The sun was shining bright and clear for Justin when he finally awakened the next morning. He had had a really good talk with Sherry over the phone the night before, and she had bolstered his confidence in his ability to play his new role. He didn't really know why Mr. Kinney had shaken his belief in himself so thoroughly. After all, the man wasn't even in the business. He was nothing but an ad man, for fucks sake. He knew how to make things look good even if they weren't so special, but he didn't know movie making. But then again, Justin pondered, that was the business of movie making too... to make things look even better than they really were, or sometimes visa versa.
Justin went to his room fairly early from the party because, for some stupid reason, the place seemed devoid of interest once Kinney had left with his friends. Which seemed really dumb since he probably had nothing to talk to the man about even if the jerk had hung around. He had certainly been a cocky son of a bitch, questioning whether Justin could handle the part of JT or not. And Justin's sense of the man being a danger to him, not so much physically as mentally, still lingered even after a restless nights sleep. Right now he just hoped he wouldn't have to run into Mr. Kinney too often during the shoot. For now, he needed to get ready to meet with Miss Barker, his liaison, to find out what they expected him to do to prepare for the first day of production, which would begin in two days.
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Brian had risen really early in the morning in order to take a meeting with the production team on 'Rage'. What had started out as more a favor to Mikey than anything else, had become serious business to the ad man. He was a little irritated that the young actor playing JT had gotten under his skin a bit, but Brian knew how to exorcise anything like that from his life... and he had figured out the perfect way to set it up. One good fuck and the kid would vanish from his thoughts forever. Through interviews with certain people he got the distinct impression that they believed Justin Taylor was one of the straight actors on the film. The actor playing Rage and Zephyr most definitely were not. He'd already fucked the 'Rage' actor in the restroom just before the party, and the giddy young man playing Zephyr had propositioned him fruitlessly.
Brian was convinced that Justin Taylor swung for his team, but he had been wrong once or twice in his many years of prowling. Nobody was perfect. But he was a man who needed to find out things for himself, so he was determined to get to the bottom, so to speak, of the Taylor kid. He had made arrangements, unbeknownst to Taylor, to give the kid some lessons in how to be gay for the sake of the role he would be playing. The producers and Keller were more than happy to agree to his suggestion when Brian made it clear that he had the experience to guide the young man. Now all he had to do was pick the young man up and begin lesson one.
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Justin waited in the lobby of the hotel for Mr. Kinney to show up. He was more than a little edgy. He hadn't known how to react when Miss Barker informed him that Mr. Kinney had volunteered to give him a peek into the world of a gay man in order to enhance his performance as JT. The only thing he knew about gay men was that they were pushy... always hitting on him and seeming to want only one thing from him. In the short time he'd been around Mr. Kinney, he had the clear impression that the man was very much a sexual creature. Justin didn't mind getting some tips from the man, but he wasn't about to put up with being drooled over or pawed at. But then again, Mr. Kinney didn't seem to be the type who would be so obvious.
As he pondered his situation, he saw a large Jeep pull into the circular drive at the entrance to the lobby. Something told him that it was Mr. Kinney. That's when he saw the tall brunet hunk exiting the driver's door. Justin's breath caught in his throat again, which disturbed the hell out of him. Why did he keep feeling flustered around this man? All he had to do was step out of his vehicle and Justin felt trapped by his presence. Well, if he was going to spend the next couple of days with the man, he was definitely going to have to shake off that feeling.
Brian spotted the gorgeous blond almost immediately as the glass doors swung open for him. 'Nice', he thought, 'that the kid was in such a rush to see him that he was sitting there waiting for him'. He walked straight up to the young man and stood inches in front of him. He could see the kid start to sweat.
"Good morning, Mr. Taylor, or is it Justin?"
"Justin will be fine, Mr. Kinney."
"Brian."
"Brian, then. I was told you were going to give me a crash course in the life of a gay man."
"That's the idea. They tell me you're straight and the producers want you to feel more comfortable playing gay. Is that right?"
"Is what right?"
Brian was amused. He could see that the kid was not at ease talking about his sexuality. It dawned on him that maybe this young man was one of those rare creatures who really didn't know what he was. If that was true, maybe there was hope for the boy after all.
"Is it true that you could use some help in feeling more comfortable playing gay? I mean, do you have any prejudices I should know about before we get started?"
"That's ridiculous. If I had any prejudices, would I take the part in the first place?"
Brian's eyebrow cocked up and he got that feral grin on his face again that Justin had noticed before.
"I don't know, would you ?"
"Of course not, " Justin answered, defensively. Why in the hell did this man make him feel like a foolish schoolboy?
"Well, we'll see how comfortable you'll feel soon enough. I figure the best place to start your... uhhh, tutoring... will be on our infamous Liberty Avenue."
"What's that?"
"Just the gayest place on Earth, outside of Disneyland, of course."
"All right. Let's go. I'm ready," Justin said, with a wave of his arm.
The young man behind the front desk, a twenty something gay boy himself, couldn't help noticing what a striking duo the two gentlemen walking out the front door were.... the tall dark one and shorter fair one. He wondered if they might be a couple. They just seemed to give off a vibe that they were connected. Oh well, he was certainly enjoying the view as they exited the hotel and climbed into the taller man's Jeep.
**************************************
The ride to Liberty Avenue was held in almost total silence. Justin was loathe to admit it, but he was enjoying the feel of Brian Kinney sitting so close to him. It was a little disconcerting, but at the same time he felt safe in the man's hands. Not literally, of course, but he had the feeling he could learn a lot from Mr. Kinney.
Ten minutes later, the Jeep pulled onto a street that was visibly different than the others they had been on. All along the street, on both sides, were colorful rainbow flags flying proudly from poles over business establishments. It was still fairly early in the day, but the streets were already clogged with pedestrians. Justin noticed right away that even the inhabitants of the street were different on this street. There were lots of couples with arms entwined or holding hands, and you couldn't help noticing that all of them were of the same sex. It certainly didn't shock Justin. After all, he lived in West Hollywood. He saw plenty of same sex couples there all the time, but there was an air of joy on this street. Justin felt an odd sense of excitement as they continued moving down the street. After going a couple of blocks, Brian suddenly pulled over to the curb and parked the Jeep.
"We're going to start here. Have you eaten yet?" Brian asked.
"No, I didn't take the time."
"Good, cause you're in for a treat. The Liberty Diner has the best home cooking around, though we never let on. It might go to their heads. And this is definitely the best place to get a crash course in fagdom. "
"Lead on," Justin replied.
The minute the bell tinkled over the front door, Justin knew he'd entered a place that was more than a little diner. There was a line of booths along one wall with a couple more near the front door. The other side of the wall had a long counter with an equally long row of stationary swivel chairs set in front of it. There was a frazzled looking young man with an over-large apron behind the counter walking to various customers with a pot of coffee in each hand. A firmly built older woman, with hair the color of fire piled on her head, was walking briskly between the booths, dropping off plates and then swiftly moving to the back of the diner to grab a few more plates from the cook.
"Order up, Deb," could be heard from the cook hiding behind the partition separating the dining room from the kitchen.
A booth opened up when several men, all dressed in black leather of various styles, slid out and went to the register to pay. Brian pointed to the booth and led Justin over. They each slid in on opposite sides. In a matter of seconds, the bus boy was clearing the table and wiping it down. He flirted openly with Brian, who seemed totally oblivious to the attention. A minute later, the red head was standing in front of the booth with pad in hand.
"Well, well, well, Brian. Where in the world did you pick up this cutie. You're grabbing them kind of young, aren't you?" She gave a little wink to the blushing young man.
"Calm down, Deb. I didn't pick him up and he isn't a kid. This is the young man who will be playing JT in Michael's movie."
The squeal from Deb almost burst Justin's ear drums. "My Mikey's JT! Of course. Michael told me you were a cutie patootie but he didn't do you justice. Welcome... Justin, right?"
The woman threw her arms around Justin's neck and gave him a squeeze. When she pulled away, Justin looked to Brian for help. He just laughed out loud.
"Don't panic. Justin, this is Debbie Novotny, our resident den Mother. She's also the Mother of Michael Novotny, the author of the comic book."
A sense of relief washed over Justin. At least she had a good reason for being so excitable. He stuck out his hand. Instead of taking it she threw her arms around him and gave him another big squeeze.
"Pleased to meet you, young man. Sorry for earlier. It's unusual to see Brian bring anyone into the diner and I thought you might be someone special."
"He is. He's going to play your son's JT, but he's never played gay before, so the producers want me to give him some lessons on how to be queer."
Debbie laughed even harder this time. "Well then, they definitely came to the right man. Honey, if this man can't teach you how to be the best homo in town, nobody can."
"Gee, thanks Deb. Now can we get some vittles. The boy hasn't eaten all day."
Debbie got serious. "Well we can't have that. You'll need plenty of vitamins and protein to keep up with Brian. Shoot!"
Justin's mouth was still hanging open and he couldn't string a coherent thought in his head. It took Brian snapping his fingers in front of his face, to get Justin's attention. He saw that Debbie was waiting patiently for his order.
"I'll have, uhhh, I'll have a Spanish omelet with English muffins and orange juice...oh, and bacon on the side."
"Usual for you, sweet cheeks, " she asked Brian.
"Egg white omelet, dry toast, OJ. Thanks Deb."
As the red head bounced off to place their orders, Brian laughed at the stunned expression on Justin's face.
"Deb takes a lot of getting used to, but she has a heart of gold and the brass balls to match. I think you'll like her. She's fiercely devoted to her son. Well, actually, we're kind of all her children... especially me. She pretty much raised me when my own folks were too busy boozing and hating each other to bother." Brian briefly wondered why he had told Justin so much about himself so quickly. Then he dismissed it.
"Look, we'll finish brunch and then I'll take you around to meet some of my friends. Then we'll visit Michael too. They'll give you a taste of what it's like within the gay community... or at least the best part of the gay community."
Justin nodded agreement. He decided he'd better eat every bite of his meal cause he had the feeling he would need plenty of energy to get through this day. If his first introduction to Brian's world was any indication, his head would be spinning by the end of it.
To be continued........