not delay any longer, he leaned forward onto Aidan's back and kissed the nape of his neck. "I don't want to hurt you. Lay down on your back for me," Josh whispered.

Aidan nodded and turned over, smiling up at Josh who was obviously more than nervous. Josh just couldn't seem to stop trembling, which made Aidan fall just a little in love with him at that moment. Aidan could tell that Josh was excited; his hard cock between his legs was proof of that, but he was suddenly afraid that Josh would not be able to keep it up if he didn't do something soon.

Aidan grinned and had an idea. Leaning up to grab Josh, he hungrily attacked his lips, kissing him passionately. He knew that he had to try and get his lover's mind off what he was supposed to be nervous about. Slowly he felt his angel begin to grow more relaxed as Aidan partially took charge. Aidan had no idea what it was about him that made Josh so nervous, but he figured it had to do with something in his past. One of these days, Aidan promised himself, he would broach the subject with him, but this was not the time.

Josh moaned as he kissed Aidan, returning his attack with a vengeance. As he calmed down and became less nervous, he grasped his hard cock and slowly began to push it against Aidan's hole, causing Aidan to moan. Josh could tell as he slowly entered that it had been a long time for Aidan as well – his cock being gripped like a vice as he entered.

Not wanting to hurt Aidan, Josh slowed down and listened to his breathing, which was erratic to say the least. Josh leaned down, running his tongue across Aidan's lips, which caused Aidan's eyes to flutter open, his eyes shining brightly with trust.

Looking down deep into his lover's eyes, Josh captured Aidan's lips and groaned as he bottomed out in Aidan's ass and then slowly began to ease in and out of Aidan's hole.

Josh was totally in heaven and now understood the two pronged reasoning behind his nickname Angel. If this is how Aidan felt when he bottomed out in Josh, then he knew what heights his lover went to when they made love. Josh knew that they had to do this more often; it was the most incredible feeling, only second to the feeling of Aidan pushing his cock inside him.

Josh looked down at Aidan, who was moaning and breathing hard under him, and grinned. He somehow doubted that he would have to convince Aidan too hard to switch back and forth from time to time; Josh could tell that Aidan was enjoying himself a lot. Josh reached up and ran his hand along Aidan's cock, causing it to jump in his hand. Josh watched Aidan's eyes fly open again and then close while he moaned as Josh's hand caressed and stroked his cock in time with his thrusts.

"Oh, Josh... GOD this feels so good... Oh yes..." Aidan moaned, bucking his hips against Josh's thrusts. Josh was close, a little too close, but then he convinced himself that it was just Aidan's tight ass that was getting him off so quickly. He picked up his speed with his hand and suddenly Aidan cried out, splashing cum all over his chest which caused him to clamp down hard on Josh's dick, impaling himself on it as he came. Not being able to take any more, Josh let go, cumming hard into his lover.

Aidan groaned as Josh collapsed forward and lay on top of him, the cum between them slowly causing them to be stuck together as Josh caught his breath. Josh turned his head slightly, looked at the clock, and gasped. They had less than an hour to get ready! Groaning, he pushed himself up. He so wanted to go to bed right then.

"We better hop in the shower. We are now officially running late. They will be here in the next forty-five minutes," said Josh.

Aidan grinned as he opened his eyes, looked over at the clock, and laughed. "Well, guess that means we will have to share the shower. Sounds good to me." Aidan got off the bed and walked toward the bathroom; leaving Josh shocked standing by the bed. Knowing Aidan as well as he did, he suddenly had a picture of them being even later than forty-five minutes.

Introductions before dinner...

Luckily, since it was a weekday, the Citrus Club didn't have the private dining room booked. Since the majority of both groups were members of the Club, they had plenty of time to get cleaned up and get to the Club on time. The guys became members of the Club about a year ago, and it was where they worked out and relaxed when they weren't on tour.

The guys had decided to get together at Aidan and Josh's house before dinner, and when they all arrived, Aidan started to introduce his brother to the guys.

"Guys, this is my brother, Riley," said Aidan.

Riley smiled and walked around shaking hands as Aidan introduced him to the guys that were there from both groups when he suddenly started laughing softly.

Aidan looked at his brother confused, when Riley said. "Aidan, I do listen to music you know. I know who they are," he said pointing to the Backstreet Boys and *Nsync. "Now the key question is who are these other guys I don't know?" he said, pointing over to Jeremy and Jayden, which caused several to burst out laughing.

When it finally quieted down a bit, Aidan began introducing his brother to Jeremy and Jayden, and when he started to introduce Dominick, Riley put up his hand and shook his head at Aidan while smiling. "I remember who Dominick is, though it's been quite a few years. It's nice to see you again, Dominick," he said.

Dominick smiled. "It's nice to see you again too, Riley."

"Likewise, I am glad to see that the groups will have a better company to work for now." Riley said.

Riley didn't wait for a reply, and went around introducing himself to everyone else. When he stopped in front of Howie, he winked.

Howie's heart fluttered. 'He winked at me,' he thought. 'He looks a lot like his brother in a lot of ways – very handsome, with that dark coloring that makes him sort of exotic looking.' Howie gulped, 'Yes, very hot...'

Howie's thoughts were interrupted by a sudden comment that struck him as funny. Howie got the impression that Riley had just asked which of the guys in the room were gay, and after several embarrassed glances, everyone looked at Howie who, in return, looked back at them.

"What? You do remember I am gay right?" Howie replied, not hearing the exact question asked.

Riley laughed, his blue eyes sparkling. "I guess you weren't listening to the conversation, huh?"

Howie blushed. "Ummm, no. sorry, I had other things on my mind." It wasn't exactly a lie, though it wasn't exactly the truth either. He did have things on his mind, like how hot Riley was, but he sure wasn't going to tell him that in front of everyone.

Riley smiled. Howie was even cuter in person and he is gay! Riley chuckled to himself as he watched Howie blush. He was definitely handsome – more than just cute, that's for sure.

While Aidan was introducing his brother around, Drew was introducing his sister and his brother. Drew couldn't help to notice a look that passed between his sister and Joey, but it wasn't his place to interfere with her relationships. When she waved him on to speak to Joey, he had a feeling that they had met before, though it was at that moment when Aidan pulled him aside and began asking him questions about dinner and he left her to her own devices.

Jennifer had mentioned when she walked in the room that she had met Joey a long time ago, and he knew that the pair needed to talk about what was going on, so he figured it was best to distract his cousin the best way he knew how. It was a good thing that they did talk, his cousin was suddenly looking much better, and he realized that perhaps they had made amends, which made Aidan quite happy. He didn't want any weird unusual tension running around.

As Aidan was distracting his cousin, he noticed that Chaz was hiding in the corner of the room, chatting with Justin. He seemed to be avoiding most of the room's occupants, which seemed a little odd. He had noticed that when Drew had introduced Chaz to Dominick, that the man blanched and looked away. There was obviously something going on there, but he didn't know what was going on.

Dinner at the Citrus Club

The large group piled into several vehicles and headed toward the Citrus Club. The ride was a jumble of activity since everyone seemed to want to talk at once. Walking inside the club, Josh went over to the hostess stand. "We called earlier? Chasez, party of 12?" said Josh.

"Ahh, yes, Mr. Chasez. Right this way. The room is ready for you," she said, smiling brightly.

The group walked into the private dining room and Riley looked around quietly, trying to decide where he wanted to sit when he saw Howie standing by a chair nearby and joined him.

Howie smiled, watching as Riley took a seat. The rest of the group settled in around the table and began ordering their meals, with Aidan watching Howie carefully. Howie looked up as he felt eyes on him and smiled at Aidan shyly while a grin formed on Aidan's face. Aidan nodded, giving Howie a look that could only be described as: 'be careful, that's my brother you're sitting next to there.'

Howie nodded toward Aidan, figuring that he would have to have a talk with him at some point if Riley was even remotely interested in him. Though, by the looks of things, he was interested. He was smiling and joking with him like he had known him for years. He was quite a contrast to his brother who seemed to be pretty quiet most of the time.

Howie listened as he talked about dancing, and his idea for a fitness book he wanted to write, about his hobbies, and anything he wanted to talk about. He told him about himself, life on tour, and the constant struggle to keep ahead in the game. It seemed to the both of them that the rest of the room was no longer around and only they existed.

Aidan watched his brother and Howie once in a while during the dinner. He was glad that his brother was having such a good time. Riley always was a pretty outgoing person, but he hadn't really had tons of luck dating anyone seriously. Aidan knew, however, that Howie was a pretty great guy, and Riley could do much worse. At least it gave him a chance to not be so uneasy about the whole thing. Aidan really wanted his brother to be happy, and was glad that he didn't even have to push them together. He still remembered that he once had liked Howie, and wanted to get him together with his brother, but he had no idea that it would really happen.

At the end of the night, he overheard Howie ask Riley on a date, and Riley accepted.

The Date - Jan. 6, 2000

Howie arrived at Aidan's house promptly at 10 a.m. If Howie was anything, it was prompt at least. Howie looked into the mirror and fixed a stray strand of hair that had gotten out of place before getting out of the car. Howie walked to the door nervously and wondered who might answer the door. He stepped up onto the front porch and rang the doorbell.

A few moments later, the door swung open to reveal a very sleepy-looking Aidan who seemed to have just woken up. Aidan lifted his hand and covered his mouth as he yawned, mumbling after he moved his hand, "Come on in Howie. Riley will... be..." Aidan yawned again, "out in a moment."

Howie nodded and stepped inside, following Aidan into the living room who fell down slightly into the couch and yawned again. If Aidan had been more awake, he would have realized that he was wandering around the house in his boxer-briefs. Aidan leaned his head back against the couch and sighed. "It's too early to be up. I think I will go back to bed for a while. You be good to my brother, okay?" continued Aidan who hadn't even opened his eyes.

Howie smiled. "Don't worry, Aidan. I know this may be slightly awkward for you, but don't worry about it. Okay?" He looked down at his hands when he saw movement out of the corner of his eye.

Aidan placed a hand on Howie's and tapped on it. "Look at me, Howie." Howie looked up nervously, expecting to see Aidan mad. However, he found laughter in his eyes. Aidan smiled and patted Howie's hand. "Howie, I was just teasing you. I know you're a good guy. Otherwise, I would have told him to forget even trying to date you. I am very protective of my brother, even if he is a bit older than me, okay?"

Howie nodded. "I understand, and I will try. I like him. I just hope he likes me back. You and he seem to be almost complete opposites, but he is pretty amazing." Realizing what Howie just said, he began to blush again. He had just told Aidan not only that he liked his brother, but liked him a lot.

Aidan smiled, noticing all the blushing. "Riley would have said no to your date if he didn't at least like you Howie. Anyway, you two didn't even talk to the rest of us at dinner last night. I don't think that would happen with just anyone, right?"

Howie nodded and sighed. "I guess after my last boyfriend and I broke up, I haven't really found anyone that I even remotely liked. I ended up staying single 'cause it was just too much of a hassle to try and find another relationship when I wasn't ready. The guys tried to set me up with guys, but none of them ever really worked out." Howie paused and looked up toward Aidan and smiled. "However, then I met you, and I thought I liked you, the next day you were suddenly unavailable, and I kinda floundered again. Then when I met your brother last night, I guess, I hope that he ends up liking me even half as much as I am starting to like him."

Riley, who was standing there just inside him bedroom listening to Howie's confession, smiled. He walked back into his bedroom quietly as Howie's statement started flowing round and round in his head. Howie liked him, but he had tried to date his brother. Riley wondered if that should make any difference. They clearly hadn't gotten very far in the dating process; he would ask Aidan about Howie later. Right now, he had a date to go on.

Opening the door, he leaned against the frame of the door to and made a bit of noise watching Howie for a reaction before walking into the room. Riley had a feeling that this was going to be a great day.

Howie looked up as Riley came out and stood quickly, taking in Riley's appearance. 'Man he looks hot,' he thought.

Riley was propped against the door, a pair of tight black jeans hugged his long lean legs, and his torso was covered with a deep green polo shirt that showed off Riley's impressive lean muscles.

Aidan looked over at his brother and began to chuckle. "Bro, if your pants were any tighter, you would have to be poured in. Are you sure you want to make poor Howie have a heart attack so early in life?"

Riley snorted and began to laugh. Aidan always seemed to be able to make a joke out of anything when he tried. He glanced over at Howie, who he could tell was just stunned out of his silence by Aidan's joke.

"Dearest Brother, what is the point of having a good body if one does not show it off?"

Aidan nodded. "True and it will make a certain someone watch you like a hawk all day. That in itself, would be fun to watch." He said with a laugh.

Riley glanced over at Howie again, and smiled. "I believe you do have a point. That is the fun part of a date is it not? How about we get going, Howie?"

Howie startled out of his thoughts by the question and nodded. Howie needed to find his tongue around Riley, or Riley is going to find it for him, Aidan thought.

Author Notes: Well, another chapter is completed. I hope you enjoyed it.

Frequently used Cherokee Words:

English

Cherokee Phonetics

English Phonetics

Notes

Wolf

wa-ya

wah yaw

Joshua

tsa-si

jaw see

Mine

a-ua-tse-li

ah jay lee

(my)

Angel

a-ni-da-we-hi

ah knee dah way he

My Brother

Iginvtli

ee-gee-nun-tlee

Published: 12/25/11