A/N: I really hope this part doesn't suck…

I emerged from the shower squeaky clean and quite alone, since Justin had said that he needed to make breakfast (and that if we didn't separate, neither of us would ever leave the loft). However, I couldn't help but saunter into the kitchen naked (and hard; I'd been thinking about what I had seen the moment I opened my eyes, Justin sucking my cock, greedily swallowing my cum. Fuck, he was beautiful, and he had perfect lips and a talented tongue). Justin's breath caught in his throat when he saw me, and he flushed, which caused me to smile complacently, but when he merely kissed me on the cheek and said, "I hope you're hungry," I couldn't help but be a little disappointed.

I looked at the table then. While I was in the shower, Justin had made chocolate chip pancakes, over easy eggs, bacon, toast, and coffee and was in the process of making home fries. He'd grilled onions in tons of butter and was now adding chopped potatoes, garlic, and pepper. The kitchen smelled incredible. I headed back into the bedroom, but Justin stopped me. "Where you going?"

"I thought I'd throw some clothes on."

Justin flushed again and pulled me against him. Then he kissed my lips tenderly and purred, "But I like you like this." All my disappointment vanished then. He did want me as much as I wanted him. He just wanted to take care of me. For a second, I couldn't breathe.

When I recovered, I smiled softly and moved to sit down. Then I took a pancake, a piece of bacon, an egg, and a piece of toast and poured myself a cup of coffee. I wasn't a big eater, but I was determined to sample everything he'd made for me. Justin turned back to the home fries. Then he asked, "So do you have anything special going on at school today?"

When I didn't answer right away, he turned to look at me. I just quirked an eyebrow. He prodded, "Any tests….quizzes…your debate?"

"No tests or quizzes, and my debate isn't until next Friday."

"Oh cool. What time?"

I just blinked.

"Brian?"

"Why do you want to know?"

Justin laughed. "Uh…so I can come."

My eyes widened. Incredulously, I asked, "You want to come?" The only person who'd gone to any of my school functions was Manny, but only when he could take off work, which wasn't too often.

Justin smiled. "Of course."

I protested, "But all that shit is lame."

"Brian…when I was in high school, I did all kinds of things that seem kind of lame now, but they were important to me then. You know, milestones. I don't want you to miss anything because you're dating an older guy. I want to share in your life. That means going to your debates, helping you study for the SATs and unit tests, taking you to your prom…"

I actually gasped. "You want to take me to my prom?"

Justin smiled. "If you want me to…I'd be honored."

I shook my head. "You're fucking crazy."

Justin shrugged. "Maybe, but you love me anyway."

In a husky whisper, I replied, "I really do." Then I asked, "So…who did you go to your prom with?"

"Daphne."

I gaped. "You dated Daphne?"

Justin laughed. "No…though I was her first."

My eyes nearly popped out of my head. "What?"

"She was eager to lose her virginity, but she wanted her first time to be with someone she loved. So she asked me."

"Weird."

"Yeah, it was a little. But back then, I was horny all the time. So getting it up wasn't too difficult."

I shuddered. "Why didn't you take a guy?"

"I didn't have a boyfriend. I didn't have too much experience back then. I mean, I'd jerked a football player off, but after that, he was so ashamed that he got mean. He started picking fights, pulling pranks, and insulting me." Justin laughed. "So he wasn't exactly an option. I didn't even lose my virginity until after prom, but even if it had happened before, I couldn't have taken the guy who popped my cherry."

"Why not?"

Justin swallowed hard. That was a bad, bad sign. I was praying to a God I didn't believe in that he hadn't been in love with this guy. As Justin flipped the home fries, he explained, "His name was Byron Kimmey."

"Byron Kimmey?"

Justin wrinkled his nose cutely then. "I know, weird name, right? Anyway, back when I was 18, he was the stud of Liberty Avenue. Everyone wanted him to fuck them or to suck his dick. Of course, I didn't know that when he picked me up. That was my first foray down to Liberty Avenue. He took me back to his loft, one not too different from this one, in structure anyway. He fucked me all night long."

I resisted the urge to ask what he looked like. He must have been hot, or he wouldn't have been universally wanted. The last thing I wanted was for Justin to tell me how gorgeous he was. I just hoped he wasn't hotter than me. But again, I resisted the urge to ask.

Justin sighed. "But then when dawn came, he told me to get the fuck out."

"What an idiot!" And I meant it. I would have given anything to be the one to take Justin's virginity. He was so beautiful, passionate, intelligent, and caring, as well as an amazing artist. Anyone who had Justin from jump and just tossed him away was a fool who deserved what he got.

Justin smiled weakly. "Yeah. His best friend Mickey, who'd been with Byron when I met him, had warned me before I left with him that he didn't do boyfriends. That he fucked people once (or however many times on a single occasion) and then forgot they existed. But I went anyway. He was hot and, as it turned out, an incredible fuck."

In a voice that I tried desperately to keep even (but that trembled despite my efforts), I asked, "Were you disappointed?"

Justin shook his head. "If I had seen anything that night that indicated he was more than just a good fuck, I might have been, but I really didn't. We didn't talk much. All he wanted was my ass. Well, and my mouth wrapped around his cock. I was grateful for the experience…he showed me how to do just about everything, but walking away wasn't hard."

I quirked an eyebrow. I couldn't help but wonder: Was he just saying that because Byron had rejected him? It was human nature to protect oneself…to pretend not to want what one couldn't have. As though Justin could read my mind, he smiled then and answered my unspoken question. "Trust me, if I had had feelings for him, nothing would have stopped me from pursuing him. I would have been down on Liberty every night, in my tightest, shiniest clothes, trying to get his attention. Fuck, I would have even stalked him."

I chuckled. That I could believe. Justin was nothing if not brave.

"But I just…I didn't feel any special connection between us. I won't deny that I felt completely rejected. To be discarded so coldly after losing your virginity…it couldn't but hurt a little."

Suddenly I felt like punching this guy. "Did you ever see him after that?"

"Of course. Like I said, he was the stud of Liberty Avenue back then. So for the next decade, he continued plowing through ass, tricking, drinking, and doing drugs like there was no tomorrow. If he remembered me after the night we spent together, he gave no sign. In fact, one night a few years later, he invited me to go to the backroom with him. So maybe he had forgotten."

My eyes widened. "Did you go?"

Justin grinned. "Are you kidding? It felt too good to tell him no." Then he laughed. "You should have seen the look on his face. At the time, he was still riding high. No one, and I mean no one, turned Byron Kimmey down."

"Where is he now?"

"Oh…he still comes to Babylon on the weekends. But he's with Mickey now. He still tricks sometimes, but he's in his forties, so he doesn't have the pick of the club anymore."

"I thought he and Mickey were just friends."

Justin nodded. "But the night I went home with Byron, I got the impression that Mickey was in love with him. That he hoped Byron would one day see him as more than a friend. And, according to Emmett, who always has the best gossip, Byron fucked Mickey for the first time on his 40th birthday. After that, they moved in together, though, like I said, he still tricks when he can."

"That's kind of sad."

Justin nodded. "It really is."

We were silent for a couple minutes. I would have given anything to know what he was thinking. Me…I was, as Shirley sometimes said, "thanking my lucky stars." I'd seen "the one" and recognized him. If I hadn't…if the timing had been wrong…or I'd been wrong…and gone home with Jason Tyler…things could have turned out so differently. In a husky voice, I said, "I'm sorry." I think that was the first time I'd said I was sorry for anything. Fuck, it was the first time I'd even considered saying I was sorry.

Justin froze. "For what?"

"For making you wait 11 years."

Justin flushed. But then he smiled. "You were…are worth the wait. So worth it."

In that moment, I was reminded that you have to risk to gain. The night we met, Justin might have shot me down or fucked me and brushed me off. But instead, something unbelievably wonderful had happened. And now…he wanted to really be in my life…share a life with me, and I wanted that too. So much. I was just scared. Scared that the more I seemed like a kid, the less he would want me, like me…that maybe he'd stop loving me or realize he never had. But if we made a life together, and he still felt the same way…

I swallowed hard. Then as evenly as I could manage, I said, "4:30."

Justin smiled a confused smile. "4:30?"

"My debate. It's at 4:30 next Friday in the gym."

Justin smiled a million-watt smile then. He kissed me on the cheek and shoveled some home fries onto my plate. "I can't wait to see you in action. You're going to be amazing!"

I also smiled, but a soft smile. I was terrified, but excited, too. Fuck. I was going to have to really work on my argument. I didn't want to disappoint Justin. I wanted him to be proud of me.

TBC…(I may do another part later tonight…)