Spin and Fall

Chapter 22

Brian had gotten up early and gone to the gym with Justin that morning. He had biked along with Terry and his boy for a half an hour, amazed at the easy banter they were able to carry on while going all out. He’d been able to keep up with the biking, but not the conversation, which surprisingly had to do with basketball. He’d not even been aware that Justin enjoyed the game, but apparently, though he’d moved to Pittsburgh, he‘d kept his basketball allegiance in Seattle and was a big Sonics fan. Terry, born and raised in Pittsburgh was a Muskrat die-hard, and in two weeks time, the Sonics were coming to town.

Brian had gone on with his usual strength training, upper body, and after a quick rinse, he’d taken a leisurely steam, sans blowjob, followed by a longer shower. He had waited for Justin at the gym’s café, reading his New York Times thinking again about all the financial discussions that had taken place the night before.

After making a 1.9 million dollar offer on Vangard the evening before, one might have expected him to feel a little anxiety. Instead, all he felt was excitement and optimism, knowing, just knowing that with Justin, Cynthia and Ted with him on the same boat, no matter the state of the sea, it would be smooth sailing. He had, of course, diplomatically inquired from which hat Justin was able to pull a cool million. Without hesitation, Justin had turned on his computer and shared with Brian the state of his finances.

“That’s what happens when you make money and you don’t spend it,” he’d explained.

In his portfolio was the original very nice payment for Rage, plus the hefty bonus payment for Rage 2. There were the monthly checks from the percentage of the sales on all Rage products that Justin’s attorney had negotiated, which were… impressive, and going exponentially up.

“They have the action figures, now, and the clothing line…” Then Justin said gleefully, “Check it out! That’s the finder’s fee for the comic book, and the rights extensions. Has Michael said anything? I had a friend in the business look at his stuff, edit it, write a proposal and submit it. Obviously they’re going for it… I wonder when they’ll let him know!”

Justin looked so happy for Michael.

“You had his stories submitted?” asked Brian, looking surprised.

“Yes, of course. I told him I’d look at them, but couldn’t promise anything. But his stories were really good, very original, and I was glad to get them into the right hands. We haven’t talked about it because I would have hated to disappoint him if it didn’t work out, but apparently it’s all good! Should I call him?”

Justin picked up the phone, grinning, and then promptly hung up, having thought better of it. “Nah. It will be better if they call him! He should get to tell me! It was his idea, his stories; I really didn’t do anything… He should deal directly with them. I’ll give him the name of my attorney… Michael is going to be so excited.”

Brian looked at him, admiring how much joy he took in another person’s good fortune. Sometimes the knowledge that that man was his partner scared him. When would the fates realize they’d made a horrible mistake and take his Sunshine away? Justin smiled at him and kissed him, and Brian could feel Justin’s powerful love in that kiss, and see it in the joyful blue eyes. Brian felt like laughing in relief… nothing and no one could ever pry that small, determined man from him. Justin would never let anyone tear them apart.

They went back to Justin’s portfolio, and when Brian, who stood behind him, rested his hand on Justin’s and interlaced their fingers, he looked up from the screen, a bit surprised at Brian’s spontaneous show of affection, but definitely pleased. On top of the Rage money, there were regular deposits from an art gallery in Seattle, ranging in value from $12,000.00 to $40,000.00.

“I created a lot of art when I was in Seattle. I still paint sometimes, but nothing like I did then. You saw some in my apartment. I brought everything - paintings, sketches, and pastels to a downtown gallery, and Emma, the gallery owner has shown them as she sees fit. Apparently, they sell very well. I mail her some new stuff regularly. Mostly sketches, but there have been four or five paintings as well. Sometimes when we were still being discreet, I would miss you so fucking much in the evenings…”

Justin had some money in retirement accounts, in long-term investment accounts, in the market, and in interest bearing accounts. His net worth was quite a bit more than the million he had agreed to invest into the purchase of Vangard.

“I can’t touch the retirement stuff or the long term investment without losing my shirt,” he said. “And I want to keep $500,000.00 available because I figured if you could mortgage the loft for 300, then $500,000.00 is about what you can make by selling it, and … well, if we were ever to move in together… to buy a place together, um… I would want us to be equal partners… you know?”

Justin suddenly looked really uncomfortable, as if he’d said something totally inappropriate. “I know you love the loft, Brian, I’m not saying you should sell it if you don’t want to. I like my place, and the way things are is fine, really it is…” Justin continued, backpedalling.

“We both like a lot of space. I wonder if we should look at other lofts in the city, or maybe consider one of those big rambling houses in the country. Both would have their advantages…” said Brian, who had not even given it any thought. He wanted Justin to stop feeling like his desires were not welcome.

He helped Justin up from the computer and took him in his arms. “I think we could start researching the possibilities as soon as that Vangard thing is settled, don’t you?” He softly kissed Justin’s now smiling lips. “You need studio space, and we need rooms for the kids, and I want a bathtub…” Brian leaned over and whispered in Justin’s ear, “Remember when you fucked me in your tub, Justin? Your sleek hands on my body and your cock up my ass? It was so fucking good…” Anyway, he now knew for sure that Justin was not overextending his finances and putting all his eggs in the Vangard basket. Justin as usual knew what he was doing.

So when Justin, dressed in Levi’s and a plain t-shirt had walked toward him from the gym’s changing room, giving him a sunshine smile, he’d smiled back, loving the feeling that all was right in the world, which seemed to be his permanent state of mind of late. He folded his New York Times, and he and Justin made their way to the Gym’s parking lot.

They headed to the diner for breakfast, arriving there a half hour late and getting teased as to the reason why. People got up or scooted over, and soon they were sitting down, Sunshine in the middle next to Emmett with Brian on the aisle, across from Ben and Michael, with Blake on the aisle and Ted on a chair at the end, where he preferred to sit anyway. Brian was just glad to have his arm around Justin. He just craved touching him all the fucking time.

“I can’t stomach going to the gym earlier than six on my day off,” Justin innocently explained about being late to breakfast, as if he had no clue what they had been hinting at. “Terry thinks nothing of starting at 4:30 when the gym opens, but sheesh, who needs that?”

“When is the triathlon?” asked Ben, looking up from the paper.

“Terry is doing a long course one in three weeks. I’m nowhere near ready for anything like that. He trains every day, I just do it for fun.”

“Oh, yeah,” joked Ted, “1.9 km swim, 90 km ride, 21.1 km run. That sounds like fun!”

“Well at least you’ve stopped losing weight!” said Michael. “I was starting to think about telling my mom on you…” He grinned.

“Bite your tongue!” answered Justin laughing. “She’d probably stuff me like a goose…”

Ben added, “It even looks like you’re putting some muscle mass on your upper body.”

“I think that’s the swimming. I never really swam before. The first couple of weeks, I couldn’t feel my arms they were so tired. I’m still really slow. In a half an hour, I hardly reach a kilometer. Truthfully, I enjoy the workout because I like hanging out with Terry, but I can’t even imagine actually doing a race. When it comes to sports, I don’t have a competitive bone in my body… ”

“Well, your glutei maximi are certainly benefiting… they are looking perkier than ever!” said Emmett.

“Again with my ass, Emmett?” teased Justin.

“Well, sue me, but I can’t help but notice… it is such a thing of beauty.” Brian glared at him, and Emmett stuck his tongue out at him.

“So did you already workout too, Brian?” asked Mikey.

Brian shrugged. “Yeah. It’s a bit early, but that way we only have to find one parking spot.”

He knew perfectly well that his implication that he and Justin had spent the night together was not lost on that group. They might as well get used to it…

“You know,” said Emmett, looking thoughtfully at the both of them, “Somehow you two together make perfect sense. Are you doing the triathlon training thing too?”

“Nah. Just my usual, bike, weights, and steam.” They were all staring at him more or less openly, waiting to see if there was any comment forthcoming regarding possible side activities in the steamroom, but he just took a sip of coffee, his face giving nothing away.

Ben, who was reading an article in a neatly folded PG asked Justin, “Aren’t you originally from Denver?”

“I lived there through high school,” was Justin’s stoic answer, as he continued enjoying his huevos rancheros.

“It must be a slow news day, for something of such limited interest to be picked up by the wire,” Ben remarked, “but listen to this. It’s like a perfect example of natural selection at work: The body of a Denver man who’d disappeared last week was found next to the train tracks. His injuries showed that he’d been hit by a train and died instantly. Evidently the man was drunk, and known for enjoying playing chicken with incoming trains at a nearby depot. Can you believe this?”

Brian gestured to Hunter for a coffee refill, trying not to rip the newspaper out of Ben’s hands.

“Thomas the Tank Engine - one, drunken idiot guy - zero,” said Ted, shaking his head.

“Oh my God! That’s exactly how my great uncle Jim Bob died. He was my great aunt Lula’s first husband. Even in Hazlehurst, people said it was a stupid form of entertainment, and they’re big on cow tipping and knocking mailboxes down with baseball bats, so... Anyway, Aunt Lula was left a widow at age 17, with two little boys and a third one on the way… But it turned out it was all for the best. At the next county fair, she won the Best Peach Cobbler Contest, and ended up marrying one of the judges, who also happened to be a real county judge, thirty years her senior. She moved to a big mansion on the hill, and he ended up going all the way to the Mississippi Supreme Court. He adopted the boys, and two of them went into law. The third one, Orville, made a fortune. He invented the first home version of popcorn poppers…”

They were all cracking up. “Please, Emmett, tell us you’re making that shit up…” said Blake, laughing.

“Nope, I swear it on Jim Bob’s grave. Aunt Lula lived to be 102, and was still sharp as a tack when she passed. I was her favorite grand nephew, and when she died, she left all of her fabulous recipes to little ol’ me, and they are now the cornerstone of my catering business.”

Brian felt like hugging Emmett. It seemed that it would be the end of the conversation… at least until Michael, who’d been reading the article over Ben’s shoulder, added, “Well, this Rick Moody guy was married, but at least he didn’t have kids…”

Justin quietly put down his fork. He was pale as a ghost and his hand was shaking. Brian tightened his arm around his shoulders and leaned in as if for a kiss, efficiently hiding him from the others. He spoke softly against his lips.

“Do you want to go home?”

But Justin, ignoring the question, just backed away a little and stared at him with large unsettled eyes.

“Did you kill him?”

Brian did not hesitate. “No, Justin. I did not kill him.”

Justin closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Let’s go.”

“OK, guys, get a room!” said Michael, since from his point of view it looked as if they were making out.

Brian grinned at him, and holding Justin tightly managed to get out of the booth. Justin leaned his face against Brian’s neck. Brian could tell Justin did not have it in him to be able to hide his tempestuous feelings at the moment. “An excellent idea. Michael!” he said, making it look as if Justin was subjecting him to some delicious nuzzling. “See you guys later…” Brian threw a twenty on the table, and they left, followed by whistling and catcalls, though Ted watched them walk away with a very worried look on his face.

They got in the ‘Vette, and Justin said, “Let’s go to the loft, OK?”

Brian would have thought he’d want to be in his own space, and was surprised, but just drove to the loft without asking questions. By the time they got there, Justin was shivering. Brian turned up the heat as Justin kicked off his shoes and got into bed fully dressed. Brian took off his boots and joined him under the covers.

Justin stared at him for a while, his eyes stormy and unsure. Then he said, “I made you a promise last Monday when we talked, that I wouldn’t walk out on our conversation, no matter how turbulent it might become. My promise still holds. Now you need to tell me, in full detail, about your trip to Denver. Please don’t withhold anything. Let’s just do this once and get it over with…

Brian had always known that this moment would come, that someday he would have to face the music. He caressed Justin’s face with the hand that was not holding up his head, then his shoulder, and slid down his arm to come and take hold of his hand.

“I didn’t stop there on the way to Chicago.” Brian admitted. “I went to Chicago afterwards to justify my trip out of town, but my only reason for going was to go to Denver. I had a car and driver so I could get where I wanted without problems, and the first place I went was to a bar that belongs to Chris Hobbs…”
 

***********
 

Justin listened to Brian’s words, watching his beautiful face, looking into the depth of eyes that seemed almost golden that day. He let the emotions triggered by Brian’s tale slide off of him like water on a duck’s back.

He listened to Brian’s story about the worst time of his life as if hearing about the pain of a stranger, watching friends and foes come alive again through Brian’s experience. Several times, it did get to be too much and he was crying silent tears, remembering Beth and thinking of Daphne for the first time in years, but he squeezed Brian’s hand to signal him to keep going.

As Brian talked about his evening at Terrapin Station, he held on to what Brian had said at the diner: “No Justin, I didn’t kill him,” though his stomach was cramping in anxiety, especially when he realized Brian had been with Rick Moody at the train depot.

“I told him to get off the tracks when there were ten seconds remaining, at the same time as I told him that you were my lover. And I told him to get off the tracks again when I confirmed to him that I was a fag. I swear it, Justin. Then the train came and he was gone, just like that. I went back to the hotel and slept like a baby. His stupidity killed him. His homophobia killed him. I did not. But I am very glad he’s dead.”

Justin closed his eyes, feeling a terrible sense of relief. He too was glad Rick Moody was dead and gone, but mostly he was glad Brian would not be carrying the burden of Moody’s death on his conscience for years to come. He trusted Brian completely, and believed his version of the event. If Brian did not feel he was responsible then neither did Justin. Brian had only been a catalyst. Moody was the one who had caused his own demise.

“Justin,” asked Brian softly. “Do you need a break? Do you want to talk about something else, or take a nap or something?” Good God! There was more? What else had Brian done? He did look concerned. Surely there was nothing worse than the scene at the depot?

Justin decided that if more was coming, he could definitely use a little break. But first he wanted Brian to know how utterly grateful he was that Brian should seek some kind of justice, retribution on his behalf, from the monster who had forever changed his life and haunted his dreams. Had the situation been reversed, Justin realized he would have done the same, not being able to rest easy as long as the man who had so hurt Brian drew breath.

Rick Moody was dead. Justin had not realized he’d been living with an obscure fear always present in the back of his mind until it was gone. For the first time since that fateful day, he felt free.

He looked into his lover’s eyes. They were full of concern. Justin smiled. He caressed Brian’s face the way Brian so often caressed his, following the angle of the jaw, tracing the contour of the sensual lips with his thumb, falling into the large expressive eyes.

“I don’t think it would be possible for me to love you more than I do right now,” he said, not caring that it sounded completely sentimental.

He let all his gratefulness, all his passion, all his love shine through in his smile. Brian took a deep relieved breath and smiled back, not one of his controlled smirks, but a happy, genuine smile. He leaned his forehead against Justin’s. They stayed like that for a while, simply enjoying the close contact. Then Justin backed away, and said, “If there is more, I could use a little break. But I want to finish this, Brian, so we can leave it behind and move on.”

Brian nodded. “I never meant to hide any of this from you, Justin. I went to Denver in search of information, to try to understand you better, and this was the only thing I felt I needed to keep to myself until the time was right. Everything else I did there was a natural consequence of what I learned, and nothing I am ashamed of, or would not do again. I always knew we would have this conversation one day. I never expected however, that you would so easily understand my thoughts, my motivations and my actions. So yes, a small break and then let’s finish this.”

Justin stretched and asked, “Can I borrow your laptop for a minute?” He felt remiss. His sister had sent him an e-mail on Monday that he had yet to check. Hearing Brian talk about her visits to the hospital had reminded him how much they had loved each other when she was a child.

“Of course,” said Brian. They got up. “Do you want some Perrier?”

“No, thanks.” Justin went to Brian’s desk and opened Brian’s laptop, signing out of Brian’s and going into his own Kinnetik e-mail. He opened Molly’s, noticing there were attachments.

Hey Big Brother!

-Today Craig did not go to work-
The store is closed! It has been picketed every day by an organization called Pflag, (Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) AND by an evangelical group for family values. They actually get along, and had a hot dog roast the other night. It was wild! (I’m sending you pics of the protestors I took with my phone.)
Following an ad in the Denver Post, the Evangelists are protesting the lack of support Craig gave you after you were in the hospital following ‘an awful prank,’ and after an ad that was put in Outfront Colorado, Pflag is protesting Craig kicking you out at 17 after discovering you were gay.
They have been turning away all the customers, giving them maps to the other electronic stores in the area. Craig is livid. Mother has skipped her bridge club, and her flower arranging class, and Mimsy Covington cancelled their tennis game. She has not set foot outside the house, hiding her shame. ☺
That’s the good news. The bad news?
If things haven’t calmed down by this weekend, they feel their all important position in the Denver social scene will have been irretrievably ruined... So they are talking about selling the store, putting the house on the market, and MOVING to, horror of horrors, St. Augustine, Florida to stay at Grandma Levasseur’s until Craig can figure out what to do.
No flipping way am I going to St. Augustine. I do not want to live The Glass Menagerie with Caroline Levasseur telling me how to attract gentlemen callers and insisting I go to finishing school, so I can end up like mother, married to a clone of Craig.
Soooo, I’m sending you a brochure for CAPA, a high school in downtown Pittsburgh that accepted my application and that I would love to attend. I have already made some inquiries and found a place where I could board…
Our parents do not know where you are. I told them I was too embarrassed by this scandal to stay and go to school in Denver, but that this school in Pennsylvania had recruited me, and they are so befuddled, and I have been so “difficult to manage” of late, that they actually agreed to let me go. So the only question is… Justin, would you like me to go to CAPA? If not, I could stay in Denver and board at the school.
I really hope you do, but I’ll love you no matter what,
Molly.
PS: Chris called. Moody has disappeared. No one knows where he is but his car was found with a bunch of empty beers bottles and a half empty bottle of bourbon at the train depot, where he likes to go to get drunk. Chris says Moody loved to play chicken with the incoming trains, (stupid jerk) so he wouldn’t be surprised if he’d played and lost… I’ll let you know.

Molly, here in Pittsburgh?

For a long time, though they e-mailed regularly, and though he counted on her for the “location reports,” he had kept Molly at arm’s length. She was a child, and he was a gay man with a very promiscuous sex life. He had even refused to tell her where he was, a little afraid that she would show up at his doorstep one day, having run away from home. She’d obviously figured out for herself where he was now, which could not have been too hard since there was only one company in the US called Kinnetik.

She was fifteen now. She was smart, independent and funny. She was a young woman, and he was in a monogamous relationship. (He blushed at how amazingly happy/lucky/horny that thought made him feel…) He realized how much he would love having her around, and started feeling excited at the idea. He should discuss it with Brian though. She would become a part of their lives, not just his, but he really, really wanted this…

Curious, Justin went on the internet to check out the ads that had appeared in both papers. Though he was quite sure Brian had never written an ad to stop people from going to a store before, these had the Kinney touch all over them. They also managed to be amazingly respectful of his privacy. Taylor Electronics was still closed, and there was a “For Sale” sign in front of the building. Looking at the house listings, Justin also found his childhood home on the market.

So… That was probably what Brian wanted to tell him about next. He closed the computer, wondering if he should say anything, or let Brian tell it his way. He looked over at the window where Brian was standing drinking water, deep in thought, and he decided he wanted to hear how the whole thing had come about, before letting him know how successful he had been. He got up and joined Brian by the window. Brian immediately started talking.

“The next day, I went to see your father…”

Once he was finished with his tale of sabotage, Justin told him about Molly’s news - that Brian had effectively run Justin’s parents out of town.

“The only thing missing was the tar and feathers,” Justin added, and he laughed, knowing Brian had hit his mother and father where it hurt the most: their wallet, and their social standing. He could just imagine them leaving Denver like pariahs, and taking refuge in his maternal grandmother’s mansion, where they would be chastised like naughty children for their faux pas. He could not let poor Molly suffer through that. There was no time like the present.

“Brian? My sister Molly is 15. She doesn’t want to go to Florida. She’s asked if she could come to school at CAPA, here in Pittsburgh. She’s apparently already found accommodations, though I definitely want to check out where, so she wouldn’t be living with me… us. But I’d probably see an awful lot of her. She is a great kid, really mature for her age, and smart and funny. I’d love for her to come, but it will affect the both of us, so I wanted to ask your opinion.”

Justin was worried. What if Brian really did not want a teenage girl around? What if he were to say, “Let’s look at another solution”? He got more and more concerned the longer Brian took to answer. He had rolled his lips in, and seemed deep in thought.

Finally, he answered. “Justin? My last stop before I left Denver was to visit your sister, who managed to weasel some ice cream out of me. She is a wonderful girl, and she misses you like crazy. When I came back, I sent her the CAPA brochure, and I talked to Debbie about Molly living with her. Debbie was so excited at the idea of having a girl in the house; she didn’t even let me finish my sentence before saying yes. That was the last thing I wanted to talk to you about, because if you were willing to have her in the Pitts, we’d have to get her here and settled as soon as possible…”

Justin burst out in relieved laughter. “I was so worried for a minute. I cannot believe you are already in league with my sister behind my back. I can tell this is going to be fun… When were you planning on telling me all this?”

“Well, she insisted she wanted to ask you first, and she said she’d send you an e-mail. I had no doubt you’d say yes but this has been such a crazy week, I’d forgotten about it.” Brian smiled. “When you asked so nicely if I’d mind having your sister around, looking all eager, your expression was so sweet I figured I’d enjoy it for a minute.”

Justin could not believe it. This called for immediate retaliation. Since he was not wearing underwear, stripping naked took all of thirty seconds. He knew he looked really good naked these days, and he was getting hard just seeing the hungry light in Brian’s eyes. Brian reached for him. Justin stepped back. Brian thought he knew what Justin wanted and stripped naked as well, before reaching for Justin again. Justin ducked artfully. Brian raised an eyebrow.

“Well, here you are, looking all eager… your expression is so sweet I figure I’ll enjoy it for a minute…” Justin quoted back at him.

Brian chuckled, but then his smile and the light in his eyes were all predatory when he started stalking Justin across the loft. Justin backed away, staying just out of range, caressing his torso, squeezing his erection a couple of time. “Hmmm…”

He knew exactly how to turn Brian on, and shamelessly took advantage of it. He said, not having to make any effort for his voice to sound as it always did when he was really horny, “Fuck me Brian, fuck me hard… I need you inside me…”

Then with a teasing smile, as he escaped a well thought out and well executed feint, he moaned, “Brian, oh, so good… Harder!”

Brian was looking positively feral. He got a condom out of the kitchen drawer, opened it with his teeth, rolled it on, and lubed it well. “I want to be ready, Sunshine, because I am going to sink into you the second I catch you, and fuck you harder than you’ve ever been fucked…”

“Ah… but can you catch me, Brian, or do I have to pleasure myself?” Justin got lube from under the couch cushion and took his cock into his slickened hand, masturbating shamelessly as he continued to evade Brian. He was quick and had great reflexes. This could last a while…

Then he tripped and fell backwards onto the futon on the floor, realizing too late he’d been herded that way and tricked. With a growl, Brian was instantly on him, and amazingly, in him, fucking him hard and fast before Justin even knew what was happening.

Oh, God! The sudden penetration and the merciless fucking felt utterly fantastic! Justin wrapped his legs around Brian’s hips and moved with him, loving that position, with so much of their bodies touching and with Brian wrapped around him, cocooning him in bliss. His moans were not faked this time, and Brian kissed him, a deep possessive kiss, as he slowed his motions down, fucking him deep and hard.

“I love to make you moan, Justin… I love fucking you… so hot, so tight, so perfect… All mine…”

Justin was so close, and Brian’s voice always got him. Then Brian took Justin’s cock in his hand, and after a couple of pulls, Justin knew he was at Brian’s mercy. He was on the cusp, and Brian could keep him there for what seemed like forever.

“I want to tease you, Justin, but I want to come more…” Brian’s voice was deep with arousal and need. He changed angles, his long cock sliding along Justin’s prostate, and sped up his motions again. In less than a minute, Justin was coming all over his chest and Brian was filing the condom, deep inside him, saying, “Oh! sooo good…”
 

***********
 

By the time Brian slipped out of Justin and took off the condom, his boy was deep asleep. Brian was not surprised. Justin had a lot of emotional baggage to work through, and it was exhausting. He covered him with the quilt from the couch, and went to his desk to send an e-mail to Molly. He had made all the arrangements to get her to Pittsburgh already, because her parents were flying out to Florida soon, and they wanted to send her off before they left. He’d had no doubt Justin would want her.

Her flight was getting in at 1:00PM next Sunday, so it was a really good thing that Justin had finally read that damn e-mail. She did seem mature and self-sufficient, but still, she was only fifteen. Hopefully she would be happy in Pittsburgh. After all, Debbie was a great mom substitute, and she would also be sharing a house with Auntie Em. One thing was certain, she would know more about gay sex by the time she was sixteen than most women knew in their lifetime.

Brian was again looking over the information provided by Gardner Vance to entice them to make an offer on Vangard when the downstairs buzzer went off insistently.

Brian looked at Justin who was still deeply asleep, looking so incredibly young and beautiful that he suddenly wished whoever it was would go away so he could wake him up and make love again. He went to the intercom.

“Yeah?”

“Brian! Brian, let us in! It’s me and Ben. Is Justin here?”

Mikey sounded so happy, Brian could not help but smile, knowing exactly what this was all about.

“Yeah, but he’s asleep. Come up, but be a little patient. Let me wake him up, OK? I’ll let you in as soon as he’s dressed…”

“Brian, it’s one in the afternoon!”

“Well, we fucked! So, sue me… “

“Well, just don’t forget us and start fucking again OK?” said Mikey, chuckling.

Brian smiled. Mikey did know him pretty well… He went to the futon, and bent down to kiss Justin awake. He lips were soft and warm and wonderful. Justin stretched, opened his eyes and smiled, then pushed the blanket off his body, uncovering his beautiful erection.

“I was dreaming of you… Suck me…”

He was so fucking sexy. Brian was kissing his way down the smooth chest when there was a knock on the loft door, reminding him of why he was waking Justin up in the first place.

“Hold that thought, Justin, Mikey and Ben are here and Mikey seems awful happy…”

Instantly, Justin was sitting up grinning. “They must have contacted him! I’ll go take a quick shower and I’ll be right back.” He started walking away, his swaying ass a marvelous thing to see, when he turned around, walked back to Brian, kissed him and said, “Fuck. I am so horny. I’m not sure if I can wait till Babylon…”

Evil little shit. Now Brian was so fucking hard… He went to open the loft door. Mikey checked out the bulge in his pants and said, “Justin looks good when he wakes up, I take it?”

Brian chuckled. “You have no idea…”

Ben followed his husband inside the loft, looking at him with a big smile on his face. Mikey was glowing. “Is he gonna be long? ‘Cause I got news and if I don’t tell you I’m gonna burst!”

Just then Justin walked in, wearing his jeans and his t-shirt and toweling his hair. Mikey walked to him and gave him the biggest hug. “Justin! They bought them! They bought my stories! They’re doing it! They’re doing a Rage comic!”

Justin hugged him back, laughing. “Your stories were great, Michael, really good, really original! I thought for sure they’d go for it!” He stepped back. “You’re not mad, are you? That I sent them out behind your back? I didn’t want you to be disappointed if it didn’t work out…”

“Mad? Are you nuts? If I’d known they weren’t somewhere on your desk at the bottom of a pile, I’d have been a complete mess! This is so great! They are talking about six issues to start with, and they already want two more stories… And they are offering a fortune for them!”

“Don’t sign anything until you’ve talked to my attorney. He’s worked on all my Rage contracts, and has always made sure I am very well paid. Michael, this is so fantastic.”

“Oh! Oh! Look at this! It’s the cover for the first issue! Doesn’t Brian look just like Rage? Is that weird or what?”

Justin smiled. “When I drew Rage,” he said, “I made him look like my ideal man. And of course I was JT, his blond lover, the only one who could thaw his heart.” He looked at Brian. “It was only a fantasy.”

Brian stepped behind him and wrapped him in his arms. “Would never happen…”

Justin rested his head on Brian’s shoulder. “No, of course not…”

Michael and Ben were looking at them, smiling. Ben said, “You never know, sometimes reality is stranger than fiction.”

“So let’s celebrate tonight! Let’s go the diner, then to Woody’s and Babylon!” said Michael.

“Michael, that’s what we do every Saturday night…” his husband reminded him.

Michael smiled. “I know! That’s why my life is so great. The diner, Woody’s and Babylon, with all our friends? I can’t think of anything I’d like better. Just like you always say Ben: Happiness is not having what you want, but wanting what you have. See you tonight, guys?”

“Definitely,” said Justin.

After they left, Justin and Brian looked at each other, smiling. It was so good to see Mikey happy.

“So,” said Justin. “What were you doing while I was sleeping?”

“I was looking at the information we got from Gardner again. I cannot believe the dent we made in his bottom line by stealing back my accounts and by nibbling at his Chicago assets…His asking price of 2.9 is a complete joke, really. Truthfully, it’s not even worth 2.2 anymore. Vangard was worth that last year, before you came on board at Kinnetik, before we started working together to make it no longer profitable for him to stick around. I also have his list of clients here. I was highlighting those whose advertising campaigns I do not want associated with Kinnetik’s name.

“We will be able to negotiate keeping the use of the Vangard-Pittsburgh name for a few months, and the lame campaigns will be continued under that name until you and I can come up with something Kinnetik can be proud of.” He rubbed his face with both hands. “But, Justin, there are dozens. I don’t know how we are going to do it.”

“Don’t forget! It’s no longer just you and me. I’ll have ten new artists at my command, and you will have nine new execs. It will be their jobs to create campaigns to match Kinnetik’s standard. We will have to delegate and trust they did not get their jobs by fucking the boss. I am sure there is a huge reservoir of creativity within these folks. That’s why Simon Etzioni came to us. He could no longer stomach Gardner’s safe at all costs approach. Even Chris, their Art Director loved some of the stuff we came up with. We just have to unfetter them and let them fly…”

Justin made it sound so easy. He was a born manager, creating a desire to excel in his underlings. They pushed themselves to please him, to meet his incredibly high expectations.

“Fuck, Justin. You have a way with people. Kinnetik’s art department is 200% better now with you in charge than it was before. You know how to… unfetter people and let them fly, and bring out the best in them. I have always had to spoon-feed my execs. Even with the ones we have now at Kinnetik, I feel that if I was to absent myself for more than a few days, they would fuck everything up. I constantly have to be on their backs to make sure shit happens.”

“Who do you trust?” asked Justin, frowning.

“To do a great job without supervision? You,” Brian answered, perfectly honest.

“Come on, that’s ridiculous! We have good people! Amber, Sandy, Grant, and Abe are very good at what they do… Surely you at least trust Sandy and Abe.”

“Yes. I suppose you’re right. And Grant is actually coming along nicely. He’s been with us close to a year. Amber does a good job, most of the time… I guess I am paranoid. But this is my company. I want things to be… perfect.”

“Have you ever tried letting them come up with something, giving them broad directions to make sure it remains within Kinnetik’s parameters, and just reviewing it when they are finished?”

“But if they totally fuck up, they’d have to start again at the beginning…”

“Chances are they would figure out for themselves that they are going down the wrong path without your interference and make the necessary changes themselves, so that you’d never know there was ever a problem.”

“Justin…”

“Brian, you are a control freak. You have a fabulous company because of it. You are brilliant, demanding, detail oriented, and difficult to please. There is nothing wrong with your management style. It ensures that all Kinnetik products are Kinney products. Original, in your face, cutting edge. But… with four ad execs, you were already pulling twelve hour days, every day, and working most weekends.

“Now you want to grow. You have made an offer that will triple the size of your company. With a company that size, the status quo is doomed to fail. No matter what, there are not the 36 hours you would need in one day. Something is going to have to give. I love you. I enjoy fucking. I like talking to you, spending time with you NOT working. I like that we have a life. I do not want you to sacrifice your health, your sanity and our relationship on the Kinnetik altar.

“Vance hasn’t accepted the offer, yet. We can walk away. If you cannot seriously tell me that your plan is NOT to work 24 hours a day seven days a week, I will take my million and donate it for art supplies in preschools, where it will do a lot more good than if it is partially responsible for me losing the man I love.”

“You could walk away from Vangard? After all the work we did to get this shot at owning it?” Brian could not imagine that. He’d wanted this since the day Gardner had fired him, and they were so close, he could taste it.

“I already have everything I need to be happy, Brian. You want this? I want to do everything I can to give it to you. Me? I want it, but I want you more. I want us more. That’s more important to me than being co-owner of the best Advertizing Company in Pittsburgh.”

Justin made sense, of course. He wanted happiness more than power, enjoyment in his work more than other people’s admiration. He had nothing to prove. “Happiness is not having what you want but wanting what you have?” said Brian, quoting Michael with a grin.

Justin chuckled. “Exactly…”

Brian took a deep breath and blew it out. “Well, I guess it’s time.”

“Time for what?”

“Time for me to become a real boss. To put people in charge and let them shine, to trust my associates. To only look at the final product for approval instead of breathing down everyone’s neck. To have my own accounts instead of meddling with everyone else’s...”

He added thoughtfully, “I’ve known the way I was micromanaging was not sustainable in the long run, especially if I wanted to keep the people I hand picked for their creativity and intelligence. I know Sandy and Abe have been chomping at the bit for more freedom. And I get your point, Justin. Loud and clear. I will not work more. I may need your help at first. It’s going to be hard to let go, it’s a big change for me… A necessary one, though. But there is something I want in return.”

Justin chuckled. “At least, we know you’ll never need help with negotiating techniques…”

Brian smirked at him. “No. That I can do. So, here it is… when I definitely have to go on a business trip, and cannot delegate it, I want you to come with me.”

“Uh, Brian, I’d love to, but I do have a department to run…”

Brian’s smile grew bigger. “Delegate, Justin, and work remotely. I want you there with me when I wake up in the morning because I have lost my taste for starting the day without you. And every evening so I can discuss the day with you, and every night, so we can fuck and make love because not a day should go by without it. If we acquire Vangard, even after I learn to let go, we’re not going to get any time off for a long time… but we can enjoy an extra day, or a weekend visiting wherever we are together.”

“You missed me in Chicago, eh?” said Justin teasingly.

Brian took Justin in his arms, pushing him in the direction of the bedroom. “I missed this,” he said, cupping Justin’s ass in his hands. Then he gently squeezed Justin’s hardening cock, “and this,” he kissed him passionately, “and this,” he breathed in his neck, “and this,” he took off Justin’s t-shirt and ran his hands on the heavenly smooth skin, “and this.”

Justin unbuttoned Brian’s jeans and fell to his knees. Licking around the head of Brian’s cock, he asked, “And this?” right before taking the head in his mouth and sucking.

“Oh, yeah… Definitely this.”

By the time they had explored all the things Brian had missed, they were once again late to go to the diner…

They were playing pool, Justin teamed with Emmett, and Brian, painfully, with Michael, when Brian’s cell phone vibrated. Gardner Vance had come back with an offer of 2.24 million dollars. Brian talked to Ted and Justin, explaining that after reviewing the numbers, he really did not feel comfortable paying that much.

“There is a reason he's offering it to us. We are the ones who have eaten up the value of the company. We still think of it as worth what it was worth when we started stealing his accounts. To anyone else, Vangard-Pittsburgh would look like an empty shell, missing its most valuable clients. I’m going to play hardball. He knows that if he doesn’t sell, we’ll just continue taking away his assets for free until he has no choice but to close down...”

Ted looked dubious, but was game to try. Justin said he trusted Brian’s judgment. Brian quickly called Cynthia, who told him to do as he saw fit. Brian sent a counter offer of 1.85 million, chalked his cue, and beat Blake and Ben despite the all to real handicap of playing with Mikey.

They left for Babylon, and Brian danced with Mikey for quite a while. Justin was at the bar joking around with Ted and Blake when Bill came to see him. Brian forced himself to turn his back to the scene. Justin was his. He had nothing to worry about. Instead, he concentrated on his friend, who was still deliriously happy.
 

***********
 

“Bill! How are you?”

“Really good, Thanks.”

“Guys, This is Bill. Bill, this is Ted and Blake.” Bill was a friend. Justin would treat him as such.

“Hi,” said Bill shyly.

“You are a really great dancer,” said Blake, with a smile. “I’d love to join you on the floor sometime.”

“Really?” Bill smiled happily. “It would be fun. I’ve seen you dance with that really cut tall guy over there with Emmett, and it looks like you really enjoy yourselves. Most of the time, people dance to hook up, but I can tell you guys dance because you love it.”

“That’s Ben. And yes, we dance just for the love of it.”

Bill blushed. “I guess I kind of do both…”

“And you should. Ted and I are married, as are Ben and Michael. You’re young. Have some fun…”

“Wow. Justin? Are you and Mr. Kinney going to get married?”

Justin grinned and Blake and Ted chuckled. “No. We are happy just the way we are.”

“Hey. I got all my letters back from the colleges I applied to. I got in everywhere. Are you still willing to help me pick?”

“Definitely. I’ll be glad to. When do you want to get together?”

“How about Wednesday after you’re done with work?”

“Sounds good, but it will be at Brian’s. Let me give you the address.” Glenn had a piece of paper and a pen handy. “6:30 OK?”

“Yeah. Perfect. Thanks a lot, Justin.” He slipped the piece of paper into his back pocket, looked a little shyly at Blake and said, “Wanna dance?” Blake smiled and followed him into the crowd.

Ted looked at Justin. “Accepted everywhere?”

“Yes. He has a high GPA and his SAT score is 2150. He is getting grants and scholarships because his parents cannot afford college, and he wants help picking the best deal in the best place.”

“Well that’s impressive, considering he’s here every other night…”

“The rest of the time, he’s at the library, studying. He’ll go far.”

They were watching Bill and Blake dance. They were obviously having a great time. Then they were joined by Theo, and the smile Bill gave him said it all. Justin grinned, especially when Blake stepped away and joined Ben and Emmett, and Theo put his forearms on Bill’s shoulders. Theo and Bill got closer and closer until they were grinding against one another, and then started kissing with quite a bit of heat, one of Theo’s hands behind Bill's neck and his other on his lower back, pressing him in.

“I was a little concerned about you this morning, Justin. How are you doing?” asked Ted.

“You knew about Rick Moody?” asked Justin, surprised.

“Uh… Yes? I just knew that name, though I do not know any detail of your past association with him.”

Justin looked pointedly at him. “You're a good friend to Brian, Ted. But everything is fine now. You do not need to worry about us anymore. And yes, I was a bit shaken this morning, but nothing Brian couldn't help me with.” Justin smiled. “You were right all along. Aidan and JT belonged together. And little by little it became obvious that so did Brian and Justin.”

“I am so glad to hear that, though it seemed that Blake knew it all along. And I think both our men are coming for us…”

Indeed, at some point, Michael and Ben had joined in on the dance floor, leaving Brian to dance with Emmett and Blake. Emmett had followed some hunk away from them, and the other two had decided to reunite with their mates.

Brian asked for a double shot of Beam, and Blake for a Perrier. Then Brian wrapped Justin in his arms from behind, kissing him behind the ear.

“Hey, Stud… Want to dance?”

Justin, smiling, turned in his arms and kissed him. “I’d love to dance…” He wasn’t sure he’d ever get enough of touching Brian. He loved the way their body fit together, the weight of Brian’s arms on his shoulders, the silk on steel feel of his amazingly soft skin over the hard muscles.

Then Brian was gently cradling his head in his large hands and resting their foreheads together. When he did that, it always felt as if there was some silent communication going on though no words were spoken. “You spoke to Bill,” said Brian, and Justin knew he felt sheepish bringing it up but could not help himself. He leaned forward and kissed Brian’s lips, letting him know it was all right to be curious.

“I promised I would help him pick a college, and he’s received all his letters of acceptance. He'll be coming to the loft Wednesday at 6:30 to look through them all and make a decision.”

“Hmm. Cool. He’ll probably eat with us then…”

“Probably. But I don’t foresee it taking more than a couple of hours.”

“OK.”

Justin knew how much this was costing Brian, and wanted to show his appreciation. Luckily, he knew just how to do that. After an earthquake inducing kiss, he dragged Brian to the back room where he gave him one of his brain-cleansing blowjobs followed by the throaty request for a fuck, now, right now, hard, deep, please, right now fuck me, and Brian was apparently very happy to comply.

Justin loved Brian’s cock entering him with just a bunch of lube but no other prep. He was slow and deliberate about it, and the gradual fill with its delicious stretch felt like heaven. Once Brian was in him as deep as he could go, and started fucking him slow and deep, Brian enveloped him in his arms, kissed his neck and breathed words of love in his ear.

“You are so beautiful, Justin, all twinked out for Babylon. I love the shimmer of the sparkles on your skin, I love your sexy short shirt, I love seeing your gorgeous cock molded in your tight pants. Every guy out there wants you, but you’re mine. And I am going to make you scream in pleasure, just to prove it…”

And Brian did, Justin feeling his love and desire just radiating from him, his passion and fervor carrying them both, his flawless technique delivering the maximum of pleasure from the deep penetration, and the lengthy caress of Brian's impressive cock along Justin’s prostate.

Indeed, soon, Justin was losing words and logical thought, just concentrating on the sensation, completely entrusting his pleasure to his lover, knowing without a shadow of a doubt that Brian would take care of him. First he was panting, then moaning, then indeed a heart shattering orgasm, echoed by the pulsing of Brian’s climax deep in his ass, during which Justin let out a wordless cry and following which Justin would have fallen to the floor without Brian’s strength holding him up.

Justin leaned his head on Brian’s shoulder, and said, “I love you, Brian… So much.”

Brian grinned and answered, “Let’s go home. This is fun, but I want to make love to you. It took less than ten minutes for them to say goodbye to the others and leave under the indulgent eyes of their friends.

TBC

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