Justin got out of the cab at Daphne's office, a place he'd been only just a few short weeks ago when he first told Daphne about his stalker. He was so naïve that day, thinking that everything was behind him, that leaving the city would protect him from the anonymous man.  He now had even more information and knew who the man was and it wasn't like he could just brush him under the rug so to speak.  He had to be nice to him and he wondered exactly how he was going to do that with Brian around.

Justin grabbed a cigarette out of his pocket and lit it, inhaling it deeply, but coughed as he was not used to smoking.  He had quit several years ago, but picked up a pack in the airport shop, hoping that a cigarette might calm him.  Unfortunately, that strategy didn't work either.  The deep inhalation only made him dizzy and nauseous, but then he thought that those feelings could be due to his situation.  He took another drag of the cigarette but it made him gag and want to throw up.  He dropped the cigarette and ground it under his shoe.  He took another deep breath, breathing in the fresh air and this time he didn't cough.  He put his hand on his messenger bag, feeling for his phone and wallet, shaking his head at his misguided thoughts, thinking that the cigarette would help the situation.  

He pushed the button in the elevator for the third floor and walked out of the elevator and turned to the right.  The humming of the fluorescent lights in the hallway made him feel like he was in a bad "B" movie.  The sleek glass doors of the office suites were labeled with the business name and he walked until he found the one with Daphne's name on it.  He opened the door and recognized the familiar painting on the wall; it was one he had given her years ago.  He smiled a half smile thinking that at least some of his work would be displayed.  Hearing the door open, Daphne came out of the inner office, giving him a hug and then ushering him into her office. 

"You look like shit," she said as she eyed him from head to toe.  "I know you talk more when you're eating so I made you some popcorn."

Justin laughed.  "Do you feed all your clients popcorn?  I bet that could get expensive and messy."

"Freak."

"Hey, I'm not the one giving out popcorn before I sit on your ‘couch'."

"Whatever.  I just know you.  So take the damned popcorn and talk."

"Wow.  I'm glad I'm not one of your patients," he teased as he took the offered bowl and sat on the chair opposite her.

She sat in her chair and examined her very dearest friend.  She took in the frown on his face, looking like his world had crumbled. He looked defeated.  There was a faint smell of smoke on him which surprised her since Justin had given up smoking several years ago. 

Justin ate several handfuls of popcorn and wouldn't look at Daphne, a mixture of shame and fear roiling through him.  He didn't know where to start and hoped that Daphne would just start talking, asking him questions so he wouldn't have to think.  He wouldn't look at her, just kept staring at the popcorn bowl.

"You just going to eat the entire bowl of popcorn, or are you going to talk?"

"I'm screwed."

"Tell me about the interview."

Justin took his hand out of the bowl, wiping it on his pants.  He looked at Daphne with a mix of relief and anxiousness.  Taking a deep breath, he inhaled a lungful of air, hoping it would calm him, and it worked a little.   "The first two interviews were great. The critics asked really good questions and I started to relax.  But then "he" came in.  I recognized him right away and he knew exactly who I was."

"So was he weird or creepy?"

Shaking his head in response, Justin said, "No, not really.  It took a while for me to start talking."  Justin gazed out into the office, a faraway stare on his face as he remembered his frozen body at the sight of the familiar man.   "He started asking questions and it took a bit for me to respond."

"Okay.  So it went okay?" Daphne was frustrated with Justin as she wasn't getting the information she desperately needed.  She wrung her hands a few times but tried to keep them in her lap so he wouldn't notice her anxiety.

"He'd only gotten a few questions in since there was such a long delay. I'd mentioned earlier that I had a plane to catch and he knew I was anxious to leave so he asked me for my contact information. He offered to complete the interview over the phone."

"Shit!"

"Yeah, Shit is right.  No way I'm giving that guy my information.  He's already asked me out once and I turned him down." Justin grabbed another handful of popcorn stuffing them in his mouth.

Daphne opened her mouth in a wide O and her eyebrows went up toward her forehead.  "He did what?  You didn't tell me he asked you out."

"Well, he only did it the one time and when I told him no, he backed off."  Justin looked down into the bowl of popcorn and moved the remaining corn in a small circle, refusing to look at Daphne.

"Justin...."

"And to top this wonderful interview off, he heard me talk about my partner and made a statement that he wanted to interview him since partners could provide insight into an artist."  Justin frowned at that statement.

"Shit."

"Yeah.  When Brian finds out that this guy has seen me dance and is a critic too, he will go ballistic."

"Well, maybe he won't say anything about seeing you dance."

"Daphne.  With my luck that will be the first thing, they talk about.  And once Carol and the Bretano's hear about my dancing, I'm sure they will drop me in a minute."  Justin wiped a small tear from rolling down his cheek.

"Bretano's is such a prestigious gallery and when they find out about this, I'm done before I even get started.  Brian is going to be furious.  We spent all that time looking at apartments and now my career is over before it starts."  Justin put his head in his hands and allowed the tears to fall. 

"I worked so hard for this Daph.  I only was dancing so I could have time to paint and now it backfires right in my face.  The thing I did to give me time to paint is going to be the thing that results in the end of my career."

 "Maybe he won't say anything.  Look at it from his perspective.  He sees a talented artist.  If he shares information about your dancing and ruins your career, he won't be able to see you again.  I bet he won't say anything to anyone."

Justin looked up from his hands and saw the staunch support of his best friend.  Maybe he was being a drama queen. 

"Maybe you're right."

"But don't think you're off the hook.  You are going to go right home and tell Brian the truth.  Every bit of the truth.  And if you don't, I will."

"But..."

"No buts Justin.  You have kept this secret way too long from Brian.  Your dancing has caused nothing but trouble and its time you talked to Brian.  I'm no longer supporting your belief that you don't need to share this information with him."

Justin gave her a small smile.  He grabbed a tissue from the table in front of him and blew his nose. 

"I'll be right back."  He walked to her private bathroom and washed his face of the tears, returning to her office.  "Better.  I guess I need to go home and face the music."

"I think that would be good.  Justin, you know I love you, but you shouldn't be afraid of Brian's reaction.  He loves you and has always supported you. Will he like it? No, but you obviously don't like the situation either. So get it out in the open, come clean, and you can face whatever happens together.  It will be okay.  I know it."

Justin walked over to Daphne and kissed her on the cheek and they shared a much-needed hug.  "Thanks.  I'll call you tomorrow."

Justin left her building and sighed.  He still didn't have a car so he had two options; call Brian for a ride or take the service home.  He decided the service was the best option since he really didn't want to think about a long ride home with Brian.  He had to give himself time to plan his speech.  He called for the car service and waited in the lobby until the car showed up about 10 minutes later.

As the car drove toward West Virginia, he was thankful that Britin was 40 minutes outside the city.  Usually, he was in such a hurry to get home, but today he was thankful that it was far away.  He watched as the cityscape turned to a country scene.  The billboards lining the road replaced with huge expanses of land with large yards and quiet streets.  It was almost like he was in a different world, one more carefree and less commercial.  Far too quickly the car was turning down the street that led to Britin.  Normally the drive out here seemed interminable when he'd been coming home, counting the miles and exits till he was reunited with Brian, but today was different.  Today he wished it was twice as long, but unfortunately, the time flew and he was in their driveway.  The driver was knocking on the window alerting him to their arrival.

Taking several deep breaths, he gathered his messenger bag, draped it over his shoulder and opened the door.  Walking to the trunk, he pulled out his carryon and rolled it to the front of the car and gave the driver a tip.  The man dipped his head and thanked him, wishing him a good evening.

Justin rolled his suitcase toward the door, squared his shoulders and put a smile on his face.  He remembered his mother always told him that a smile was contagious and it was hard to be unhappy when you were smiling.  Taking out his key, he unlocked the door and walked in.  He came in through the utility room off the garage and wondered if Brian would be down any minute after hearing the garage door open.  He stopped for a minute waiting to hear the familiar footsteps but smiled when he didn't.  He imagined Brian was in their room, eagerly waiting for his return.  His first reprieve all day.  If Brian was waiting for him he could manage to make their reunion last all night.  That would give him more time to figure out what he was going to tell Brian and figure a strategy for messing up their move to New York.   

Justin walked through the kitchen and stopped at the fridge, opening it to find himself a snack.  If he was going to distract Brian all night with a long sexcapade, he needed lots of energy.  His stomach growled at the sight of the well-stocked fridge.  He saw a container of left-over turkey and some mashed potatoes and grabbed them to make himself a plate of food.  After heating up the food and sitting down to the table, he glanced at the mail from the last few days.  He'd been in the kitchen for 15 minutes when he heard Brian's feet slapping on the hardwood floors.

"There you are," Brian said as he leaned down and kissed Justin on the head. "I thought I heard the garage but when you didn't come bounding up the stairs, I thought I was hearing things."  Looking at the plate of food, he smiled.  "Ah... Had to feed the beast. Good idea."

Brian opened the fridge and took out a beer, popping the top and taking a draw.  Sitting at the table, he placed the bottle down and watched Justin as he looked intently at his plate rather than at him.  Justin was very quiet and this set off alarms in his head.  Something happened in New York.  He knew Justin would tell him and he recognized avoidance when he saw it.  He wondered when he became such an astute observer of his partner and realized he'd always been an astute observer when it came to Justin.  While Justin claimed to have written many chapters in the Brian Kinney operating manual, he was the author of his own Justin Taylor manual.  He saw the downcast eyes, the rote eating of food, the quiet of his partner.  Normally Justin would be telling him every detail from the time the alarm was set to the food he ate and the lack of babble from Justin's mouth was just as telling as if Justin was telling him something was wrong.  He'd learned that Justin was incapable of keeping his fears to himself and he knew that he'd learn sooner or later what the problem was.  For now, he was going to let it slide.  He'd been without his partner for three days and his cock ached for his bubble butt. 

Justin finished his food and put his plate in the dishwasher.  He realized he could no longer stall so before he turned around; he put a smile on his face and then walked toward Brian.

"I see you've developed a little problem."  He cupped Brian's cock through his jeans.  "Why don't we go upstairs and take care of it?" Justin leaned into Brian and opened his mouth to kiss his partner. 

"I think that's an excellent idea."

TBC