AJ read the first article at 7:03 in the morning on a Friday. He'd found a second one by 7:30. By 9 he'd cleaned out every newsstand within a ten-minute drive of his house. They all pretty much said the same thing, though -- and Justin had said that it was all true. Even the stuff that they tried to take back. He spend the rest of the day at Jerry's, taking apart the motor of a beat-up half-ton truck and processing the whole thing.
Justin didn't call until Tuesday afternoon, when AJ was flying down the highway in his convertible, taking advantage of the day. He slowed down to the take the call, and pulled into the lot of a service station when he heard who it was.
"So there's this thing with the car," said Justin, after their awkward hellos. "Like ... it's making this noise. A weird noise. Do you know what it might be?"
"Well, what does it sound like?" asked AJ, slouching back in his seat and turning the car off; no telling how long the call might be. No telling how long it might take Justin to get to the point of it.
"It's kind of a 'vroom' noise," said Justin, imitating it poorly. "Whenever I start it." AJ just laughed. "What? I'm serious."
"Most cars go 'vroom', Justin," said AJ patiently. He knew he was probably laying it on a little thick, but it was so damn funny. "It's what makes them go. So tell me, how much, exactly, did it cost you to buy off the DMV to get your license?"
"Oh, fuck you," said Justin. "Not that kind of 'vroom'. A really loud one. It's idling too fast and I'm not sure the gears are shifting right. I'm not a total moron, you know."
"So you're seriously calling about the car?" said AJ dubiously, letting his chuckles taper off. "You want me to look at it or something? I got time today, I can stop by your palace for a few minutes."
"And again," said Justin with a grunt, "fuck you, McLean. So. What time can you come? About the car, I mean?"
"I'm out of town, it's at least an hour's drive back," he said, looking at the road and gauging just exactly where he was. "You'll just have to wait. You didn't have anywhere to be, right? I got the idea you were pretty much sticking close to home, lately ... " There, he'd broached the subject. Maybe that would speed things up a little.
"If you're implying I'm under house arrest," replied Justin, testily, AJ thought, "then you're wrong. I can still do whatever I want. So … what time?"
"Look," said AJ, leaning forward again and banging his head lightly against the padded steering wheel. "We both know that you probably have a mechanic on retainer, the number of cars you've got, so you calling me … I'm pretty sure it isn't about the car. Though if it is, I'm happy to take a look. You have driven stick before, right?" Justin snickered and AJ rolled his eyes. "Okay, okay," he said. "So consider that your opening -- no further pun intended."
"So you read, I guess," said Justin, only sounding a little awkward about it. A lifetime in the public eye could do that to a person, no matter what they were talking about or who they were talking about it with. "You didn't call, though."
"You didn't give me your number," AJ pointed out, leaning back again, so abruptly that his head bounced off the headrest. "I figured if you didn't give me your number, I wasn't gonna go tracking it down." They both knew AJ could -- they had that many mutual acquaintances -- so it had to have been plain old respect that kept him from doing it. "Besides. You had mine, for when you were ready. So are you?"
"Ready?" repeated Justin. "For what?"
"Whatever it is that you called about," said AJ, trying not to groan. "Timberlake. You're trying my patience."
"My car," said Justin weakly. "There's this noise ... "
"Justin ... "
"I haven't talked to anyone in a couple days," he said finally. "Not sure how the whole thing's going over. Hung up on my publicist earlier; sounds like they covered my ass well enough, though. That's why we pay them the big bucks, I guess."
"Don't sound so disappointed," said AJ, holding the cell phone between his ear and his shoulder as he fiddled with the radio, trying to get a signal. "That is why you pay them the big bucks. So you can live your life without the whole world getting up in your face about it."
"I guess you'd know."
"Yeah, I guess I would," said AJ, finally picking up a feeble country station. Wasn't like he was in the middle of nowhere or something; must've been a power station or something nearby. Would that fuck up radio signals? Seemed as good an explanation as any. "Make it your choice, if you want something like that out there. Don't let it be someone else's."
"Yeah, I learned that lesson on the first day of pop school," muttered Justin. "So you don't sound shocked or anything."
"Well, you gave me a few days to get used to the idea," said AJ, turning off the radio. He hated country. "Shocking would have been if you'd been into satanic rituals. Shocking would have been if you'd been having sex with sheep. Being gay hasn't been shocking in quite some time, Justin, in case you missed that memo."
"Yeah, but it's me."
"One of these days you're gonna need to get over yourself," said AJ bluntly. "You doing okay, though? No trauma from the whole thing? No nasty phone calls from exes or bandmates? No one you need me to run over or anything?"
"Nah, they all knew," said Justin breezily. "Brit's the only ex I'd care about calling and ... well, obviously she's clued in to the whole thing. It's been quiet. Fucking quiet and spooky."
"So how come you outed yourself to me?" asked AJ. "You didn't have to. You could've let me get sucked in by the retractions. Or at least draw my own conclusions."
"I don't know," said Justin, instantly and decisively, like he'd already given that very question some serious thought. AJ hoped he had. "I just did."
He nodded to himself, even knowing that Justin couldn't see. "Yeah, okay," he said. "Maybe not the best reason, but one I can understand."
"There's nothing wrong with the car," Justin blurted out.
"Yeah," said AJ with a low chuckle. "I know."
"So you want hang out some time, have a drink?"
"No," said AJ easily, calmly, not even feeling the mild panic that offer once would've sent him into. "How about coffee?"
"Oh man," breathed Justin after an awkward pause. "I am such an asshole. Serve me right if you didn't want to get together at all."
"It's not about you, Justin," said AJ, still calmly, patting down his jacket for his cigarettes. "I'm assuming you don't need me to drive back there today after all, so when did you want to get together? You just wanna give me a call whenever? We're at home for a while, taking some downtime."
There was another pause, and AJ could even hear Justin breathing. "Yeah, okay, I'll do that," he said finally. "Have a nice trip, or whatever it is you're doing."
"Just going for a drive," said AJ, finally finding the pack and lighting one with an almost-empty book of matches from a truck stop somewhere in northern Florida. "So talk to you soon?"
"Yeah, talk to you soon," said Justin, and he sounded like he meant it. There was a moment of silence when neither of them spoke, then Justin disconnected the call.
AJ finished half his cigarette, leaning back and staring at the sky, then started the car again and pulled back out onto the highway.