Innocent Betrayal

Chapter 7

On Thursday morning Justin woke up to Luke kissing his neck and jaw and snuggled into the warmth.

"Good morning, Babe. Today is the big day," Luke said with a smile.

"I know," Justin sighed. "Knowing my luck, I'll get a call that the gallery burned down last night and all my paintings are ashes."

"Still the optimist, I see," Luke chuckled. "So, what time do we have to be there tonight?"

"Ron wants me there at five. The doors open at seven. If you aren't going to be home in time I can just go on my own and meet you there," Justin offered.

"Are you kidding? I will be there with bells on. I told everyone at work that my brilliant boyfriend has a showing tonight. They're all going to come and see your stuff," Luke explained with pride.

Justin sighed. The last thing he wanted to do was spend the evening playing the good boyfriend. He'd feel like such a hypocrite. He hadn't spoken to Brian since the other day when he left him in the driveway. He wanted to call; wanted to go next door and see the man, but he wasn't sure what to say to him. Instead, he had spent the last few days hiding in the house trying to forget what had happened at the loft. As if that was possible. Every time he closed his eyes he saw Brian, lying above him with passion in his eyes. 'Shit, what am I going to do?' he thought to himself.

"Babe? Where'd you go?" Luke questioned at the faraway look in his eyes.

"What? Oh, sorry. I guess I was just thinking about tonight. I want to make sure everything goes okay," Justin lied.

"Stop worrying, would you? Jeez, you're just as worried about this one as you were your first. I would think you'd be used to it all by now."

"I don't think a person ever gets used to having people critique their work. Don't worry about me. I'll be fine after it's all over," Justin laughed.

"I'm sure you will," Luke replied, kissing Justin softly. "Well, as much as I'd like to stay here in bed with you all day, I have to go get ready for work."

"Would you like some company in the shower?" Justin asked huskily.

"Always," Luke replied, jumping out of bed and dragging Justin with him.

After Luke had left for work, Justin cleaned the house from top to bottom. He needed something to keep himself busy so he didn't think about how bad he fucked up the other day. Once he was done with that he found himself in his studio, looking through all the sketches he had done of Brian. The man's beauty was amazing and he was completely lost in thought when the phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Where the hell have you been?"

"Hey Molly, what's up?" Justin sighed. The last thing he wanted was to talk to his sister. He hadn't spoken with her since early Monday morning and she knew nothing about what happened between him and Brian.

“Don’t give me that shit, Justin! You were supposed to call me after you talked to Brian. You talked to him, right?”

“Yeah, we talked. We agreed that we couldn’t let our attraction hurt anyone else, so we’re just going to stay friends and forget all about the kiss,” Justin lied for the second time that day.

“Thank God. When I didn’t hear from you I was worried. I thought that maybe you did something stupid and were afraid to tell me. Okay, so if everything’s alright now, I have to get going. I have an important meeting that I can’t be late for. I’ll see you tonight at the show. Love you,” Molly said quickly.

“Love you too,” Justin replied, overwhelmed with even more guilt. Not only was he a cheater, but he was a liar, too.

By the time Luke got home from work, Justin was a bundle of nerves. Openings always made him nervous to begin with, but now he was also worried about seeing Brian. Kyle assured him that they would be there for the showing and it was going to be the first time he saw Brian since their indiscretion. He hoped his all consuming guilt didn’t show on his face.

“Hey Babe, are you okay?” Luke said as he greeted Justin.

“You know me, steady as a rock,” Justin teased.

“I know how to ease your mind,” Luke purred seductively.

“Well, get to it, Stud.” Justin allowed Luke to lead him to the bedroom and occupy his mind, biting his lip just before he called out Brian’s name as his orgasm overtook him.

Brian looked around nervously as he and Kyle entered the gallery. He hadn’t seen or heard from Justin since the other day when they said goodbye and he wasn’t sure how he would react when he saw him again.

“Brian, would you like a glass of wine?” Kyle asked, taking Brian by the hand.

“What? Oh, yeah. Sure,” Brian replied, trying to focus on his lover.

“Okay, be right back. See if you can find the artist” Kyle kissed Brian’s cheek before walking away.

Brian didn’t need to look around to find Justin. He instinctively knew where he was and his gaze fall upon the younger man who was lost in conversation with a group of people. He noticed Luke’s arm slug over Justin’s shoulders and felt a rush of jealousy over the simple gesture. He knew it was crazy, considering Luke had every right to touch his boyfriend, and chastised himself for his thoughts as Kyle reappeared at his side.

“Here you go, Babe.” Kyle handed him his glass before spotting Justin and Luke among a crowd of people. “There they are. Let’s go say hello.”

Brian dutifully followed Kyle over, trying to pull his gaze away from the beautiful blond.

Luke looked up and saw their neighbors approaching. He smiled at them and walked over to greet them.

“Hey Guys, I’m glad you made it. Justin will be so happy to see you here. Brian, I know you saw the finished product. Come on, Kyle. Let me show you Justin’s work and brag about my little genius.”

Brian watched the two men walk away and was ready to head in the other direction when the crowd seemed to move away and Justin’s eyes met his.

“Hey,” Justin said softly as he approached Brian.

“Hey, how’s it going?” Brian replied.

“So far so good. I’ll just be happy when it’s over.”

“Look Justin...” Brian didn’t have time to say anything more before being interrupted by a blond woman calling out to Justin.

“Honey, I think you’ve out done yourself this time,” she said as she hugged him tight.

“You say that at every show, Mom. Brian, this is my mother, Jennifer Taylor. Mom, this is Brian. He and his boyfriend Kyle just bought the Henderson house.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Taylor,” Brian said as he shook the woman’s hand.

“Please call me Jennifer. It’s nice to meet you, too. After the way those awful people treated my boys, I was so happy to hear that the house was for sale. It saved me from having to go over there and kick some ass,” Jennifer laughed.

“Mom!” Justin cried in mock horror.

“Well Honey, it’s true. A parent has to protect their young, isn’t that right, Brian?”

“Absolutely; I would do the same for my son,” Brian admitted with a chuckle.

“Your son?”

“Yes, I have a son. He’s being raised by his mothers, but I see him as much as possible,” Brian explained at Jennifer’s surprise.

“Did you hear that, Justin? Brian has a child.” Jennifer looked at him expectantly.

“Yes Mother, I know. He’s my neighbor, remember? He also had lesbian friends who were looking to have a child,” Justin sighed in reply.

Brian smiled at the interaction between mother and son. “Uh oh, did I say something wrong?”

“No, not at all. My mother just has this fantasy about how many grandchildren she’s going to have. I was a disappointment when she found out I was gay,” Justin replied, knowing what was coming next.

“Justin Taylor! That is not true! You could never be a disappointment to me, no matter how hard you try!” Jennifer exclaimed.

“I know Mom, I just like to get you going,” Justin laughed as he kissed her cheek.

“You are an evil brat, you know that?”

“Yeah, I know,” Justin smiled at his mother before seeing Molly walking towards them. “Hey Mol.”

“Hey Justin; Mom,” Molly replied as she hugged her family. “Oh, hello Brian. It’s good to see you again.”

“You too, Molly,” Brian replied as Luke and Kyle returned.

“Hey Sis,” Luke exclaimed as he took Molly in his arms. “I was beginning to think you weren’t going to show.”

“Jeez, I miss one damn opening, with a very good reason I might add, and now I’ll never hear the end of it,” Molly teased.

“Molly, missing one of your brother’s shows so you can go on a date with the ‘hottest guy in the whole school’ is not a very good reason.”

Brian watched the easy banter between Luke and Justin’s family and a strange feeling washed over him. It was if he felt left out; as if he was the one who should be a part of it all. His thoughts were interrupted when Luke turned to him and Kyle.

“Guys, we’re all heading back to the house after we’re done here to have a little celebration. We’d love it if you came, too.”

“I’m game, what about you, Brian?” Kyle looked towards Brian for his approval.

Brian looked over at Justin and wanted to refuse, but couldn’t seem to say the words. “Sounds good to me.”

Molly saw the look that passed between the two men and felt uneasy. She couldn’t help but wonder if Justin told her everything that had happened between them during their talk. It was definitely going to be an interesting evening.

The little celebration turned out to be larger than anyone thought since Luke had invited his colleagues to join in. Everyone was milling around the back yard having a good time while Justin tried his best to hide the fact that something was bothering him. He could feel Brian’s eyes on him every so often and the feeling was making him very uncomfortable. A short time later, when he saw that no one was looking at him, he snuck into the house, wanting some time to gather his thoughts. As soon as he rounded the corner into the living room he spotted Brian standing by the window looking out at the street.

“Oh,” Justin called out in surprise.

Brian turned around and saw Justin standing in the doorway. “I’m sorry. I just needed to get away for a minute.”

“That’s…okay. I’ll…just…” Justin stammered as he turned to leave.

“Don’t go,” Brian almost whispered.

Justin saw a mixture of emotions cross Brian’s features. “Why?”

Brian crossed the room and gently placed his hands on Justin’s face. “Because I need to do this,” he whispered huskily and he took Justin mouth in a passionate kiss.

All coherent thoughts left Justin’s mind as he instinctively deepened the kiss, letting his tongue dart out to meet Brian’s. Sadly, the kiss ended all too son and Justin felt Brian pulling away.

“I guess I shouldn’t have done that.” Brian continued to stare into Justin’s eyes.

“No, probably not,” Justin replied quietly.

“I need to see you again. Will you meet me at the loft tomorrow?” Brian knew it was a mistake, but he couldn’t seem to help himself.

“I…uh…don’t think that’s a good idea,” Justin stammered, feeling the heat that was passing between them; the thought of being at the loft again causing his groin to tighten.

“I didn’t say it was a good idea. I’ll be there at noon,” Brian replied before walking out of the room. He needed to get Kyle and head home. It had been a long and confusing night.

Justin stood there in shock, telling himself that it had to stop. He couldn’t let his feelings for his neighbor continue on as they had been. It was causing too many problems with Luke. Pulling himself together, he made his way back outside to find Kyle and Brian saying goodnight.

“Justin, congratulations on a great opening; I’m glad we were there. Brian’s a little tired so we’re going to head home. See you later,” Kyle said as he took Brian’s hand.

“Thanks for coming. Goodnight Kyle; Brian,” Justin replied, pushing away the guilt he was feeling.

“Good night Justin,” Brian said quickly as he allowed Kyle to lead him away.

Justin watched the two men walk away, trying hard not to be overcome with jealousy over the fact that he wanted to be the one to go home with Brian. He walked off towards the corner of the yard, needing a few minutes alone with his thoughts. He jumped when he heard a voice behind him.

“Are you going to tell me the truth now?” Molly said as joined Justin.

“What do you mean?” Justin asked innocently.

“Oh, come off it Justin. There’s more going on with you and Brian than what you’ve been telling me. You both seemed to disappear earlier and then when you return you have that guilty look on your face. What really happened when you talked the other day?”

Justin sighed, but decided to tell Molly what happened. He needed to talk to someone and he knew he could trust his sister to keep his secret. “We went to his loft…he hasn’t gotten rid of it yet…just to talk. That was all it was supposed to be.”

Molly saw the far away look in Justin’s eyes and her heart went out to her brother. “What happened?”

“We had sex,” Justin admitted quietly.

“What?” Molly exclaimed in shock.

“Shhh…would you keep it down. I don’t need to whole world to know,” Justin replied as he glanced around to see if anyone was listening.

“Shit, I’m sorry. I guess I’m just surprised. What happened to you telling Brian that you couldn’t be more than friends?”

“I don’t know. I told him that we couldn’t…he agreed, but it’s…things just got out of hand.” Justin thought back to the other day and felt himself blushing at his memories.

“Oh Justin, what are you going to do now?”

“I don’t know,” he replied honestly.

“You’re not going to see him again, right? I mean besides the whole neighbor thing.” Molly noticed the guilty look cross his face and had a sinking feeling. “Justin?”

“He wants me to meet him at his loft tomorrow,” Justin whispered.

“You’re not going to go, are you?” Seeing the look on his face, she already knew the answer. “Justin, you can’t.”

“Molly, I have to get back to the others,” Justin replied without answering. He tried walking away but Molly grabbed his arm.

“Justin, please don’t do this,” she cried.

“You think I like this?” Justin said softly so that no one would hear him. “You think I like hurting Luke like this? It would kill him to know what I’ve been doing; feeling. I can’t help it, Mol. No matter how many times I tell myself that it’s wrong, that I have to stop, I can’t seem to stay away. I just need some time to figure out what to do next.”

“You’re not thinking about leaving Luke, are you?” she asked incredulously.

“For Brian? No, Brian’s not looking to leave Kyle, but how long can I go on sneaking around behind Luke’s back? I don’t know what I’m going to do. I should just come clean with Luke right now and tell him what’s going on, without telling him it’s Brian of course. I can beg him to forgive me and then he can decide whether he still wants to be with me.”

“But what if you’re wrong? What if Brian does want to leave Kyle for you? What will you do?”

Justin just shook his head sadly and walked away, leaving Molly to stand there wondering how Justin’s life had taken such a drastic turn.

Luke and Justin lay in bed later that night, wrapped in each other’s arms. Justin’s mind raced with so many possible scenarios of what could happen that he almost didn’t hear Luke talking.

“Justin?”

“I’m sorry; I guess I’m just tired. What were you saying?”

“I was just saying that I’m so proud of you. After everything you’ve been through, you still managed to come out on top. I love you and I’m so thankful to have you in my life. I don’t know what I would do without you,” Luke said, his voice cracking with emotion. It was true. He didn’t know what he would do without having Justin at home waiting for him every day. He noticed that something had been bothering Justin lately and just hoped that whatever it was, it would soon pass and they could go back to the way things used to be.

“I love you, too Luke,” Justin replied honestly. No matter what he was feeling, he did love Luke which made the whole situation that much harder.

Although Luke knew it wasn’t the right time, he couldn’t help but whisper, “promise you’ll never leave me.”

Justin’s heart broke at Luke’s words and he knew he couldn’t answer him honestly. He needed to get away. “I have to go to the bathroom,” he responded softly and jumped out of bed, going into the bathroom and closing the door behind him.

Luke watched him go and knew that whatever the problems were between them, they just got worse.

Once again, Justin stayed in bed, pretending to sleep until Luke left for work. After hiding in the bathroom the night before he came out and found that Luke had fallen asleep. He was relieved. He wanted to assure his partner that he wasn’t going to leave, but knew how wrong that would be. He wasn’t sure what was going to happen, and even though he wasn’t ready to give up what they had, he couldn’t make promises for the future.

Justin spent the morning working on a new painting telling himself that there was no way he was going to go meet Brian. Even as he got in his car at 11:30 am and started driving in that direction, he still told himself he was going to stay away. It wasn’t until Brian slid the door open that Justin admitted to himself that he had planned on the meeting all along.

“I didn’t know if you were going to show up?” Brian said softly.

“I couldn’t stay away,” Justin replied, walking into Brian’s arms. One way or another, things would work themselves out. Right now all Justin could do was focus on the fact that he was with Brian again and as wrong as it was, it just felt right.

End of part 7
8/28/04

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