Ten 

“Hey,” Lance said, opening his front door. “Don't you look nice.”

“Thanks,” Justin said bashfully, looking down at his black jeans, white dress shirt, and black jacket. “Is this okay?”

“Terrific.” Lance gave Justin a bruising kiss, then winked at him. “Let's plow.”

“Want me to drive?” Justin asked. Lance shook his head.

“Nah…I'll drive. I need to stop on the way, okay?”

“Sure,” Justin said, shrugging. 

JC was out the door almost as soon as Lance pulled into his driveway. “Hi!” JC called, swiftly walking towards the SUV. He wore a pair of tight black pants and an oversized long-sleeved shirt.

“What are we doing here?” Justin asked, trying not to sound freaky.

“JC's coming for dinner,” Lance told him. “Hey, Jayce. Hop in the back.”

“The back? I…” JC stared at Justin. “Hi, um, Justin.” JC got in the back, wanting to ask a hundred questions, but not wanting to start a fight.

“Hello, JC,” Justin said through clenched teeth.

“I thought it'd be nice for us all to have dinner,” Lance said cheerfully. “I got us a table at Reigle's…it's on me.”

“It damn well better be,” Justin muttered. JC stared out the window, his heart falling into his shoes. 

As soon as they were led to their table, Lance excused himself to use the restroom, asking JC to order wine for them all. JC placed the order with the wine steward, then looked at Justin. “Will you quit glaring at me? I had nothing to do with this!”

“Whatever,” Justin said. “All I know is that yesterday afternoon, Lance called me and asked me to go out to dinner.”

“Afternoon?” JC said, laughing. “He called ME in the morning, brother. You were just an afterthought.”

“Look, JC, I'm sorry if you thought something was going on between you and Lance after your little jaunt to Houston, but there's nothing there. What Lance and I have is something special.” Justin actually blushed slightly as he said the words.

“What…just because Lance let you fuck him, you think you're special?” JC scoffed. “And what we had in Houston wasn't “nothing,” Justin. NOTHING would be what happened between you two in Russia and Paris.”

“You don't know shit!” Justin hissed. “And I didn't fuck Lance!”

“Sorry about that,” Lance said, approaching the table. Justin fell silent, giving JC one last glare. “What looks good?”

“Justin's head on a platter,” JC mumbled in an incredibly quiet voice. 

Lance kept up a lively banter during dinner, seeming not to notice that it was a very one-sided conversation. Justin and JC kept glaring at each other, trying to figure out what in the world was going on. As the waiter served their cheesecake, Lance finally stopped talking. “Are you two gonna duke it out here, or can you wait until we get outside?” Justin and JC looked at each other, then looked at Lance. “Look, I know I made it sound like I was going out on a date with each of you…but I needed to get you both here.”

“What kind of game are you playing, Lance?” JC said finally.

“I should ask you two the same thing,” Lance said. They stared at him. “For all those years I was the one you made fun of. Justin was the young one, the athletic one, the cute one, and then the leader. JC, you were the artistic one who was all about the music and everything like that. I was the ugly one, the dorky one, the shy one.”

“Lance, we never thought that about you,” Justin began.

“Yes, you did,” Lance corrected. “I was nothing to the two of you. It didn't matter that I was stuck back in a hotel room with you, Justin, when we were younger, because you would have never given me the time of day. And it didn't matter that I used to fall asleep dreaming of you, JC, because you hardly even knew I existed, except for that I was Joey's best friend. Then, all of a sudden, I became something to the two of you…once I lost weight and got some muscle.”

“Lance…” JC said helplessly.

“No.” Lance stood, but kept his voice low. “I was shocked when you both started to become interested in me…and I enjoyed it. And I really did decide to make a choice between you. But I can't. There are things I have always loved about you both…and the sex has just made it more intense. I can't decide between you. So…” Lance threw up his hands helplessly. “I'm sorry. I need to go.” Lance threw down some money and left the restaurant.

“What the hell was that?” Justin said, shocked.

“I have no clue.” JC looked at Justin. “Wanna go for a drink?”

“More than one drink,” Justin corrected, standing up. 

“I can't believe he was playing us both,” Justin said, twirling the ice around in his glass.

“I don't think he MEANT to,” JC said. “Well, maybe at the beginning…but I feel like he really did want to be with me.”

“Me, too,” Justin said. “I'm sorry, Jayce, for all the things I said or did.”

“Me, too,” JC said. “I didn't mean to hurt you at all. No one should have gotten hurt.”

“It's not OUR fault,” Justin said. “I mean, he was just suddenly hot.”

“I think we're ALL guilty of that,” JC replied, giving Justin a pointed look. “Another?” JC waved his glass at the waiter.

“What's THAT supposed to mean?”

“You were just a dumb kid, just a teenager, then all of a sudden you got muscles and shit,” JC told him shyly. “You got hot overnight.”

“YOU'RE one to talk,” Justin retorted. “You just woke up one day with this hair, and these legs, and that damn giggle.”

JC smiled and blushed. “Thank you, I think.”

“So…do you think Lance wants us to decide?” Justin asked finally. “I mean…is it like a fight to the death, last one left standing wins the girl?”

“I don't think he'd appreciate him calling you a girl,” JC said, laughing. He sighed. “I hate to think of giving up the sex, though.”

“The sex was DAMN good,” Justin agreed. “He's so aggressive.”

“Lance?” JC stared at him. “Lance isn't aggressive. Lance is a bottom.”

“No, he isn't,” Justin said. He stammered a bit, then admitted, “He's the only person I've ever let top me.”

JC's mouth fell open. “Lance wanted me to be all dominant with him.”

“Whoa,” Justin said, then smiled. “He IS a player.” Justin finished his drink, and debated getting a refill. “What the hell.” He waved his glass in the air. Justin sighed and laid his head on JC's shoulder, the alcohol making him tired and cuddly.

“We're in public,” JC reminded him gently.

“Do you care?”

“No.”

Justin closed his eyes and thought for a moment. “We could always…nah, never mind.”

“What?” JC asked. Their booth was secluded, and he liked the weight of Justin against his body. He put a hand on Justin's leg.

“We could…all three of us…” Justin began, then laughed. “That's insane.”

“All three of who?” JC's hand drew lazy circles up and down Justin's thigh. Justin captured the hand and began to play with JC's long fingers.

“Me and you and Lance…if you wanted,” Justin whispered. “It would be amazing. We could share him.”

“Would you wanna do that?” JC stared at Justin, trying to focus on what Justin was saying. “With me?”

“Hell, yeah,” Justin murmured, nuzzling against JC's neck. His tongue gave JC's smooth skin a tentative lick.

“We need to go to Lance's house,” JC said, trying to think rationally. He drew Justin's hand up to his mouth and licked between Justin's fingers.

Justin moaned. “Yeah…we need a cab.” He threw down some cash onto the table and stood. “Let's do it.” 

Eleven