January 31
Brian closed the suitcase with a snap and hauled it down the stairs and out the front door to hand off to John, who grabbed it and took it over to the SUV to be packed with the other bags. Rubbing his hands together to stave off the crisp, chilly morning air, Brian took a deep breath, gearing himself up for the unpleasant task set before him.
Waking Justin up at a normal hour before he was ready to get up was an aggravating undertaking all by itself; getting him out of bed at six in the morning, after only five hours of sleep, on cold as shit morning? That was the stuff nightmares were made of and a disaster just waiting to happen. But he’d let the little twat sleep as late as he could, and if they didn’t get going now, they would end up stuck in traffic and the drive would take much longer than it should.
Exhaling forcefully, his breath billowing out in a cloud of frozen vapor, Brian turned on his heel and went back into the house. Walking through the door, he smiled when Anna came out of the kitchen with a travel mug of coffee and small cooler with water and snacks just in case Justin was actually coherent enough on the trip to want them.
Something that Brian doubted, but better to be prepared than have Justin bitching the entire way that he was hungry.
“Going to wake the beast?” Anna asked, amusement dancing in her eyes as she passed him, heading to put both items into the SUV for Brian.
“Yup,” Brian snickered, heading for the stairs. “Wish me luck; God knows I’ll need it if I want to make it out the beast’s lair intact.”
“It will be worth it,” Anna said as she walked out the door. “Once he sees where you’re going, he won’t care that you’re waking him up before dawn.”
“Here’s hoping,” Brian muttered to himself, taking the stairs two at a time.
Brian strode through the bedroom door and walked over to his husband; Justin was curled up into a little ball under the blankets, with nothing more than a few tufts of blond hair poking out from beneath them. Exactly as Brian had left him when the alarm went off this morning and he’d crawled out of bed to shower and finish up some last minute packing.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, Brian ran his hand through those few tufts of hair, smirking when Justin grumbled and shrank further into the blankets, trying to get away from whatever was touching him. Gripping the comforter, Brian pulled it away from Justin’s face, chuckling when Justin just buried his face into his pillow instead.
A morning person, Justin was not.
“Come on, Sunshine,” Brian murmured as he leaned down and pressed a kiss to the back of Justin’s ear. Justin whined, and seemed torn between keeping his face buried in the pillow and chasing Brian’s lips as he pulled away. “Rise and shine; it’s time to get up. We have things to do.”
“Brian,” Justin whispered hoarsely, his voice lilting upwards at the end in a question. Brian trailed kisses along his jaw and neck, further tempting Justin from his little nest of blankets. Justin opened his eyes and blinked several times before squinting at the clock by the bed. “What? It’s six in the morning; what’s going on?”
“You need to get up and shower,” Brian said, tugging at the blankets and huffing when Justin tugged back, keeping them curled under his chin. “We have places to be.”
“But…” Justin trailed off and frowned, and Brian could see his mind sluggishly working as he tried to remember why he had to be up.
Not that it would make one bit of difference, since Brian hadn’t told him about their plans for the day, or the rest of the weekend for that matter.
“Hop to it, Sunshine,” Brian said, yanking the blankets from his hands, and pulling them off his body. Justin hissed and glared at him, instantly curling in on himself against the chill of the room. “We need to be on the road in thirty minutes; you can sleep in the car.” Brian got up and cast a warning look over his shoulder. “Don’t make me pick you and throw you into the shower myself; I guarantee you won’t like the results.”
Justin cursed under his breath, but got up nonetheless and stomped over to the bathroom, slamming the door in his wake. Brian just snickered and headed back down the stairs for a final cup of coffee before getting on their way.
… … … … …
Brian pulled up the driveway to the Inn and turned the engine off; he looked at the building with a critical eye and could see why it had gained its popularity. It was a white on white, large, clapboard house that butted right up against Lake Erie, made all the more picturesque by the by the surrounding snow. It was quaint and cute and charming and really everything that would normally send Brian running for the hills, screaming at the top of his lungs the entire way.
But it was a client; so there would be no running from his fate. Plus, Justin would adore it.
Glancing over at his husband, he smiled to see Justin was still out cold, having lowered his seat as far as it would go and curling his body away from Brian the minute he’d gotten into the SUV. Running his hand over Justin’s hair, he barely held back a laugh as he remembered his husband, flouncing down the stairs like a wet, disgruntled kitten. He hadn’t said more than two words to Brian since getting up and immediately fell asleep as soon as the heater flipped on and the car started moving.
It had been for the best anyways; the drive, normally about two hours long, stretched out to two and a half as they’d hit some commute traffic as they made their way out of Pittsburgh. And if there was anything Justin hated more than being woken up before he was ready, it was sitting in traffic. This way, he didn’t have to listen to Justin bitch or nag him with a hundred questions about where they were going.
Leaning over, he pressed his lips to Justin’s cheek, smirking when Justin hummed and turned his head, nuzzling the tip of his nose against Brian’s jaw.
“Time to wake up, Sunshine,” Brian said, kissing the tip of his nose, which scrunched with disapproval, but hazy blue eyes blinked open nonetheless.
Rubbing his eyes, Justin sat up and then frowned, his eyes widening as he studied the snow-covered house and grounds in front of them. He turned to Brian, an adorably confused look on his face. “Brian…what’s going on? Where are we?”
“Geneva-on-the-Lake, Ohio,” Brian said as Justin turned at studied the inn one more time. “Or, more specifically, The Lakehouse Inn; one of our newest clients a la Cynthia. Come on.” Brian opened the door and stepped out, shivering as the cold air hit; he waited until Justin followed suit and held out his hand. Justin stared at him suspiciously for a moment before taking it. “She stayed up here a few weekends ago with her newest boy toy and did an impromptu pitch to the owners.”
“Okay,” Justin said slowly, still visibly confused and suspicious. “But that doesn’t really answer my question; what are we doing here?”
“Well, I’ve been in contact with them to finalize the details,” Brian said, tugging on Justin’s hand and practically pulling him up the drive with him; he wanted to look around a bit and get a feel for the place before meeting with the Cutlers. “And they recently got a cancellation on one of their suites for this weekend. So, they contacted me, and invited us to spend the weekend here.”
“What?” Justin stared at him, his mouth agape.
His surprise was fully justified in this case, as this had always been one of those things that Brian had refused to do. Hit up a ritzy hotel with all the amenities in some hot, swank tropical location? Yes. Spend a weekend at a quaint bed and breakfast on the lakeside in the middle of winter? No.
“It will be a working weekend of sorts,” Brian barreled on in an effort to cut off any questions he didn’t really want to answer. “I have a lunch meeting with the owners today, along with Cynthia, Devon, one of our lawyerws, and you, if you want to join us, to go over the contracts. But, after that I will be free and I thought that we could spend some time here, just the two of us, while we still have the time and opportunity.”
“Brian…” Justin said in hushed tone, before trailing off to look around, his lips still parted in surprise as he stared at one of the cottages in the distance. “You…”
“We could start with dinner tonight at the Inn’s restaurant, the Crosswinds Grille,” Brian said, pointing out the restaurant to Justin, who still looked like landed fish. “And have a night in, where we could make use of the two-person Jacuzzi tub, after which I will rub you down with spa care products they’ve promised me. And then, once I have you all limbered up, I’ll fuck you all night long.”
“Brian…” Justin said, gasping as they came to the end of a walk way and looked out into the patio area behind the inn.
And it was lovely, and dare he say it, a bit romantic, covered with the snow; He could just imagine it in summer, the sun glinting off the water as people sat, drinking wine from the inn’s winery and watching the sunset; and fuck, he was turning into a fucking lesbian. Turning back to Justin, he took his hand and led him back towards the front of the inn.
“And then tomorrow, they are having some sort of festival,” Brian said, smirking when Justin looked up at him with wide blue eyes. “It’s a pretty big deal here; but after we sleep in, we can either go to the restaurant again as breakfast is provided with the room package there, or we can go to the pancake breakfast at the Methodist Church, if you insist. And before you ask, yes, we can go to the parade.”
Justin grinned, that big sunshine grin, and was practically dancing in place at Brian’s side as he filled him in on the Geneva Winterfest; just as he did when Brian had told him that he wanted to Vermont for a week when his was just a teenager.
“And then they have several different things that we could do,” Brian said as they got back to the SUV and he opened the trunk to get take out his briefcase and Justin’s messenger bag. “There’s a chili cook off that provides free chili and cornbread muffins.” Brian paused and snickered when just made a happy noise. “Yeah, I thought you’d like that. And there is a Lego Build Off, ice carving, a cookie decorating contest, a snow mobile show and carriage rides, all going on at the same time. The Legos are provided and the other events are free.”
Justin just hugged himself, his eyes sparkling with excitement. He grabbed his messenger bag and tucked his arm into Brian’s as he closed the hatch.
“Or, if you prefer something indoors,” Brian said, leading them up to the front porch to let the Cutlers they were here. “I know you can’t drink, but one of the local wineries is doing wine tasting and live music. And at the end of the night, there is supposed to be a spaghetti dinner, which thankfully starts at four and ends at eight, so the no carbs rule won't be in affect.”
“Brian,” Justin asked, practically jumping in place. “Are you serious?”
“Yup,” Brian nodded pausing on the porch and looking out; Justin stopped at his side, practically vibrating with happiness. “And there is more. On Sunday, I thought we’d go to Geneva State Park and do a little snow shoeing, followed up by lunch at Horizons Restaurant and Lounge; and then, I have a surprise for you.”
“What…” Justin immediately asked, but Brian cut the question off before it could form; he did know his husband after all.
“Not telling,” Brian said, shaking his head at Justin’s pleading look. “The point to a surprise means not knowing about it beforehand, Sunshine.” Brian smirked, tongue in cheek when Justin pouted. “And pouting won’t get you what you want in this case; you’ll just have to wait and see.”
Justin looked around at the Inn’s surroundings and heaved a sigh, but nodded his acquiescence.
“So, what do you say, Sunshine?” Brian said, wrapping his arms around his husband. “Think you can put up with me – and only me, as no one has any idea where we are other than Cynthia and Devon, and they won’t tell if they want to keep their jobs – for the whole weekend?”
“Yes!” Justin exclaimed, his cheeks flushed and eyes bright with joy as he wrapped his arms around Brian’s neck and peppered his face with kisses. “Oh my God, Brian! I can’t believe you…you are the best husband ever!”
“Good,” Brian smiled; dropping a kiss on Justin’s upturned mouth. “Because there was no way in hell I was driving back home anyways. Now let’s get checked in so we can go feed that beast growling in your stomach.”