Chapter 20 - Welcome To The Ranks.

Several days went by following all of Justin‘s huge disclosures without anything substantial changing. The two men continued to exist in the quiet, protective bubble of the big West Virginia mansion. Their routine was simple and comforting. They seemed to function so well together that it was hard for each to remember what their separate lives had been like before.

In the mornings they worked together on the novel that was rapidly becoming more of an autobiography for Justin than the work of pure fiction it had started out as. The story was getting more and more compelling as they crafted it. It was going to be a real page turner by the time it was done and Brian was hopeful that it would easily find a publisher. However, Brian was seriously contemplating adding Justin‘s name to the work as a designated co-author instead of just an assistant editor considering how much work the kid was putting into the effort.

In the afternoons, the pair would devote their attention to the ongoing renovations. This part of Brian‘s new life was coming along even better than expected. With the addition of a second pair of hands, the construction work was speeding along. As an extra bonus, it turned out that Justin was quite good at carpentry and woodwork of all kinds. Whenever Brian would get stuck on some part of the project - such as hanging cabinets that didn’t quite fit the space that he had wanted to put them in or moulding that looked wrong up against the old and slightly uneven walls - Justin would inevitably come up with some genius solution to the problem. The boy even volunteered to build a handmade bookcase for the Greatroom when the one that Brian had ordered turned out to be all wrong for the spot. Before long, it started to feel like Brian was Justin‘s assistant in the renovation work instead of the other way around. Not that Brian really minded, though, seeing as he was getting excellent quality work as part of the deal.

On top of the excellent assistance Brian was getting from his ghost in the renovation arena, Justin‘s penchant for carpentry was proving beneficial in another way - almost every day, Brian would notice another GhostBoy addition to the furnishings of the house. It started off small. First there was a small wooden caddy tray that appeared on the coffee table in front of the couch which was perfect for holding all of the various remote controls for Brian‘s electronic devices. Then, a few days later, a set of beautiful floating shelves appeared, adorning the walls in Brian’s study. A day later, a set of nesting footstools appeared next to the desk in Brian‘s bedroom. And then, when Brian was putting the finishing touches to Gus’s room, he noted an ingenious little wooden xylophone music box sitting on the recently constructed built-in shelving. Everything that Justin made was beautifully finished, pleasant to look at in a modernistic way, and incredibly well crafted. Brian was more than impressed. He thanked the boy profusely every time he found one of these little gifts, despite the fact that Justin seemed completely embarrassed by any praise offered to him.

Because of the all the help, Brian’s renovations were a lot further along than he would have expected them to be so soon. The Greatroom, study, and guest bath on the main floor were basically done by the end of that week. The only thing left to do in those rooms was paint. The kitchen area still needed a lot of work, but that was mostly because he’d decided at the last moment to reconfigure the stairs up to the second floor, with the landing ending in the combined kitchen and dining room area. He was happy with this adjustment, though, as it seemed to tie the kitchen into the rest of the house more. Once he’d installed the big sliding glass doors that were waiting to be fitted into the exterior wall at the end of the kitchen, and finished the outdoor patio/deck that he had planned, the kitchen area would become an amazing space that would be a focal point for the entire house. Upstairs, Brian had finished the minor changes to Gus’ room, as well as the two guest bedrooms on the opposite side of the hallway. That left only the smallest of the extra bedrooms, which Brian planned to gut and use to increase the size of the master bedroom, along with providing space for an elaborate walk-in closet and a much larger master bath. However, since he didn’t want to tear apart his bedroom until the last possible moment, that was the one area of the project that hadn’t even really been started yet. All in all, Brian was immensely pleased with the way the house was coming along. He couldn’t wait to tackle the bedroom and all the other finishing touches. His goal of getting the house ready before the holidays was looking easily attainable.

As soon as the construction crew had put their tools away in the evenings, the pair of them would shower and then turn their efforts to concocting dinner together. After dinner was done, they would retreat to the couch and spend the rest of the night comfortably relaxing together while watching something inane on the television. Considering how busy and strenuous his days were, it wasn’t all that surprising that Brian was content to laze around the house most nights instead of going out looking for other entertainment.

What did surprise him was that he hadn’t really felt the need for any company other than his little ghost. Which was very unlike the Studly Brian Kinney that most people knew. When he thought about it, it seemed logical that, now that he had someone to spend his evenings with, there was no compulsion to immediately race out and find human contact. Which is what had happened on an almost nightly basis back in the days when he lived in the loft. Looking at himself from the distance of time, he realized he had been a lot more lonely back in those days than he had probably realized. But now that he had Justin who, as quiet as the boy was, turned out to be good company, had a sense of humor that mirrored Brian’s own, and who seemed equally content to spend time with Brian, there was no need to leave the house to find the companionship he craved.

And his ghost had been quite the accommodating companion, too. Especially when it came to the antics the two of them got up to after the television was turned off and they retreated to Brian‘s bed. Amazingly enough, though, it was Brian who was insisting that they take the bedroom fun at a slow pace.

Brian himself wasn’t sure WHAT was up with that. Justin remained as compliant and amenable as ever. They showered together most evenings after they were done working on the house. They slept together every single night, their naked bodies entwined, no barriers between them. Justin seemed always willing to join in with whatever Brian wanted. And there was plenty of kissing and touching and frotting, but Brian had been careful not to let things get beyond what Emmett would likely call the ‘heavy petting stage’.

Brian truly didn’t know why he was acting so hesitant. Nobody who knew him would believe it if he told them. In his past life, Brian had, more often than not, been the aggressor in almost all his sexual dealings. He was considered to be almost predatory by some, although he would never have forced someone who was seriously opposed to having sex with him. But he admitted there had been numerous times in the past where he might have pressed his advantage a little heavy-handedly. Not that anyone had ever complained afterwards.

Things were different with his ghost though. Brian didn’t want to push the boy too fast. He knew in his gut that Justin wasn’t ready for THAT yet, even though the younger man probably wouldn’t have stopped him if Brian had tried to press for more. Justin was a perfectly willing partner when it came to most things, happily and eagerly kissing back and following Brian’s lead in other actions, although he never initiated anything himself. But there was just something so fragile about the boy. Something Brian was afraid he might break if he wasn’t superlatively careful. So the Stud had refrained from moving beyond the relative innocence of make out sessions, with the occasional hand job thrown in for fun, even though it was completely uncharacteristic for the normally aggressive man. In the meantime, Brian was content to keep on the way they’d been going and was enjoying the relative calm in his life.

Brian’s newfound domesticity had been noticed by his friends, though, and it seemed to be raising alarms. Michael seemed to be especially concerned by Brian’s disappearance from the gayborhood. He’d been calling almost daily, demanding that Brian join him for a night out, and getting more and more insistent about things the longer Brian put him off. Finally, the same day his ghost used up the last of the drywall putty, Brian decided to give in and head to town to pick up more, with a side trip to meet the gang for drinks afterward. He hoped that by putting in a brief appearance he would quell his friend’s ongoing nagging.

However, for some reason, Brian found himself a little reluctant to abandon Justin for the evening. Not that the ghost wasn’t perfectly capable of spending one night by himself, but Brian was still hesitant to go off for a night of fun while the boy was holed up in the big empty house all by himself. And, truth be told, Brian didn’t fancy spending a night without his friendly resident ghost either.

“I think I’ll go to the home center store in town to pick up more putty and maybe look at decking supplies while I’m at it,” Brian announced as they finished cleaning up the mess they’d made while drywalling the far end of the kitchen. “Then I’m going to meet the guys for a few drinks. You’re welcome to come with, if you want. A night out probably wouldn’t kill you, you know.”

“No. I’m fine here,” Justin quickly cut off Brian’s offer.

“Come on, Ghost,” Brian turned to his young friend with an imploring look. “You can’t just stay hidden here forever, can you? There’s a big, fun, gay world out there waiting for you to discover it.”

“I . . . I can’t, Brian.”

“Why?” Brian asked, sincerely confused by the boy’s unwillingness to leave the house he’d been trapped in for years. “You do know your father was full of shit, right? Whatever he told you about you being unfit to associate with ‘normal’ people was bullshit and doesn’t even deserve comment. You have just as much right as anyone else to enjoy your life. You don’t have to hide out here because of a dead man’s prejudices, you know.”

“I know,” Justin replied without meeting Brian’s gaze, seemingly embarrassed or maybe hiding something he wasn’t ready to talk about. “Believe me, I would be the last person on Earth to argue that my father should be listened to. He was always full of shit. But, still, I just . . . I can’t go out there.”

Brian noted the use of the word ‘can’t’ - not ‘won’t’ - again. He found that curious. Especially since the boy refused to explain himself more fully. But this time, Brian decided to press him.

“You CAN’T . . . That makes no sense, Ghost. There’s nothing - no one - stopping you anymore, is there?” Justin busied himself rearranging the tools again so he didn’t have to look at Brian. “This isn’t some agoraphobia thing is it? You’re not saying you physically can’t go outside because you’re afraid to leave the house or something, are you?”

“No, of course not. It’s nothing like that . . .”

“Okay, then what is it?” Brian asked again, moving around so he was standing directly in front of the blond ghost, effectively preventing the boy from avoiding him. “Talk to me, Ghost. I don’t understand what’s eating at you. I can’t help if I don’t understand.”

“You can’t help with this, Brian. Thank you for trying, but . . . I have to figure this out on my own . . . Somehow.” Justin finally looked up into Brian’s eyes, giving evidence to the uncertainty and worry flickering through the blue depths even as he smiled wistfully at his sometime protector. “You go on and have fun with your friends. I’m fine here. I have lots of stuff to keep me busy.”

Brian opted to back off in the face of that unwavering stubbornness. At least for the time being. He wasn’t giving up forever, though. Something about the boy’s protestations just didn’t add up and Brian was more curious about his ghost than ever. He vowed to get the kid out of the damned house somehow, or at least get him to fully explain why he felt he couldn’t leave.

“Fine. But you don’t know what you’re missing out on, Ghost,” Brian responded, leaving a kiss on the supple pink lips before finally moving away. “I might be late, so you don’t have to wait up . . .”

As it turned out, Brian was back much earlier than he’d planned.

He hadn’t really enjoyed his night out with the guys all that much. Michael had been annoying, what with his constant complaining about how he never saw Brian anymore and going on about how some new guy was trying to usurp Brian’s standing as Top Stud at Babylon. Brian found it difficult to really give a crap about some young pup trying to out-stud him. Did Michael really think that was all Brian aspired to be in life? Hadn’t Michael been listening to Brian all those times he’d explained WHY he’d wanted to take this year off work to write and explore his more creative side? He was thirty-two for fuck’s sake. How long did Michael expect him to go on fucking his way through life? Michael might spout off about how Brian would always be young and beautiful, but that was clearly just another wild fantasy on his oldest friend’s behalf.

Not that Brian minded still being attractive enough to pull whatever trick he wanted. These days, he just didn’t feel the same drive to prove that fact to the masses. He didn’t get the same thrill from the hunt that he used to get. Take tonight, for instance - even after he’d tempted a nice looking trick into the bathroom at Woody’s for a quick suck and fuck, Brian still hadn’t felt all that satisfied. It had become too easy. Too rote. There was no challenge to it anymore. Why bother?

So Brian was more than happy to duck out as soon as the rest of the guys proposed leaving Woody’s for Babylon. To get Mikey off his back, he manufactured some nonexistent appointment with a standing trick. Michael was crowing about how Brian ‘Still Had It’ even as the Stud himself ducked out the door with a sigh of relief at his escape. By the time he was buckled into his car and on the road back to West Virginia, though, Brian was feeling rejuvenated and excited to be getting back to his ghost.

Since the garage was being used as a staging area for all their construction work, Brian was forced to park the Jeep quite a ways down the driveway and hoof it up to the house. Which explained why the GhostBoy hadn’t heard him before Brian opened the front door and discovered the little imp lounging nakedly on the sofa with Brian’s long missing ‘Barney’ dildo in hand and yet another porn video playing on the television. Brian thought the guilty look on the younger man’s face too fucking adorable for words, not that he’d ever admit that to anyone.

“Don’t let me interrupt,” Brian drawled as he dropped the bag of paint supplies he’d schlepped up from the car and shrugged off his jacket.

Justin quickly sat up and shyly pulled the towel he’d had sitting nearby over himself. “You said you’d be late.”

“I got bored,” Brian replied, moving around so he was standing in front of the couch and could look down on the rosily blushing boy. “It seems the entertainment here is much better, anyway. Feel free to carry on. Don’t mind me. I’m happy to just watch. Or, if you need it, I’d be happy to provide some tips . . .”

Brian pointed to the huge purple dildo that the kid was still holding onto. Justin wrinkled up his nose and grinned sheepishly from behind his long blond lashes. Brian had to really work to resist the pull to bend down and kiss that impish grin away, but he didn’t want to interfere. He really was curious what the boy had been about to try.

“I was just . . . well, I’ve never . . . Um . . . I thought maybe I should try and practice before . . .” The more the kid fumbled through an explanation, the more flustered and embarrassed he got until he simply stuttered to a stop with his eyes dropping onto the big dildo waiting in his lap.

“Well, practice does make perfect, you know,” Brian teased. “But I can’t believe you’re only now getting around to this. You’ve had that dildo for weeks. Are you telling me you haven’t tried it out yet?”

“I’ve been kinda busy,” Justin responded, his blush deepening, and still not looking up at Brian.

“That’s true. I HAVE been keeping you busy, haven’t I. Sorry about that, Ghost,” Brian chuckled, fondly remembering all the busy-ness that had been had recently. “I didn’t know that I was deterring your sexual education though. That was remiss of me. You should definitely proceed forthwith.” Justin still didn’t move, obviously bashful now that he had an audience. “You know I’m always willing to lend a hand if you need a private tutor . . .”

Brian reached down and let that talented hand of his tickle across the boy’s jawline to emphasize the point he was trying to make. Justin shivered and finally looked up into the compelling hazel eyes that were glittering mischievously down at him. He smiled one of his brilliant, sunshiney-sweet smiles - the kind that seemed to melt Brian’s heart every time he saw one. But, before Brian could take any further action, the boy bravely pulled the stud’s already wandering hands away from where they’d started to inch down towards the now-tented towel draped over the boy’s groin.

“You’ve been lending me a hand an awful lot lately,” Justin finally spoke up. “Not that I mind, of course, but I was hoping . . .”

“What?” Brian asked, even more curious since his ghost had always been so passive about these things up till then.

“I was hoping that we could do something a little different? I mean, if you don’t want to, I completely understand, but, well, I’ve sorta always wanted to try . . .”

“What? Tell me what you want, Ghost,” Brian asked again.

“Well . . . I’d like to learn how to do THAT,” the reticent revenant responded, pointing at the screen of the television where a very enthusiastic twink was currently deepthroating the star’s massive ankle-spanker.

“You want to learn to give a blow job?” Brian asked, a little surprised and yet happy that his shy little ghost was being so bold. “You sure you’re ready for that . . .”

“I’ll never know if I’m ready or not until I try, right?” Justin answered bravely. “Unless you don’t want me to. I mean, I know I probably won’t be very good. At least at first. But you could teach me how to get better, right? It’s just that I, kinda, always wanted to try that, you know . . .”

The hopeful voice trailed off as the boy was again overcome with embarrassment. Brian thought it was totally endearing. And who was he to deny a budding fag the chance to expand his sexual repertoire. It was sort of his duty to help the kid out, right? He’d been waiting for the kid to show some initiative, and here it was, so what the hell.

“I’d be honored to be your first blow job, Ghost,” Brian replied gallantly. Then his natural irascibility returned and he added, “have at it!” as he lewdly wiggled his hips in the boy’s face.

Justin took a deep breath, as if steeling himself for a difficult job, before reaching up to begin undoing Brian’s fly. Brian held himself back, not moving to help, intent on letting the boy find his own way for the time being. Besides, the tentative fumbling touches as the ghost carefully pushed Brian’s pants down over his hips and then gently took the Stud’s package into the palm of his hand, was more erotic than Brian would have imagined. This boy’s uncertain explorations were making him harder by far than anything the more experienced tricks - who’d been practically throwing themselves at him earlier in the evening - had managed. Trying to hold himself back only added to the delicious temptation and increased Brian’s pleasure.

Once Brian was free from his jeans, the boy seemed at a loss over what to do next. He fondled Brian’s balls for a few moments, and ran his fingers down the pulsating cock, but then hesitated. It was exquisite torture for the big guy, but Brian was determined to let the youth move at his own pace, no matter how titillating the experience turned out to be. Finally, settling his shoulders into a determined stance, the boy leaned forward, stuck the tip of his tongue out and took the briefest, flickering taste.

“Mmmm. Salty,” the GhostBoy commented ingenuously, causing Brian to let out the breath he’d been holding with a chuckle.

“You don’t have to analyse everything as you go, Ghost,” Brian chided him affectionately.

“Well, it IS salty. And sweet too. I didn’t know if I’d like it or not, you know,” Justin explained before dipping back in for another taste. “I like it.”

Brian laughed again. Seeing the world through his ghost’s unjaded and innocent eyes was strangely refreshing. Brian could barely remember the first time he’d tasted jizz, let alone what he’d thought of the taste. He was oddly pleased, though, that Justin found him tasty. It was quite the compliment, really. And it also foretold good things for the rest of this little experiment.

Now that he’d become so well acquainted with Brian’s cock, Justin seemed eager to continue. He began licking up the thick shaft with long slow slurping motions, almost as if he were tackling an especially drippy ice cream cone. Brian had already been hard, but now his dick felt like a steel rod as it poked out in front of him, jumping a little with every wet touch of that erotically pink tongue.

It didn’t take long for the boy to gather up enough courage to proceed to the next step. At the end of his last tongue swipe, the ghost stopped at the dripping tip, gave the head a happy little kiss and then opened up so that the cock slid right inside the warm wetness of the young man’s mouth. Brian sighed contentedly in response. The boy’s plump lips tightened around him and that wicked tongue began to dance around as his spit-slickened dick sank deeper. Shit, that felt good! For a novice, the kid was damn good at this.

The only glitch came when the boy tried to take Brian in even deeper and ended up gagging. Justin immediately pulled back, sputtering and red-faced. “I’m so sorry, Brian. I guess I’m not very good at this after all. I just don’t know how to . . .”

“You’re doing great, Ghost,” Brian hurried to reassure the neophyte. “Just don’t rush it. Take your time and let your throat relax. And if you can’t take me all the way down, it’s okay.” Justin looked at him skeptically. “Really. Not every guy can take all of me. You’re doing really well already. I promise.”

Justin nodded but looked on Brian’s cock with a renewed determination that would have made Brian laugh if he hadn’t stopped himself. He didn’t want to make the boy even more self-conscious. But the way the kid was looking on the endeavor as if it was a particularly tricky physics problem was hilarious. Although Brian almost immediately forgot his amusement as soon as the boy’s lips slid back down his shaft with a nice, satisfying suction grip.

Whatever calculations the boy had worked out in his head seemed to do the trick. With only one more, brief, fumble, resulting in another tiny gag, the determined sprite repositioned himself, tilting his head further back, and then triumphantly swallowed around Brian’s length, allowing the man’s full nine inches to slide down the boy’s throat as the Stud moaned in pleasure. After that it was all hot, wet, suction, and pleasure. Brian let his fingers twine deep in the mop of long blond hair, holding on for all he was worth. The silky strands that escaped his grip fell down around the boy’s face, tickling Brian’s balls as they progressed, giving him even more chills. It was excruciating and wonderful all at the same time. And it didn’t take long at all before the tiny flicker of fire that had been building in his gut took hold and then flared, jumping from one nerve ending to the next so fast it left Brian gasping for breath. The ensuing conflagration whipped through him, leaving nothing in its path but ashes, until the sweet, cooling endorphins washed it all away and left him feeling so weak he was barely able to stand.

Justin, smacking his sticky, cum-drenched lips, raised his head with a victorious grin.

“. . . too fucking adorable . . .” Brian heard himself muttering, too tired and dazed to halt the taboo sentimentality before the words tumbled from his traitorous mouth.

“So, was that okay?” the gloating ghost asked.

Brian plopped down on the couch next to his proud little GhostBoy. “Yes, Ghost. That was okay. Very okay, actually.”

The glowing look of triumph on the kid’s face was too much for Brian. He actually giggled, almost as delighted as the boy was himself. Then Brian stretched one arm around the boy’s slight shoulders and pulled the happy little sprite closer so that he could give the younger man a nice, big, victory kiss in celebration, enjoying the taste of himself on the other man’s tongue in the process.

“Welcome to the ranks of bonafide cock suckers, Ghost. There’s no going back for you,” Brian murmured when they finally broke apart. “You’re officially one of us now.”

“Go, me!” the happy ghost whispered as he curled up next to Brian on the couch.

Which is how Brian ended his evening, finding himself much more satisfied and content than he’d been in a long, long time.