The Wish - Part 4

“Does your mom know you’re out buying jewelry?” Daphne asked while the two of them were looking at bracelets.

“You know, she’s totally cool with everything.  Or at least she’s pretending to be because she’s scared I’ll run away and become a hairdresser,” Justin laughed.

“I hate you.  My mom’s such a bitch and I haven’t even given her a reason yet.

“How about these?” Justin showed her his choice.

Making a face, Daphne shook her head no, “They’re totally queer.”

“Shut up.  They’re a symbol of our friendship,” he said, putting one of the bracelets on her right hand, then the other one on his.

Daphne shrugged, “Ok.  Thanks.”

“Actually, I don’t have any money.”  Seeing the look on Daphne’s face, he explained, “I had to buy a fake ID.”

“Hey, Blondie!”

Justin turned around to see Nicholas standing behind him.

“Hi,” Justin smiled.  “How are you?”

“Good.  Got off work early, so I thought I’d kill some time.”

Daphne cleared her throat to let Justin know that she was still there.

“Oh…uhm…”  Justin turned to her then back to Nicholas, “This is my friend Daphne.  Daph, this is Nicholas.”

Daphne smiled and said hi.

“It’s nice to meet you,” Nicholas said, “You busy now?  I was gonna go get some coffee and desert.  Wanna join me?”

“Oh, I have to get home,” Daphne said.  Noticing the pleading look on Justin’s face she realized that he really wanted to go with Nicholas.  “But you should go.”

“Uhm…ok,” Justin said, waving good bye to Daphne as he and Nicholas crossed the street.

~~~

“Where’s Kevin?” Justin asked after taking another bite out of a brownie.

“Fuck if I know,” Nicholas shrugged.

“Did you guys have another fight?”

“Caleb told you about those, huh?”

“Well, sort of.”  Suddenly Justin felt very uncomfortable, feeling like he was prying into somebody else’s private life.

Nicholas smirked, “It’s ok.  We fight.  We make up.  And let me tell you…the making up part is so worth it.”  They both giggled like high school girls.

“How long have you known Caleb?” Justin asked when they calmed down.

“Ahh.  Are you going to snoop for information on your boyfriend now?”

“Uhm…”  Justin looked away.  That is exactly what he was doing. 

Nicholas smiled, “That’s ok.  I did the same thing when I met Kev.  Sat down with Caleb and asked him questions.”

“Like what?”

“Like…uhm…like whether those two were ever together and why they broke up.  That’s what you wanna know, right?”

Justin looked down at his plate.  The guy was good.  Very perceptive.

“Thought so,” Nicholas smirked.  “Ok, well, let’s see.  Uhm…I met them both about two years ago.  And right away I could tell that they had been together.  There was just this vibe, this energy between them.  Kevin insisted they were just friends.  Nothing more, nothing less.”

“Did you believe him?”

“Of course not.  So I asked Caleb…and got the same answer.”

“Oh.”

“Still, I could tell that they cared about each other a great deal, so I decided to back off.”  Nicholas took a sip of his coffee.

“And what happened?”

“Uhm…actually, I’m not sure.  Somehow Kevin and I just kept ending up in bed…his, mine, even Caleb’s.”  Nicholas chuckled.

Justin smiled, “And now?”

“Now?  They still care about each other.  A lot.  I know that.”

“And you’re ok with that?” Justin asked.

Nicholas shrugged, “Why wouldn’t I be?  If they wanted to act on it they would have done it already.  They seem to think they’re better off as friends.  Who am I to say no?”

“Aren’t you like jealous?”  Justin didn’t think he could be as cool about it as Nicholas.

“Of course I’m jealous.  But I do know that Kev loves me.  And I do love him.  Even when he drives me crazy.  So, I make it work.  We make it work.”

Justin sighed, “I don’t think I could do that.”

“Oh, honey, you have nothing to worry about, trust me.  Caleb’s completely smitten by you.”

Justin smiled shyly.

“Whenever I see him that’s all he talks about…Justin this and Justin that.  It’s kinda fun watching Kevin turn different shades of red.”

They both laughed.

“Is he jealous of me or something?” Justin asked, still smiling.

“I think it’s more about protecting Caleb.  He got out of a relationship about a year ago and it didn’t end well.  Caleb was hurting.  And Kevin doesn’t do well when somebody he cares about is in pain and he can’t do shit to help them.”

“Oh,” Justin frowned.

“Don’t worry.  It’s nothing personal.”

“Thanks, Nick.”

“Nick?  Wow, a nickname already.  I like that,” Nicholas smiled.

“Sorry,” Justin blushed.

“Oh, I’m just teasing you, Justin.  And you make it way too easy.”  The man’s smile was so warm and friendly.

Justin smiled as well.  He looked down at his watch and frowned.  “I should go.  I wanted to stop by Caleb’s before I go home.”

“Yeah, I gotta get out of this tie,” Nicholas tugged on his tie loosening it up a bit.

“What do you do?” Justin asked as they paid the bill and made their way out of the coffee shop.

“Computers.  Do some programming for a publishing company.”

“That sounds like fun.”

“It’s not bad.  Although, the more I spend time with computers the more convinced I am that technology is evil.”

~~~

Justin said good bye to Nick and headed over to Caleb’s.

He knocked on the door.

“It’s open,” Caleb called out.

Justin turned the doorknob and walked in.  At first he didn’t see Caleb. 

“It’s me,” Justin said.

Two heads suddenly popped up in the living room.

Caleb stood up, smiling, and walked over to him, “Hey, this is a surprise.”  He gave Justin a peck on the lips.

“I was in the neighborhood,” Justin explained.

“I bet you were,” Kevin said. 

Justin and Caleb walked over to where the other man was.  He was sitting on the floor, photographs scattered all around him. 

“Kevin’s helping me decide which ones to display at GLC,” Caleb said.

“GLC?” Justin asked puzzled.

“The Gay and Lesbian Center,” Kevin explained, getting up as well.

“Yeah, they’re having an exhibit for artists and photographers.  It’s an annual fund raiser thing.  It’s actually pretty cool,” Caleb said, sitting down on the couch.

“Well, you two stay and chat and I’m gonna go before my butt falls completely asleep,” Kevin said. 

“He’s been whining for the past two hours,” Caleb said as Kevin made his way towards the door.

When they heard the door close behind him, Caleb pulled Justin down to him and kissed him.  When they pulled apart Justin looked at the mess on the floor.  “So, have you decided which ones you’re gonna display?”

“For the most part.  There are a couple that I’m undecided about,” Caleb replied.  “Hey, why don’t you show a few of your drawings there as well?”

“You mean people seeing my stuff?”  Justin asked, considering the possibility.  Caleb nodded.  “That’d be intense…but…yeah,” he smiled.

Caleb grinned as well, pulling Justin closer to him. 

~~~

Justin was watching Daphne walk toward the exit.  She wanted to come to the GLC to help him with putting up his drawings.  That was until a woman helping them asked her to go with her get a soda.

“Where’s Daphne going?” Caleb asked, snaking his arms around Justin’s waist.

Justin turned to him, “To be one of the cool people apparently.”

“Huh?” Caleb looked puzzled.

Justin smiled, “Yeah, exactly.” 

Caleb looked up at the wall that now displayed Justin’s drawings.  There were three drawings of men and one of a woman with a child.

“Who are these people?” he asked, coming closer to look at them.  He’s only seen a few of Justin’s drawings up until now.

Justin shrugged, standing next to him, “Well, that’s my mom with my little sister,” Justin pointed to the one with the woman.

“What about these guys?”

“Just my imagination working over time, I guess,” Justin said staring at one of his favorite drawings of a sleeping man.

~~~

“I told you I’m not going,” Brian said pouring milk over into a bowl in front of Lindsay.

“Oh, come on, Brian.  It’s for a charity.  For a good cause.”

“I never go to these things.  Why should I start now?”

“Because it’s time you did.  It’s time you became part of the community,” she said wiping away the milk that Brian spilt.

“Just because I fuck guys doesn’t mean that I’m part of some community and it doesn’t mean I have anything in common with someone else who does.”

“You know it’s more than that.  We need to take care of each other,” she said.

“I don’t need to take care of anyone and I don’t need anyone to take care of me.”

“One day you might.”

“Fuck groups,” Brian said drinking coffee right out of the pot.

“I thought you did,” Lindsay shot back at him.

~~~

He had no idea what he was doing here but somehow, someway Lindsay was able to talk him into it.  She was able to talk him into doing anything, even having a kid.  None of the defenses and walls seemed to work against that.  After he said hi to her he dashed straight for the bar, getting himself a drink.  He was going to stay just long enough to make her happy. 

There was also another reason he was here.  A reason he didn’t want to acknowledge as he walked around looking at different paintings and photographs.  For some odd, bizarre reason he was drawn to this place tonight.

He just passed a wall with some photographs that he didn’t care very much for and was scanning the wall with drawings when he stopped cold.  There was one drawing in particular that caught his attention.  It was a drawing of a sleeping naked man.  The face was blurry, features hard to make out, but the profile seemed to resemble his own.  There was something so recognizable about this drawing.  He even thought one of his tricks might have drawn him.  He looked at the name of the artist.  Justin Taylor.  The information about the artist said he was seventeen.  He couldn’t remember fucking anybody that young.  Besides no trick stayed long enough in his bed, in his loft, in his life to draw him.  It was obviously somebody else, Brian reasoned.

~~~

Justin was walking around looking at other people’s works.  He was a nervous wreck.  His stomach was in knots.  He’d never before displayed his work for people to see.  They did have to show their art in school in art classes and art club, but that was different.  Those were people he knew, went to school with for years.  This was different.  He looked over at the wall displaying his stuff.  He saw a tall man with light brown hair dressed in black looking at his drawings.  Something felt familiar about the man.  He couldn’t see his face, but he was drawn to him.  He was about to walk over there when he felt two arms encircling his body.

“Nervous?”

Justin took a deep breath in and nodded, then turned around to face his lover.

“Don’t be.  Your stuff is amazing,” Caleb said, smiling reassuringly.

“You’ve seen, what, five drawings?” Justin said, being modest.  He knew he was good, but when somebody else was looking at his drawings he always worried if he was good enough.

“I’ve seen enough to know just how incredibly talented you are,” Caleb said, then kissed the other man.

“Justin?” a voice said behind him.

Justin froze, feeling like his heart just stopped.  He turned around to see his mother’s face looking at him.  He was speechless.  Not only his mother was here, but she also just witnessed him kissing his boyfriend.  He opened his mouth a few times, but no words came out of it. 

Jennifer eyed the man standing next to her son, his one arm was still placed on Justin’s hip.  “Well, aren’t you going to introduce us?” she said.

Justin took a deep breath in.  “Uhm…this is…this is Caleb.”  Jennifer nodded at the other man who was still staring at her wide-eyed, having recognized her from the Woody’s.  “Caleb…this is my mom,” he finally blurted out.

Finally getting over the initial shock Caleb remembered his manners and extended his hand to say hello.  Jennifer shook his hand.  After that there was a very uncomfortable silence. 

“Well, where is your stuff, honey?  I’d like to see it,” Jennifer finally said.

Justin looked over at his wall but the man that he saw there earlier was gone.  Justin briefly scanned the crowd for him, but couldn’t see him anywhere.  He sighed and pointed to where his drawings were hanging, leading his mother to see his work.

~~~

“Hey,” Justin yelled out over the noise of the music as he and Daphne made their way to Caleb and his friends.

Caleb smiled at him, “You didn’t tell me you were going to be here.”

“We’re celebrating,” Daphne explained, “Justin sold some of his art today.”

“You did?!” Caleb grinned, “Didn’t I tell you it was great?”  He kissed his boyfriend.

“Yeah, you did,” Justin replied as they pulled apart.  “Now, come on, let’s dance.”  He pulled Caleb and Daphne onto the dance floor, with Nicholas and Kevin in tow behind them.

~~~

Brian stared at the drawing he purchased, unable to look away.  Something about it just seemed to draw him in.

Go to Part 5

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