It had taken over three months for the final product of 'Rage: The Movie' to be edited, scored, marketed, and accepted for its first showing, and every person involved in the project was flying higher than the moon. The film had been getting lots of fantastic word of mouth thanks to Kinnetik's brilliant marketing strategies, headed up by its owner, Brian Kinney. The film was scheduled to have its Premiere showing in Pittsburgh itself, with a charity party right after to help take care of the bombing victims at the studio that first hosted the making of the film. Brian was in charge of the 'Rage' party, and he had gone all out to make it a party no one would ever forget.
Michael and Lindsay were on pins and needles with anticipation over the fate of their comic-turned-movie. If the film did really well, their futures would be a lot brighter financially. The only one who didn't seem that excited about the release of the film was Justin. He was still torn between anger and hurt over his role in what had happened during the making of the film, and the deep gratitude he felt that he had accepted the part that brought Brian into his life. After living with his lover all these months, he couldn't imagine a life without Brian being the center of it.
Brian was so proud of his boyfriend. Justin proved every day how smart and interesting he was to be around. Brian loved taking him along everywhere he could. Even Michael, who had shown some signs of jealousy in the beginning, had grown to admire the young man's good qualities. Michael couldn't deny that Justin obviously loved Brian with all his heart, and the changes that had become so apparent in Brian's attitude towards life were obviously thanks to the young actor. Michael had to appreciate that, despite himself.
Justin enjoyed his time at PIFA. He was a favorite of several of his teachers and was a shoo-in, even this early, for a grant based on his work for his next semester. He felt enormous pride in his accomplishments. He had tried to get Brian to accept financial help in the running of their shared loft and Gee's Britin, but Brian refused it. Instead, Justin took over taking care of his lover in every way he could think of, which included seeing to it that the man ate far better than he ever had before. Justin had managed to finally get Brian to agree to sharing living expenses as soon as Justin's art started selling. It was better than nothing for young Justin and he gave up the argument. Brian certainly had a stubborn streak in him, as Justin now realized. They butted heads occasionally, but the making up sessions afterward always made their minor disagreements worth the trouble.
The closer it got to the day of the Premiere, the more unsettled Justin felt. He couldn't help wondering if anything would happen to spoil the whole thing. When he and Brian first came home to the Pitts, both men had stayed on high alert for anything suspicious. They couldn't get it out of their heads that Craig Taylor was still out there somewhere. It took a couple of weeks, and the reassurances of Brian's detective friend Monty that there was no evidence that they were being stalked, for the couple to begin to relax. As the days turned into weeks and then months, both men began to relax their vigilance. Life settled into a comfortable routine. They spent many happy hours visiting Mel and Linds and enjoying their time with young Gus. They spent many more hours enjoying the thumpa thumpa of Brian's favorite night spot, Babylon, which brought out the wilder side of their relationship. Brian had finally gotten Justin to accompany him to the backroom for a little recreation, much to the pleasure of their envious audience.
Jennifer had moved her daughter into a comfortable condo in Pittsburgh proper and had the large house out in Mount Lebanon put up for sale. The memories were too painful there. She liked being closer to her son, who visited her and Molly often. She was enormously proud of Justin and his studies at the Art Institute. She made it her business to keep the man she had married, and spent almost all her adult life with, out of her mind as much as possible. She would deal with Craig Taylor if the time ever came that he showed his face again. Otherwise, he had ceased to exist for her. She, like everyone else, was now eagerly awaiting the film release and the big party afterward. She had the feeling it was going to be one of the most exciting events of her life.
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Premiere day finally arrived. All the denizens of Liberty Avenue were on pins and needles. This was big! After the success of the gay cowboys love story, a successful gay superhero story would go a long way in making an even deeper inroad into mainstream entertainment. The buzz that traveled from gym, to club, to bathhouse, to bar, to water cooler among the gay community was that the film was going to be pretty explicit and would pull no punches, unlike the most recent gay oriented show 'Gay as Blazes'. Everyone was looking forward to the Premiere. It was sold out within hours of the announcement that it would have its first showing in Pittsburgh. Every person who had bought a ticket for the movie had also bought tickets for the big after-show party. The largest dance club in town, Babylon, would be the site for the party, and it promised to be an unforgettable night.
Brian had been pushed to the point of exhaustion and was running on pure adrenalin by the time premiere night rolled around. He had been totally hands on with every detail of the after-party at Babylon and was also involved in a lot of the details for the showing of the film, although he had help with that part of the overall event. He and Justin had a lot less time together in the previous week than they were used to, so they looked forward to spending some quiet time together once things settled down. The plan was to take a week off and escape to Gee's Britin without telling anyone exactly what they were up to. They led everyone to believe they'd be going out of town on a vacation. Well, it was partly true and good enough to keep anyone from looking closer to home for them.
An hour before the Premiere, Justin stood in front of the floor length mirror in the bedroom of the loft and checked himself out. The suit he was wearing showed every penny of the nearly $2,000 Brian had paid for the Armani original. The dark blue velvet jacket hugged his upper torso with a perfect fit. The cotton/viscose black shirt, with the deep blue stripes the he wore underneath the jacket, felt like silk against his skin. The herringbone dark blue pants with the straight legs flattered Justin's slender legs and completed the ensemble on just the right note. Justin had never felt more fashionable and had to admit he didn't look half bad. He was unaware he had voiced his thoughts out loud until Brian came up behind him and wrapped his arms around Justin's middle.
"Not half bad indeed, my sexy little actor. There won't be a male or female heart in the theater that won't be fluttering when they see you walking down the red carpet tonight."
"I don't know about that. I suspect most of them will be fluttering because you'll be walking beside me," Justin returned.
"Either way, they can flutter as much as they want. As long as you'll be coming home with me at the end of the night," Brian answered back, nibbling on Justin's ear lobe as he spoke.
Justin turned into Brian's arms. "Wouldn't have it any other way, Mr. Kinney," he said, smiling up at his lover.
Brian leaned in for a tender kiss which offered up promises for how the evening would end. He pulled back, gave Justin's lovely butt a swat, and reminded him that it was getting late. They hurried to make sure they weren't leaving a thing behind. Brian gave his image in the mirror one final check and approved of his own choice for the evening. He wore his classic Armani tuxedo with the notched satin collar paired with the satin side striped pants and the cotton pleated-front shirt with the French cuffs with the ease of a man who knew he looked good in anything. He checked his cuff links again, mostly so that he could once more admire the gift that Justin had given him with the last check he had received from the company making the film. The silver links had tiny markings etched in black of two male symbols intertwined. The tiny letters B & J were etched just below that in black. Brian had never felt so touched by any gift he'd ever received before. He was proud to wear the cuff links to such an important event.
Brian noticed Justin waiting impatiently at the front door to the loft. He threw Brian one of his brightest smiles, warming up the ad man's heart even more than it was already, which was saying something. Brian took one more second to check his pocket. Ahhh, there it was, nestled safely in its box. He smiled back at Justin with a secretive grin inside. He let a slight twinge of nervousness pass through him even though he was pretty sure what Justin would say when he whipped out the box and asked his lover the big question. It might not be legal yet, but Brian wanted Justin to know just how committed he was to their relationship. He just prayed he'd read the young man right and that Justin would want this as much as he did. Tonight was going to be even more special than Justin expected if Brian had any say in it.
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The crowds at the theater were even more enthusiastic and swollen than had been anticipated. The few detractors who carried a few pitiful hate signs were drowned out by the noise of the patrons and fans who eagerly greeted each new arrival. Brian had hired a white stretch limo to deliver Mel, Linds, Emmett and date, Ted and date, Cynthia and date, Michael and Ben, Debbie and boyfriend Carl, Jennifer and date, Daphne and fiance', and of course Justin and himself to the Premiere. He had chosen a new H2 Hummer Limousine in bold white that held up to 20 people. He wanted to make a statement and he certainly did. The crowd literally oohed and aahed as the massive vehicle pulled up to the curb and began disgorging its couples onto the sidewalk, Brian and Justin being last to exit of course.
The feeling of acceptance was overwhelming for the young actor, but nothing compared to the standing ovation the film elicited as the credits began to roll at the end of the film. It took almost an hour to answer all the questions that were thrown at the actors and producers and director as they stood on stage when the lights came back up. Before anyone could leave for the after-party at Babylon, Brett made sure that he had gotten his actors agreement to meet the next day for a press conference which would be held at a hotel downtown. The reception for the film would probably guarantee bookings in some of the best theater houses throughout the country, according to Brett. A little more publicity should put their film over the top, guaranteeing it's success. But the rest of the night was for celebrating their success so far. It was hard won and everyone involved deserved it.
The ride to Babylon from the theater was held in joyful party making mood. Raucous music blared from surround sound speakers as champagne flowed at the built in bar in the limo while strobe lights flashed throughout the cabin. The passengers didn't need to wait for Babylon to begin their party. Brian and Justin sat locked together in the very back of the limo sharing champagne kisses and caviar dreams. Every time Jennifer looked back from her position further up in the limo and saw her son with his lover, she thanked heaven that her son had found someone who obviously loved him so deeply. She was too happy for her son and his success to even concern herself with her husband's stupid loss. If she had even taken the time to think of the man at all she would have felt nothing but pity for him.
Brian's brilliance in advertising revealed itself when the limo dropped off its clients at the front door of Babylon. The place was jam packed to the rafters. They had just barely managed to squeeze in the last legal number of occupants into the building. Getting to the bar was a work of skilled maneuvering, as one guest after another wanted to shake the hand of the cute blond actor who played JT with such talent. Countless numbers of guests had also seen the comic book itself and recognized Brian immediately as the source of the Rage character. He had his share of back slapping to deal with.
The hours ticked away, filled with dancing and fun. Brian wanted to propose to Justin during the party but had been hard pressed to get a moment alone with his blond beauty. Both men had lost count of how many offers to make a quick trip to the backroom they had received. The answer was always the same. Tonight belonged to them alone. Neither man had eyes for anyone else but each other. The chance to get some private time finally presented itself at almost the strike of two. Brian knew where the manager's office was from a dozen years earlier when he had a one night stand with the previous owner, a really nice older gent named Red. A quick perusal told him the office was still in use as a storage room but empty of people at the moment. Brian grabbed Justin from the bar where he was chatting with his mother and Daphne and pulled him back to the room between the bar and the back room. The minute he entered the room, he turned and locked the door.
"What....?'"
"Shhh," Brian warned. "We don't want anyone coming to look for us," he whispered conspiratorially.
Brian led Justin over to a discarded couch against the wall. He gently pushed Justin down onto the couch while he lowered himself to a crouch position in front of him. Before Justin could question him, Brian leaned up and gave the young man a searing kiss. When he sat back on his haunches again, he finally felt ready to announce his intentions.
"Now that I have your full attention," he announced, "I have some things I'd like to say, and I want you to pay close attention cause I'm only saying this once. Do you understand?"
Justin was confused but he knew that whatever Brian had to say, it was worth listening to carefully. He closed his mouth and nodded his head.
"Good," Brian began. "Justin, I first want you to know that I've thought long and hard on this. In the first place, I never thought in a million years that I'd even consider such a thing. As a matter of fact, I thought I'd be the last man on earth to do this, but I was wrong and it's all your fault."
Justin looked even more confused. Brian continued on, inwardly smiling.
"You've done something to me, Sunshine. You've stepped out of some fantasy that I never even bothered to fantasize for myself and made me see things that I thought didn't even exist in the real world. Thanks to you, I now believe that there is such a thing as a soul mate, and such a thing as real forever kind of love. I know I'm sounding a little sappy here and I'm sorry, but that's your fault too. I feel connected to you whether I'm resting inside your body or not. And even more importantly... I love that feeling. I don't ever want to lose it. I don't think I could bear to lose it. Aw shit, Justin..." Brian brought out the ring box and lifted it up for Justin to see. ".....what I'm trying to say is, will you marry me?"
He opened the box to reveal two beautiful platinum rings with deep black engravings circling the bands, reminiscent of the cuff links Brian was wearing. He lifted them out to show the engraving inside. Justin could clearly read... Brian and Justin... One Heart, One Soul. Justin couldn't speak. He had stopped breathing.
"Breathe," Brian ordered, and watched as Justin took a deep breath. "Well? Yes, no, go to hell?"
Brian could see a tiny tear forming in the corner of Justin's eye. Before it could fall, Brian reached up and gently wiped it away. He was about to ask the question again when Justin suddenly reached out and pulled Brian onto him. The older man lost his balance and fell with his full weight on top of the younger man. Justin pulled Brian's face towards his and crushed his lips to his lovers. Minutes passed as they drank each other in. Finally the need for oxygen became too necessary for survival. They parted with Brian holding onto Justin, who rested his head on Brian's shoulder. Several minutes later, the men stood up together and embraced tightly.
"Yes," Justin answered simply.
"Yes, what?" Brian asked.
"Yes, I want to marry you. It may not be legal here yet, but it will be in our eyes and our community. I'll be proud to be known as your mate and partner in life, Brian."
A grin spread from ear to ear on Brian's face. He had been right. Tonight had been the best night of his life, and it wasn't even over yet. Tonight was only the beginning of their lives together. He could hardly wait to get Justin home. The rest of their life was going to be one fucking fabulous ride with Justin right next to him where he belonged.
To be continued.........................