NOTES: Kevin, Abbey & Rod from the movie On The Line. And are someone else's intellectual property and used here for entertainment only and not for profit. Everything, of course, is completely made up. We thank each other.

ON THE LINE 2: THE FLAMING BLUE BUGALOO

Abbey sat on the L and waited for her stop. She was in the same car where she met Kevin and when she thought about him, she couldn't help but smile. She'd felt a connection with him immediately and it had only grown over the three months they'd been together. Kevin was easily her best friend. She trusted him completely and knew that she could tell him any problem she was having and he'd be there to listen and help in any way he could. But the things she loved about Kevin were also the things that were bothering her. He was so easy to talk to and yet she found herself unable to tell him what she most wanted to say.

The L pulled into the station. As Abbey stepped out of the train and walked along the platform, she continued to think about Kevin. He'd made love to her just that morning, sweet like always, and they had both come. 'If Kevin were --' she thought, then stopped herself. 'He isn't. He's not. I would know.' She walked up the stairs and down the street to her salon, she decided to focus on her upcoming hair appointment. JC always did such a nice job.

Abbey opened the door to FuMan Hairdo, closed it behind her, and looked around the salon. A man sat at the reception desk, eating his lunch. Abbey thought he was the owner and was pretty sure his name was Chris Kirkpatrick. There were several chairs along either wall, and she knew from experience that there were sinks and an area for waxing and manicures in the back. Chris waved at Abbey. She waved back and took a seat. She flipped through a couple of magazines as she waited and began to softly sing, "Layin' all my troubles down. Here I am, baby, come and take me."

"Here I am, baby, come and take me. Take me by the hand."

Abbey smiled at the sound of JC's voice. "Hey."

He leaned in and kissed her cheek. "Come on back."

She followed him into the back, where a sweet girl with long brown hair massaged peppermint-scented shampoo into her scalp. When she was finished, Abbey walked out to JC's chair.

"What are we doing for you today?" JC asked, leaning his elbows on the back of her chair and looking at her in the mirror.

"Nothing drastic. Just a trim."

"That's what I like to hear!" JC rolled up the sleeves of his pink shirt. "I wouldn't take more than a quarter of an inch off this beautiful mane, even if you asked me."

Abbey thanked him and lowered her head when he told her to. He pinned up her hair with long silver clips, carefully combing out her hair and snipping at the ends. After a few minutes, though, he stopped. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

JC wheeled her chair around so that she was facing him and sat on his heels. "Hairdressers, doctors, bartenders, lawyers. What do they all have in common?"

"They all make more than I will when I get my PhD."

"Anything you tell them, they can't repeat. Whatever you say to me always stays between us." He patted her hand, then stood and swung her chair back around. "Put your head down, please."

She did, and thought about what she was going to say. "I can't, I mean, it's silly."

"Pish-posh." JC made a few more snips then gently pushed her head up straight.

"I just, it's about my boyfriend." Abbey stole a glance around the salon. She saw the manicurist, a shorter girl with fake boobs and blonde hair, talking to Justin, another stylist. Deciding that they were out of earshot, Abbey continued. "I've mentioned Kevin before, right?"

"Sure! He's the boy who put up those posters, all over town. I remember him." JC briefly rested his hand on her shoulder. "You two are having problems?"

"No, no, things with Kevin are great." Abbey paused. "I told you, it's silly. You don't want to hear about this."

"If I didn't want to hear, I wouldn't have asked."

Abbey studied JC's reflection. She looked at his curly hair, the black smudges at the edges of his eyes, the medallion hanging around his neck. "I think Kevin is gay."

*

Justin slammed the office door and leaned against it. "Fuck, Chris, I just can't do it. I can't."

Chris didn't even look up, stupid old queen. He said, "Did you realize you have a split end? More than one split end? Is your jacket out of style?"

Justin smoothed down his shirt. His jacket was very hip and he knew it. His hair looked perfect. He said, "No, it's not any of those things. It's, it's HIM."

Chris still wouldn't look up. He was studying charts or print-outs or something incredibly boring like that. Chris said, "HIM? Which him? The boy from the train? The boy from the sandwich shop? The boy you saw for five seconds at the Sears Tower?"

"HIM! Kevin!" Justin pounds his fist against the door. "He's so. He's just so. And he's also so --"

"Straight." This time Chris looked up. "He's pretty straight, Justin. You know? Posters all over town to find a girl, I'm just sayin'. Pretty straight. So, really, can you save the drama queen act for boys you actually have a chance with?"

"Fuck you, Chris," Justin said. "At least I have a reason that I will not be with my one true love, the one I deserve because of what a good boy I have been -- there's a reason! Not like you." Justin crossed his arms and snorted.

"I'm not interested in your continuing delusion that I want JC. I'm not interested in your new obsession with the straightest straight boy in Chicago." Chris stood up and looked pointedly at his watch. "I'm interested in the fact that you have appointments right now, and by that I mean this very instant, and you're in here complaining about your lovelife, which seems to exist only in your head."

Justin opened the door and flounced out. He turned around and said, "I get laid all the time. All the time. Unlike some people, I might add."

He went and sat on the corner of the front desk. "Christina, do you remember Kevin?"

Christina checked something off on her ledger. "Justin, your three o'clock is here. Brian Littrell is waiting for you."

"Did he bring more of those pamphlets for me?" Justin sighed. "Will not convert. This little light of mine, it's gonna shine and shine. And I know Jesus loves me as is. As Kevin should."

Christina cocked her head and Justin would have been glad that someone was finally paying attention to him, but he knew Christina was just watching the manicurist bend over. Damn lesbians, they were just like guys, checking out the merchandise all the time even when it was already theirs. Justin called, "I see you, Britney Jean!"

She looked over her shoulder and waved at Justin. "Scuzz-tin!"

Christina finally looked away from her girlfriend's ass and said, "Justin. Kevin is straight. You've been cutting his hair for six months and if you haven't worn off on him yet, you never will." Christina chewed on the end of her pen. Disgusting habit, Justin didn't know how Britney could put up with it. Then Christina said, "On the other hand. You know. He does have a vibe."

Justin smiled. "You think?" He loved Christina so much.

"I do think. He has a vibe of possible gayness about him."

Justin sprang up off the desk and said, "Girlfriend, I love you so much. You have given me hope." He looked over at the chairs and waved. "Brian, get your pretty ass over here. Time to make you look beautiful for your congregation!"

*
Rod looked at the clipboard in front of him and sighed. Two more interviews to go and he was tired. He figured they would have found a new roommate by now, but Randy moved out almost seven weeks ago and they still didn't have anybody to take his room. There was one guy that Rod really liked, Nelly something-or-other, but Kevin didn't like his references. Kevin had also said, "And he had this little band-aid on his face, but I didn't want to ask about it."

At this point, Rod was just about ready to take anybody and really, it's not like he had terribly high standards, anyway. It was Kevin who insisted on having final approval over the new roommate and so far, he'd turned down ten guys for being too messy or too loud or too something. Rod was still recording his album at night, because The Mick was producing it and preferred to work then, so he was home during the day. He was tired of dealing with all these people, but Kevin had agreed to pay Randy's share of the rent until they found a new roommate, so Rod didn't have much to complain about. He hated doing the interviews, though.

There was a knock on the door and Rod answered it. "Hey, dude, come on in."

"Kevin Richardson," the man said, extending his hand. "My friends call me Train."

"Cool." Rod farted. "Sorry, bro."

Train laughed. "No apologies, man. You're a person. It's what people do."

Rod grabbed a couple of beers from the fridge and handed one to Train. He also handed him a pen and one of Kevin's interview forms. "Go to town."

Train filled out the form, laughing whenever Rod farted and occasionally telling dirty jokes. Rod decided he liked this guy. Train asked to use the bathroom. Rod told him where it was, leaned back on the couch, and was surprised when Kevin walked in.

"I don't believe it. I just don't believe it."

Rod plopped his feet on the coffee table. "What's up, Kev? You're home early from your date. Abbey on the rag or something?"

"Jesus, Rod!" Kevin threw his coat on the back of a chair. "She's not -- Abbey doesn't have her period. At least, I don't think she does."

"So what's the problem?"

"The problem? You want to know the problem? She broke up with me!"

Rod handed his beer to Kevin, who took a long drink. "What happened, bro?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"You obviously do, man." Rod looked at his watch. "I've got a couple hours before I have to be at the studio. Talk to me."

Kevin circled around the couch and picked up Train's application. "Who's this?"

"Guy I talked to today. He seems cool."

"Seems?"

"Yeah, he's in the bathroom."

Kevin shook his head. "I'm not gonna talk about this when some dude with my name is in the bathroom."

"He told me to call him Train. And besides, I think he's taking a crap or something. He won't hear us." Rod started drinking from Train's bottle. "I can't believe Abbey broke up with you, after all the trouble you went to when you were looking for her."

"She doesn't owe me anything, Rod. Grown-up relationships don't work like that."

"Yeah, you'd know. You've had so much experience."

Kevin sighed. "Rod."

"Dude, seriously, I'm listening." Rod shifted on the couch so he could see Kevin better. "Is she seeing another guy or something? Ooh, is she a lesbo?"

"She's not a lesbo!" Kevin tossed Train's application back onto the table. "But she thinks I am."

"Abbey thinks you're a lesbo?"

"Yes. Well, not a lesbo, but she thinks I'm gay." Kevin covered his face with his hands. "Have you ever heard such a stupid thing in your life?"

For once, Rod decided to think before he spoke. He'd had his suspicions about Kevin's sexuality once or twice over the years, but maybe that wouldn't be the best thing to say to Kevin. "That's dumb."

"Yeah, I thought so, too!"

The bathroom door opened and Train walked out, tapping an old Sports Illustrated against his hip. "You're out of toilet paper, bro." He noticed Kevin. "Oh, hey. You looking at the room, too?"

"No, I live here."

"Oh." Train extended his hand. "I'm Train. Nice to meet you." They shook hands. "Would it be okay if I looked around? At, like, the kitchen and shit?"

"Knock yourself out," Rod said. When Train disappeared around the corner, Rod leaned close to Kevin. "You don't have a crush on me or anything like that, do you?"

"I'm not gay!" Kevin flopped back against the couch. "This is just crazy."

"Dudes!" Train called from the kitchen. "I forgot to say! There also aren't any clean towels in the bathroom. I don't wanna be picky or anything, but I couldn't even wash my hands!"

Rod laughed and Kevin began furiously rubbing his right hand along the top of his pants.

*

Justin fluttered around Christina's desk and glanced over to the reception area where Kevin, his Kevin, was waiting. He just couldn't say he was ready yet. He needed to get himself together. Alex walked in from lunch and said to Kevin, daring to speak to Justin's Kevin, "Dude, you getting your hair colored today? Coming over to AJ for the fine color magic? You'd look good as a blonde, you know?"

Kevin flinched and said, "No. No. I like my hair. I like my hair this color." Alex shrugged and Justin wondered why Kevin seemed so upset. What could have happened to make his Kevin be upset? Justin sighed and waved to Kevin to indicate he was finally ready.

Kevin sat down with a sigh. Justin twitched in happiness, his true love sitting right in front of him. Justin said, "Honey, what's wrong? You want something special today to make those blues go away?"

Kevin sighed again. "Nothing special. Just a trim. Do I seem down?"

"You seem down, baby. You seem way down. You look like you live in my house." Justin ran his hands over Kevin's hair and tried to focus. He wanted to do this right, to make Kevin's hair look as perfect as the rest of him.

"Your house?" In the mirror, Kevin's reflection raised an eyebrow.

Justin grinned. "So, I rent a room from these two guys. They're all married, basically. And they're really nice, especially Howie. Howie's the sweetest guy in the whole world. Seriously. And Nicky's nice, but a little immature, you know? Anyhoo, speaking of weird. They're also kinda weird. They have blue bulbs in every lamp in the house. Every light. They like the blue light."

"Blue light?" Kevin almost smiled and Justin felt like the sun was shining right from the chair in front of him.

"I don't get it. Seriously, dude, no idea. They like the world to look blue. And you, you, before I started this wonderful story, you looked blue like my house." Justin started trimming Kevin's hair. "What's wrong, baby, you can tell me. Something with your sweet girl?"

Kevin sighed and looked sad again. Justin sighed and put his hands on Kevin's neck to angle Kevin's head down. Such soft, pretty skin. Justin wanted to lick every inch of it. Kevin said, "She broke up with me."

"Oh, no! How awful," Justin said. Justin thought, fucking A YES! He danced a jig in his head. "Why would anyone kick your fine ass to the curb?"

"She thinks. She's crazy. She's not. She's great. But she thinks something crazy. I think it's crazy. She still wants to be friends. But she thinks. She thinks I'm, you know. Maybe I might be gay." Kevin mumbled the last part but Justin heard it.

"OH!" Justin bit his lip. He said, "Oh. You know, I, uh, wait here. I'll be right back."

Justin ran back to the office of the salon where JC and Chris were eating lunch. He rushed in the room and slammed the door. "OH MY GAWD! OH MY GAWD!"

JC looked up and said, "Justin, don't you have a client right now? Aren't you cutting Kevin's hair?"

"His girlfriend broke up with him -- shethinkshemightbeGAY! GAY! Gay like me, like you, like you! Like everyone in this room! GAY! I have dreams like this. Dreams where I pass out business cards that say I'm recognized as the greatest hairdresser in Chicago and Kevin is right by my side as my one true love! It's a dream come true!" Justin did a little dance by the door.

Chris said, "Justin, you can't put the greatest hairdresser in Chicago on your business cards. We've had this discussion."

Justin said, "I am though!"

JC said, "Well, I think Wade over at Salon Select disagrees with you on that one, J."

"Don't even mention that name to me, JC! Don't you dare!" Justin stopped his dance and glared at JC. "And also, Chris, you know what? You let JC put 'prettiest hairdresser in the world' on his business card."

Chris said, "Because he is." Justin sighed. Chris said, "Justin. Are you still cutting Kevin's hair? Did you just leave him out there?"

"CHRIS! JC! He might be GAY! SQUEEEEEEEE!"

JC covered his ears. "Justin, stop making that sound and go back to your client!"

Justin twirled like his landlord and stopped. He said, "JC, you cut his girlfriend's hair! Has she said anything?"

"Justin, you know I can't repeat anything that a client said to me in confidence." JC stood up. "Justin, if you don't go back out there and cut that poor man's hair, I will!"

"Stay away from my boyfriend! And that means yes, so I am off. Off to cut my future boyfriend's hair!" Justin ran back to his station. Kevin was looking confused. Justin said, "Kevin, baby, I am so sorry. I was paged to the back room."

"I didn't hear anything. I thought, maybe, I don't know." Kevin sighed and rubbed his hands.

"You thought what?" Justin went back to trimming Kevin's beautiful hair. He felt like an artist, unleashed at last on the perfect canvas.

"I thought. I dunno. You kinda freaked when I said the, you know, the thing. It's not true. I'm not."

Justin got the razor and began trimming the back of Kevin's neck. "I know, honey," Justin said. Denial is not just a river in Egypt, he thought. "It's okay. If you are, you know, if you are, it would be okay. Really. I'm gay, you know."

Kevin smiled. "I kinda guessed. But I'm not. I'm really not. I'm pretty sure. I mean, okay, I always choke with women, except Abbey. But that doesn't mean anything."

"No, it sure doesn't." Justin grinned and thought, it sure does, you beautiful queen, you. He pictured how great it would be to suck Kevin's dick, and sighed happily. Someday soon, he just knew.

*
Kevin agreed to let Train move in. Rod and Eric figured it was because he was still upset that Abbey dumped him, but they didn't argue. Train moved in two weeks after Rod met with him and he was shaping up to be an okay roommate. He even brought his own hand towels. He had some kind of job at the mall, cleaning or something. Rod didn't see Train much because he was still recording at night. He didn't see Eric or Kevin much either, and he missed them, but it was kind of nice having the apartment to himself during the day. It was nice for the ladies.

Rod was on the couch with one of them when Kevin came home unexpectedly. She quickly pulled up her pants. Rod patted her ass and told her to go wait in his bedroom.

"Sorry," Kevin said.

"Don't be. I came a couple minutes ago. I was just, you know, trying to take care of business."

Kevin wrinkled his nose. "Rod, that's my damn couch."

Rod shrugged. "Flip the cushion. You home for lunch or something? I think there's still some peanut butter left."

"No, I'm okay."

"What are you doing home, then?"

Kevin made a big production of sitting in a chair. "I couldn't concentrate at work. I can't concentrate at all lately."

"You're still worried about that stuff with Abbey?"

"I can't help it, man!" Kevin shook his head. "The only girl I ever liked and actually *got* dumped me because she thinks I'm gay!"

Rod decided to say what he maybe should have said when Kevin first told him. "There've been a couple of times, bro, where I thought maybe you might not be the straightest arrow in the drawer."

"I'm not gay!" Kevin slammed his hands down on the arms of the chair. "You're my best friend, Rod! Why would you think I was gay?"

Rod thought about this. "It's not something I can, like, pin down or put into words or whatever. It's just a kind of vibe that you give off sometimes. It's not a bad thing, bro. It's just the way you are."

"A vibe? You've been hanging out with The Mick for too long."

"Are you sure you're not gay? I mean, you've never thought about a guy, you know, that way?"

Kevin paused and picked at the cuff of his shirt. "I don't know. I guess I have. Just, like, noticed a couple of guys at the gym or something. But it's not like I jerk off with Playgirl in front of me."

Rod looked at Kevin.

"Okay, so yeah, maybe I'm not, I mean, maybe Abbey was right. Maybe." Kevin sighed. "I don't know."

"So why don't you go out with a guy?"

"What?"

Rod held his hands out. "No, dude, hear me out. Going out with a guy is really the only way you're gonna find out for sure. And hey, if you're out with him and it sucks, at least you got out of the house for a night. For a change."

"Rod, where am I gonna find a gay guy to ask out? It's not like they wear identifying signs."

"What about Justin, that dude who cuts your hair? I'm pretty fucking sure he's not straight."

Kevin bit his lip. "What if he doesn't want to? Go out with me, I mean."

"Dude, any gay dude would be lucky to have you."

Kevin blinked. "Really?"

"Don't think you should be asking me to dinner or something." Rod smiled. "I'm just saying."

"Thanks, Rod."

Rod pulled his robe tightly around himself and stood. "Anytime, bro. So, yeah, go see your little woman. I've got a little woman of my own to take care of in here."

*

Justin couldn't contain himself. Moreso than usually. Way moreso, he thought. His dream man, the Kevin Gibbons, the perfect one for him, had asked him out. To a baseball game, granted, and Justin didn't know anything about baseball, but still. Basketball, he would have been okay, Justin had had his first crush ever on Michael Jordan, but baseball. He knew the Cubs sucked but beyond that. He thought he'd fixed that problem, though.

Kevin sat next to Justin in their seats in the back. He said, "Uh. Thanks for coming. I mean, you know, this is just kinda, it's a test thing. To see, you know. If maybe Abbey's right. Maybe. And you're nice and everything. So, yeah, thanks."

Justin beamed. Test, his fine ass. Kevin Gibbons was a flaming queen dressed up in a straight man's clothes and his true self was dying to come out. Come out with a bang, and hopefully, Justin prayed, banging Justin. Justin said, "No problem. I'm a board certified gay man, and I am here for you. Besides, you're fine. And so is that third baseman, I tell you."

Kevin laughed a little and said, "I've, uh, never looked. Never, uh, looked at him that way."

Justin pointed and said, "Look now, honey, he's got an ass that just won't quit. It's nearly as fine as yours."

Kevin blushed and looked down. "I'll look later." He paused and then said, "He's a good third baseman."

Justin nodded. "Why, yes, yes, he is. His slugging percentage is way down this season, though, so he needs to work on his hitting."

Kevin looked over at Justin and smiled and Justin could bask in that glow for the rest of his life. Kevin said, "You know what a slugging percentage is?"

Justin waved his hand. "Of course I do, sugar. I know all about baseball." Justin giggled. "Okay, I really don't. See, I asked my landlord, Nicky. He knows baseball. I know basketball."

"You like basketball?" Kevin smiled again. Justin tried not to shimmy in his seat.

"I do. Michael Jordan is the hottest thing ever. And Allen Iverson. I just, wow. So fucking hot." Kevin laughed and Justin sighed in appreciation of his dream man. Kevin Gibbons, there was no one finer. He just, he just glowed. Like he walked around perpetually well-lit.

When the game was over, Kevin and Justin rode back on the L to Justin's stop, and Kevin got off with Justin. "I thought, I thought," he said, "I thought I could walk you back to your place."

Justin said, "Oh, please. You can come in. It's all blue, I warn you."

Kevin laughed again. "I remember. That's weird, man."

Justin sighed and rolled his eyes. "I know, I know."

Kevin came in and sat on Justin's couch, playing with a basketball Justin had left on the floor. Justin bounced around the kitchen, trying to make coffee or something. Something to keep pretty Kevin in his house until Justin could strip him naked and make wild monkey love with him until the sun came up. "Do you want cream? Or sugar?"

"I don't care." Kevin's voice sounded oddly high and Justin rushed back into the room. Kevin was still just sitting there, but he was gripping the basketball for dear life.

"Is something wrong?" Justin bit his lip.

"Just, you know, freaking out a little here. I mean, how did I go from the guy who always chokes to the guy who's out on his date with super-gay hairdresser? Do you think I'm gay?" Kevin looked up at Justin, his eyes wide and he was biting his tempting lip.

"I hope so. I really, really hope so. I've hoped so for a really fucking long time, Kevin sugar, so, it would be nice if you were." Justin grinned and stopped, hoping he wasn't frightening the poor thing. He sat down next to Kevin and put his hand on Kevin's knee. Kevin looked down and almost flinched. Justin sighed. Kevin wouldn't ever come back to the salon now, he wouldn't ever see Justin again. Fuck it, Justin thought. Fuck it, he had only one opportunity here. One and Justin couldn't let it pass him by.

He put his hands on Kevin's face, his soft, beautiful cheeks, and he brought Kevin's chin up so he could kiss the man. The wonderful man. Soft skin, soft lips and then, of course, of course, Kevin pulled back. Justin sighed and of course, of course. Poor thing wasn't ready yet and when he was, some other queen would steal Kevin away from Justin. Justin sighed again and then Kevin moved forward and Justin couldn't breathe because Kevin was kissing him. Kissing Justin. Justin opened his mouth and then Kevin did and then it was all like fireworks and the fourth of July.

Kevin stopped and sat back. "Huh. Okay, I'm maybe gay. I mean, maybe not so straight. Or, uh, yeah, not straight."

Justin said, "Bless the Lord!" He threw his arms around Kevin and pushed him back on the couch. They were kissing again and Justin had his hand on Kevin's crotch. Justin said, "Bless you, God, bless you," because Kevin was hard and now everything was exactly as it should be.

THE END

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