Anything Goes - Part 18:
Surprise
Brian took a puff out of his cigarette, slowly inhaling the smoke into his lungs, tuning out the noise coming from the inside the house.
“You hiding out?”
He turned around to see his lover walk up behind him. Brian smiled as Justin wound his arms around his waist.
“Why aren’t you inside enjoying your party?” he asked.
Justin drew Brian’s head down for a kiss. “I think they’re gonna bring out the cake. So, we can leave soon.”
Brian smiled down at his boyfriend. “Let’s go then.” After kissing Justin once more, he followed the blonde inside the house.
As soon as they joined everybody in the living room, the lights were turned off as Debbie and Jennifer carried in an enormous cake with twenty-one candles lighting up the room.
Brian smiled as he watched Justin take a deep breath in, getting ready to blow out the candles.
Suddenly, the body of his lover became transparent, fading into the thin air right in front of his eyes.
“Justin! JUSTIN!!!”
~~~***~~~***~~~
Brian sat up with a start, gasping for air.
“Shhh, it’s ok. It’s just a nightmare,” he heard his lover’s soft voice behind him.
Breathing heavily, he looked over his shoulder. Justin was sitting next to him, running his hand up and down Brian’s back in a soothing manner, trying to calm him down.
“You ok?” Justin asked.
Settling back down, Brian nodded.
“You want to talk about it?” Justin’s comforting voice and his hand caressing Brian’s arm was having the intended effect on the older man, lulling him back to sleep. He shook his head in response.
“You know, I’m the one who should be having nightmares. I’m the one turning twenty tomorrow. Leaving my teens forever. Becoming an adult,” Justin teased.
Brian chuckled, pulling the smaller form closer to his body. “Technically, it’s already today,” he pointed out.
“Oh, no. Now I definitely won’t be able to sleep,” Justin exclaimed in his best drama queen interpretation.
Placing a soft kiss on Justin’s shoulder, Brian smiled. “Go to sleep. Old people need lots and lots of rest.”
“You should know.”
“You twat.”
Laughter echoed through the loft.
~~~***~~~***~~~
Reaching over Justin, Brian killed the alarm that had been screaming loudly for the past minute or so, dropping back down on his pillow. “It’s time to get up,” he said, turning to his lover.
But unlike him, Justin remained undisturbed by the blaring sound. He smiled, moving closer to the sleeping beauty on the other side of the bed. “Rise and shine, Sunshine,” he singsonged. His only reply was a quiet moan. Having gone through this routine more times than he could count, Brian knew the one thing that always worked on awakening his lover. Sneaking his hand under the blanket, he got a hold of Justin’s morning hard on, pulling on it gently.
As predicted, Justin’s eyes fluttered open, a big smile spreading on his face. “Morning.” He stretched out on his back, giving Brian easier access to his penis. Eyes closed once again, Justin enjoyed the feel of Brian’s long, warm fingers on his cock.
Brian smiled down at him, moving his hand up the blonde’s body, much to Justin’s dismay. “What do you want to do today?” he asked after giving his lover a good morning kiss.
Justin finally opened his eyes. “Absolutely nothing. Can we just stay in bed all day?”
Brian bit back a sarcastic comment. Justin sounded more like a five-year old kid bargaining with his mother for five extra minutes of sleep rather than the twenty-year old man he became today.
“I’m sure that can be arranged,” Brian replied. “Although, you shouldn’t fuck your birthday away ‘till you’re at least thirty. Then you can pretend like it didn’t happen.”
Justin snickered. “Yeah, I remember.”
Slapping the blonde’s thigh playfully, Brian chuckled. “Don’t get smart. Teenager or not, I can still spank you.”
Shifting into a sitting position, Justin rubbed his face, trying to get rid of the last traces of sleep. “Empty promises,” he threw over his shoulder, rising from the bed and heading into the bathroom.
Brian followed him in a couple minutes later, finding Justin brushing his teeth at the sink. Coming up from behind him, Brian wrapped his arms around his lover’s waist and rested his chin on Justin’s shoulder. “You sure you don’t want to do anything today?” he asked, meeting Justin’s eyes staring back at him in the mirror. “We could still have a party if you want.”
Leaning over the sink, Justin rinsed his mouth and his toothbrush.
“I mean, it is kinda last minute, but I’m sure I could manage,” Brian continued when Justin stood up straight.
“What’s with you? Last year you were all ‘I don’t believe in birthdays’ and now you’re all for a party and presents and all that other shit.”
Brian pressed his lips together. Justin, of course, was right. The fiasco of his nineteenth birthday proved that. But this year was different. Brian was different. Or at least, his view of certain things had changed. Besides, he in no way wanted a repeat of last year’s birthday disaster. That was why all week long Brian had been constantly asking Justin what the teen wanted to do for his birthday. And didn’t believe him for a second when Justin said that he didn’t want anything. He knew that the first time they tried this relationship thing, Justin let a lot of things slide, accepting that that was just how Brian was built. And he would just have to accept and live with it. Now that they were REALLY trying to make it work, Brian often worried that Justin was still doing that. Accepting things he shouldn’t. Letting the frustration and resentment build up until it was too late to do anything about it. “Just because I don’t believe in birthdays, doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t,” he replied. “If this is important to you…”
“It’s not,” Justin cut him off. “It’s just a fucking birthday. It’s not even the twenty-first one.” Wiping his face with the towel, Justin slipped out of Brian’s embrace, dropping the towel back on the hanger.
Brian bit his lip, watching the birthday boy strut out of the bathroom and head back into the bedroom. He sighed, realizing that it was time for plan B.
Switching off the light in the bathroom, he followed Justin out. The artist was now wearing sweats and was in the process of making coffee.
“Alright, how about we do something? Anything you want to do?” Brian asked, walking up behind him.
“Like what?” Justin looked at him quizzically.
Brian shrugged. “It’s your birthday. You decide.”
Justin stared at him, trying to figure out whether Brian was serious about it. “Anything?”
“No trips to Vermont and no commitment ceremonies.” The moment the words were out, Brian frowned, feeling a sense of déjà vu. “Everything else is…”
“Fair game,” Justin finished for him, both of them surprised at how familiar this all felt.
“Yeah,” Brian nodded, trying to shake off the feeling of dread that paralyzed his body.
“Well…” Justin thought about it for a moment. “There is something I kinda wanted to do,” he said, carefully treading water to see if Brian was going to change his mind.
But Brian was set on giving Justin the birthday he wanted. “Alright. But first, I have to get you over to the munchers’ for brunch. Or Lindsay will have my ass in a sling.”
Justin snickered, coming closer and wounding his arms around Brian’s waist. “Don’t worry. Your ass is safe with me. I’ll protect it with my life.”
Smiling, Brian drew Justin’s head up for a kiss.
~~~***~~~***~~~
About an hour later, Brian parked the Jeep in front of
Lindsay and Melanie’s house.
“We’re staying there for an hour, that’s it,” Justin repeated again, turning to Brian.
“You’re the boss,” Brian replied, unbuckling his seatbelt and getting out. “Today,” he added when he saw a smirk on Justin’s face.
Walking around the Jeep, he met Justin on the other side and the two of them made their way over to the house. Before they could even ring the doorbell, the door opened revealing a very cheerful Lindsay.
“Happy Birthday, sweetie,” she exclaimed, hugging Justin.
Rolling his eyes at his friend, Brian passed the two of them, making his way inside the house, smiling as his lover gave out a sigh of relief when Lindsay finally let go of him. Justin’s relief did not last long, though, because as soon as he got to the living room he was greeted by a loud “Surprise”.
The blonde stood frozen in place, stunned to see his family and friends gathered in the room. Brian walked up behind him, wrapping his arms around Justin’s shoulders. He kissed Justin on the cheek. “Happy Birthday,” he then murmured into Justin’s ear.
Before Justin could reply, Brian moved out of the way as that horde of people advanced toward them. Dropping his jacket on the couch, Brian found a safe place in the far corner of the room and settled in to enjoy the show. He bit back laughter as he watched his lover being kissed and hugged and slobbered all over.
The party was actually Lindsay’s idea. Well, more or less. Brian knew he wanted to do something for Justin’s birthday this year. Not that his beliefs suddenly changed. He still believed that a birthday was just another day…a day that made you getting older official. Something that in no way should be celebrated. If anything, it should be a day of mourning. But other people saw it differently. More importantly, Justin saw it differently. Justin grew up celebrating birthdays. And he shouldn’t need to change that just because he was unfortunate enough to fall for him. After everything they had gone through and everything they had to overcome, Brian wanted Justin to have a great birthday.
That was when Lindsay came into play, suggesting that they have a surprise party. Since Ben got a party last year, even if he didn’t get to actually enjoy it, it was Justin’s turn this year. So, she and Melanie offered to have the party at their house. That way there wouldn’t be any chance of Justin finding out about it by accident.
Brian smiled. No matter what the blonde said about not wanting a party, Justin was enjoying himself immensely. It was evident in the big grin the birthday boy had plastered on his face. This was where Justin belonged…among friends and family…people that loved him. With Justin occupied by presents and food, Brian made his way through the living room and kitchen and to the backyard.
~~~***~~~***~~~
“I thought you skipped out on me already,” he heard behind him.
He would be lying if he said that the thought hadn’t occurred to him. Turning around he saw Justin’s smiling face moving toward him. “Needed a break from all the cheerfulness,” he explained, winding his arms around Justin’s waist as soon as he got close enough. To be honest, it was more like he needed a break from his role of Brian the Uncaring Asshole and just think about…everything.
Things were changing so rapidly, it scared him shitless. It seemed like only yesterday Justin was this seventeen-year old kid. And now they were celebrating his twentieth birthday. In two years he’d be graduating from college. And then what? Justin had his whole life ahead of him…full of exciting and scary…unknowns. It was his time to learn the ways of the world…experience life. Which was kind of hard to do when you had a lover who had pretty much figured out the meaning of life. And it sucked.
He felt like…like he was on the sidelines…watching Justin start his future now…giving Brian a peek or two into his life. But pretty soon Justin wouldn’t need to stop and make sure Brian was still with him. He would just move on, leaving Brian in the dust.
Brian didn’t need a shrink to tell him what his nightmare was about. A psych 101 student could decode it in less than a minute. Brian was afraid of losing Justin. No. It was more like he KNEW he would lose Justin. It wasn’t a matter of “IF”. It was “WHEN”.
“Yeah, at one point I was sending S.O.S. signals for some air.”
Justin’s voice brought him back to the present. Looking down at his lover, Brian smiled. “Next time we’ll make sure you have an oxygen mask.”
Justin’s smile got wider. “Laugh all you want. It was brutal. And it took me forever to get Deb’s lipstick off my face. I think that spot will be permanently red.”
Brian’s eyes traveled down his lover’s face to a spot Justin pointed to…a little red dot in the middle of his cheek. Running his finger gently over it, Brian chuckled. “We’ll buy you matching blush. That way you’ll be symmetrical.”
The look Justin gave him told him his boyfriend didn’t find this amusing, which only made Brian laugh harder. But Justin didn’t crack a smile. He just watched the ad exec, his intense gaze crashing through the façade, passing the locks and bolts, and heading straight for his heart…and his cock.
Brian fought the big lump in his throat when Justin reached up, taking his face in his hands and drawing it down for a kiss.
“Thank you,” Justin whispered into his ear when they broke apart.
Brian stared at him, a faint smile dancing on his lips. “We could still get out of here and go do ALL the things you imagined us doing if you want,” he teased, knowing full well that Justin was having the time of his life inside that house. No matter how much he whined and complained about all the hugging and the kissing and all the people practically dancing around him, Justin loved it. He loved being a part of their family. Having people he loved, that loved him in his life. Spending his birthday with them. That was the real reason Brian wanted to have this party. There were a million other ways he could find to celebrate Justin’s birthday. But he knew THIS was what Justin would want.
Justin, as expected, just rolled his eyes at his lover. Then became all serious again. “Your face is cold. How long have you been out here?”
Brian shrugged. “A while.”
“Are you trying to get sick? Like payback or something for having to clean up my puke?”
Brian snorted. “Yeah, you’d probably pass out the first time you had to wipe the floor,” he teased, which earned him another eye-roll.
“Not like I haven’t done it before, you know.”
“Yeah. You’re regular Nurse Nightingale,” Brian snickered.
Ignoring the sarcasm, Justin took Brian’s hand in his, pulling the man toward the house. “It’s too cold,” he repeated. “Besides, I think they’ll be bringing out the cake soon.”
That stopped Brain dead in his tracks, the images from his nightmare flooding his mind.
“What’s wrong?” Justin asked, looking back at him.
He knew he was being ridiculous. It was just a nightmare. A damn nightmare. It wasn’t real. This was real. Justin standing here…holding his hand…THAT was real. Shaking his head, he nonetheless pulled his lover back into his arms, holding him tightly against his chest.
~~~***~~~***~~~
It seemed like such a long time since they left their loft earlier that morning. But somehow an hour at the munchers’ turned into a whole day. Most of the guests left around three or four in the afternoon. And then the two of them just lounged around, playing with Gus.
Finally, exhausted and wanting to be alone, the two of them headed home to celebrate Justin’s birthday properly.
Brian parked the Jeep in its usual spot and the two of them got out. He waited before Justin was close to pull the young man into his arms and kiss him. Pulling away, he was greeted with another smile.
“Have I thanked you yet?” Justin asked, breathlessly.
“Hmmm, nope, not in the last five minutes,” Brian grinned. He wouldn’t admit it out loud, but all in all it was a good day. And Justin was on cloud nine.
“Thank you thank you thank you thank you,” Justin rambled as he covered his lover’s face with butterfly kisses.
Knowing that if the two of them didn’t get upstairs right this second, he’d fuck Justin right there and then on the hood of the Jeep, Brian pulled away and started toward the entrance to the building.
“Ooh, I have an idea,” Justin exclaimed suddenly, his hand slipping out of Brian’s.
“What?” Brian asked, turning around.
“You go upstairs and I’ll be up in a few minutes.”
“Where the fuck are you going?” He waited all day for this and now for some God-forsaken reason Justin wanted to prolong his torture. Well, not if he had anything to say about this.
“Just across the street. I wanna get something. Trust me, you won’t be sorry,” Justin said before turning around and heading in the opposite direction.
Brian smiled, knowing his lover’s dirty mind, and started to press the buttons on the door when he felt his stomach sink and the image of Justin getting hit by a car flew through his mind.
“Justin!” He yelled out.
Justin, who just stepped out on the street, turned around, smiling. “What?”
Brian was beside him in a second, pulling him up on the sidewalk and into his arms.
“Brian, it will only take a few minutes,” Justin said, but Brian just held on to him tightly his body shaking.
He kept hearing the sound of Justin’s body being struck by the car…seeing Justin’s lifeless body in his arms. But…Justin was safe now…in his arms…but safe…alive… Brian sighed in relief and finally started to let go of Justin, chastising himself for being paranoid…or crazy…or probably both. He took a step back, his hands starting to slip from around Justin’s waist…when…a silver SUV dashed in front of him.
Brian’s shuddered, unable to move…unable to breathe.
“Brian, what’s wrong?” Justin asked with concern, hugging the older man closer. “Brian?” Justin ran his hand up and down Brian’s back, trying to calm the other man down, but he just couldn’t make his body stop trembling. “I think you were outside for way too long. You might be coming down with something.”
“Yes,” Brian was finally able to utter.
“Come on, let’s get you warmed up.”
Justin led the older man inside the building.
As soon as they were inside the loft, Justin shut the door and set the alarm. Then the two of them made their way into the bedroom without turning the lights on. Justin slowly undressed his subdued lover and got him under the covers. Then shed his own clothes as well. As soon as Justin lied down beside him, Brian moved closer to him and snuggled against the teen’s body, allowing Justin to wrap his arms around his body.
“Are you going to tell me what’s wrong?” Justin asked quietly.
But Brian couldn’t. He couldn’t do anything but hold on to Justin for dear life, afraid that if he let go, if he lost contact with the boy, he’d lose him forever.
~~~***~~~***~~~
Justin’s eyes snapped open at the sound of a loud noise. In his half-awaken state it took him a few seconds to figure out where the noise was coming from. The sound…the screaming…it was next to him…right next…Brian. Brian was screaming…screaming his name.
Justin quickly sat up, trying to decide what to do. Usually he was the one trashing and screaming in bed and Brian was the one saving him from his demons, bringing him back to safety. But lately…lately he’d been awaken by his lover’s nightmares, unsure of what to do or how to help him.
“Brian,” he tried calling out his lover’s name…softly…his voice close to a whisper…into Brian’s ear. When that didn’t work, he tried again, louder this time. “Brian, wake up.” He shook the man slightly. Finally, his eyes settled on a pair of dazed hazel ones. “You had a nightmare,” he said, answering the silent question in his boyfriend’s eyes.
Brian’s body was still trembling.
“Shhh, it was just a dream,” Justin whispered soothingly, wrapping his arm protectively around Brian’s chest.
He sighed when he felt Brian’s muscles begin to relax once again, the older man drawing him closer, pressing their bodies tightly together.
“It was just a dream.”
~~~***~~~***~~~
Brian opened his eyes, his body painfully aware that he was alone in bed. He looked at the alarm clock. It wasn’t even 6:30 yet. Which meant it was too early for Justin to be out of bed. In fact, he couldn’t remember the last time Justin was up before the alarm went off.
But Justin’s absence in bed next to Brian and the sounds coming from the kitchen confirmed that he was, in fact, up. Rising from the bed and pulling his sweats on, Brian left the bedroom.
“What are you doing up so early?” he asked, coming down the stairs and joining his lover in the kitchen.
“Making breakfast,” Justin replied after kissing him good morning.
“You got up this early to make breakfast?” Brian asked, incredulously. “Not even you like food that much.”
Justin ignored the remark. “No. Just couldn’t sleep,” he replied, putting a plate with an omelet and bacon in front of Brian.
Brian caught the look Justin gave him, understanding perfectly well why Justin couldn’t sleep. But he chose to fake ignorance. Instead, he settled down on a stool at the counter and poured himself coffee. “It’s a little too early for digesting a heart attack,” he joked, pointing to the generous serving of cholesterol and fat waiting for him.
“You’ll live,” Justin replied, not amused.
Apparently, it was a little too early for jokes as well. Realizing that his best shot at avoiding the conversation he knew was coming was to stuff his face full of eggs and pieces that once were a part of something that ran around some farm squealing, Brian picked up the fork and moved the plate closer, painfully aware of an intense gaze of his lover following his every move.
Brian chewed every bite as slowly as he possibly could, avoiding looking at Justin at any cost. Finally, out of the corner of his eye he saw Justin put the cup down. And he knew his time was up.
“Are you going to tell me what’s going on?” Justin asked the question that had been hanging over them for months now.
Brian continued chewing. “Nothing.”
Justin’s hand slid across the counter, covering Brian’s. “Will you treat me like a man and at least look at me?”
Sighing, Brian put the fork down and pushed the plate away from him, not feeling particularly hungry at the moment. Slowly his eyes moved upward, finding a pair of blue ones fixed on him.
“You can deny all you want. I know something’s wrong. Has been wrong for a while now,” Justin said.
“Justin…”
“Don’t,” Justin warned him. “Don’t lie to me.”
Brian exhaled sharply. He knew there was no point in pretending he didn’t know what Justin was talking about. “You said yourself, it was just a fucking nightmare.”
“You’ve had nightmares almost every night for four months now. You totally freaked out in the middle of the street. You…”
“I did not freak out,” Brian countered.
Justin sighed exasperatedly. “What are the dreams about, Brian?”
The ad exec turned away, fixing his eyes on the yellow substance cooling off in the middle of the plate.
“What happens in the nightmares?” Justin demanded.
“Justin.” Brian’s voice carried a warning, but Justin didn’t seem to hear it or care.
“What do you dream about?” he asked again.
Brian bit his lower lip and closed his eyes. There was no way out of this now. Justin would see through any lie and Brian knew it was time for the truth. He looked back up at his lover. “You,” he breathed out.
“Oh,” was the only thing to come out of Justin’s mouth, followed by a nervous laughter. “I must look really scary. Do I have like three balls or something? Or do I tie you up and make you marry me?” the blonde chuckled. “I knew Clair’s wedding was gonna mess you…”
“You die.”
He was half expecting some sort of drum roll right at that moment as the words rolled off his tongue, but the only sound between them was the humming of the refrigerator and noise from the street outside the building and the drama happening inside the loft.
It felt as if all the air was sucked out of the room…or maybe changed somehow…becoming thick…making it hard to breathe.
He waited for Justin to say something. The blonde opened his mouth as if about to speak, but no sound came out of it.
Unable to look at his lover, Brian slid off the stool and walked over to the couch, flopping down heavily and hiding his face in his hands. The whole thing felt like an episode of the Twilight Zone or something just as weird. The dreams, the goddamn Mysterious Marilyn with her fucking riddles…it couldn’t have been his life. His life was normal…or at least HIS version of normal. He didn’t have psychic predictions and nightmares that came true in his life. Those things were for people like Ben. NOT him. Brian’s idea of spirituality was screaming ‘God’ as he came. Believing that somebody or something else controlled his life, that he had absolutely no say in it did not sit well with him.
And Justin…he was no longer trying to convince himself that what he knew…Nick and Caleb…and the wish…and everything else that came with it…everything that he tried to forget…like a bad dream…that it didn’t mean anything. His life became some sort of a puzzle…and for the last four months he had been trying to find the key to solving it. Only…he had no idea where to even start looking. He was walking around blind. And it petrified him.
“Brian?”
He felt Justin next to him. The blonde’s breath hot on his skin.
Justin raised his hand, covering Brian’s and gently moving them away, forcing Brian to look at him. Justin was on his knees on the floor in front of him. His intense gaze penetrating every molecule, every fiber in Brian’s body.
“It was just a dream,” Justin said softly.
Brian couldn’t stand the concerned look on his lover’s face. He tried to look away, but Justin’s hands still holding his face wouldn’t let him.
“I’m not dead. And I’m not planning on being dead for a long time.”
His chest felt like a thousand ton rock was pressing on it…unable to breathe…unable to think…his heart threatening to burst out of his chest… He closed his eyes, trying to hide the fear and panic he felt from the man in front of him.
“I’m not going anywhere,” Justin whispered, pulling Brian into embrace. “I promise.”
Brian wound his arms around Justin’s smaller form, pressing him tightly against his chest, afraid to let go…to lose contact with his lover for even a second. “I’ll hold you to that,” he was finally able to utter.
He felt Justin starting to pull away and it took everything in him not to cry out. But Justin just greeted him with a big smile on his face. “Do you have any meetings today?”
Brian stared at Justin for a moment, puzzled at the change of the subject. “No,” he answered, realizing what his young lover was getting at.
“Well, I only have one midterm left and that’s not until tomorrow, so…”
Brian arched his eyebrow, amused and thankful for Justin knowing exactly what he needed. “You’re not proposing that I call the office and lie about being sick so I could stay here and fuck your tight little ass for the rest of the day, are you, Sunshine?” he smirked, tongue in cheek.
“Well, if you have better things to do…” Justin said, seemingly dismissing his lover as he began to move away.
Brian caught his hand, pulling him back toward him. “We still haven’t celebrated your birthday.”
Justin snickered. “What do you call the party yesterday?”
“I mean, WE haven’t celebrated…properly,” Brian clarified.
“Oh. So, what do you have in mind?”
Brian rose from the couch, pulling the artist up from the floor. “Go look in the linen closet.” He bit back laughter at Justin’s quizzical expression. He turned Justin around, giving the young man a gentle push toward the closet.
Justin shot him a glance over his shoulder before moving in the direction Brian pointed him in, disappearing around the corner for a few seconds.
Brian waited by the couch, smiling when he saw Justin nearly hop back over to him, a wrapped box in his hands.
“Thank you,” Justin exclaimed, kissing Brian passionately.
“You don’t even know what it is,” Brian pointed out. But he couldn’t stop the grin from spreading on his face at the look of excitement on his lover’s face. At that moment Justin looked more like a five-year old kid unwrapping a new toy than a twenty-year old man.
Justin sat down on the couch, the box with a light blue ribbon resting in his lap. His hands were running over the wrapping paper, admiring the blue and white design.
“Would you just open the damn thing?” That was the reason he didn’t give presents. At least, not presents in the regular sense of the word. Wrapped…bows and ribbons…cards. It was too much work for something that the other person would probably just end up returning or exchanging or if you were very lucky, shoving it in the back of a closet as soon as they were done fake-fawning over the object you picked out because you were required to by some tradition that was established for some god-forsaken reason nobody even knows before you were even born. Who needed that?
Justin. Justin needed that. The bright smile on the blonde’s face was a proof of that. And the gift wasn’t some obligation. He wanted to get it for Justin. Because he knew that Justin wouldn’t toss it in the back of a closet. Or exchange it. He knew that this gift would be taken care of like the world’s most priceless possession.
Justin ripped the paper at one corner, careful not to make a mess out of it. As he finally opened it up, Brian felt his throat tighten, waiting for the other man’s reaction for what he would find there. It was yet another testament…another admission…one more step toward…something…different. He held his breath as the young artist read the inscription on the top of the box cover… ”To Justin From Your Number One Fan.”
Finally, Justin looked up at him, and Brian could see the tears glistening in his eyes. Returning his gaze to the wooden box in his lap, with shaking hands Justin carefully slid the cover open, revealing a set of different brushes, pencils, and other things a professional artist would use. It took Brian weeks to find everything he wanted to get. He even dragged Lindsay to a few stores. Of course, he later regretted that decision. Besides telling him at least a hundred times how cute and adorable she thought it was, she kept telling him that an art student didn’t need tools that expensive, since they’d either get lost or stolen before Justin even had a chance to use them.
“I…” Justin paused to clear his throat. “I love it.” He still didn’t look up, his fingers slowly tracing the items inside the box. He picked up the cover, sliding it back in and closing the box. He read the inscription one more time before placing the box down on the coffee table and turning his gaze to Brian who still stood in the same spot, unable to move.
Justin held Brian’s stare for what seemed like forever before rising from the couch and moving closer to him, wounding his arms around Brian’s neck and drawing the man’s face down to meet his. “Thank you,” he said again when he kissed him.
The whole scene was a little too sappy for Brian’s taste, but at that moment he wouldn’t have it any other way. He never even imagined that giving somebody else what they wanted could be so easy…and feel so damn good.
There were, of course, other incentives as well. Which he was currently taking advantage of as he felt Justin’s lips on his once again.
The two of them stumbled into the bedroom. Brian untangled Justin’s arms from around his neck and focused on getting his lover undressed. He snaked his hands down the blonde’s back, cupping the two perfectly-round cheeks before sliding Justin’s sweatpants down his legs. While Justin stepped out of the sweats, Brian removed his own as well. And then they just stood there…for just a few short seconds…naked…beautiful…hard.
Putting his hand on Justin’s chest, Brian pushed the blonde down on the bed, sprawling on top of him and immediately going to work on the young man’s pink nipples and chest and working his way back up to the blonde’s perfect pink lips. He kissed Justin deeply, taking in the taste of his lover he already knew so well but still seemed to never get enough of.
He wanted to be inside Justin. Needed. His cock screamed for Justin’s tight hole. But it wasn’t time yet. This was Justin’s birthday…well…for the two of them…and he intended on making it the best damn birthday his lover ever had.
Continuing to explore Justin’s mouth, Brian slid his hand down to the boy’s cock, gently pulling on the already leaking shaft. Justin moaned into his throat as Brian pulled a little harder.
Pulling his lips away from his lover’s just a little bit, Brian smiled.
“Happy Birthday.”
Go to Part 19