Bring Your Own Bsb

This story is a work of fiction and is not intended to imply anything about the sexuality of any actual person or persons.

This story should only be read by those of legal age who do not have an objection to homosexual relations between consenting adults.

Once again, I am grateful to those of you who have expressed your encouragement to me. Special thanks go to Luckylou and R C for their patience and assistance to me in this effort.

Please direct any commentary to coryj51@mindspring.com

Bring Your Own BSB

by Cory J

Part 8

As Brian and Nick looked on from their table in the back of the restaurant, Alex walked up to the "Please wait to be seated" sign in the front. A young woman who was acting as the hostess turned at her counter and took notice of him. She blinked for a few seconds at the young man standing before her. He was wearing what appeared to be a full football uniform. The jersey was black with a white '20' on the front. A black football helmet was being held in his left hand. Looking down, she winced as she noticed that he was also wearing cleats - she would have to be mindful of her toes and hope that the carpet didn't get torn up too badly. A glance upward revealed a very handsome face with brilliant blue eyes and short blond hair. When he smiled at her, she found herself looking at his hands for a wedding band.

"Hello?" He said. "Excuse me, Miss?"

The young woman blinked at him once more and then seemed to snap out of it.

"I'm sorry, Sir." She said. "Table for one?"

"No, actually, three." He said. "I think that the others are already here. Two young guys, one tall and in a baseball cap - oh, there they are over there." Alex waved at the two young men, who waved back. "I'll just go on back, ok?"

"Yes, sir, just go on back - someone will be with you in a minute."

Alex smiled at the young woman again and headed back toward the table where the guys were. As he walked through the restaurant, he noticed that several people, both customers and employees, were staring at him. He smiled broadly, thinking how different it was not to mind the stares. A few days ago this kind of attention would have been uncomfortable, even unnerving. Today, however, it was ok, perhaps even a little flattering. He walked confidently over to the table and sat down.

"Hey, way to keep a low profile, dude." Brian said. Both he and Nick were struggling not to laugh.

"Yeah, I think everyone in the place is checking you out." Nick said. "Guys and girls alike - maybe you'll get lucky, huh?"

Alex look around, his eyes lingering on a few of the guys in the place. "You never know." He said. "I might find someone who'd like to help me out of my pads." He leaned back and stretched a bit. "So, what do you think of my new haircut?" Alex's head was shaved just over the ears and around the back. Above that, his hair had been trimmed into a straight bowl cut.

"Very sharp, I like it." Nick said.

"Yeah, looks cool." Brian said.

"It really needed cutting badly. It's a new look for me, but I'm pretty happy with it." Alex sat his helmet on the table and began looking through a menu. "So, did you guys have a nice afternoon in the city?"

"Yeah, Brian and I had a great time. It's a pretty cool place, lots to do."

"Yes, though you weren't happy until you found an arcade." Brian shook his head in mock concern. "Let me tell you, Alex, I don't think this boy is ever going to grow up. After all this time he still pesters me for quarters." Brian grunted as Nick elbowed him in the ribs lightly.

"Don't listen to this guy, Alex. He's just pissed that I was kicking his ass so much."

"Hey, I remember a guy who got hammered pretty hard shooting baskets - and it wasn't me. That's the thing about blondie here, Alex, he needs someone to keep him humble." The tall blond in question made a rude noise at that, and all three boys laughed heartily.

"I'm sorry again for having to take that call. Like I was saying before, the people running The Imperial Corporation have been getting more and more twitchy lately. It's like they think that I am going to snap my fingers and redo everything there as soon as I turn 21."

"It's cool, Alex, we know what it's like to have the phone ringing all the time." Brian said.

"I heard that. So, Alex, when is your birthday anyway? I don't remember you mentioning it."

"July 20th, that's the day that they slap on the chains." Alex said. He smiled slightly.

"Not so far away then, you must be pretty excited." Brian said.

"Yeah, kinda. It's sort of intimidating too, I must admit. I don't want to mess anything up. How about you guys? I hear that you will be going on a big tour this summer."

"That's right. Brian and I will be deep into touring at that point. I guess we will probably all be busy as hell."

"It sure sounds like it. So, you guys are going to Florida to hook up with the rest of the group? I guess you have a lot of things to do before the tour gets started."

"Yeah, they are waiting for us down at Nick's place in Tampa. We are supposed to just hang for a bit and make sure that there aren't any last minute details that need to be handled."

"All I can say is that they had better not trash my place up. If they do, I'll put their sorry butts to work cleaning before we leave."

"Yeah, right, Nick, you keep telling yourself that. Alex, you've got to keep in mind what a slob our Nicky here is - I bet his house looks better after a few days of the guys being there."

Nick cried foul at this point and the two guys swiped at each other a bit while Alex laughed.

"Hey, guys, let's not trash the place, ok? Aren't you two supposed to be keeping a low profile?"

"Yeah, look who's talking? I thought Brian's eyes were going to pop right out when he saw you in that."

Alex looked down at himself with amusement. "Not very subtle, is it? Well, maybe I will divert some of the stares away from you guys. Besides, you're the celebrities, not me." He drummed the fingers of his left hand against the football helmet on the table. The helmet was black with "TIC" in silver letters on one side.

Brian glanced down at the helmet. "That's the company logo? Just the letters?"

"Yeah, pretty lame, huh? Dad liked keeping things simple, and Mom couldn't think of anything other than a big brown tick - not something they wanted to go with I guess. Still, that's something that needs to be reconsidered at some point. If the company is going to get a better image, it certainly needs a decent logo. I predict a fair amount of money going into marketing in the near future."

At this point, a waiter came over to the table and took their orders. Alex looked him over quietly after placing his order. The young man had introduced himself as 'Michael'. He was a bit shorter than Alex, and looked to have perhaps a runner's build. He had short straight brown hair and brown eyes. He was nice looking in an unassuming way and had a winning smile which he displayed frequently. After the waiter left, Alex noticed Brian watching him intently.

"Is there something wrong, Brian?"

"No, nothing wrong. Well, I'm not sure how to say this, but - well, were you checking that guy out?"

"Yeah, I guess I was - what's wrong with that?"

Brian held up his hands briefly. "It's not that there's anything wrong with it. It's just - well, you were kind of obvious, I think he noticed. I was just saying because I sort of had the impression that you didn't want people knowing about you yet."

Alex looked at Brian for a moment, and then looked away briefly. "Yeah, you're right. I don't want to come out, not yet. It's just that it all seems brand new now. I mean, since I met you guys, it's like every guy I see is fun to watch. Hey, I'm sorry, I didn't even think about how it might put you guys in a bad position. I mean, if someone 'makes' me and we are all together."

Nick spoke up at this point. "Alex, don't worry about that. I'm sure that isn't what Brian meant."

"Nick's right - I'm not talking about him and me. I just don't want you to end up in a bad position, that's all. I understand how hard it is to keep your eyes from wandering. You've just come a long way in accepting who you are - it makes sense that you'd feel that way. Hey, I still look, myself." Brian cast a sidelong glance at Nick and began to sip from his glass of water.

"Yeah, he's right it does make sense for you to - hey, what do you mean you still look?" Nick began to look a bit flustered as Brian calmly sipped his water. "Hey, c'mon, talk to me here!"

Brian risked a glance over at Nick's reddening face and lost it, spraying water on himself and Nick as he laughed helplessly. Nick spluttered and wiped at his dampened shirt. Alex pressed his lips together in a doomed effort to avoid laughing.

They were all still laughing on and off when their food arrived. Throughout the meal, the three friends discussed their respective backgrounds. For Alex is was exciting to hear about the beginnings of his new friends' backgrounds in music, and the story of how the group had been formed. He was somewhat familiar with the group, the large amount of time he regularly spent online made it difficult for him to have not heard at least something of their story. This however, was different. He had heard the cliches about how BSB was different from the stereotypical rising entertainment group - how they still thought of themselves as 'just people'. He hadn't really put much stock in it previously. After all, that kind of image was very good press in the eyes of the fans - it made BSB seem more attainable, both to fans and to those who dreamed of music industry careers themselves. Alex's studies in marketing strategies and public relations had acquainted him with all manner of such things. However, he was believing more and more that in this case, the image was real. Nick and Brian were very real people. People with families and friends - hopes and dreams for their futures. They were both very aware of how difficult it was could be to be an enduring success in the music industry. However, they were determined to make a go of it. The group's image was already being worked on as it tried to become something that would live on after the screaming teens found somewhere else to focus their energy. Alex was impressed - they clearly had the talent and the will to make it work.

For their own part, Nick and Brian also lost some preconceptions about Alex. When they first heard some of the details of his life, it seemed like he lived in a different world. He had the face and body, and was surrounded by huge amounts of money and power. It would not have been surprising if he had turned out to be self-absorbed, or egocentric in any number of ways. However, the truth was much simpler - and much more pleasant. Alex was a talented young man who was doing his best to carry on the work started by his parents. He had led a life of privilege and responsibility in equal measure. Putting aside the scale, Alex wanted the kinds of things that everyone wanted. To have friends, to love and be loved, to make his family proud of him. In that way, Alex was a very real, very normal person.

By the time that the meal was over, the three young men knew that strong, enduring friendships had been formed at the table. Alex managed to get the others to allow him to pay for dinner, but only just.

"We do have money, you know." Nick said. He was looking slightly flustered. Brian for his part looked a bit embarrassed.

"I know, I know. Just humor me, ok? You are my guests and I want to treat you right."

The two grumbled a bit, but reluctantly let Alex have his way. He reached into the belt pack he had around his waist and presented a credit card to Michael, the waiter, who took it back to the register.

At this point, Michael returned with Alex's credit card and the bill. Alex glanced at the bill and wrote a generous tip on the slip. Michael then pressed the receipt into Alex's hand thanked them all for coming. He glanced at the slip, noting the tip written there, and smiled once again at Alex. They all got up from the table and went out to the lobby of the restaurant, where Brian used his cell to call for a cab.

"So, where are we going?" Brian asked.

Nick yawned slightly, covering his mouth.

Alex smiled. "Well, it is getting on the evening. Why don't we head back to the hotel and relax? I need to see if I can pry myself out of this outfit." He shrugged and flex his arms wearily.

"Sounds like a plan, its been a full day." Brian said.

The cab arrived, and they returned to the hotel suite, and sit down in the living room for a while. After a few more minutes of talking, they all decided to get cleaned up and get ready for bed. Nick and Brian gave each other brief but thoroughly enjoyable attentions in their shower and were in the club's large white robes when Alex knocked and entered the room. He was also clearly just out of the shower, and wearing another one of the robes.

"Brian, you guys contacted the rest of the group and let them know what's up, right?"

"Yeah, Alex, we did that this afternoon. Kevin was a bit annoyed at the delay, but these things happen. Like Nick said before, we can't get a flight down to Tampa until Friday morning."

Alex thought for a moment. "Tell you what, I'll do some checking later on and see if I can't arrange something a bit sooner. The company has a large number of private aircraft, as I said before."

"Hey, are you trying to get rid of us?" Nick asked. Brian smiled.

"Not at all, guys. I enjoy hanging out with you guys a lot. It's just that I know what its like to have people waiting on you, and to be behind in travel. Besides, I would really like to meet the rest of the group too." He lowered his eyes briefly. "If that's ok, I mean. I wouldn't want to intrude if you guys are going to be too busy or something."

"No!" Both Nick and Brian said at the same time, setting off fresh laughter in the room.

"It's my house, Alex, and you are more than welcome to come down."

"I'm sure the guys would love to meet you, too. Also, it would be great if we could get down there a bit sooner - it might relax Kevin a bit." Brian said.

Alex smiled broadly. "Ok, then, I'll check into it after I wake up from my nap, and I'll let you know in the morning. I should be able to shave at least some time off. Also, it will be private flight, so no worries about getting mobbed, at least on the plane. Get some sleep guys, it's been a very full day."

They said goodnight and Alex closed the door behind him.

A few minutes later, Brian and Nick were snuggled together under the covers, enjoying the sensation of cool sheets and each other on their clean bodies. They talked quietly for a few minutes about the day, meeting their new friend, and the days to come. In time they drifted off to sleep, feeling warm and secure.

Meanwhile, Alex had returned to his own room, where he slipped into a soft pair of clean boxer briefs. Looking in the mirror, he was pleased at the simplicity of his new hair style, how much easier it was to manage. After a few minutes of his usual cool down and meditative exercises, he slipped under the covers of the huge master bed, and lay back thinking for a few minutes.

It was hard to believe that it was only this morning he had met Brian and Nick. Here it was, Tuesday evening, and it felt as though a week had gone by. The strength of his feelings for them was a little disturbing. After all, they had just met. It didn't really matter, though, they were his friends. He smiled and drifted off to sleep feeling content.

Nick awoke slowly, smiling as always when he became aware of Brian's presence next to him in the warm bed. A glance at the wall clock revealed that they had slept rather late. No wonder, given how full the previous day had been. Brian was still deeply asleep, and Nick took to watching him as he often did. The soft covers had slipped down to reveal the young man's bare torso. Nick studied him closely, remembering the feel of every curve and line in his fingertips. He found himself reaching out to lightly trace the scar running vertically between Brian's well-developed pectorals. Nick remembered with a shiver how terrified they had all been at the time. He hadn't been able to sleep or stop crying until Brian had woken up. Those memories still chilled him. Nick leaned forward to rest his head on Brian's chest. He wasn't going to lose Brian, he just couldn't. After several minutes, the warmth of Brian's chest and even beat of his heart soothed Nick's fears.

Brian awoke to find Nick in his arms, his eyes opening as Brian stirred. They kissed softly and held each other for a few minutes before getting out of bed. Nick slipped on a robe and grinned as Brian yawned hugely and stretched.

"Well, sleepy, I am going to go see if Alex is up yet. Why don't you go get a shower?"

Brian blinked and stared blearily at Nick. "Yeah, I guess that's a good idea." He rubbed lightly at his crotch and made his way into the bathroom. Slipping out of his briefs, Brian turned on the shower and stepped in to the thick steamy clouds. He stood there for a few minutes, his eyes closed as he soaped up his torso. He was only slightly startled when he heard the bathroom door open and a naked Nick slipped into the large shower with him.

"I thought you were going to talk with Alex?"

"He'll keep, I didn't want to take any chances on you falling asleep in here."

Brian smiled, closing his eyes again and savoring the sensations as Nick took the soap from his hand and continued lathering Brian's torso. Feeling Nick's fingers tracing the scar on his chest, Brian knew that Nick was thinking of the surgery, of how desperate those times had been.

"You aren't going to lose me, Nick." Brian said quietly. He heard Nick gasp slightly. "I'm here, and I'm yours."

Brian felt his body being rinsed clean and then there was an incredible feeling of warmth as he was engulfed in Nick's mouth. He opened his eyes and looked down at the kneeling young man. Brian found himself pressed lightly against a wall as Nick sucked him expertly. For long minutes, Brian caressed Nick's hair and wriggled as wave after wave of intense pleasure flowed through his body. Finally, pushed beyond all restraint, Brian threw his head back and cried out as Nick's mouth drew spurt after spurt of semen from his quivering body. The sheer intensity nearly made him black out, and left him shuddering and gasping for breath for the next several minutes. As Brian came down slowly, Nick picked up a washcloth and gently cleaned his lover's body.

Some time later, the two young men emerged squeaky clean and very much awake. They got dressed and headed across the suite to Alex's room. Knocking lightly, they opened the door and entered. Alex was seated at the desk in front of the PC.

"Hey, I didn't realize you guys were up yet. Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah, slept pretty well, how about you?" Brian said. Nick nodded as well.

"Oh, just fine, just fine. I got in touch with the corporate transport folks. I've managed to set up a plane to take us to Tampa tomorrow morning, if that's ok with you guys?"

"Sounds good, that saves us a day and private beats public flying any day." Brian said.

"Any kind of flying sucks, if you ask me." Nick said.

"So, its true that you don't like to fly? I took the liberty of 'boning up' on you guys a bit. It's amazing how many web sites for BSB and for each of you there actually are out there. I've got a whole lot more bookmarks for my browser now."

"Well, yeah, it is true that I don't like flying, but don't believe everything that you read about us there."

"Nick's right. We all love the fans, but some of those sites get out of hand."

"Don't worry guys, I know how that is - I actually have a site myself. Here have a look." Alex selected a bookmark and moved away from the console. The two guys moved forward and had a look. It was the web site of Alex's fan club, with lots of information about the various Olympic-related topics as well as personal information on Alex. Though the site carried his name, it seemed to be more about athletics than anything else.

"Pretty cool site." Brian said. Out of curiosity, he hit the 'Back' button on Alex's browser. "Hey, what's this?"

The page that appeared had several shirtless pictures of young men. Looking closer, Brian recognized the young men as Joey Lawrence and his younger brother, Matthew. There were even a few nudes, most of which were obviously fakes.

"Checking out hunks on the web, Alex?" Brian asked. Alex blushed slightly and laughed.

"Well, yeah. I've had some serious fantasies about Joey and Matt Lawrence, aren't they gorgeous?"

"Oh, yeah, they are a couple of cuties." Brian said.

Nick leaned forward to look at one of the fake nudes of Joey. "Geez, look at the size of that thing!"

They all laughed - someone had clearly had some fun with an image editor.

Nick picked up a CD from a small stack next to the computer. "Hey, you've got some of our stuff here."

"Well, I thought I'd get to know it a little better since I made you listen to mine."

"What did you think - don't worry, Nick and I can take it if you didn't like it."

"Hey, its not like that at all. I really liked it, you've got a good sound and you really work well together."

The guys were suitably pleased and they decided to get some lunch and plan for the day. As they were leaving the room, Nick paused to glance back for a moment at the pictures on the screen. After a moment, he smiled, shook his head, and followed the others out of the room.

"Well, like I said, we can fly out of here tomorrow morning. Is there anything that you guys would like to do in the city today?" Alex said. Suddenly, his cell phone rang. After a few seconds talking on it, Alex had to once again beg off for the afternoon to take care of some business.

"I've got an idea for the evening, if you guys are up for it. There is this club that I'd like to check out."

"Sure, Alex, give us a call when you want to hook back up. Nick and I will be fine for the afternoon."

"Cool, I'll call you guys again later."

With that, Alex went back in his room and closed the door.

Brian called down to Nick's house in Tampa and let the rest of the guys know what was going on. As they expected, Kevin was pleased that they would be getting there a day earlier than expected. Brian and Nick found themselves telling Kevin about Alex at some length, though they did not out him. After getting off the phone, the guys got back into disguise and went out. They spent the afternoon running around the city, just goofing off and enjoying the opportunity to be in public without being mobbed. The hat and shades worked as magically as ever, no one seemed to give them a second look. Shortly after dark, they were on their way back to the hotel when Alex called and let them know that his business was wrapped up for now. They agreed to meet back in the suite and talk about the evening to come.

Once back in the suite, Alex greeted them and ducked back into his room for a second.

Nick and Brian smiled at each other and made their way over to the couch.

"I wonder what he's got planned?" Brian said.

"I don't know, but I'm sure it will be a blast." Nick said. He moved closer to Brian, slipping his arms around the handsome young man. Brian sighed and leaned against Nick. They held each other for several minutes in silence. Both were thinking of how difficult it would be in the coming months on tour. With so many more people around, they would have less and less time to be together privately. The guys understood, and Kevin in particular had gone to some lengths in the past to try and give them as much privacy as possible. Things would be so much worse if the rest of the group had been less supportive. Nick smiled suddenly as something occurred to him. He leaned forward a bit to rest his head against Brian's shoulder.

"You know, maybe we should think of the tour as an early honeymoon." Nick said. They both laughed at that - the tour was going to be an enormous amount of work.

Brian pulled Nick in for a soft, lingering kiss, after which he snuggled close to the handsome blond. "Some honeymoon, you cheapskate. Trying to get work out of me. Well, that's ok I guess - just promise me one thing."

Nick found it difficult to speak. Holding Brian still consumed his thoughts as much as it had when they first discovered each other. After a few seconds, he whispered "Anything."

"No matter how busy we are, I want us to end up together at the end of the day. I want you to be the first and last person I see every day."

Nick just held Brian close for several seconds without saying anything, then pulled back slightly to look deeply into his eyes. "I'm going to do my best to make that happen, for the rest of our lives."

Brian reached up and wiped the single tear from Nick's cheek. The young couple held one another and did not speak further.

Meanwhile, Alex sat down at the large desk inside his bedroom. With a few phone calls, he made some final arrangements for the evening. Returning to the living room, he paused as he saw Nick and Brian cuddling on the couch.

Alex was ashamed at the sudden twinge of envy that he felt. They looked so happy together, so complete. For the first time since it happened, Alex felt some regret that he had not chosen to be with them when they had offered. Perhaps he could have - no, it would have been a mistake, a big one. Even knowing that, some part of him would always wonder. Alex shook his head slightly and walked out into the living room.

"Hey, what is this, a live show?" The two started to laugh. Brian then led the charge, and the two of them tackled Alex and brought him down onto the floor with a surprised 'whoof'. Working together they managed to pin the young man, who was laughing uncontrollably.

"Get off me, you assholes!" Alex continued to laugh and put up a token struggle, to no avail.

"So, Brian, what do we have here? I think it might just be a peeping Tom."

"Yeah, sneaking in here, and checking us out. Looks like a peeper, alright. Tell me, Nick, what should we do to a sicko like that - we can't just let him go."

"Well, I think I have an idea to teach him the error of his ways." Nick said. Nick grinned and began to tickle the pinned young man, with Brian struggling to keep him pinned.

Alex howled with laughter and heaved both guys off him in a matter of seconds. The three of them sat on the floor laughing and trying to catch their breath.

"You guys are eating too much junk food - you're getting soft." Alex said, trying vainly to scramble away before the guys tackled him again.

After several more minutes of wrestling across the floor, they called a truce and stopped to straighten the furniture which they had moved around. At this point, Alex noticed that it was a bit later than he realized.

"Well, why don't we get some dinner and then head on to the club?"

The guys agreed and they headed out the door.

Before leaving the hotel, they detoured so that Alex could meet with his two fans from the gym. The girls were both very excited and pleased to meet him. Nick and Brian were enjoying the change in attention a bit too much for Alex's taste, so he snatched off Nick's cap and introduced them to the young girls. Right on cue, the girls began to get very loud and very friendly with the two young singers. By the time they managed to get on their way, all three guys were thoroughly disheveled and laughing.

They went to the hotel's own restaurant, where they enjoyed a simple but tasty meal. While going through his bag for his wallet, Alex found something surprising.

"What is it?" Nick asked, noticing his expression.

Alex displayed his credit card slip from the Italian restaurant of the previous day.

"Michael, the waiter, he gave me his phone number." Alex found himself blushing and grinning like a kid.

"Well, I guess I was right - he did see you checking him out." Brian said.

Alex tucked the slip away in his bag once again, found his wallet and paid for dinner. They then stretched and left the restaurant.

Out in front of the hotel, Brian was about to hail a cab, but Alex stopped him, indicating a white limo waiting nearby. "Style, guys, it's all about style." The large car pulled up after Alex beckoned the driver, and all three guys got in

Without a word from Alex, the driver pulled out and headed down the street.

"So, where are we going?" Nick said.

"You'll see soon enough."

At this point, the Alex's phone rang. He responded, and nodded to the guys before moving forward in the car to talk quietly into his headset. After a few minutes, he returned to the back of the car.

Right then , the limo pulled up in front of a small building and came to a stop.

"Well, guys, here we are." Alex opened the door and climbed out, Brian and Nick in tow. Alex grinned and slipped on a pair of sunglasses himself.

The three walked toward what appeared to be a nightclub of some kind. A large yellow neon sign on the front of building said "The Pineapple Slice", which a large pineapple just below the title. There were number of people hanging around in front of and going into the club's pair of large front doors. A large man was checking the crowd but let the three guys enter after an exchange of nods with Alex.

Alex herded the guys inside the building quickly, but not before Nick had a chance to read the cardboard sign in the club's large front window:

KARAOKE NIGHT - $100 first prize

"Oh, shit." Nick said.

Once inside, they were quickly shown to a table inside the large club, near the small stage against one wall.

After they were seated, Nick quickly explained to Brian what he had seen. They both turned on the hugely grinning Alex.

"Don't tell me you want us to get up on stage?" Brian asked.

"Yeah, man, we can't do that, what if they made us?" Nick said.

"Don't worry about it guys, we've got a car waiting to get us out and the door is close. Besides, I'm going up with you."

Brian and Nick just stared at him.

"Hey, I've just finished getting up to speed on your music remember?" Alex leaned closer to them. "C'mon guys, it will be fun, I promise. Let's get up there and show them what we've got. When are you going to get a chance to do this kind of spontaneous gig again?"

Brian looked over and Nick and noticed that the blond was starting to grin at the idea.

"Nick, Kevin would kill us if he knew."

"Hey, Kevin isn't here right now, is he? I say we go for it."

"That's the spirit, Nick! Brian, c'mon, you won't regret it."

Brian stood firm for a second or two, but just couldn't say no to one puppydog face, let alone two.

"Ok, ok, I'll do it. When do we go on? What number?"

"The guy on stage will call us. I don't know what the number is, but I've got it set up so that it will be a BSB song. Don't worry, the lines will be on the prompter."

Alex ducked as both boys reached for him.

"Like we don't know our own lyrics!" Nick said. Brian was finally smiling, as well.

They ordered some drinks and were sipping them somewhat anxiously while the contestants before them got on stage. There was some genuine talent, and several serious hams, but everyone had a good time. The audience was generous both with clapping and good-natured boos. By the time they were called, Nick and Brian were both feeling better about the whole thing.

The three of them got up on the stage and waited for the music to begin. When "Quit Playing Games" started to play, Brian started laughing. He caught himself quickly though, and they began the song. Alex let the two of them take the lead, but was very quickly there with them in solid harmony. As the song picked up, he even started doing some flips during their lead.

The audience began with mixture of laughter and catcalls, but was soon cheering along enthusiastically. Brian and Nick both found themselves taking a special joy in the performance, and sang with an intensity they hadn't felt often since the early days of the group. In a fit of excitement, Nick yanked off his hat and tossed it into the crowd.

Once the song finished, the crowd was deafening. As they were heading back to their table, a young waitress passing by took a second look at them and started screaming as she recognized Brian and Nick. Alex quickly guided them towards the door. Once outside, they piled into the waiting limo and pulled out.

On the way back to the hotel, they were all laughing like crazy.

"That was so much fun." Brian said.

"Yes, thank you so much, Alex, that was just great." Nick said.

They sat down and talked for a while, wondering how quickly the appearance would be snapped up by the press, and what they would make of it. It had been a full day, and not long after they said goodnight and headed for their respective rooms.

After showering, Nick and Brian got into bed and held one another quietly for a while before falling asleep.

Alex spent the rest of his evening confirming their travel plans and catching up on work and email.

Early the next morning, all three guys were up and promptly out to the airport. A small but elegant private jet with the TIC lettering on the side awaited them. Taking advantage of the typical delays at Atlanta's busy airport, they had a light breakfast on the plane and where shortly on their way. Nick was as always uneasy in the air, but Brian and Alex managed to distract him for most of trip. A few hours later, they landed in the Tampa area and were met at the airport by Kevin and the rest of the guys.

Alex was introduced to them and then they all headed back to Nick's house. Alex got along very well with the rest of the guys, particularly with Kevin. The two of them discussed business in general and the music business in particular at some length while the rest of the guys came and went on various errands. Alex decided to take a step on faith and came out to the guys. He was relieved to find that they did indeed appear to be as supportive as his friends had said, particularly when he made it clear that he respected their mutual decision to not come out for the good of the group. After speaking with Kevin at some length, Alex was somewhat disappointed at what he had been told already, namely that the rest of BSB were all straight.

Alex's phone rang fairly regularly during the afternoon. As it got to be near dinner time, he received a particularly important call. After talking for several minutes, he hung up with a sigh.

"Is something wrong, Alex?" Kevin asked.

"Yeah, I have to go to Los Angeles, tonight."

There was a stir among the guys at this.

"Already? You just got here." Howie said. He looked slightly annoyed.

"Yeah, I know. I don't want to go, but I need to - there's a meeting of some potential corporate contacts which I have to attend. Normally, I would just set up a conference call or something, but some of my advisors think that might be viewed badly, like I wasn't taking these people seriously."

"Will you have trouble setting up a flight?" A.J. asked.

"No, I had the plane that we took here stand by for a bit. I thought that this might happen, though I'd hoped to avoid it."

Alex called for a cab, and they all sat on the porch waiting for it to arrive. After giving a brief and rather limited description of the last few days events, Alex was surprised to find that they guys were all fairly interested in his trip and the meeting which he was going to have. With the exception of Howie, who drifted in and out of the house. Alex explained that the meeting was connected with his future plans to improve the image of his company and to build better relations with the media. Kevin in particular had some experiences and ideas to share on the subject, but the other guys also spoke up at times to give their own account of the various events and promotions that the group had gone through over the years for the press and/or fans. They were all laughing about the various tales of being sore from smiling all day and so on when Alex's cab arrived. Alex stood and shook hands with everyone as he made his farewells. Even Howie poked his head out the door to say good-bye.

"Well, why don't you come back after its over?" Nick said.

"Yeah, Alex, we'll be here for a while, getting things sorting out for the tour and stuff." Brian said.

"That sounds great, thanks. I'll give you a call when I get things sorted out."

The guys stood in front of the door waving as Alex's cab took him back toward the airport.

"Pretty cool guy." A.J said.

"Yeah, too bad we weren't cool enough for him to hang with." Howie said, with a frown.

"Hey, D, it's not like that - the guy has got work to do, that's all. We all know what that is like." Kevin said. "A.J. is right, he's cool. I hope we see more of him."

"Speaking of which, Kevin, there's something you have just got to check out." Brian said.

Kevin turned and looked at the CD Brian pressed into his hand. "What's this?"

Nick smiled. "You're going to like it, believe me."

They all went inside, Howie pausing to look off in the direction of the airport for a second. He sighed, and then closed the door behind him.