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Title: Love By Numbers Love By Numbers Eight SixteenNick was bored and it was too late to really do much of anything. He looked at the clock on the night stand beside the hotel bed and frowned. 1:30am. By the time he rounded up security and bodyguards, he'd already have missed last call at any club and he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to go out dancing or drinking anyways. He just needed to get rid of the excess energy that he had bottled up inside of him. The hotel pamphlet caught his eye and he saw a picture of a gym on the back. "Yeah.. That's it. I'll go down and shoot some hoops." He muttered to himself, pulling on a pair of shorts and wife beater, covering his blonde spikes up with a backwards ball cap. Phoning Eddie, he told him where he'd be and not to worry, he'd find the gym by himself. "You don't have to go you know." Nick heard Justin call to him before he'd made it out of the
room. "You can stay."
Nick half turned, raising his eyebrows. "You're busy.." It wasn't a question or a comment, but
more of a statement.
"Doing the same as you." Both men were frozen in their spots, neither sure of how to react. IT
wasn't very often they found themselves alone without the accompaniment of a half a dozen
people telling them what to do and how to do it.
When Nick didn't respond, Justin threw the ball at him not smiling. "First to 21 wins." An issue
challenged in Justin's tone.
"I already won." Nick stated, a hint of cockiness in his voice.
"Fuck you Carter." Justin said, not backing down nor flinching at Nick's intense gaze.
"You wish Timberlake." Nick started to dribble the ball, walking towards Justin who was
standing with his legs planted firmly on the floor, arms crossed over his chest.
'No.. You wish..." Neither said another word before they both broke out into a sprint, Nick towards the basket,
Justin towards Nick, both trying to beat the other. If not for anything but to forget everything
that they were supposed to be and remember what they were. Young guys who just wanted
things to be as simple as a game of 21. Twenty minutes passed before either said anything,
both breathing hard and sweating profusely from exertion. It wasn't very often that they were
afforded the luxury of playing basketball without interruption, against someone who was a
worthy competitor. Finally, as Nick was about to make a lay up, he spoke. "The new CD... It's
pretty good." He watched the ball swish through the net, before looking over at Justin.
Justin shrugged and raised his eyebrows slightly. "Thanks. Why you here?"
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"Interviews... Show tomorrow night... You?" "Benefit on Sunday... Rehearsal tomorrow..." At that they both looked at each other, something unreadable in each pair of eyes and the game started again, just as intense and hard as before. Neither keeping close score, just relishing in the freedom. Again, Nick was the first to speak after some time. "You still with Brit?" Justin looked at Nick with suspicion in his eyes. "Why? You interested?" Nick shrugged and looked away from Justin's questioning glare. "Maybe." "Yeah, I am." "Serious?" Justin's pause caught Nick's attention and he turned to face Justin, noticing that he'd sat down and was trying to catch his breath. "Fucked her yet?" He winked when Justin's head jerked up, a look of disbelief on his face. "No." Nick laughed and sat down beside Justin, stretching his legs out in front of him. "So.. You're serious with her but you still haven't gotten with her? What.. Couldn't find the access code to that chastity belt?" "Fuck you Carter. It's not always about sex you know." Justin said, getting up and picking the ball up again, dribbling it through his legs. "The only people who say that are the ones that aren't getting any." With that Nick flashes Justin another smirk, making Justin laugh and relax a little. "Huh?"
"The no sex. Your choice or hers?"
Again, another pause from Justin. "Hers."
"You sure about that Timberlake? You paused."
"You don't fucking know what you're talking about Carter. Don't pretend to know anything
about me, because you have no fucking clue." Justin tried not to let the anger show, but it was
hard. Nick honestly had no idea what he was talking about. Of course it was Britney that was
holding out. It wasn't him. It wasn't.
"Don't I?" Nick asked, suddenly right in front of Justin, who had let the ball drop and bounce
away, which was now rolling across the floor. They were face to face and Nick's blue eyes
were staring directly into those of Justin's.
"Why does this matter so much to you Carter?" Justin asked, his stomach suddenly churning
with anticipation.
"I told you. I'm interested." Nick said, giving Justin a small smile, not wanting his own
nervousness to show.
"What room are you in?" Justin asked, stepping back just an inch.
"816. Why?" Nick's eyes were wide with amusement, anxious as to the reason why Justin
wanted his room number.
"I'll send her up. Then you can see who's not putting out." Justin had NO idea why he'd said
that, but it seemed like a good thing at the time. He just hoped that Nick didn't call his bluff.
"Nah.. That's alright... I'll pass." Nick said, his face falling.
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Justin was suddenly confused. Nick had just passed up the opportunity to fuck his girlfriend. Something that he hadn't had an interest in ...ever. And she was his girlfriend. The girl every male with a sex drive fantasized about. "But? You said you were interested?" He questioned, watching Nick turn and walk towards the door. "I never said anything about Britney." And suddenly it hit him. So much of the last few years became crystal clear to Justin and he couldn't help but smile, a goofy look on his face. "Hey Nick?" He called, hoping that Nick would stop, or at least pause. He did, half turning around to look at Justin with curiosity. "Yeah Justin?" Nick hadn't even realized that Justin had used his first name, that he'd used Justin's. "You said 816?" Both men smiled at one another. "Yeah." |