Learning to Love (10/?)
By Carol M.
Thanks guys for the kind words! Enjoy the next part!
"You ready to get sprung, kiddo?" asked Debbie as she stepped into Brian's room with his release papers in her hand.
Brian, who had been reading Out, quickly shut the magazine and gave her a wide smile. "Deb, my guardian angel. You've come to rescue me."
"Rehabilitate is more like it," said Debbie as she approached the bed. "Come on, get up, get dressed. Vic's double parked downstairs."
Brian quickly pulled back his covers and whipped off his hospital gown, revealing his naked form.
Debbie glanced over at him and then did a double take at what she saw, her eyes widening in surprise. "Jesus, it really is as big as they say."
Brian smirked. "I know," he said smugly.
Debbie shook her head of the stupor and began throwing clothes in Brian's direction. Brian attempted to put a pair of black briefs on, but the movement was too much for his injured ribs. Without a word, Debbie took over the action, pulling the underwear up Brian's legs and over his crotch.
"The last time a woman was this close to my cock, I was in diapers," said Brian.
"Kinky," said Debbie as she repeated the action with a pair of jeans.
In the meantime, Brian was attempting to pull on a shirt despite the sling still wrapped around his shoulder. "Fuck," he muttered in frustration. After two more failed attempts, he threw the shirt on the floor. "That's it, I'm showing everyone my tits," he said matter of factly.
"Don't get your balls in a twist," said Debbie. She began sorting through his things and pulled out his black silk robe. "Here," she said as she worked his uninjured arm through the sleeve hole and then let the robe drape over the other arm. She completed the task by securing the ties in the front. "Perfect."
"Yeah, all I need now is a cigar," said Brian sarcastically.
Debbie whacked him on the side of the head. "Watch your mouth."
Brian gave her a lopsided grin. "That may work on Michael, but it won't work on me."
"Oh really?" said Debbie, planting her hands firmly against her hips. "Let's get a few things straight. For the next couple of days, you're living in my house, under my authority."
"Sounds a little like prison. Tell me, Deb, do I have any strip searches to look forward to?" asked Brian in a smart assed tone.
"Depends on what you plan on hiding," said Debbie. "There will be no drugs, no tricks and no going to Woody's or Babylon. You are on strict house arrest," she said with a pointed finger.
"Christ, it really is a prison," said Brian.
"Maybe," said Debbie. "But the food's much better and you don't have to worry about dropping the soap. Course in your case, you probably wouldn't mind that too much," she said with an amused snort.
"When do I get parole?" whined Brian.
"You get parole when you can put your pants on by yourself without curling up in agony. Not a second before," said Debbie firmly.
"Sounds lovely," said Brian.
"Mr. Kinney?" came a voice from the door.
Brian and Debbie both turned their heads and saw one of the male nurses standing in the doorway with a wheelchair. "You ready to go?" asked the man.
"I don't know, ask the warden here," said Brian, nodding towards Debbie.
"If he were any more ready, he'd have sprouted wings," said Debbie as she gently grasped both of Brian's arms. "Can you stand up?"
"Well I've been doing it since I was two," said Brian as he got unsteadily up on his feet.
"That's not the only thing you've been doing since then," said Debbie as she supported him so he could situate himself in the wheelchair. Once he was settled, she nodded towards his suitcases. "What are we gonna do about all that?"
"How the fuck should I know? Mikey packed enough for me to go on world tour," said Brian.
"I'll take care of it," said the nurse.
"Oh, thank you," said Debbie. "You ready to go Brian?"
"Wheel away," said Brian eagerly.
Debbie positioned herself behind Brian's wheelchair and then gave him a firm push out the door. As they got into the corridor, they saw that the halls were lined with male orderlies, nurses and a few doctors, watching in fascination as Brian was wheeled down the hall. As they passed by the men, each of the studs threw scraps of paper with their phone numbers scrawled across them onto Brian's lap.
"Call me anytime," said one orderly who could double for Zack O'Toole.
"If you ever need a good sponge bath," said Mr. Goodsponge as he tossed his number at Brian.
"Holy shit," exclaimed Debbie in amazement as she continued wheeling Brian down the hall. "It's like you're fucking Jesus or something. They're practically falling at your feet."
"Try not to get any on your shoes," said Brian casually, soaking up the attention. When they reached the end of the hall, they were greeted by Dr. Drummond.
"Good luck, Mr. Kinney."
"Thanks doc," said Brian.
Dr. Drummond pulled his card out of his jacket and laid it on top of the heaping pile of numbers already on Brian's lap. "If you have any more difficulties, don't hesitate to call, day or night," said the doctor with a sly smile.
Brian grinned. "Oh don't worry doctor, if I have any problems in that area, I'll be sure to seek out your expertise."
"Excellent," said Dr. Drummond. "Goodbye. Come back and see us anytime."
"I'll do that," said Brian as Debbie wheeled him into the elevator.
As the doors closed, the pair observed the male staff waving, clapping, and blowing kisses at Brian.
Debbie stared at Brian in awe the whole elevator ride down.
"What?" asked Brian innocently.
Debbie laughed and shook her head. "You're something else, kid."
"So I've been told," said Brian. The elevator doors opened and Debbie pushed the chair out of the elevator. Another hallway and one left turn later, the pair was outside at the waiting car.
"Looking good," called out Vic to Brian from the driver's seat. "What's your secret?"
"Lots of sex and a positive outlook on life. Makes the skin glow and your dick permanently hard," said Brian.
"He got enough phone numbers in there to start his own directory," said Debbie as she took Brian's arm and helped him into the front seat.
"Want a date, Vic?" asked Brian as he threw a few pieces of paper at him.
"I can remember a time when the same kind of thing happened to me. Oh to be the fairest queer of all again," said Vic longingly.
"The position's open, at least for a few days. Brian's on house arrest," said Debbie as she settled into the back seat.
"Well in that case I'll have to dust off my gold platforms and give it a whirl," said Vic with a wide smile.
Brian looked at him in disgust. "Gold?"
"It was the hippest thing around back then," said Vic.
Brian shook his head. "I thank god everyday that I didn't have to live the prime of my youth in the 70's. Don't even get me started on the 80's."
"Hey I seem to remember a time when you and Michael both had spiked hair and torn jeans," said Debbie.
"You can't blame teenagers for their lack of fashion taste. Society markets every Swatch watch and pair of bell bottoms to a demographic that isn't sophisticated enough to realize that all these trends are just tacky pieces of shit designed to take away their money," said Brian matter of factly.
"Spoken like a true ad exec," said Debbie.
"Well if the Prada fits," said Brian as he saw the nurse heading towards the car with his things. "About fucking time."
Vic popped the trunk and the man placed all the bags inside, shutting it firmly when he was done. He stepped along the side of the car and then kneeled down when he reached the passenger's side window, flashing his blue eyes at Brian. "If you ever need anyone to play doctor with, call me," said the stud as he tossed his number into Brian's lap. He completed the action by sticking his hand through the window and massaging Brian's cock though his pants.
"I'll be sure not to eat any apples then. Wouldn't want to keep you away," said Brian with a sexy smile.
The stud winked and then stepped away from the car.
"Can we go or do you have any more staff you'd like to get lucky with?" asked Debbie.
Brian glanced at the numbers in his lap and shrugged. "I'd say I'm set for a good week."
"Fucking unbelievable," said Debbie as Vic put the car in drive and pulled away from the hospital.
A half hour later, Debbie was hustling Brian into Michael's room, eager to get him comfortable and settled in. Brian paused when he reached the doorway, taking in the Captain Astro drapes and sheets along with the many childhood pictures that adorned the walls. "Christ, this place never changes. It's permanently stuck in 1988."
"That's Michael for you," said Debbie. "Why don't you rest for awhile and then you can come down and eat some dinner. I'm making some pot roast and potatoes that'll knock your socks off."
"Sounds violent," said Brian as he sat down on the bed.
"Go to sleep, you look like you could use it," said Debbie.
Brian nodded and then watched as Debbie stepped out of the room and shut the door behind her. He sighed heavily and took another glance around the room, noticing not only the Captain Astro merchandise, but also a few drawings still taped to the walls. Justin's no doubt. One was a picture of Gus attempting to crawl. Another one was of Deb and Vic. The final one was Brian holding Gus, though Brian couldn't remember ever posing for the picture. He fell back into the pillows with a pained grimace and brought the sheets up around his body, trying to get comfortable. He knew that it had been a long time since either had stayed in the room, but he swore he could detect the scents of both Michael and Justin on the sheets. The two men that mattered; both tangled up in the memories of Brian's nasal passage. The thoughts and images assaulting his brain left him feeling simultaneously happy and completely miserable. He shook the barrage of thoughts from his mind and then buried himself under the covers, falling into a dreamless sleep almost immediately.
**
The rest of the day passed by without incident. After he had woken up from his nap, Brian was force fed three helpings of meat and potatoes by Debbie, who insisted that he needed to put some weight on his frail bones. After that, he worked a bit on the ad campaign for the luggage, though he still wasn't able to come up with any good ideas. Frustrated, he had tossed all the work aside and spent the rest of the night watching a marathon of E! True Hollywood Stories with Vic.
He settled into bed around 11 and quickly let sleep claim him. This time however, his dreams were out in full force. Images of his father drunk and pissed assaulted his mind, and Brian could actually feel the pain of getting punched in the face and kicked in the stomach. The dream turned even worse when Michael, Lindsay, Justin and even Gus entered the picture, morphing at times into his dad and even his mom.
He cried out in his sleep and rolled off the bed, landing hard on the floor with a loud yelp, effectively waking him up and igniting a firestorm of pain in his ribs.
He curled into a tiny ball and tried to catch the breath that had been knocked out of him in the fall.
"Brian?" he heard the concerned voice of Debbie call from behind him. "Jesus Christ, what the hell happened?" she asked as she approached him and placed a comforting hand on his back.
Brian groaned and clenched his eyes shut, trying not only to fend off the pain, but the memories that were still bombarding his brain. "I fell, it's okay," he said through clenched teeth. "Just give me a second," he said as he took in several deep breaths and blew them out.
"Maybe you should have stayed in the hospital after all," said Debbie worriedly.
"I'm fine," said Brian as he slowly uncurled from the ball he had put himself in. Debbie reached out for his arms with her hands. "I can do it, I don't need your fucking help," shouted Brian, slapping her hands away.
Debbie coiled her hands back. "Is that your answer for everything?" she said softly.
Brian glared at her and then slowly and painfully got to his feet, using the bed as leverage. Then he carefully lowered himself down to the bed and got under the covers. Deb then climbed in and joined him.
"What are you doing?" he asked in an annoyed tone.
"Keeping you company, what's it look like?" said Debbie.
"I don't need a fucking babysitter," said Brian
"Well too bad, you got one anyway," she said firmly. She pulled the covers over herself and then wrapped one arm across Brian's body. "Christ, it must have been one hell of a dream. You're shaking like a fucking leaf and sweating buckets."
"It's just afterglow from a jerk off session gone awry," said Brian quickly.
"Well I hope you didn't get cum on the sheets, I just washed them," said Debbie, unconvinced of his excuse.
Brian laughed for a moment, a small smile forming on his face.
Debbie rubbed his arm in a comforting fashion and then gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I'll lay with you until you go to sleep."
"Deb," said Brian.
"Humor me," she said sharply.
"Yes mother," said Brian as he rolled on his side so his back was facing her. He took several calming deep breaths and closed his eyes, trying to ignore the fact that his heart was still racing.
"You know what this reminds me of?" said Deb a few seconds later.
"The first time Mikey had a wet dream?" said Brian smartly.
"It reminds me of that time when you were fifteen and came over here in the middle of the night," said Debbie softly.
Brian's eyes flew open, a look of pain spreading across his face. "I don't know what the fuck you're talking about," he said sharply.
"Sure you do. You were pounding on the door and when I finally opened it up, you were standing there all bruised up and bloody, looking like your father had kicked the shit out of you. You had this haunted look in your eye and you couldn't stop crying," said Debbie, shaking her head in sadness. "So I brought you up here to Michael's room. Don't ask me where he was…maybe at camp or at a friend's house…something. I tucked you into bed and held you until you cried yourself to sleep. Next morning I came up here and you were gone. You never did tell me what that was all about…though I can guess."
Brian's breath caught in his throat. "That's all in the past. It doesn't matter," he said in a shaky voice, a single tear dropping from his eye. He quickly wiped it away with his hand.
"It matters when you're still living in it honey," whispered Debbie in his ear.
"Can you please shut the fuck up so I can get some sleep?" said Brian, a hint of desperation in his voice.
"Yeah okay," said Debbie, letting the harsh words slip by. "You go to sleep."
"Thank you," said Brian sarcastically.
He once again closed his eyes and started taking deep, even breaths, still trying to calm himself down. Once his heart rate was back to normal, he went about the task of pretending he was asleep so Deb would let him be. Fifteen minutes later, he had her convinced. He felt her let him go and rise off the bed. Then he felt her kiss him on the top of his head. "Sweet dreams, kiddo," he heard her whisper. Then he heard her step out of the room and shut the door behind her. As soon as she was gone, Brian rolled onto his back and let out a harsh breath he didn't even know he'd been holding. Then he pulled the sheets tightly over his head, hoping that the smells would somehow put his heart and mind at ease.
TBC