THE GENTLEMEN'S CLUB
Keanu

Written by Lady Poetess
egiggles at moose-mail.com
http://www.asstr.org/~bbp

Please do not reproduce on any website without permission. This
story has no resemblance to anyone dead or alive.

ONE

Pure sex. Keanu Charles Reeves couldn't take his eyes off the man.
The man was pure unadulterated sex of the rawest kind, with
virility oozing from every inch of that glorious six foot six
frame of his like the sweetest of pheromones. The man was all
hard, supple muscular glory from those thick arms that strained
with tension to the perfectly chiseled, sculpted bare torso to
powerful thighs that seemed to strain the seams of the shorts the
man wore. The man wasn't a beefy bodybuilder, all veins and no
neck, but a powerfully built man with the physique of a Greek God.

Keanu's mouth had long dried, and now his fingers dug into his
knees as he couldn't help clasping his buttocks together in his
pitched lust. His cock was hard, so hard ever since he saw the man
that it strained at the material of his trousers in an
embarrassing bulge.

Vin Diesel, the current reigning boxing king of the rings,
delivered a powerful left hook at that moment, and his opponent
fell down with a loud, dramatic crash. The fallen man, whose name
Keanu didn't really know or care, didn't make any attempt to
stand.

The crowd went wild, and Keanu with them. He never was a boxing
enthusiast until he saw Vin Diesel on TV. Now, he was in lust.
Very in lust, to be exact, and an all-time low shame was he
actually buying a copy of Sports Illustrated because there were
several beautiful, glossy Vin Diesel spreads in them. No, the
lowest was he jerking off to those photos.

Vin Diesel was hot, a wild, untamed stallion, and other corny
imageries one could associate with a man with a thick bulge in his
shorts and muscles that looked as if they could crush as much as
cherish. In fact, the whole fight, with the bloodlust coupled to
Keanu's wide-eyed, glazed, and euphoric observation of the fluid
motions of Vin's muscles during the fight - damn, he really had to
make his way to the men's room now.

He clapped, and he would have given a standing ovation like the
rest if he wouldn't embarrass himself the moment he stood up. And
he felt a shiver of pleasure that was almost orgasmic when Vin
looked his way. It was probably ridiculous to imagine that the
boxer was looking right at him, but still, it was a nice fantasy.

Keanu clapped. Fuck, never mind that he just lost his job today.
Tonight, watching Vin fight live for the first time, was the best
moment of his life.



"Who's that man?" Mark Vincent, who preferred the name Vin Diesel,
asked his manager-cum-best friend. "The one at the front man,
classy as hell, and gorgeous enough to fuck."

"Who?" Paul Nobberton lazily switched on the TV. The screen came
to life, focusing on the crowd. He pointed at a man who was
watching the match coolly, sitting because another man Paul
recognized immediately as Ben Affleck, one of the richest man
around. "I hear Ben is living with another guy for sometime now.
This man could be he."

"No, I think Ben's lover is this guy," Vin said, pointing to a
blond man at the other side of Ben, who was cheering. Ben was
noticeably leaning slightly closer towards this man. "Who's the
other man?"

"Why?" Paul asked warily.

"I want him." Vin didn't know how to say it. The man's eyes burned
into Vin all through the match, in a visceral recognition that Vin
never experienced before. It was as if his body was primed to
notice this man. And maybe it was just he, but he thought he could
feel, even taste, the man's awe and admiration and maybe even
desire for him. Every punch he made, he felt strong and omnipotent
because this watcher, Vin knew, would approve.

Now, watching the man even on the screen, Vin felt his own desire
boil slowly. The man had a long, oval face that was striking in
its refined, elegant features -- the eyes, the nose, those fine
lips that begged to be kissed and bruised -- and his slim
physique, clothed in simple, elegant clothes, couldn't disguised
the broad shoulders and graceful leanness of the man. And arms --
long arms with beautiful hands. Vin licked his dry lips. Here was
one prime quality, as his old friends from the ghetto would say.
Classy and beautiful, one usually out of Vin's league.

But Vin was a big star now. Everyone wanted him. This man would be
no different.



TWO

Five months later

Keanu hummed an old tune by Springsteen under his breath as he
removed his dinner from the microwave. Since he finally started
all over at a bank as a credit officer, he had been living a life
that was a far cry from his old life. No expensive eating-out on
weekends, no careless splurges on designer clothes, and he
actually skateboarded to work.

Life was good, surprisingly. He had his Vin Diesel obsession, one
he didn't even tell his friend and now colleague Michael Vartan
(who helped him get this job), and he let Mike and their friends
fix him up on dates. It was as if by falling down to the ground,
he had realized that he wasn't happy in his old life because he
was always too self-absorbed in himself. Losing his job opened his
eyes to the fact that true friends like Mike actually cared enough
to stand by him, and he was happier to know that they would always
be there for him. All those fair- weather friends of his -- good
riddance to fucking garbage.

It was, like his mother would say, a beautiful turn of life that
made the best out of a lousy event.

If he was a bit down, it was because most of his friends had
someone. Mike had a shy man called Jason. Ben had Matt. And the
list went on. Going out with them made Keanu realize just how
acute the cold in his heart was when he saw the others seemingly
happy with their partners. Once, he didn't care for companionship.
Sex was the fun part. Now, sitting in his apartment watching TV,
his existence seemed. well, pathetic.

Maybe it was just his biological clock ticking. In three year's
time, he would hit the big four-oh. Keanu grinned to himself. He
blamed this on Vin. There was no way any man would top the virile
masculinity that was Vin. Fucking a mere human while there was a
poster of Vin with only a small piece of towel covering the man's
modesty -- barely (the man's lower end of his balls showed
slightly, as did those pubic hair) -- was a heartbreaking
disappointment.

He was about to finish off the last of his microwave dinner when
he heard the doorbell rang. He frowned. His social life had
dwindled ever since his high-flying friends turned their back to
him, and as far as he knew, there was no one who would be at his
door tonight. Still, he would welcome even the company of the old
lady down the corridor who kept finding someone to unload her
incessant whining and complaining to.

And he was stunned speechless when he opened the door.

Vin. Vin Diesel himself.

Keanu slammed the door shut and stared at it in horror. The
knocking started again, and this time his hand shook as he
reopened the door slowly now.

Still Vin Diesel. Almost unrecognizable in a gray turtleneck
sweater that stretched across that powerful chest like a second
skin, and simple cashmere brown pants that mould to those thighs
in a way that made Keanu wished he was Vin's trousers.

"Ah." Keanu tried to find his voice. "Hi," he said finally.

"Hi. I've been looking for you all these months," Vin said. "Can I
come in?"

Keanu barely heard the man through the roar of blood surging in
his head. He couldn't think, hell, he could barely breathe, not
when Vin was this close to him. And Keanu couldn't help it. He
reached out to touch the man's chest. A jolt that was almost
electricity shot through him as his hand touched the man's solid
chest, feeling the man's warmth through the sweater, and when his
fingers curled instinctively, he realized he had touched the exact
spot where Vin's right nipple would be.

Even more electric was when Vin's arm closed over his hand. The
man actually closed his eyes and urged Keanu to squeeze. And Keanu
obeyed, shuddering under the controlled strength in Vin's hand
alone, and gasped when he rubbed against the erect nub of flesh
under the sweater.

"Let's get in," Vin murmured.

Keanu could only nod stupidly as the man moved in, his height and
overpowering presence dwarfing everything in the apartment. As
Keanu closed the door behind him, Vin pulled the sweater smoothly
over his head, exposing that perfect torso and corrugated stomach
that made Keanu salivate. He didn't know how this happened, but
all he knew was that Vin was in his apartment with his shirt off.
Keanu trembled as he fell to his knees before Vin, his hands
working on the fastenings of the man's trousers.

Vin had always hinted at a large cock, judging from the way the
man wore his boxing shorts. But nothing prepared Keanu for the
thick, enormous penis that surged forth from a thick dark pubic
bush in a towering erection. The dimension of that cock would be
horrifying, were Keanu not totally over the brink in his lust. He
hungrily closed his dry lips over that thick, wide head, almost
choking in the process.

"Easy," Vin whispered as he carefully slowed Keanu with his hands
on both sides of the other man's temple. "Take your time."

Keanu licked at the large slit first, sucking hungrily when the
first droplets leaked forth. Vin moaned as Keanu's tongue cleaned
the smooth head, licking firmly and slowly across the slit, then
around the perimeters of the crown, and finally, the sensitive
ridge of that mighty cock. Vin spread his legs wide, his trousers
falling down to pool around his ankles in the process, and slowly
started thrusting his erection in and out of Keanu's voraciously
sucking mouth. Keanu licked and teased with his lips along the
length of the man's shaft, until Vin made a low growl of protest
and Keanu took the man's cock in his mouth once more.

His jaw hurt, and his throat was parched, but he needed this
beyond all sanity. He loosed his throat, gagging only slightly,
when Vin's cock scorched its way down his throat, that thick,
smooth tip bumping against the back of his throat in a maddeningly
arousing rub of flesh against flesh. And Keanu sucked the man
hard, drawing more fluid droplets and husky groans of the man.

Vin thrust again, and Keanu took as much as the man as he could.
Vin's hands were now clawing at Keanu's back, pulling the man's
shirt out of his pants. Keanu felt the man's breath grew
increasingly harsh, and the thick veins of the man's cock
positively throb over Keanu's tongue in increasing urgency.

Keanu mewled as he sucked harder, reveling in the painfully
delicious sensation of that thick cock now pulsing in and out of
his mouth. He placed his hands on Vin's powerfully muscled thighs,
thinking he had died and gone to heaven.

Vin gave a harsh roar, and Keanu almost fell back as the man
thrust savagely one time. Hot, molten semen burst forth, almost
choking Keanu as he swallowed as fast as he could. Another gush,
and another. Keanu swallowed as much as he could, not caring if
copious amount of Vin's come started dripping down his chin. Vin
staggered, falling back, and Keanu made a protesting growl as he
tried to keep Vin in his mouth.

But Vin only kissed him then, drawing the man into his arms. Keanu
opened his mouth, letting Vin lick his own semen from Keanu's chin
and lips before moving in to clean Keanu's mouth of his own
ejaculatory residues. Keanu hungrily kissed Vin back, his hands
running all over Vin's magnificent chest and stomach. Then Vin was
pulling Keanu's pants down. Keanu willingly spread his thighs,
expecting this powerful man to take him with his still hard cock,
dreading the inevitable as much as he craved it. Yet he was
surprised when Vin's hand closed around Keanu's cock and guided it
to the pulsing man's nether lips.

Keanu instinctively pushed in, and cried out as he felt those
thick walls of Vin's anus closed around his cock. He couldn't
control himself. He felt his balls rise, felt the first scorching
rush from his balls, and moaned as he forcefully speared Vin apart
until he was embedded to the hilt, his pubic hair burning the
hairy lips of Vin's anal slit as he came in a white hot maddening
climax that drove him insensate with pleasure.

And he collapsed on Vin, dazed. The man, however, clasped him in
those arms and Keanu looked up at the man's face. Vin grinned
weakly as he shifted them, letting Keanu fall free from between
his thighs. Then Keanu found himself sitting on Vin's thighs, the
man's cock tearing him apart with unbearable agony as it started
boring up his anus. Keanu closed his eyes and buried his face into
Vin's heaving, sweaty shoulders, as that cock burned his insides.
Then Vin was fucking him, his arms bouncing Keanu with his flexing
thighs -- his cock penetrating deeper with each trust and give of
Keanu's anus -- until Keanu screamed from the explosion of the
stimulation on his prostate gland. And with that, Vin's cock
responded with its hot violent coming that drove them both into a
splintering climax.



Keanu didn't know what to say. He handed the cup of hot chocolate
to the freshly showered Vin Diesel.

"Thanks." Vin Diesel downed the drink in one gulp. He was wearing
Keanu's dressing gown which was too small, which he left barely
fastened. As he sat on the chair, the robe fell back to expose the
cock that had fucked Keanu so thoroughly. Vin sat back and crossed
his legs with balls lifting to expose the red, sore pucker Keanu
fucked clumsily previously.

"Why are you here?" Keanu asked finally.

"I've been looking all over for you. I've seen you at my fight
with Oscar de la Hoya five months back, and only last week my
private investigator managed to track you down."

"Really?" Keanu was flattered. And disbelieving. "Where are your
bodyguards? And how the hell could you single me out of the whole
audience?"

"You caught my attention, Keanu. I can't explain it, but the
moment I saw you looking at me, I couldn't forget you. I thought
about you so often these few months that I thought I was fucking
crazy. I never had anything like this happening to me before. My
manager told me I was crazy." Vin smiled crookedly. "Maybe I was,
but I have to find you."

"Wow." Keanu looked at Vin in stupefied awe. "Wow," he said again.

"Yeah, wow," Vin said quietly.

"So what do we do now?" Keanu just said, still unable to believe
that he had just fucked and been fucked by Vin Diesel. "I mean. if
you want to come by, my door is always open," he finally amended.

"I can't let this get out," Vin stated. "There are sponsorship
deals and - "

"I understand," Keanu said, masking the slight hurt he shouldn't
be feeling.

"Good. I want to see you more. And this," Vin said huskily, his
hand slipping up Keanu's shirt. "You have the largest, sweetest
male tits," he murmured as he pinched gently at Keanu's large
nipples. "I could suck on them again and again."

Keanu lifted his hands to let Vin pull off the shirt. And as Vin
started to feast on his nipples, he threw his head back and
sighed. If this was a dream, he didn't want to wake up ever. If -
oh, yeah, as Vin's hand slowly snaked between his thighs, he knew
this was no dream. This was fucking better than a dream.



THREE

Mike Vartan had never seen his friend Keanu whistle before.
Everyone knew Keanu was a quiet, rather dull, workaholic man
people called 'Robotic Reeves' before his back. But this Keanu was
whistling as he picked up his skateboard from under his table. The
skateboard - it had to be what was driving Robotic Reeves into
being unlike his usual self.

"Are you okay?" he asked as Keanu actually did a little jig along
his way to the bank exit. It was only six, and Keanu usually
stayed behind to finish some admin paperwork until eight at least.

"Yeah. I have a date," Keanu said, actually grinning as he kicked
his skateboard into position on the sidewalk. "See you around,
Mike," he said, and then he kicked himself off, a silly figure in
office suit holding a briefcase and zooming through the streets on
a skateboard.

He saw Keanu stagger when a rather burly, bald man in dark shades
walked up to the man. Mike frowned - there was something rather
familiar about that man. The man put a steadying arm around
Keanu's waist as the latter staggered after avoiding a collision
into the man in time. There was no mistaking the intimacy in that
touch, or the way the man smiled wide to something Keanu said.

What did'ya know, Mike thought, Keanu found someone on his own
after all the blind dates Mike and others sent him on. Grinning to
himself, Mike headed towards his car.



"I thought you will be flying in at around nine," Keanu told Vin.
They walked back to his apartment block, Vin's quiet, steady
strides keeping pace easily with Keanu's slow push of the
skateboard. "I haven't cooked dinner yet."

"We'll just call for Chinese take-out," Vin said, removing his
shades. His usually stern brown eyes glittered with unmistakable
warmth.

It was only three weeks since Vin first slept with Keanu. They had
one more night together, two weeks ago, before Vin headed off to
some publicity trip to LA. And both torrid nights left Keanu weak
in the knees even in memory. Even now, looking at Vin, he couldn't
help stripping the man naked in his mind, remembering every inch
of soft, supple flesh taut over hard muscles and how the man felt
under his fingers, tasted in his mouth, felt embedded deep between
Keanu's thighs, or heaven have mercy, that thick cock tearing up
Keanu's insides in an unspeakably pleasurable sensation.

Vin's hand playfully pressed and squeezed Keanu's left butt cheek,
causing the man to jump in a soft yelp. "Come on, let's get to
your place or I'll lose all control and take you right here, in
front of everyone," Vin growled, spreading his thighs as his
erection began filling the crotch of his jeans.

"Okay," Keanu managed to say breathlessly.



That night, Keanu looked dazedly at his lover as Vin finally gave
one final grunt and rolled off him. Vin's penis gave one last
spurt, smearing Keanu's thighs and balls with a final creaming,
before Vin rolled onto his back beside Keanu. The man's large left
hand moved onto Keanu's stomach in a protective gesture that made
Keanu instinctively snuggle closer to the man.

He was started to miss Vin too much when the man was away. On
Vin's part, he made no pretension that this was forever. He would
probably be gone by the end of the month, bored of this. It would
be madness for Keanu to hope for anything more. It might be career
suicide for Vin -- sports, especially the macho world of boxing,
could be hostile to openly gay players. But he, alas, stupid he,
he was willing to seize this moment any way he could. If Vin would
keep coming back, Keanu would open his door to him.

"My manager is against me seeing you," Vin murmured into Keanu's
ears. "He will be furious when he finds out I've come here."

Keanu felt warmed by that statement. "I'm glad you're here," he
said instead. "How long will you be staying?"

"Well, three days, not counting tonight," he clarified. "I have to
train for a match with Shane Mosley as soon as possible." Vin
stretched and groaned softly. "Will you come with me to the match?
It's six months from now, and I could use your support."

Keanu liked that very much. "Sure," he said.

"Sometimes I wonder how you will treat me when I am no longer the
champ," Vin said, his hand reaching out to brush Keanu's hair
back. "Will you say yes so willingly?"

"I watch boxing because of you," Keanu told him.

"That's not an answer," Vin said.

They both knew that, but Keanu had no ready answers for Vin, and
he didn't want to lie. Not when he was still unsure of Vin's own
motivations and feelings. Sometimes Vin said things that made him
hope, but then Vin would retreat and Keanu would wonder and feel
disappointment cutting into his soul.

In the end, he just kissed Vin softly, with all his heart would
allow, and closed his eyes as he laid his head on Vin's chest. He
listened to the man's soft snores, and soon joined the man in
sleep.



Keanu balanced the grocery bags precariously on his one knee as he
tried to pull out his key. The door opened, saving him the
trouble, and Vin grinned at him as he took Keanu's bags easily in
his hands. "Why didn't you knock or use the door buzzer?" Vin
reprimanded gently.

That was what he was - gentle, despite his tall, dominating
physique and a sexual appetite that was beyond insatiable. This
morning Keanu could barely get to work in time. All Vin had to do
was to spread his legs and Keanu would be ready to fuck that man
or be fucked. Vin was like a drug, with his beautiful body,
brooding, chiseled handsomeness, and he fucked like a sex machine.
Keanu couldn't get enough. And now, one look at Vin and Keanu was
already in a fever of need.

"I don't want to wake you up from your daytime nap," Keanu said.

"Oh good. My favorite -- you're making lasagna today," Vin said,
taking a look into the bags. To Keanu, he said gruffly, "Next
time, use the doorbell."

"Careful. You'll make me believe you care for me," Keanu said
lightly.

Vin gave him an inscrutable look. "Of course I care. I am risking
my manager's resigning and a public outing because of you. I just
don't know what to do with you, that's all."

He could walk on air now, Keanu thought as he practically sailed
into his apartment. And laughed when Vin emitted a playful growl
and pounced on him. And it wasn't long before Keanu was on his all
fours, gritting his teeth as Vin took him right there on the
living room floor.

Needless to say, dinner was late that night.



Vin asked him questions. A man who was trust into wealth without
actually knowing any trappings of culture that came with wealth,
he was hungry for the type of music Keanu listen to, the movies
and plays he knew, and the books he read. That night, Vin had
Keanu read to him Keanu's book about wine, and Vin made Keanu tell
him all about the different subtleties of wine.

Vin wanted to be a gentleman. He placed his hands over Keanu's,
and said to him that night in bed when their lusts were sated,
"Tell me if I hurt you" as he kissed the bruises he inadvertently
inflicted on Keanu's shoulders and upper arms. His greatest fear
was to lose control over his immense strength and hurt someone.
When he was a child, he had pressed his nose to glass windows of
expensive restaurants, watching enviously as affluent people ate
food he could only dream of tasting. Later, he let others use his
body in return for money and rich luxuries he always wanted, but
it was at the cost of his pride. When he was fifteen, he was
discovered by a former boxing champ and his world changed soon
after.

But a part of him always envied and wanted to be in the fancy,
expensive restaurants he saw in his childhood. He wanted to wear a
tux and know how to pronounce the items on the menu. Beyond that,
he wanted to be cultured, refined, and respected. He hated his
ghetto roots and he hated his coarseness. And sometimes, when he
was lost in his bloodlust as he pummeled his opponent into
unconsciousness, he actually loathed his violent, barbaric nature.

Keanu was refined. Keanu was cultured. If common sense told him
that the rich celebrities among his many groupies were richer,
more refined, and more classy than Keanu could ever dream of, Vin
was deaf to common sense. In his own way, he was doomed. He had
created a perfect ideal Keanu in his mind, an epitome of what he
always wanted in life.

Of course he had to give Keanu up. But that very thought made
Vin's insides clench and his muscles tighten in fury, and hence he
tried not to think of the future.



FOUR

Six months later

By miracle, they managed to keep their liaison from the paparazzi
for almost a year. Throughout the months, Vin kept coming back,
despite his manager's reservations. Sometimes, Keanu would hear a
knock on the door and open it to Vin. Or sometimes a bouquet of
flowers would arrive at Keanu's office with a card saying 'I'll be
waiting at home - V'.

Home. He had given Vin a spare key, and even today, Vin's clothes
and toiletries mark his bedroom and bathroom. And Vin called
Keanu's place his home. Keanu didn't know if this was a slip of
tongue, but he didn't care. Those nights when he playfully taught
Vin the intricacies of table manners, or when they tried to play
Bach on his player only to have Vin change the music to Aretha
Franklin instead. They had made love to Aretha, and after that
Keanu slept in Vin's arms and dreamed.

Vin left the morning after. Keanu dreamed that he felt the man's
kiss on his lips and the man's soft 'goodbye', but he might have
dreamt that. And today, he would see Vin for the first time in a
month. He couldn't hold back his anticipation or the welling sense
of relief in him. He missed Vin, missed the man's quiet laughter
and easy companionship, and he missed the sex. Most of all, he
missed the way Vin filled the void in his life.

He waited in his hotel room, and looked up when he heard the knock
on the door. Vin waited with a grin and suspiciously bright eyes.
"Hello," he said. "The match begins in three hours' time. We have
one hour."

They always had to do this like furtive people on an illicit love
affair. The pain was never dulled by familiarity. Keanu forced
himself to put on a bright mien.

"A blow job is what I need before a match," Vin said wolfishly.

Keanu swallowed and got onto his knees.



"So tell me, who sucked your cock when you leave me to fight?"
Keanu asked, trying to keep his voice calm. It wasn't easy. "Was
there someone you fuck when you leave me?"

Vin looked up from zipping his pants. "What the fuck are you
talking about? There is no one else. I was just joking about the
blow job." He saw Keanu's mulish expression and bit his lower lip.
"There have been others, I won't deny it, but that is before I met
you. I said I care for you. You think I would cheapen myself
screwing around on you? Who has the energy?"

"I'm just thinking," Keanu said. "I don't like this," he finally
said. "I'm sick of waiting and hoping for fuck knows when you will
come back to me, I'm tired of always having to sneak around with
you. I don't know if I can take this anymore. Let's just break it
off."

"No," Vin actually shouted. "No," he said, trying not too
successfully to keep his voice down. "We will not break this off.
Shit, I really have to go. We'll talk about this tonight."

"I won't be here tonight," Keanu said mulishly. "I can't take this
anymore, Vin. I'm sorry if I am being selfish, but I can't just
keep waiting for you like this. One day you will just leave and
never come back, and I know I will just keep on waiting and
waiting -- " he ran his fingers through his hair in exasperation.
"I am starting to love you, Vin. I was madly in lust with you, and
I am addicted to your cock, but these few months, I am starting to
actually know you and I find that -- " he hesitated, seeing Vin's
pained eyes -- "I am slowly finding it harder and harder to watch
you walk away. I'm sorry. I know this is not what you have in
mind. I'll just leave."

"Don't," Vin said. He coughed, trying to mask his rising panic.
"We'll talk about this tonight. Please," he said, injecting the
last word with his fear and desperation that Keanu would actually
leave him. "Promise me you will wait, Keanu. Please."

Keanu nodded silently.

Vin hesitated, knowing quite well that Keanu could easily walk
away as soon as he left. But fuck, he had to go back, warm up, and
get into the mood for the upcoming match. For the first time in
his life, Vin was actually tempted to give up his career for
Keanu. It was a terrifying realization, but instead of fear, the
notion of he and Keanu spending their lives together actually
filled him with a warm, alien feeling.

"I'll come back," Vin said. "I swear."

And then he was gone.



"Fucking bastard! You are fucking Vin Diesel, the great Vin
Diesel, and you never even told us!" Nick Wechsler, boxing
fanatic, said, grabbing Keanu by the man's collar. "Call yourself
my friend? Friends don't hide each other's heroes from the other."

Nick was almost one foot shorter than Keanu, but the man's
strength, honed by his rigorous boxing and workout regime, enabled
him to lift Keanu off the man's feet.

Keanu cast a pleading glance at Noah Wyle, who had accompanied
Nick to this game.

"I can't believe you won't even introduce us!" Noah said
indignantly. Oops, he was just as fanatical a boxing fan as Nick.

"Nick, what the hell are you doing?" Danny, Nick's personal
assistant as well as lover, came up to them.

"He has been hiding Vin Diesel in his bed and he never even
introduces us," Nick growled.

Keanu looked at the silent, clean-shaven-headed man wearing dark
shades who had sidled to stand timidly behind Noah. But Birkoff,
who was making his rare public appearance, only watched Keanu with
a faint smile of bemusement.

"Nick, you're making a fuss," Danny said. "You can always have
Keanu introduce you to him later."

"You will, won't you?" Nick's expression promised unspeakable
tortures if Keanu said no.

Keanu wanted to leave. He didn't want to see Vin, because he knew
he would cave in to Vin's demands. And then he would spend the
rest of his life waiting for Vin to come back to him at Vin's
convenience. He hated this loss of control of his life and
emotions, and he had to admit he was afraid that if he continued
this affair with Vin, he would be ensnared too deep that he would
bleed to death when it was over.

But Nick and Noah had cornered him when he was standing here in
some sentimental last-sight-goodbye gesture of watching Vin fight.
He had promised Vin he would watch him fight, and he couldn't bear
to break that one promise, not when he wanted to break another.
Now, however, it seemed fate had decided otherwise. Keanu wouldn't
even have the option of cowardice.



Vin finally extricated himself from the press and Keanu's two star-
struck friends to dash his way to find Keanu before it was too
late. He wished he had the time to take a quick shower -- no doubt
he stank to high heaven and his cut lip was still bleeding
slightly.

He'd won, but the win didn't even register on his mind. All he
thought about was to finish the fight and find Keanu before the
man disappear from his life. His panicked imagination played havoc
on his peace of mind with worst case scenarios of Keanu leaving
town and Vin would have to spend months searching for him all over
again.

He found Keanu sitting on the hotel room bed, watching the TV. He
looked up when Vin closed the door behind him.

"I've been thinking," Keanu said. He smiled timidly. "Watching you
fight, I realize even if I walk away, you'll probably give chase."

"You have me pegged down," Vin said, trying to smile back.

"I won't ask you to choose between me and your career. I will be
here always," Keanu said, and then looked up defiantly. "If I have
your word you will always come back to me."

"My word," Vin said without hesitation. "I am thinking of
retiring."

"Don't," Keanu interjected. "Not on my account."

"I have been boxing for more than ten years now. I'm at the top,
and now all I do is to defend my titles. I've achieved my dreams,
and I want to move ahead and learn some skills and trade to keep
me going when I can't fight anymore," Vin said, wanting Keanu to
understand. "Plus, I don't have to hide us from anything if I am
just me."

"You make up your mind," Keanu said finally. "I will be here
whether you are Vin Diesel or -- Vin Diesel isn't your real name,
is it?"

"No. It's Mark. Mark Vincent."

"Mark." Keanu savored the word, as if tasting it on his tongue.
"My door is always opened for you. Besides, how many guys in this
world can boast a real life sex machine in his bed?"

Vin grinned. "Wanna join me in the shower?" he asked, holding out
his hand, knowing deep inside that Keanu would take it. And
Keanu's grip, strong and warm, was reassuring.
