Camelot




 

Thanks to the relentless efforts of Anthony Massey, the slightly over budget "Camelot on Tremont" was completed on schedule. Before the new showpiece of Liberty Avenue would be presented to the public, it first had to meet the approval of the mind responsible for it's inception, Brian Kinney. Pittsburgh was never Tony's first choice to put down roots. He had spent years customizing his home in Chicago for the purpose of finding a mate, and settling down there. It would have been a perfect scenario if it were only him and Justin, but Brian came with special needs. Brian's son, Gus was in Pittsburgh, and so was Brian's advertising agency, "Kinnetics". Tony concluded that the remedy to his dilemma was a fairly simple one, and used his connections to secure a listing in one of Pittsburgh's better zip codes. While it was a far cry from his estate in Chicago, the area was quiet, and the house was relatively large. It was suburban enough for Justin, close enough to the city for Brian, and comfortable enough for Tony. Everything seemed to have been worked out, until Brian failed to show up for the closing. Son-of-a-bitch, only Brian Kinney would reject a bi-level home in a gated community for a loft apartment on Tremont Street. It was a decision that would kick-start the rebirth of Liberty Avenue.

Tony slid the heavy metal door open to the place The Royal Trio would now call home. "Would you like to do the honors?" He turned to Brian.

"Aren't you going to carry me across the threshold?" Brian batted his hazel eyes.

"You think I can't?" Tony smiled.

Before Brian could respond, Justin brushed past both of them. The floor to ceiling glass panels overlooking the heart of Liberty Avenue stopped him in his tracks. "Wow," he gasped.

"Wait until you see it at night princess, when the street lights, and the clubs are all lit up. You're going to love it," Tony called to him from the doorway.

Brian was the next one to step inside the newly remodeled, expanded version of his old loft.

"Go ahead, take a look around." Tony closed the door behind them.

The first place Brian went to inspect was his bedroom. "It's still here." He gave a sigh of relief.

"You know me. I'm all for preserving historical landmarks. I had to change a few things like the lighting, and the flooring, but I tried to keep everything in there as close to the original as possible. Right down to that backbreaking platform bed of yours. Which reminds me. When are you going to get a new mattress? That one has too much mileage on it," Tony said.

"Some call it mileage, others call it fond memories," Brian gloated.

"Fine. When are you going to remove those fond memories?" Tony rephrased his question.

"You said yourself that my bed was a landmark." Brian grinned. "Justin slept here, you slept here...."

"Frank, Eddie, John, Jarrod, they all slept there...." Tony continued the list.

"Somebody's jealous." Brian smirked.

"Some call it jealous, others call it hygienic," Tony said.

While Brian and Tony bantered back and forth, Justin was more concerned with the rest of the loft, especially its new addition. The binding member of The Royal Trio glided his hand along the white marble wall that connected Brian's unit to the newly acquired one next door. The first bedroom he came upon looked exactly like Brian's, including the frosted glass sliding door, but absent the furniture.

"That's your room, princess. I didn't order anything for it. I thought you might want to decorate it yourself," Tony said.

"He's an artist. Of course he's going to want to decorate his own room." Brian sauntered off to check out the rest of the place.

"I wasn't talking to you. I was talking to Justin," Tony said.

Justin continued his exploration over to the new gourmet kitchen, now located in the second unit. The old stainless steel appliances had been replaced with burnished steel that required less polishing, and the view from Brian's bedroom where Justin once watched Brian, and his trick, Hotlanta making out now faced an extension of the living room. The frosted glass doors of Tony's bedroom were located all the way at the new end of the loft where its doorway had a clear view of the common areas, including a new dining area that used to be Brian's old kitchen.

"There's a smaller bedroom just off the kitchen for Gus." Tony pointed. "I couldn't fit a bathroom in there. Tiger will have to share one of ours when he visits. As you can see, I kept the whole industrial feel of the place, polished, minimal, airy, clean lines...."

"Where's my studio?" Justin's eyes scanned the areas.

"I'm sorry, princess, but I wasn't able to build your studio like I promised. The building code wouldn't allow it. The materials that you use are considered a fire hazard," Tony said. "I did however manage to secure a space for you in The Warehouse."

"The Warehouse?" Justin looked at Tony.

"Yes, The Warehouse. It's a really nice place. There are a lot of other artists there. Some are even P.I.F.A. grads. Right now you have the whole top floor to yourself," Tony said.

"Not bad. Not bad at all." Brian returned with his blessing, but Tony was now more concerned with the expression of Justin's face. It wasn't reading acceptance. On the contrary, Justin's eyes began to well.

Tony watched as Justin resumed his exploration of the loft. "He hates it," he uttered.

"Who hates what?" Brian asked.

"I made a promise, and I didn't deliver. This is awful," Tony continued.

"What's awful? What are you talking about?" Brian looked confused.

Tony was quick to place the blame. "This is your fault, Brian. I knew moving in here was a bad idea. But noooo, you had to stay near your precious Liberty Avenue, and YOUR people........."

"OUR people." Brian was quick to correct him.

"The hell if they are. These aren't my people, they're yours. You're the one who fucked them all," Tony reminded him "Now we're supposed to build a life here? How did I allowed myself to be talked into this? It's bad enough that my marriage is a goddamn freak show..."

"Excuse me? What the fuck is ruffling your feathers?" Brian was still confused.

"Now I'm expected to live in a goddamn apartment!" Tony rambled on.

"This is not an apartment. It's a loft," Brian corrected him again. "An eighteen-hundred square feet dwelling with four bedrooms, three baths..."

"And no art studio," Tony interrupted him.

"Ah. So that's that what this is all about, the art studio," Brian suddenly realized. "What's wrong with The Warehouse?"

"That's not what I promised him," Tony said.

"Justin is a big boy. He understands that sometimes we can't keep our promises," Brian said.

"Yeah. You of all people should know about not keeping promises." Tony spoke without thinking.

"What's that suppose to mean?" Brian took offense.

It had been months since Brian's tryst in New York, and somehow Tony had managed to keep the promise he made to himself to bury the incident. Over and over he reminded himself that there were other hearts to consider, like Justin's and Gus'. Confrontation was overrated. Sometimes love meant taking your knowledge to the grave with you. But that mantra, much like Tony's resolve, was starting to wear thin. Such a betrayal has a way of chipping away at a man, and resurfacing at the most inopportune times. This was one of those times.

"I have to go see about Justin." Tony quickly regrouped, and walked away.

Brian attributed Tony's outburst to frustration. In the world of hospitality the name Anthony Massey had become synonymous with keen insight, impeccable taste, and flawless execution. But Camelot was no hotel. It was more than a place to marvel at, and take photographs of. Brian knew that there was far more at stake here than the future of Liberty Avenue, and a man's reputation. For Tony, "Camelot on Tremont" represented his first official duty as a husband, which was to provide a home that was acceptable to both of his boys. It was a labor of love that Tony had shouldered gallantly. For Justin to be reduced to tears by the outcome was surely nothing less than crushing for the strongest member of The Royal Trio. If only there was something Brian could do, something he could say to ease the defeat that Tony was now feeling.

Justin had made his way back to the glass panels of the living room. Dusk had fallen upon the city, and the street lights below were beginning to turn on.

"I'm really sorry about your studio, princess." Tony approached with caution.

"It's fine," Justin sniffed.

"It's not fine if I made you cry," Tony said.

"I'm not crying." Justin's voice trembled.

"Then why won't you turn around, and face me?" Tony said.

"It's not what you think." Justin continued to look out the window.

"Then tell me what it is, so I can make it right," Tony said.

"It's not you. It's me," Justin said.

"What about you?" Tony pressed the issue.

"Damn, those pesky allergies." Brian casually strolled over.

"Allergies?" Tony looked skeptical.

"Yeah. I've seen it before. They just flare up out of nowhere when he's scared, or confused, but especially when he's happy. Am I right, Baby?" Brian moved closer, and wrapped his arms around Tony's waist.

With time divided between stays at Brian's loft, Justin's old apartment, and penthouse four at The Plaza, The Royal Trio's first months together had seemed like an extended date. It wasn't until now that reality was setting in for young Justin. He was married, not to one, but to two princes, and it was now his responsibility to keep them both happy. What seemed like a great idea at the time, now raised a daunting question. Was Justin up for the challenge, or this time had he taken in more than he could swallow?

"Am I right, Baby?" Brian repeated his question.

Justin swiped the tears from his face, and turned around to face his husbands. "You're right, Brian. It's just allergies," he smiled.

"See? You done good, poppa-bear," Brian whispered in Tony's ear.

"You two. I don't know what I'm going to do with both of you." Justin shook his head, and admitted for the first time out loud.

"Right now, I can think of a few hundred things," Brian grinned.

Tony still wasn't buying it. "I've never known anyone to sob like that because of allergies," he said.

Brian looked over at Justin. "Can't we fuck him, so he can be quiet?" he suggested.

"That sounds like a great idea." Justin agreed.

................

The late evening found Justin still wide awake. He carefully climbed out of Brian's backbreaking bed, over his sleeping princes, taking caution not to awaken them. Ever so quietly Justin padded across the painted wooden floor, over to the glass panel wall. There in the filtered darkness he managed to find the remote control to the drapery that secluded Liberty Avenue's royal family from the world outside. The flowing material parted to reveal a panoramic view of the street lights below, and the beckoning nightlife off in the distance. Tony was right. It was beautiful.

"Justin, come back to bed." Brian called to him.
 

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