biChapter 1/b/i
b513 Ends/b
Justin grabbed a taxi outside LaGuardia, a luxury that he could afford only because Brian insisted that his first days in New York shouldn't be filled with worrying about getting from place to place and setting up his new apartment. His heart clenched tightly when he thought of Brian, lying on the bed, the silent tear tracks on his cheeks that matched his own. Justin wiped away the new tears that threatened to fall and gave the cabbie the address of Daphne's friend's apartment.
"It's only time." That's what Brian had said. Justin wanted to believe that while time wouldn't stand still, he would use the time to improve his art and make a name for himself. He hoped when he was successful, he'd return to Pittsburgh and come to New York for shows. Justin wanted the best of both worlds, to be Brian's partner and a successful artist, and he was sure that the two ideas were not mutually exclusive.
b6 Months Post-513/b
"Hey." Justin sat on the couch of his apartment as he put his feet up on the coffee table.
"Hey." Brian smiled when he saw it was Justin calling.
"I hate my job. Why can't I be independently wealthy?"
"I could give you money." Brian smiled at the suggestion, knowing that Justin would never allow it.
"I won't take your money. I'm just saying…."
"So what did your illustrious boss do today to piss you off?" Brian asked as he hit 'save'.
"Oh you know, the usual. He scheduled me to close the evening shift and be there the next morning at 10:00. I need my beauty rest." Justin took a draw from his beer, enjoying the conversation even if he wasn't happy with the content.
"So find another job, problem solved."
"Briannnn. It took me almost six weeks to find this one, and I don't have that luxury. I need time to paint and be seen in New York. If I'm working all the time or too tired, what's the point?"
"When I was there three weeks ago, I saw your paintings and they were fabulous. You just want everything now. Life doesn't work that way."
"I know. It's just…"
"I'll be there in a few days and I'll make you forget all about your shitty job." Brian's cock grew hard at the mention of his upcoming visit.
"Sounds like a plan." The knock on the door brought Justin out of his reverie. "Gotta go. Delivery guy is here with my pizza. See you in a few days. Later."
"Of course the delivery guy is there with your pizza. I see where I rate. Later." Brian hung up his phone and clicked on the file in order to finish his work, when his phone rang again. "Shit. Who the fuck is calling me at 6:30 at night?" he said out loud to no one. "Kinney."
"Mr. Kinney, this is Dr. Houston's office. You missed your appointment last week and the doctor wanted me to remind you about the importance of your check ups. It's especially important for the first five years."
As the woman talked, he opened his calendar on his desktop and saw that he was scheduled for last Thursday. "When does he want me to come down?"
"He has an opening on Monday at 10:00 a.m."
Brian reviewed his calendar again and saw the time slot was open. "I'll be there."
"We'll give you a reminder call, Mr. Kinney."
iShit. I can't believe I missed that appointment. Justin is going to kill me. He's always after me to take better care of myself./i
The phone rang again a few minutes later. "Kinney," he answered sharply, perturbed to be interrupted again.
"Hey. I forgot to tell you about my meeting with Sam today. He thinks he can get me into another show in the late fall."
Brian closed down his calendar and listened to Justin's voice, allowing its familiar tones to calm his frazzled nerves. "That's great. You can tell me all about it tomorrow when I get there."
"Are we staying at the Belvedere again? I really liked that place."
"You are so spoiled, Justin. No, we are not staying at the Belvedere. We are staying at Kinnetik's apartment. I rented it for just this reason. I come to the city way too often to pay exorbitant hotel bills. I'm taking the early flight and should be there by 10:00 a.m. I do have a lunch meeting, but I intend to be in the apartment by 3:00 and in your ass by 3:15. My cock needs to bury itself inside that tight hole of yours."
"Why, Mr. Kinney. I do believe you just admitted to missing me. Is the earth shaking?"
"Twat!"
"You so love meeeeee."
Brian pushed his tongue into his cheek and suppressed a smile. "I'm busy, Justin. I really have to finish this project so I can catch my flight tomorrow."
Smiling at Brian's discomfiture, Justin answered, "Sure. I'll see you tomorrow."
Brian arrived at Justin's apartment at 2:30 and poured himself a shot of Beam. Sitting on the couch, he slowly sipped the drink, allowing its familiar burn to slide down his throat. He felt the effects shortly afterwards as the lunch he'd been served earlier was less than satisfactory, and he had barely eaten half of the meal. Loosening his tie, he leaned his head back and closed his eyes as he listened to the music of John Coltrane, taking in its sultry sounds.
Justin arrived about 3:15. Quietly making his way to Brian on the couch, he slipped in next to him, placing Brian's arm around his waist and leaning next to his partner as he enjoyed the sounds emitting from the speakers.
Brian woke with a start, taking a few minutes to orient himself to his surroundings, and smiling when he saw that Justin was tucked against him on the couch. Dual sensations of calm, feelings of being at home, and excitement washed over him as the hormones surged through his body at the feel of his partner. Leaning over, he gently sucked Justin's lower lip into his mouth and lapped the soft flesh, letting it go and then licked the corners of Justin's mouth. Soon Justin was returning the greeting.
"Bedroom now," Brian demanded as Justin started unbuttoning his shirt and caressing his firm olive skinned torso. They quickly made it to the bedroom, undressing as they went, leaving a trail of clothing on the floor. The sight of each other's naked bodies, cocks standing at attention, dripping with precum just from the presence of each other was an added bonus as neither man wanted to bother with foreplay. Brian reached into the familiar side drawer of the night stand, taking out the lube and condom. Squirting some lube on his finger, he quickly prepared Justin, getting his hole wet.
Justin gasped slightly at the cold intrusion, but the fullness from Brian's fingers made him wish for the real thing. "Now. Brian. Can't wait," Justin gasped.
Removing his fingers from Justin's hole, he wiped the excess lube on the sheets and gave the condom to Justin to place on his cock. The sound of the condom wrapper ripping was like music to their ears. Soon the two were entwined, one instead of two separate people, sharing their essence with each other. They both climaxed quickly, as was their habit the first time they had sex. As they lay recovering from their intense orgasms, Justin kissed Brian softly.
"Hey. Rough week?" Justin lay quietly for a moment, but when Brian didn't answer, he went to the kitchen, grabbed two bottles of water, and placed them on the nightstand. He proceeded to the bathroom, where he retrieved a wet washcloth and carefully wiped his partner. Opening the bottle of water, he took a drink and gave Brian his bottle.
Justin loved these quiet times with Brian, sharing their thoughts and feelings, although he knew better than to speak about feelings with Brian in earshot. It would send the man running for the hills faster than lightening. If someone had asked him six months ago if this is what he saw when he thought about his life, he would have been hard put to describe this vision. Back then, he wondered if he and Brian were strong enough to be apart, but he was thankful that they had both grown and had shown that they were invested in the relationship, non-conventional as it was. No one would have believed him if he'd said this is what he thought his life would be like. He enjoyed chatting with Brian about life and their plans for the weekend.
"Yeah," Brian agreed. "A few new campaigns and Leo is on vacation so I have to deal with his minions - they're all asses. I don't know how he gets any work done with Tom and Jerry at the helm."
Brian took another drink and continued. "Then Lindsay's on me about Gus. Seems he has developed the habit of playing with himself. She thinks I showed him what to do. I tried to tell her that all boys do that, but she and Mel have determined that hanging around me has more to do with his newfound past time. Lesbians..."
Justin laughed at the retelling of the story.
"Did you hear from the doctor? You were supposed to have a check up last week."
Brian got out of bed, making a big production of throwing the bottle into the recycling container, something Justin was adamant about. When Justin didn't get a response, he ran to Brian and placed his arms around his waist from behind. "Brian..." Brian could feel the shaking and prelude to "allergies" that Justin was prone to.
He turned around and removed Justin's arms from around his waist. "I forgot to go. Now tell your allergies to go away."
Justin wiped his wet eyes and glared at Brian. "YOU FORGOT TO GO. WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON? YOU FORGET TO PICK UP MILK AT THE GROCERY STORE. YOU FORGET TO DROP OFF YOUR DRY CLEANING. BUT HELL, BRIAN. YOU DON'T FORGET TO GO TO YOUR BI-ANNUAL CANCER SCREENING. WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?"
"Calm down. The nurse called me yesterday and I have an appointment for next week. Get off your high horse. If something has happened, two weeks aren't going to make a difference and since there is nothing wrong, two weeks still aren't going to make a difference." Brian leaned down and kissed Justin hard on the lips. "Now… I say we forget about work, my son, doctors and any other irritants in our lives and fuck."
Justin returned the kiss and walked back to the bed, seeing the reason in Brian's argument.
As Brian packed for the weekend, Justin sketched his favorite subject. Brian was so used to being immortalized on paper that he didn't stop his activities. "I'm coming home in two weeks. I'll probably stay for a few extra days, make it a long weekend. Can you take the time off?" Justin asked as he smudged his finger on the paper.
Brian placed his neatly folded shirt in the suitcase and walked over to Justin, leaning down and kissing him briefly on the lips. "It's possible. I might be convinced to spend some extra time with the artiste."
Waving him away, Justin said, "I'll let you know when I firm up my plans."
"Okay."
The two weeks flew by fast, and they didn't talk as often as they normally did. Justin was able to get away early and arrived at the loft to surprise Brian. He put his gear in the bedroom and was about to make some chicken for dinner, when the phone rang. He let it go to the answering machine as he absently took out the pots for dinner.
"Mr. Kinney. This is Dr. Houston's office, confirming your follow up appointment to review your test results. If you can't keep the appointment, please call our office to reschedule."
Justin almost dropped the pot he was holding. iThis isn't happening again./i
TBC
