Disclaimer: QAF and its characters are the sole property of Cowlip Productions and Showtime: no copyright infringement is intended.


My back to the guest bedroom's door, I was somehow alerted to Brian's presence before I actually saw him and my heart began to race like it always did; my breath caught in my throat, however, as I turned around and watched him slip inside, looking warily behind him as if he knew he had no business being in there before he firmly shut the door. Brian had always been like a magnet to me from the first day we had met under that street light - so magnificently sexy, confident and gorgeous with all his classic features and his swagger - but right now, as he stared over at me with that trademark smirk of his I thought he had never looked more handsome than he did at that moment. He was wearing a platinum-colored suit with a slightly darker, matching tie, a light gray shirt, a kerchief tucked casually in his breast pocket, and one, single, perfect golden gardenia pinned to his lapel. He was immaculately groomed from his head down to his shiny, polished Gucci shoes, his nails perfectly manicured and the shirt sleeves with the gold, monogrammed "B" initial cufflinks smartly pressed. It was the first time that I had seen him in his wedding outfit since he had gone to the tailor to get it measured, and I couldn't help thinking what a damn lucky man I was as I drunk in the glorious sight.

As if he read my mind, I smirked in response as he slowly did a 180-degree turn so I could admire the tailor's handiwork, along with my husband's physique. God, he was still the hottest man to walk the streets of gay Pittsburgh!

"Thought I'd give you a sneak preview of the finished product," he stated as he stood there looking so magnificent. "It's Prada's latest fashion. Does it meet with your approval, Mr. Taylor?"

I licked my lips as he smiled back at me knowingly. "Very much so," I couldn't help admitting with a gleam in my eyes. "I like it almost as much as I'm going to like taking it off you afterward," I added naughtily. He grinned back at me as I gently scolded him, "By the way, what happened to not seeing the groom before the wedding? Does my mother or Daphne know you're in here?"

He snorted. "What do YOU think? Fortunately your mother ran out for some kind of errand, according to your fag hag; although I did have to pay Daphne $100 just to let me up here." He quirked one side of his mouth up as he added, "Good thing she can still be bought with a latte and some cold, hard, cash."

I grinned as he slowly approached me. "That's all I'm worth after all this time?" I asked as he rolled his tongue into his cheek in that self-effacing way that I always found so endearing. "Well, you wasted your money, then, Mr. Kinney. I told you no more sex until after the ceremony. I promise to make it up to you afterward, though." When I had first told my fiancé a couple of days ago that I would be staying with my mother until our wedding took place in our backyard later today at Britin, Brian had looked at me aghast like he had some terminal disease and he would wither away if he couldn't fuck me until then. I secretly considered it a high compliment that he had looked so disconsolate when I had said it, knowing that he couldn't - or wouldn't - go elsewhere to satisfy his needs; we had moved well beyond that by now. Call me sentimental - or superstitious - though, but it had taken us so long to mutually reach this point in our lives that I didn't want anything to go wrong, and well, damn it, it was true; I wanted our honeymoon tonight in Curacao to be extra-special for both of us, even if we DID know every inch of each other's bodies by now.

He walked over and placed his hands on my upper arms, his touch lighting a fire on my skin as his eyes slowly raked appreciatively down my pajama-bottom clad body and made me shiver slightly at the outright lust inherent in his gaze. Even after all this time, one look from this man and I was that unsure, teenage virgin once again as, to my consternation, I blushed as my eyes lifted to meet his. I could see the amusement in his gold-flecked orbs as he replied, "Well, as much as I'm tempted, Sunshine, I had another reason for coming in here." I lifted an eyebrow in question as he explained, "Not THAT kind of coming," as I laughed over the knowledge that he knew what I was thinking so well.

"Well, why ARE you here, then?"

Brian released his hold on me and actually appeared to look a little uncomfortable as he reached inside his inner breast pocket to produce a folded-up piece of white paper. He wordlessly handed it to me as I eyed him curiously. "What's this?"

"Just open it," he mumbled a little awkwardly as I slowly opened up the piece of paper. "I know we said we weren't going to buy each other wedding gifts, so don't go reading too much into it," he hastily warned me before I could say anything to contradict him.

I studied the gift certificate to Indulgence, the name of an exclusive day salon in downtown Pittsburgh, and despite my best efforts, my eyes began to tear up over Brian's generosity - the gift certificate was good for the entire pampering package: a cut, style, manicure, pedicure, facial, and a whole body massage; a chocolate one at that. I had never heard of such a thing, but it sounded downright decadent to me. I cleared my throat as I continued to look down, providing me with just enough time to compose myself before I lifted my gaze upward to peer into Brian's eyes. My heart swelled with love for this complex man as I tried my best to make light of his thoughtfulness, knowing that to do anything else would make him feel uncomfortable. "Are you trying to say I'm scruffy looking, Mr. Kinney?" I teased as he smirked back at me in gratitude and relief over the reaction I chose. "I thought you liked my hair longer." Considering how much Brian loved to play with my hair when we made love, or even when we were sitting close together on the couch watching a DVD or an old, classic movie on his outrageously huge TV, there could be no doubt about that. Invariably, his arm would slide itself around my shoulder and his hand would wind up tickling the back of my neck as he feathered some of my hair there; of course, that normally wound up being the precursor to something else later, so I certainly didn't mind.

With unexpected tenderness, Brian reached over to twirl a few strands of my hair between his fingers as he whispered low and velvety, "You know I do, so don't let them cut too much of it off." He continued to play with it as he contended, "I just wanted to make sure my husband-to-be was nice and relaxed before our wedding night...So I can pound him into the mattress later without any complaint." He grinned in amusement as my face reddened. "Now get going," he commanded as he gave me a short smack on my ass. "There's a limousine waiting at the curb to take you over there right now, or you'll never make it to the wedding on time."

"Oh, I knew there had to be a good reason," I agreed as I reached up to curl my hand around his neck. "I might need my lips warmed up a little before I leave, though." I watched as Brian's eyes darkened slightly before he pulled me to him by the scruff of my neck, our lips meeting firmly as our bodies pressed together; it didn't take long for both of us to wind our arms around each other and deepen the kiss, our mouths opening to taste each other hungrily.

The staccato toot-toot of the limo's horn outside, however, brought us up short a few seconds later as we reluctantly broke apart. "I think that's your jalopy calling, Sunshine," Brian murmured as he gave me one last, brief kiss before he let me go. "And take your Vera Wang bridal gown with you; I don't want any bullshit excuses later that you couldn't get out to the ceremony in time because you needed to rush back here to get dressed."

I huffed in insult. "I am NOT a bride, and I am NOT wearing a Vera Wang," I corrected him as Brian grinned. "It's the same damn suit as yours," I reminded him. Actually, it was a little different; while Brian's was a platinum shade, mine was a little darker color - more like a burnished gold to 'compliment my sunshiny hair,' as Brian had intoned solemnly one day after too many Jim Beams. As I walked over to retrieve the ensemble from the bedroom closet and hold it up with the padded hanger to admire it, I had to admit that when I tried the custom-fitted suit on the other day I had felt like a king in it - or at least a prince.

"You do have the rings?" I asked Brian as I walked back over to him with my suit, my shoes and accessories hanging from a plastic bag tied around the hanger's neck.

Brian gave me a long-suffering look. "Excuse me? Who kept them safe all this time until you came back home?"

I chuckled. "Oh, my bad," I told him with an indulgent smile. "I figured you were just holding onto them until the price of gold went up again before you hawked them."

I gave a squeal as Brian promptly reached over and started tickling me in my sides as I bent over in laughter. "Take that back, Taylor!" he demanded as he grinned at my predictable reaction.

It was all I could do to hold onto my wedding attire as he continued to torment me until I couldn't stand it any longer. "Okay, okay!" I shouted in between peals of laughter as I struggled feebly with my one free hand to wrestle his hands away from my waist to no avail. "I take it back, I take it back!" I gasped for breath as he finally stopped the evil torture, his hands still at my sides but now simply resting there as he stared into my twinkling eyes; eyes that were full of love for him. My heart sang as I saw the same emotion reflected back at me.

"Just make sure you're not late from your beauty treatment," he quipped as I rolled my eyes. "Or I'll start without you."

I snorted, knowing full well he could do no such thing, although I COULD see him starting the reception without me. "Just stay away from the Beam and the poppers if you do," I teased as he grinned back at me.

"Well, just to make sure, I'm sending your best man - or should I say, woman - with you to make sure that you stay on schedule. She can get gussied up while you're having your chocolate bath - whatever the fuck that is."

I smiled, silently touched by his thoughtfulness in letting Daphne come with me. With my one free hand, I pulled him toward me by the back of his neck and kissed him briefly but soundly before I replied on the way out, "Yes, Mr. Taylor-Kinney."

I laughed as I heard Brian say behind me in the bedroom, "Now wait just a damn minute! We never discussed that! No fucking way!"

"Too late!" I called back gleefully as I hurried down the steps to join Daphne, knowing that I would find a certain handsome someone waiting anxiously for me later at Britin, whatever his name was.