The Wish – Part 20
“Brian offered to pay, “Justin said. Sitting on Nick’s couch, he had just finished telling his friend about his father refusing to pay for his education.
“So, it’s ok then? You have money for college,” Nick said, relieved.
Justin looked away and shook his head. “I said no.”
Nicholas looked at him, confused. “I don’t understand.”
“I can’t take his money.”
“Why not?”
“Because I just can’t.”
“He wants to take care of you. What’s wrong with that?”
“Everything,” Justin stood up and started pacing in front of the couch. “This is not why I’m with him. For the money.”
“Nobody would think…wait…did you just admit that you’re WITH him?” Nicholas stared at him with a mischievous grin spreading across his face.
Justin stopped pacing and smiled at the other man. “Fuck off,” he said jokingly. When Nicholas just chuckled in return, Justin picked up a pillow and hit him with it.
“You little shit,” Nick exclaimed, retaliating with another pillow.
Kevin pushed the door open, knowing that Nick barely ever locked the door during the day. He felt his jealousy return at the sight of Justin and Nicholas having a pillow fight and behaving like a couple of five-year olds. He cleared his throat trying to get their attention.
“Oh, hi, baby,” Nick flashed a smile to his lover.
Justin stood up, straightening his clothes. “Hi, Kevin.”
“Hi,” Kevin replied, then turned to Nick. “I thought we had plans.”
“You do,” Justin said, walking around the couch and picking up his jacket as he headed toward the exit. “I was just leaving.” He said good-bye to them both and left to figure out how to pay for college.
~~~
A couple of days later Justin was no closer to figuring things out.
“Did you find a job,” Brian asked his lover over the loud sound of music.
Justin shook his head. “I must have tried twenty restaurants. No one’s hiring.”
“What did the financial aid office have to say?”
“My fucking father makes too much money.”
“Well, my offer still stands,” Brian said.
“So, does my answer. I’m gonna do this on my own,” Justin replied.
Just then they saw Nicholas practically running toward them. “There you are,” he said when he reached the bar. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere. I’ve got great news,” he said, turning to Justin.
“What great news?” Justin asked.
“I asked around at work and the art department is looking for interns. I think you’d be perfect for the job. So, I got you an interview for next week.”
Justin stared at his friend, speechless, as if Nick was his savior. Not only would he have money for school if he got this job. It could be a great opportunity as well. “Oh, my God! Nick!” He jumped on his friend, wrapping his arms around Nick. “You are the best,” Justin said when he finally pulled away. “Isn’t he the best?” Justin grinned as he turned to Brian.
Brian grimaced. “Yeah. The best.” He knew he should be happy for Justin. Not only would this job fix Justin’s financial problems, but it could also jump-start his career. So, why wasn’t he happy? He knew it wasn’t jealousy. He was certain that Justin would never go there again. It was a fiasco when it happened before. The two of them sleeping together. A big mistake that almost destroyed their friendship. Brian knew that he had nothing to worry about in that regard. So, why did he care that he wasn’t the one to help Justin? He wasn’t the one that Justin looked at with admiration and gratitude right now. He wasn’t the one put on the pedestal in Justin’s mind. And maybe heart. “See you later, boys,” he said, leaving the two friends to celebrate Justin’s possible employment.
~~~
“You got your portfolio?” Nicholas asked. He told Justin to come to the office a little earlier so that he could make sure they weren’t forgetting anything. He spent the last few days prepping Justin for the interview and helping Justin choose pieces for his portfolio. He knew that his friend would charm the pants off his boss and the senior leader of the art department. He wasn’t worried about that. The only thing that concerned him was Justin’s age. He was only a freshman in college and the lack of experience could work against him.
“Ok, ready?” Nick looked Justin over again. The teen was wearing a grey suit with a white shirt and dark blue tie.
Justin sighed and nodded.
“Nervous?”
“Yeah.”
“Don’t be. They’re gonna love you.” Nick straightened Justin’s tie.
Justin snickered. “How do you know that?”
His friend put his arms around Justin. “Because everybody does.”
Justin gave him a small smile in return.
“Now, come on. What’s the worst that could happen?”
“Nothing.”
“Exactly,” Nick smiled and opened the door into the hall.
Justin took another deep breath and stepped outside.
~~~
A few hours later Justin was back in his jeans and t-shirt taking an order at the diner. He heard the door open and turned to see who the new customer was, his lips spreading in a smile when his eyes landed on a certain ad exec.
“What? No corner office?” Brian smirked as he slid into the booth.
“It was only an interview,” Justin replied. “Doesn’t mean I’m gonna get it.”
“Why wouldn’t you get it? You have more talent than the rest of those idiots put together.”
Justin scoffed. “You’re just biased.”
“And you’re too critical of yourself.”
Justin chuckled, “You know, you don’t have to butter me up to get me into bed, Brian.”
The older man smiled as well, “So, Babylon tonight?”
“Can’t. I’m taking Nick out. Sort of a thank-you dinner.”
Brian tried to hide his disappointment. “Shouldn’t you do that after you actually get the job?”
“No. Because if I don’t get it, it’d be too late. And I wanted to thank him for his help.”
“Fine. Whatever,” Brian shot back, picking up the menu.
~~~
Later that night Justin and Nicholas sat at a corner table of Nick’s favorite Italian restaurant.
“I hope Kevin didn’t mind about this,” Justin said.
“Who cares?”
“You do? And I do too.”
“Look, if he has a problem with me being friends with you…well, he’s just gonna have to live with that,” Nicholas said, taking a sip of water.
“And what if he doesn’t?” Justin was concerned that he was causing more problems for Nick and Kevin’s relationship.
Nick shrugged, “Then he doesn’t. I’ll live.”
“Come on, Nick. You love him.”
“Yeah, but I love you too. And I’m not giving you up just to make him feel secure.” Nick was getting aggravated at the direction this conversation was heading in. He knew Justin was just trying to be a good friend and look out for him, for his relationship, for Kevin. But he was tired of trying to prove to his lover that he loved him, that he could trust him. He knew that he’d have to gain Kevin’s trust again and that would take time, but months had passed and they were still at square one. Kevin doubted everything he said and everything he felt and it was exhausting. “Look, Justin. I know you’re just trying to do what’s best, but losing my best friend is not one of those things. So, can we just drop it?”
Justin nodded, giving in. “Ok.”
“Ok.”
Just then Justin’s cell phone rang.
~~~
Great food and a couple of glasses of wine mellowed Nick out and he decided to try talking to Kevin again. Justin dropped him off in front of Kevin’s building. He watched Nicholas disappear inside the building and then sat back in the seat, trying to figure out what to do next. He could go to Babylon, but seeing Brian fuck some guy in the backroom wasn’t what he wanted right now. He was happy and he wanted to celebrate. Dan would probably be too busy humping his new girlfriend. So, he couldn’t go to the dorm. There was one place left. He pulled the car onto the road and drove across town to the loft.
Brian’s Jeep wasn’t in its usual spot, so he knew that Brian wasn’t home. That wasn’t a surprise since it was pretty early. He decided that he’d just hang around the place until the ad exec showed up and then they’d have a proper celebration. He climbed the stairs to the loft and opened the door.
~~~
Justin turned off the TV when he heard the elevator outside the loft. He stretched his arms out and yawned. It was early for him to be up on a Saturday morning, but with Brian missing all night he didn’t get more than a couple of hours of sleep.
“Hey,” Justin said, getting off the couch as Brian closed the door behind him.
“Hey.” Brian dropped the keys on the counter, then walked over to the fridge and took out a bottle of beer. Unscrewing the cap he took a big chug out of the bottle and then headed to the bedroom, with Justin following closely behind.
“I hope you don’t mind me staying over. Dan needed the room for the night,” he lied. He wasn’t about to tell the man who had spent the whole night fucking somebody else that he missed him last night. That Brian was the only one he wanted to spend last night with. The only one he wanted to tell the big news to.
“No problem.” Brian worked on removing his clothes.
“The guy must have been hot if you fucked him all night.” He hoped there wasn’t a trace of resentment in his voice. What right did he have to even ask who Brian fucked? They had no rules, no arrangements, no agreements. They were together when they wanted to be. And just because they wanted to be together a lot didn’t change the fact that they were a pair of queers who liked their freedom to do whatever the hell they felt like doing.
Brian smirked, “I wish.” He didn’t feel like filling Justin in on all the fun of spending a night in jail because his best friend had parental issues. All he could think of the night before was spending the night with Justin in his bed. Instead, first he got drunk with Ted at Woody’s, trying to make the twinge in his stomach go away. The twinge that had been there since the night Nick gave Justin the “great news”. Then he ended up being arrested and spending the night in jail because of Michael’s big whiney mouth.
Brian dropped the jeans and stepped out them and quickly got in bed, covering himself with the dark-blue duvet.
“I got the job,” Justin said. He got the call the night before while he and Nick were at the restaurant.
Brian smiled, feeling proud of his blonde boy. “Was there any doubt?”
“Yes,” Justin smiled back, “Some.”
“Well, I was right.”
Justin nodded. “You were right.”
Brian stared at Justin. In his t-shirt and sweats Justin looked so innocent, so pure. The need to feel him next to his body returned. “Get over here,” Brian said softly.
Flashing his lover a smile Justin pulled off his t-shirt and got in bed, lying next to Brian.
“So, tell me about the job,” Brian said, turning to the teen. He knew he said the right thing because Justin’s face lit up immediately.
“Well, I’m gonna be working with four other people doing some designs for covers and stuff like that. Some computer graphic stuff as well. And they said if I work out for them, I could stay on after I finish college and get a full-time position. AND they’ll pay my tuition.”
Brian arched his eyebrow. “Wow. What more could a boy want?”
Instead of replying Justin leaned in and kissed Brian. “I want to thank you.”
“For what? Nick’s the one you should be buying a card and a bouquet for. I didn’t do anything.”
“Sure you did.” Justin cupped Brian’s face, forcing the man to look at him. “I felt so lost and totally freaked out. And you…you made me feel like…like I wasn’t alone in this.”
Brian stared back at his young lover. “You’re not,” he finally said. Raising himself on the elbow he pushed Justin down on his back. “Now, can we drop the chit-chat? Because I have the need to feel my dick in your ass.”
Justin chuckled. “How about feeling my dick in your ass?”
Brian stuck his tongue in check. “That’s definitely a possibility.” Before Justin could respond, he covered the blonde’s mouth with his own.
“Brian?” Justin said, pulling away slightly.
“What?” Brian looked into a pair of bright blue eyes.
“Thank you.”
Brian brushed his lips against Justin’s. “You’re welcome.”
Go to Part 21