The meeting felt like it was taking a decade. I’m sure it was because I was anxious to go over to Jennifer’s and pick up Justin. Once 2:15 rolled around, I had lost any concentration on the meeting I may have had. I knew he was in town and I was completely lost in thoughts of him. I must admit, that bothered me a little. It was still a new thing to me to be that way about someone. Never in my life had I been as I excited about anything as I was at the thought of seeing Justin. I suppose it had always been like that. Even back in the early days I would check out Babylon, pretending to be cruising tricks, when I was in fact looking to see if he was there.
So there I was, stuck in some boring meeting about a boring campaign for a boring client, lost in thoughts about how great it was going to be to see my lover again. He had called my office when his plane landed to let me know that he had arrived safely and that he’d be waiting at Jennifer’s condo for me to pick him up.
“Well, I think we’re all done here.” The aforementioned boring client said with a smile. “I’ll have my assistant call to finalize the details and we can get all of the papers signed early next week.”
“Thank you, Mr. Thompson.” I said, forcing a friendly smile. “I’m glad you’ve decided to go with Vanguard.”
“I’m sure I’ll be just as glad, Mr. Kinney.” The man smiled and packed his things up to leave.
As soon as the client was safely out the door, I hurriedly got ready to leave and made my way down to the parking garage to my Jeep. I think I made it to Jennifer’s condo in record time, especially considering the traffic, and I hurried to the front door. Before I could even knock, Justin flung the door open and leapt into my arms. One would think it had been weeks or months instead of mere days since we had seen each other.
“I missed you!” Justin exclaimed, as he pressed kisses all over my neck.
“You’re just like a puppy.” I smiled as we parted. When he looked a little bit disappointed, I added, “I missed you too, Baby.”
“Hello, Brian.” Jennifer Taylor said from inside. “It’s been a long time.”
“Hello, Mrs. Taylor.” I smiled politely.
“It’s good to see you again.” She seemed actually sincere as she said this and it threw me off a little. I had gotten used to her barely tolerating me, so her being pleased to see me threw me for a loop.
“Same here.” I nodded.
“Well, I’m sure you guys have a lot of things planned for this weekend, so you should go. But Brian, make sure that you get my son to come visit more often.” Ahhh, so that’s what it is, I thought to myself. Jennifer is just happy that Justin will be visiting more.
“I will, mom.” Justin looked in my direction and rolled his eyes dramatically. I had to stifle a laugh so that Jennifer wouldn’t see. He could still be quite the drama queen. We headed out to the Jeep and as soon as we were inside, Justin attacked my mouth with his own.
“It’s so good to see you again.” I said with a smile as I took his hand and started the vehicle. As we drove I told him of all the plans I had been informed that we had for the weekend. The “we all’s” had been calling all week to get slotted in for their time with Justin. After a quick stop at the loft to drop off his things and change, we were meeting the boys at the diner for dinner and the heading over to Woody’s and Babylon, just like old times.
“Geez, am I ever going to get you alone this weekend?” Justin whined, bringing my hand to his mouth and kissing my knuckles.
“Oh, that’s only today.” I shook my head and continued. “Tomorrow the Muncher’s are expecting us for brunch and then I promised we would take Gus on an adventure while they do some shopping.”
“And after that?” Justin asked, sure that there was even more fun with the “we all’s” to come.
“After that, it’s dinner with Deb, Vic, Michael, Ben, and your mother.” As we pulled up at a red light, I looked over at him. He didn’t look particularly pleased. “What are you thinking?”
“I came here to visit with you! Not with everyone I ever knew while I lived here.” He was pouting and I just had to comment.
“You look cute with your lip sticking out like that.” I winked as he threw me a look. “Don’t worry, Sunshine. It’ll be me and you time after all the family fun, and I’m turning off the phone and locking my door all day Sunday so we can be alone.”
“Maybe I should change my flight to Monday morning instead of Sunday night?” He suggested, obviously wanting to spend more time with me. It made me feel good that he wanted to be alone together.
“I’ll be back in New York next Sunday.” I reminded him. He looked over at me, still looking a little dejected.
“But you’ll be working all week.” He seemed to be giving in a little bit.
“And you can have me to yourself every night and the whole weekend. We need to see everyone while you’re here. Remember, I have to see these people on a regular basis and I don’t want to be the one who hid their Sunshine away from them all weekend.” I saw him smile at my rationalization and I knew that I had saved myself from having to watch him pout all weekend.
“Ok. But next visit I want you all to myself… the whole time!” Justin grabbed my hand again and we continued to talk about the weekend’s activities until we arrived at the loft.
***
“Justin!” Emmett exclaimed as the two of us entered the diner. It was kind of weird to walk in there with him again. It was like déjà vu. Being with him again was weird at times, but not so much because our entire relationship thus far had been over the phone and in New York. Now that we were back in the Pitts, I knew it would take some adjustments.
“Hi, guys.” Justin smiled and hugged everyone as they stood to greet him. The boys had secured the extra huge booth so that there was room for all of us. Michael and Ben were in the corner, snuggled up together in such a way that it seemed they had been together for only mere weeks instead of nearly six years. Ted and Jason were on the other side. Jason doted on Ted, while Ted regarded Jason with indifference. I had to chuckle. Oh how things had changed. Ted used to be the one eager for attention. Emmett was alone, his business man from New York having ended things dramatically. “It’s so good to see all you guys again!” Justin seemed enthusiastic and I knew that he meant what he said. No matter how much he wanted to be alone with me, I knew how badly he wanted to see the “old gang”.
“Hey, guys.” I said, sitting down and pulling Justin onto my lap. “Justin, have you met Jason?”
“No, I don’t think I have.” Justin smiled at Ted’s adorable little husband. Five years younger than Ted, Jason was a real beauty. He had thick blond hair and big brown eyes. “Nice to meet you, Jason.”
“Nice to meet you, too, Justin. You’re a big topic of conversation around here.” Jason reached over and shook my lover’s hand.
“I am, am I?” Justin turned to look at me, a smile brightening his face. I played innocent and shrugged my shoulders. If Jason hadn’t been there I would have made some sort of comment about Ted secretly lusting for Justin, but I restrained myself. I actually felt a little sorry for Jason.
“Well, we have to talk about the biggest success to come out of our little world! The famous artiste!” Emmett said with a flourish. Justin laughed heartily.
“Well, well, well, all the boys are back again!” Debbie said as she looked around the table at all of us. “And all so grown up!”
“If you’re trying to tell us we’re old, we all know!” Ted said monotonously.
“I said grown up!” Debbie smacked Ted across the back of the head. “And you’re all looking great!” She then turned her attention to Justin. “Sunshine, you look gorgeous!”
“Thanks, Deb. You do too.” Justin stood and gave her a big hug.
“Now, I’m expecting you two for dinner tomorrow at seven sharp. I’m making enough pasta to feed an army. And Vic is making his famous Strawberry Shortcake.” Deb smiled proudly before whipping out her note pad and pen to take down out orders.
Dinner was rather uneventful. It was the same old thing… It actually felt like nothing had changed at all in the five years since we had all sat around a table like this. The only thing reminding me that it was different was having my arm around Justin, holding him close to my body. In the old days, I wouldn’t have done that in the diner, especially not on a Friday night when all the tricks were out and ripe for the picking.
Apparently Michael thought it was the same as old times, as he proved when Justin stood to excuse himself to go to the washroom. Michael leaned over to me as soon as Justin was out of earshot and warned, “Don’t fuck around tonight, Brian. He came here to visit you, not to watch you pick up tricks.”
“Pardon me?” I asked, angry at the sentiment.
“Well, Brian…” Before Michael could stutter out whatever excuse he planned to use(,) I cut him off.
“When was the last time you saw me trick?” Michael searched for the answer for several long moments before I stopped him. “Exactly. So keep the commentary to your fucking self.”
When Justin came back, I’m sure he noticed the tension at the table and he tried his best to relieve it. “So, who’s up for a game of pool at Woody’s?” He asked, with a big smile on his face. Everyone decided to come except for Jason, who said he was tired and wanted to go home.
As we walked to the bar, Ted complained. “See why I need to fuck the pool boy? My partner is the most boring person ever! And this is coming from me, you guys! I used to hold that title!”
“So break up with him.” Justin suggested.
“It’s not that easy. We’ve been together for three years and we’re living together.” He shook his head. “But I’m telling you guys, he’s going to drive me insane.”
I couldn’t believe Ted. All that time he searched for his lover boy and now he had an adorable, younger man who doted on him and he wasn’t satisfied. I was pretty sure at that moment that good old Theodore Schmidt had gotten too big for his britches.
Justin slipped his arm around my waist and all thoughts of Ted vanished. Feeling him close to me, all of my thoughts were focused on having a good time with the boys and then getting my “Baby” back to the loft.
“How long do you think we have to stay?” Justin asked, mimicking my thoughts. I leaned over close to his ear and kissed the lobe.
“Only what’s necessary.” I whispered.
“Good.”
***
Later that night, at Babylon, the 6 of us were standing at the bar surveying the crowd. The place was packed with hot young fags and I surprised myself by not wanting to drag any of them to the back room. That’s it for you, Kinney, I thought to myself, your tricking days are over.
Somehow, that thought didn’t scare me. I mean, sure, I might miss having only to go out the clubs and pick who I wanted to fuck, but I knew that even if I did choose to do it, it wouldn’t feel good anymore. I only wanted Justin.
Fuck, when did I turn into a lesbian? I asked myself. Shaking my head, I turned my attention to Justin. “Wanna dance?” I asked him, playfully pinching his nipple.
“Always!” He chuckled and took my hand. The dance floor was packed, but the crowds seemed to part for us. Apparently, no matter what, people still wanted to see what was happening on the “Brian and Justin Show”, even five years later. As we danced, I felt eyes on us from all over. I pulled him close just so that everyone in the club knew that he was mine.
“Come on, you guys!” Michael urged, breaking Justin and I apart. I wanted to turn and slap him for that, but he had a big goofy smile on his face and I didn’t have the heart to do it. “Drinks on me!”
As the six of us stood at the bar, like old times, I couldn’t help but enjoy myself. There was something about feeling carefree again. That was how it how it had always been when the five of us had come out together.
“Look at him!” Ted pretended to bite on his knuckles as a cute little twink, who reminded me of Justin during his early days on Liberty Avenue, walked by.
“You are such an old perv!” Justin laughed. “You have that adorable Jason at home, why are you out here hitting on young boys?”
“That adorable Jason is an adorable bore!” Ted sighed dramatically.
“So are you, Theodore!” I teased, sliding my arm around his shoulder.
“Fuck you, Brian.” Ted trailed off as he caught site of a hot young thing giving him the eye. “If you’ll excuse me.” He winked before walking away and approaching the young man.
“Such a perv!” Justin giggled, snuggling closer to me. “Can we leave now? I want to go back to the loft!”
“Guys! We’re off!” I announced. “Justin and I haven’t seen each other in a week. I’m sure you understand. We’ll see you guys.” I led Justin out of the club, all the while whispering what I was going to do to him when we got back to the loft.
***
As Justin and I lay naked and sweaty after a long, passionate bout of love making, Justin snuggled against my chest. “I got a call today from a gallery owner.” He told me.
“Yah?” I asked. I was anxious to hear about it. Justin’s an amazing artist and I was proud that he was starting to become known for doing what he loved. “What’d he say?”
“She wants me to open in her gallery.” Justin smiled as he ran his fingertips up and down my chest. “It’s in London.”
“Really?” I sat up and leaned down to kiss him. “That’s incredible, Justin! I’m so proud of you!”
“But I’d have to be away for like a month.” He had obviously put off saying yes until he talked to me. I obviously wanted him to go. Sure, I’d miss him, but his career was important and I’d still be there when he came back.
“Justin, this is an amazing opportunity!” I told him, sitting him up and taking him by the shoulders. “You can’t turn this down.”
“Ok.” Justin nodded and a smile grew on his face. “Will you come to London for the night of the show?” When I looked like I was going to say no, he started to beg. “Oh, Brian! I need you there! You missed my showing in New York, I need you to be at this one.”
“I’ll be there.” I assured him, stroking his hair. After he was asleep, I looked down and watched him. He looked incredibly peaceful. I still wasn’t sure how I was going to do with the whole relationship thing in the long run, but I had to admit that I was pretty happy with it right at that moment.
***
The next morning, I awoke to the warmth of Justin pressed against my chest and wrapped in my arms. “Good morning, Sunshine.” I whispered, disengaging myself from his arms. Looking over at the clock, I saw that it was already ten and we were supposed to be at Lindsay and Melanie’s place by ten thirty.
“Fuuuuuuuck.” I grumbled. I had been looking forward to spending some time with Justin before we had to leave for brunch. This visit was turning into a circus and I promised myself that the next time Justin was in town, I was locking us into the loft and spending the entire time together.
“What’s matter?” Justin groaned, as he woke up. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and smiled in a cute, drowsy way.
“We have to be at the Muncher’s place in half an hour.” I leaned down and pressed a kiss to his forehead. “Let’s shower and then get going.”
“Bri, if we shower together, you know we’re going to be at least a half hour late.” He winked. “You go ahead. I’ll make a pot of coffee.”
“Mmm.” I smiled. “You’re an angel.”
After my shower, I found Justin sitting at the counter in my kitchen having a cup of coffee and looking through the newspaper. I dressed casually, in a pair of worn jeans and a thin silk t-shirt.
“Your turn!” I called as I slipped my socks on.
***
“Justin!” Both Lindsay and Melanie practically shrieked as the enveloped Justin in a hug. Justin smiled and kissed both of their cheeks, enjoying the attention.
“Good morning to you too.” I said dryly, stepping past the group hug and into the house. “Sonny boy!” I called. Gus appeared at the top of the stairs and came bounding down, flying into my arms.
“Daddy!” He exclaimed. I hugged him and spun him around. I guess Michael was right when he said I might turn into a good father in spite of myself after I had stopped the bris.
“How ya’ doin’, Sonny Boy?” I asked him, putting him down on the floor, preparing myself for his answer.
“I’m SO good, Daddy. We’re learning about dinosaurs at school and I learned how to do multiplication this week!” My son was talking a mile a minute. Suddenly he stopped. “Uncle Justin?”
“Hey, Gus.” Justin smiled. I was a little confused. I hadn’t been aware that the two of them seen each other since before we broke up. “How are ya?”
“It’s SO good to see you, Uncle Justin!” Gus flew into Justin’s arms for a hug. “It’s been like a million years since I saw you!”
“I know!” Justin put Gus down and pulled out a wrapped gift from his messenger bag. “I brought you a little something from New York.”
“Whoa! Can I open it now?” He asked as he shook it and tried to figure out what it was. Justin looked at Lindsay and she nodded.
“Sure, you can open it now.” He replied. Gus fell to the floor and started ripping at the paper. I took the opportunity to step over to Justin.
“When did you see him?” I asked.
“Uhm, when Lindsay and Melanie were in New York last summer visiting Mel’s grandmother, they came and visited.” Justin looked a little nervous about my reaction. I decided that I should just let it go. I mean, we weren’t speaking at the time and I didn’t like to hear about him, so it wasn’t a surprise that Lindsay had kept their visit a secret.
“Wow!” We heard Gus exclaimed, once he had finally gotten through the paper. “It’s the new Intergalactic Man DVD! You can’t even buy this yet! My friends are going to be soooooo jealous! Thank you soooo much Uncle Justin!”
“Your welcome, Gus.” Justin smiled and winked at me.
“How did you get this?” Gus asked, still looking down in awe at his gift.
“A friend of mine works for the production company. When I mentioned that I was going to be visiting my favorite little boy, he got me a copy.” Justin opened his arms and Gus launched into his arms for a hug.
“You are soooo cool!” Gus grabbed Justin around the neck and hugged him even tighter. “Are you going to visit more often now that you and Daddy are back together?”
I raised an eyebrow and waited for Justin to answer. I was hoping that he would visit more, but I was trying not to look to the future too much. Taking a relationship day by day was a new thing for me and I was finding it kind of difficult. The first time he and I were together I pretended that I was taking it day by day when I was, in reality, strategizing my every move. This time I was determined to just let myself be, no matter how much I wanted to fight it.
“Well, I hope I’ll be visiting more.” Justin said with a smile in my direction. In response, I smiled and Gus whooped.
***
After spending an hour eating brunch with the Muncher’s and watching them fawn over Justin, we got Gus ready and climbed into the Jeep. Gus was talking a mile a minute as I drove towards the mall.
“Daddy, do you think we could get me some new shoes today? There are these great shoes that everyone at school has.” Gus had the special look that he reserved for when he wanted things from me on his face.
“Why haven’t your Mom’s bought them for you?” I asked, raising an eyebrow. I didn’t want to get in trouble with them. Last time I bought him something that they had told him he couldn’t have. I’d had to sit through an hour-long lecture about spoiling him.
“I… uhm…” Gus bit his lip. “I didn’t tell them about them,” he started speaking really fast. “Last week I heard them talking about how we have no money ‘cause Mom’s engine in her car ‘sploded.”
“Exploded.” I corrected him gently. “I’ll think about the shoes, you can show them to me at the mall.” I knew that in the end I would buy them for him. There were only two people that I couldn’t say no to, Gus and Justin.
Once we arrived at the mall and found a parking spot, I got Gus out of the back seat and took his hand. When I was out with him, I tended to be very protective. I heard all of the horror stories about kids being abducted and I wasn’t about to let that happen to my son.
The three of us walked inside and Gus immediately dragged us to the shoe store. Apparently, getting the shoes that were so popular at his school was top priority for him that day. And at that point I knew that I’d be pulling out my credit card and shelling out however much his shoes cost.
After buying the shoes, I had a very excited Gus clinging to my arm. Justin took hold of my other hand and we strolled through the mall. After stopping at several children’s clothing stores and buying a ton of clothes for Gus, we stopped by the restroom so that Gus could change into one of his new outfits, a pair of slim black pants and a beautiful green cashmere sweater.
“He’s starting to look more and more like his dad every day.” Justin chuckled, seeing Gus in his outfit. “Don’t you have that exact same outfit in grey?”
“What’s the problem with having a well dressed son?” I asked, raising an eyebrow. I slipped my arm around Justin’s waist and kissed him. Suddenly he got a strange look on his voice and I wasn’t sure that I was going to like what he was about to say.
“I have an idea.”
“Oh, Lord.” I groaned.
“Shut up!” Justin smacked me playfully in the arm. “This is a good idea. When we were walking through the mall I saw a portrait studio. I was thinking maybe me, you, and Gus could get a portrait taken.”
I stayed silent for a moment, considering what getting a portrait of him with me and my son taken would mean. And then I stopped that train of thought and decided to just go with it. I had to very consciously stop myself from holding back when it came to Justin. I think that I must have hesitated too long though, because he got a little nervous.
“I’m sorry. It was a stupid idea.” He looked down and his shoes and started fidgeting with his zipper.
“No, baby. No, it wasn’t.” I put my hands on either side of his face and gave him a sweet kiss on the lips. “It’s a great idea. Let’s go see if they can fit us in.”
“Wait, Bri. I think you and I need to change. We can’t get our pictures taken when we’re wearing this.” Justin gestured to his baggy grey sweatshirt and painter’s style jeans. I had to admit that I wasn’t too keen on getting my picture taken in my beat-up old t-shirt and worn jeans.
“What am I going to buy at the mall?” I asked with what I was sure was a disgusted look on my face.
“I’m sure we can find you something.” Justin pinched my butt just as Gus stepped out of the stall wearing his new outfit.
“Wow, Gus, you look like such a gentleman.” I said with a smile as I tousled his hair. “There, perfect.”
“How would you like the three of us to get our picture taken together?” Justin asked Gus, kneeling in front of him.
“Like in a photo booth?” Gus asked with a big smile on his face.
“No, like a real photographer. Like when you got the picture taken with your mom’s that’s over the fire place.” I told him.
“Will I have to wear a stupid tie?” Gus referred to the exceptionally dorky outfit that the Mommies made him wear during their photo session.
“No. You can wear that outfit. Or whichever one of the new outfits you want.” I told him. I was such a sucker for my son.
***
After spending an hour shopping for clothes that I would actually wear, Justin and I were suitably outfitted for the photo shoot. Before going in search of our outfits we had made an appointment for the photos and arrived at the studio right on time.
“Well, aren’t you a precious little guy.” The girl at the counter said as she pinched Gus’s cheek. “And you look so much like your handsome daddy.” She was flirting with me and I had to stifle a laugh. Straight women were so predictable. If a woman had just once said to me “Hey, let’s fuck” I might have turned out straight… or maybe not.
“Everyone says I look more like Daddy everyday.” Gus said proudly. I smiled and slipped my arm around Justin. The girl became suitably uncomfortable and led us into the room where we would have our pictures taken.
I think all three of us were surprised at how much fun it was to have our picture taken. The photographer, quite obviously a fellow fag, also suggested that Justin and I have a couple of pictures taken together. After the session, we sat down and picked out the photos we wanted from the computer and picked our packages. We ended up with packages of three different poses of the three of us and one of just Justin and I.
When we walked Gus up to the front door he clung to Justin’s hand. I could tell that he wasn’t ready to say good-bye. I took the packages we’d bought inside and gave the two of them time to say their good-byes. Ahh, we were such a dramatic bunch, even my young son. I’m sure that must have come with my genes.
“Linds! Mel!” I called when I got inside. Melanie came running down the stairs, and seeing that Gus wasn’t with me started to get hysterical.
“Where is he? What happened?” She asked, grabbing the throat of my sweater. I chuckled and cocked my head to the side.
“He’s out on the porch saying good-bye to Justin.” I told her. She let out a sigh of relief, but got wound up again when she saw the many packages in my hands.
“Brian! You’re going to spoil him rotten!” She exclaimed, grabbing the bags and starting to go through them. “Brian! All of this stuff is so expensive!”
“Well, I want my boy to be well dressed. He picked them all out himself.” I knew it was a thin excuse, but I had to make one. “And I made sure there was nothing you guys had already said no to. And I bought him a new pair of shoes.”
“Could you spoil him any more?” Melanie asked, all in a huff. I’m pretty sure she gets like that because she knows that even with her good salary she could never afford to buy him the things that I can.
“Brian, where’s Gus?” Lindsay asked, a little panicky, as she came down the hall from the kitchen.
“He’s outside. I thought he and Justin could have a private good-bye.” I told her.
“Oh, Brian, that’s so sweet.” Lindsay smiled and kissed my cheek. “I have to say this. I’m so glad that you decided to contact him.” She was absolutely beaming, as everyone had been when it came to Justin and I getting back together. It was a little weird to me that, other than Mikey, my friends weren’t waiting for the shoe to drop when it came to Justin and me. They always had been before.
***
After leaving Lindsay and Melanie’s house, Justin and I barely had an hour before we had to be at Debbie’s for dinner. I hated being so rushed and I vowed that I would never let the “we all’s” plan out Justin’s entire visit ever again. I couldn’t wait until after dinner when I would finally have Justin alone.
“Should I just wear this?” Justin asked, looking at himself in the mirror. He was still wearing the outfit he bought at the mall.
I shrugged, not particularly concerned with what he was wearing, as long as I could get it off of him in less that two seconds flat once we were alone again. “It’s not like Deb and your mom are fashion gurus.”
“So true.” Justin laughed. Satisfied that he looked ok, he took my hand and led me to the couch. He pushed me down and sat down on my lap. “Jeez, I feel like we haven’t been alone since I got here.”
“We barely have.” I reminded him. “Next time you visit, I’m not telling the ‘we-all’s’ that you’re coming.” I nuzzled against his neck. “It was nice spending time with Gus, though.”
“Yeah, it was.” Justin smiled brilliantly. “I’m so glad we got those pictures taken.”
“Me too. I’m gunna put one on my desk.” I took his hand and brought it to my lips. “Will you put one in your studio?”
“Of course.” He smiled and leaned down and kissed me. As the kiss turned more passionate and he started slipping his hands under my shirt, I knew that I had to stop him or we’d never make it to Deb’s.
“Whoa, baby. We’ll have tons of time for that later.” I kissed his lips softly.
***
When we arrived at Deb’s, Michael and Ben were already sitting at the table laughing with Jennifer. I had to admit, it was kind of nice to having dinner with them again. My mother hadn’t been in my life for a long time now and it was nice to feel like I was part of a family.
I couldn’t believe the things going through my head. I was still working through moving forward and letting myself go with my feelings. It was still foreign, but there was something comforting about it.
During dinner, we all laughed along with each other’s anecdotes. When the conversation had slowed, Michael stood up and said that he had an announcement to make. I was tempted to make a sarcastic comment, but he looked serious and I decided to keep my mouth shut.
“Me and Ben decided that we’re sick of waiting for it to be legal, we’re going to get married.” Michael was beaming and I decided that it would probably get me into a lot of trouble to razz him about it, so I kept my mouth shut.
“Oh, congratulations, baby!” Deb exclaimed. In the time that Michael and Ben had been together, Ben had become a part of the family and she had gotten over being scared for him when it came to Ben being positive. She leaped up and enveloped her son in a hug, moving on to hug Ben immediately following hugging Michael.
“Congratulations, you guys.” Justin smiled and hugged the both of them as well. I felt somewhat obligated to offer my congratulations, so I did.
Michael was a bit taken aback when I congratulated him with a hug and a little kiss. “He’d better take care of you.” I warned, leaning my forehead against Michael’s.
“And me him.” Michael smiled and hugged me again. I knew that my approval meant a lot to him, and I was happy that I was finally able to give him that.
***
Stuffed from dinner, Justin and I lay in bed together resting before we started getting physical. I think we were both too full to do anything sexual at that moment. I was stroking his forearm when he said, “God, I’m not ready to go home tomorrow.”
“I’m not ready for you to go home. But you have to go and get ready for your big show in London.” I smiled, proud of all the things he was doing with his life.
“You’re going to come for sure, right?” He asked, seeming a little unsure that I would be there for him.
“Of course I’ll be there. I wouldn’t miss it.” That seemed to satisfy him and we moved on to other topics.
“Can you believe that Michael is getting married?”
“Well, he and Ben have been together for a long time.” I shrugged. I was finding it a little hard to believe myself. “And Michael always wanted to be in love.”
“With you.” Justin said.
“Put your claws away, kitty cat.” I chuckled. “Michael and I wouldn’t have lasted more than a few minutes. He doesn’t have it in him to put up with my shit.”
“Not many do.” Justin teased. “That’s probably the only reason you’re with me – Because I’m the only person who can stand you.” I turned on to my side and looked at him.
“Yeah, that. And you’re young and cute.” I winked and kissed the tip of his nose.
“Hey, I have a surprise for you. You can’t keep it though. I just brought it to show you.” He rolled off the bed and walked to where his portfolio lay in the corner of the room. He pulled out a canvas and I was anxious to see what it was.
“Show me.” I whined, impatient. When Justin turned the canvas around and showed me what was on it, I nearly fell over. I had seen portraits he’d done of me many times, but most of them were sexual or angry, I sadly have to admit. This was completely different.
It was obvious that he’d used the sketches and photos from the night he caught me reading at his loft when I was in New York. It made me feel good that he’d captured me that way. It was different, even different than I had ever looked at myself. I looked peaceful. Content. He had painted me with my glasses on, which I still wasn’t sure I liked. But other than that, I was absolutely amazed at how beautiful he made me look on canvas.
“Justin…” I took a deep breath, still staring at it. “I don’t know what to say.” I stood and walked over to him. “I love you so much.”
“I love you, too.” He said with a gentle smile, looking up at me. We stared into each other’s eyes for what seemed like an eternity before I leaned down and captured his lips.
***
After a long morning of lying on the couch together making fun of TV evangelists and discussing what was happening on CNN, Justin packed up his things and we got ready to go. We had to stop off at the mall to pick up the portraits and swing by his mother’s condo to say goodbye and then it was off to the airport.
I had to admit that I didn’t want to say goodbye. I knew that I would talk to him every night before bed, but it still wasn’t as good as having him around. I was starting to worry about how I’d react to having him gone for a month.
“Brian? Can I leave some clothes here so I don’t have to bring as much next time?” Justin called from the bedroom while he packed his suitcase. I grabbed my coffee mug and walked into the room.
“Sure. Here, let me clear a drawer for you.” He looked pleased at my saying this, and I felt my heart swell. I loved making him smile like that. “Leave whatever’s dirty in the hamper and I’ll send it out with my laundry.”
After all of the clothes were arranged, Justin finished throwing things into his bag and we were ready to go. “I’ll probably bring a few more things to leave here next time if that’s alright?”
“Of course. I’ll make some room for you.” I said as I rinsed out my coffee mug. “So, you ready to go?”
“I guess.” Justin grabbed his bag and we were off.
***
After all the errands were done and the goodbye’s said, we held hands as we drove to the airport. “So, do you have a busy week ahead?”
“It’s always a busy week when I’m going to be out of the Pittsburgh office.” I groaned. “And I have a meeting on Tuesday with Vance tomorrow to discuss the big campaign I’m pitching while I’m in New York.”
“Will I still talk to you every night?”
“Of course. I’ll call you when I get home.” I smiled and squeezed his hand. It was kind of hard for me to have to reassure him that things were going to be okay, but it kind of reassured me as well.
We hugged for a long time at the gate and I knew right then that our relationship had moved to another level… I was just a little scared that I was going to ruin it, but like I had been doing with most of my doubts, I pushed the bad thoughts away and just lost myself in our embrace.
“Later.” Justin whispered with a small smile on his face as he stepped away from me, holding my fingers in his.
“Later.” I leaned forward and kissed him as he moved away and we slowly let our fingers slip apart. About a minute after he disappeared through the doors, I turned and walked out of the airport, anxious for the week to be over so I could see him again.
To Be Continued...
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