Chapter 6 – The Show, Part 2
Brian looked down in surprise.
He'd only been in town for a day and Justin wanted to play games?
Brian glanced toward the door. A tall, well-built man in his mid-twenties was holding the door open for Justin's roommate Ari, towering over her. A heart-shaped face, full lips, perfectly cut short brown hair and startling blue eyes topped a body that looked like it lived in a gym. Although he was dressed in a fitted designer suit, the younger man wore it carelessly, with no airs to show off his perfect body. He leaned down to speak to Ari as she entered the gallery, a vision in a layered green dress.
Brian's gay-dar went off. "Seeing him first doesn't matter, Sunshine. It's doing him first that counts. Besides, he's big enough to share."
Justin smiled. The distraction had worked. Brian's odd mood had shifted with his focus.
John had been watching the two men, fascinated. Curious, he glanced at the door and started to laugh - he should have known. "Down, boys. Any sharing will have to be negotiated with me." He waved towards the door. "Marc – over here."
Brian winced.
"Brian, don't you know its bad form to hit on your clients' boyfriends?" Justin quipped. "At least, not right in front of them." The last aside was whispered quietly, so John wouldn't hear.
Brian glared at Justin, silently promising retribution later.
Marc and Ari joined them. Justin introduced his roommate.
"Delighted to meet you, Ari." John took over the introductions. "This is Marc Ryan, left-winger for the New York Riders. Marc, meet Justin Taylor, one of the artists showing today and Brian Kinney, a business associate."
"Pleased to meet you all. Congratulations on what looks like a great show." Marc's voice was surprisingly quiet for such a big man.
"Really – you know about art shows?" quipped Brian.
Marc looked at Brian, startled - then turned to John. "You told them I've never been to an art gallery in my life, didn't you?"
"No. I wouldn't. Brian overheard our phone call earlier. You didn't love my plans for the evening."
"Well - it was a long practice today." He smiled at Justin, obviously embarrassed.
Justin smiled back. "Don't worry. I've never been to a hockey game."
"Well, as John said, trying something new won't hurt me. Which paintings are your work?" Marc looked around curiously and then turned pale. "Oh, no. Why are they here?" He looked at John. "John - why are we both here?"
John looked at a small group he hadn't noticed before - two of Marc's teammates with their wives. "Well, they're here because Meg has decided to become a patron of the arts. I think she's bored. I'm here because Brian invited me to the show. I have no idea why you're here since you obviously can't be with me." John was enjoying Marc's discomfort.
Ari offered to help. She was the only girl. "You can be my date."
Marc looked even more confused. "Why would they believe that?"
John started to laugh. "You've misunderstood, Ariana. Marc's a Canadian – as are most of his teammates. Being gay is not a problem. Sleeping with the owner's brother in the midst of his first contract negotiations – now that's a problem."
Justin smirked at Brian as he stepped up. "I love it when opportunity knocks, don't you?" Justin pulled Marc's head down and kissed him. "You're here to support your artist boyfriend, of course."
Justin took a surprised Marc by the hand to lead him over to the group. As they started to move, they were spotted.
"Oh, Marc!" Meg was by the muscular man's side in an instant, batting her eyelashes in a way that made Justin uncomfortable. "I'm surprised to see you here. Is this your boyfriend?"
"Justin is one of the artists," Marc explained.
"He's just too adorable!" She leered at Justin, and he smiled back tentatively, fighting the urge to turn around and roll his eyes at Brian. "You must come to dinner with us sometime and tell us how you two met! Which paintings are yours?"
Brian had to laugh at the stunned expression on John's face as Marc and Justin moved off with the foursome into the second room. "Don't worry. Marc's safe enough. Justin's just playing."
"What?" asked John "How do you know?" John wouldn't admit it, but Justin Taylor had him worried.
"I know Justin. Besides, we don't fuck friends."
"What, never?" John asked with an arched brow, surprised at the compliment.
Brian's eyes narrowed speculatively and his lips quirked up as he answered, "Well, hardly ever."
"Oh, look, Daphne's here," Ari interrupted as she spotted her old friend. "Justin will be thrilled!"
Brian turned to see that Daphne, Debbie and Jennifer had finally arrived. The three women were entering the gallery looking around for Justin.
"Shit," muttered Brian. If Debbie saw Marc and Justin, the whole world would know they weren't dating. Brian took off to intercept the women.
Brian planted himself in front of Debbie to stop her. After some quick hellos, he started to explain. "Justin's in the next room with a guy called Marc Ryan. It'll look like they're dating…"
Debbie interrupted. "Brian – you didn't come to New York and get to meet a new boyfriend, did you? Did you fuck it up?"
"No, I didn't fuck it up. Christ, would you just shut up." Brian took a breath, exasperated. "Justin's just doing Marc a favor, pretending they're dating. Marc's a hockey player."
"Why would Justin do that?" Daphne queried.
Brian tried to come up with a quick explanation and couldn't. "It doesn't matter. Go ahead and say hi. Pretend you know all about Marc dating Justin." Brian smiled at the thought of Debbie's acting.
Brian moved back to where John and Ari were standing. They were positioned perfectly to watch the scene through the door. Brian leaned in to John, "This should be good. Justin doesn't even know they're coming to the show. I flew them in for moral support."
"Sunshine!" Debbie's voice carried across the room.
Justin head whipped around in surprise "Deb, Mom, Daphne! What are you all doing here?" He was engulfed in a hug.
"You couldn't keep us away, honey," Deb declared. "So, who the fuck is this? A new boyfriend?"
Justin looked around wildly and spotted Brian, watching from the main room. Justin moved his lips silently. "Bastard." He knew who had paid for the airline tickets. Brian could have warned him. Brian just grinned, enjoying the show.
Justin turned to respond "Yeah, Deb. This is Marc. Marc, this is Debbie Novotny. She's been like a second mother to me."
"Pleased to meet you, ma'am. Justin's mentioned you."
Deb decided to have some fun. "Oh, what'd he say?"
Marc was saved from answering when Daphne hugged Justin. "I'm so excited we made it! Our flight was late, but we're here." Daphne turned to Marc and hugged him, too. "Great to see you again, Marc."
"Uh – you, too," Marc replied, beginning to look overwhelmed.
"Justin, sweetheart, I'm so proud of you. The show looks amazing," Jennifer gave Justin a hug. She looked pointedly at Marc.
"Mom, this is great! I didn't know you guys were coming," said Justin. "Marc, this is my mother."
"Pleased to meet you, ma'am," Marc gave a hard swallow.
"Likewise, Marc. We'll have to have a long chat and get to know each other." Jennifer smiled at the look on Marc's face. He looked as if he wanted to vanish.
Ari turned to John and Brian. "So, should we go save them?"
"Fuck no, they got themselves into this – they can get themselves out," responded Brian with a knowing smile. "It's worse than you think. That little brunette, Meg, wasn't it? I know her type. Some breeders don't hate gays, and feel compelled to prove it to the world."
John started to laugh at the description.
Brian continued, "Justin will be hit up with invitations to dinner, to games, to anything she can think of just so she can feel better about herself. She won't stop until Justin shows up. On the plus side, she'll buy some of his paintings."
Ari looked at Brian "You cannot possibly know that."
John nodded his head, "No, he's right. I've known her for years. That's exactly what she'll do."
"How long are those contract negotiations going to last?" Brian asked.
"Could finish tomorrow, or it could be two more months," responded John.
Brian smirked. "I think Justin's about to learn more than he ever wanted to know about hockey."
"As long as he doesn't learn too much about hockey players," John retorted.