CHAPTER 74 - OIL SLICK, SUGAR LIPS AND STAYING

MICHAEL

I stare at the money in my lap and am glad that I am sitting in the dark as my face burns with humiliation and anger. I look around to see if anybody had seen what had just happened; it doesn’t seem so. I put the money in my pocket, swallow hard and start to make my way to the exit.

BRIAN

I heave a sigh of relief as he leaves! I still can’t get my head around how he’s behaved and part of me misses him but not enough, like Rodney said, to let him coast on this. He won’t change if I go to him. He wants my forgiveness he has to come to me and to mean it! I frown, sigh and fiddle with the label on the bottle of water.

“Come with me.” Justin tells me and pulls me up to the office. “Sit down.” I do so. “I know you miss him terribly but he’s made this bed and he has to lie in it. He would never forgive you if you did this and more importantly, he would never let you forget it! You have other friends and family to shore you up while your heart heals. Okay?”

“Okay.” I sigh, giving him a small smile. “Let’s go back.”

“Are you sure? I’m happy to go home if you're not feeling it anymore…”

“An hour then if I’m still…”

“No, we’re going now.” He states firmly. “They will understand. Besides, I want to remember peeling that off of you.”

“Can I have a Franc special?”

“Of course.” He gives me a soft kiss. “Anything for my man. Let’s go to the loft.”

MICHAEL’S APARTMENT - 30 MINUTES LATER

I wipe my eyes and sniff again. I’m not crying through sadness, but because I am angry! I can’t believe they are going to get married at the same time as Uncle Vic and that snake in the grass! I pull out the money that the other snake in the grass threw at me. I look at my phone, it’s barely near midnight. I might as well go to bed.

THE LOFT - SAME TIME

BEDROOM

JUSTIN

I didn't think it was possible to hate anyone as much as I hate him! As soon as we got in the cab, Brian put his head in my lap and I stroked his hair. The traffic was bad so it took us longer than normal. The cabbie was frowning in the mirror and mouthed is he okay and I just nodded and smiled. The Avenue truly loves their Stud!

“Drink this.” I hand him the Beam and he knocks it straight back. “Right, let’s get you out of those very sexy, but restrictive, clothes.”

Ten minutes later, he’s giggling and I’m frustrated. “How did you get them back on in the first place?!” I grumble and try once more to pull his pants off, but they are stubbornly refusing to go passed mid-thigh. “Brian stop laughing or I will have to cut them off you!”

“Okay, I’m...ahem...being serious. I don't think I put enough lotion on my legs as I was in a hurry to cream someone else.”

“Are they very designer?” I ask over my shoulder as I go to get scissors.

“You are not cutting them off!” He almost shrieks when I come back with them. “I mean it!” He starts to shuffle up the bed. “Just get some baby oil and slick my legs and that should work.”

Fifteen minutes later, we’re moaning and groaning; our mouths are fused together and our oil slicked bodies feel so good as they slide against each other.

“I think…” He gasps in some much needed air. “That I am feeling much, much better.”

“Less talking, more sliding and soon screaming.” I purr against his lips then reclaim his mouth.

BABYLON - AN HOUR LATER

RANDOLPH

I am pooped! As I slide into the car with the GGs, I smile tiredly at George, who had a go on the decks and had us doing the hustle three times. But right now, we are hustling off to bed.

“I’m glad...” George yawns as he hands over Franc’s knuckledusters. “That they made up. Franc and Ray I mean.” I nod. “I think that, judging by the early departure of the Stud, he’s really still hurting over Michael.”

“Especially now they are getting married at the same time as his uncle.”

“Perhaps we could intervene like we did with Andrew and David.” I look across at Vic and he gives me a small smile. “You’d miss him there too, wouldn’t you?” Vic nods. “But then there’s Gus to consider... he’s really taken against him for upsetting his daddy.”

“Hmm. Let’s leave the next move to be Michael’s; he’s got to make it. But no doubt he feels that he’s still done nothing wrong.” I cover us with a blanket and slowly drift off with my hand in George’s.

DEBS HOUSE - SUNDAY AFTERNOON

LOUNGE

DEBS

We have a problem. A big Michael shaped problem. I saw the look on Brian’s face when Michael walked out. For all his posturing, he misses his best friend...but not enough to let him metaphorically walk on water this time. It’s amazing how much stronger, if that is possible, he is with Justin by his side and then it hits me! That’s it!

“Oh my god!” I gasp and stand up and then sit down again!

“Debs?” Carl asks worriedly.

“It’s Justin!” I gasp.

“What about him?” Carl asks frowning. “You don’t think that Michael is…”

“No. Fuck no!” I shudder. “But think about it! Michael’s always had Brian’s ear and was able to cajole, coerce and quite frankly, bully him into doing stuff by manipulation using tears, pouting, and reminding him how much he owes him for saving his life, by providing shelter.”

“And?” Vic asks from the sofa.

“Unbeknownst to Brian, Michael held the power in their relationship. Even though he played the weakling, he was always the one to get Brian to do what he wanted. And it’s the same with Justin. He holds the power in their relationship…”

“But he wields it differently.” Rodney joins us from the kitchen. “Brian does what Justin asks because Justin asks, but doesn’t demand or invent commandments according to his own ideals. You know ‘Thou shalt fuck whomever you want but not forsake me, your best friend! Thou shall not grow up unless it is to my liking! Thou shalt not even think of being happy with anyone else but ME!! And a host of other whiny wishes that Michael has either spewed verbally or demonstrated continually over the years. Jeez...talk about a God-complex. Bottom line is that compared to Justin, Michael is glaringly inferior.”

“Michael wants rid of Justin because he makes Brian the one thing he could never stand…”

“Happy?” Rodney snorts.

“Yeah that too! But he also makes Brian human, not the god-like figure Michael fantasizes about when he reads his comics or those blasted action figures he can stare at while they collect dust on the shelf until it’s time to take it down and show it off. Let me ask, and Vic you would probably know better than any of us, has Brian ever, as an adult ever cried in front of Michael?”

“Not that I know of.” Vic is sitting up, intrigued now.

“Michael wants to be with the legend that is the Stud of Liberty Avenue; wants the envy and glory that all of that brings. Without it, he’s invisible. But Justin... Justin wants and gets Brian Kinney the man with all his human frailties and in turn, gets all the adoration that Michael craves without even trying. Michael is discovering that there is a big difference between living on Fantasy Island and the being mentally present in the real world. Hell Gus is more grown up...and he’s five!”

“So now what do we do?” Rodney taps Vic on his chest and he sits up so he can rest his head in his lap. “And I think that Dorothy is wrong…”

“About?” Carl turns to him.

“I don’t think he misses Michael in the friendship stakes. He misses him in the sense that he was always there. And now he’s cast him out…”

“He’s thinking what happens if Justin and I don’t work out?” Vic sighs. “Despite the world and his husband seeing that they will, deep down he’s still that insecure little kid wearing a fucking heavy suit of armour!”

“So Debs do me a favour... give Michael enough of a hint for him to do what he needs to do to get back in with Brian and the GGs will do the rest!”

“Rodney, what are you up to?” I laugh, relishing the big smackdown coming, even if I don’t know what it is!

“Having fun!” He chuckles.

BRITIN - EARLY EVENING

LOUNGE

BRIAN

I can’t believe this! I am looking at a pile of blackberry donuts, covered in sugar and slathered in, I believe he called it, crème Anglaise. At Justin’s insistence, we are sitting in a circle, the we being me, him, Mel, Leda, Gus and Ruby with the donuts in the middle.

“Okay this is called the sugar lip challenge!” He explains, bouncing on his bubble butt. “What you need to do is eat three donuts…”

“Three?!” I scowl at him.

“Yes, three!” He says firmly. “The person to your right feeds you the donuts and the point is not to lick your lips for ten minutes afterwards. They can make your mouth as messy as they want but you can’t lick your lips.”

“What about Ruby?” Gus asks dubiously. “She has no teeths.”

“Teeth. She can just watch for now.” I pinch his nose gently.

“Okay daddy. Oh daddy, can I move please?”

“What’s wrong with sitting next to me?” I demand, pretending to pout and suppress my laughter when he gives me the really look.

“Because you won’t feed me enough donut and papa will.”

“Okay, can we begin please?!” Justin orders. “Everyone take their...put it back Leda! Take their first donut and feed…”

By the time the third, absolutely delicious blackberry donut is slathered over my lips, I am desperate to lick! But I am uber competitive!

“Momma!” Gus manages to mumble out, looking like he’s wearing Mr Frosty’s lip balm! “I saw...ooh so nice!” Gus licks his lips in seconds before realising what he did.

“Have another donut.” Justin manages to mumble and then blinks. Rookie mistake!

“So Gus…” I tilt my head back and swallow a load of drool. “What did it taste like?”

“Oh daddy, it is so nice!” Gus gushes. “The donut sponge is so soft and fluffy and not greasy and then there’s the blackberry inside but it’s the honey sugar syrup! Is that right, papa?”  Justin nods. “It makes your lips all sticky!”

“But all that stickiness makes your lips nice and soft. Doesn’t it, Sonny boy?”

“Well yes I suppose so. I means you and papa and mommy and momma can do...momma, you licked you definitely licked!”

Leda nods and finally caves and licks her lips clean.

“How’d the cream taste?” I mutter.

“Bri...ah sh...sugar!” Mel grumbles before licking her lips clean.

“Okay, you two need to face each other.” Mel orders and we do as we’re bid. “You have another two…”

All voices fade as we look at each other and it hits me how much I love this man. “Come here.” I say quietly and he slides into my lap. “I love you. Plain and simple, I love you.”

“Bri…”

“Sssh mommy!” Gus orders.

“I yield to my liege.” I lick my lips and then do the same for him.

“Big-big kisses.” Gus whispers.

When we come up for air, we are just grinning. We rest our foreheads against each other before I use my thumb to wipe away an errant smudge of sugar. I turn to Mel and sigh.

“Stay.”

“I am not watching you two go at it!”

“No I mean stay. When we need space then we go to the other houses but stay, until they at least go to college.”

“But…” Mel begins, her voice thick.

“Stay please.” I ask again.

“He’s going to need a bigger bed.” She sniffs.

“We’ll get it tomorrow.” I sigh and wipe another smudge from my blonde’s cheek.