The Model

"Put the umbrella light over there." AJ pointed to a place to the right of the rolled out set, midway between where the model would be standing and the white background. "I want it to hit the background, and only the background. Then put the box light over there," pointing immediately to the left of where the camera was placed. "Also, I’ve got an idea I want to try. Get the boom stand, attach a box light to it, and hang it directly over the center there."

AJ looked at his watch again. If Justin Fucking Timberlake didn’t get his high priced model ass out of the changing room in the next 5 minutes, AJ was going to go in and bodily drag the prima donna out by his short curlies. Ever since the super model had been hired by Ralph Lauren to be the spokesmodel for their cologne line, the kid’s ego had grown almost out of control. The photographer knew that Justin was still a decent kid, but good god, he’d been waiting for the punk for over an hour, and changed his setup twice because of it.

Hopefully the changes were for the better.

Studying the various cameras that his assistant had arranged on the table, AJ grabbed his favorite and made sure there were enough rolls of film to get through the shoot. As usual, Nick had everything prepared just the way he liked.

"What’s the holdup?" Kevin Richardson was the representative that Ralph Lauren had sent to the photo shoot to ensure that the company’s interests were being taken care of.

AJ rubbed his eyes, and sighed. "It’s Justin. You’ll have to ask him what’s taking him so long to change."

The older man’s face became more pinched than usual. He nodded then walked off. AJ could hear the banging on the door, and had to smile. This was why he liked working with Kevin, the guy took no shit from anyone, especially his boyfriend. "Get your ass out of there. Now!"

A moment later, the door opened to show Justin wearing black jeans and a ribbed white muscle t-shirt. For fuck’s sake, it took him forever to dress like that? AJ secretly believed that the model was testing the water to see how long it would take for them to finally come and get him. Narrowing his eyes, AJ took in what the kid was wearing, and it wasn’t the slacks and royal blue button down they showed AJ when they arrived. The photographer looked to Kevin to see what he had to say about the outfit. Kevin studied the model with an appraising eye for a moment, then gave a decisive nod.

Justin smiled cockily. "Chris and I thought that you were targeting the younger crowd with this campaign, and they would relate more with this look." Chris was Justin’s friend who attended all his shoots, helping with makeup and wardrobe.

AJ shook his head and walked back to the setup. "Nick, I need you to replace the white reflectors with the gold ones."

Justin confidently walked over and stood next to him. "Where do you want me?" AJ was on the verge of asking his royal highness where he thought he should be, but simply pointed to the center of the floor. When the model was in place, the photographer took several light readings of Justin’s face, hair and clothing. Fortunately, whatever they put in his hair changed it enough so that it gave the same reading as his face, which was close enough to the shirt, once the gold reflectors were in place. Making the appropriate adjustments to the lights, he took a couple of sample pics with his digital camera.

Satisfied with the results, he signaled to Nick to start the dance music on the stereo. AJ had discovered on previous shoots that Justin loved to dance, and his whole body came alive when it was playing. Everything seemed to be set, so he gave Justin a nod. Justin dropped right into his model mode and began posing and showing his pearly whites.

AJ had to give him credit. Justin deserved every penny he got because the kid knew how to sell his body -- and whatever product his body was representing.

Once the actual shooting began, it took no time at all to get all the pictures AJ wanted. The final roll he approached differently because the pictures on it were for himself, and he used only the light that was hanging from the boom stand. With the last picture taken, he gave Nick the signal that he could begin taking down the set. "Thanks Justin. That’ll be it."

Justin gave him a cheeky grin and left to change into his street clothes, which looked remarkably like his modeling clothes.

"Thanks AJ." The photographer looked at Kevin, pleased to see the smile on the other’s face. He at times worried that his vision would be different than the client’s, and Kevin could be a real stickler for details. If the older man was smiling now, all AJ had to worry about was not to muck up the pictures during developing.

"Not a problem, Kev. I’ll have the pictures sent to you first thing in the morning."

Kevin nodded and left the studio, Justin and Chris at his side, Chris telling an absurd joke.

"Thought I’d run next door and grab a couple of sandwiches. Want anything?"

AJ looked down at the table where all the film sat. He had taken 20 rolls, and it would take several hours to get them developed and the contact sheets printed. His stomach chose that moment to rumble and show its displeasure in the fact he had skipped lunch. "Yeah, grab me a couple of clubs. I’m gonna go put these into their canisters."

Nick simply nodded, then jogged out of the building.

As tiring as days like this were, they paid the bills and then some, allowing him to spend more time doing the type of photography he truly loved -- the type that didn’t pay for anything.

*~*~*

AJ stood and rubbed his neck, rotating it a little getting it to crack. A quick look at the clock told him that he’d spent the entire night working on the photos. After getting the film developed, he made a contact sheet for each roll, circling the pictures he thought had real possibilities. He studied the negatives for these, looking for any flaws in the film itself before he making prints. After he had prints for all the good shots, he gathered them together, putting them into a folder for Nick to deliver when he got into work in a couple of hours.

For himself, he was heading to bed, where he would sleep for as long as he wished. Then he'd spend the afternoon wandering the streets, taking the pictures *he* wanted to take. The mere idea of it lightened his steps as he climbed the stairs that led to the loft above the studio.

*~*~*

The day was slightly overcast allowing AJ to head out earlier than he expected. He loved living in big cities because they provided such a wide variety of subjects: people playing and relaxing in parks; homeless people; people walking to and from work; graffiti; buildings in various states of pristiness or dilapidation; even traffic. He chose to walk the streets towards downtown -- it was a nicer area of the city, yet there were vendors on the street selling just about anything a person could dream.

A hot dog seller provided AJ with an immense amount of amusement. The guy yelled out to the people walking by, commenting on their clothing, the way they walked, and if someone stopped to buy a dog, he would start a running commentary on anything that caught his attention. AJ figured he spent an entire roll on this guy alone, secretly laughing at almost everything the other man said. As he was changing the roll in his camera, the vendor began talking to him. "So, hot shot. What are you, a photographer or something?"

AJ winked at the guy and said, "Or something."

"Damn. I thought you were gonna make me famous or something."

Laughing, AJ shook his head, then started walking away, hearing the vendor yelling after him, "Men, they’re all the same, they use you then leave you."

Turning the corner, AJ saw a grocer who was out arranging his fruit, slapping at the hands of a small child who was trying to steal a couple of cherries. The child laughed in glee when he managed to actually get away with a couple, plopping them directly into his mouth. AJ immediately starting clicking away, hoping that he managed to catch the grocer’s face when he smiled down upon the child, and the child’s angelic face as he looked up.

Further down the street, the photographer came upon a young man sitting at a corner playing a guitar, lost in his music and oblivious to everything around him. AJ finished off the roll he used on the grocer on the young man. When the song ended, the bluest eyes opened, smiling at the few people who placed money into the open guitar case. Stepping aside, AJ changed rolls, then began taking pictures once again as the young man delayed starting a new song while a business man talked to him, handing him a business card. The photographer managed to actually catch the musician’s brilliant smile in response.

Satisfied with the images he'd found, AJ headed back to his studio to develop his day's work.

*~*~*

Sounds pulled AJ from his dreams, his head still heavy from lack of sleep. As his brain slowly swam into consciousness, he recognized two voices: Nick, his assistant, and Lance, his best friend.

"Any idea when he’ll be up? I really want to talk to him."

"Haven’t a clue. When I got in this morning, I could tell he had another long night By the pause in Nick’s speech, he knew Lance was giving him his patented eyebrow raise, expecting him to elaborate. Lance was the master of making people talk. He could hear movement and knew that Nick was showing Lance the pictures AJ had spent the night working on.

To his delight, he had managed to catch the dog vendor with the most amusing facial expression, the grocer and child looking at each other, a woman whose dog was jumping up on her leg excited by something she had in her bag, a girl on skates rolling around her boyfriend, and the brilliant smile of the street musician.

It was the last that had consumed AJ the most. He had printed every picture he had taken of the young man, delighted with the way light reflected off the closed eyes, the shadows his hair created over various parts of his face, the look of bliss that playing an instrument created. Before AJ realized what he was doing, he was enlarging various photos, lovingly laying them out on his work station.

"Whoa. When did he take these?"

"Yesterday. Aren’t they great?"

"Oh man. I *really* need to talk to him now. I’ll just wait until he gets up."

This was AJ's cue to get out of bed. If he knew Lance, he’d stay -- and talk. He loved Lance dearly, but there were times he wished he could tape his mouth shut. Usually when AJ was trying to sleep. "If you shut the fuck up, maybe I’ll be more cheerful by the time I get down there."

Lance laughed at the threat. "Just get your ass down here, I’ve got big news for you."

AJ grabbed a pair of jeans, sliding them on without bothering to button them, then headed for the stairs, scratching his underarm as he went down.

"Glad you bothered to dress up for me." AJ flipped Lance the bird, otherwise ignoring him as he went to the kitchen behind the studio area.

"You eaten yet?"

Lance looked at his watch. "If you’re asking if I’ve had breakfast yet, the answer would be yes, about 6 hours ago. If you’re asking if I’ve had lunch, no."

AJ gestured to the island in the middle of the cooking area. "So, tell me, what’s got your undies all bundled up."

Lance settled down onto one of the stools and smiled slyly at AJ. "You know those pictures you gave me?"

"The ones you got hanging in your apartment?"

"Yup."

"Yeah, I know them."

"Well, remember that party I threw last week that you didn’t bother attending?" AJ rolled his eyes as he searched his fridge for anything that looked like food. "Well, I didn’t tell you, Johnny Wright was at the party." Now Lance had his full attention. Johnny Wright owned an upscale gallery in the uptown area. "He saw your photos and asked me about them. He called me this morning. He wants to do a show."

"Shit." He turned and stared at Lance, the overwhelming excitement and terror that he felt at the idea showing on his face.

Lance beamed at him. "Exactly. And with the photos you got in there, it’ll be a hit."

*~*~*

AJ spent the next week digging through his archives for photos to show Johnny Wright. Even though he was internationally known for his photography in the fashion world, that was not AJ’s passion. To be recognized as an artist meant the world to him, and he wanted to make a real impression with his work.

Nick stayed late each night, helping him find just the right pictures. In the end, AJ decided that he wanted to center on the theme of people working -- of street vendors; people sitting on the grass in the park with their suits, laptops and cell phones; window cleaners; and the street musicians.

Then there was the process of creating new prints, re-sizing photos, and blowing a few up.

Satisfied with his final choice of portfolio, he set off for the meeting that Lance had arranged.

Sitting across from the museum owner, AJ tried to control the nervous bouncing of his leg. Wright slowly flipped his way through the matted photos, studying each one carefully. "You do excellent work." He held AJ still with his look. "I’ve heard your name before in connection with fashion. I was surprised when Lance informed me that the photos in his apartment were done by you. After looking at these as well, I’ve decided I was right. Your pictures deserve a showing."

AJ’s leg stopped bouncing, his heart nearly halting at the other man’s words. He was going to get his own showing. As an artist, this very well could make him.

*~*~*

The next several weeks were a whirlwind of activity. The mornings were spent perfecting the pictures, working with the gallery manager figuring how to arrange the gallery and placing the photos. The afternoons were periodically filled with shoots he was obligated to by contract -- otherwise he tried to keep his schedule free. He’d spend those days wandering the streets, taking pictures and clearing his mind. Half the time he would find himself back at the corner where the young man had been playing his guitar. The first time he reached there, he discovered that he was incredibly disappointed to learn that the young man hadn’t been there for a couple of weeks, but he kept returning there in the off chance the musician would return.

The week before the show, AJ once again found himself standing on the corner taking the musician’s picture. The young man looked more gaunt than before, occasionally coughing, but when he played, the look of bliss would return to his face. The photographer was completely enraptured by him, and could not get enough pics.

AJ was so consumed with his photography that he was startled when the musician spoke to him. "Are you just gonna take pictures, or are you going to pay me? Because honestly, since you’ve shown up, people have stopped giving me tips, and I really need the money."

It hadn’t occurred to him that he would interfere with the musician’s livelihood, but when he looked down into the guitar case, he could see that the kid was right -- there was only a thin scattering of change across the bottom. He glanced at his wrist and realized he’d been there for hours. The musician had stopped playing and was watching him closely.

"Uh, yeah. Sure. I can pay you." AJ began digging around his pockets, and then his camera case, looking for money of any sort, but all he seemed to have was a five. He placed it into the case, not missing the disappointed look on the musician’s face. "Look, I’m sorry. I just don’t have much money with me, but I’ve got an idea." He rubbed the back of his neck, trying to relieve the tension that suddenly appeared. "I’m a photographer -- a professional one, that is -- and I’d love to spend a couple of days taking pictures of you."

The musician looked at him suspiciously. "Here?"

"No, in my studio." Before he even finished the statement, the kid was already shaking his head no. "I’m legit. My pictures are even going to be shown next week at the Wright Gallery."

"Uh-huh. I know what happens to people who follow strangers. The photographer line is old news. Thanks, but no thanks. Just leave, okay? I need to start making money again."

*~*~*

On the big night AJ stood to the side, dressed in his suit, champagne in hand, and watched people with money to burn walk through the gallery, studying *his* photos. He was pleased to see that the showing was going well.

Occasionally, he would walk amongst the crowd. Johnny would take these opportunities to introduce AJ to various guests who showed interest in buying original prints of his work, or who had questions on his technique and subject matter. It was on one of these forays that he walked around a barrier to see the street musician standing in middle of the crowd, staring at various portraits of himself. The young man looked out of place wearing jeans and a sweater, but people accepted him, believing he was a model, and a guest of the photographer himself.

AJ walked up beside him and handed the young man a glass of champagne. "Like I said. I’m legit." A shaky hand reached out, taking hold of the glass. "There’s also some food against the back wall. Take as much as you like." With that, AJ walked off to mingle with the crowd again.

The rest of the evening, AJ kept track of the musician as he surreptitiously would approach the food table, fill his plate, then hide in a corner. Johnny approached AJ at one point. "A friend of yours?"

"Yeah. I’m trying to convince him to sit for me. He’s not real trusting at the moment."

"Looks like he’s had a hard time of it recently."

"I think he has."

"Beautiful, though."

AJ smiled at the older man. "Why do you think I want him to sit for me."

*~*~*

The night was coming to an end and Johnny showed AJ the numbers. It was a huge success. They were busy discussing some final details when Johnny stopped talking suddenly.

"Um, could I speak with you for a moment?"

AJ turned to find the musician nervously standing behind him. "Sure." He nodded to Johnny, who smiled and walked off.

"That offer -- the one where I go to your studio -- where you pay me to let you take pictures, um, is it still out there?"

AJ smiled. "Yeah. It’s still out there. Come to the studio, I’ll pay to take your pictures. Nothing tawdry, or anything. Just pictures. You can even bring someone with you, if you’re still nervous."

The other man smiled weakly. "Thanks. My name is JC, by the way."

AJ held out his hand, "Mine is AJ. I guess we’re just a couple of letterboys, eh."

JC laughed and shook AJ’s hand. "When do you want me to show up? What do you want me to wear? Do I need to bring anything?"

"How about Monday? I have a shoot in the morning, so why don’t you show up around noon." AJ grabbed a program for the show and scribbled his address onto it. "I’ll have my assistant have lunch ready for you, and then we can work in the afternoon. Just come as however you would be, and bring the guitar."

"That’s all?" JC looked down at the address, nodding his head in understanding of the location.

"That’s all."

JC smiled at the photographer. "Thanks for the job." Then he turned and left the gallery.

AJ watched him go. "No, thank you."

*~*~*

AJ looked at his watch, then glared briefly at the dressing room door. Shaking his head in disgust, he walked over to the camera table and checked Nick’s work for the fifth time.

"What’s the hang up?"

AJ grunted at Kevin’s question before looking up at the older man. "Two guesses."

Kevin’s face scrunched a little while he rubbed his forehead. "Okay, I’ll take care of it." Walking to the dressing room door, he banged on it twice, then demanded, "Get your scrawny ass out of that room right now, or I’m cutting you off for a week."

The sound of furniture being knocked around could be heard clearly by all who waited. Two seconds later, the door jerked open and Justin looked worriedly at Kevin. "Uh, you wouldn’t really do that to me, would you?"

"Justin, you need to stop this prima donna bit. It didn’t work for me when I was a model, it’s not going to work for you."

"Yeah, but you were just a model. I’m Justi…"

"If you finish that statement, it’s a month." With that, Kevin turned and walked back to AJ. "Fucking super models." Then he went to join Nick, who was setting the kitchen for lunch in preparation of JC showing up soon.

AJ knew the two men had been involved in a relationship for a while, but this was the first time he’d seen an actual sign of it. He smirked at the shocked look on Justin’s face, then laughed when Chris hooted. "Jup, you have been put in your place, buddy."

Justin flipped Chris off before taking his mark in front of the camera. "Can we get this going already?"

AJ rolled his eyes. "Gladly."

*~*~*

AJ took the pictures of Justin that Kevin wanted. If the photographer hadn’t liked the other man so much, he would have totally blown off the request, but since Kevin was cool, he worked his way through several rolls of film of a model who became too famous too young.

He remembered when Justin was just coming into modeling and Kevin was considered the top male model in the country, if not the world. Then Kevin had been the passenger of a car that crashed into a tree, doing major damage to one of his knees. After that, he had been hired by Ralph Lauren to oversee photo shoots for their products. The relationship between the two had started soon after Justin had become the spokesmodel for the company.

Personally, AJ didn’t see what Kevin saw in Justin. Giving himself a mental shrug, he simply thought, "To each his own."

*~*~*

The shoot was close to the end when he heard a timid knock at the door. "Nick. Door." Nick jogged to the side of the studio, and AJ stopped shooting until the door closed on the outside light.

"Uh, I was told to come here about now…"

Nick smiled at JC, waving him in. "I’m assuming you’re JC. We’ve been expecting you. Have you eaten lunch yet? Because we have the makings for any type of sandwich you could dream of. Come on." Nick latched onto JC’s arm and started dragging him off to the kitchen. AJ chuckled at his assistant’s exuberance.

"Who’s that?"

AJ hadn’t realized that he was just standing there watching the two at the doorway. "Just someone I asked to come by so I could take pictures of him."

"He a model?"

"Nope, a musician."

Justin looked slightly relieved. "Good."

*~*~*

JC sat nervously in the middle of the set, fidgeting with his guitar. "Uh, that guy, the one you were taking pictures of, he looks familiar."

AJ nodded as he walked around the studio, moving light barriers, and raising the screens from various windows to allow in the afternoon light. He looked over at JC and did some mental calculations. "Nick? Uncover the sun roof." Nick jogged for the stairway. Looking back again at JC, AJ was happy with the result. "Yeah. You probably have seen him quite a bit. Justin’s one of the most demanded male models around at the moment."

"The guy in the kitchen also looked familiar."

"Kevin? Yeah, he was the *in* model about 3 years ago."

"He was nice."

"Yeah, I like Kevin. He’s cool."

Laughing a little nervously, JC stopped fiddling with his guitar and looked up at AJ. "Nick’s nice too. He told me I could load up on food before leaving. Is this how you’re planning on paying me?"

AJ let out a slightly choked laugh. "Uh, no. I planned on paying you $200 for each day of shooting."

The look on JC’s face was precious -- but for only a moment, then the guarded expression returned. "Just what exactly do you plan on me doing for $200? Surely not just sit here."

AJ could feel the blush creeping up his cheeks, for the first time since he was -- actually, he couldn’t remember ever blushing. "Actually, yeah. Just for sitting there, and uh, playing your guitar while I take pictures. Well, I might have you move a little, pose if it’s comfortable for you, but that’s it. Believe me," AJ looked at the musician earnestly, "I don’t want you to do anything that you aren’t comfortable with."

"I just don’t understand. You have famous models here. Why do you want me?"

AJ smiled at the confused man. "I know, it’s weird. I think you’re the first person I’ve paid to sit for me in years. Usually people pay me to take their pictures."

"Again, why?"

Shrugging, AJ began walking around the set, adjusting reflectors to get the most out of the natural light and removing the lights that had been arranged for Justin’s shoot. "I found you interesting, and I haven’t been that intrigued by someone in a long time."

"Oh. Okay. How long do you think you’ll want me for? I mean," JC started to unconsciously tune his guitar, "Will you want me for more than one day?"

"If you don’t mind, I’d really like to have you come by for the rest of the week. I have ideas that I want to try," waving his hand around, signifying the studio, and all that it incorporated. "Different lightings, settings, whatnot." The young man was sitting there, his mouth wide open. "If that’s okay with you?"

"Uh, yeah. That’s just fine." For the first time, AJ saw an honest smile from the other man directed at himself.

*~*~*

JC played away on his guitar, lost in his own world. Occasionally he would sing along, but mostly he just played. AJ crouched in front, snapping away. The musician’s head was tilted down, a look of utter bliss gracing his face. Not satisfied that the lighting fully captured JC’s face, AJ grabbed a couple of the gold reflectors and carefully placed them so that the sun would shine up on the downturned face. Smiling at the results, he continued.

"Just how many tattoos do you have?"

"Huh?" There had been so little talking since they started, AJ wasn’t ready for the question.

"Tattoos." JC smiled as he looked slyly up through his lashes and the fringe of hair that hung recklessly over his forehead. His amusement was clear.

AJ almost giggled in glee to be able to actually catch the look. "Huh. Well…" He reached with his free hand and started scratching one of the tattoos on the other arm. "It all depends upon how you look at it. I thought I had 23 tattoos, but when I was talking with the artist last time, he told me that each separate symbol is considered an individual tattoo." He shrugged one shoulder, and smiled. "To be honest, in that manner, I haven’t a clue."

JC laughed, and returned to his music.

*~*~*

The lighting for the shoot just wasn’t working. AJ had 3 females dressed in various types of white outfits, and Chanel was very clear about what they wanted: Classy, sporty and sophisticated. What he had was trashy, trampy, and tasteless.

"Okay girls. I’m sorry about this, but it’s just not working. I’m going to change the background, and Christina, your lips are a little too glossy, and the lighting is picking up way too much makeup. Could you tone it down just a little? Britney, ask wardrobe to change your outfit. The world knows you have a perfect body, you don’t need to keep showing it. Jessica, go back to makeup and have them do something with the hair. See if they can tame it." Once the women were gone, he motioned Nick over. "I want to try the sky background. Do we have it hanging up?"

"Yeah, we have sky, white, sky blue, black and um…" He went to the side, looking up to see what rolls were in place. "And it looks like the tie dyed background. You want the sky?"

AJ rubbed at his forehead, thinking. "Yeah. But have the black ready too. I’m thinking if the sky doesn’t work, maybe the white outfits and all that blonde hair will contrast nicely with it."

Nick nodded and started ripping the white off before pulling down the next background. AJ put the used canisters of film onto a tray, labeling them as ‘white background’. Looking around on the table, he saw that Nick had set out several rolls of black and white film along with the many rolls of color. AJ chuckled at just how thorough his assistant was.

Seeing that Christina and Britney were walking out of the dressing room, he grabbed his camera and headed back over to the new background that Nick now had ready. Looking the two models over, he was pleased to see that they both looked acceptable. "Where’s Jessica?"

"She’ll be out in a moment. She got hair spray in her eye, and they are redoing the mess the tears created."

Nodding, AJ looked back over to his assistant. "How about putting on some music. And girls," he looked back at his models. "Sorry about earlier. Let’s try to have some fun now."

Britney beamed at him. Chrissy simply smiled and said, "No problem AJ. Although I think Jessica will be a little harder to convince."

Right then Jessica walked out of dressing room, fussing with her mini skirt. "Convince me of what?" She looked up, a distinctively disgusted look on her face.

"AJ wants us to have fun."

"Yeah, only after he goes back to have something done with his hair, and then gets hair spray into *his* eyes." She gave him a quick glare before she joined the other two.

"You okay now, Jessica?" AJ tried to put as much sincerity into his tone as he could -- which seemed to be enough because she turned to him smiling.

"Thank you for asking. Yes. I’m good."

AJ could see Nick laughing at the side of the set, covering his mouth with his hand.

"Okay girls. What Chanel wants is fun, while maintaining dignity. Think you can give me that?"

"Oh sure. No problem."

He almost enjoyed working with Britney as much as working with Justin. She knew her body, and she knew how to use it to sell a product. All you had to do was tell her what the money wanted, and she provided. Jessica wasn’t quite as good, but was certainly adequate, and gave it her all trying to keep up with her friend. Christina was the wild card. She had the ability to do what was wanted, but she tended to have her own view on what should be done and didn’t always work with the photographer.

Today appeared to be a lucky day. All three women were on and were working together. Even though the background didn’t really make much of a difference in the whole scheme of things, it was like ripping off a bad shoot, and presenting a whole new one.

"Look over your shoulder, Britney. Tease me, hon. Yeah, just like that. Jessica, flip your hair. Good, good. Christina, talk to the lens, babe. Give me refined sex. Oh yeah. Work it babe. Okay girls, move in together. I want to see you working it together. That’s it. Just like that. Show me how you’re wanted by every warm-blooded guy out there."

The whole time he was talking to the women, he was clicking away with his camera. Each time he reached the end of a roll, he’d simply hold the camera out -- Nick would take it and hand him a freshly loaded one in return. After an hour, he had what he thought might be the right pictures for the ad campaign. But to be sure, he sent the models off to change into different outfits, and had Nick change the backdrop from sky to black.

He went to put the film from this part of the shoot into a tray, only to find that Nick had beaten him to it. It was at that point that he saw JC sitting off to the side watching the proceedings.

"How long you been here?"

"I arrived during the last break. But I was in the kitchen. Nick told me to grab something to eat." The musician shrugged, looking almost embarrassed by even being there.

"We shouldn’t be too long. I think I have what’s needed, but it’s always good to have some backup."

JC nodded, and tried to disappear even more into the shadows when the models walked out of the dressing room.

*~*~*

AJ was in his dark room getting all the film from the Chanel shoot organized for developing later. When he emerged, he found JC sitting in the middle of the black backdrop that was rolled across the floor, strumming away on his guitar.

"Do you write your own music?"

"Some of it. I also do popular songs, and songs friends have written." JC stopped playing and looked up at AJ. "Speaking of which, um, I kinda can’t sit for you, uh, on Thursday." AJ just looked at him, waiting for the musician to continue. "Well, you see…" he started to unconsciously tune his guitar, "I’m part of this group. Well, not a real group, just a bunch of guys who’ve known each other a long time. Anyway, there’s four of us, and Howie got us a gig for Thursday night." AJ raised a brow. "Um, the group, well, like I said, we aren’t really a group, but Joey said that if we ever decided to be serious about being one, he’d be all for it, but he’s got a family to take care of, so he spends most of his time at his family’s Italian restaurant. Then there’s Brian. But he can’t make it all the time cause he just started his residency at one of the local hospitals, and he can’t exactly get out of all his shifts and … yeah. Then there’s Howie, who’s like the leader of our little, uh, not-group. He’s a music major at NYU, and um, then there’s me." Taking a deep breath, he looked timidly up at AJ, who was on the verge of laughing.

"Hey, no problem." He raised his hands in a surrendering motion. "We’ll get it done some other day."

"Where are you playing?" AJ hadn’t noticed that Nick was standing right beside him.

"Oh." JC’s face lit up, obviously pleased that Nick was showing interest in the group. AJ found himself inwardly cursing his inability to ask the simple question that made JC so happy. "There’s this little club, it’s actually not too far from here, called The Riot."

"Oh yeah. I’ve seen it before. That’s really cool. Do you play many gigs?"

"Uh, not really, because of Brian’s shifts and all. Joey isn’t really a problem, he just tells his dad which nights he wants off and brings his wife and kid with him. So… yes, not often."

AJ nodded, intrigued by what JC was saying. "Are you guys any good? I mean, you seem quite good to me, but I’m just a photographer, but I know what I like, and I like what you play."

JC blushed at the compliment, and ducked his head. "Yeah. I think we’re good. But we could be a lot better if we could do it seriously. Which is out of the question, because of, um…"

"Brian," AJ and Nick said together.

"Yeah. So, um, how do you want me?"

AJ looked at JC, studying him appraisingly. "You’re good. I like you the way you are." He started clicking.

*~*~*

The thrumming in his head seemed to be growing as he tried to pull the pillow tighter around his ears. "Damnit Bass. Shut the fuck up. Some people are trying to sleep." The resounding laugh did nothing for his mood. Slowly he dragged himself out of bed, rubbing at his eyes. "Tell me again why you’re my best friend?"

"Because I’m the only one who’d have you, you moron."

AJ scowled at the answer, but honestly couldn’t think of a good comeback. It was just way too damn early in the morning to be dealing with his smart ass friend. Pulling on a pair of jeans, he padded down the stairs and found Nick and Lance sitting in the kitchen area. "What exactly are you doing here anyway? Aren’t you supposed to be at work?"

"I own the company. I can take whatever day off I want to." Lance smirked at him. "And I decided to take today. Besides, I’m only taking half of the day." He looked pointedly at the clock on the microwave. AJ grimaced when he saw the time.

"So, you going to the show tonight?"

AJ stared at his assistant, confused. "What show?"

"Tell me, why are you my best friend? Because it sure can’t be for your intelligence."

AJ flipped Lance off, continuing to look at Nick.

Nick sighed dramatically, and returned AJ’s steady glare. "Let me put it this way. Lance and I are going to go to The Riot tonight to listen to JC and his friends play. Would you like to come with us?"

"Today’s Thursday?"

"AJ, buddy. Join the program. Yes, today is Thursday."

"Oh shit. Yeah. I’m going." He dragged a hand over his closely cropped hair, looking at the clock again. "Uh, give me half an hour, okay?" Without waiting for an answer, he headed back up the stairs to change.

*~*~*

The Riot was full of energy by the time the three men arrived. Nick -- thank god for his height -- spotted a table to the side of the stage and pushed his way through the crowd to claim it. AJ turned his head to say something to Lance about the hardships of being short and noticed his friend’s eyes following his assistant with a look of adoration. Lance caught him watching and immediately smoothed his expression into one of indifference.

"Uh, why don’t you go join Nick, and I’ll get us some drinks." AJ flicked his thumb back towards the bar and Lance nodded. Reaching the table a few minutes later, AJ observed how close his two friends were sitting to each other before putting down their drinks. "Okay. How new is this?"

Nick blushed. "New." Waving a hand around nervously, he added. "Relatively, that is." AJ pushed his glasses down his nose so that he could study Nick over them. "Um, a couple of months."

"Shit. I’m a photographer. I’m supposed to be a keen observer. How did I miss this?"

"Well, you dumb shit, you haven’t been looking for it." Lance hesitated, laughing a little. "And we haven’t exactly acted any differently in front of you."

"When exactly were you guys gonna tell me about this?"

Lanced laughed again. "You’re a photographer. We figured you’d catch on eventually. And look, you did."

AJ rolled his eyes, and settled into his seat waiting for JC’s band to begin their set.

*~*~*

The band was good. No doubt about that.

One of JC’s friends did most of the singing. AJ liked the guy’s voice, but when JC had the leads, AJ found he liked his voice better. But it was obvious, JC’s thing was his guitar.

The band was into their third song when the guitarist looked out into the audience. When his eyes landed on their table he looked startled to see them, but then smoothly moved on.

"I don’t think he expected us to show."

"Huh. Imagine that. I figured it would be obvious that at least *one* of us would be here."

"No kidding. I mean, with the way they’ve been eyeing each other."

"And the picture taking."

"And the flirting."

AJ glared at his two companions while they babbled away. They really were made for each other. "I’m right here, you know."

Lance’s eyes were actually sparkling with amusement. "Why yes you are. I never dreamt you wouldn’t be. What I want to know is why he," tilting his head towards the stage, "didn’t expect you here."

"Why should I know?"

Lance just smiled at him knowingly.

*~*~*

During intermission, AJ was fascinated watching the interaction of his assistant and his best friend. Apparently now that he knew about them, they were going to do the whole "couple" thing. They sat holding hands, their heads together, sharing breath during the show. Now that they were in intermission, Lance sat back with an ankle crossed over his other knee and his arm draped possessively around Nick’s shoulder.

They were cute.

AJ growled, then shook his head.

"So. You’re *the* AJ I’ve been hearing all about. Right?"

AJ turned his head to see the drummer, holding a small child, settling into one of the remaining chairs at their table.

"You must be Joey."

The newcomer laughed and held out the hand that wasn’t holding the little girl. "Yup. Joey Fatone, and this is my daughter, Brianna." He smiled at Lance and Nick. "JC told us that AJ’s assistant was tall, blond, and quite nice looking. Since you two aren’t standing, I’m not sure which of you that description fits."

Nick started to blush, whereas Lance laughed.

"There we go. The blush never lies." He took the young man’s hand. "Nice to meet you Nick. JC says you’re a sweet kid." Nick’s blush intensified. Joey then looked to Lance. "And you are?"

Lance shook his hand, still chuckling. "I’m Lance Bass. I’m a friend of these two."

Joey’s eyes moved between him and Nick, a smile spreading over his face, but he didn’t comment. Returning his attention to AJ, he continued, "Jayce says you’re good. Would I have seen any of your stuff?"

"Possibly. The type of photos I’m taking of JC, no. I doubt that you would know anything I’ve done."

Joey smiled, but was obviously studying him. "He said you do a lot of them big name fashion things."

"Yeah." AJ nodded and smiled a little. "That’s how I pay the bills." Joey seemed satisfied.

"Is this him?"

Joey looked over his shoulder as the other two members of the band walked up behind him.

"Yup." Joey smiled brightly at the two new guests. Pointing to the various people around the table, he introduced them. "This is AJ, Lance, and Nick." Flinging a thumb towards his two friends, "And these jokers are Brian and Howie."

AJ held out his hand. "Nice to meet you guys. I gotta tell ya, I really like your stuff. You have a good sound."

"Thanks." Howie bobbed his head, a smile spread over his face.

"I understand you had a showing recently. That it was a big success." Brian was smiling, but he was watching AJ carefully. First the Italian, and now the doctor. JC had several protective friends who were watching his back. For some reason, AJ felt he had to pass this test.

"Uh, yeah, I did." Jerking his head to the side towards his friends, "Lance set it up."

Lance rolled his eyes. "That’s right. I told AJ what pictures he should take, how they should be taken, and …" This elicited a giggle and a nudge from Nick, who had been preoccupied making googly eyes at Brianna.

AJ laughed and grumbled 'jerk' while throwing a wadded up napkin at his smirking friend.

Whatever response Brian had been expecting, apparently this hadn’t been it. A sense of relief overwhelmed AJ when he saw the other man relax, a smile still on his face.

JC approached the table looking slightly apprehensive. "Uh, guys. Five minutes until the next set." He looked around at his friend’s smiling faces. Slowly, his energy seemed to build and he began to bounce on the balls of his feet -- the grin on his face could have blinded them all.

*~*~*

Friday brought with it another ad campaign. AJ smiled as he watched what he considered the golden pair as they did something that resembled the jitterbug off to the side of the set. It appeared that when Justin worked with Britney, he chose not to play the prima donna model, opting for good fun instead. Kevin stood beside AJ, also watching, amused by their antics.

"It’s a shame you can’t use shots of them doing that for the shoot."

AJ tilted his head a little, watching them some more. "Why not?"

Kevin raised an inquisitive brow. "You know, it is for clothes. You may have a point."

Looking at his table and set, AJ decided everything was ready. "Yo, Bobbsey Twins, move the dance over a couple of feet."

The two models looked at each other, and AJ could swear he saw something unspoken go between them. Without saying a word, Justin turned and Britney jumped on his back, the young man catching her legs gracefully. Then he started to spin around. AJ, grateful he had a camera in his hand, quickly moved and started taking shots, praying that the existing lighting would work.

The kids were in full play mode for the shoot, and it was just too easy to take pictures of them. Kevin just laughed at their highjinks. AJ was too busy snapping shots to really comprehend all they were doing, he just knew that the moves worked.

When the shoot was over AJ talked for a few minutes with Kevin, then started putting things away and setting up for JC. Looking around, he noticed that the other man hadn’t arrived yet -- which was odd because for the previous shoots, JC had been waiting for him.

After a couple of hours with no guitarist, AJ found himself becoming increasingly moody. Pushing his nervousness aside, he grabbed Nick. "Where’s that leather chair we used for the…" He snapped his fingers, as if that would be bring the name to mind. Unfortunately it didn’t.

"The big deep black one?" AJ nodded. "It’s in the storage room, off to the side. You want it?"

"Yeah. If you don’t mind." Seeing Nick nod, AJ turned to head towards the kitchen area.

"Uh, if you think I’m getting that chair all by myself, I’m flattered." Shaking his head in disbelief, he continued, "Because that’d mean all my working out is paying off, but that’s a huge chair and I’m not *that* strong."

AJ followed the younger man into the storage area where the chair he wanted was buried beneath a pile of pillows, wall hangings, hats and a few other things he couldn’t name, let alone remember ever having actually used. Nick seemed unfazed by any of the clutter as he carefully moved the various objects to other surfaces. AJ could tell his assistant was categorizing all the moves, and he made a mental note to give the younger man a raise. Looking around, he also noticed that there was no dust on anything, indicating that his assistant must periodically come into the storage room to clean. Addendum to the mental note: big raise.

As they worked their way out the door, AJ banged his elbow and vented a few expletives. Gritting his teeth through the pain, he kept up his end of the chair until it was in position, the back facing the windows with the setting sun. Instructing Nick to uncover all the windows, AJ grabbed stands, setting both white and gold reflectors around the area, giving the area of the actual seat a gentle golden glow.

Now all he needed was JC to make it perfect.

*~*~*

AJ worked automatically through the rolls of Justin and Britney, trying to block the melancholy that was seeping into his soul. His thoughts constantly drifted to the musician, and his worry over what had happened to the other man.

Gradually he became aware of the gentle strumming of a guitar. AJ followed the sounds from the dark room to the studio and was overwhelmed by the sight that greeted him. JC sat in the chair. No, that wasn’t quite accurate. JC was draped casually over the chair as if he owned it, completely comfortable with his surroundings.

Forgetting his previous worries, AJ reached blindly for his camera and began taking shots, moving around the other man, grateful that the sun was still shining enough to give JC an unearthly glow.

JC laid his head back, closing his eyes. AJ was taken aback by the pure beauty of the man and felt his pulse quicken as his eyes caressed the long tendons of the guitarist’s throat. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, AJ moved a step ladder over behind the chair, allowing him to take shots from above, catching the face in its blissful state.

As he clicked away, JC opened his eyes. The look he gave the photographer was dark and smoldering.

AJ cleared his throat. "Uh, you were running a little late today."

"Um hum."

"Is everything okay?"

A mischievous smile spread over his model’s face. "Um hum."

AJ shrugged a little, and continued to take pictures. "I was worried."

"I’m sorry. I just wanted to be sure I had the night free."

"The night?" Did his voice just crack a little? Nah. It had to have been his imagination.

"Yeah." JC shifted so that he was sitting straight, appearing amazingly innocent for someone who had just looked like a sexual imp. "I wanted to be sure that if, you know," now he was gesturing with his hands, "wanted to, um…" He was cute now, the way he was blushing.

AJ lowered his camera and stared at the other man. "Do you want to?"

JC nodded, but looked down at his hands, suddenly nervous by what he had suggested.

"Nick?" The assistant appeared from around the backdrop. "Uh, you can have the rest of the night off."

Nick looked at AJ, then looked at JC, then started laughing. "Right. I’ll call Lance to come and pick me up. He’s gonna love that he won the bet." AJ raised a brow. "Um, never mind. See you guys later." Before his boss could say anything, Nick was out the door.

*~*~*

AJ fiddled with his camera for a few moments, then realized how out of character that was for himself. He looked up. JC had resumed his playing, but now he would occasionally look at AJ through his lashes. The look was seductive, and AJ instinctively raised his camera and began shooting again. The action made JC laugh, but he didn’t stop.

"So, do you live here?"

AJ blinked as the words worked their way into his consciousness. "Um, yeah." Cursing inwardly at the sudden lack of ability to think, he gave himself a quick mental shake. "My room is above the kitchen."

"So. That’s where the stairs lead. Thought maybe that was a storage area, or something."

"Nope. It’s my bedroom." AJ walked to his work table, looking at the cameras, lenses, and film. Or more importantly, not looking at JC. "Care to come up and see some of my prints?" For the life of him, he couldn’t figure out why he was so nervous about all of this.

The hot breath on his neck startled him. "I’d love to see some of your prints."

Shivers ran down AJ’s back. "Let me close up some down here since Nick just took off." The chuckle behind him was distracting, but AJ ignored it as he put away his equipment and film. The familiarity of the motions helped. Locking the doors and shuttering the windows again, he felt his normal confidence return. He leaned over the back of the chair that JC had returned to and whispered into the other man’s ear, "Ready to be impressed?"

JC tilted his head back and smiled mischievously. "You have no idea how ready I am."

The musician gracefully moved from the chair and headed straight for the stairs. AJ was rooted to his position, watching the fluid movement of the other man, and how the rips in the back of his jeans showed that JC wasn’t wearing any underwear.

"So, we going up?"

Raising his eyes, AJ was faced with a very amused JC. Walking to the stairs, AJ made a sweeping motion with his hand. "Mi casa es su casa."

Giggling, JC ran up the stairs, tossing his shirt over the railing as he went. AJ viewed every movement through the eyes of an artist. "Oh boy. What have I gotten myself into?" The words were barely a whisper.

JC stood at the top of the stairs looking down, his hands teasingly playing the front of his jeans. Unaware that he had moved up the stairs, AJ found himself standing before the other man, his own hands stilling the maddening dance. Leaning forward, he touched his mouth to JC’s, allowing them to brush sweetly against each other. If he had planned on going slowly, his actions were vetoed by JC, who smiled against his mouth before grabbing the back of his head and pulling them into a deep and dirty kiss.

Pulling apart, JC looked into AJ’s eyes. "You have no idea how badly I want this."

AJ could feel the hardness that pressed into his belly, matching his own. "Oh, I think I do." Moving them towards the unmade bed, AJ resumed the kiss, his fingers ghosting over smooth skin. JC's legs hit the edge, tumbling him backwards onto the tousled sheets, pulling AJ with him.

"Now this is more like it." The musician shimmied, stretching his arms over his head. AJ stared down at the other man, mesmerized by the blue eyes, red lips, long neck, trim torso -- he wanted this man. "So," AJ looked back to JC’s face, "can we get, like, naked now?"

"Definitely." Growling, AJ stood, pulling his mesh shirt over his head, ignoring the rip he heard. Grateful that he chose to go barefoot for the day, he pushed his jeans and boxers down, almost tripping as he tried to kick them to the side. JC stayed on the bed, his eyes dark with passion, watching every move. "Liking the show?"

"Ummmmm."

Standing with his hands on his hips, his cock bobbing eagerly in front of him, AJ looked down at the *still* overly dressed man on his bed. "Care to join me?"

"Ummmmm."

Laughing, AJ reached down and worked open the fly of JC’s jeans, mentally drooling at the hardness that appeared with each pop of a button. Pulling the jeans off, he tossed them over his shoulder, not caring that they flew past the railing to the studio below.

Crawling over the splayed body, AJ lowered himself, pressing his cock to JC’s. Both men hissed at the sensation. Mouth seeking mouth, they began to move, rubbing their bodies seductively against each other. It had been too long for AJ, and within moments, he came. JC thrust a few times more before finding his own release.

"Well, that was embarrassing."

JC kissed him on the nose. "No, that was just a prelude."

*~*~*

AJ had been dreaming of being welcomed by an overeager puppy when he felt hands rolling him over. It was then that he realized that while it wasn’t a puppy, he was definitely being licked, and rather intimately. He remained still, wondering what JC had planned. Two hands grasped his ass cheeks, gently spreading them. The tongue touched the back of his balls, moving upwards, and over his pucker. The sensation was too exquisite to ignore, creating a full body shiver. He could feel the slight chuckle from his partner as another swipe was taken.

"Ready for another round?" JC’s voice was surprisingly husky. AJ simply groaned, nodding his head in acquiescence.

The tongue returned, pressing in and slowly spreading, the tip doing a fluttering motion that caused AJ’s hips to jerk. As it moved in and out, AJ could feel himself slowly and enticingly being stretched. When the fingers entered him, AJ lifted his hips, trying to get the digits deeper within. JC laughed throatily while he reached to the floor to retrieve a pillow and shove it under AJ’s hips. When AJ felt the heated pressure of JC’s cock at his entrance, he turned his face into his own pillow, biting into it as he groaned from the sweet pain. Hands moved up and down his spine, petting AJ into relaxation. As his body eased into the sensation, JC began moving his hips -- slowly, teasingly, maddeningly. The pace eventually increased, demanding control. AJ was hard pressed to refuse, submitting to his lover’s every whim. Hands held his hips, pulling him back to meet the exquisitely brutal thrusts that slammed into him. He knew he’d have bruises, but found he didn’t care. When he felt teeth sinking into the back of his neck, he released what little control he had, and came.

When AJ returned to his senses, he felt a gentle cloth wiping him. Opening his eyes, he saw JC leaning over him, a spot light that lit his room shining from behind, giving the musician an angelic look. Holding his hand out, AJ pulled JC back to the bed.

"Sixty three."

He blinked a few times while trying to figure if there was a conversation he had missed. Nope, these were the first words said since being asked if he was ready for another round. "Um, what?"

"You’re cute when you’re confused." JC leaned over him, giving him a quick kiss on the lips. "Sixty three. That’s how many individual character tattoos you have. I know, I made a point to lick them all."

AJ barked out a laugh. "Thanks for letting me know."

JC smiled, settling down with his head resting on AJ’s abdomen. "I was looking at your prints while you slept." He actually winked at AJ then. "I mean, that is why you invited me up, right?" AJ snorted. "This is like the stuff you had at your show. Why don’t you have any of your fashion stuff up here?"

Scratching his nose, AJ thought about his answer. "Fashion photography is work. Don’t get me wrong. I love doing it, but it’s…"

"Work."

"Yeah. That’s why I have all my fashion photos downstairs where clients can see them. This," waving his hand to encompass the many photos lining his walls, "This is my love. My passion."

"It’s incredible."

"Thank you."

JC started tracing a finger along one of the patterns covering AJ’s body. "Is that why you have so many tattoos?"

"Hum?"

Laughing, JC gently bit one of the said tattoos. "You use your body as a canvas. Is it a passion?"

"Huh. Haven’t really thought about it. I just like them." AJ began running his fingers through JC's bed-tousled hair, working out knots as he stroked. "What about you? I don’t remember seeing any, but then I was a little distracted." His gaze wafted over the smooth plains of JC’s skin. Noticing the shiver that arose from the question, AJ quirked an eyebrow.

"Needles." The shiver repeated itself.

"Aw."

"Yes, aw. Nasty devices of torture. But I do like how the tats look on you." The tone made AJ look back to his lover’s face.

"You," giving JC’s hairs a gentle tug, "are insatiable. What happened to that shy and timid boy I saw playing guitar on the street?"

"Well, um, you see…" JC scrunched his nose, "I like you."

"Uh huh."

"I’ve got horrible tastes in partners." The words began to poor out of JC at a rapid pace. "But I really liked you. You seemed to like the music I played, and you didn’t want me to do something else, besides sit and play, which was just really cool, by the way, and you didn’t seem to think I was stupid or anything, but like I said, I have terrible taste, once dated a girl who stole all the money I had saved up, which was really sad because it wasn’t that much, and dated a guy who thought whips was the way to go, how I missed that I still don’t know, and then there was this other girl who…"

AJ placed a finger over JC’s mouth. "I get the idea, you’ve had bad luck in the past." The musician nodded, waiting for AJ to move his finger. "What convinced you I wasn’t a loser?"

"The guys." AJ raised his brows curiously. "They claimed that I wasn’t all wet in reading you, I mean, that you might actually like me too. And they thought you were cool. Brianna too. She would have been wailing if you were questionable. That baby is like a total loser radar. Anyway. Yeah. That’s all I needed to convince me to give you a go."

Smiling tenderly at the other man, AJ leaned forward and kissed him. "Lucky for me, children think I'm wonderful."

"Yup. So," JC stroked a finger over a tight nub of AJ’s nipple, giving it a playful twist, "Feel like - "

"Good lord. Look at this mess. A shirt covered lamp. Jean draped backdrops. AJ, did you actually get lucky last night?"

AJ groaned, dropping his head back to his pillow. Lance, the bastard, had obviously let himself into the studio. AJ growled down to his best friend, "Don’t you have a life of your own?"

*~*~*

"Nick, give me a hand here. Put a box light over there. Aim it at the backdrop." AJ pointed to where he wanted the light, then pointed to another spot. "And put another one over there, but aim it so that it’ll light up Justin from the rear. That should create a cool effect." AJ felt arms wrap around his waist. "Hey there." Turning his head, he bestowed a kiss to JC’s cheek.

"Anything I can do to help?"

He leaned back momentarily into the embrace, enjoying the press of the lithe body behind him. "Nah. Nick and I have it under control. And it’s not like they’re even here yet. Knowing Justin, we’ll have plenty of time to make adjustments after they arrive."

"You mind if I sit over there," looking at the large leather chair that had simply been moved to the side of the studio, "and play for a bit?"

"Have at it." JC allowed his hand to run down AJ’s back, giving the photographer a little pat on the ass before he turned to walk away.

"AJ. Sorry we’re running late." Kevin called over Chris’ head as he ushered him and Justin into the studio, directing the two to the dressing area. "This time it’s actually my fault."

Chris snorted. "Damn straight it was your fault. We were ready, I tell ya, and then this numb…" Kevin wrapped an arm around the shorter man, clasping his hand over the moving mouth.

"I said it was my fault, you ninny. Now help Justin." Kevin quickly closed the dressing room door before Chris could answer back.

AJ started laughing. "You guys ever think about starting up a routine? The time is ripe for a new Three Stooges."

Rolling his eyes, Kevin joined AJ. "You know, I love the guy, he's my best friend, but there are times I really want to kill him."

AJ thought back to the morning when Lance dropped Nick off for work, stayed for breakfast, and proceeded to give him a hard time for an hour. "I feel that way about mine all the time."

"Anyway, sorry about being late. I thought I could get something done before picking up those two, but traffic didn’t agree with my plans."

"Hey, don’t worry about it." AJ waved his hand dismissively. "You’re my only shoot for the day, except for JC there," nodding his head to his lover, "and I can do that when we’re done." JC looked up at him, and winked. AJ cleared his throat, feeling desire rushing through him. "Or -- whenever."

The end.

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