Chelsea Art Gallery – New York City - May 2006
"Fuck!" Justin muttered as he scowled at his latest work-in-progress. The dramatic feeling he was trying to convey almost looked more like a comedic piece from his standpoint; the strokes which should have been bold and defined looked more like a kindergartner had done them, at least to his critical eye. They were almost whimsical in nature, which was very ironic because at the moment his heart was feeling anything but light and cheerful…
Jack Montgomery, the gallery owner, frowned as he watched his newest and most popular up-and-coming artist throw his paintbrush into the stainless steel utility sink in disgust. "Something wrong, Justin?" he called out from his place at his desk.
"This painting is for shit!" the blond growled critically as he wiped his hand on a paint-spattered rag. He stared at the canvas but his mind wasn't focused on how he could improve upon it. Even his eyes were glazed over, unblinking, as his thoughts strayed to a different subject. For at that moment, Justin Taylor, popular budding artist extraordinaire, was engaging in a one-man, private party of his own – a pity party.
He didn't hear Montgomery, who had not only taken a chance several months ago on the relatively-unknown artist to support his work but had also become a friend over the past few months, come up to stand quietly behind him. "What's bothering you today, my friend?" he asked softly. The older man, still classically-handsome at 55 years of age, was lean and tall with light-brown hair and green eyes. His skin was a dark bronze from way too many days spent either at the tanning spa or on Florida vacations out on his boat, but the only signs of overexposure came from the slight crinkles around his eyes.
Montgomery had first met Justin shortly after he had arrived in New York with a lot of ambition but little else to his name. From the beginning, though, there had been something about the young man – a lack of cynicism or pretense but a great deal of passion and drive. Justin had shown him some samples of his work, along with an impressive write-up in Art Forum magazine, rare for a relative unknown, and he had decided to take a chance and display some of his art. From that day forward, he had never regretted it; Justin had repaid him three-fold, not only monetarily but also through his friendship. In fact, over the past several months, the young artist had practically become the son he had always wished he had had, but had never quite seemed to find the time to get around to, and now he was a confirmed bachelor.
Justin looked behind him toward his friend and supporter. He sighed. "I'm just not happy with it, Jack," he said softly.
"I garnered that," the man said dryly with an amused smile. He walked closer to stand next to Justin and stare at his friend's latest project. "What's wrong with it, Justin? I think it's great. You're always too critical of your work, you know, and then it winds up selling for thousands of dollars." The last painting Justin hadn't liked had wound up selling for over $5,000 – not bad for a 'piece of shit,' as Justin had dubbed it at the time.
Justin bit his lip; he wasn't about to tell Jack the truth that he was queening out simply because it was his birthday and someone had apparently chosen to ignore it, or worse, had simply forgotten about it. He had spoken to Brian last night during their customary, nightly webcam phone sex marathon. They had found this to be a reasonable albeit not quite satisfactory solution to not being able to see each other in person more than twice a month while Justin was trying to further establish his art career in New York. It wasn't the best of arrangements – Justin longed to be with Brian every second of the day and the phone sex didn't come anywhere near to the real thing – but as long as he had their passion-filled reunions to look forward to, for the time being he could tolerate it.
What was bothering him the most, however, was that he kept waiting for Brian to at least mention his birthday that was today, and instead his partner had actually cut their 'session' short after they had both climaxed, telling him he had had a 'for-shit' day at Kinnetik and was exhausted. In fact, he had barely gotten a grunt of goodbye from Brian before he had logged off. That had not only made for a restless, sleepless night as he wondered what was going on, but it had also served to put him in a foul mood this morning.
"What's really bothering you?" He heard his friend ask. "I know you, Justin – it's not just the painting, is it?"
Justin shook his head. "I don't want to discuss it, Jack," he answered brusquely. He rubbed his hand over his face. "It's not important." Apparently my BIRTHDAY'S not important, either, he couldn't help thinking, berating himself for feeling sorry for himself but somehow unable to prevent it.
"Okay," Jack said softly. "I know better than to press you when you get this way." He smiled sympathetically. "You've been at that painting all morning. Why don't you get some fresh air for a while? Take your sketchpad and go for a walk down to your favorite people watching hole. Maybe you just need a fresh perspective on things," he suggested.
Justin smirked silently. Maybe I need a NEW partner, too, he couldn't help thinking….But he knew he didn't mean that; despite the fact that Brian could still sometimes be an asshole, he was still his asshole, and he still loved him deeply. He nodded. "Maybe you're right," he agreed. "It's a good day for it. I'll be back later; maybe it'll look more 'attractive' then," he quipped.
Jack smiled. "I think that's a good idea," he told his friend. "I assume you'll be at your customary place around the fountain where you always hang out? They're going to put your name on that bench soon."
Justin grinned. "You DO know me too well," he murmured. "Yeah….you can find me on my favorite bench if you need me, along with the pigeons," he kidded as Jack smiled. "I'll have my phone in case you have to reach me for anything." Jack nodded as Justin reached over to pick up his portfolio that contained a large-size sketchpad and several charcoal pencils. Even now, Justin never went anywhere without his supplies; in the city 'that never sleeps' with its diverse population and constantly-changing kaleidoscope of events, an artist never knew where his inspiration would come from, and Justin had found that his favorite spot to people watch provided him with plenty of fodder for future drawings.
As he left the gallery headed toward his destination, Jack waited long enough for him to disappear before he reached to pick up his cell phone and dial a well-known number. The phone had barely rung one ring before it was picked up.
"Is he gone?"
"Yeah….I steered him toward his favorite bench, just like you wanted. Oh, and he's in a foul mood, by the way," Jack added, laughing. "You've really got your work cut out for you."
"Don't worry," was the cocky retort, "I do this for a living, remember?"
Jack chuckled. "Yeah, I know….and I can't wait to see what you've come up with. I'm going to give him about a ten-minute head start before I head over there myself. You want me to call you when I make sure he's where he's supposed to be?"
"Nah….don't bother; I've got someone following him right now. He's promised not to let him out of his sight in case he decides to veer off somewhere else. If he does, though, the little shit's going to spoil everything."
Jack smiled. "Well, you know artists and their idiosyncrasies; better have a backup plan just in case."
Brian snorted. "I'm afraid with what I've got planned that wouldn't be too easy. Let's just hope he decides to stay predictable for today. At least it's lunchtime; we've got that on our side – he normally can't resist stopping at the Burger Joint on the way there."
"Yeah, you have a point there," Jack told him, smiling over that fact that Brian knew Justin so well, even from a distance. The Burger Joint was Justin's favorite burger restaurant on the way to the park. "Well, I'll make sure to stay out of sight. He's definitely not a happy camper at the moment."
Brian laughed. "Yeah…I figured as much. But I'll make it up to him, don't worry."
Brian turned around as he hung up the phone to face the virtual mob of people congregated inside his hotel room. Several pairs of eyes peered over at him expectantly. "Well, Operation Birthday is a go," he announced smugly as everyone clapped and smiled. "Mikey's tailing the little birthday boy as we speak. We'd better get going – countdown is in one hour."
"I can't wait to see his expression!" Debbie squeaked out in excitement. "Sunshine's going to be so surprised!"
"It's liable to embarrass the shit out of him, you know," Jennifer cautioned as she stood next to her red-headed friend.
"Yeah…this is going to be so much fun!" Daphne exclaimed, her eyes dancing. She couldn't wait to see her friend's reaction. Leave it to Brian to come up with a birthday idea that was absolutely over-the-top, but she wouldn't have expected nothing less from such an advertising genius as he.
Brian smirked. "He'll get over it," he replied, "once he sees what else is in store for him."
"He gets that all the time," Emmett pointed out helpfully. "What kind of surprise is that?"
Brian huffed. "I can do more than just fuck the shit out of him and give him the best blowjobs of his life," he growled. "Give me a little credit, Emmy Lou." He clapped to get everyone's attention; it seemed now that the moment was at hand, everybody in the room was trying to speak animatedly at once. "Okay, guys….let's get going. It's time to get this party started!"
He grinned as he reached down to swoop up Gus in his arms. "Ready to help Daddy celebrate Justin's birthday, Sonny Boy?"
Gus nodded his head excitedly. "Is he going to get cake and ice cream, Daddy?" To Gus, that was the best part of having a birthday, along with plenty of presents, of course.
Brian grinned as he walked over toward the door to lead everyone out of the room toward their destination. "You bet, Buddy…he's going to get lots of lots of treats today," he told his son; Gus squealed in delight as Brian hoisted him on top of his shoulders as soon as they were free of the door; the little boy felt ten feet tall as Brian led all of Justin's friends and family out of the crowded hotel suite and down the hallway toward the elevators. He grinned to himself – yes, Sunshine, you are about to get the surprise of your life….
