The Wish - Part 21

He ran his hand down the beautiful body pressed underneath him, tracing the features of his lover with his fingers.  Not for the first time since he met this man had he wondered how someone could look so strong and so fragile at the same time.  Brian couldn’t get enough of Justin…the feel of the blonde’s skin against his own, the look of the pale, almost as milk, skin under the blue lights.  He leaned down and kissed the luscious lips.  A moan escaped Justin’s mouth as Brian placed kisses down the teen’s neck and chest.

“Oh, Kevin.”

Brian’s eyes shot up at Justin.  “Kevin?”

“What?” the voice came from behind.

Brian turned around to see the other man sucking Justin’s cock.  Brian’s eyes widened.  “What the fuck are you doing here?” 

Kevin pulled his mouth away from Justin’s penis and stared at Brian.  “You of all people should recognize exactly what I’m doing here.”

“Don’t stop…” came a panting moan from the blonde.

Kevin smiled and moved back into the same position he was in before. 

Brian just stared at the scene in front of him with shock.  It wasn’t the first time he had more than one guy in his bed.  But THIS was too fucking surreal even for him. 

“It’s my turn now.”  Brian jerked his head to his left to see Nicholas and Caleb standing at the top of the stairs leading up to the bedroom. 

“No, it’s mine,” Caleb said, licking his lips as his eyes traveled up and down his ex-boyfriend’s body. 

“Well, it’s definitely not his,” Nick said, both of them moving over to the bed and trying to push Brian aside.

“What the fuck are you all doing in MY bed?” He shouted.

Finally, Justin opened his eyes and sat up, trying to figure out what all the commotion was about.  “What’s going on?” he asked, another moan escaping his lips as Kevin took his whole dick in his mouth.  Forgetting the shocked look on his lover’s face, Justin dropped back down on the bed, being close to climax.

Brian watched astounded as he was pushed off the bed by the three other men who were now crawling all over his bed…AND his lover. 

~~~

Brian woke up with a start.  He sat up and looked over to his right where his lover slept on undisturbed.  Justin’s mouth was slightly open and the light from the blue lights above the bed cast a light blue glow on his skin.  Brian ran his hand though his hair and settled back down.  Turning on his side he watched Justin sleep.

He caught himself doing that a lot since the blonde came into his life.  At night he didn’t have to put on a mask or pretend that he didn’t give a damn.  He could just watch Justin without the teen knowing just how much he meant to him.  When Justin was asleep Brian couldn’t see the sparkling blue eyes so full of life or the mega-watt smile that took his breath away.  Asleep, Justin seemed completely different to him.  Instead of a blonde talking sex machine he became a beautiful, serene creature that Brian couldn’t take his eyes off.

Brian brushed Justin’s hair off his forehead and placed a small kiss on the top of the blonde’s head, careful not to wake him.  Then he put his head down on the pillow, snuggling closer to his sleeping beauty, letting himself relax once again to the sound of Justin’s even breathing.

~~~

“Justin, how many times do I have to tell you to use a fucking plate?” Brian pointed to a half-eaten pop tart lying on the kitchen counter.  “There are crumbs all over the place.”

“I’ll clean it up.  Don’t have a coronary, old man,” Justin beamed a smile at him as he walked down the stairs from the bedroom.

His little comeback did nothing to get Brian out of his pissy mood.  “How long does it fucking take to get your shit together?”

Justin took a bite out of pop tart and smiled again.  He was used to Brian’s morning tirades by now.  He took one last sip of orange juice.  “Big meeting today, huh?”

Brian felt his anger rise up, ready to rip Justin a new one when the teen just flashed another smile, immediately disarming him.  Justin knew him too well.  He had a meeting with a big prospective client today and the idiot twins managed to screw up everything assigned to them for the campaign.  The ad exec sighed and let a small smile spread across his face.  “Yeah.”

Justin walked over to his lover and gave him a kiss.  “Go get them, tiger,” he said, slightly slapping Brian’s butt.

If anybody else had done that to him, that person wouldn’t be able to use that arm again for a week.  But Justin just made him smile even more.  “Aren’t you going to be late?” he asked after kissing the teen again.

“Nick should be here any minute now,” Justin stuffed the remaining piece of pop tart in his mouth. 

“Don’t you two get tired of seeing each other every single day?”

“Well, you don’t get tired of seeing Michael every day even after…what…thirty…forty years of knowing him?”  Justin smiled, enjoying the look on Brian’s face.

“Asshole,” Brian grabbed Justin, wrapping his arms around him.  “Sixteen…SIXTEEN years, Justin.  NOT thirty. And definitely NOT forty.”  A smile played on his lips.

“Knowing Michael it must have felt that long,” Justin grinned. 

“You’re really going for the brat-of-the-year award today, aren’t you?”  Brian pulled away from him.

Just then they heard a car honking outside.  “Ooh, that’s me.”  Justin picked up his jacket and his backpack.  Giving the ad exec one last kiss and a “later”, Justin ran out the door.

~~~

Justin left work at lunchtime and since he had plenty of time before his class, he decided to stop by the diner to grab a sandwich and say ‘hi’ to Debbie.  But as soon as he opened the door he came face to face with Caleb.  “Hey,” he smiled at his ex.  “So, now that I don’t work here you decided to come and check the place out?”

Caleb smiled in return.  “Yeah.  Didn’t want any obnoxious blonde waiters spitting in my food.”

They both laughed. 

“Haven’t seen you in a while,” Justin said. 

Just then another young man with dark brown hair came up to them.  “All paid,” he said, turning to Caleb.

“Uhm,” Caleb looked uncomfortably at Justin, then at his companion.  “Mark, this is Justin.  Justin, this is Mark,” he made the introduction.

Justin looked over the other man.  He was good-looking, buff, but not too beefy, a little bit taller than Caleb.  Justin smiled and held out his hand.  “Hi.  It’s nice to meet you.”

“Yeah, you too,” Mark said, shaking Justin’s hand. 

There was an uncomfortable moment between them, neither one of the three knowing what to say.

“Well, I’m gonna go to the store next door for a moment.  Give you a chance to catch up on things.”  He gave Caleb a peck on the cheek.  “It was nice to meet you,” he said again to Justin.

Justin smiled, “Yeah, you too.”

When the door closed behind Mark, Justin turned his attention to Caleb.  “Mark, huh?” he smirked.

Caleb looked down, blushing.

“How long has this been going on?”

Caleb shrugged, “Three, four weeks.”

“Serious?”

Caleb gave him a slight smile. 

Justin’s face lit up.  He was happy for his friend.  And that’s all Caleb was to him now.  A very good friend that he cared a great deal about. 

“So, how have you been?” Caleb decided to change the subject.

“Good.  Everything’s good,” Justin said.  “I was actually going to call you.”

“You were?”

“Yeah.  I’m taking a photography class this semester and…”

“You need my help.”

Justin nodded, “Desperately.”

Caleb chuckled.  “Give me a call later tonight.  I’m pretty much free all week, so we’ll see what we can do.”

“Great.”

“I guess I’ll talk to you tonight then.”

“Yeah.”

“Bye.”

Justin smiled at him again, “Bye.”

~~~

“You’re all chipper tonight,” Brian said when his lover practically hopped over to their pool table.  “Shouldn’t you be stressing out about your photography project?”

“Nope.  Not anymore.”

“You dropped the class?”

Justin shook his head.  “I got help.”

“Who?  Sammy from the Wolf Camera around the corner?” Brian scoffed.

“Caleb’s gonna help me.”

“Oh,” was all Brian could utter.

“We haven’t seen him around lately,” Emmett said.

“He’s been busy.  New boyfriend and all.”  Justin smiled when the older man dropped his cue stick and gave his undivided attention to the gossip about somebody else’s love life; the two of them with the rest of the group completely oblivious to the not so happy look on Brian’s face.

~~~

Every day for the next week Justin spent all his free time with Caleb…running around town looking for some material for his project.  The other time was spent in Caleb’s apartment developing the photos

~~~

Brian walked into Woody’s, looking for something to improve the foul mood he was in all day.  He tried calling Justin but the teen’s cell phone was turned off.  When he called Justin’s dorm Dan told him that Justin was out with Caleb…again.

He walked up to his friends who were standing at the bar. 

“Wasn’t Justin supposed to come tonight?” Emmett asked.

“He’s working on his project with Caleb,” Brian hoped they didn’t hear the resentment in his voice. 

“He stood you up for a school project?  That’s not a good sign,” Ted teased, earning a glare from the ad exec.

“They have been spending a lot of time together,” Emmett added. 

“So?  What’s the big deal?”

“I wouldn’t be so nonchalant, Brian,” Ben, Michael’s knew boyfriend, decided to add his five cents.  “They’re working together, creating something together.  And there’s nothing as sexual as the act of creation.”

Brian tried to keep his face expressionless as he listened to Ben go on and on about how Justin and Caleb were sharing the highest level of intimacy.

~~~

Brian frowned when the elevator reached the top floor and he saw the wide-open door to his loft.  His frown deepened when his eyes landed on Caleb standing in the middle of his loft.  “What the fuck are you doing here?” Brian growled, his words slurred by huge amount of alcohol he consumed tonight. 

“Oh, hey,” Justin suddenly came into his line of sight before Caleb had a chance to respond.  “I was just looking for…” his voice trailed off when he noticed Brian’s companion standing in the doorway.  He tried hard not to show his emotions.  “I was just looking for my sketchbook.”

“I told you to call before you come over.”  Brian took off his jacket and threw it on the couch.

“I’m sorry.  I didn’t think you’d be home this early.”

“No, of course you didn’t.  You never fucking think.”

“Brian…” Justin was puzzled by the anger in his lover’s voice.

“I want HIM out of here NOW.”  Brian glared at Caleb.  “This is not a fucking motel where you can bring your tricks.  What, his place wasn’t available or you just wanted to fuck him here just for kicks?”

“What?”

“Justin, why don’t I wait for you outside?” Caleb asked quietly, trying to defuse the situation.

“Yeah, why don’t you?” Brian turned to the younger man.

Justin just nodded and Caleb quickly made his way out of the war zone. 

“You had no right to talk to my friend that way,” Justin said when Caleb left. 

“Your friend?  Right,” Brian smirked, looking back at him. 

“What is your problem?”  Justin asked, trying to figure out what exactly he did to upset the other man.

“My problem is that you brought your fucking boyfriend into MY home.  That’s what my fucking problem is.”

“I told you, I forgot my sketchbook here.  My drawings for the project are in it,” Justin explained again, but it fell on deaf ears. 

“You are such a fucking liar,” Brian shouted.  “You didn’t forget any fucking sketchbooks here.”

“Brian…”

“Get the fuck out,” Brian shouted.

“What?”  Justin stared at him dumbfounded.  He had never seen Brian like this. 

“Your boyfriend is waiting for you.”

“How many times do I have to tell you?  Caleb is just a friend.”

Brian chuckled.  “Justin, you fuck your friends and you’re friends with the guys you fuck.  You have no line between the two.  You just do whatever the fuck you want.  Making up your own rules and breaking them when it suits you.”

Justin clenched his jaw, hurt and angry at this drunken man he thought of as his lover.  “FUCK.  YOU.”  He quickly crossed the loft and stormed off past Brian’s trick and out the door.

Only then did Brian notice the stranger still standing in the doorway.  “What the fuck are you still doing here?!”

He shut the door behind the guy and then dropped down on the couch.  He felt something poking him in the back.  Sitting up he saw a corner of Justin’s sketchbook that fell in between the cushions.  Brian felt himself sobering up.  Justin didn’t lie.  Of course, Justin didn’t lie.  Why would he? 

Brian opened the sketchbook.  He scanned through the first few sketches, having seen them before.  There were a few of him and one of Gus.  The other ones were new…sketches of objects that looked very familiar.  There was a drawing of his bracelet, something that looked a lot like his black leather jacket, the blue lights over the bed, and a couch that looked exactly like the one he was sitting on at the moment.  That’s when he remembered what Justin’s project was about.  They were supposed to pick an object or a person and, combining photographs and drawings, put together a collage that represented the main subject chosen.  And he realized.  HE was the subject.  Justin’s project was about him.

~~~

Justin looked up when Caleb put his drink on the table in front of him and sat down.  “I don’t know what I’m gonna do without the fucking sketches,” he said.

“Well, there weren’t that many of them there.  Most of the drawings are at my place already.  You can just recreate the other ones again.  I don’t think you should worry about it.  You still have plenty of time,” Caleb tried to make his friend feel better.

“What’s the point?” Justin took a sip of his beer.  “What the fuck was I thinking, picking him as the subject for this project?”

“That you cared about him?”

Justin shook his head.  “You know, all this time I actually let myself believe that he…” 

Caleb understood what it was that Justin was unable to say.  “He does.”

Justin looked up at him.  “Yeah, right.”

“He’s just jealous.”

Justin scoffed.  “Brian doesn’t get jealous.”

Caleb smiled.  “Of course he does.  He is.”

“Jealous of what?”

“You are spending a lot of time with your ex-boyfriend.”

“We’re friends.  He knows that.”

“Maybe.  But seeing your boyfriend’s ex in your home would make any guy see red.”

“Did you just join the make-excuses-for-Brian-Kinney club?”

Caleb smiled again.  “I’m just saying I understand where he’s coming from.”

“I bet Mark doesn’t act like the world’s biggest asshole.”  It was Justin’s subtle, or not so subtle, way of getting Caleb to talk about his new boyfriend.

Caleb bit his lower lip.  “Mark has his good qualities and he has some bad ones.”

“What?  He snores?”

They both laughed.

“Does he have a nickname for you?” Justin asked.

“Nope.  Just plain old Caleb.”

“Doesn’t call you ‘Cale’ or anything like that?”

Caleb stared into Justin’s eyes.  “No.  You’re the only one.”

And Justin smiled.  He knew that the two of them would never be more than friends.  That nothing more would ever happen again.  But Caleb was his first and he held a special place in Justin’s heart.  It felt good to know that Justin held a special place in Caleb’s heart as well.

~~~

Justin got out of Caleb’s car and waved to his friend.  After watching the car disappear around the corner, he headed to his dorm, stopping cold when he noticed a figure sitting on the steps leading up to the entrance.

When Brian saw him approach, he stood up.

“If you wanted to add something to your speech, you could have just called and left a message.  You really didn’t have to drive all the way over here to make me feel like shit.”  Justin started to walk past his lover, but Brian grabbed his arm. 

“You forgot this,” he said quietly.  He felt horrible for the way he acted earlier.  He handed the sketchbook to Justin. 

Justin took it in his hand and looked up at Brian.  “And you think this makes up for everything?”

Brian’s face fell.  He was hoping that Justin, being the most forgiving person he knew, would just let it go.  “What do you want me to say?”

“An apology might be nice.”

Brian took a deep breath in.  “I’m sorry.”

Justin shook his head.  “It’s not good enough.”  He tried to move away, but Brian’s hand on his arm kept him firmly in place.

“What the fuck do you want me to do?  Grovel?”

“Maybe if you actually meant it…”

Brian sighed, letting go of Justin’s arm.  He looked down, aware of Justin’s eyes following his every move.  Finally, he looked up again.  “I really am sorry.  The way I acted was immature and childish.  I was cruel to you and…your friend.  And…I would understand if you’d never want to speak to me again.”

Justin sighed, the expression on his face softening.  “Why?”

Brian looked down again and mumbled something.

“What?” Justin asked, not sure he heard correctly.

“I was jealous,” Brian said clearly now as he glanced up at the teen.

Justin smiled.  “Look, you have to believe me.  There is nothing going on between Caleb and me.”

“I know.  But…there could be.”

“No,” Justin shook his head.  “There couldn’t.  There’s a reason why we didn’t work out before.”

“Yeah?  And what’s that?”

“I never loved Caleb.  Not like I…” he stopped, unsure if he should go on.  He couldn’t say those words to Caleb when they were together because he didn’t love him.  He couldn’t say them now to Brian because he did.  Because it would change everything.  Because more than likely those three little words would scare Brian off permanently and he couldn’t risk losing Brian forever.

Brian stared back at Justin, waiting to hear those three words and at the same time hoping he wouldn’t.  He wasn’t sure they were ready to cross that line.  He wasn’t sure he’d EVER be ready to cross that line.  And he knew Justin felt the same way.  He could see it in the teen’s eyes.

The unspoken words hung heavily in the air.  And Brian did the only thing he could think of to prevent the words from becoming real and at the same time showing Justin that he was not alone in this.  He took a step closer and covered the blonde’s lips with his own.

Go to Part 22

HOME