It Was Only Time

Chapter 29 – New Years Eve, New York

Arthur Loring Gallery had an annual Holiday Party that by all accounts was an event not to be missed. It seemed that for that one night everyone who was related to the owner, worked for, or was associated with the gallery in any way at all came to the party and left their professionalism, propriety, inhibitions and good sense at the door. All the employees were expected to make an appearance for a minimum of 30 minutes to glad hand with the family and their biggest clients, and then they were free to leave if they wished, but it was rare when anyone has actually done so. Justin, as both an employee and an artist in residence, was not so subtly urged to plan on spending the entire evening there. Fortunately, he was actually looking forward to the event, especially since Daphne was coming to visit for New Years and agreed to go with him.

When Justin and Daphne arrived at the gallery at 8 pm, the place was already hopping with party-goers; it seemed a number of people arrived early as well and more kept coming as time went on. Justin wanted to say hello to Mr. Loring first, but his and Daphne's progress was constantly interrupted by other people. When they finally reached him, Mr. Loring warmly greeted them both and introduced him to several family members and clients standing around him. Everyone seemed to know who Justin was, even though he hasn't personally met half of those people. This kind of attention was still very new and slightly embarrassing for him, while Daphne loved every minute of it.

"I feel like a Ron Weasley to your Harry Potter, Jus" she said to him with a smile when they were alone again "I bask in the reflected glow of your fame!"

"Shut up, Daphne!" Justin said laughing, "I don't really want to be famous, I want my art to be, if that makes any sense."

"Somehow, I don't think you'll be able to separate the two. Anyway, I am parched and in great need of a drink. Let's get some champagne!"

On their way to the bar set up on the other side of the gallery, Daphne suddenly stopped and whispered:

"Justin, there are a couple of guys at the bar looking at us. Problem is I don't know if they are looking at you, me or both of us."

"Which ones?" Justin asked curiously.

"The ones Mr. Loring's talking to."

"Oh, they are his relatives; I've seen their pictures in his office. One's his son, Andrew, he's a photographer for the National Geographic. The other one's his nephew, Jacob Frost, a grad student at NYU – physics, I think."

"Which one is which?"

"I have no idea, neither looks anything like him!" Justin suddenly realized "They've both been abroad until recently and Mr. Loring mentioned them to me only in passing, so I've never asked. Oh, as far as who's looking at whom – I know one of them is gay and the other isn't. So, it's safe to assume they are looking at both of us."

"Again, which is which?"

"Again, no idea, but if I had to guess, I'd say the curly haired one with glasses is the gay science nerd nephew and the tall, dark haired one that looks like a rock star is Loring's son, the photographer. Well, let's go meet them."

When Daphne and Justin came up to the bar, Mr. Loring immediately said:

"Justin, Daphne, I'd like you to meet my son Andrew Loring and my nephew Jacob Frost. Oh, someone's trying to get my attention. Excuse me, I'll let you all get acquainted." And walked away.

Since Justin happened to stand next to the curly-haired be-speckled geek he extended a handshake to him first and said:

"It's nice to meet you, Jacob. I'm Justin Taylor and this is my best friend Daphne Chanders." Both young men suddenly laughed. "I am actually Andrew Loring. Great to meet you Justin, Daphne."

At Justin's embarrassed expression, Andrew said:

"Don't worry, you aren't the first or the last one to mistake me for this moron next to me. I know he looks more like a bohemian photographer than I do, but what can you do. I think it's the glasses. Unfortunately contact lenses bother the hell out of my eyes, so I am stuck with these for the foreseeable future."

The four reintroduced themselves, laughing. When Justin and Jacob Frost shook hands, looked at each other and smiled, Justin experienced the unmistakable twinges of genuine attraction for another person. He hasn't felt anything remotely like it since meeting Ethan a few years ago and felt nothing like it at all since moving to New York. He hasn't been a monk in the last ten months – when he needed someone, though it wasn't very often, he would go to McDean's Pub or Red Square night club and the "someone" was easily available. But it was never anything more than just sex and though Justin always asked their name, he rarely remembered it after. This, however, was different. It was nothing like what he felt for Brian, but it was attraction nonetheless and he took it as a hopeful sign that he was finally ready for dating.

The four spent some time drinking champagne, chatting and getting to know each other, but as soon as the DJ that Arthur hired for the night officially started the party, Daphne and Andrew, who got on like a house on fire, were the first ones on the dance floor showing off their moves. They were soon joined by most of the partying crowd. The DJ that the gallery hired was a good one – whether by specific request or on his own he played an eclectic mix of songs ranging from top 40 hits, to dance remixes, rock ballads from the 80's, R&B, salsa and blues, everything that appealed to pretty much everyone present at the party, no matter their age or background.

"Want to dance? Those two are putting everyone else to shame" Justin said after a while, pointing to Daphne and Andrew.

"Ah, I'm told I have decent moves only when I am sufficiently plastered. I am nowhere near that point yet," Jacob replied "give me a bit of time, two or three or four more glasses of champagne and we can show everyone how it's done. Until then, sorry, no - I am way too self-conscious!"

Justin laughed and they watched the crowded dance floor in companionable silence. Suddenly, the music changed and Daphne and Andrew began to swirl in a graceful waltz to a big band tune from the 40's. The crowd parted like the Red Sea, giving them the floor. Justin's smile grew strained; he downed the last sip of champagne from his flute and said:

"All right, more champagne it is!" He quickly turned around, leading the way back to the bar. Rationally, he knew that it was just a trigger that reminded him of the night he was bashed. And even though it was not a flashback, which he hasn't had in a couple of years, and it was nothing like that night, everything was different – the music, the dance, the partners, the setting - something about that scene was somehow unsettling and he felt like getting away.

"So, your uncle tells me you are a fan of Rage." He said taking a big gulp of champagne that went down the wrong way. As he sputtered, Jacob helpfully thumped his back. "Are you OK?"

"Yeah, thanks. Drink went down the wrong way. No offense to the dancers, they are beautiful, but there's something about big band music that just sets my teeth on edge…" He said.

"Want to go outside and get some air?" Jacob suggested.

"Yes, that would be good." Outside Justin leaned against the wall and got out a cigarette, "I hope you don't mind if I smoke. I'd offer you one, but it happens to be my last." He closed his eyes and started smoking.

"No, go ahead." Jacob studied Justin unnoticed for a few minutes. He guessed that something wasn't quite right, but decided against asking about it. Instead, he brought the conversation back on what seemed like safer ground.

"So, Rage, yeah…I am a big fan actually. A friend of mine introduced me to it, showed me the very first issue. It blew me away, there's never really been anything like it before. When Uncle Art told me that one of the creators worked in his gallery I was flabbergasted. Didn't think you'd need a day job, but..."

"Yeah, underground comic books don't exactly pay the big bucks." Justin chuckled "Michael and I were going to stop writing Rage, but then the bombing at Babylon happened and we just had to continue. That was our most successful issue to date, especially since it came out in conjunction with the reopening of the club. We just finished working on the next issue, though it took us a lot longer to complete."

"So, how much of it is autobiographical?"

"Well, all the superpowers, of course, the rest is all made up" Justin joked. He stabbed out the remainder of his cigarette, shook his head and sighed. "Thanks, I needed to get away for a couple of minutes. And if you are really interested in Rage, I'll tell you all about it, everything you want to know, but another time, OK? Some of those "made up" parts aren't really party conversation."

"OK, when?"

"Whenever, really. Well, not this weekend or most of the week – I am spending the time with Daphne when I am not working."

"Are you free next Friday night? If you are working, that's OK. I'll wait. We can just go out later for coffee or dinner, or a beer."

"Are you asking me out on an actual date or just a friendly chat about the comic book?"

"A date, definitely a date! If you are interested and only if you aren't seeing anyone."

Justin laughed: "I am definitely not seeing anyone and I am definitely interested. Next Friday it is then, around 8 pm? There's a decent coffee shop around the corner. We can start with coffee, OK?"

"OK." Jacob replied with a huge smile on his face.

"Well," Justin said ominously "I don't care how many glasses of champagne you have or have not consumed, because I am in the mood to dance and you are coming with me!" He declared and grabbing Jacobs' hand ran inside to join the party.

Once inside, they joined Daphne and Andrew at the bar and unanimously decided to switch to tequila in order to give Jacob some extra liquid courage. Several shots later, no one was feeling self-conscious at all and the rest of the night was spent on the dance floor. When the countdown to New Year began, Justin was looking at no one but Jacob and as their lips met at midnight, he thought that all things considered it was a pretty incredible night.

Disclaimer: All belongs to Showtime and CowLip, except for the characters that I've introduced. Of course, the HP characters belong to JK Rowling.

A/N: About the introduction of Jacob Frost's character – please bear with me. There is a method to my madness.