The White Party
Chapter 7
Ted quietly explored their suite as he sipped his coffee.
Being up during the wee hours of the morning was normal for Ted; vacation or no
vacation, it was a hard habit to break. Ted ordered a large breakfast with
several carafes of coffee, tea and juice for the gang. He marveled at Brian’s
ingenuity and the extent of his vast network of connections. Miami’s hotels were
packed with thousands of gay men (and women) all here to celebrate, and yet
Brian was able to arrange this suite of rooms for all of them. Ted always knew
that the titles Brian held, such as backroom whore and stud of Liberty Avenue,
never did Brian any justice. Besides being the king of the advertising world,
Brian was also the true Mr. Fix-it.
Mr. Parnes had come through for Brian with a huge suite of rooms that shared a
large common living room, kitchenette and dining room. There were more than
enough bedrooms to house each couple and a spare bedroom to house Emmett’s
wardrobe. After ensuring their safety, each couple retired to their rooms for
the remainder of the night.
“Coffee,” Brian demanded as he came out of his room and into the living room.
Ted pointed to the carafe on the buffet table that was against one wall. Brian’s
eyes widened at the array of chafing dishes, platters and bowls that artfully
held their breakfast. “You expecting to feed an army?” Brian asked as he poured
himself a cup of caffeine. Ted shrugged. “How are we paying for this?” Brian
grumbled.
“I took pictures,” Teddy said as he waved his phone in the air. “We’ll use these
on his next campaign.”
“Ah, research,” Brian said, admiring Ted’s brilliance. Ted smirked, knowing that
Brian got it.
“We’ll write it off,” Ted confirmed. “How is he?”
“Still sleeping,” Brian replied, knowing to which ‘he’ Ted referred. Ted could
see dark circles under his friend’s eyes and the worry lines more pronounced.
“What did the doctor say?” Brian had called for the hotel’s doctor to give
Justin the once over as soon as they entered the suite.
“No concussion and the cut was minor but you know anything on the head bleeds
like a son-of-a-bitch. He also thinks Justin is slightly malnourished. What he
needs most is to feel safe, rest and probably some counseling,” Brian said. He
fished out his cell phone and swiftly sent out an email to that doctor that was
very helpful just after Justin’s bashing.
Ted nodded in understanding. Under normal circumstances, Justin was a strong,
independent man who would have never put up with abuse. Darren must have gotten
to Justin at a vulnerable point in his life making it easy for Darren to pull
off his manipulations.
“We were all played,” Brian said coldly. Brian admitted to Ted what little he
knew of the convoluted plot cooked up by Emmett, Justin and Brandon to somehow
get Brian and Justin back together.
“It worked, didn’t it,” Ted said which garnered a glare from Brian. “I know, I
know, and Justin should have never gotten hurt, but they probably didn’t know
about Bradley’s violent nature or to what lengths he would go. Speaking of
which, shouldn’t we call the police or something?”
“Got it covered,” Brian replied.
“Should I ask?”
Brian shook his head, “Plausible deniability.”
As Brian went to top up his coffee, Emmett breezed out of his room, paused for a
second then marched up to Brian. Emmett threw his arms around the man, begging
Brian’s forgiveness.
“Stop it, you fucking fairy, and get off me,” Brian growled with more bluff than
gruff in his voice. Emmett instantly knew that he was forgiven and back in
Brian’s good graces. Ted knew that Emmett never left Brian’s good graces.
“So what do we do now? Suddenly I’m not in the partying mood anymore,” Emmett
commented as he took a dish ,and finding crepes lying under a silver domed
platter, piled on the fruit.
“This hotel has several pools, its own nightclub and a spa. We can stay right
here and party in our own backyard,” Brian stated.
“But are we safe? Will he be safe?” Emmett asked with concern.
“Got it covered,” was all Brian would say. Emmett knew not to push.
“Oooo, I wonder if they’ll do couples massages,” Emmett said in a dreamy voice.
“Mmm, scented oils slathered over all those muscles.” Emmett’s eyes glazed over
as he nibbled his crepes covered with raspberry sauce.
“Gag,” Brian grumbled. Ted smiled.
“Brian, you know he can’t go back to New York,” Emmett said after a while.
“Yes, he can,” Michael declared as he walked out of his room and made a beeline
for the food.
“It’s not safe for him there,” Emmett insisted.
“Of course it’s safe for him. It was just a lover’s spat. It’ll all blow over in
a few hours and then we can enjoy ourselves,” Michael said around a forkful of
eggs. “I think it was a mistake bringing him here. It was like kidnapping.”
“How can you say that?” Emmett asked in shock. “Were we not in the same place
last night? You saw what I saw!”
“I saw a misunderstanding between partners and it’s wrong for us to interfere,”
Michael flatly stated. “Justin should go back to his boyfriend and back to his
New York friends.”
“No, what I saw was…” Before Emmett could continue, Ben came into the room.
“Michael, Emmett’s right. Justin should come home with us; we’re his friends and
family,” Ben stated with authority.
“You’re taking their side against me?” Michael shouted. “I’m your husband.”
“I’m not taking any sides. But the people who love and care about Justin the
most are in Pittsburgh. That’s where he will have the best chance to recover and
time to decide what’s best for him,” Ben said. Michael huffed as Ben went to
peruse the buffet for something to eat.
“Brian, what do you think?” Emmett began until he realized he was talking to
air. Brian had left the room.
*****
“Hey,” Justin greeted Brian with a sleepy smile and an
outstretched hand.
“Hey.” Brian took Justin’s hand then settled on the bed next to him. “How are
you feeling?”
“Like I was hit by a bus.”
“You don’t look it,” Brian said as he ignored the bruising to the side of
Justin’s face and gently pushed away a lock of blond hair out of Justin’s eyes.
“You look beautiful.”
“And you need glasses. I saw the bruise, Bri. It’ll get a lot worse before it
gets better.”
“We’ll have Emmett work some makeup magic. No one will know.” Brian smirked.
“Did you hear?” Brian indicated the living room.
“Yeah,” Justin sighed. “Tough not too. After all this time, nothing’s changed.”
“A lot has changed. You’ve changed. Can you tell me about it?”
“Well, there’s a switch, Brian Kinney, the king of silence and repression
actually wanting to talk.”
“I talk.”
“Sure, when you’re pitching an ad or reaming out staff. But this is new.”
“Not new. Just tired of the bullshit. Tired of being alone,” Brian said softly
as he leaned back against the pillow and stared at the ceiling. He played with
Justin’s fingers as he stared upwards.
“What happened to no apologies, no regrets?”
“I only have one regret.” Justin tugged on Brian’s hand to urge him on. “You. I
should have tried harder to get to your shows. I shouldn’t have pushed you
away.”
“Again.”
“Again,” Brian agreed. “But I honestly thought I was helping. You were right
about having to do things on your own. I did it. And it was important for you to
do it too.”
“So where do we go from here?”
“Where do you want to go?”
“Brian, please don’t give me the ‘there’s no locks on my door and we’re only
together because we want to be together’ speech. I don’t want to hear it.”
“No speech. Just a simple question. Justin, do you want to come home with me?”
“Home. As in back to Pittsburgh and live at the loft or at Debbie’s or my Mom’s
until I find an apartment? Or home as in you, me and Britin? Do you still have
Britin?”
“Yes, I still have that money pit. Although, Ted found me ways of making it more
self-sustainable by using some of the grounds and rooms as backdrops for several
of our ads. I also donate the grounds and the main dining room for charity
functions throughout the year. Theodore practically shoots in his pants when I
dump my receipts and vouchers on him every year at tax time.”
Justin laughed out loud, his smile wide and blinding. This was the Sunshine
Brian knew and missed.
“I stay there occasionally when the Pitts gets too noisy or when Gus visits.”
Brian smiled.
“How’s he doing?”
“Better since the munchers decided that running away wasn’t going to solve their
problems.”
“Where are they living?”
“In their old house.”
“I thought they sold it.” Brian was quiet. “You bought it back for them, didn’t
you?” Justin said as he shook his head. “Still the master. Darren’s got nothing
over you.”
“About Darrell.”
“Darren.”
“Whatever.”
“I’m done. In some ways he reminds me of you. Strong, self-made, an expert in
his field. By the time I realized the truth about him I was trapped. When Emmett
and Brandon cooked up their little scheme… I was fooling myself. I should have
packed my shit up at the first sign of trouble and gotten on the first bus outta
there. But I was stubborn.”
“Yeah, well I’ve been accused of being stubborn myself on occasion.”
“You?” Justin teased. Brian turned his head and gently kissed Justin’s temple.
“Come home with me. Let’s start over. You’ve made a name for yourself. You can
paint in Pittsburgh if you want to.”
“I’m not that famous.”
“Famous enough that Sidney would snap you up in a second. He has an album of all
your press clippings.”
“You’re kidding.”
“Nope, I’ve seen it.”
“Since when do you hang out at the gallery?”
“Since Kinnetik handles their PR.”
“What about a studio? They cost money.”
“And Britin has an old greenhouse that’s just waiting to be converted into
something useful.”
“You’ve thought of everything.”
“No I haven’t but I’m willing to learn. You were right to go away to hone your
craft and it’s right for you to come home. I want this, Justin. I can’t always
promise monogamy but I won’t lie to you.”
“You’ve never lied to me,” Justin whispered. And just then suddenly the dam
broke. “They all lied to me but you never did,” Justin said as silent tears
slipped down his face. “My father, Ethan, Darren, they all promised to love me
but…” Brian allowed Justin the time to let it all out.
“Justin, it may not work out for us but I’m willing to give it a try.” Brian
lifted Justin’s chin with his finger to search his eyes. “A real try. But we’re
not the same men as we were when you first left the Pitts. We have to get to
know each other all over again. And although Kinnetik is doing all right, I
can’t ignore it to be home every night by six. There’s too much at stake. I have
to be free to go where my clients are. But I promise to come home right after
the deal is done.”
“I know you have to work hard. And I know how much Kinnetik means to you and to
your staff. They count on you to bring in those clients. I promise not to make
demands. I can’t say that I won’t be disappointed if you miss an opening, but I
promise to be more understanding. And you’re right, we’re not the same men as we
were the night I left but I’m willing to start all over too.”
Brian slowly leaned over to give Justin a chaste kiss, he felt Justin slightly
stiffen.
“You’re not ready for more than a kiss or two are you?” Brian asked already
knowing the answer. Justin’s face fell along with a few more tears. “And I’m not
pushing,” Brian stated. Justin looked relieved. “Shower first then breakfast or
would you like me to bring in a tray,” Brian asked as he rolled off the bed. He
stood up straight and gave Justin a curt bow.
“You my butler?” A small smile returned to Justin’s face.
“At your service, sir,” Brian replied gallantly.
“I don’t think I can face them just yet.”
“Then I shall draw your bath and prepare you a tray,” Brian stated formally
making Justin giggle as Brian retreated into their ensuite bathroom.
*****
-Six months later-
“Did you all hear about that Darren Bradley person?” Emmett asked one night as
the gang was at the diner having dinner.
“What about him?” Blake asked leaning in closer to get the dirt.
“He was sued!” Emmett said as if that the most logical thing to say.
“And?” Teddy prompted.
“Well, it turns out that Justin wasn’t the only boyfriend he tried to push
around. There wasn’t enough evidence for a criminal case but it seems all his
ex’s and there were a lot. All his ex’s banded together to sue him for
harassment and breach of promise and whatever else they could come up with.”
“But doesn’t that take a lot of time and money and what if it didn’t work?” Ted
asked.
“It didn’t matter. Once the press got wind of the story…” Emmett paused and gave
them an all knowing smile.
“His reputation was shot,” Ben filled in the missing pieces.
“Exactly. He paid out an undisclosed sum of money,” Emmett went on to say,
making quote marks in the air. “And he agreed to go to anger management and
follow up counseling. He still has his company but his lawyers made him step
down as president in fear that they would lose revenue.”
“How do you know all this?” Michael asked.
“Brandon told me. They’re not back together or anything but his business does
bring him to New York once in a while.”
The friends high-fived each other then picked up their menus to order dinner.
*****
“Honey, I’m home!” Brian called out as he entered the foyer of Britin and
lowered his bags to the floor.
“Where the fuck have you been?” A shout echoed through the cavernous mansion.
“Slaying elk, where the fuck do you think I’ve been?” Brian shouted back with a
smirk.
This had become their little tradition after each time one of them returned from
an out of town business trip.
“Hey,” Justin greeted him with a brilliant smile and a warm kiss. “Your lips are
cold.”
“It’s snowing again.”
“How was Chicago?” Justin asked as he helped Brian with his overcoat.
“Cold but the contract is signed, sealed and delivered,” Brian said as he patted
his breast pocket.
“Congratulations,” Justin said planting another kiss on Brian’s lips. “Come to
the kitchen, I made soup. It’ll warm you right up.”
“The soup can wait. I think I’d prefer you to warm me up.”
“Why Mr. Kinney, whatever are you suggesting?” Justin asked as he gave Brian a
wide eyed innocent look.
Brian leaned down to whisper his suggestions into Justin’s ear.
“First one in bed gets to top!” Justin shouted as he sprinted up the stairs
toward their master bedroom.
Brian smiled, taking his time walking up the staircase, admiring the view of
Justin’s once again round ass, all the way up.
-end-