Innocent Betrayal

Chapter 2

Justin awoke to a light fluttering on his cheek and knew it was Luke kissing him goodbye.

“Hey, I’m sorry about last night. I was just more tired than I thought,” Justin apologized. He had lain awake half the night trying to figure out why he had snapped at Luke.

“It’s okay, don’t worry about it. Everyone’s entitled to have a bad night now and then. Besides, you can make it up to me later tonight. Dinner on the table at six?” Luke replied with a smile.

“You bet, and an early bedtime,” Justin said softly as he reached up and caressed Luke’s face.

“Are you still tired,” Luke asked with concern.

“Who said anything about sleeping?”

“Oh, than an early bedtime it is. Have a good day, Babe,” Luke said, kissing Justin again before heading off to work.

Justin stayed in bed for awhile longer, hoping to fall back to sleep. Once he was certain that wasn’t going to happen he got up and took a shower, deciding to get to the gallery early. He was carrying his canvases out to the van when he heard Brian call his name.

“Justin,” Brian called from the next yard. He didn’t know what had possessed him to call to the man after deciding the night before to keep his distance, but the next thing he knew he was headed over into his neighbor’s yard.

“Hey Brian, how’s it going? Did you get a lot of your unpacking done?” Justin asked, ignoring his racing heart.

“Actually, I did. Kyle was paged around three this morning and had to go to the hospital. I couldn’t go back to sleep afterwards so I made good use of my time. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to those middle of the night phone calls,” Brian explained.

“I bet. What’s Kyle’s specialty?”

“He’s a Neuro Surgeon. Apparently there was a pretty bad accident on the freeway last night. The last time I called the hospital he was still in surgery,” Brian said with pride. He had always been in awe of Kyle and his abilities.

“Wow that sounds intense. I have a high regard for people in that field,” Justin replied, trying not to think back to the days when he had his own neurosurgeon.

“Yeah, me too. And not just because of Kyle. Anyway, I just wanted to say thanks again for your help last night. Kyle and I would have been busy all night if it wasn’t for you and Luke, and considering he got called out, we were lucky to have your help,” Brian said with gratitude.

“Oh, it was nothing. We were happy to help,” Justin assured him.

“What are those? Do you need some help?” Brian asked, suddenly noticing the large parcels Justin was carrying.

“Oh, these are my paintings. I’m getting ready to bring them down to the Carnegie Museum. They’re having a showing for me next week and I have to get everything to them today so they can start hanging them,” Justin explained casually.

“Oh, you’re an artist?”

“Yeah…well, that’s what people tell me. I just think of it as doing something I enjoy,” Justin replied shyly. He knew he was good, but he still hadn’t gotten used to other people’s praise.

Brian saw a small blush creep into Justin’s face and smiled, “and modest, too, I see. Here, let me help you.”

Together they finished loading up the van and Justin offered to take Brian inside to show him some of his work. They made their way inside and headed for Justin’s studio.

“This was originally a Florida room, but the light was perfect for painting so we converted it as soon as we moved in. It’s actually the reason we bought the house,” Justin explained. “I work out of the house so I needed somewhere that I could do my best work.”

Once they were inside Brian was amazed by what he saw. The walls were filled with artwork worthy of the finest galleries. Everywhere he turned, he saw another masterpiece that spoke of talent and promise.

“Wow…you’re damn good,” Brian said honestly as he took in his surroundings.

“Thanks,” Justin answered, once again blushing at the praise.

“Is this the median you usually work in?”

“Actually, I prefer sketching, but my paintings are what sell. See that filing cabinet over there? That’s almost filled with old sketch books that date back to my early teen years. It’s my way of relaxing and forgetting my troubles,” Justin admitted softly.

“I know what you mean. I’m definitely not an artist, but I do have the ability to draw more than stick figures. I’m in advertising and I usually draw up my own concepts for my ideas and then have someone else actually produce them when it’s time,” Brian told him, still taking in the paintings.

“Really? Which company do you work for?”

“Officially, I work for Vanguard, but mostly I’m independent. I don’t go into the office and punch a time card or anything. I pick and choose my own accounts and work on them from home. It’s a strange arrangement, but it was the only way I would agree to stay on payroll after my old boss sold the business,” Brian replied, turning his attention to Justin.

“Oh, so you work out of your home, too?” Justin asked rhetorically, suddenly thinking about how they would be working side by side; geographically, of course.

“Yeah, it beats having to deal with all that commuter traffic and allows Kyle and I to have a somewhat normal life considering his weird schedule,” he explained, wondering why he felt awkward mentioning the name of his lover.

Justin heard Brian say Kyle’s name and felt a strange sense of sadness over the reminder of his lover, which made him begin to feel guilty. He knew he needed to get away from his neighbor and try to understand his feelings towards him.

“Well, I better get going. I need to get down to the gallery.”

“Yeah, I have a little bit more unpacking to do and a presentation at the end of the week that I need to prepare for. Thanks again for your help, and for showing me your work,” Brian replied as he followed Justin outside. They waved goodbye and Brian made his way back to his new house, thoughts of Justin filling his head.

Justin dropped his paintings off at the gallery, listening to the organizer praise his work than headed downtown to the shopping mall. He just needed to get away for awhile. His thoughts were consumed with Brian and the guilt he was feeling was driving him crazy. Even though he knew he hadn’t done anything wrong, his feelings regarding his new neighbor were making him uncomfortable. Trying to push away those thoughts, Justin lost himself in windowing shopping, then stopped at the supermarket on the way home to pick up a few things he needed for dinner. He promised Luke dinner, and that’s just what he was going to get.

When Justin finally got home he heard the shower running and entered the kitchen to prepare the steaks he bought for the grill. He soaked them in marinade and began making a salad when he felt Luke’s arms close around his waist.

“Hey Babe, how was your day?” Luke asked as he placed a soft kiss on Justin’s neck.

“Okay, I guess. I dropped my stuff at the gallery and then did a little window shopping. What about you? How was school?” Justin asked as he rinsed off his hands to give his boyfriend a proper hello.

“It’s getting there. You know how much I hate the start of a new year. It’s a big adjustment for everyone, but especially for teenagers. Football season starts in another week and I’m still trying to get the team into shape. Not to mention that the new principal is riding my ass, and not in a good way,” Luke teased.

“It better not be,” Justin chuckled. “I’m sorry things are rough right now, but I know it will get better. You’re a wonderful teacher and the school is lucky to have you. Now why don’t you go relax in front of the TV and I’ll fire up the grill?”

”Want me to help?”

“Nope, I got everything under control. Go rest. Dinner will be ready in about forty minutes,” Justin guided Luke into the living room then went back to his preparations.

An hour later Justin and Luke were sitting out on their deck enjoying their steaks when Luke noticed Kyle standing out on his own deck, looking out into the woods behind them.

“Hey neighbor! How was your first night in the new house?” Luke called out, rising to speak to Kyle.

“You’d have to ask Brian about that one. I got paged in the middle of the night and had to go into surgery,” Kyle explained, walking off the deck and towards the fence.

“I’ll be right back,” Luke told Justin. He left his steak waiting for him and made his way over to talk to Kyle.

Justin looked back at the two men and realized that it would be rude of him to sit there and not say hello. He walked up beside Luke and greeted Kyle with a smile on his face.

“Hey,”

“Hey Justin. Brian told me you showed him some of your art work today. He said it was pretty good. I’d love to check it out sometime. I’ve always been pretty involved in the art scene. I have my gallery membership and everything,” Kyle laughed.

“Well, why don’t you and Brian come by for a drink? We’re almost done with dinner. Justin could show you his work and then we can have a drink and bullshit. What do you say?” Luke offered, wanting to get to know Kyle and Brian better. After being the talk of the development, it was nice to have another gay couple in the area.

Justin had to work at keeping his poker face in place. The last thing he wanted was to spend the night in close proximity to the object of his guilty thoughts. Besides, Kyle was probably tired from working most of the night and would refuse.

“That sounds great. I could use a drink to unwind. Why don’t you go finish your dinner and we’ll be over in about an hour, alright?

“Great! See ya soon.”

‘So much for that’ Justin thought to himself. He followed Luke back to the table and began eating again, lost in thought.

“Justin? Is everything okay? You’re not upset that I invited them over, are you?” Luke asked with concern.

Justin wanted to scream a big yes to that question, but knew he couldn’t do that without telling Luke why. “No, of course not. It’ll be nice to get to know our neighbors better,” he replied instead.

“Yeah, it will. After the way the Henderson’s treated us, it’s nice to know that we have friend’s right next door. Now let’s finish eating so we can get cleaned up. Oh, and why didn’t you tell me that Brian was over today? You two aren’t having some secret affair, are you?”

“What?” Justin exclaimed, his heart racing.

“Justin, I was kidding. Jeez, what’s wrong with you today?”

“Me? Oh, nothing. I know you’re kidding. Of course you were kidding. I was just going to tell you about it when you saw Kyle. Brian was outside while I was loading the van and came over to see if I needed any help. He asked about my work, so I offered to show it to him. It was no big deal,” Justin explained, trying to sound casual.

“That was nice of him to offer. I think we’re going to like living next to them, don’t you?”

“Oh yeah, it’s going to be great,” Justin replied, wondering who he was trying to convince more, Luke, or himself. Boy, did he miss the Henderson’s.

End of part 2
6/8/04

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