Jeff studied Nick as he answered the questions, his face a perfect mask of a cool, calm, complacent manner. He could always fool the press, but they weren't there the night of the breakup. Nick had come home and thrown things around before getting shit faced drunk. And oddly enough, instead of being there for his brother, Drew had left the house as quickly as possible. The next morning, once Nick had calmed down, Drew was there, offering a shoulder to cry on if needed.

The relationship between the Lachey brothers had always intrigued Jeff as well as confused him. They were close, but it seemed to Jeff that sometimes they got along a little too well. And there were times when Nick would put his arm around Drew for a picture and Drew would get this look in his eyes. It only lasted a second, and Jeff didn't even know what kind of look it was. All he knew is that when he saw it it made him sad for his friend. Then it would seem like the brothers were best friends, all traces of that look forgotten.

Drew looked up to Nick. Jeff had heard childhood stories, and it was obvious even as he sat there and watched Drew's face as Nick talked about Jessica. It would seem normal that he would, Nick being his older brother, but Jeff knew there was something there. Something that accompanied the adoration. Jeff just couldn't put his finger on it. He wanted to say fear, but then why would Drew be afraid of Nick? And that bothered Jeff.

Nick had always been sort of an open book, easy to read, easy to learn about, but Drew... he was a mystery. That had drawn Jeff to him from the first time that they'd met. Drew had secrets and parts of himself that had yet to be discovered, while Justin and Nick seemed two dimensional in comparison.

Over the years Jeff had gotten to discover some of those mysteries about Drew, gotten to know him better than anyone. Well, anyone but Nick. Nick seemed to know things about Drew no one else did, just by the way he looked at him sometimes. He usually had that look of "I know your secrets" on his face.

Jeff sighed inwardly as the interview continued and settled his gaze on Drew. He wasn't exactly sure when he'd fallen in love with the younger man, all he knew was that the fall had definitely taken place. Jeff found himself making excuses just to be around Drew, he always called him when they weren't working, and Jeff was almost always thinking about him. And watching. Jeff watched Drew more than anyone else.

The interview ended and Jeff walked over to Drew. "Hey, you want to hang out tonight or something? I'm not doing anything."

Drew smiled at him and said, "Thanks but I'm pretty tired. I think I'm just going to go home and crash."

Jeff nodded and said, "Hey, that's cool. Call me tomorrow?"

Drew nodded and smiled again. Jeff could never get tired of his smile.

Drew studied the room as if he'd never been there before. He'd been in this particular room so many times he could tell someone each detail of it with great description.

"Mmm... you're a pretty little whore, aren't you?"

Sometimes they were women. Sometimes they were men. Drew didn't really care, he let them do what they wanted while he focused on some part of the room, lit by candles and smelling of perfumes and colognes. This time, he was studying the intricate wood design of the bottom right bed post.

"Such a responsive little slut..."

Once his charges were done, Drew took their money and waited for the next person to come in, deciding in the time between which spot he would focus on when it all started up again.

He never kissed them, though. That's the only thing he ever said to anyone who came to him. "I wont kiss your lips. Don't kiss mine." Drew wasn't sure why he did that. He thought it might be that he only wanted to kiss people he was dating or in love with, but then to let complete strangers take control over his body for an hour and be fine with it?

Drew supposed the reason that he didn't let people kiss him was because Nick never had.

Drew lay on the bed, sticky and sweaty, holding money in his hand as he watched the man who's name he didn't even know get his clothes on and walk out the door. Drew looked around the room and decided he might as well just concentrate on the bottom left bed post this time.

Jeff always told Drew to call him. Drew never did, and that's why Jeff was so surprised when he got a call from Drew the day after the interview.

"Hey man, what's up?" Jeff asked, grabbing a soda out of the refrigerator and sitting down at his kitchen table.

"Nothing much. I'm just bored, so I thought I'd take you up on your offer and give you a call."

Jeff smiled to himself and said, "Well, I'm glad you did, because I'm pretty bored too."

"So..." Drew said, not exactly sure what to say.

"Camille's bringing over Alyssa, they should be here in about twenty minutes. We could take Alyssa out or something."

"Sounds great, I'll be on my way."

Jeff hung up the phone with a triumphant smile.

"Dew!" Alyssa exclaimed when she saw her "uncle". Drew laughed and scooped Alyssa up into his arms, carrying her towards the playroom Jeff had set up for her.

"Hey Jeff," Camillie said, giving Jeff a gentle hug.

"Hey Cami, how are you doing?"

She smiled and said, "I'm good. What about you? I see you got Drew to hang out with your sorry ass this afternoon."

Jeff laughed and nodded his agreement. "I hope this means I'm getting through to him."

Camille gave Jeff a smile. "Have you told him yet?"

"No," Jeff said softly, shaking his head.

Camille gave Jeff another smile and said, "Give it time."

Jeff just hoped she was right.

Jeff loved watching Drew play with Alyssa. To watch the man you love be so wonderful with your daughter... Jeff sighed. He couldn't stop thinking about what Camille had asked him that afternoon. Have you told him? It was such a simple, yet so complicated matter.

How could Jeff tell Drew how he really felt when Jeff didn't even know what Drew was feeling half the time? Drew had walls up around himself, and he didn't let anyone through. Sometimes Jeff would catch Drew, when Drew thought no one was watching, with the look of utter sadness in his eyes. Like he carried the weight of the world on his shoulders. There were a thousand secrets waiting to be revealed in those eyes, and Jeff didn't think he knew a single one.

How could he possibly tell Drew he loved him?

Alyssa giggled as she found Drew, who had been hiding in plain sight, easy to find. Drew smiled and laughed at Alyssa, grabbing her and rolling on his back, holding the little girl up in the air. She squealed with delight.

Jeff felt a pang in his heart and wished that he wasn't in love with someone he could never have.

"You're good with her," Drew said to Jeff as the older man drew a blanket over his sleeping daughter, who had fallen asleep on the couch in Jeff's living room.

"I think you are too," Jeff whispered back.

They smiled at each other and quietly left the living room, heading into the kitchen. Drew looked at the time on the microwave. It was almost eight o'clock. He had to go.

"Hey man, this has been great, but I have to get going," Drew told him, trying not to look Jeff in the face.

"Oh," Jeff said, trying not to sound disappointed, but he knew that it probably showed on his face.

"Yeah... um, thanks. I had a really great afternoon."

"Me too. So, are you going to start calling me more now?" Jeff asked. 'Yeah, Jeff, why don't you just ask him to do you here and now?' he thought afterwards. Much to Jeff's surprise, however, Drew just smiled and said, "Yeah, I think I will."

Jeff went to the front door with Drew and watched as the younger man got into his car and then drove off with a wave that Jeff returned.

"I'm going to figure you out, Drew Lachey," Jeff whispered before going back inside.

When Drew came home, it was almost one o'clock in the morning. He looked at the flashing light on his answering machine and hit the button, listening to the messages.

"Hey Drew, it's Nick. Give me a call, will you? Thanks bro."

Drew sighed inwardly and listened for the next message. "Hi Drew, it's Jeff. Um... tonight was really... I mean, I had a good time, and I just... well, it's nice to see you and all... and I wanted to tell you that... um, well... thanks. I'll talk to you later. Bye."

Drew smiled to himself as he listened to Jeff's voice, sounding nervous and a little higher than usual. The smile, however, quickly faded, replaced by a look of confusion. Drew grabbed a can of beer out of his refrigerator and sat down on the kitchen floor. The can opened with a pop that seemed to echo throughout the silent house.

That night, as he was whoring himself out to yet another pleasure seeker, Jeff's face had entered his mind, out of nowhere. Jeff's smiling, beautiful face. Drew took a long drink as he realized he had just thought Jeff's face was beautiful. Drew didn't even understand why he had pictured his friend while having sex, but it had kept happening over and over again. Drew had tried to keep Jeff out of his mind, but the harder he tried, the stronger the image had become.

Drew went to take another drink, and when nothing came out, he realized he had already consumed the whole can. And he didn't want to get up for another one, he was tired and a little sore. One of the last people he'd slept with had been a little rough.

"Jeff's just my friend," Drew said to himself after a moment of silence. "Just my friend," he repeated. Maybe if he said it enough times he'd actually believe it.

Drew, half asleep, was aware of someone standing over him. He groggily opened one eye, and after his vision stopped blurring, he could make out Nick's tall, lean form.

"No, Nick, please, not tonight," Drew said, pulling away from Nick. Still not fully awake, for only a moment Drew thought he was once again a teenager, afraid of the nights and what they might bring.

A look of guilt flashed across Nick's face, but it was gone as quickly has it had come.

"Hey, man, wake up. Did you get my message last night?"

"Uh? Oh, yeah, your message. I got it," Drew said, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. "Well, I just came to grab some of my stuff that I left here. Then I was thinking maybe we could chill. Sound good?"

"Yeah, sure," Drew said, not really paying attention. He was still trying to fight down the feelings of panic and fear without letting it show to Nick.

"Okay, meet me downstairs. I'm going to see if you have anything good to eat, I'm starving."

"So, heard from Drew lately?" Justin asked as he licked his ice cream cone. "Because I never seem to be able to catch him around, he never answers his phone."

"Do you ever leave messages?" Jeff asking, stirring his sundae around. "Drew usually doesn't call unless you've left him a message. And even then, it doesn't always work. But yeah, he came over to my house yesterday and we played with Alyssa. Camille brought her over."

"How is she doing?"

"Who? Alyssa or Cami?" Jeff asked with a grin. He knew that Justin was attracted to his ex girlfriend, and he personally wouldn't mind it a bit if they started dating.

"Alyssa, of course. How is Camille, though?" Justin asked, trying to hide it as he cheeks got a little red.

"They're both good."

Justin nodded. "So, uh... who's Camille seeing these days?"

Jeff laughed and said, "No one, at the moment. But with a girl like Cami, who knows how long she'll be single?" Jeff hoped Justin picked up the hint. Apparently he did, because he was suddenly asking about Drew again.

"Where do you think Drew is when he's not with us. I mean, does he just not like to answer his phone, or does he go places? Maybe he's got this whole group of friends that we don't even know. Maybe he likes them better than us."

"Don't say things like that, Drew probably just wants some peace when we break," Jeff said, not wanting to think about other people spending the time with Drew that he wanted.

"Well, it makes me curious. I say we go over there right now."

"Without even calling?" Jeff asked, trying to respect Drew's privacy but at the same time feeling his stomach lurching with excitement at the chance to see Drew.

"He's not going to care," Justin said, standing up. The ice cream parlor they were in was a relatively small, homey place not too far from Drew's house. "Come on Jeff, I think Nick told me he was going to be over there today anyway, the four of us can hang out."

Jeff caved, standing up and following Justin out. He just hoped Drew would be home. 

"So, what have you been up to? I never see you," Nick told Drew as soon as Drew made his way downstairs.

"You see me all the time," Drew said.

"You know what I mean. When we get a break like this. You always disappear. Where do you go?"

Drew shrugged and sat down in a chair across from the couch Nick was sitting on in the living room.

Nick, obviously taking the hint to drop the subject, moved onto something else. "You know, I heard a rumor that Jessica has a new boyfriend."

"Isn't she allowed to have one?" Drew asked.

Nick sighed, "Yeah, but I just miss her so much. I mean, even though she wouldn't put out... I still miss her."

Drew snorted. "You miss her but you went out and slept with as many groupies it took to satisfy you? What did you think she was going to do when she found out about it, give you a pat on the back and tell you it was okay?"

"I fucked up. She wont accept my apology. I love her, man. I want her back."

"Well, if she does have a boyfriend Nick, there's nothing you can do," Drew told him.

Nick sighed and looked away. Drew fought back the impulse to roll his eyes. Nick had been playing the sympathy card a little too much lately. Drew suspected that it was because he couldn't get himself laid.

With a sudden pang of dread and fear, Drew hoped that that wasn't the reason Nick had come by. 'No,' Drew said to himself, 'that ended a long time ago.' Still, the feelings were there and their air suddenly became tense and uncomfortable.

Nick looked at Drew, noticing how his face had paled slightly. He got up and moved over to his younger brother, putting his hand on Drew's shoulder. "Are you okay, man?"

"Yo! Anyone here?" Drew and Nick looked over to see Justin and Jeff entering the living room.

"The front door was open," Justin explained. "What's up? What are we doing."

Drew got up, shrugging Nick's hand off of his shoulder. "Nothing much."

"Let's go see if you have anything we can watch," Justin said, heading for the room where Drew's large screen television was.

"I'm sure I'll have something," Drew commented sarcastically, and Jeff laughed. Drew looked over at him and smiled. 'He looks so... no! Stop it Drew.'

Nick, Drew, and Jeff headed in the direction Justin had gone, and Nick flung his arm casually around Drew's shoulder. When he looked at Jeff, Jeff just gave Drew a small smile.

It was going to be a long afternoon.

After going through four movies, eight bags of popcorn, and a large amount of drinks, Drew told the other guys that he was tired and heading up to bed.

Jeff had watched Drew's face while he had said this, not believing the younger man. So, when Nick and Justin asked him if he wanted to go hit a club, Jeff declined, telling them he was also tired. So Justin had gone with Nick in Nick's car and Jeff had driven his car down the street, turned off the headlights, and watched to see if Drew came out of his driveway.

Fifteen minutes later, Drew's car pulled out and drove in the opposite direction of Jeff's car. Jeff started his car up and followed Drew, making sure to keep a safe distance so Drew didn't recognize him.

He followed for a half an hour before Drew pulled into the parking lot of a worn down building. The neighborhood was run down, the kind of place you wouldn't want to walk around in unarmed at night.

Slowing down and waiting until Drew had gotten out of his car and headed for the back of the building, Jeff pulled into the parking lot, determined to find out exactly what Drew was up to.

Drew sighed as he stripped off his clothes, wondering how long it would be before the first fuck of the night came in. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get his mind off of Jeff.

"Please tell me I don't have a crush on him," Drew moaned to himself, but he suspected that it was true.

With another sigh, Drew finished undressing and laid out on the bed, closing his eyes. When he heard the footsteps out in the long hallway, he opened them, just incase whoever it was was coming to him.

He saw the door knob turning and looked to see who it was that was entering. When hard, angry, familiar green eyes met his own, he forgot how to breathe momentarily.