Brian and Justin didn't speak for a couple of minutes. They laid on their respective beds trying to catch their breath and slow their heartbeats. When they finally recovered, Brian asked about what he hadn't been able to forget or dismiss since it happened, the question reverberating so loudly in his head.

He smiled and drawled, "Justin?" He was eager to ask his question. He was so sure he knew the answer, and he was dying for Justin to admit it, to admit that he'd been thinking about Brian the whole time they'd been on the phone, not Joe.

Justin smiled, too. He felt so incredible. It was almost a dream come true. Almost. Brian had guided him through an orgasm, a fucking amazing orgasm, and they were still talking, sort of basking in the afterglow together. Justin sighed and smiled again. Plus, Brian had said Justin's name right after his orgasm hit. He'd whispered it, but Justin had heard it anyway. He was pretty sure he would have heard it even if people had been rioting outside or bombs had been going off in his apartment. Justin was already especially tuned into Brian's voice (you know when you are so accustomed to someone's voice that you can single it out of a crowd)…and…Justin wanted so much for Brian to cum with his name on his lips that he'd been on the lookout for it.

Finally Justin answered, "Yes, Brian?"

In a faux innocent voice, Brian said, "You were moaning my name toward the end…not Joe's. Why is that?" Brian was gloating. In this circumstance, how could he not? Brian resented the hell out of Joe, the person who could inspire such devotion and desire in Justin. Though he hated to admit it, he wanted to inspire those things in Justin, more desperately as the days passed. Of course, if questioned about it, he would simply say that it was love with which he took issue, not its application to Joe. He would say that Justin's moaning his name, and not Joe's, was an indication that everyone, even Justin, when choosing between what they loved and what was right there, would choose the latter every time.

Justin laughed nervously and blushed. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. The truth was, Justin couldn't bring himself to call out Joe's name. He knew he should have done just that. Not doing so was risky…could wreck everything. But…it was a lie, and in the heat of the moment, he wanted to tell the truth. In the heat of the moment, he had to tell the truth. But Justin sure as hell couldn't reveal that to Brian. What he'd done was bad enough. So instead, he replied, as lightly as he could manage, "Oh…I was imagining that it was Joe fucking me, but…"

Brian frowned. He didn't want to believe that Justin had been thinking about Joe. Suppressing his disappointment, he inquired, in a voice filled with amusement, though he was anything but amused, "But…what?"

Justin explained, "But…it's kind of rude to call out someone else's name when you're having phone sex with a person, you know, even if that person already knows, even if that's what they've planned." Justin knew it was weak, but that's all he could think to say.

Brian clenched his jaw. He couldn't keep the slight annoyance he felt out of his voice. "You were just being polite?"

Justin swallowed hard. He really hated lying, especially to Brian. But he forced himself to smile and answer evenly, "Yes."

Brian clenched his jaw again. But then he smirked and drawled, "I don't need such considerations. I don't have feelings to hurt." Despite all Brian's efforts to make his voice sound light, completely unperturbed, Justin thought he detected an edge to it, as though he were lying. As though…he thought he'd caught Justin fantasizing about him and had liked the idea and was now pissed to learn he'd been mistaken. Could it be that Brian was jealous of Joe? He shook his head. No. No, that couldn't be…could it? Justin couldn't help but smile, more brightly than he ever had. It probably wasn't true…but the maybe had Justin so happy that he felt like doing some back flips or a happy dance. The question was, what now? How could he find out for sure? What should he do if it were true? Come clean? No. Justin dismissed this possibility immediately. If, and that was a big if, Brian was jealous, his jealousy was caused by Justin's seeming desire for Joe. So the smart thing to do was to continue pretending…until jealousy drove Brian so crazy that he made his feelings clear. Until they were indisputable. Justin knew that if he laid his cards on the table too soon, Brian might deny everything and bolt. And that was the last thing Justin wanted. As difficult as playing this game was, he was certain it was the only way to get what he wanted so much, that is, Brian to be as desperately in love (and in lust) with him as he was with Brian.

Brian was having similar thoughts. Granted, Justin was a very considerate person. So he might have been telling the truth. But then, again, maybe he wasn't. Maybe he had been thinking of Brian (Brian wasn't stupid. He knew Justin was attracted to him). The question was, how could he get Justin to admit it (somehow, accomplishing this was suddenly very important to Brian). He told himself it was simply his reputation he was concerned with, but deep down he knew that that was the biggest of lies. So he found himself asking, "Do you want to go to Babylon with me tomorrow night?"

Justin's eyes widened. Suddenly scared (his last visit to Babylon had been so humiliating), he croaked, "What?"

"Come to Babylon with me tomorrow night. I can come over before…help you get ready…"

"Ummm…I don't know."

"Come on, it'll be fun. Besides, there's a good chance your boy will be there."

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. If Justin were truly in love with 'Joe,' Brian's saying that he might be there would induce him to go. Justin closed his eyes for a moment and sighed. He couldn't say no. So he feigned an excitement he did not feel. "Okay, yeah! That sounds great!" Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. He'd probably get to dance with Brian. His cock stirred at the thought of being so close to Brian, their bodies pressed together, their arms around each other. Justin's breathing was suddenly shallow. He imagined Brian's smell…his sweat…his erection poking into Justin's ass as they danced. Well, he knew what fantasy he was taking to bed tonight…

Brian was also excited about the prospect of taking Justin to Babylon. Brian smiled, his eyes twinkling. Justin wouldn't even remember Joe's name after an hour on the dance floor with him.