Summary:
Jared, Mike, and Adrian are like brothers from different mothers, and, like all siblings, whether by genes or chance, they like different things.
Jared wants a relationship, preferably one that lasts beyond a one-night-stand, Mike hides his vulnerable self under the pretense that he is into a niche fetish, and Adrian just likes to have fun.
In their quest to find the particular things that they believe would make them happy, they hook up, meet lovers, strike new friendships, and learn the taste of love and betrayal.
Whether they find what they're looking for or not, is all a matter of perspective. Or, in other words, as that adage goes, be careful what you wish for.
Chapter One - Meet The Boys
Jared pressed his index fingers against his temples and stared dejectedly at the non-alcoholic drink in front of him.
"Are all your ships sinking right now or something?" A heavy hand landed on his back, making him wince and straighten up.
"How come you're not already hooked up?" Jared questioned Adrian, his longtime friend.
Adrian shrugged and took a seat next to him on a high stool.
"I have yet to see something I like," he said, grabbing a handful of peanuts and throwing them into his mouth with perfect skill.
At six point two, with the body of a Greek god, and the face of a sinner, Adrian never lacked bed partners. The guy knew his longish black hair and olive complexion were putting him in the same category with celebs on the dance floor and not only, and he took advantage of that, whenever and wherever he could. Also, as many times he could.
Jared eyed the way Adrian's tank top stretched over perfect pecs and sighed. He wasn't exactly a twink, but there was no way he was in Adrian's league. Also, he was still not over his rock phase, so he was still keeping his brown hair too long, which might not have drawn as many prospective partners as he wanted. Everyone wanted a picture-perfect partner, with perfect abs, perfect pecs, perfect haircut, perfect everything. Jared had a bit of a thing for flawed things, or so he wanted to flatter himself.
Not that Jared liked sleeping around. He wanted to go steady with some dude, at least for a while. Well, his problem was probably that he kept frequenting the same places as Adrian, who was the king of hookups. There was no way he would find the love of his life in a place like that.
He almost missed Mike, his other best friend, taking a seat by his right. At least the redhead was in as much a foul mood as he was. Mike, just like Jared, was searching for something. Not the same thing, mind you, but still, he was as unsuccessful as the more unfortunate of his two friends.
Mike was, unlike Jared, the perfect twink. Also, he was insecure about his looks, and that made him cute. Jared had pointed that out on more than one occasion. Adrian had been a bit blunt, touching Mike's butt, and telling him he had a perfect ass and he would likely tap it.
Of course, right after that, Mike had pushed Adrian playfully aside and told him that he wasn't into incest. That because the three of them were like brothers from different mothers, no matter how different they were, at first glance.
"So, no alpha top in the mood to get screwed by a cute twink?" Adrian asked Mike over Jared's head, giving voice to what both of them were thinking.
Mike pouted and leaned over the bar to draw the bartender's attention. "What can I tell you, man?" he complained after, finally, the bartender took his order. "That's what I get from being into such a narrow niche fetish."
"Maybe you don't have the right approach." Adrian grinned. "Thought about Grindr?"
Mike made a face. "C'mon, man, do I look like I need some dating app to get laid?"
Adrian seemed to examine Mike for a while. "Yeah." He nodded, and Mike stood up so that he could punch Adrian's shoulder without hitting Jared in the process.
"Can the two of you act more like your age, for fuck's sake?" Jared protested as the stool shook under his ass, due to what soon degenerated into an exchange of punches between his two best friends.
"Oh, sorry, grandpa, is past your bedtime or something?" Adrian joked. "Seriously, by your sour face, people would think you're ninety-three or something."
Jared pouted. "I'm younger than you."
"By three months," Adrian replied.
"You're already twenty-five, Adrian." Mike snickered. "Ancient. Ah, is that why you don't seem to score that easily lately?"
"Shut the fuck up." Adrian pretended to be upset over the friendly jab. "It's just that I'm picky, that's all."
"Sure, sure." Mike nodded like he didn't mean it. "At least Jared and I are owning up to our failures. C'mon, old man, admit it. You lost your shine to this young crowd."
"You and Jared want the impossible," Adrian said as he linked he fingers and placed his chin on them, elbows set on the shiny counter.
"Really?" Mike glared.
"Seriously?" Jared exclaimed, almost at the same time.
"Yeah," Adrian continued, sure of his opinion. "Jared, stop thinking about getting some house in the suburbs and settling down with a husband and two kids from two different surrogate moms. Gay guys still in their twenties don't do that. Seriously, you're making me wonder if you're not some crazy result of plastic surgery and you're actually eighty."
"We've been in kindergarten together, fucker," Jared said, amused by his friend's assumptions. "And I don't want a house and kids, what the fuck? I want a relationship."
"And?" Adrian shrugged. "You can have a relationship. Only that it might last between the time you say 'hello' to the guy and 'bye' after a crazy one night stand."
"Ugh." Jared rolled his eyes and pushed his hair back. "You're clearly not the right guy to go to for relationship advice. I want at least a three-week relationship. Or three days! Is really that much to ask?" He opened his arms and looked at the ceiling, only to be met by stroboscope lights.
"What can I tell you, man?" Adrian stretched and yawned. "Everything happens fast in this day and age. We have fast food, fast news, speed dating -"
"Speed dating?" Mike intervened. "Have you ever been to one of those?"
Adrian stared at his friend as if he had trouble understanding the question. "Of course I haven't, what the hell? When you look like me, you don't go to speed dating." He pointed at his body as if it was unfathomable how anyone could ignore it and assume such things about him.
"Well, not everyone's lucky like you, Mr. I-Top-Everything-From-Top-To-Bottom," Mike said with a grimace.
Adrian smiled at the compliment. Jared was sure that if he rolled his eyes each time Adrian was smug about himself, he risked developing some eye condition. But Adrian did have a reputation of being an uncompromising top, and that, of course, had triggered many conversations around the subject. Adrian even liked topping other guys pretending to be as incorrigible as him. And he had many notches on his belt to prove his prowess on the matter.
"Hey," Mike exclaimed. "I know! You could lure one of those alphas for me, convince him to bottom, and then switch with me! Then I'll manage the impossible!"
"Sorry, man, I don't do charity work." Adrian flashed his signature smile at his friend. "Ah, sorry, gentlemen, it looks like the perfect candidate for the position had just entered the door."
"The position?" Mike questioned.
Jared needed to promise to himself that it was the last time he rolled his eyes at Adrian's expense. "The 'blowjob provider' position," he explained, and Mike, as expected, made a sour face.
"How that must feel," Mike said regretfully while watching Adrian sauntering away. "Being able to nail anyone you want."
Jared sighed, too. "I wish I were as uncomplicated as Adrian," he said, mirroring Mike's dejected tone. "Maybe I should." He pondered for a second and then reconsidered. "Nah, I'd better not."
"So, what do you want to do?" Mike questioned.
"Probably not waste my Friday night like this," Jared said with conviction. "I know I said that I'd be the designated driver, but do you think you and Adrian could catch a cab or something?"
Mike nodded and patted his shoulder. "No problem, man. I'll tell Adrian you went home. But really, do you want to go home and sleep?"
Jared shrugged and pushed away the non-alcoholic drink he hadn't touched. "I should maybe consider some honorable dating app," he said with a forced smile.
"Honorable?" Mike snorted. "If you find such a thing, let me know."
Jared smiled. "Have you tried forums and stuff? You know, for your particular fetish?"
Mike shivered as if attacked by a cold. "I'd rather not end up on the next day's six o'clock news. Me and dumpsters used for hiding corpses don't agree."
Jared laughed. Mike secretly wanted to go the old fashion way about his conquests. That might have explained his lack of success in the age of technology. One didn't just meet the man of his dreams by walking down the street and buying bread, or doing something mundane like that.
He bid goodbye to Mike and headed for the door. He didn't need to look for Adrian with his eyes. He was probably already with his 'blowjob provider' right now, and having the time of his life.
***
Adrian knew a confused guy when he saw one. And he was the best prescription and treatment for curing confusion. The newcomer looked like a jock and was throwing nervous looks around. All right, the prey was to approach with care, but Adrian wasn't one to waste an opportunity when he saw one.
The jock had sweet pouty lips, from what he could glean from his vantage point. A flight of stairs was the only thing between him and the current object of his interest.
For the love of all that was holy, he couldn't get Jared and his idea of being in a relationship. All summer, the city was a real fuckfest, an all-you-can-eat-buffet for a guy with an appetite like his. And with his looks, it was no problem for him to devour everyone in his path.
Adrian knew his friends were teasing him. There was no one to work as hard as him at the gym to look the way he looked. The jock threw a look up from the foot of the stairs, and their eyes met for a second.
