For those who haven't read The Stripper or have forgotten parts of it. Here is a really brief summary. Justin was in New York and was having difficulty supporting himself and having time to paint. He hires himself as an exotic dancer to pay the bills. Brian discovers his secret and before they can discuss it, Justin is in a car accident where he loses his memory. This time Brian stands by his side until he recovers and encourages him to continue painting. Eventually Justin regains his memory and Brian and Justin are together in Pittsburgh. Justin is worried that his time as a dancer will make his agent want to drop him as an artist ( as it will be embarassing to the agency) but she reaasures him that what he did before he was exhibiting was not important. Justin is reassured and begins painting again and has a successful show. After the show, they are married in Central Park. There are many references to The Stripper in this story, but the basis of the story is in this summary.

Fifteen Years Ago - Senior year Harvey Milk High School (age 17) New York City

Peter Helio had been friends with John Scott since they were in high school. Peter was tall, brunette and very muscular while John was a little shorter but a fit trim young man. They spent hours together, whether it was in school where they had almost all the same classes, or outside of school where they often studied together and of course they were together when they practiced for the school's Rugby team. Peter wanted to work in advertising and John wanted to use his art in some capacity. John was the first of the duo to admit he liked cock and Peter was unfazed as he told him he fantasized about it as well. They spent many hours looking at Playgirl, using the airbrushed pictures to fuel their ongoing fantasies.

"You think those guys know that their pics are enjoyed by gay guys and straight women?" Peter had asked John one afternoon when they were in his bedroom flipping through the magazines they just picked up.

"I doubt it. Come on there is so much homophobia out there that the idea doesn't even cross the model's mind." John broke out into peals of laughter. "My sister reads these stupid romance novels. I picked one up last week and just happened to see a stupid sex scene. I swear if that is what straight sex is really like, I'm glad I'm gay. Eating pussy just turns my stomach."

Peter made a face and scrunched his eyes closed as he said, "Eww gross," He looked again at the latest issue on the bed and said, "but going down on that guy would be awesome. I bet he tastes fantastic." He pointed to the model whose cock he was recently admiring.

Looking at his friend as he traced his finger over the picture of a guy's cock and watching his tongue dart out to wet his lips, Peter couldn't help but touch John's cock, stroking it through the tight jeans. John arched into the touch. They leaned in toward each other and their lips touched as they opened their mouths to taste each other.

The magazines were quickly forgotten and spilled out onto the floor. They found themselves lying facing each other on Peter's bed. Peter continued to stroke John's cock and then reached for his button, unbuttoning it and unzipping his pants. He reached under the waistband of his friend's pants and found his very hard cock. He ran his fingers over the slit, feeling the moisture that had formed there. His friend's cock felt very different than his own; it was thick and smooth. He stroked it a few more times as he heard John's breath quicken and before either of them knew what was happening, John shot his load over Peter's fingers.

He pulled his hand out of the underwear and brought it to his mouth, tentatively tasting it. "Mmm, you taste great."

John leaned in toward his friend and kissed him tasting himself on his friend's tongue. He unbuttoned Peter's jeans and pulled down the pants and underwear allowing his cock to spring free. He licked his lips again and moved his mouth toward the cock. Tentatively reaching out his tongue, he swiped a taste of the slit, groaning in ecstasy as he licked the precum that had leaked out. Inhaling the unique scent of a man, he opened his mouth to engulf Peter's cock. His tongue tasted the slightly salty shaft and he could feel himself getting hard again as his body reacted to the pheromones. Ignoring his own body, he licked the cock and played with Peter's balls. Before he was ready he felt Peter's cock jerk and then he came in a rush of spasms. John swallowed all that he could and licked his mouth of any residue that he didn't swallow.

Neither young man said anything, but put their cocks back in their jeans. They lay on the bed and regained their composure, waiting for their bodies to return to a restful state. They turned toward each other and smiled.

"I can't wait to be old enough to go dancing and be around all those gorgeous guys at Stonewall. I hear there is a room where you can have sex right there in the bar," John said with a dreamy look in his eye. "You know what? I know a guy who can make us fake ID's. We can get in there now."

"Sex, right there in the bar. Wow. I guess for now we'll have to settle for this," he made a waving motion with his hand between their two bodies, alluding to their earlier activities. "That would be cool, but the guys there are old. I want to go someplace more hip." Peter remembered looking up gay bars on the Internet and seeing that the bouncers took any fake ID's and laughed in the guy's faces. "Besides I don't think I want to do it with anyone who goes to dance clubs and bars. I want a real boyfriend."

"Well, I guess when we turn 21 we can pick and choose where we want to go and pick up gorgeous men; after all we are two gorgeous men ourselves and we can have the cream of the crop," John said as he looked in the mirror, admiring his trim physique, giggling at his pun.

10 years ago (age 22)- New York City

"That was some party. Did you see that guy dancing on the table? I'd do him in a minute," Peter said as they sat in the living room of the apartment they shared.

"Yeah, he was hot, but the party really got started when the guy came out to dance. You know the one they hired for Tim, the birthday guy."

"I can't believe that Cal paid money to have a dancer for Tim's birthday. That was some surprise," Peter said as he opened the beer he'd grabbed from the fridge.

"You're right. When that dancer came out everybody turned all their eyes on him and he really seemed to egg them on. He's pretty talented. I wonder if he has a day job; you know, boring office worker by day, stripper by night," John said as he developed a dreamy look in his eye.

4 years ago (28 years old) New York City

It was John's birthday next week and Peter wanted to give him something really special. They'd known each other for over 15 years and he still remembered that day back in high school where they sat in his room looking at Playgirl and talking about the models. They'd come a long way since then. Peter was in a committed relationship with Michael and had been with him for over 3 years. John had dated a lot of guys but hadn't found 'the one' yet.

John had recently lost his job and was looking for a new one; he'd had several interviews in the last several weeks, but nothing had come of them yet. He was feeling a little down and Peter wanted to give him something special for his birthday. Peter remembered how John had raved for weeks about the dancer at Tim's party several years ago and decided that would be the ultimate present for his friend. He called around and found a place called Dancing Beauties and based on several discussions with his friends he decided to hire someone for John.

The dancer would dance for 60 minutes and pay special attention to John. Pictures were allowed and he could choose a theme. He remembered John wondering if the guy dancers worked in mundane office jobs during the day and danced at night and decided that would be the perfect set up. Since John loved art he might even have the guy have some brushes or other art supplies as props, working in a gallery or something. He was very excited about his present and knew his friend would love it.

He arranged for the event to be held at a small Italian restaurant, Pellicano's in Chelsea. They could have a small room in the back and be away from the crowd. The room closed off so it wouldn't interfere with the other patrons. He invited 30 people, knowing that about 20 would be able to make it and thought this would be a great evening. The night arrived and he had arranged to meet John at Pellicano's. He told him they were going out to dinner so there weren't any surprises. Tim and Cal, the friends who had inspired the present were invited and were joining them at the restaurant. When he entered and many of their friends were seated in the room, he turned and kissed Peter, thanking him for the surprise. Dinner was pleasant and people were lingering over coffee and conversation and John became slightly suspicious that there was more to the gathering.

Around 10:00 the doors were closed and the evening's entertainment arrived from Dancing Beauties. He was a beautiful blond with a smile that could light up Manhattan. He wasn't particularly muscular but he was gorgeous. His alabaster skin shone under the light and his moves were evocative and sexual without being raucous. He turned on his boom box and danced to several numbers, shedding clothing as he went.

"I understand someone has a birthday. 28 years old. Point him out so I can give him a special birthday present," Justin said, the sultry tones in his voice playing up the presentation.

All the men pointed to John, and Justin walked slowly towards him, running his hands down his torso and caressing his nipples and crotch as he went. He sat on John's lap and preceded to do a lap dance there while he held his straight arms around his neck. Looking into his eyes as if he were something special he lip synced the words to the song on the boom box. He could feel John's erection pressing into him but he ignored it. This was work and he never mixed work with real life. Justin's eyes blinked often as numerous pictures of their 'dance' were shot and he smiled into the camera when he could.

After the lap dance, he pulled John out into the middle of the tables and waited for the next song to begin. The song was a thumpa thumpa dance number and he danced with the birthday man as well. Justin received tips from all the men attending the party as they enjoyed the show and Peter gave him a $100 tip after the gig. Overall it was a productive night. He made his usual fee of $150.00 and after the tips he brought home over $300. Not bad for an hour of my time- two hours if you count travel.

The next day Peter brought over the pictures he'd taken at the party. He'd also asked his friends to send John their pics as well. All told, John had over 100 pictures of Justin dancing at his birthday. He looked at them often in the following months, sometimes dreaming that the dancer was really there for him. The pictures had a special place in his nightstand drawer, but over the months and years that followed they were taken out less and less and slowly forgotten.

Six months ago (age 32)- New York City

John was working in New York at Graphic Design MMD. He loved his job creating icons and designs for campaigns. Living in New York he was able to feed his obsession with art and make a living. He attended art shows as often as he could and was always thrilled to find a new artist. He was eating lunch at Arturo's and overheard some patrons talking about a new show by Justin Taylor. He listened to the diners and was interested in seeing the exhibit. Evidently this was a fairly young artist who was represented by Carol Sing, a well-respected agent in the area. He'd been to many exhibits from her artists and always enjoyed them. She had a knack for seeing potential in raw talent. He hadn't been to an opening in a while and this was a great opportunity to meet people. He was between partners and knew that art shows were always a good place to pick up guys. Well, truth be told he knew there were many places to pick up guys, but art shows brought out the artists and he always connected well with them. The show was on Saturday, a few days away and he started to mentally go through his wardrobe deciding what to wear.

John attended the art show and enjoyed it immensely. The artist had real talent and evoked a number of emotions through the intensity of the colors and shapes in his paintings. He found the titles very telling; titles often let the viewer inside the head of the artist. He noticed a young man in a blazer with a pair of dark fitted slacks. He wore no tie but had a boutonniere in his lapel and was frequently seen with Carol. That must be the artist . He saw her introduce him to numerous people in the gallery and watched as he talked animatedly to the patrons. This man was a delight. He's talented and the patrons are eating him up.

He walked over to the artist and tapped him on the shoulder. Justin smiled at him.

"Hello. Thank you for coming. I hope you are enjoying yourself."

John smiled and answered, "Yes. You are very talented. I love the use of color and shapes in your work."

"Thank you. I'm glad you find them interesting." Justin saw Brian enter the room and smile at him. He had expected Brian earlier in the evening but Brian had a last minute crisis at Kinnetik and had to catch the 6:00 pm plane instead of the 3:00. He was thrilled that he made it to the opening. Turning to John, he said, "I'm sorry but I have other patrons to greet." He left John and walked toward Brian, greeting him with his usual Sunshine smile.

John watched Justin as he greeted Brian and felt that he knew that smile; he'd seen it, but couldn't quite place where. He stayed at the exhibit a little while longer, slightly despairing that he hadn't met anyone of promise there, but still pleased with the evening's entertainment.

As he rode the subway to his apartment he reviewed the night's events and it struck him where he'd seen the smile before. When he got to his apartment, he opened his drawer and took out the envelope holding his pictures from that party a few years back. As he looked at the picture of the dancer performing a lap dance on his lap, he recognized the artist from this evening. His lap dancer was none other than Justin Taylor.