Greg was wiping down the bar when Chad, the owner came up to him. "Can you go into the back and grab another case of Taittingers? I got a party downstairs that is asking for more." Greg nodded and went into the storage room to find the champagne. He found a box behind a couple other boxes. As he moved the boxes, he strained his back. He cursed as he stood up and tried to straighten himself out. His back had finally been getting better. A lot of the swelling had gone down but now it felt messed up again.

He had his hand on his back when Terry came into the storage room. He saw Greg seemingly in pain. "Dude, you should have asked me to help you get the box. You should not be trying to lift anything heavy with your back. You should have called the police on that guy's ass." Terry shook his head at him as he grabbed the box for him.

"You know, I didn't want to tell you but I probably should. I saw the asshole the other day hanging around outside. I saw him and told him next time I saw him I would call the cops immediately. He took off after that," Terry told him.

"Shit, that guy is crazy. Just what I don't need," Greg said as he ran a hand through his hair in frustration.

"Seriously, keep your eyes open for him. I think he had it in for you for some reason. Now I'll take this to Chad. You just grab that bottle of Grey Goose and take it to Jonny."

"Sure, thanks," Greg said as he took the bottle and walked out to the bar with it. Jonny was another bartender that worked part-time only. He was one of the ones who helped with the activities downstairs. Terry and Greg were probably the only two who stayed upstairs and took no part in the extracurricular activities that went on downstairs.

Greg's speed was slowed down by the pain going through his back now. He had no pain pills on him and standing was making it worse. His boss Chad had been eyeing him after Terry had informed him of his bad back. Chad finally pulled Greg to the side. "Listen, we aren't too busy upstairs here tonight. Why don't you go home early and rest that back of yours."

Greg felt guilty. "Nah, I will be fine." Chad shook his head. "No, you won't be. Now go before it gets worse and then I don't have you around for several days," Chad commanded him.

Greg grinned a little. "You're a good guy Chad. Thanks!" Chad just waved him off to leave already.

His nerves were a little on edge with the news of Frankie lurking around and his back cramping up. He was walking to his car when he heard his name called. He had a quick case of Deja view before turning around and being relieved at who he saw.

"Hey, I saw you leaving and wanted to see how you were doing before you left," said the handsome dark haired man.

"Hi Shane, you spooked me there for a moment. I thought you were someone else," Greg told him.

"And who would that be?" his former client asked him. "You remember Frankie?" Shane nodded. "Yeah, that jackass. Is he still harassing you?"

"You have no idea," Greg mumbled.

"What did he do this time to you?"

Greg often talked to Shane when they were together. Shane was probably the only client he had that actually sort of cared about him in his own way. Shane knew firsthand how violent Frankie could get. He saw the after effects on Greg one evening. Greg had bruises all over his body one night, given to him by Frankie. Shane had seen them and told Greg that evening all he wanted was a blow job after seeing how much abuse his body had taken the previous night from the creep.

"He came up to me after work one day and jumped me. He is pissed that I am out of the business and won't give him one more chance at me, I guess." Greg told him.

"What? Did you hurt you?" Shane asked with concern.

"Yeah I ended up getting 12 stitches in my head from a whisky bottle he wacked me with and he aggravated my back injury. Which today I aggravated again by picking up a box."

"Shit man. How are you coping?" Shane queried.

"Hmm, right now? Not that great. It's fucking killing me." Greg admitted.

"You got anything for it?" Shane asked with a raised eyebrow. Greg knew what he was implying.

"No, I just have to take some over the counter stuff." Shane scoffed. "And will that really work for you? I know you man."

Greg shook his head. "I can't go back to it. I can't."

"I told you, you just overdid it before. You have to ride it out as long as you can before taking another hit. You were taking hits at the first sign of withdrawals. You have to wait until you get to that point where you truly need your next hit and then you do it. I mean you overdosed once, didn't you?" Shane asked him.

Greg shrugged. "Yeah but it wasn't all my own doing."

"I have some good stuff. Stuff that won't make you feel all out of it like the shit you were taking. I mean look how I can function like a normal human being. You can do it too and be free of pain at the same time."

"You make it very tempting," Greg felt an old itch and was really thinking maybe Shane was right. He was a businessman and ran a huge company. He lived in a mansion and got through each day being an addict. He missed the initial high you felt when you had that needle first go into your vein. There was nothing like it. A few minutes of euphoria and relaxation and then just riding the wave as it slowly went out.

"Look, I got some stuff back in my suite," Shane told him. Greg gave him a questioning look. "Suite? Not your big old house?"

"I have a ton of renovations going on right now, so I have myself the penthouse suite at the Hilton for a month. I'm on my second week there. If you come with me, I can serve you up a nice little high and make that pain go away," Shane smirked at him.

Greg hesitated a moment and then shook his head. "No, I can't."

Shane shrugged. "Well if you change your mind, you still have my number, don't you?"

Greg had kept his business card in his wallet. "Yes, I do."

"Well good luck then. I am heading home, well to the penthouse anyway. Again, call me if you change your mind. I don't expect you to give me any favors, if you know what I mean. I like you, I told you that before. It doesn't have to be about sex, although you are damn sexy when you are being fucked," Shane chuckled. Greg smiled but was not sure it was a compliment or not.

He waited until Shane was gone before getting into his car. He sat in his car a few moments, pondering the offer. The pain was real and the need was real but he couldn't give in.

He was starting his car when suddenly he heard a pounding on his passenger side window. He looked over and was scared at who he saw. It was Frankie and he looked crazed. He didn't know what his deal was but it was becoming obsessive.

"You little fuck. I saw you with that other guy. He can get time with you but I can't? What makes him so great?" Frankie yelled at him.

Greg yelled back. "He's not bat shit crazy like you are. He never beat me. Go find some new whore who will satisfy your sick fantasies." Greg was not going to wait for his response. He put his car in drive and took off. He saw Frankie throw something at his car. He heard a thunk against it but kept driving. He got to a safe distance and pulled off into a strip mall parking lot. His was a nervous wreck after that encounter. He put his hands out and saw they were shaking. He couldn't go home a nervous wreck like this. Nick would worry again and ask questions. He still had not told Nick about Frankie basically stalking him. He was grateful he didn't seem to know where he lived.

He couldn't calm down. He thought about Shane's offer and it suddenly seemed like he needed that help after all. Nick was not expecting him home for a few hours anyway since he was let out of work early. He could get a hit and by the time he went home it would be still active.

He started up the car and started driving again. He parked his car and got out his wallet. He pulled out Shane's card and called his cell number he had on it. "Hey does your offer still stand?" He asked when the other man answered. "I'll be in the lobby if it does." He heard a "Hell yeah! I'll be down to get ya."

He put the cell phone in his pocket and left his car to meet Shane in the lobby. He was still slightly shaking when Shane met him. Shane noticed he looked jarred.

"Come on, I'll take care of you." He walked him into the elevator and put his key to the reader to get his access to the penthouse floor.

"What happened to you? You look like you saw a ghost," Shane asked him as the exited the elevator.

"Frankie happened," Greg said to him.

"What the fuck? How did that happen in the little time since I have seen you?" Shane opened the door to his penthouse. Greg walked in and looked around. It had been a while since he was in a place of such opulence. Shane was the only one who ever got them a nice hotel room when they were together in the past. Most of the others would just do it at the roach motel he was living in at the time.

He made Greg sit down on a plush sectional. He went to the kitchen area and grabbed a couple of beers. He handed one to Greg. "Relax and tell me what happened."

Greg didn't know what about Shane that he felt he could talk to more than he could Nick but perhaps it was that he knew what life being a drug addict was like. He knew Greg in his darkest times and still treated him like a human being.

He told him exactly what happened. Shane was flabbergasted. "I don't ever remember him being that crazed about anyone. I wonder if he isn't doing some kind of new drugs. There is a lot of new stuff out there that make you a little crazy. I know a lot of guys have tried to get me to mix my drugs but I know better than to do that. It's best to stick with what you know." Greg just nodded with him in agreement.

"Now, let's get you to relax some," Shane said to him. He pulled his coffee table closer to him. "I was just about to partake in my own hit when you called. I got extra syringes. I know how you are about not sharing syringes. Another reason I always thought you still had your smarts about you. Condoms and no sharing syringes equals smart escort. Some of those other guys just don't even care about their own safety." All the while he was talking, he was preparing the heroin in a spoon to heat.

Greg watched him prepare the poison. He knew that is what it was but he also knew how it made him feel and how it took his pain away. Right now he didn't care, he just wanted to feel that high that he had been missing for the last 9 months.

"You get first honors, my friend. You deserve it." Shane handed Greg an alcohol swab first to use. Then he gave him a new syringe and tourniquet. He held the spoon for him. Greg took the syringe and looked at it a moment. He still had a chance to put it down and not do it. Instead he tied the tourniquet around his upper arm. He then took off the cover of the syringe and placed the needle in the heated liquid. He pulled back the plunger and watched the drug fill the syringe. He then turned up the syringe and tapped it to get the bubbles out like he had done a hundred times before. He started making a fist with his left hand to find the vein. He put the needle against his vein and started injecting the drug into his vein.

Almost immediately he started feeling that high he was yearning for. He finished the injection and placed the needle down and took off the tourniquet. He leaned his head back and just let it flow through his veins.

Shane smiled seeing his relaxed state and started preparing his own hit. Minutes later they were both relaxed and laughing about how they used to do this in the past.

"No sex though…it's bad enough I'm breaking one rule. I won't break the other," Greg said to Shane as the rich man started placing his hand under his shirt. Greg removed the offending hand from him. "You promised no sex needed," Greg reminded him. Shane pouted but held back. He hoped maybe one day he might get at least a blow job from him again.

"Free on the house tonight but if you need more, it will cost you. I can probably give you the name of my dealer too. But I know he gives me a good price for being a customer for so long, so I can always ask for more and then sell to you. Unless you rather go directly through the dealer," Shane said to him.

Greg flailed his hand at him. "Nah, if you are cool with getting it for me, I am willing to stop by and pick it up from you." Greg didn't even realize he was committing to keep on the heroin habit again. In his current state how could he not want to keep taking it again? He wondered why he ever stopped.

They ended up talking for another hour or so before the high was over and Greg realized the time. "Shit, I need to go home. I don't want to get home too late and Nick wonders where I have been."

"Sure I understand. You are lucky you got a good man there. I haven't been lucky enough to find one myself. I guess always getting prostitutes doesn't help matters," Shane said to him.

Greg felt guilt creep in talking about Nick and how lucky he had to have him. He might have just blown a chance at having much more of a future with him. If he found out he was taking heroin again he was not sure how he would react. He knew a person only got so many chances. He had to have used most of his by now. The thought sobered him up.

Shane handed him a tiny baggie of power and a syringe. "For your need in a few hours, remember to wait it out until your withdrawal symptoms are almost noticeable."

Greg took it and thanked him. "Call me ahead of time if you are stopping by tomorrow to make sure I am here. I've been working from home, well here as usual lately. I only make appearances in the office like twice a week now."

"Nice. Thanks for saving me from my panic and pain. I'll have money for you tomorrow. At least I am working a regular job." Shane walked him to the elevator and said goodbye.

Greg was still fairly relaxed but as he drove home he became more nervous. He put the drugs and syringe in the glove compartment of his car before he pulled into the garage. He pulled out the cigarettes he had in there and pocketed them instead. He might need a smoke or two later to fight the withdrawals off a little. He could better explain the smoking cigs to Nick than heroin that was for sure.

He looked at his arm and there was not an obvious needle mark so he lucked out there. He knew after continued use he would have to start wearing long sleeves to hide them. He looked at himself in the mirror of his sunshade to see if he looked wrong. He looked like any other day he came home from work.

With more confidence he got out of his car and unlocked the garage door. He walked in and saw Nick asleep on the couch. The guilty feeling crawled over him again as he looked at him. What had he done? It was too late now. He already knew he was going to need that next hit later on.

He decided to let him keep sleeping and decided to take his shower. He might wake him up once he was done to have him move into bed. The nice thing about heroin was there was no smell since you injected it. There really were not obvious signs until after frequent use; the track marks being number one. And as long as he watched his behavior and withdrawals he could probably get by pretty well without being found out.

He stepped out of the shower in his PJ bottoms and t-shirt and saw Nick still sleeping. He knelt down in front of him and just watched him breathe in and out. He was so lucky he survived that bullet. He knew that if he had not, he would have been back on the drugs much sooner. Deep down he knew it was only a matter of time before he turned back to drugs. He had been feeling the pull more and more over time. The Frankie situation put him over the edge. He still wondered what the deal was with him. He hoped he would give up on him and find a current guy who was a prostitute to turn his needs to.

"Hey, you're home. Why didn't you wake me up?" Nick had woken up and saw Greg sort of in a daze. "Oh, I thought I would wait until I was ready for bed to wake you. And then I just saw you sleeping so peacefully here I didn't want to disturb you."

"Well, I'm awake now. Let's go to bed." Nick said as he sat up and yawned. "Let's do that."