DISCLAIMER: QAF and its characters are the sole property of Showtime and Cowlip Productions; no copyright infringement is intended.

Prologue

Brian pulled at the collar of his sleeveless black shirt, but it wasn't really constricting his neck. He felt his forehead breaking out in perspiration underneath the glare of the hot spotlights casting the dance studio in a bright, garish mockery of daylight, even though it was almost 7:00 p.m. and the sun had long ago crept below the horizon. At that moment, as he leaned back against the shadowed wall of the studio and tried to disappear from sight, he wished that he could be anywhere but here. Once more he tried to figure out how he had wound up in this god-awful dive in the first place, but deep down he knew he only had himself to blame…

Chapter One: The Bet

One Week Earlier – Liberty Diner

"No fucking way!" Brian growled in protest over Emmett's fervent declaration; he leaned across the table to peer upside down at the prominent photo displayed at the top of the social pages. "The man doesn't have a gay bone in his body; trust me, I would know! You've been reading way too many of those rag papers again."

Emmett huffed in indignation. "Say what you want, Brian, but I'm telling you Drew Boyd is as gay as the day is long!"

Brian adamantly shook his head as he studied the engagement photo of the well-known football star and his blond fiancée. They had their arms around each other as they beamed into the camera above the notice announcing their upcoming wedding. "There's no way, Emmy Lou," he decided flatly without any hesitation. "If that man is gay, then I'm Twinkle Toes."

Emmett chewed on his straw as he eyed Brian intently. "Just how sure ARE you?" He pressed as he idly twisted the straw between his teeth, his eyes set with determination and perhaps something else as an inspiration hit him.

Brian eyed him cautiously; the man almost sounded downright cocky. A flicker of indecision flitted across his features before he tamped it down as being ridiculous. He snatched the straw out of Emmett's mouth, wrinkling his nose in disgust at the saliva-coated surface as he threw it down on the booth's tabletop. "Oh, I'm REAL sure. What do you have in mind?"

Emmett thought about it for a little while until he decided to go for it. "Well, if I lose, I'll buy you breakfast here at the diner one day a week for the next year," Emmett promised him.

"Oooh, what a treat," Brian snickered; that wasn't nearly good enough. "You'll have to do better than that." He pondered all the possibilities until he decided. "If you lose, you have to cater all of Kinnetik's events for the next year – for free. Including everything – the food AND the booze; and I mean good, quality stuff, not the cheap shit."

To Brian's surprise, Emmett actually smiled at him in response instead of immediately protesting like he thought he would; that caused a certain amount of disquiet to register in the pit of his stomach, but he did his best to tamp it down and ignore it.

"Okay…Done," Emmett replied abruptly as he took a stab of his banana pancakes and swirled it around in a pool of maple syrup on his plate. Turning his gaze back toward Brian, he informed him, "And if YOU lose, you have to sign up to participate in the Pittsburgh GALA's dance to benefit Vic's House."

Brian's mouth hung open. "What the fuck are you talking about?"

Emmett was about to explain with pleasure when they were interrupted.

"Hey, Guys," Ted greeted them as Emmett automatically made room for him on his side of the booth. "How's it going?"

Emmett smiled, a decided gleam in his eye. "Oh, Brian and I were just making a little bet here, and deciding on the terms."

Ted looked up as Kiki approached their booth; she had purchased the diner from the previous owner six months ago and through diligent changes and improvements to the place, it had become quite the stopping point for a lot of Pittsburgh's gay elite. She prided herself on advertising any pertinent events occurring in the gay community, including the one that was presently the source of Brian and Emmett's debate.

"What'll be, Mr. Accountant?" she greeted Ted with a smile, her pencil and pad poised at the ready. She had a soft spot for the affable, self-effacing man who was always so pleasant and polite with her.

"Make it the usual, Kiki," he responded with a smile of his own as she nodded and walked away; Ted had been in the diner so many times by now that she knew his order of a small coffee, Western Omelet, and whole wheat toast with strawberry jelly by heart.

"So what's going on?" Ted asked curiously, noticing that Em had the morning paper opened up on top of the booth's table.

Em smiled. "Oh, Brian and I were having a friendly little discussion about which way our little football league's star tight ass…Uh, quarterback was swinging in light of his engagement to his supposed true love." He pushed the page in question over toward Ted's side of the table so he could get a better look at it. "Seems Drewsie here has announced his engagement, but I think it's all a big farce. Brian happens to disagree."

Brian snorted as he took a quick sip of his coffee and put it down on the table. "Your radar needs readjusting, Emmy Lou."

Ted appeared to look uncomfortable as he stammered, "Uh… Em, is THIS what the two of you are betting on? Whether or not Drew Boyd is gay or straight? Because if it is…"

"… If it is, Honeycutt here is about to take a big dive financially," Brian finished for him before Ted had a chance to explain further. "He's about to cater every business event for Kinnetik for the next year, so get ready to start recording additional profits for me."

Ted turned to look over at Emmett. "But…"

"…But I happen to know that he's wrong," Emmett insisted as he looked down at the handsome, smiling face of his secret lover staring back at him. Only Ted knew that fact at the moment, though; Brian had no idea or even realized that he KNEW the famous, sexy, football star, which made the bet all the more delicious. It was rare when he could triumph over Brian Kinney, so he was going to enjoy it to the fullest. "That man is hiding his true orientation, and one day he'll be singing like the queen that he is." Silently he relished that day when his lover would come out of the closet and tell the world what he already knew, but for now he could definitely use it to his advantage. That is, if Teddy didn't spill the beans first.

Brian chuckled low in this throat. "You really should go to the repair shop and have your gaydar tuned up," he told him. "I tell you there's no fucking way."

"Emmett…" Ted tried to interject some sense into his friend before it was too late.

"Oh, you want to know the terms of our bet?" Emmett interrupted Ted again with a twinkle in his eye. "Okay. As Brian already mentioned, if I lose the bet I have to cater all of his company's events for free for the next year. If HE loses, though, he has to participate in the 'Dancing Queens Night" to benefit the Vic Grassi House. Just seeing HIM shaking his booty should bring in thousands, no doubt, even though most of his admirers normally get free admittance, so I'm sure that despite the committee's somewhat rocky opinion of Brian here, they will be dancing in the aisles when he signs up."

Brian chortled; silently appalled at the idea of participating in such a disdainful event for an even MORE abhorrent organization but forcing himself to remember that it would never happen in a million years. His intuition had never ceased to fail him before, and it wouldn't now, either, even though he definitely wouldn't mind taking possession of that man's balls. What a shame the man wasn't an eligible receiver, because he would have liked nothing better than to see that glorious backside in motion in his bed. Or perhaps the backroom at Babylon would be better; that way, he could be the envy of everyone there, and word would spread through Liberty Avenue faster than cocaine in a twink's bloodstream. As he looked over at Ted, however, he realized that perhaps it was best that he not mention that reference to a spaced-out twink aloud after the Blake fiasco.

He smirked over at his adversary. "In your dreams, Honeycutt; that's the only way it's gonna happen."

Emmett shrugged as Ted stared at him in horror; he knew there were going to be repercussions to what his friend was doing. He might come out victorious somehow, but he should know by now that you didn't cross Brian Kinney and not be severely punished for it. "Emmett, uh, how long are you two going to participate in this bet?" Emmett had already told him that Boyd didn't want anyone to know that he was gay; was he out of his mind, then? There was no way that Drew Boyd would admit to being gay, now or anytime in the near future. Emmett was just getting his feet wet with his catering business; once Brian won the bet, with the man's expensive, caviar tastes his friend would promptly wind up in the poor house before the year was out.

"Oh, a month should about do it," Emmett replied mysteriously with a smile as he stabbed another bite of his pancakes and crammed it into his mouth. Only he knew that he had finally convinced his boyfriend to reveal his sexual orientation at the next press conference coming up before his game on Sunday.

"Well, you keep dreaming, Honeycutt," Brian told him as he slid across the vinyl seat and rose to his feet, placing a ten-dollar bill down on the table. "In the meantime, Theodore, why don't you give Emmett here a copy of our last catering menu for the Hendricks account? That way, he can start grocery shopping. Later, boys," he called out as he turned to go.

Ted could barely control himself as he waited for Brian to leave; as soon as the bell sounded over the door, he turned to look at his friend incredulously. "Have you lost your fucking mind?"

Emmett looked down at the floor and then over his shoulder before he replied flippantly, "I don't think so. Why?"

Ted's eyes flashed in irritation. "You know why! When Brian finds out that the bet was rigged, you're going to be in some serious trouble!"

Emmett batted his eyes at his friend as he responded coyly, "And how is he going to find out? You're not going to tell him… Are you?"

Ted sighed in exasperation. "No, thanks, I happen to like breathing – and my job."

Emmett shrugged. "Then he's never going to know."

"Uh, huh; just like he'll never find out that you and Drew Boyd have been seeing each other on the sly? Just how are you going to keep that from him? Huh?" They both looked up and paused as Kiki returned with Ted's breakfast; Ted nodded his thanks and waited until she walked out of earshot before he continued. "You're really walking a dangerous line here, Em; if he finds out he is going to be sooo pissed. You know he will NOT take too kindly to being a replacement for Rudolph Nureyev."

"Well, I'll just have to make sure he doesn't know, then; at least until I can come up with a good backup plan. And besides, it won't be ballet; just ballroom dances. If anyone should know his way around a ballroom, it should be Brian." He grinned at Ted over his unintentional double entendre, but his friend didn't seem very amused by it.

"Just remember – if he tries to take one of YOUR balls off afterward, I knew nothing about it."

Thank you to Boriqua522 for being my beta.:) This story is complete (for a change - ha!), and I will be posting a chapter probably each day. Hope you enjoy it. BTW - the next update to "Tame the Wild Stallion" should be up in the next few days as well.