CHAPTER 14 – STORM AND CALM

DAY 23 – EARLY MORNING

DEBS SUITE

BEDROOM

DEBS

I sigh again and stare into the darkness, the flash of lightning being the only thing lighting up the room. It’s no good, I can’t sleep anymore. I’m worried about Brian. He didn’t come back up to his suite last night according to Mel, and his bed’s not been slept in.

“He might be back now.” Carl turns over. “Let’s go see Mel and check. If he’s not then we call Franc and see if we can locate him via his swipe card. How about that?”

I smile at him and get out of bed. “Okay you jump in the shower first and I’ll make coffee.” I order but he grabs my wrist before I get too far.

“Or we both have a shower now…you know, save water?”  He grins.

“Carl!”  I gasp.

“That’s a yes, right?”

“Definitely!”

MICHAEL’S SUITE

MICHAEL

My eye and cheek are still painful but it’s down to a dull ache thanks to the painkillers.  Blake’s second in command had to check it because he was looking after Ted and Cynthia.  I tried to explain to them but nobody was listening…

Start of flashback

SECONDS AFTER BRIAN WALKS OUT

MICHAEL

“Michael, how could you?!”  Ma yells.

“Like I said, I was drunk!”  I shout back, wincing as the pain from the punches radiate around my head.

“You’ve done nothing but bitch about how little you have seen of Brian!  But you knew, you knew how important this is and what he’s like during a pitch!”  Uncle Vic snaps.  “Instead of being supportive like the rest of us, you just stomped around like a two year old!”

“Guys take this downstairs. You’re going to wake Gus!”  Mel orders and with one filthy look at me, goes back to her suite.

“I need Ethan’s card back.”  Franc orders and hands mine back to me.

“Do you realise what trouble you are in?”  Ma asks me as we wait for the lift.  “Ems, where you going?”

“Taking the stairs; I can’t bear to be near him!”

When the lift comes, it is just Ma, me, Uncle Vic, Rodney and Carl.

“We will talk in the morning, Michael.”  Ma sighs.  “If you’re lucky, he’ll have calmed down by the morning and will just ask for you to be removed to another part of the ship.”

“I doubt it, sis, I doubt it.”  Uncle Vic says.

End of flashback

I’ve been calling Brian for the last 3 hours. I’ve just got to get him to listen to me.  When I look out the window, there is a massive storm raging outside.

“Brian, it’s me again. I need to talk to you face to face and alone to explain... please call me back.”

JUSTIN’S SUITE

BEDROOM

BRIAN

My phone beeps again. It doesn’t take a genius to work out who it is.  That fucker can definitely wait.

We didn’t talk much about it last night. Instead, we ended up watching a cheesy movie.  Well we started to watch it but I fell asleep at some point. I don’t know when but I know I started off on my side. However, now I’m flat on my back while Justin uses me as a mattress.  And I have discovered that he snores.  Not too loud, just a small little rumble.

“Custard!”  I grumble as yet again, he smacks me in the face with his tail.  “Justin.  Justin.”

“Mmmm, sleepy.”  He mumbles.

“I know but Custard keeps hitting me in the face, which I’m guessing is Custard speak for get up and feed me.”

He vibrates with laughter and kisses the middle of my chest.  “Indeed it is.”  He brushes the hair out of his eyes.  “Coffee?”

I just nod and then lie back down.  But instead of following him, Custard just stares at me. “Go, he’s going to feed you.”  He doesn’t move.  “Justin, he’s not moved!”  I call out.

“Yeah because he wants you to feed him, not me!”  He calls back.

“Are you kidding?!”

“Nope!  Get up and see what happens.”

I do so and sure enough, Custard trots after me and waits by his bowl.  “Okay, what do I do?”

“You need to wash the bowl out first…”

Fifteen minutes later, we’re back in bed with coffee. “So what are you going to do about Michael?” He peers out of the window. “With this storm, they won’t be able to fly anywhere, at least not today.”

I sigh and steady the cup whilst Rhubarb and Custard make themselves comfortable.  “I don’t know. He lied about saying sorry to Gus. I know him when he’s drunk. He does a lot of things, generally fall asleep…”

“But?”

“It was something he almost said after we got the contract. You know after what… And when I was saying about how much more things we have to do with Seabird account, he was annoyed. Like I should be finished now that it’s been signed.”

“But surely he knows what you’re like when you’re doing a pitch?”

“Yeah but in the Pitts, it’s different. I’m…hey you okay?”

“Pittsburgh? You’re from Pittsburgh?!” Justin splutters.

“Yes. We all are. That’s where we embarked.”

“Us too!  I mean, I have a base there.”  He laughs.  “I left when dad said it was either Dartmouth or leave home.  But I wanted to work with kids and do art for most of my life and when I saw an opportunity, I took it.  Been working on Seabird Cruise ships, happily, ever since.”

“Speaking of working, have we resigned?”  I ask, finishing my coffee off and lying down on my side to look up at him.

“Resigned?  What…oh?”  The confusion clears from his face.  “Um, I see.”  He puts his cup down and slides down so our faces are level. “I feel that we have to see Seabird finally concluded and you need to deal with Michael.”

I scrunch up my nose because he’s right. “But we can we resign temporarily right now?”

“We resigned for an hour the day after the contract was signed.  Now get up!”

I pin him down easily.  “Resign.”  Kiss.  “Resign.”  Kiss.  “Are you resigning?”

“More persuasion please…mmm.”

I feel that groan reverberate all the way down to my toes. When he entwines his legs with mine, I bury my hands in his hair, his soft beautiful hair.

KNOCK!  KNOCK!  KNOCK!

I reluctantly pull away from his delicious mouth and he pecks me on the nose before getting up to answer the door.  He talks to someone for about 5 minutes, which could have been better spent in my opinion, doing what he was doing with his hips!

He comes back and yanks the quilt off me.  “Up!”  He orders giggling.  “You’ve got to go!”

“Fine!  But can I at least have a shower here!”

He gives me the are-you-kidding-me look and I laugh.  “It was worth a try!”

JUSTIN

Oh fuck!  He’s that Brian Kinney!

MEL’S SUITE

MEL

We called Franc and she said she would go and get Brian.  Debs was getting really worried but now we’ve located him, she’s feeling better.  We’re just waiting for him and Gus to finish in the shower.  After we take Gus to Kid’s Club, then we’re heading to Rupert’s suite as he wants us to sit in on the disciplinary hearing for Gold.

“Okay Sonny Boy, are you ready?”

“Yes daddy.”

BOARDROOM 2 – FORTY MINUTES LATER

RUPERT

We’re waiting for Franc and Bella to arrive.  Having worked diligently over the evening, they have been going through the records trying to find the write-ups that he deleted. Although he’s going to be dismissed, which he should have been for the band debacle, he’s allowed to defend himself.

Naturally, he pleaded to Ray to help him but whatever he wants to say, I can’t back him on this.

The door opening heralds the arrival of Bella and Franc.

“Dad, I’ve been speaking to Ethan and…”

“Sssh.  I want to hear from him, not you.”  I tell Ray sternly.

Brian is, understandably, glaring at him.

“Okay let’s start this.  Mr Gold, explain.”  I order.

“I admittedly did wrong by not applying the band on Mr Kinney’s son immediately, but I did apologise when…”

“Over 24 hours later.”  Brian points out.

“Mr Kinney please…”

“But I did try earlier. Mr Novotny’s presence stopped me from putting my note of apology in his suite.”

“How so?”  Franc asks.  “You could simply have slipped it under the door. You didn’t need to go into his suite.”

He glares at her but says nothing else.

“Now about the amendment of the records, how do you explain that?”  I demand.

“There is no proof that I did that.”

“But you have my son’s code and that was used to amend your records. Trust me when I say that my son doesn’t have the wherewithal to do that.”

I ignore the gasp of indignation that Ray lets out.

“Why didn’t you just go to Bella to say you lost your card? Why did you issue yourself a band, which you are not senior enough to have?  And then there’s the non-fraternisation policy you breached. I understand that there are at least nine breaches of you being with passengers and…”

“It’s a gay cruise ship. Of course, we’re going to fraternise!”  He scoffs as his arrogance begins to show through.

“Not everyone subscribes to the cliché, that all gay men do is fuck!”  Franc snaps.

He glares at her again.  “And besides, I’m not the only one.  If I’m getting in trouble for this, I’m not getting in trouble alone!”

“What are you talking about?”  I demand.

“What about Justin and Leda? They’ve been fraternising with the Kinney party. At least, I wasn’t so blatant!”

“Ethan!”  Ray gasps and I have to bite back the laugh as Franc rolls her eyes.

“What is this he’s talking about?”  I look at Brian.  “Is this true?  And who are Justin and Leda?”

“They run the Kids Club.”  Ethan declares smugly.

“As an independent franchise.”  Franc tells us.  “The franchise is run across the entire Seabird but they wanted to be on this ship.  But, they aren’t governed by the rules of Seabird.”

“They don’t work for Seabird?”  Brian looks at her in disbelief and she shakes her head.

“I see.  Well, I don’t think there is any more to discuss. Ethan Gold, you are dismissed from the employment within Seabird. You will be confined to a holding suite until we arrive in the Leeward Islands. Then you will be afforded transportation to a city within the USA of your choice.  Where would you prefer that to be?”

“Pittsburgh.”  He snaps and is about to stalk out, when I clear my throat.

“Both your card and band have been disabled.  You will need to wait for one of the stewards to accompany you to the room.  Mr Kinney, has this matter been concluded to your satisfaction?”

“Yes thanks Rupert.  Now if you could excuse me.”

KIDS CLUB – AN HOUR LATER

BRIAN

I wait for the last of the kids leave and when they do, I lock the door.  Justin is in the office finishing off whatever he’s doing.  He comes to a surprised halt when he comes out of the office and finds me there.

“Brian! Is everything okay with Gus?” He looks genuinely worried.

I just start walking towards him so he starts to walk backwards into the office.  And once inside, I lock the door.

“Brian?  What are you doing?  What’s happened?”  He demands.

“Ethan Gold has been fired, placed in lockdown and will be transferred to a city within the USA of his choice…”

“This is good, right?”

“Very but something rather interesting came up.  Seems you forgot to mention a little detail about Seabird.”  I keep stalking him until he’s trapped between a wall and a very hard place!

“What?”  He’s looking for a way out.

“You don’t work for them?  Kids Club is a franchise…”  I put my hand out to stop him from ducking down. “Which means the non-fraternization clause needs to be renegotiated.”

“It doesn’t.  We…”  He stops talking when I slide down to my knees.  “Brian, you can’t! Not here!”  He gasps.  “Brian no, please don’t!  Please!”

I get off my knees and frown.  “Dropped my phone…”  He just stares at me mortified.

“Oh God!  Let me out Brian, please let me out!”

I step back and he rushes away.

What the fuck just happened?!

TED’S SUITE – HALF AN HOUR LATER

LOUNGE

TED

For a man so smart and who has Michael throwing himself at him, he’s remarkably clueless.   And it is so sweet, although I would never say that out loud!  He’s sitting there trying to fathom what happened.

“Brian.”  I try not to smile.  “You were in stalk mode. You had locked you both in his office and then you dropped to your knees.  After all that flirting you two have been doing, what else was he supposed to think you were going to do?”

I wait and can literally see the realisation dawning.  “He thought I was going to…in there!”

Okay not reacting the way I thought he would.

“Before you go ballistic, just think about what I said.  You’ve gone from getting to know him gently and letting Gus get to know him. He’s his Mr Justin.  You haven’t even let Michael know half the things that Justin knows.”  He frowns.  “Okay, let me try it another way.  What’s Justin’s phone code, personal?”

“2165.”

“Michael’s?”

“No…oh fudgsicles!”  He sighs.  “I was just teasing him.”

“Brian don’t tell me, tell him!”  I order and haul him to his feet.

BRIAN’S SUITE – AN HOUR LATER

BALCONY

BRIAN

I have had nothing but a litany of texts and voicemail messages from Michael but I have ignored each and every one.  Him, I can fix later. Justin I want to fix now.  But so far he’s not replied.  I look at my toenails and sigh.

The pounding can only mean one thing…Michael.

“Brian!”  He hammers harder, yelling at the top of his voice.  “Please, can you just let me explain?!”

I open the door and he tries to step inside.  “You can explain outside.”

“I would rather do this in private.”  He tries again.

“There are only two suites.  So judging by your appearance, you know that Mel and Gus are in Lilah’s.”

“Fine!  Although, I think I should sue Cynthia and Ted for hitting me.”  He looks at me carefully.

“Your choice but two things.  One you are going to have to explain to the court why they hit you, which leads you to your second, although it is really your first problem, the vandalism you caused.  Which I can have you arrested for.”

“Arrested?  Brian, I’m your best friend!  I got drunk and made a stupid, stupid mistake.  I was just drunk, that’s all!”

“And lied.”  I point out.

“About what for fuck sake?!  I said I was drunk!”

“Gus.”

“What about him?!”

I just stare.  “You lied about saying you apologised.”

“I did apologise when I told him about Leather Bear.”

“So you’re calling my son a liar?”

“No!  Of course not!  Maybe he just didn’t hear me.  When I found him, I took back to him.”

“Where did you find him?”

“Who?”

“Leather Bear.  Where did you find him?”

“I just found him.”  He replies.

“So how did your card get in his vest pocket?”

He sighs heavily.  “I don’t know.  I just found him outside my room and…”

I put my hand up when my phone beeps.  Wasn’t ignoring you.  Phone charging and left office phone in office when I was behaving like an idiot.  Can we talk?  J.

“Okay Michael, I have to go now.”

“What?  Where?”  He looks confused.

“None of your business.  We should be hitting the island tomorrow…”

He smiles at me.  “I’m so glad we’re…”

I know exactly what he’s going to say.  “Allow me to disabuse you of the notion you’re under.  There is no we here.  Mel wants you off this ship and so do I.  Cynthia and Debs will help you pack in the morning in readiness for going back to the Pitts on the 1400 from the Leeward Islands.”

“Brian!”

“No!  You hurt Gus and you almost cost me something very important to me.  I’ve listened but to be honest, I don’t believe you.  And…”

“Michael!”  Debs’ voice booms out.  “I knew it!  I knew you would be bothering Brian!  Get your ass in this lift right now!”

“Ma!  Stay out of this!  This is between Brian and me and…”

MICHAEL

He’s shut the door on me!

“Now look what you’ve done!”  I snap at her and sit down.

“What exactly are you doing now?!”  She yells.

“I’m waiting for him to come out so I can talk him out of this!”  I hear the lift door beep and am surprised to see two men approaching us.

“Michael Novotny?”  A man asks and I nod.  “Can you stand up, sir?”

“You are under arrest for the destruction of property belonging to Seabird Enterprises.  Come with me, sir.”

“What?!” I stand up quickly. “I’m not going anywhere!” I cross my arms and stand my ground.

“It would be more dignified for you to walk, sir.”  The other one of them approaches.  “Either way, you are making your way to your suite in the next minute.”

“Michael, just move!”  Ma orders.  “Don’t be a bigger asshole!”

I start to make my way down the corridor but Ma is staring at the floor.  “Ma, aren’t you coming? I need your help!”

“I’ll be right there; I know where to find you!”  She yells, slowly coming up the corridor.  “I’ve lost my fucking earring!  Dammit!  Be right there!”

The lift door opens and I am ushered in.

DEBS

I wait for the lift door to shut before going back to his door.  “Kiddo!  Open up, it’s just me!”

He opens the door and sighs.  “Debs, please don’t ask me…”

“I’m not going to.” I grin at his confusion.  “Just letting you know you will be Michael free for the rest of the night.  A couple of friends of Ems have arrested him and will be standing guard outside his door if he tries to leave.”

He just stares at me for a minute.  “Are you serious?”

“Yes.  Now enjoy the rest of your evening!”  I kiss him on the cheek and make my way laughing back to Lilah’s.

BRIAN

I shut the door and then grab my phone again.  I had texted him to say I had to get rid of Michael first and he was happy to wait.  Want to talk in person?  If so, me to you or you to me?  B.  I wait and pace impatiently.  On my way - J flashes on my screen.

Ten minutes later, a nervous Justin is outside my door. The first thing I do is look at his feet.

“Oh a serious conversation if there are no furry distractions.”  I step back and let him in.  He doesn’t say a word.  “Want a drink?”

He just nods when I wave a Beam at him.  “Balcony?”

We sit in silence for a couple of minutes.  “I was teasing you.”  I tell him.  “I could’ve picked a better place to do that in stalk mode as Ted put it, but I wouldn’t…”

“It was just so different from how you’ve been before.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a virgin but…”

“Not that experienced?”  I suggest.

“Not as much as you.”  He murmurs shyly.  “Your reputation preceded you in Pittsburgh. I still can’t believe that you are that Brian Kinney, Stud of Liberty Avenue.  But that’s not the Brian Kinney on this ship.  What happened to make you drop off the face of the Gay PA world?”

“I grew up. What with Lindsay, building Kinnetic up, looking after Gus and cancer, I readjusted my priorities…”

“Cancer?  You had cancer?”

“Yeah they got it all.  Been cancer free for almost 2 years.”

He just looks incredulous.  “Where?”

“Left testicle is fake.”  I tell him.

“Wow.  You say it so calmly.  Weren’t you scared?”

“Fucking terrified.”  I laugh.  “But I got through it.”

“You were lucky to have everyone around you, supporting you and…”

“They don’t know.  You’re the first person I have ever told.”

“Why didn’t you tell them?”  He asks and for a few minutes, I think about it.

“Because I didn’t want to be coddled and be made a big deal of, especially by Lindsay and Michael. It would have been about them, not me. So I was told the prognosis and got on with it.  I was setting up Kinnetic at the same time which made it easier to hide it that way.”  I look at the goosebumps on his arms.  “You want to go inside?”  He nods.

After I shut the balcony door, I take his hand and lead him to the bedroom.  “Want to get in and talk?”

“Yeah.”

EMMY’S BALCONY

BEN

I hold Emmy in my arms while he sobs for his friend.

“What am I going to do?”  He asks when he recovers.

“Nothing and something.”  I tell him and he looks confused.  “You heard what he said. He’s fine and didn’t tell anyone because he didn’t want to be made a fuss of.  So say nothing to anyone else but Brian. He’s the only person you should tell that you know and how you know.”

He nods and we head into the suite.

DAY 24 – MORNING

BRIAN’S SUITE

BALCONY

BRIAN

When I woke up this morning, once again having started on my side, I was flat on my back and Justin was snoring on my chest.  But there is something else…another weight.  I look down and chuff out a laugh as Gus sucks his thumb in his sleep.

We got up an hour later and had breakfast on the balcony before he took him to Kids Club.

I was about to go to the gym when I got a text from Emmy Lou to say he wants to talk.

“Hey Emmy Lou.”  I open the door with a smile but he looks sad and worried.  “What’s wrong?”

“Sweetie, I was outside on my balcony with Ben last night…no joking please. I need to get through this.”  I close my mouth.  “When you were talking to Justin and I heard about the cancer…”

“Oh I see.  Emmy Lou, I’m fine.  Please, can you keep this to yourself?”

“Of course!  Now more importantly have you two…”

“No. We’ve got hot and heavy but no.”

“You’ve not?”  Emmy Lou looks stunned.  “But you’ve sought relief elsewhere?”

“No and we’re fine with that.  He’s from Pittsburgh.”  He gasps in surprise.  “And he knows that I’m that Brian Kinney.”

“Oh-oh, how is that for him?  Want me to get it?”  He asks when the door knocks and I nod and pray.

“Hey Teddy!”

I let out a sigh of relief.

“Hey Ems, what are you doing here?  Bri, how’d it go?  You and Justin are okay, right?”

“What happened Teddy?  Catch me up?”  Emmy demands.

An hour later, I’m heading to Lilah’s with two of my best friends teasing me about my stalk timing!

LEEWARD ISLANDS QUAYSIDE

MICHAEL

I can’t believe it! Gold and I are both being shepherded down the gangplank. I keep looking back to see if Brian is coming to stop them but the only person behind the stewards is Cynthia looking so fucking pleased with herself!

As we’re driven away, I vow that Brian and I will be together. He just needs to calm down.

SEABIRD NIGHTCLUB – EARLY EVENING

BRIAN

It has been a great day.  I ended up telling Ted about the cancer and it turned out that he had a suspicion something was wrong but waited for me to tell him.  We are sitting at the bar when a guy cruises me and for a brief second, I was interested but then Justin came in and the interest died. I walk past the guy and take Justin’s hand to lead him back to our table. It wasn’t until we were making our way back his quarters that I realised Michael is off the ship and not only didn’t I say goodbye but I didn’t care.

“I’m going to ask you a question.” I get in the bed, flinging the covers back over us.  “How is it I start on my side like this but wake up on my back?”

He laughs.  “You’re very comfy to lie on and that’s my side of the bed.”

“Oh…okay.”  I yawn and then flop onto my back and pull him onto my chest.  “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.”  He yawns.  “Oh, we’re going to the island tomorrow.”

“Sleep twat.”

“Night stud.”