Previously On Queer As Folk: Brian and Justin got Gus for the whole summer.
Chapter Fifty
Brian took the next few days off from work so that he could spend more time with Justin and Gus. He'd been working a lot the past few weeks and felt guilty. He had a family now and that had to take precedence over his work no matter what.
Gus had gotten them up early. Fortunately, they'd all gone to bed earlier than usual the night before. They sat at the table eating breakfast when a thought came to Brian. "How about we go horseback riding?" he suggested, breaking the silence. He hadn't been out since the time he and Justin had snuck off before dawn a few weeks back and was eager for Gus to get used to his pony.
"Yeah!" Gus shouted, throwing his hands up in the air excitedly. Brian had been promising to take him horseback riding since he'd bought the house back in the spring, he just hadn't had the time.
"What about you?" Brian asked Justin, who was quietly sipping his coffee. "Do you want to come with us?"
"Sure," Justin shrugged. He had enjoyed his last endeavor with the horse and didn't mind doing in again, as long as he had Brian there to control the horse. "If you want me to come."
"Of course I want you to come. It's no fun if I don't have you quivering in the saddle in front of me," Brian teased.
"I was not quivering!" Justin insisted, playfully swiping at Brian, who easily dodged it. "I was a little scared, that's all."
"You'll do better this time," Brian assured him. "The first time is always the worst." Justin couldn't help but pick up on the sexual innuendo. Brian had a way of working them into even the most mundane conversations.
"Yes it is," he agreed with a wry smile. "I'm looking forward to trying again."
While Brian showered, Justin helped Gus get dressed. It was supposed to be a fairly warm day and thankfully Lindsay had packed plenty of t-shirts and shorts. Leaving Gus to brush his teeth, Justin joined Brian in the shower. "Can I get in?" he asked.
"Come on in." Brian moved over so that Justin could get under the stream of water. As it washed over his face, he could feel the grogginess wash away with the previous days' grime.
Showered and ready to go, they walked out to the stables. Gus's chocolate brown pony had grown a bit recently but it was still the right size, thankfully. Brian had bought a smaller bridle and saddle for the pony but that had yet to be used. Strapping the saddle on, Brian lifted Gus up into the mount, handing him the reigns. "Hold on to these tightly," he said. "Don't let them go for any reason, okay?"
"Okay." Gus held the reigns firmly in his hands. Brian opened the door to the stall and gently led the pony out.
Justin let the mare out of the other stall and fitted on the saddle, climbing up. "Not bad," Brian commented with a whistle. He joined Justin in the saddle and urged the horse into a slow trot. Gus copied his father and the pony started moving. "Remember Gus, don't let go of the reigns," Brian reminded him. "If you start to get scared just yell for me and I'll help you down."
The horses slowly entered the meadow. Justin had been expecting Gus to be holding on for dear life, tears streaming down his cheeks, but instead he was calmly holding the reigns, eyes wandering throughout the clearing. Just like his father, he thought. Fearless. He rested his head back against Brian's chest and sighed contentedly. He was having such a good time with Brian and Gus that he never wanted to the summer to end, knowing that Gus would have to go back home until Christmas at the earliest. Not even the knowledge that a new addition would soon be coming into their house was enough to abate Justin's grief. He didn't want Gus to go back home; he wished that Melanie and Lindsay hadn't moved to Canada, so that he and Brian could have Gus whenever they wanted, not only on school breaks.
When the meadow vanished behind them and woods sprang up all around Brian pulled on the reigns, halting the horse. He jumped down onto the ground and held out his hand. Justin took it and stepped down. Gus had stopped his horse, too and waited patiently for Brian to make his way over. Lifting Gus up, Brian carried him over to the mare before handing him to Justin. "What are you doing?" Justin asked.
"I'm taking him for a ride on the big horse," Brian explained, climbing back up into the saddle. Justin passed Gus back to Brian and went to grab the pony's reigns before it wandered off. "We'll be right back," Brian promised, coaxing the horse into a full gallop.
"Okay," Justin called after them. "I'll just sit here and...pick grass," he mumbled, sitting down.
Though Gus had been comfortable with his horse, he was absolutely terrified of Brian and Justin's. For one thing, this horse was much bigger than his and for another, they were going a lot faster than Gus had thought possible. He gripped the reigns so tightly that his knuckles turned white. Brian could tell that Gus was scared, so he protectively wrapped his arms around the boy, shielding him from harm. "It's okay Sonny Boy," he soothed, "daddy's got you."
The trees whipped past and Brian had to duck a few times to avoid a few low hanging branches. He hadn't gotten the opportunity to explore the woods yet, but figured that if he stayed on the path their chances of getting lost were pretty slim. As the horse continued to gallop down the path, Brian could see that its sides were coated with a thin sheen of sweat. Better stop and give it a break before the thing has a heart attack, he thought, pulling the reigns once more. Once the horse had come to a complete stop, Brian dropped down, grabbed Gus, and took the reigns, walking the horse up the path. He'd heard that there was a stream nearby and figured that once the mare got a little water in her, she'd be ready to head back.
The path continued for awhile and eventually they came upon the stream. The horse stuck its snout in the cool water and began to lap it up. "Are you thirsty?" Brian asked Gus, sitting on a rock. Gus shook his head. "Good, we don't know how safe that water is for us to drink and I don't really want to chance it." Gus sat down next to Brian and watched the horse drinking. "I'd better call Justin and let him know what's going on," Brian decided as he pulled out his cell phone and dialed Justin's number. It rang once before cutting out. "Shit," Brian muttered. No signal. Gus looked up at Brian, his brows knit. "It's okay," Brian assured him, "the call won't go through."
The horse sated its thirst and they headed back. It's a good thing I decided to go on this little adventure in the morning and not late afternoon, otherwise we'd be lost in the dark, Brian thought sourly. When they finally came out of the woods and into the meadow, Brian was relieved to see Justin sitting where they'd left him. "There you are." He jumped to his feet. "I was starting to think that you got lost."
"Sorry, dear," Brian said, grinning facetiously. "The horse got thirsty so we stopped and let it rest. I tried to call on your cell but there's no reception out there. You weren't being a drama queen again, were you?"
"No," Justin lied. "I was just getting a little nervous." He ran his fingers through his hair.
"I'm sorry," Brian repeated, getting off of the horse. He crossed to Justin and took him in his arms. "I didn't mean to scare you."
"I know. I was just being over dramatic," Justin replied. "You weren't even gone that long." They shared a quick kiss. "Let's go home now, okay?"
"There's nowhere else I'd rather be," Brian said simply.
By the time they got home, their legs were sore. Gus had stayed on the horse, but Brian and Justin had led the horses back to the house. "You take Gus inside, I'll deal with the horses," Brian said, taking the reigns for the pony from Justin. He went into the stables and led the horses back into their stalls. Before he left, he gave them both some water and hay. Overall, the excursion had gone pretty well. Brian looked forward to doing it again.
In the kitchen, Justin was fixing lunch. Brian realized for the first time that he was hungry. Must be all that adrenaline, he thought, dipping a finger in sauce Justin was making. "Hey!" Justin exclaimed, slapping at Brian's hand. Laughing, Brian grabbed Justin's arm and spun him around, wrapping his arms around him. Justin realized that struggling was futile and let himself relax, safe in the comfort of Brian's hold. Brian started to kiss Justin's neck, causing him to shiver in delight. "We can't," Justin whispered.
"I know," Brian replied, lips working their way down to Justin's collar.
"Then why are you doing this?" Justin's eyes were closed in ecstasy. As much as he was protesting, the one thing he wanted more than anything in the world at that moment was for Brian to rip his clothes off and make love to him on the kitchen floor.
"I'm giving you a preview," Brian explained. Justin laughed as Brian's tongue snaked out and massaged the inside of his ear.
Gus came into the room and paused in the doorway. He was used to seeing his mothers being affectionate toward each other, but never quite like this. Brian heard Gus come in and turned to face him. Justin quickly untangled himself from Brian's arms and went back to stir the food. "I hope you're hungry Sonny Boy," Brian said casually. "Lunch is almost ready." Gus just smiled.
The next day, Brian had the pool opened. He would have done it himself, but he didn't know how. Plus, he'd rather pay someone else to do it for him. It was so hot outside that he turned the air conditioning on for the first time. "Are they almost done?" Justin asked Brian. He'd been dying to go for a swim since they'd moved into the house and now that it was boiling hot outside, he wanted it more than ever.
"About ten more minutes," Brian answered, pouring himself a glass of water. "Why, are you hot?"
"Who could be hot with the air conditioning on?" Justin retorted, snatching Brian's glass and gulping half of the water down.
"Then what's your hurry?" Brian took his glass back and refilled it. "You're worse than Gus. He's only asked me twice about the pool."
"I don't know, I just want to go for a swim that's all," Justin said, crossing his arms defensively. "I'm sorry if I've been a bit of a nag."
Brian crossed over to Justin. "You haven't been." Justin arched his eyebrows. "Much of one," Brian amended.
"You're a really good liar," Justin joked, planting a kiss on Brian's bottom lip. "It's a good thing you have better talents."
"I guess so." Brian smacked Justin's ass. Outside the guys taking care of the pool stopped and watched the interaction between Brian and Justin.
"They're watching us," Justin said, noticing that everyone outside had frozen and was standing open-mouthed.
"You'd think they'd never seen two fags before," Brian retorted staring back at the men. "What do you say we give them a show?"
"Here?" Justin asked, laughing.
"Why not?"
"Gus for one."
"He's upstairs watching TV," Brian reminded him. "Besides, if he comes down, we'll hear him."
"I guess..." Brian spun Justin around so that his back was to the island. Kneeling down, Brian undid Justin's zipper, pulling his pants down around his ankles. He took Justin in his mouth.
Justin gasped and rolled his head back. He could just imagine the look on the workers' faces now, their jaws were probably hanging down to ground, while their eyes were wider than saucers. Fuck them, he thought. If they couldn't handle a little gay sex, they deserved an education.
When Brian finished, Justin slowly pulled his pants back up and grabbed a tray. He put a pitcher of lemonade and a couple paper cups on the tray as well and stepped out onto the patio. "Any of you guys want some lemonade?" he asked. No one answered right away, though one of the men did catch his eye and give him a little wink. Wow, I should've seen that one coming, he thought wryly. He repeated the question.
"Sure," the guys said in unison. Justin poured them all a cup and let them take it off the tray.
"It's really hot out here, you guys must be baking in those long sleeves."
"We're fine," one the workers said testily.
Grinning to himself, Justin went back into the house. Brian was sitting at the table laughing. "They enjoyed the show," Justin told him, sitting down in the next seat over.
"Really?" Brian asked. He hated it when straight people stared at them like they were something from another planet. That's why he always made a scene when he caught them doing it, like the time after his father had died that he and Michael went bowling and two straight guys were snickering at them. He'd grabbed Michael in his arms after getting a strike and kissed him passionately, spinning him around.
"One of them even winked at me," Justin continued.
"That bastard!" Brian jokingly exclaimed, getting up from his chair. "Which one was it?" he asked.
Justin joined Brian by the French doors and nodded at the worker. "He's kind of cute," Justin mused. Brian smacked his shoulder. "I mean, he's a total dog." He slung his arm around Brian.
"You'd better say that," Brian mumbled.
One of the workers came and knocked on the door. Brian opened it and crossed his arms.
"We're done," the man said, avoiding eye contact. Brian's lips twisted into a mischievous grin as the man handed him the invoice and hurried to catch up with his friends.
"Well that certainly got a rise out of them," he said, shutting the door. "He couldn't even look me in the face." I love straight people, he thought sarcastically.
"Oh, well. At least they didn't say anything. Then you would've shown them just how much of a wallop a fag can pack."
"True."
They called for Gus to come downstairs. He came running down dressed in a pair of swimming trunks. "Can we swim now?" he asked, looking jumping up and down with elation.
"In a minute," Brian replied. "I have to get changed."
"I can't wait to see you in your swimming trunks," Justin said as they went upstairs to change. "I bet you're going to look hot." Just imagining it was getting him aroused.
"Then, you bet right," Brian retorted, stepping out of his pants. Justin couldn't help but use the opportunity to catch a peak at Brian's dick. God, you'd think that with all the times I've seen it I'd quit being so fascinated with it.
"Uh huh," Justin agreed, licking his lips as he took off his pants. Brian's eyes darted between his legs and a tight smile tugged at his lips.
Despite the fact that all they wanted at that moment was to make love, they grudgingly put on their swimming trunks and headed back downstairs to the pool. Brian dove right in, embracing the coldness that gripped his body once he was submerged in the water. When he surfaced, Justin watched him expectantly. "How is it?" he asked.
"It's cold," Brian admitted. The pool wasn't heated, but he didn't care at the moment. Eventually it would be warm.
"How cold?" Justin sat down at the edge and slipped his feet in. Immediately he yanked them back up and gasped. "It's freezing!" he exclaimed.
"It'll heat up," Brian promised. "Just let the sun work its magic."
Gus didn't know how to swim, so Justin helped him into a pair of inflatable wings. "Are you sure you want to go in there Gus?" he asked.
"Yes," Gus answered, jumping in. A few seconds later, he surfaced and coughed.
"Did you breath in while you were underwater?" Brian asked, drifting next to Gus, who nodded. "You can't do that, you'll drown."
"I forgot," Gus confessed. Brian nodded and ruffled his hair.
"Just be more careful. We don't want anything bad to happen to you." He turned to look at Justin. "Well, aren't you going to come in?" he asked.
"Maybe once it warms up," Justin replied, holding his arms around himself to fight the shivers he'd gotten just from dipping his feet in.
"Come on," Brian coaxed, swimming over to the edge. "I'll keep you warm." He grinned devilishly.
"Okay." Justin relented and sat back down, slowly dipping his feet in.
When Justin was least expecting it, Brian reached out and pulled him into the pool. They both disappeared under the surface in a loud splash. Underwater, Brian took Justin in his arms and propelled them to the surface. "See, it's not so bad, is it?" he asked once they had surfaced.
"It isn't?" Justin's teeth were chattering. "It's like the Arctic in here!"
"Not for long," Brian soothed. "After a few minutes you'll adjust. I don't feel it anymore."
"You're right," Justin said as he slowly started to warm up. "It isn't so bad."
Up on the patio, Brian's cell phone chirped. Sighing, he swam over to the stairs and got out, hurriedly wrapping a towel around himself to keep from getting too cold. He grabbed the cell phone from the table and answered it. "Hello."
"Hey Brian." It was Michael. He sounded like he was in a good mood, which was always a plus for Brian. He hated it when Michael was upset.
"Mikey," he said by way of greeting.
"What are you up to?" Michael asked. "I miss you."
"We opened up the pool," Brian answered. He looked over his shoulder to see that Justin and Gus were happily splashing each other.
"Really? It's so hot here," Michael complained. "We turned the A.C. on but it isn't helping. I think it's broken or something. Ben's been trying to fix it all day but nothing seems to be working. It's like a goddamn sauna in here."
Brian got an idea. "Why don't you guys come out here? The pool's big enough for all of us."
"I thought you'd never ask. We'll be right there," Michael replied.
"Don't forget your bathing suits," Brian reminded him. "You can stay for dinner, too. I was going to fire up the grill and make burgers."
"You making burgers?" Michael laughed. "This I have to see. I am so there."
"See you in a bit."
"Bye."
Brian disconnected and got back into the pool. "Who was that?" Justin asked.
"Michael. They're coming over for dinner and a swim." He was glad that he'd get to see Michael since they hadn't gotten much time to hang out on Brian's birthday.
"Cool. Did I hear you say that you're going to fire up the grill?"
"Yeah. Why?"
"No reason. It's just I didn't know that you knew how to use a grill."
"It doesn't take a genius to work a grill," Brian grumbled.
"Oh, no?" Justin playfully splashed some water in Brian's face.
"You're going to get it!" Brian growled, splashing Justin back. They started splashing each other and Gus joined in. Before the fight was over, they were all sore from laughing so hard.
Next Time On Queer As Folk: Michael and Ben come over for a barbeque where hilarity ensues.
