The White Party
Chapter 1
“Jesus, Emmett, we’re going to the White Party, not the
fucking White House,” Brian spit out, watching the most flamboyant member of
their gang pull suitcase after suitcase out of the cab.
“I only brought the essentials,” Emmett quipped. “Poppers, double headed dildos,
my swing.”
Brian cut him off with a wave of his hand and patted the black Versace duffle
bag in his hands. “All you need is some condoms and a white thong.”
“Bullshit, Bri,” Mikey chimed in as he and Ben joined the gang. “Unless that
thong is Prada I’m betting you have more than that in there.”
They were all laughing and tossing jokes about when Ted and Blake walked up just
as the airline called their flight. Hurrying they each boarded and found their
seats. Brian had booked them all first class on Kinnetik’s dime, using the trip
to court a client after the weekend of partying was over and done.
They’d settled in and Brian glanced over at the empty seat beside him. His mind
wandered to Justin and the trip they’d taken just before he’d left for New York.
They’d promised to see each other every couple of months but as time passed it
had become harder and harder to keep that promise. It had been over a year now
since he’d seen Justin and for just an instant he let himself feel the sadness.
Ten years had passed and no one but Brian seemed to remember that he’d been
willing to give up his freedom to be with the man he loved.
He did his best to shake the memories from his mind and absentmindedly reached
for his seatbelt. Snapping it into place he rested his head back against the
headrest and pulled his eye mask over his eyes. He tuned out the chatter among
his friends, already tired of hearing Michael and Ben discussing Hunter and JR.
Every one of his friends were paired off, Michael had Ben, Ted had Blake and
Emmett had Drew Boyd, who’d recently returned to Pittsburgh after a glorious few
years playing quarterback for the Saints. Hell, even Debbie had Horvath and here
he was, still alone. If he were honest he’d admit to himself that he missed
Sunshine.
He missed the way his smile lit up a room, the way his laughter filled every
available space when they were together, but most of all he missed the mess that
Justin inevitably left in his wake. But Brian Kinney wasn’t the type to wax
poetic about a long lost love, at least not the Brian Kinney they all believed
him to be. So he made himself comfortable and tried his best to forget that he
was the only one going stag on this trip.
Just as the flight attendant was going over the safety precautions Brian felt
his seatmate take their place next to him. He didn’t bother to remove his eye
mask, hoping they’d get the idea and leave him alone. He half listened to the
announcements being made and settled in for the flight to Miami. Too many years
of flying had left him bored with the entire process and all he wanted to do was
catch a few Z’s before a wild weekend of partying with every hot gay man from
Miami to LA.
In and out of sleep, Brian could almost hear Justin’s laugh on the plane, but he
told himself that he was just dreaming and went back to sleep. An hour passed
and finally he woke when he heard the flight attendant asking if anyone wanted a
drink. Pulling the mask from his face, he turned to face the skinny brunette that
pushed the beverage cart down the aisle and asked for a whiskey. Taking it from
her he wasn’t surprised to notice that whomever had been seated next to him had
vacated the seat. He frowned at the faded red hoodie that was draped over the
armrest, a memory of Justin in an identical one flashing through his mind.
He tried to shake the memory, turning to look out the window at the dark sky
that surrounded them. Brian didn’t move for some time, even after his seatmate returned. The forgotten whiskey, now remembered,
he downed in one gulp and
turned back to ask for another only to find himself face to face with his past.
*****
“Well as I live and breathe, it’s Brian Kinney.” The seatmate
removed his sunglasses.
“Brandon,” Brian said.
“You remembered my name. I’m honored.” Brandon smiled.
“Vaguely.” Brian buzzed for the stewardess.
“How are things at Babylon? Are you still running off the competition, and
trying to keep all of the pretty boys for yourself?” Brandon asked.
“You were never any competition,” Brian lied.
“Is that why you had me thrown out of the club?” Brandon asked.
“I had you thrown out of the club because you were getting your dick sucked on
the dance floor,” Brian said.
“As if you haven’t,” Brandon took issue.
“I’m the owner. I can do whatever I want,” Brian smiled.
“How convenient.” Brandon sat back in his seat.
The two rivals paused long enough for the stewardess to refresh their drinks. “I
assume you’re on your way to The White Party,” Brandon continued.
“You assumed right,” Brian said.
“You know you won’t be able to throw me off the dance floor there,” Brandon
said.
“Why, Brandon, I never imagined you as a sour-grapes kind of guy.” Brian
chuckled.
“It’s got nothing to do with sour grapes. You won fair and square. One thing has
been bothering me though. Why didn’t you collect your debt?” Brandon asked.
Brian thought for a moment. “I don’t know.” He sighed. “Maybe it was because you
were too easy. The hunt is half of the fun. Who wants to kill cornered prey?”
“You’re a man of principle, Mr. Kinney. I like that.” Brandon took a sip of his
drink. “I have to admit, it was a lot of fun though. Racing to see who could
fuck the hottest guys. We should do it again. This time, we should join forces.”
“I’m listening,” Brian said.
“The way I see it, there’s a whole beach of untapped asses, just waiting to be
conquered. I’ll bet it wouldn’t take much to persuade a few choice specimens to
meet for a private party, or two.” Brandon smiled.
“I’m still listening.” Brian said.
*****
“Please bring your seatbacks to their full upright position in preparation for landing in Miami. Make sure your tray tables are closed and locked. We will be landing shortly.”
Brian heard the announcement and removed his mask. He brought his seat to the upright position. Casually he glanced to the side to see Brandon looking at him.
“Did you get some shuteye?” Brandon inquired.
“Some.”
“I hope you gave some thought to my proposal.”
“We’ll see,” Brian said non-comittally.
He closed his eyes as he felt the plane start to descend. Truthfully he had given Brandon’s idea some thought. But, he would have preferred some sleep instead. He had to admit that he wasn’t getting any younger. He knew he would always be up for sex, but the rigors of his job often took their toll. Twelve hour days were not uncommon, sometimes they were even longer when Kinnetik was courting a new client. Brian had hired good people, but he liked to keep on top of things, and as Kinnetik grew, so did the length of his work days.
He felt the jolt as the plane touched down. Opening his eyes, he looked out at the Miami airport as they taxied to the terminal.
This might turn out to be a very long weekend, Brian decided as he undid his seatbelt and stood up to retrieve his Versace carry-on from the overhead bin. Brandon quickly grabbed his bag and was first in line to exit the plane.
“You ready for this?” Michael asked, a huge grin on his face.
Brian snorted. “I don’t have a hubby to answer to. I’m here to have fun.”
“Ben and I will have fun,” Michael protested.
“Yeah, right.”
“What were you and Brandon talking about?” Michael whispered in Brian’s ear.
“Nothing much.”
“Did you know he would be on this flight?”
“How would I know that?” Brian asked with a frown.
“It looked like you were cooking something up. You were pretty buddy, buddy during the flight.”
“It never hurts to be civil,” Brian stated.
“With him?”
“Michael,” Brian said rubbing his temple, “we were just making small talk.”
“You don’t do small talk.”
Brian drew in a deep breath. “They’ve opened the door. Let’s get off this fucking plane.”
They started to move forward as first class cleared out. At the end of the jetway, Brandon stood waiting for him. He slipped Brian a piece of paper.
“Name of my hotel,” Brandon said.
Brian pocketed the paper without looking at it. Brandon disappeared into the crowd, his red hoodie over his arm. Brian waited for the rest of his group to come out, before heading to the two limos he had arranged.
He hoped this weekend would be enjoyable, but he was beginning to wonder. He decided that he would ride with Ben and Michael in the first limo. Ted and Blake could take the second limo with Drew and Emmett, when the big fairy finally retrieved all of his fucking suitcases from the plane.
“This is great, Brian,” Michael said as they settled into the back seat of the limo. His hand caressed the leather of the seats. “So luxurious.”
Brian looked at Ben who merely grinned and shook his head.
“No comments, professor?” Brian asked.
“Just a thank you for bringing us along. It’s been a long time since I was at a White Party.” He and Brian shared a knowing look.
“I’ve never been to the White Party,” Michael chirped in. “I can hardly wait.”
“Just what do you think you’re going to be doing?” Brian had to ask.
“Looking at all the handsome men…”
“And not touching,” Ben added.
“I have you,” Michael replied reaching over to hold Ben’s hand.
“I think I’m going to hurl,” Brian griped. “I have no idea why I thought bringing you two was a good idea.”
“You so love me,” Michael said with a big smile.
Brian felt a funny chill run up his spine as he heard Michael’s words. Someone else had said those words to him a long time ago … in a very different context. He shook himself inwardly trying to refocus.
Thankfully the limo was pulling up to the hotel. They all piled out and Brian headed for reception to get everything settled. Michael stared around the lobby, all starry eyed at the opulence of the room.
Just as Brian finished checking in, he turned from the desk and caught a glimpse of a red hoodie disappearing into an elevator. He wondered if Brandon could be staying at this hotel too. He’d have to check what Brandon had written on the paper in his pocket. He’d do that as soon as they got settled in their rooms. Coincidences did happen.