Justin bounded into the apartment (he'd just come back from class). When he saw Daphne sitting at the computer, he lay down on the couch and admitted happily, "Well, yesterday, at work, I took your advice."

Daphne dropped the book she was holding. She exclaimed, "You did!"

"Kind of. I rubbed Brian's shoulders and touched him in various other places, even underneath his clothes…"

Daphne's eyes widened.

Justin sighed. "All above the waist though."

Daphne wrinkled her nose. "Oh."

"But I sat in his lap and told him that I wanted him and that I knew he wanted me."

Daphne grinned. "That's definitely progress!"

"Then he told me he did want me…"

Daphne squealed, "Oh my God!"

Justin continued, in a more subdued, but not unhappy tone, "But he said we should take it slow, so he asked me out on a date. He even called it a date."

"Okay, so how far did you two go last night?"

Now it was Justin's turn to wrinkle his nose. "Not very. Let's see. He held my hand. We made out on the street."

"Ooo…PDA!"

"Yeah…it was raining, and he kissed me like…"

Daphne giggled, "Like you were the very air he needed to breathe…"

Justin blushed a little and replied shyly, "Yeah."

After a contented sigh, he added, "Then in the limo, he put his arm around me. And later, on the roof, he wrapped his arms around me from behind…and then a while after that, I laid my head on his lap, and he ran his fingers through my hair. We did that for like thirty minutes."

Another contented sigh.

"…Then right before he left, he kissed me on the lips, but it was just a peck. Course, the stairwell is kind of gross, so I can't blame him for making our goodbye quick."

Daphne grinned. "Well, that all suggests that he thinks of you as a sexual being, rather than as simply a friend."

Justin laughed. "I know he does! His erection was poking me in the back when he had his arms around me on the roof."

Daphne smacked Justin on the arm. "Then why the hell didn't you take off all your clothes or something?"

Justin shrugged. "I don't know. I mean, he said he wants to take it slow, and I get the sense that he's never done this before."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't think he's ever dated anyone. I think that up until now, he's only ever had one-night stands…and as frustrating as it is, I like all his efforts to treat me different."

"So…you're dating? He's your boyfriend?"

***********

"I don't fucking know. You think you know everything, why don't you tell me?" Brian shouted from the couch in his office, on which he was lying.

Cynthia sighed. Then more patiently, she asked, "Are you currently fucking other people?"

"Do you see anyone here?" Brian extended his arms and looked around, his eyes wide.

Cynthia sighed. More heavily this time. "You know what I mean."

Brian turned away a bit. Through gritted teeth, he confessed, "No, I haven't fucked anyone since we met."

Cynthia's eyes nearly popped out of her head. "Wow! Are you serious?"

Brian growled, "As a mad case of blue balls." Then he moaned, "Christ! I sound like a 16-year-old straight guy."

Cynthia shook her head. "Well, Brian, I hate to tell you this, but if you aren't fucking other people, and you're taking Justin on dates, Justin's your boyfriend."

"Oh God! Don't say that!" Brian had a genuine look of horror on his face.

"That's the definition, Brian. I'm not just making shit up."

Brian actually crossed his arms in defiance, reminding Cynthia of a two-year old who has just learned the word no. He hissed, "Brian Kinney doesn't do boyfriends."

"Ok, fine. You say he's not your boyfriend, so go fuck Jonathan in accounting. He's hot, and he's been eyeing you since he was hired last week."

Brian didn't say or do anything. He just lay there. Frowning.

Cynthia prodded, "Well…go ahead…"

After a long, long pause, Brian said petulantly, "I don't want to fuck him."

"Yeah right. He's hot. That's all it ever takes with you."

"Okay, then I choose not to fuck him. If I do…"

Cynthia's face lit up. "If you do, what? Justin might find out?"

Brian fixed her with an icy glare.

Cynthia started singing, "Brian Kinney has a boyfriend…"

"Shut up or I'll fire you."

"Firing me won't make Justin not your boyfriend."

"You have 10 seconds to depart of your own free will. After that, I might strangle you."

"Again, strangling me won't…."

"Get the fuck out!"

Cynthia smiled. Then she left. On her way out, she sang, "Brian Kinney has a boyfriend…"

Brian threw a book at the door, causing it to slam. Brian protested one last time, though he knew Cynthia couldn't hear him, "Justin's not my boyfriend." But even as he said the words, they rang false. He sighed heavily. Then he whispered, "Fuck. I think he is."

**********

Justin's face flushed with pleasure. Then in an animated voice, he said, "Fuck! I think he is! I mean, we go on dates, and from his responsiveness, I'd guess he hasn't been laid since before we met."

"His responsiveness?"

"Rubbing his shoulders and running my fingers lightly over his chest got him sooo hard!"

"Really?"

Justin nodded excitedly.

"Yeah, that's not the reaction of a man with a satisfying sex life. But shit, he could so totally have one."

"Yup. The other day at work, I saw some hot accountant checking him out."

"So…what happens now?"

***********

"Oh you're speaking to me again?"

"The death threat occurred ten minutes ago. Move on."

Cynthia chuckled and turned to face Brian, who was standing in the doorway between his office and her desk. He was squeezing a stress ball. From the frequency and intensity of the ball squeezing, Cynthia gathered he was extremely stressed.

"So…supposing Justin is my boyfriend, which (he gestured with a hand, still holding the ball) I am in no way conceding…what happens now?"

"Well, have you…?"

Brian interjected coldly, "No."

"Okay…what's the hold up?"

"I don't fucking know!" Brian walked back into his office and lay back down on the couch.

Cynthia followed him in.

Softly (looking at the wall in front of him, pointedly avoiding her gaze), Brian asked, "How long do you normally wait before…"

"Before giving it up?"

Brian fidgeted. "Yeah."

"Mmm…these days four dates."

"So….five's the lucky number…"

"For me, yeah, since I breached 30. But only because I date older men, and most seem to be looking for a wife. That puts a lot of pressure on me. I'm a career woman. I'm not even sure I want kids. And it's hard to break things off once I fuck a guy, these days anyway." Cynthia laughed bitterly. "It used to be that fucking a guy was the best way to break it off."

Brian stared blankly at the wall as he said, "Last night was our second date, well, unless you count the day after the first. We went to the fish market I like, got food, and then ate it by the water."

Cynthia actually gasped. "You had a picnic?"

Brian looked at her darkly. "I did not have a fucking picnic! Brian Kinney doesn't do picnics!"

"Mmm-hmmm…Did you eat on the grass during the day?"

"Yeah…"

"Well, Brian, I hate to break it to you, but that was a picnic. Was there any heavy petting?"

"Some kissing might have been involved…"

"Well, then, that was a second date."

"So that's three…unless…"

"Unless what?"

"Unless you count the time he came over after work…we ordered in and watched movies."

"The classic dinner and a movie date. So that's four. And you know what that means…"

Brian said nothing. He wouldn't even look at Cynthia.

"Next time, you gotta give it up."