Brian was surprised at how well things had been moving since bringing the production back to Hollywood. The film was actually ahead of schedule, and Brian had already worked on several aspects of the campaign to get the film noticed by the public. Brian was brilliant in his advertising strategy, building on the recent surprising popularity of a gay-themed love story that had even received Oscar buzz. By the time the film was finished, the audience would be chomping at the bit to see a super hero who just happened to be gay... in addition to being in love. Brian felt a surge of pride again when he thought of how smart his two closest friends, Michael and Lindsay, had been in creating the comic book. It didn't hurt his ego either that he was well aware of his part in inspiring his friends in the creation of Rage.
Justin had obviously relaxed a great deal since coming back to L.A.. Brian knew that his boyfriend (yes, he caught himself thinking of Justin that way more and more) still felt the pain of his father's rejection, but the distance helped ease the hurt just enough to allow Justin to enjoy himself more openly. The lovers found it difficult to keep their hands off each other and could often be seen arm in arm wherever they showed up. Every night they would discover some new position to share with each other as they renewed their commitment to each other over and over again. Their libidos were a perfect match and they took full advantage of it.
Brian had contacted an old friend of Monty's who had an agency in town and soon had a detective on the trail of Craig's LA detective. The cat and mouse game would have been amusing if it didn't come from such a hateful place in Justin's father. All Craig had managed to do was make Brian even more determined to stay close to Justin, just to make sure no harm came to him, if for nothing else. Of course, it was no chore staying close to Justin. With every passing day, Brian found himself more eager to be with the young actor. Spending so much time with Justin also afforded him the ability to notice something else about his young lover.
Brian first noticed how important Justin's art was while still in Pittsburgh. The young man was constantly putting pencil to pad and sketching out something that had escaped the eyes of everyone else around them. The first visit to Justin's cramped hole-in-the-wall apartment revealed even more. While Justin gathered up clothing to take to the hotel, Brian poked around. He found a closet full of drawings scattered a foot high on the closet shelf. That didn't include a sheath of papers lying on Justin's tiny TV tray set up next to an old chair. Those were obviously his most recent sketches since the top one was his rendering of the Rage character. Brian loved Lindsay's artwork, but this version of Rage by Justin was even more beautifully defined, with every muscle and sinew standing out in bold relief. The difference in the bulge in the crotch couldn't be missed either. Brian laughed to himself, realizing that one was drawn by a lesbian and the other by a horny young gay man. Leave it to Justin to appreciate Brian's endowments even before actually meeting him.
The more he saw Justin's artwork, and how much the young man loved doing it, the more Brian became convinced that acting was not the only thing his lover should consider as a career. He brought the subject up casually over dinner one night towards the end of filming. The movie production itself had much more to go before it would be ready for an audience, but the actual filming was only days short of completion. They were enjoying one of their private dinners in the bungalow, when Brian broached the subject.
"Well Justin, according to Brett, I hear the film is almost in the can... I think that's the right phrase," Brian started off casually.
"That's right," Justin answered back over a bite of avocado and sprouts salad.
The candle light between the men reflected off their eyes as they stared at each other. Brian quickly realized that there was a hesitancy in Justin's voice... a slight fear creeping in. He had swallowed his food quickly and looked at Brian intently. Brian was suddenly acutely aware of where Justin's mind had probably traveled to with his statement. He was quick to clear things up.
"The only reason I ask, Justin, is that I was curious as to what you had in mind for your next project. I'm looking forward to your answer, since it affects what I'm going to do next. We need to work something out so that we can still be close."
Justin visibly relaxed when he heard the word 'we' from Brian. For a moment he thought Brian was going to tell him that it had been fun but it was time to get back to their separate lives. That thought sent a stab of pain that made his breath catch in his throat. Knowing that Brian still thought of them as a 'we' was like music to the the young man's ears.
"Well, the truth is I have been thinking about this very subject for a while now," Justin started to explain. I didn't want to say anything to you until I was very sure of what I wanted. I know how you feel about people not sacrificing their own happiness just to please someone else. and I knew you would hate it if I did that. In truth, Brian, I don't think I can stand the thought of not seeing you anymore or hardly ever. I love you Brian, and being with you makes me supremely happy."
"I really do enjoy acting. It is good to get out of yourself and be someone else sometimes and it comes easy to me, but it isn't my first or most desired dream. I guess the truth is, I only took up acting to escape into someone else when I knew my dad hated what I really wanted to be."
"And what is that?" Brian asked, already sensing the answer.
"I... I always wanted to pursue my art. I don't know how talented I really am, but I do know how happy I am when I'm doodling away on some image that is burned in my brain. I look at the world around me and I see it on canvas in my own style." Justin laughed. "I certainly wouldn't be the first actor who was even happier painting than they were acting. Even some very famous stars are afflicted in that way. The difference is, I don't really care as much about the acting any more. I could drop it in a heartbeat. As a matter of fact, I told that very thing to Sherry, my agent, and received the worst scolding of my life since I was a little kid."
Brian had begun smiling inside with each new comment from Justin, but he kept a straight face. He knew this had to come from Justin.
"So what would you want to do to pursue your art?"
"I don't know. I talked to Mom and Daphne about it. I didn't want to say anything to you until I had a better handle on what I really wanted. Daph says that she has heard nothing but good things about a school there in Pittsburgh called Pittsburgh Institute of Fine Arts... PIFA for short. Mom says that she has the resources to help me pay tuition thanks to a smart lawyer who is handling her divorce. I have a little money saved up from my salary on this film thanks to your generosity, which by the way I intend to repay. How would you feel about my living in Pittsburgh and attending school there... provided I can get in, of course?"
"Oh, you would be accepted. Don't you worry about that, but are you sure you would want to give up all the glamour of Hollywood for a stuffy old town like the Pitts? What if the movie hits big and you become a bona fide star. Aren't you afraid you'll regret not taking your shot at super-stardom that you could have built on with this one role? If you're thinking of moving to the Pitts just for my sake, it wouldn't be the right thing for you to do."
"Brian, don't you get it, yet? I love you. I want to be with you... but no, I wouldn't be giving up anything just to be with you. I'd be gaining something to be with you. I'd be gaining the me that I was running away from when I moved to LA in the first place. I know who I am now, thanks to you, and having you in my life is just the icing on the cake. I consider going to that school and living near you the bonus I deserve for all those wasted years that I spent not having you in my life. When I consider what my life might have been like if I had met you years ago, like maybe right after school... but then you're right. It does no good to live with regrets. The one thing I know for certain, Mr. Kinney, is that I WILL live with regret if I don't give my art a chance and just as equally not give us a chance to see this thing between us through to where it is leading us."
Justin paused. The room was still. The candles flickered, casting shadows of the couple on the walls. They could hear the sounds of people chattering outside through the open patio door as the cool California breezes stirred the curtains at the sliding glass doors. Slowly Brian let a smile form on his face as the corners of his mouth inched upward. The thought crossed his mind for the millionth time since that day at the 'get acquainted' party for the film, that Justin was no ordinary man. He counted himself lucky again for having met the one man on this planet that had a heart even bigger than 'that' organ, which matched a really intelligent brain, which matched a beautiful face and personality. What were the chances, he asked himself once more, of a man like himself, who was convinced he was not worth loving, to be able to find a guy like Justin, and he'd turn out to be a man who truly loved him back?
In that instant, Brian knew he didn't care where his luck came from. All he cared about was that he HAD been lucky and he did have Justin in his life. He didn't doubt Justin at all. If he said that going to PIFA and being close to Brian was more important to him than pursuing his acting career, Brian knew it was true. The one thing he knew was that Justin was an honest man. Brian reached across the table and took Justin's hand in his. He softly rubbed his thumb in the tender flesh of Justin's palm. A smile even brighter than Brian's spread over the blond's face. Brian suddenly sighed deeply and rose from his chair, pulling Justin up with him. He pulled the young man around the small table until they were face to face. Brian lowered his head and captured Justin's lips with his.
"I don't know where this thing we have will lead us either, Sunshine, but I do know I've never wanted anything so badly as I do the chance to find out with you beside me," Brian quietly reassured Justin once their lips finally parted.
Justin let out a small laugh and threw his arms around Brian's neck, standing on his tiptoes in order to reach his lovers mouth again. The kiss deepened and their feelings became richer with emotion as the seconds passed. Finally they had to come up for air. Brian pointed to the open patio door.
"I think we should close the door, if we don't want the noises to disturb our neighbors and passersby," Brian joked.
Justin didn't need to be told twice. He moved quickly to slide the door closed and swung the curtains together, blocking the view of any activity inside the room. Within minutes, the lovers had removed every stitch of clothing from each other's bodies and were moving rapidly to reach the bedroom from the dining area. As they fell together onto the bed, their bodies were locked in an embrace that sealed them as if a single unit. They drank each other in, taking time to savor each touch, each feel, each taste they gave and received from one another. Their passion for one another and desire to be connected, body and soul, reached its crescendo as Brian fused his body with Justin's. Justin welcomed his lover in and captured his body with his own, making Brian his again. When their bodies could no longer take the exquisite torture they brought to one another, they released the built up tension in one sweeping mutual orgasm. They fell back down to the mattress, still connected, and drifted into a well deserved sleep.
As the two men languidly drifted away safely wrapped in each other's embraces, they were too besotted to hear the buzz of the cell phone still resting in Brian's discarded pants pocket. It wouldn't be until morning that Brian would read the words of the text message sent to him by his detective friend... 'Brian, need to give you a heads up. They've arrested Babcock and the DA has ordered the cops to arrest Taylor too for murder. They couldn't find him at work or home. Got an APB out on him. Watch your back. Could be anywhere. Call when you get this message. Monty'.
To be continued......