The crush of people at the rooftop, partly open-air, banquet, was too much for Sebastian. He avoided parties or large gatherings as a rule. He did not host parties. He specialized in intimate get-togethers. He always cooked for his guests. He figured that it was an easy way to sort his feelings about his invitees. If he did not want to cook for them, then they were not the people he wanted to welcome into his private space either. He did socialize as his professional stature dictated. Some amount of wining and dining was his part of his job profile but he kept it outside his home. He patronized few fine restaurants for those occasions. His presence at this party was due to the host himself. Michael was a friend from his college days in the US. They shared many things in common which had drawn them to closer. Both had Korean American heritage, both were academically gifted and both were out of the closet, at least abroad. But that’s where the similarities ended. Michael was boisterous, ‘living life to lees’ kind of hedonist while Sebastian was extremely low profile, introverted and guarded. As they pursued their individual goals in life, they had stayed in touch.

Michael had established himself as a leading plastic surgeon in South Korea. He earned tons of money and spent lavishly, living the high life. He had celebrity clients and celebrity partners to keep him warm in bed too. But just like Sebastian, he was extremely discrete about his private life in Korea, knowing how conservative Korean society was when it came to same relationships. Right now, Sebastian was conversing with a beautiful girl called Maria, who often served as Michael’s standard girlfriend, in name only. She was actually his office manager, a very intelligent and cultured lady. So Sebastian was relieved to be in her company, instead of some trilling bimbo or a vain man, who made up the bulk of Michael’s clientele. But he had a vague inkling that his pleasant conversation was about to come to an untimely end.

His eyes spied Michael, making a beeline towards where he stood with Maria, in a quiet corner, away from the throng. He looked perturbed though he never missed a beat to greet, chat and laugh with his guests, who encountered him on his way over.

“Maria, what do you suppose is your boss up to now?” He barely murmured the question, causing Maria to swing her head towards the handsome doctor, who was cutting through the crowd like a man on a mission.

“Trouble?” Maria suggested with an amused smile, for she had indeed seen a lot in her 5 year stint with Michael.

The said trouble maker smiled widely and threw his right arm over Sebastian’s shoulders as he posed a seemingly innocuous question to Maria.

“Excuse me Maria, but I must steal your handsome conversation partner here. You don’t mind, do you sweetheart?”

Rhetorical questions do not warrant answers as far Maria was concerned, so she merely smiled and excused herself. No sooner had she turned away than Michael’s fingers almost dug in painfully into Sebastian’s right shoulder. Sebastian looked at his friend quizzically and asked the dreaded question.

“Mike, what have you got yourself into this time?”

Mike looked decidedly uncomfortable and tensed but knew that as the host of the party many guests had their eyes on him, following his every move. So he gave Sebastian a tight smile and almost hissed under his breath.

“Come with me. Keep a straight face and for God’s sake, don’t rush. Smile and nod, do the Miss Universe thing. Let’s get out of here and I will tell you.”

That’s exactly how they managed to leave the crowd behind till they reached the elevators.

Sebastian looked around to make sure that they were alone before he gave vent to his irritation.

“What the hell! Where are we going? Come clean…right now.” His eyes reflected his worry.

Before Michael could answer, the elevator door opened and spilled out a few late party guests. Michael was the perfect host as he greeted them and sent them along to join the party. But very subtly in midst of the all that ‘meet and greet’ routine he had also managed to push Sebastian into the waiting elevator and hold the door open, before stepping in himself. Sebastian scowled at him as Michael punched the key for 6^th floor on the panel and turned to look at him.

“It’s not too bad. Nobody died…I mean not yet….it just could turn into…let’s say a little scandalous…incident. And there’s nobody else that I can trust. Just don’t freak out. You can be a worrywart sometimes.”

Sebastian couldn’t think of a single person in the world who had the chutzpah to insult him and ask him for help at the same time other than Michael. He merely narrowed his eyes at him as they stepped out of the elevator and Michael briskly walked ahead, fishing out a keycard from his pocket. He stopped in front of a room a little ahead and so did Sebastian. Michael swung his head to the left and then to the right to make sure they were alone before unlocking the door and stepping in. Wordlessly, Sebastian followed suit.

The room was lit up by typical recessed lighting, only not all were , so the room was bathed in a soft glow. As Michael walked ahead and left Sebastian’s field of vision open, he noticed a boy….a teenager perhaps……sleeping on the bed. Michael leaned over him and lightly patted his cheek but the boy didn’t stir. Sebastian stepped in further and noticed that the boy actually looked unconscious……passed out perhaps…or at least out of it somehow. Michael grabbed the left wrist and looked at his wristwatch in a typical physician’s stance to check the pulse. Sebastian was growing seriously concerned now. A lot of questions crowded his mind and he had a bad feeling over all.

“Who is this? Why is he….like that? And, Mike…..what were you thinking? What part of ‘’ written all over this boy did you fail to read? OH NO! Did you do this?”

Michael allowed him to finish, watching his friend grow more and more alarmed at what he was conjuring up in his mind. He simply rolled his eyes at the end of Sebastian’s interrogation and exhaled in exasperation.

“This is a client of mine…..was a client of mine. Well, at least his agency is. His name is…….uh…..can’t remember, right now.” He looked a little embarrassed and earned an incredulous expression from Sebastian. “And before you jump to conclusion, let me assure you, he is not underage. Though I take it as a compliment to my skills that you think he is. Well, not that I crafted all that.” He looked down at the supine boy with a part critical, part admiring look, as if he was an art critic looking at a painting. “Let’s just say I ‘enhanced’ what was there. Now that I think about it, he looks rather young for his age, doesn’t he? Well, he came to me a little…..banged up and I worked my magic.”

Michael lightly touched the boy’s right cheekbone and said, “There was a scar…a slash of sort… here”, he moved his index finger over the pert little nose, “The nose was broken, the bridge was crooked….had to practically rebuild it”, he moved his finger upward to the left temple, “There were scars from some hack job stitches here.” He finished his ‘presentation’ and stuck his hands in his pockets. With a wry smile, he looked over to Sebastian and wise-cracked, “Blessed by Peter Pan himself perhaps?”

Sebastian was slowly getting angry now. He gritted his teeth and tried to hold back the temper.

“Excellent Doctor! Now pray tell me why is he…like that?” Sebastian pointed to the boy.

Michael merely shrugged. “I don’t know. I saw him at the party for a second. He was fine then. Smiled, greeted me. I asked him the usual stuff, you know…how is work……you ok…….etc. and he nodded his head and said a few words. Shy fellow, this guy. He barely made any eye contact. So I moved on. The next thing I know I was on my way to the restroom at the other end of the rooftop and I saw him out on a little balcony, leaning over the railing. So I asked him what he was doing and…..this guy…just about jumped by bones. No….he gave a loopy smile before he did that. He was all arms and legs and all over me. He was trying to nuzzle me!” He took in Sebastian’s narrowed eyes and protested his innocence, “I swear Kim, not my type. I did not initiate. Heck, I hardly know him.”

Sebastian scoffed, “Like that has ever stopped you.”

Michael looked at Sebastian with a look of reproach, “Anyhow, as I was trying to disentangle myself, he passed out in my arms. So, I brought him here. I looked through his phone. There are only two phone numbers on his contact list! One for his agency and another for his agent at the agency. I did not want to get his agency involved. These agencies keep these guys on a pretty tight leash. I did not want him to get any flak over a minor drunkenness. Lord knows, we all have had our nights, eh?” He looked to Sebastian for understanding. But, Sebastian’s face was set in stone.

Michael his charm full blast and went over to Sebastian’s side. He placed an arm around his shoulder and half dragged, half pushed him to bring him to where he was standing before, next to the bed. Sebastian felt a twinge in his heart as he took in the boy at close quarters. So vulnerable and innocent a face. A long repressed memory stirred in his soul and he fought to push it back down in the dark depths of his past. He was indeed a sweet looking creature with delicate bone structure, small face, and sharp cheekbones. But what caught his eyes and held his fascination were his lips. Plump, cherry red and perfectly proportioned upper and lower lips. Slightly parted as his head was lying crooked on the pillow, they promised sensual kisses and cutest pouts.

Sebastian looked to Michael and asked the big question, “What exactly do you have in mind?

Michael smiled sweetly, leaned closer and started massaging Sebastian’s shoulders. Sebastian knew he was being primed for the big slaughter.

“I should stay with him. After all, he is a guest at my party and his safety and wellbeing is my responsibility. I would totally be Ok with that. You know me Kim. When have I ever shirked responsibility, huh?”

Sebastian merely tilted his head and glared at him. “And this is an exception because…?”

Michael grinned ear to ear because only his friend could read his mind like that.

“Well, there is this guy, another doctor, visiting from Japan. We hooked up when I went over there and he was…memorable. And he is flying out tomorrow. So, I was wondering you know, if you would……..maybe……..keep an eye on him through the night…..or till he wakes up and goes home. Please say ‘yes’.”

Sebastian’s eyes widened and he looked horrified at the suggestion. He huffed and his heels towards the door. Michael was swift and caught up with him even before he could reach halfway. Michael stood right in front him, with his arms wide, blocking his way. Sebastian shook his head and reached to move his arms out of the way only to step back a little in surprise as Michael dropped to his knees before him. Michael held his palms together in a gesture of silent plea and gave him his best woebegone expression.

Sebastian jokingly kicked Michael as he recovered from the theatrical antic that his friend had just pulled.

“You bastard! You want me to babysit while you get laid?”

Michael readily agreed by shamelessly nodding in agreement.

Sebastian exhaled exasperatedly and looked over to the boy on the bed. Still out cold. Both the friends knew the dangers of leaving somebody terribly drunk alone. A guy in their college dorm had died of alcohol poisoning after a frat party. He knew that Michael was at least trying to do the right thing by asking him to take his place beside that boy. But he wanted to lord over his friend for the favor he was about to do. He pinched the bridge of his nose and tried to think of something he could ask as payback but couldn’t think of anything.

“OK. I will do it. But you owe me, Mike. Big time. Don’t you forget and trust me, I will remember.”

Michael jumped to his feet and the grin was back on his face. He grabbed Sebastian’s arm and squeezed it. “Thank you, thank you and thank you. Whatever you want. An expensive bottle of wine, a free nose job or my first born…you got it.”

Sebastian actually laughed at the atrocious offer. He could never really stay mad at Mike. He was just…well…Mike. He waved a hand at him, motioning him to leave. Mike grabbed him in a hug and clapped his back enthusiastically before turning to leave. Sebastian was about to occupy one of the plush chairs next to the floor to ceiling windows, when he heard Mike’s voice, serious and sincere.

“Kim, I will have my phone set to receive your calls only. So, if you see any sign of trouble…if he is any kind of distress….call me immediately. But use your cellphone, not the house phone. I will be on this floor, about ten rooms down.”

Sebastian smiled reassuringly as he took off his jacket and settled in. Mike cast a worried look at the boy and left. Sebastian knew that there was a caring person under the smarmy charms of his friend. That’s why he was one of his closest friends. He considered watching TV to pass some time but decided against it as the noise, however faint, and flickering lights may bother the boy. On that thought he got up to turn off all the lights except one near the door and the table lamp on the other side of the bed. He reoccupied his chair and noticed how bright the city looked with teeming lights. He looked at the seemingly miniature windows in the far distance and wondered about the occupants of those apartments and homes. He guessed that most of them were families but some were solitary souls like he. Following the trail of that thought, he wondered if anybody missed the boy when he didn’t come home. He got up to retrieve the phone on the night stand. He assumed it was the boy’s.

He was surprised that there was no screen lock or code on his phone. It was a relatively older model of phone. There was no customization, no saved photos, practically nothing added or changed to the factory settings. The text messages were all business from a person called Mila. Most of them were schedules…filled with short hands…so it was not very clear. Sebastian gave up and put the phone down. He tried to make himself comfortable for the long haul. He pulled the other chair nearer his, as softly as possible. Satisfied, he sat down and put his feet up. After 5 minutes of inactivity, he grabbed his phone and started checking his business emails and answering where required. Some part of the world was always awake and at work. He was glad that it meant he always had something to do.

His concentration was disrupted by a low moan. He turned his head towards the bed to see the boy moving. He watched and waited for him to settle down. Only, the moans of discomfort intensified and the boy seemed to go from stirring to thrashing in a blink. Sebastian got up to check on him closely. The boy was flushed, his pale skin was drenched in sweat and he was tearing at his shirt with impatient fingers. Sebastian reached to still those long arms by grabbing onto the wrists. He held the wrists firmly away from him and softly murmured, “Hey! Hey! It’s ok. Don’t do that. Hot, are we?”

He didn’t think he would get an answer, but boy answered incoherently, “Hot……please…hot.” A boyish, soft voice, almost pleading and helpless. Something again swam to the surface of Sebastian’s memory. A sweet boy, fragile and shy, writhing like this under Sebastian’s gaze. His eyes filled with a pain that even his mind dared not remember. The boy was thrashing again, his long legs and hips twisting from one side to another.

Sebastian was snapped out of his inaction as the boy started tugging to free his wrists from his grasp. Sebastian leaned over and brought his face closer to the boy as he whispered soothingly.

“Alright. Alright. Let’s see if we can get you comfortable. But if you have to help. Ok, boy? Keep still for me. ”

He only got a whine as an answer. He smiled in spite of himself wondering how many drinks had he downed to be in this state. He pressed on the broad but not buff shoulders till the boy stopped moving erratically. Then he set about to undoing the buttons of his black dress shirt. He reached the waist band and yanked the tail out. He then grabbed the wrists and undid the buttons on the cuffs. The boy’s eyes were closed but he could spy a deep furrow between his brows as if he was impatient at the progress Sebastian was making. Sebastian smirked and said in his mind, “Yes your majesty, I will do my best.”

He pushed the two sides of the shirt apart and laid his eyes on the torso covered in pale skin, which sat below a long and elegant neck. Lean and muscular, with lightly defined pecs and abs that graced a v-shaped bone structure, his torso was covered in beaded sweat. Perfectly formed pink s dotted the otherwise unblemished expanse of smooth skin. Sebastian leaned over the boy, supporting his weight on his arms on both sides and tried the subliminal messaging technique again.

“Come on boy, sit up so that we can take this shirt off, shall we?”

To add to the words, he also tugged gently at his arms, trying to pull him into a sitting position. He was surprised when with just the lightest of pull, he could maneuver him to do as he wanted. He quickly pushed the shirt off his shoulders and freed the arms from the sleeves. Before he could help the boy lie back, he kind of crashed back onto the pillow, missing the headboard by an inch.

Sebastian watched the near disaster and let out a low whistle in relief, “Buddy boy! That was close!”

He set the shirt on the back of his chair and wondered if he needed to undress the boy any further. His eyes went from his tight, dark blue jeans to the multi-colored sneakers that adorned his feet. Sebastian chuckled at the contrast. Black dress shirt and a dark blue jeans with multi-neon hued sneakers.

“Is this a fad now? Or just token rebellion against the establishment?” He kept up his one sided conversation.

He however knew that going to bed with socks and shoes on was not comfortable when one felt hot in one’s skin. He loosened lace and took off the sneakers, followed by the very sensible white crew socks, both of which he dropped to the floor at the foot of the bed. He shook his head again.

“A bundle of contradictions. Aren’t we?” He asked of his silent companion.

He looked over to see the said companion to be still lost to the world. He hesitantly reached over to his waist and undid the belt buckle. With one or two careful twists and tugs, he managed take the belt off. As he stood over the boy considering if he needed to take the jeans off too, the door to the room opened and in walked Mike. His mild expression changed to mock horror at the tableau that confronted him.

“You ! Seriously, Kim? I thought you said he was ! How can you take advantage of an unconscious boy?”

Sebastian rolled up the belt in his hand and threw it at Mike, who easily dodged it, grinning like he had meant to get a rise out of his friend.

But his demeanor changed as he approached the bed. His voice showed concern.

“Seriously though, what happened here?”

Sebastian placed his arms at his hips and recounted how the boy was complaining about being hot and thrashing about. He also pointed to the sweat covered upper body and red tinged face which lent credence to his account. Mike checked the boy’s pulse again and checked his pupils for reaction with the flashlight app in his phone. The boy protested being poked and prodded and he let it be known by moans and whimpers. Mike stood up satisfied with his examination and sighed.

“Just one drink too many or it could be that he mixed his drinks. For some people one Long Island Iced Tea is enough to knock them off their feet. His body didn’t like what he drank. He could catch a cold from sweating so profusely. Let’s get him out of those damned tight jeans. That’s not doing him any favor right now, fashionable or not. I will get a towel to wipe him down. A wet towel will be better.”

Michael turned and went to the bathroom, leaving Sebastian to deal with the jeans. Sebastian scratched his forehead lightly and shrugged.

“I guess, what needs to be done, has to be done.” He consoled the boy, whose modesty was at stake.

Only Sebastian found it extremely difficult to peel the tight garment off the boy’s lower body. He wondered for a second if it was stitched onto his body. And the boy did not like being handled. He even swatted impatiently at Sebastian. He wanted to call Mike for help, only to overhear him talking to someone over the phone. Finally, after much struggle, he managed to take the jeans off. He looked at the offending garment in his hand with despise and muttered to himself.

“Sebastian-1, Tight Jeans-0.”

Right at that moment, Mike stepped out of the bathroom, holding a towel in each hand. Both of them were distracted by a soft knock on the door which had clearly alarmed Sebastian as he threw a worried look towards Mike. Mike shook his head and simply said, “It’s Maria. Here, take the wet one and rub him down. I will get the door.”

Sebastian released the breath he was holding in relief and concentrated on the boy again. Gently but thoroughly, he wiped the boy’s sweat covered face, neck and torso, not even sparing the arms. His eyes traveled downward till it rested on a pair of Calvin Klein navy blue briefs. His hands skipped over that and started working on those endlessly long legs, lean, muscular, well-shaped and the same shade of pale cream.

He smiled and thought to himself, “So, the brief kind, are we? Not boxers?”

As he finished wiping the soles of his feet, the boy moaned again. Only this time, it was a little different. This sounded like he…enjoyed it. On a whim, Sebastian ran his fingers on the top of his right foot and caressed the underside of the arch with his thumb. The boy moaned again and even arched his back in a gesture of enjoying pure sensual pleasure. Sebastian raised his eyebrows, a naughty smile curving his lips and reaching his eyes.

“And we like playing footsie, don’t we?”

The door closed and Sebastian wiped the smile off his face. He did not want to let anything on in front of Mike. He would never hear the end of it. Mike Came back bearing a tray with a weird assortment of things. There was a bottle of water, a bottle of coconut water, a plate covered with another plate and a tablet and a pair of earphones. He set it down on the table and answered the question that he saw in Sebastian’s eyes.

“Food, water, drink and entertainment.” Then he fished in his pocket and took out the key card and put it on the table too. “And the room is paid for. Call me if there’s any problem. Otherwise, I will talk to you tomorrow…….when I can.” He winked at Sebastian to make his point and left quickly before Sebastian could throw the wet towel at him.

Sebastian looked at the nearly boy on the bed and carried on the one sided conversation.

“Now, where were we, buddy boy? Right, let’s do your back.”

He gently turned the boy over by the shoulder and wiped down his back with the wet and then with the dry towel before laying him on his back again. He took one last look at the boy before he went back to the bathroom and hung up the towels to dry. On his return, he thoughtfully shook loose the quilted top cover on the bed and covered the boy with it.

“Cannot catch cold, can we?” He asked the boy, who seemed to like the soft cover and nestled in with a soft whimper of content.

Sebastian finally took his seat and put up his feet. He uncovered the plate and sampled the variety of food that Maria had carefully plated for him. He imagined the tablet to be Maria’s too, which her boss had appropriated for the night. He left that be and concentrated on the view outside as he ate slowly through the entire contents of the plate. Being helpful is tiring business.