Together

Chapter 27

The Eye of the Storm - Part 1

Justin ran hard, because he really only had about twenty minutes left. He managed three miles, showered as quickly as possible, and left for Pratt. Now that he was exercising again, he got there barely on time for his first class, but he felt 100% better. It also gave him a chance to change from his hip work clothes to his sloppy student clothes.

Art History was first. It was mandatory, and truthfully, quite interesting. Plus Lilah, Rory, and Andrew were all in the class with him and it was always good to see them. At the end of class, they usually had about ten minutes to catch up. Lately, Justin mostly talked to Andrew, because he did see Lilah at the studio most of the time, and Rory at least on Thursday afternoon during their free period and on Tuesday during the Drawing from Life class.

Andrew was wearing his contacts, and had a decent haircut. He was also wearing clothes that didn’t scream “Nerd!” at the top of their lungs. Justin couldn’t help but mention it. “Andrew, you look really good.”

Of course, Andrew turned bright red. “I kind of have a date tonight. Maybe.”

Justin was thrilled. The only time he had seen Andrew getting loose was at Essengy. “Hey, that’s great, who’s the lucky girl?”

“The girl I met at Essengy that one time. She’d given me her number, but I never called. Yesterday, when I talked to Brian, he said if I didn’t call her you guys would drag me back to Essengy without Lilah, so I called her… She sounded really nice on the phone, and when she asked why I hadn’t called earlier, I just told her the truth, that I was a shy nerdy guy who spent his time at home reading, and that I hadn’t thought she’d be interested. She said, 'Let me be the judge of that’, and now we’re meeting tonight for coffee and whatever at a diner.”

“That’s so cool! What’s her name?”

“Elisabeth. She goes to NYU. She is a Biology major. She says she’s a big nerd too and that she goes to clubs with her cousin, who’s gay, obviously, and whom she lives with, but that she studies the rest of the time… So, we’ll see. Brian told you about the uncle thing, didn’t he?”

“Yes, he did. He decided he was my mother’s much, much younger brother… “

“I was so embarrassed. I swear I don’t mind you being gay, Justin.”

“We lived together for a year. I know you’re not a homophobe. You just need to broaden your horizons…”

“I’m really trying. I actually met this guy at lunch who is new in town, and we talked a bit, and he is only here for a short while and he wants to do all this interesting stuff like go to an off Broadway play, go ice-skating at the Rockefeller center, go see the Statue of Liberty and stuff, while he’s in New York. I told him I’d been here for a year and hadn’t done any of that, so he said that since he doesn’t know anybody, how about we hang out and do some of them together. We’re going to go see a concert in the park on Wednesday.”

Justin laughed. “You don’t waste any time once you make up your mind… I’ll tell Brian we’ll have to hold off on taking you dancing again.”

“I had a great time at Essengy though. It’s like I left all my inhibitions at home. I even kind of liked that some guys were checking me out… Not like you, you know, but it was cool. Shit, I gotta go. I’m going to design…”

The design building was pretty far. Andrew was going to have to make a dash for it. Going to his next class, Justin thought about the fact that he had neither seen a play, gone to Rockefeller Center, nor seen the Statue of Liberty either. He grinned. Maybe he needed to get out more often…

After class, he took the subway to Chelsea. It was cold, but sunny and it got dark later now. He would enjoy the walk to Gillian’s. When he got there, the doorman let him in with a smile though Brian wasn’t with him. The butler who took his clothes asked him what Mr. Kinney and his plans were for the evening, and just sent Justin up to the spa to wait for Brian.

Justin let a very effeminate queen behind the counter know that he was there for his six o’clock wax, and had to fill out a bunch of medical-like forms attesting to his general and sexual health. Justin supposed that was a good sign. He also had to sign a release stating that he was aware the testis waxing procedure could be excruciatingly painful, cause bleeding and discomfort for several days, and requires the beautician to work with two assistants, one for skin stretching, and one for pain relief.

Justin grinned. He was use to ‘assisting’ the beautician himself with the ‘skin stretching’ but supposed that would be hard to do with a third party providing ‘pain relief’. Would they get a discount for utilizing their own ‘assistant’ for that part of the task?

He had already stripped down in the provided cabin and was wearing nothing but a short light robe by the time Brian arrived. He made Justin jump by looking over his shoulder at the form Justin was signing. “I remember those,” he said. Then he proceeded to greet Justin with a kiss, and slide his hand under the robe to caress his soft cock, which took an immediate interest. He grinned wickedly, and said, “I have to go change.” Justin laughed.

Getting your ass and pubic area waxed, while kissing the man you love turned out to be a lot like Justin’s experience with spanking: Incredibly arousing. The mixture of delicious pleasure and mild, sudden, short lived pain, that left his ass glowing warm, would have been the perfect appetizer to a serious hard fucking… The wax technician was very pleased. They gave him no trouble whatever.

Getting a Kinney blowjob while getting your balls waxed was a completely different animal. Brian started as soon as they had Justin in position, and did a very good job at getting Justin very, very aroused before they even started. In the ten minutes before the skin-stretching assistant arrived and things got underway, Justin was very close to coming.

Brian asked the technician to touch his shoulder each time before pulling the wax, and made sure to try and precede the excruciating sensation with an incredibly pleasurable one so that Justin was just about to come when the pain hit. Justin's soft hair was not that dense anymore, and it only took about a dozen pulls to have his balls done.

When to Justin’s great relief, the technician said, “Last one” Brian swallowed his cock, pinched his nipples and as Justin’s cock came back out of his throat, caught the rim of his glans tightly with his lips, forcing it to squeeze through right when the last strip was pulled, the pleasure/pain so close together and so acute as to be indistinguishable.

Justin screamed out loud and sprayed come all over Brian’s cheek and neck, splattering the technician’s white coat sleeve and his own newly smoothed balls. The skin stretching assistant thought it was rather funny, especially when Brian proceeded to lick said balls. The wax tech was less amused. A different technician was doing Brian, and when the first one left, he rolled his eyes at the second, saying “Good luck…”

Justin started by cleaning his come off Brian’s chin and neck with his tongue, and then they enjoyed another very nice makeout session while Brian’s ass was smoothed and his pubes tamed in the shape he preferred. When the time came to wax Brian’s balls, he asked the wax man how long he thought it would take. After a quick look and consult with the stretch assistant, he answered, “About fifteen minutes.”

As far as Justin knew, there was no limit to how many times Brian could come if kept adequately stimulated, so he saw no need to restrain himself. He was confident he could normally make Brian come in about three minutes if he really tried, probably needing a minute more accounting for the wax strips coming off.

He attacked with his standard fare. Brian had not expected to come. He’d thought that Justin would do to him what he had done, and his first orgasm was accompanied by, “Oh, fuck, Justin, fuck yes….”

Justin did not allow Brian’s cock to even consider softening, attending it with renewed vigor and masterful skills. Immediately after Brian’s second orgasm (a deep growl), the wax strip was pulled, and Justin thought he was going to lose Brian’s erection. He formed a circle with his thumb and middle finger and held the base of Brian’s cock tight, acting as a cock ring, while his tongue and throat reminded it of why it was better to be hard than soft. It was not too hard to convince it. Though the third orgasm required a lot of hard work and finesse, when it came it was very rewarding for all concerned, Brian’s whole body contracting with each spasm of his ejaculation while he let out a throaty moan.

Justin lovingly applied himself to Brian’s fourth orgasm. The head of Brian’s cock was too sensitive for any kind of direct stimulation, so he kept it deep in his throat. He licked all he could reach in that position, and hummed, and ran his tongue up and down the vein. When the technician said, “All done,” he brought the head back up between his palate and tongue, and while massaging the shaft with his lips, squeezed and sucked hard about twenty times. Just as his lips were getting numb from the effort, and his tongue was cramping, Brian said, “Oh, God… Sunshine… “And came one last time. He then lay completely still, his body covered in sweat, breathing faster than after a five minute mile, utterly exhausted. Justin lovingly wiped the sweat out of his eyes and kissed his lips as the wax guy and his skin-stretching assistant left the room, completely disbelieving.

Brian opened his eyes, smiled and told Justin, “I’m never getting waxed without you again.”

Justin smiled back, licked the sweat off his chest and said, “OK.” The manicure and pedicure, which included a foot massage, were just perfect after that. Then Brian and Justin hit the shower, hugging under the hot spray, kissing lovingly. They got dressed and went to dinner. 

Justin had wanted to try the crab salad Brian had ordered the previous time, and had roasted chicken instead of his usual filet mignon. Brian, who for some reason felt the need to recuperate, had a four egg white omelet, and a delicious fruit salad. He also stole all the roasted carrots and turnips off Justin’s plate, which was all right since Justin cared for neither.

Since Brian was only halfway through his fruit salad, and taking the time to savor every piece, Justin ordered Tarte Tatin for desert, with a ball of vanilla ice cream. He had missed dinner the night before, and his clothing was getting ridiculously loose. Though his ass was intact, he had had to tighten his belt.

They left the restaurant and went to play pool. No way were they losing to Steven and Scott on Saturday, even if they ended up playing among a bunch of fag hating rednecks in a country bar. They played one on one several times, Brian teaching a lot of the finesse of the game to Justin, who had become a fairly good player.

Then they put his new skills to the test, playing game after game against other teams. Most were disappointed that Brian and Justin would not play for any kind of sexual favors, but got over it because they were nice about it and played very seriously.

Finally, they retired their cues and hit the dance floor. It seemed like forever since they had last danced together, and they enjoyed themselves, loving the thumpa-thumpa. They separated after a while, each dancing with other people, eyeing each other across the room, flirting at a distance, each being cruised hungrily by guys. Justin thought he must glow with the knowledge that he was loved, because he had never been approached by that many men without even trying. His brief eye contacts with Brian were exciting, a pretend game of seduction, of “I don’t know you but I think you’re hot,” and “Come on, you know you want me.”

He went to the bar to get some water, and picked up a piece of their magic gum. He still wasn’t sure what was in that stuff, just that it made him feel sexy and horny and totally without inhibitions. He watched Brian dancing with a tall, thin dark haired guy. They looked good together. Despite Brian’s repeated eye contact with Justin, the guy was slowly moving in, thinking he had it made, thinking Brian would pull him to the backroom and fuck him any minute now. How did they all know? These strangers who did not know him or his reputation, how did they know he would be the fuck of a lifetime?

That was not the way he had felt when he had met Brian. First of all, Brian had cruised him, and second of all, Justin had known this was the man he wanted to go through life with. He remembered the disappointment, after having only danced with Brian for fifteen minutes, when the bartender had warned him about Brian’s fuck and run policy. He thought back to their months of dancing around each other, to their first night together. He popped the gum in his mouth, and chewed it until it disappeared.

Now he wanted to show that tall guy who Brian really wanted, who he was going to fuck in the back room, in the orgy room, at home - morning, noon, and night, and why.

He moved to a low platform where two guys were dancing, grinding against each other. He stepped onto it and joined them, then turned away and faced the room. He let the rhythm take him, the beat penetrate his body. He loved to dance. He took off his shirt slowly, showing off his flat, defined stomach, and his chest before passing it quickly over his head. He threw it at the bartender who was looking at him with a smile.

He had a nipple ring with a crystal on it that made his nipple look like a point of light. God, he was high. He started dancing, eyes closed, knowing he looked hot and sexy, knowing his erection was molded by his jeans, that he was a picture of lust, that everyone of his move said fuck me, fuck me, fuck me. He was spinning, his hips gyrating, his hands all over his body.

He knew if he opened his eyes and looked at anyone they would respond, but he wanted just one person, this whole show was with only one man in mind. He was careful to look down when he opened his eyes and then to let them roam over the crowd never stopping on another set of eyes. He wanted Brian so badly his cock was aching, the precome making a wet spot on his jeans.

There they were, Brian and his handsome trick, both looking at him, with lust in both their eyes, but Justin only had eyes for Brian, eyes that said, “Come get me, stranger, I am your trick tonight.” He brought his hand to his mouth, and sucked on two of his fingers, pushing them in and out as he unbuttoned the first button of his jeans. Brian and his trick were both moving towards him. He trailed the wet fingers from his mouth to his nipple and played with the ring as he slipped his other hand inside his pants, hips still moving, but now front to back in deep fucking motions . His eyes were still on Brian, who was now only a couple of meters away. Justin closed his eyes, head spinning, his entire body an erogenous zone, wanting, aching for Brian’s touch. He tilted his head back, offering his white neck, lips parted. He felt beautiful.

A hand whose touch he would know anywhere covered the hand inside his pants and squeezed, and he smiled, eyes still closed, still dancing. Suddenly, his hips were pulled forward, and he was over Brian's shoulder in a fireman's lift, being carried straight to the back room. There, Brian put him on a couch and lay on top of him, grabbing both his wrists and pulling them over his head.

“Are you going to put on a show for me every night, Sunshine?” Brian asked, his voice deeper with lust.

“Justin opened his eyes, and gave him his most sexy smile. “Do you like it?” He was humping Brian’s hip, unable to help himself, still under the influence. “I’m so horny for you, Brian… Make me come, please, make me come.”

Brian sat back and unbuttoned the rest of Justin’s fly. His cock sprang up like a Jack in the Box, the head glistening with wet. Brian looked at him and Justin saw love and desire and possessiveness in his eyes, the look so hot he almost came. Then Brian licked his hand, and started jerking Justin off, still looking at his face.

Justin moaned, unable to help himself. Brian knew what he liked, and gave it to him, moving fast up and down the shaft then forcing the head through his thumb and fingers. Justin was mewling, and panting and whining, and begging, playing with his nipples, biting his lips, his hips jerking forward uncontrollably. He loved Brian’s hungry expression and he let the pleasure take him, coming in clear short jets on his own stomach.

“You are so fucking gorgeous, Sunshine. We’re moving. I want you on a real bed.”

Brian got up and pulled a wobbly Justin to himself, tucking his spent dick in and only buttoning a button or two, ignoring the spunk that was getting on his own clothing. They walked to the elevator, Brian’s arm around Justin, Justin’s head on his shoulder. On the way, Brian pressed Justin against the wall and kissed the daylights out of him. Justin could feel a stir in his freshly spent cock. In the locker room, they stripped quickly, smiling at each other, Justin no longer high.

Brian’s dick was very hard, standing straight up, and Justin licked his lips. Brian laughed. “Sunshine, I am going to fuck you so hard…”

Inside the orgy room, the music was low, the rhythm like a heartbeat. Brian grabbed a black towel and a white towel in one hand and pulled Justin to a specific bed. With the low music, one could hear the moans and cries of pleasure, the slapping sounds of flesh against flesh.

Brian pushed Justin onto the bed, flat on his back, and straddled him again. “You can turn the whole room on, Justin, you can make every guy want you.” He took Justin’s right arm and placed it through a cushioned restraint Justin had not noticed, and bend down to speak low, against his lips. “You can make them hard, make them want to fuck your perfect ass, but you are mine, Sunshine. All mine.” And he tightened the restraint. He took Justin's left arm and restrained it as well. “I am going to show them exactly whose ass this is…” he said.

He opened a drawer next to the bed head and took out a sterile bag. He ripped it opened. It had a ball gag in it. He looked at Justin for permission. Justin smiled. ”I love you, Brian. I love you so fucking much. I’m yours. All yours…” He opened his mouth for the ball, but Brian plunged his tongue in first, kissing Justin hard. He then placed the ball in gently and attached it behind his head. Kneeling between Justin’s legs, he brought a restraint past his right knee and pushed his knee up and out, then did the same on the other side. Justin was held tight, completely exposed. He felt a moment of shame, but then saw himself through Brian's hot admiring gaze, and relaxed.

Brian ran his hand over Justin’s body, tweaked his nipple and Justin shivered.

“Push the ball forward with your tongue and bite it,” said Brian.

It had just enough play that Justin could do it. The clear rubber ball gave and clicked and started flashing red.

“Bite it again.”

It stopped blinking, and Justin relaxed his tongue, letting it come back in his mouth.

“If you need me to stop, and take the gag off, just do that, Ok, Sunshine?” Brian caressed his face with a smile. Justin blinked in understanding, and he relaxed his head on the pillow, now fully enjoying the restraints, Brian’s hungry gaze and the feeling of being owned by him.

“Your ass is the most beautiful thing. Every guy on the dance floor wanted to fuck it, you know that? Look at you, all tied up. I could go get them, and they would line up around the room to plunge their dick in your little pink hole, and they would not believe it when then pushed inside, because however nice it looks, it feels even better, like soft warm velvet.”

Brian wet a finger in his mouth, and pushed it all the way in, his eyes closed. “So tight, so smooth, so hot,” he said, and he turned it to caress Justin’s prostate. Justin mewled behind the gag, and Brian added, “so responsive…” He removed his finger, bent down, and slipped in his hot wet tongue, as far as it would go. “So delicious, so sweet…

He took Justin’s balls in his mouth, one at a time, caressing them with his tongue. Justin loved the soft feeling of his hairless balls in this warm mouth, loved it. Then Brian went back to his hole, and licked it, again and again, with a broad wet tongue. It felt so warm and good. With each lick Justin’s cock twitched, getting harder and harder.

When his erection was full, Brian plunged his tongue back in, and Justin knew he was in for it. With Justin held in this position, there was nothing to stop Brian from indulging his taste for eating Justin’s ass for as long as he pleased. Fuck, it felt so incredible.

Brian’s hot wet tongue was caressing, wiggling inside him, playing against all the nerve endings in the sphincter, driving him insane, he could not resist, and could feel himself opening up, relaxing for the sweet invader. Brian was pushing warm spit inside, and Justin knew what was coming, the most delicious feeling, a kink of Brian's he did not understand, delightfully wicked and terribly arousing in its sinfulness. Brian put his lips around Justin’s hole and sucked, hard, getting the spit back out, and Justin mewled again, so turned on he was seeing stars.

He remembered Brian doing this to him the first time they had made love, and how astonished Justin had been by it, surprising himself by wanting to kiss him, to taste himself in Brian’s mouth, finding nothing but the echo of a nutty sweetness.

“I could do this all night, Sunshine, but I want to fuck you so badly. You look so good like this. If we were doing it raw, I’d pull out at the last second, and spray my come all over you, and then the picture would be perfect. Mine, it proves you are fucking mine, that you’d let me do this to you.”

He rolled a condom on his impressive hard on, and lubed it generously. “I love you free, and wild and horny, I love you on the bottom, I love you on top. I love you aggressive and dominant, and I love you like this, completely surrendered. You…” He guided himself in. “Are everything.” He pushed hard, and slid in, “ That I could…” In to his balls, he stopped, giving Justin a chance to adjust, “ever want.” He gave Justin a feral grin, and warned, lifting Justin's hips and placing a bolster under them, to align Justin’s ass perfectly to his cock, “I am going to fuck you within an inch of your life…” and he did.

He had fucked Justin hard before, but it had been nothing to this. This was the most brutal fucking Justin could imagine and he loved it, God, he absolutely loved it. The mattress was very firm, with almost no give or spring, and the bed was bolted to the floor. Every ounce of force in Brian’s motion went into Justin’s ass. Brian grunted with effort at every thrust, and soon, sweat was pouring down his body. He looked magnificent. Justin was seeing stars, even with his eyes open, his newly waxed ass stinging from the hard slaps of Brian’s thighs, his hips sure to be bruised the next day by Brian’s grip.

Justin’s prostate was being hit again and again, and the pleasure from the friction on his sphincter was so intense as to almost make him weep. Justin’s cock lifted from his body at each thrust and slapped back down, the sensation driving him wild. Brian was pumping faster and faster, just as hard, his whole body shaking with the effort.

Justin ‘s orgasm hit him lightning fast, coming straight from deep inside him, different yet familiar when his cock spurted an amazingly generous offering of a third climax in one evening. Brian followed, his loud grunt of release sounding almost like a victorious cry, his body arched back as he forced his dick as deep as he could get inside the man he loved.

Brian’s body collapsed on itself for a few minutes, as he caught his breath. Justin became aware of men around them, who had been watching, of the smell of spunk in the air as several had come right along with them. A thin pale guy brought a metal tray with steaming hot towels, and set them on the nightstand next to the bed with a shy smile at Brian, who acknowledged the kindness with a nod.

Finally, Brian pulled out, holding the condom carefully. He grabbed one of the wet towels, opened it up and gently dabbed Justin’s entrance clean of spit, lube and sweat. It felt good. With an effort, Justin constricted his sphincter as tight as he could, and Brian looked at him with a smile. He took the restraints off Justin’s legs, and massaged each leg from his thighs to his toes, running a hot towel on his skin.

He cleaned Justin's stomach and chest, and delicately wiped his prick clean as well. He untied his arms, massaging them, massaging his shoulders, wiping them down. Finally he removed the gag, and cleaned Justin’s face, pushing the sweaty hair off his forehead. He wiped his own face, and lay next to Justin, who at that moment felt utterly unable to move or speak.

As Brian looked into his eyes, there was so much love there, and appreciation. Justin had never understood the attraction of being a sub. It was not in his nature to enter such a relationship, but as Brian had cleansed him, and massaged him almost reverently, and as he looked at him now he understood why a certain type of man could live for that gratefulness. Brian had needed this, and Justin had been able to give it to him. It felt good.

He smiled at Brian, and Brian kissed him, softly, lovingly, the antithesis to the violent fucking that had just taken place. Justin finally felt as if he could move again, and he caressed Brian’s face gently. Brian stopped kissing him and leaned into his touch, turning his face to kiss his palm. The experience had been so intense. They looked at each other, and smiled again, then Brian bent to whisper in his ear, “I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you…” And Justin filled his lungs with air and let out a huge happy sigh, stretching his body. He wrapped his arms around Brian’s neck and kissed him, hopefully letting him know without words that he loved him too. With a meaningful look to Justin, Brian repositioned himself on the bed, lying flat on his stomach, his arms under the pillow, as he invitingly spread his legs. Brian had never bottomed in public. It was something they had kept in the privacy of their home. Justin wanted to make sure he did not misunderstand.

He bent to Brian’s ear, “Do you mean you…”

“Fuck me, Justin. I want you inside me, I want your cock in my ass.”

Like the first time, Justin felt enormously privileged. He took one of the hot towels, and ran it along Brian's still sweaty back. He used another on his neck and shoulders, another on his ass and thighs. Then, just as gently and lovingly as he had done it the first time, he prepared Brian. One finger, two, three, with tender loving care, caresses and kisses.

He put some lube on his hand and got himself hard, the sight of Brian's beautiful ass taking his fingers, and the thought of the hot tightness he was about to visit helping him overcome the fact that he’d come hard less than fifteen minutes before. He was young and healthy and in love, but unlike Brian, he did have a refractory period, and considering he had come three times tonight already, this was definitely pushing his ability to the limit.

He put on the condom, and lubed it liberally. “Here I come,” he said, caressing Brian’s lower back. He lined himself up, and pushed inside, excruciatingly slowly, making sure not to hurt Brian. He stopped a couple of times, caressing his ass, kissing his spine. Finally, one last push, and he was home. Brian sighed with ease, and Justin felt him relax around him. He started slow, deep motions, the kind Brian preferred, closing his eyes and savoring the amazing sensation of being inside the man he loved.

Brian was so beautiful. Justin kissed the gorgeous golden skin of his back, admiring the broad shoulders in repose, smelling the scent of Brian, masculine and warm, strong after his earlier effort, salty burnt wood, a delight to his senses. He knew this was a gift for him from Brian, an additional declaration of love. He did not think Brian was even hard, though he sighed and pushed back against Justin's thrusts, obviously enjoying the sensations. Justin made therefore no effort to last. He just let the pleasure build, and when it came let the sweet, sweet orgasm take him away, Brian squeezing his sphincter around him lovingly.

He pulled out slowly and gently, and took off the condom. Brian turned over and opened his arms to him. Justin moved up, and rested his head on Brian’s shoulder. As he moved his body closer into the hug, he was surprised to find hot stickiness on Brian’s belly. He looked at Brian, who had laughter in his eyes.

“You came? I thought…I thought you were doing it for me…”

Brian chuckled. “Silly Sunshine. You have no idea what you do to me… I love your cock in my ass, I love it. I was being greedy. I wanted to come one more time, and I knew that after everything tonight, only you fucking me would do it. You are the most wonderful bottom I’ve ever had the pleasure to fuck, Justin, and that’s saying a lot. But you are also the most amazing top. And of course, since your blowjobs are beyond compare, that makes you a fucking sex god, and me the luckiest bastard on earth.”

Justin laughed. “I am so glad you think so. I would like that on a T-shirt. Brian Kinney thinks I am a fucking sex God. I would wear it to Babylon next time we go to the Pitts.” He chuckled, then yawned. “Let’s shower and go home. I’m knackered.”

By the time they went to bed, it was almost two in the morning. Brian changed the alarm to six, saying with a dramatic sigh and a twinkle in his eye that he was giving up his morning fuck for the sake of his young lover’s health.

Even at 6:00 AM getting up was hard. Four hours of sleep was definitely not enough. After class, Justin bagged painting and went home, falling on the bed fully dressed. Brian woke him gently at eight9thirty so he could eat dinner. Justin told him about the Brandon painting and about the other one as well. He told him about wondering if he would have to abandon all the paintings he had planned on the computer. They looked at the one he seemed unable to paint.

“What were you feeling when you designed it?” asked Brian.

“I’m not sure I remember. It was last summer. I was on break. I hung out with Lilah, we went to museums, we danced at Essengy almost every night. I was relaxed, happy. Daphne was coming, and I was looking forward to that. I can’t think of any deep dark thing that could make me shy away from it, you know? I like it. Oh well. I like what it has become even better, so I guess that’s all right.”

“The last time you painted one of your planned paintings you changed all the colors.”

“That’s true. And it was missing something. I added something to it at the last minute that just made it sing, you know?”

“Maybe that’s all it is, Justin. Maybe as an artist, you have grown and changed so much in the past six months, your old paintings, your old style no longer satisfies you. You have moved on.”

Justin thought about that. He did feel his best efforts, like The Kiss or Summertime were those that he painted without plan. And those he painted from his old plans, like The Rainforest, required major changes.

He smiled at Brian. “I think you’re right, and I guess it’s OK. I have them here, in my computer. They will never come to fruition, but I can look back at them…”

“I hope you back up that thing regularly,” said Brian, seriously.

Justin laughed. “Every single night…”

Justin was back in bed by ten, while Brian went out to a club somewhere, and felt fully rested in the morning, so much so that he was the one who turned off the alarm before it rang and woke up Brian with an amazing forty-five minute-long blow job. That evening, he painted till ten, exclusively on the new painting, the Brandon one up on an easel. He kept looking at it, but was not ready for the next step yet.

The new one did get some touches of deep orange, and some glossy dark green, and yet another white, lead based, at the bottom. Despite the whites and the blue, it felt warm. Lilah loved it, though Justin felt it was still missing something.

At a quarter to eleven, the loft was empty, Brian was out again. Justin left the lights on low for him, and woke up at two, when he got home, though he was very quiet. Brian looked toward the bed as he was entering the room barefoot. He saw Justin’s open eyes and smiled. Justin stretched and smiled back. Brian sat on the side of the bed, smelling of smoke and sweat, and his kiss smelled like bourbon.

“You think you can stay awake while I shower? The club was smoky.”

“Is there a reward if I do?” asked Justin.

They made love face to face, Justin lying under Brian, his legs around his hips, as Brian whispered passionate words in his ear between languorous kisses, waxing poetic about the taste and smell of him, the softness of his skin and walls, the warmth of his mouth and ass, and the love Brian felt for him with every fiber of his being. It was wild and ridiculously romantic, making Justin feel incredibly loved and treasured. After, Brian cleaned his stomach with a warm wet washcloth, and spooned him for the night. Justin thought the reward had been worth the sacrifice…

On Thursday afternoon, he worked on Brandon’s painting, once again almost dancing with impatience if he had to wait between colors, and while the other painting stayed on an easel, to be looked at.

Brandon’s painting received some white accents, a mixture of unbleached titanium (a warm cream color) and a dash of zinc oxide white, mixed with varnish to lessen the opacity. They followed curved lines inspired by the ballet dancer body positions, full of tension, grace, and light, similar to the spotlight on Brandon’s off white costume in The Nutcracker. The feeling of movement was extraordinary.

Intermixed, in rich dark Alizarin crimson, in Justin’s mind the color of sexual pleasure, were accents following curved lines inspired by Brandon’s positions while fucking. Most of them were memories of watching him with Todd. One was very personal; an image Justin did not often bring out from his memory but that he knew would be there forever, of Brandon climaxing on his knees while deep in Justin’s body, his entire musculature tense and pulsating with his release.

Finally, in indigo mixed with white and a touch of pewter grey, like very faded, well worn blue jeans, were lines reflecting Brandon's natural nonchalant grace in his everyday motions. His walk, his club moves, the way he leaned on the bar.

Justin walked away from the painting for a while, admiring Lilah’s newest composition, another one he liked though once again one she felt was pleasing and lovely, but meaningless. He wondered why she felt art needed to mean something to be valid. He thought her art was poetic.

He also checked out Rory’s latest. It was amazing. Hyperrealism just was. Justin new that was something he could never ever do. Rory was getting really good. They liked to tease him, because he always held his breath while working, and sometimes almost literally turned blue from lack of air. Then he would take his brush away from the canvas and need a minute of gasping to recuperate. He was working on a cityscape. Though Justin wouldn’t say it aloud, he felt like asking Lilah, who admired Rory’s paintings, why she thought his were meaningful and hers were not. After all, a lot of people pointed out that hyperrealism did not do anything photographs did not do better.

He went back to his painting, and his heart started beating faster. It was awesome. And it was finished. He wanted to show it to Brian so badly. As soon as the other one was done, he would have Jason over again. Maybe they could both come at the weekend. He would officially have all the required paintings. Of course he would paint more before the expo, but that would just give them some choices. He put Brandon in his cubby to fully dry, and came back to stare at the other one, trying to feel what was missing.

Suddenly he smiled in relief. He knew. He looked at his palette. The faded jeans color was almost perfect, but it was also almost gone. He remixed it, indigo, grey and white, but not to full homogeneity, leaving some streaks of all three colors in the mix. He added these lighter blue accents densely, all over the top third of the painting. He let it dry.

There was one more color he wanted to add, but it was so off the wall that he took another break, walking up the stairs to get a snack from the machine. He idly pressed the button that made the choices go round, and finally spotted something tempting. Grinning, he brought the Granny Smith in position, and opened the sliding door. He washed his apple at the sink since no one was here to peel and core it for him, and walked to a window with a view of the quad, munching on his apple.

There was Andrew, down there, walking away, apparently in deep discussion with some short blond haired guy. Justin might have had a class with that guy before. Something about him looked familiar. He wondered how Andrew’s pseudo-date had gone, and went back to the studio to ask Lilah. She would be happy to gossip…

“Her name’s Elisabeth. She is really sweet, and funny, too. I think she and Andrew hit it off. They’re going out again tomorrow, to a movie. Batman, I think. Andrew has been out a lot. He has a new guy friend also, Aidan. They do “New York” stuff together. I don’t like him. I think he’s a pretentious prick, but whatever. It’s good for Andrew to get out and Aidan is leaving town again in a month. He’s here for some seminar or something.”

“He told me he was visiting his grandparents,” said Rory.

“I think he is living with them while he’s here,” explained Lilah. “In the Bronx, somewhere… What do you think for there, Justin: emerald or pale olive green?”

“Paris.”

“Well, thanks. That’s helpful.”

Rory was holding out a tube to her. “Here, Lilah.”

“You got Paris green? I’m not using it!”

“No, bonehead,” answered Rory as Justin helpfully grabbed the tube from him and brought it to Lilah. “It’s Gamblin’s green light. With a touch of white, it’s really close to Paris Green, without the death sentence…”

“It’s got copper cyanide in there,” said Justin wiggling his eyebrows at Lilah, who frowned.

“Justin, stop teasing her. Paris has copper arsenite. You should really take that pigment chemistry seminar, Lilah. It’s cool.”

“No thank you. I’ll just keep looking at the color samples from manufacturers and be happy.”

“It really helps predicting the colors you get from a mix,” argued Justin.

“And I like my colors straight from the tube, thank you.” Justin and Rory grinned at each other, shaking their heads.

“Talking about color straight from the tube… I need some kind of hot pink,” said Justin.

“You what?” asked Lilah, laughing. Even Rory looked puzzled.

“Hot pink. Have you got something like that?”

Lilah grinned. “You mean you can’t mix hot pink from Alizarin and cobalt with a dash of cadmium?” she teased. Both Rory and Justin groaned.

“No, Lilah. That’s call ‘vomit,’ not hot pink,” said Rory.

Lilah was digging though her cart. “Aha! Voila, Monsieur l’artiste peintre! Ara rose, known to the lesser beings as “hot pink” for you!” Her French accent was atrocious, and they all cracked up.

Well, it was definitely as advertised. As all Lilah paints, the tube was squished in an interesting shape, but it was very bright and very pink. He was glad he hadn’t tried to make do with his magenta. This was exactly what he needed. He extruded the smallest amount. He definitely didn’t need all that much, and added three comma shapes of it in the lower right hand corner, half on white and half on ultramarine. He stepped back and grinned. Done!

“I’m finished,” he said.

Both Lilah and Rory came to take a look.

“Oooh, said Lilah. It’s so pretty!”

“What is it?” That was always Rory’s question when he looked at Justin’s art.

“It isn’t anything Rory. What does it feel like?”

“Mediterranean revival. The twenty’s,” said Rory

Lilah was squinting at the painting, taking deep breaths. “It feels like a reward, somehow. Something you’ve waited a long time for, and now it’s yours and you so know you deserve it. What’s it called?”

Justin grinned. “I don’t know… Boca?” Lilah giggled.

“Like mouth in Italian?” asked Rory.

“No!” said Lilah, “like Boca Raton Florida. Twenty, thirty, forty years ago that was the dream. Work like a dog, build a nest egg, and when you retire, move to Florida. Boca is the symbol of success in a sense. By the time you move there, all is well. No more worries, no more commute, no more kids, the weather is always sunny, you never have to work, you are the envy of everyone back home…Justin, what in the world made you paint that? That is such a Jewish painting…”

“I think it’s your interpretation of the painting through your Jewish cultural experience.” He shrugged. “I like the idea of a reward for a good life. But I bet you that’s not what everybody is going to see. I’ll have to ask Brian. I think his take on it will be quite different.”

He started packing up, setting the painting to dry. It was visually very pretty. As he was putting away his paints, cleaning his tubes and brush handles, he called Jason.

“Jason Kintzer.”

“Jason, it’s Justin.”

“Saturday at 11:00?”

“What?”

“You are summoning me to Pratt to see the final paintings, right? How does Saturday at eleven work for you?”

“I’m fine, thank you very much, and your family? They are well too? Oh, good. Yes, Saturday at 11:00 sounds fantastic…”

“Yada, yada, yada. Time is money, kid. Good job, see you then. Oh, and how is the delightful Mr. Kinney…” You could hear him laugh as he hung up. Justin shook his head, chuckling. He loved Jason.

To be continued...


Hyperrealist painting by Rory D. Peterson

Painting by Lilah T. McArdle

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