"Mr. Prescott? Here is the CD you requested. Will there be anything else, sir?" Lane's assistant, Sylvia Broadwell, handed him the disc.
"No, thank you, Sylvia," the elegantly-dressed man answered her smoothly. "That will be all for now." As his assistant closed the door behind her, an original oil painting hanging on the opposite wall captured his attention and he found his thoughts once again concentrating on a certain blond-haired, blue-eyed artist. One that no matter how hard he tried, he could not get out of his mind. A man that had totally captivated him just over a year ago, when he had first laid eyes on Justin Taylor at a charity benefit in Pittsburgh. He had been mesmerized then by the man's soft, blond hair, sapphire blue eyes, and full, pink lips, and he had later found himself the lucky recipient of the man's radiant smile when he said or did something that particularly delighted the artist. And when he finally had the opportunity to be with Justin alone to get to know him better, he found himself falling even deeper in love with this intelligent, creative man who craved romance. A man who deserved to be cherished. A man that someone like that arrogant prick, Brian Kinney, could never appreciate properly.
Lane had appeared to give up hope of winning Justin's heart that day at the airport several months ago when he had tried to persuade the artist to come back with him to New York City. Justin had professed his love for Kinney then, and Lane had appeared to accept that. But as he had previously pointed out to the cocky ad exec, Lane Prescott hadn't become so successful by giving up easily. And when he wanted something, he pursued it until he had it. And he still wanted nothing more badly than winning Justin Taylor's heart – body and soul.
With Valentine's Day fast approaching, then, Lane had decided it was time to launch an all-out, full-scale campaign to capture the blond's affections. The detective he had hired had spent the last several months becoming familiar with every aspect of Justin's life: his friends, his preferred hangouts, his favorite food and music, his family history. Lane frowned as he remembered the detective's initial report. He was not happy to learn that Justin and Brian had moved in together in Lawrenceville shortly after he had returned to his corporate offices in New York City. But a powerful, successful man such as he was not easily deterred by a minor inconvenience.
The chocolates, bracelet and paints had been a good start. But a man like Justin was not easily swayed or impressed by money or expensive gifts. Now was the time to turn it up a notch. Lane was convinced the proper method to win Justin over was by appealing to his emotions. Hence the CD he was presently holding in his hand. He smiled as he envisioned Justin's reaction to this latest personal gift. This should help tell him how I feel, he thought. Dialing his assistant, he asked Sylvia to prepare a messenger for the next delivery.
Sitting on the loft couch, Justin felt a pair of toned arms slowly snake around from the back and wrap themselves around his neck. "Fuck, Sunshine, you're so tight, but not where I prefer you to be tight," Brian smirked, as he massaged the knots in Justin's shoulders. "What's got you so tense?" He reached down to nuzzle and kiss the blond's neck just below his right ear, producing a shiver in his partner.
Justin sighed. This is it. Time to come clean and let Mt. Kinney erupt, if necessary. "It probably has something to do with this," he said, reaching inside his pocket and holding up the braided bracelet for Brian to see. "And this," he added, picking up one of the edible paint tubes from the cushion. "And this." He picked up the box of chocolates he had taken out earlier from the refrigerator.
"What the fuck?" Where did all this come from?" Brian failed to keep the jealousy from creeping into his voice. The bracelet, especially, got his attention immediately. Brian was knowledgeable enough about expensive jewelry to be able to spot a valuable piece when he saw it, and the bracelet practically screamed EXPENSIVE and then some. He retrieved the bracelet from Justin's hand, and sitting down on the back of the couch, held it up to inspect it more closely.
"Justin, this is platinum. Do you have any idea how expensive this is?"
"Well, not exactly. But the Tiffany's box it came in kind of gave it away," he said sarcastically. "Turn it over," he said, somewhat hesitantly.
Brian did as Justin instructed. As he turned it face down, he noticed some type of inscription in fancy scroll on the underside. He held it closely in front of his face to read what it said. Two hearts and two bodies that will soon be united as one. Your secret admirer
Justin counted. Three, two, one…. Brian did not disappoint him. "What in the fuck is this!!" He yelled. "Who sent this? I'll rip his fucking balls off right now! Tell me, Justin!" At that moment, it would have been evident to anyone that by now Brian Kinney no longer made any attempts to hide his concern or jealousy when it came to another man desiring his partner.
"I wish I knew, Brian. Really – I have no idea. I told you about the chocolates the other day. Since then, these other two packages have been delivered, one each day. None of them had a sender's address on them, and I only saw the delivery person for the first two gifts. The chocolates were delivered here to the loft by some guy in a uniform with no company name, and the bracelet was actually hand-delivered to me at the diner. It wasn't the same guy, and the second one left immediately without saying another word after I identified myself. Then, this basket of paint was dropped off today by our loft door. I didn't even know there WAS a delivery until I heard the outside buzzer. By the time I found it, whoever had delivered it was long gone somehow. There wasn't a card with the bracelet, only with the other two gifts."
Brian was still upset, but he tried to remain calm as he asked, "What cards?"
"These." Justin handed him the two small gift cards and watched as the older man read the inscriptions. He noticed his lover's face flush and his eyes darken as he read what they said.
"Shit! Justin, these are VERY personal messages. Surely you have SOME idea who's sending them." His hands were clenched in anger as he turned to his partner.
"Brian, I TOLD you, I have NO idea. What are you trying to say? Do you think I've been encouraging someone? Or worse, do you think I'm fucking some guy behind your back? If I was, do you think I'd be showing you this?" His eyes threatened to tear up in frustration as he waited for Brian to answer him. "Brian, answer me. I thought we had already covered this before I agreed to move in with you. Either you trust me or you don't. I trust YOU."
Brian looked at the man he loved more than anything whose eyes were now bright with unshed tears. His anger instantly dissolved. He let out a deep breath. "I DO trust you, Justin." He paused. These candid discussions were still so damn hard for him. "I'm sorry," he said softly, reaching down to caress the other man's cheek. He was rewarded with a slight smile of relief. "But we need to get to the bottom of this, Sunshine. I won't have some rich, lovesick queer running around Pittsburgh leaving little trinkets of affection for my partner. This borders on stalking. I'm going to talk to Horvath."
Justin grasped his sleeve. "Brian, no. That's not necessary. Besides, what could he do? He can't arrest someone for having a crush on me. Let's just ignore him. I'm sure the guy will just give up when he doesn't get any encouragement. I'd already thrown out the paints in the garbage before I decided you needed to know what was going on. I'll get rid of the chocolates and the bracelet, too. Just forget about them, Brian," he pleaded. "They don't mean anything to me. HE doesn't mean anything to me. You're the man I love." Justin reached out to grasp Brian's neck and pull the older man down for a passionate kiss, one that was urgently returned by his partner. Justin then tugged on Brian's loosened tie to pull his lover down on top of him, both tumbling onto the leather couch.
"Just don't you ever forget that, Sunshine," he murmured, as he eagerly unzipped the blond's jeans and reached for his target. He tossed the tube of Ecru Ecstasy several feet away onto the loft floor as he said,"I don't need any fucking edible paints to make love to you." Justin squirmed and sighed in pleasure as Brian proceeded to remind him of just how much he DID love him.