Title: Just Kiss Me
Story Type: AU
Word Count: 3546
Warnings: Love, Passion, Romance, Angst, Anti-Michael…
Beta Queen: BigJ52
Banner: Predec2
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, plot, etc. are property of their respective owners, including, but not limited to Russell T. Davies, Cowlip, and Showtime. The author of this story is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended…
Summary: Brian and Justin’s journey of love…
Chapter Summary: Lindsay gets caught up in her lies as she tries to undermine Justin’s career, and in the process ends her relationship with Mel…
Just Kiss Me…
Chapter Twenty Seven ~ Unfaithful Kisses…
I go into town to drop off the paintings Sydney has requested. The gallery looks different, maybe cleaner, and the artwork has been rearranged, giving the gallery a more welcoming feel. I don’t see Lindsay anywhere, and I’m surprised when I’m greeted by a petite woman who seems happy to see me. She introduces herself as Patrice Bloom, and I’m surprised that Sydney’s wife is back working at the gallery. She says it’s just temporary until Sydney can find a replacement for Lindsay. She asks how Lindsay’s doing, saying how sorry she is that Sydney had to let her go. I’m kind of shocked, because I had no idea Lindsay was fired. I wonder if anyone else knows, no one said anything at Deb’s the other night.
My mind’s still reeling from the news about Lindsay. I decide to go grocery shopping before heading back out to Britin. I’m rather picky when choosing my produce, so as I’m inspecting the tomatoes I hear Gus calling out to me. I walk over to the cart and look around, wondering where Lindsay is. I hug him and transfer him to my cart until Lindsay returns. He’s helping me pick out fruit and vegetables, telling me the colors of everything and if he likes them or not. We laugh when we come across a coconut; he thinks it’s funny that it’s hairy and feels strange. I decide to buy it, telling him we’ll try it tomorrow when he’s at the house.
We look up to see Lindsay coming down one of the aisles with an expensive bottle of champagne and a box of Godiva chocolates. She picks up a basket of strawberries and walks away, pushing the cart. I’m truly stumped. I was sure she looked right at me and Gus. So I follow behind her, wondering when she’ll realize that Gus is missing, and notice that he’s with me. We shop aisle after aisle as I follow her through the store. If she just turned our way she’d see us, but she never does. Gus thinks we’re playing a game, so he keeps making silly faces when she glances in our direction, but she looks right past us.
She checks out ahead of us a few registers over, and once we’re out in the parking lot, I see she’s parked one row down from me. I continue loading my groceries into the jeep, wondering why she’s so absent-minded. Gus waves to her and she once again seems to look right through us. Then she gets in her car and pulls out of the parking lot like nothing’s wrong. Gus is upset, realizing it’s not a game, and she’s leaving him behind.
He doesn’t understand why she’s forgotten about him and he’s a little frightened. I reassure him that everything’s okay, and I’ll take him home. I’m just thankful that I happened to be at the store. I find her behavior disturbing, to say the least. We get caught up in traffic due to a fender bender, and it’s half an hour before we get to the house. I wonder if I should ask her if she’d like me to keep Gus. After all tomorrow is our day to care for him, but she seems preoccupied. I knock but there’s no answer. I knock again and then realize the door is unlocked. We step into the house and I call out Lindsay’s name. Still no answer. I’m starting to get worried. I think she might be on anti-depressants, as she’s been so emotional lately. Maybe her medication is making her spaced out or something.
So I get Gus settled in the kitchen with a glass of milk and some graham crackers. Then I slowly walk upstairs. I can hear her moaning and I wonder if she’s hurt, but I soon realize she’s not alone. I’m totally embarrassed and start to creep back down the stairs when her bedroom door opens, and some strange man goes into the bathroom.
What the hell is going on?
Once I’m back in the kitchen I tell Gus he’s going to stay with Brian and me for a while. I don’t care what her excuse is, I don’t think she’s fit to care for Gus and I can’t help wondering where JR is. I pour Gus’s milk into a sippy cup so it won’t spill and grab the crackers and carry him out of the house. I strap him into his car seat. We head to the park where he eats his crackers and milk while we watch the ducks. This morning just keeps getting crazier by the moment. Gus is completely oblivious as he plays with his action figures from his toy bin in the jeep.
I call Emmett as I need to talk to someone. I don’t want to disturb Brian at work, because I know he has an important presentation this morning. Emmett quickly shows up with a picnic basket filled with samples of his latest creations. So for lunch we do a taste test of his hors d’oeuvres; fruit kebabs, chicken skewers, teriyaki shrimp, and meatballs. Gus loves that everything is bite size and on a toothpick, he wants to know if we can eat dinner on toothpicks. I tell him that it might be hard to have spaghetti on a stick. He squeals, he loves spaghetti.
After lunch Gus plays with the toothpicks, using them as swords for his soldiers while I tell Emmett all about Lindsay’s special guest.
Em’s just as shocked as I am.
“So, who was he? Did you recognize him?”
“I don’t know who he is, some weird old fat guy.”
“Are sure they were… You know…”
“He was naked, Em.”
“Eww, gross!”
“I know. It gives me the creeps, too.”
“Who do you suppose he is?”
“I really have no idea.”
“I guess there’s trouble in paradise again.”
“I guess…”
“What are you going to tell Brian?”
“I’ll start with her abandoning Gus at the grocery store. But the way he’s been feeling, that might be enough to push him over the edge. I’ll let Mel deal with the Pillsbury Dough man.”
“You have to tell him everything. He’ll freak if you don’t. Besides, don’t start withholding information from him for Lindsay’s sake. She needs to face the music, and it’s not good to start lying to your husband.”
“You’re right. I just hate to add to his stress level. This thing with Michael and Deb is really tearing him apart.”
“I can imagine. I wonder where Michael is these days.”
“I don’t know. But I kind of hope he never comes back.”
He snickers, “I can understand that.”
~~~
Later that afternoon…
“Daddy! Daddy, you’re home!”
“Hey there, Sonny boy.”
Brian reaches down and swoops him up in his arms, kissing his forehead.
“Justy and I made magic busketty.”
“Magic busketty? You mean biscotti?”
“He means spaghetti.”
“I hope this magic spaghetti is the kind with no calories.”
“Fat chance.”
“Daddy, we made it with magic white powder, and it turned into busketty. Isn’t that cool?
“I’m glad to see you’re still loving your pasta machine, even if it means I’ll gain ten pounds.”
Gus pulls on his collar to get his attention again. “But daddy, we can’t eat it with toothpicks.”
“What? No magic toothpicks?”
Brian looks at Justin questioningly.
“We had lunch with Emmett, and he made hors d’oeuvres.”
“Ahh…”
“So isn’t he here a day early?”
“Yeah. It’s a long story.”
“Oh?”
“He might need to stay with us for a little while.”
“What’s going on?”
Before I have time to tell Brian about Lindsay’s disturbing behavior, the phone rings.
It’s Lindsay. She’s happily telling Brian that she convinced some art critic friend of hers to visit the gallery today. He loves Justin’s paintings, and he thinks Justin has promise. She insists that we come to dinner tonight, because Simon is leaving town in the morning.
“Lindsay. It’s almost five. It’s a little late for a dinner invitation.”
“Oh my God. I forgot to pick Gus up from daycare.”
“Daycare?”
“Not now, Brian! I have to go! Just be here by seven o’clock. It’s important for Justin’s career.”
“That was strange. It was Lindsay, insisting that we come over for dinner tonight. Then she hung up on me, saying she had to pick Gus up from daycare.”
“Really? This should be interesting.”
“Why does she think Gus is at daycare?”
“Oh, it’s just a little mix-up. I can’t wait to hear her explanation. I’ll just put the busketty in the fridge. It’s always better the second day anyways.”
“Apparently she convinced some art critic friend of hers to visit her at work today. She was ranting about how much he loved your paintings, and how great this will be for your career.”
This day just keeps getting better and better. I’m completely skeptical, but Brian’s already agreed and I kind of like the idea of making her squirm. We arrive right at seven like she requested, and you can see the relief on her face when she sees Gus.
“I guess I forgot what day it is. You know Gus’s visitation schedule really isn’t working for me.”
“I agree. But let’s all sit down and discuss it tomorrow.”
“Justin, Brian. This is my friend Simon. He flew in from New York just to see Justin’s paintings. I told him how talented you are, and he just had to see your artwork.”
I’m amazed at how easily the lies slide off her tongue; she should have become an actress.
“Really? I’m totally flattered. You don’t think sailboats and the lighthouse are too run of the mill? I know just about all new artists paint simple paintings of everyday landscapes.”
Brian’s looking at me like I’ve lost my mind. I’ve never painted a lighthouse, or sailboat in my life.
“Oh no. I think they showed exceptional promise.”
This whole conversation seems to go right over Lindsay’s head.
“Simon plans on writing an article on you for Art Forum magazine. Do you know how special that is? This could be really important for your career. Once everyone reads about you, your work will be in high demand.”
This is incredible. It wasn’t that long ago that she told me that I was an untalented hack who would never amount to anything.
“Wow. I had no idea you were such an important art critic, that a simple article from you could boost my career to such heights.”
“Simon has introduced numerous up and coming artists into the art world with the critiques he’s written. You might even have to move to New York to further your career. I’m sure Brian wouldn’t want to hold you back from achieving your potential.”
Brian frowns, glaring at both her and Simon.
“Wow. You have really given this some thought. The magazine hasn’t even gone to print, and you already have me moving to New York.”
“I’m just stating the obvious. You need to be in the center of the art world.”
“And just think, it only took you banging some art critic to get me noticed.”
Lindsay’s face drains of color, and anger fills her eyes, but she’s not the only one who’s glaring. Mel looks at me, and then at Lindsay. She can tell just by the way Lindsay’s acting, that what I said is true. She wants to scream and tear Lindsay’s eyes out. But she bites her tongue, and remains calm until they’re alone and she can really let her have it.
“You know I didn’t see you at the gallery this morning when I dropped off the paintings Sydney requested.”
“I… I must have been in the backroom.”
“No. No, Patrice said you no longer work at the gallery.”
Lindsay gasps, she can’t believe that Justin knows about that too…
“I believe it was in the grocery store where I saw you.”
“You were at the grocery store this morning?”
“Yes. Our cupboards were practically bare, so I stocked up. They have the best produce at Coleman’s, don’t they?”
“Yeah, mommy! Justy and I bought a fuzzy coconut!”
“You and Gus were at the grocery store together?”
“Yes, mommy. We played a game following you around the store. But you never noticed us, then you just left me there without even saying good bye.”
Lindsay’s face has gone from ghost white to beet red.
“You kidnapped Gus from the grocery store?”
“No. I rescued him after you abandoned him. It was a good thing he saw me and called out, otherwise who knows who might have taken him?”
“What is going on?”
“Brian, calm down. I can explain.”
Justin glares at her. “I can’t wait to hear this.”
Mel barks, “Neither can I.”
Lindsay’s breathing becomes erratic, as her eyes roll back into her head and she faints, falling to the floor. We were all so stunned by her revelations that no one moves to try and catch her. Now we’re all just standing over her, staring. Simon quickly stammers that he really needs to go, as he starts to put on his coat to leave.
“Oh, Simon. By the way I don’t paint sailboats and lighthouses. I paint abstract paintings. You might want to add that to your article.”
Brian snarks, “I can’t wait to read it. Will you be including your tryst with Lindsay in the footnotes?”
Slowly Lindsay comes around and questions what’s happened. She tries to play us for fools, acting like she has no idea who Simon is, or what we’re talking about.
Lindsay, of course, is trying to blame me for everything. Her losing her job at the gallery, Brian demanding that we have full custody of Gus, and that she be examined by a psychiatrist. But most of all for Melanie throwing her out of the house permanently, ending their relationship.
If only I could take credit for everything…
~~~
Gus seems happy with his new living arrangements, spending a couple nights a week with Mel and JR and he has yet to question where Lindsay is. I think she really frightened him when she abandoned him at Coleman’s. Kids are pretty perceptive, and seeing Mel and Brian’s reaction only confirmed his suspicions.
Brian was kidding when he said he was going to start working from home to oversee the construction of our new fence. But now that Gus is staying with us, he’s actually keeping his word. He and Gus have settled into a ritual in the mornings. They eat breakfast together at the crack of dawn. It must be a Kinney thing, and thank God they let me sleep in. Then Brian gets online with Ted, and Gus starts playing the ABC mouse program for kids. It’s a computer software program that helps kids learn their numbers and alphabet through games and singing songs. It’s geared for preschool children through to elementary school. Gus is so proud playing on the computer. He’s just like Brian working on his laptop. He makes a point of showing me and Brian what he’s learned in the morning, during lunch.
He’s no longer going to preschool, because either Brian or I are here with him during the days. I can tell he’s happier with his routine when he gets to spend time with each of us alone, and both of us together. Gus and I paint together after his nap, and usually make dinner together. Sometimes we even get Brian to help out, but more often he just sits at the kitchen table talking to Ted and Cynthia, or working on developing ad campaigns. On the days he has to go into the office for a meeting or presentation he usually takes Gus with him, and then Gus spends the night with Melanie and Jenny.
On Saturday morning everyone helps Emmett, Deb and Carl move into their new apartments. Of course Deb and I take Gus and Jenny to the library and the park in the morning. Once all the boxes are moved, we show up with pizza, salad, chips and brownies. Afterwards Mel takes the kids back to her house, where they watch videos together and Gus ends up spending the night with them.
We spend the afternoon unpacking all the boxes and putting everything away. Brian insists that Emmett keep the loft furniture, saying that the style doesn’t really mesh with Britin’s style. He also surprises Debbie and Carl with new furniture. He cringed at the idea of all the worn, ripped, and faded furniture going into the updated loft. Debbie cries for an hour as she tests each chair, sofa and bed. She just keeps running her hands over the granite countertops, appliances, and the large dining room table and chairs, that’s big enough to seat the whole family. By the time we finish we’re all exhausted and ready to collapse. Emmett and I go and pick up Chinese food, and a case of beer. We all agree that we’ll let Debbie make us a huge Italian feast next weekend to celebrate their new homes.
~~~
Michael is now eating at the local soup kitchens in East Los Angeles. When he can’t pick up a trick to spend the night with, he sleeps in the homeless shelters, or on the street. He doesn’t make much money hustling, and when he does he’s often beat up for it. He’s beyond depressed, and often accepts drugs as payment for his services. Being stoned helps make his living conditions barely livable, he longs for his mother’s cooking and a warm safe bed.
He has been on a downward spiral ever since the evening Ben met him at the greasy diner. He had been so hopeful when he saw Ben enter the restaurant, but his spirits faded fast when Ben told him it was over. That it had been over between them for the last year. He had held on, hoping that Michael’s pathetic preoccupation with Brian would end. But it only seemed to increase when Michael learned that Brian and Justin had reunited, and then once they married, Michael just became obsessed.
He was honest with Michael, and told him that his friendship with Trevor had grown stronger during the fall months, and by Christmas he was beginning to develop romantic feelings towards him. With Michael chasing Brian and blatantly disrespecting him, he finally had reached his limit. He and Trevor became romantically involved, and their passion for one another soon become more than just a fling. He was in love, and he wanted to give their relationship a try. He had never felt that kind of passion for anyone the way he did Trevor, and he realized that he was truly in love for the first time in his life.
Trevor had been teaching at the Law School at Carnegie Mellon, when he was approached by an old classmate and offered a partnership at his law firm in Los Angeles. So Ben visited him, and applied for various teaching positions at the local colleges. Soon he was interviewing with several of them and then accepted a professorship at UCLA. Michael couldn’t believe what he was hearing, as it never occurred to him that Ben might meet, or fall in love with someone new.
He was crushed, and his heart was breaking; he always assumed that Ben would take him back. But not only wouldn’t Ben reconsider, he refused to allow Michael to sleep on his sofa, or even give him any money. He told Michael outright that if he helped him, he knew that Michael would never leave him alone. That he’d always show up asking for more, because that was how he treated his mom and Brian, and he wouldn’t be a patsy for him. It was time he stood on his own two feet for once in his life. Then he walked away without looking back.
It wasn’t until later that week Ben received a phone call from Carl and found out about what Michael had done at the loft. How he was arrested, and then released on bail. How Debbie had put up both of their houses as collateral for the bond. Then Michael had skipped town, causing them to have their houses repossessed. Ben was in shock. Michael had made it seem like he had come to California to try and work things out with him. Now he knows Michael was just playing him once again, having hit rock bottom. He told Carl that Michael had shown up on his doorstep earlier in the week, but he had no idea where he was now.
~~~
Brian writhes, arching his back and moaning Justin’s name.
“Justin! Oh, God! Justin! Yes! Yes! Yes!”
Brian tightens his grip on his golden locks, as Justin’s beautiful lips slide up and down his shaft. Brian’s moaning is becoming louder and Justin knows he’s close. He cups Brian’s balls with his saliva covered fingers, and gently rolls them in his palm. Brian throws his head back and lets his orgasm consume him. His body shakes as Justin’s mouth is flooded.
Justin looks up, meeting Brian’s eyes as his pink tongue peeks out to capture the sweet cream coating his lips. Grinning, he whispers, “I love the way you taste.”
TBC…
