CHAPTER 36: CHANGING FACES

BRIAN:

Justin and I decided we needed to get out of the house for awhile. Not because of Mel or anything. Surprisingly, I’m actually enjoying her company more and more. She really does give some really good zingers, and with Lindsay out of the way, it’s mostly become fun as opposed to hurtful. We leveled with her about the unexpected additions to our employee rosters, and ironically she agreed with Justin’s plan of action. At first, I didn’t really grasp just why he would hire Eric Maloney. I mean, yes Justin and I have a very sordid past; mine more so than his. However, it doesn’t mean we should have to pay for it day in and day out, right? But his thinking was more strategic in accepting Eric as an employee.

“Brian, it could be nothing, but it can also be made into a really big deal,” Mel tells me. “Although you and Justin are more open and free with your sex lives than most, you’re also more prone to lawsuits due to the indiscriminate nature of it.”

“I don’t think to myself ‘Hmm could this be a potential employee’ when I’m focused on fucking, and I know for a fact that Justin doesn’t,” I interrupt her.

“Exactly. But now you should, and have to. Not hiring Eric, and firing this Troy character at this juncture would have opened you up to such potential allegations. While one could say that you discriminated against him based on a past indiscretion, the other is more prone to say you accosted him and he was fired for telling you no.” I start to argue, but she holds up her hand. “Of course, we all know that you would never have to entice anyone to have sex with you, especially by using your position of power. I believe during the Kip Thomas episode we established that you would trick sometimes three or four times a night within a 30-day period. But it’s all about the perception of it, and the fact that you could. So that is why Justin was correct in hiring them. If they are fired, it will be by their own efforts and not because of supposed assignations of their characters.”

“In other words, keep your friends close but your enemies closer?”

“You’ve got it, Grasshopper.” She shakes her head. “When will you ever learn just who you’ve aligned yourself with, both in business and in life?”

I can’t help but smile at the both of them. “I learn a little more everyday.”

Justin smiles back. “Sometimes that fuck’em all mentality you have just has to be applied a little more subtly, Brian. Instead, it becomes ‘Fuck Themselves’ and you won’t even have to defend your decisions when it’s all over.”

“He’s right, Brian. Like you, I subscribe to the Bob Marley school of ‘Kill it before it grows’. But Lindsay’s manipulative ways had their uses. Sometimes it’s just better to let people go fuck themselves than you actually telling them to do it. And in this case, it will save the legal fees in the end.”

I nod at their reasoning, realizing that it actually does make sense to stand still and watch Troy and Eric crash and burn if that’s what they are looking to do. But a little warning to both of them won’t hurt. I know Justin is planning on making his position clear to Troy, so perhaps I should do the same to Eric Maloney. I’m still not sure how I feel about Christian Hobbs working for us yet. Like Daphne though, I will be keeping a really close eye on the situation, and try to trust Justin’s judgement in this matter as I’m learning to do in others.

“So what are you up to tonight, Mel?” I ask. “Justin and I are thinking of hitting up Babylon. We haven’t been there since before the whole mess with Stockwell.” I smile remembering the night of what Ben called the most historic reunification since Germany.

“Gussy’s had a full day, so I know he’ll be going to bed early. As for me, Janean is coming over to go over the new findings of the comics and collectibles Vic had Ted gather from Deb’s house,” she answers.

‘Uh-huh,” I snark.

“What?” she asks me, but there is definitely a tell-tale blush creeping up her cheeks at my insinuation.

I place my tongue in my cheek before smirking. “Well just remember… no lezzy sex on the living room furniture.”

“Brian!” Both she and Justin yell at me at the same time, while I burst out laughing at Mel’s outrage.

“I’ll have you know she and I are just colleagues…”

“Who wouldn’t mind coming a little closer to cumming?” I continue to tease her. I recognize lust when I see it; I am an expert on it, after all. “Look, you can do what you want as long as it doesn’t affect your working relationship with Kinnetik. But a word of advice, Mel. Get it licked before the cobwebs decide to take up permanent residence. As distasteful as pussy is to me, I would hate to see flies and gnats following you around because yours is decomposing from disuse.”

“Eww! Brian, that’s just nasty!” Justin exclaims, and shivers. “But he’s right, Mel. I know you’re still getting over Lindsay, but that’s no reason to wither up and die. Even if it’s not going to be Janean, find someone to have some fun with. It’s time to move on and start to live life again.”

“What he said!” I tell her. For months, I’ve been watching Mel use Gus more as a protective shield, than just loving him because he’s her son. It’s been going on since before Lindsay’s stupidity came full circle. And however unintentional it may have been or is now, it also has to stop. “Mel, how are you going to be an effective parent to our son, or the baby we’re talking about having if you are so thoroughly unhappy and scared? You want to become another Debbie?”

“Oh hell NO! You did NOT just compare me to her?”

“Why not? I’m pretty sure she started out the same way you are, using Michael as both a shield and a comfort to turn down dates, and ignore attractions and advances so obvious that even blind people could see the neon flashing lights. Look, if you’re happy with ‘Slimer’ your neon green dildo, than that’s one thing. But from what I see, you’re not; you’re hiding.”

“First, it’s not ‘Slimer’, you prick…”

“You actually named the fucking thing?!” I yell, as Justin stands there practically in tears of hilarity at my reaction.

"Don't look at me. You asked for that one, Bri," he snickers while Mel answers.

“Of course,” Mel shrugs insolently before continuing. “Secondly, it’s not that I don’t want to date, but…”

“No buts, Mel,” Justin orders. “Just do it. It’s time- past time, really. I understand better than you do what you’re feeling…”

And I realize what he’s talking about. After Justin left Ethan, he spent the weeks following wondering just how to correct his mistakes with me. Of course, he didn’t realize then that I was trying to come up with more shit just in order to be around him. When I saw him in the Art Department at Vanguard, I may have looked pissed… well actually I was, but not for the reasons many would think. I was actually going to accost him to freelance for me on the same Eyeconics account that Murph and crew couldn’t seem to get right. Justin’s presence killed my reason to spend time with him outside of the office without it looking like I was trying to get him back into my life.

“I spent weeks after Brian and I split at the Rage party wondering just what the fuck I was doing and thinking by leaving him. It wasn’t that Ethan was so bad in the early days; he wasn’t. He was actually kind of sweet, filling a void that I couldn’t name at the time. But within myself, I just knew that it was wrong for me to be there. During the short-lived relationship, I kept noticing just why that was. Every time I would talk to any of you, Ethan would make snide comments. If I laughed at some memory I had of any of you all, he would sneer or playfully call me names, or tell me that I was a fool to keep connections with all of you old people. Yet, when I accompanied him to a party with his pretentious little cocksucking asskissers, I realized that I was like a square peg trying to fit into a room full of assholes. It’s because I was much further along in my life and thinking than the rest of them. I didn’t have to pretend intelligence; instead I had to pretend to be the stereotypical blond in order to fit into Ethan’s world.

“When one of his friends mentioned that I was more than just a pretty face, I said, ‘Yeah, and I have a pretty big cock, too,’ before I could curb my response. I left then, but as I made my way to the Carnivale, I realized that most of you never treated me like I didn’t have a brain in my head, even if you didn’t agree with all of my choices. Lindsay and Michael, as the volume set of All Things Brian Kinney Encyclopedias, did, and just as Ethan’s friends underestimated me, so did they. But I had to leave this safety net to figure out just what you all had given me, and to restore my faith and confidence in myself. You don't.”

I didn't know about all of that, and Justin never let on about it whenever we spoke. Hell, he didn't mention any of that when we were deciding to take us a step further, or even after the Stockwell incident. But from the look on Mel’s face, she knows exactly what Justin is talking about. I think back to her relationship with Lindsay, and how much Mel changed from the kindred spirit I sensed within her at our first meeting to the person she's become over the years until now. Lindsay was Mel’s version of Ethan and his friends, just as Michael and Deb were those types of idiots to me.

“So basically, Mel. Snap the fuck out of it, and get laid already. From what I know about your pre-Lindsay days, sex didn’t equal forever. Now that you’re single again, there’s nothing wrong with adopting that theory again.”

“Not everyone is like you, Brian.”

“Not saying that you have to be. Hell, in fact you never could. You could wish you were, but you couldn’t carry off perfect half this well.”

Mel snickers, which is exactly what I wanted. I’ve never been comfortable with tears and tantrums, but Mel’s take me to somewhere I never want to be again. She’s too much like me in that respect, which makes me damn fucking uncomfortable on so many levels. She and I are people who do anger well, but drive us to tears and… yeah, it’s not good for our sanity.

“You’re such an unbelievable asshole,” she says.

I just toss my head snootily. “It’s true, I am.” Which sets both her and Justin to laughing hard.  

“Get out of here and go to Babylon! Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” she tells us.

“Of course, we will! We’re not nuns who aren’t getting N-O-N-E. Time to hang up your whimple and dildo for good, Sister Mary Go-Fuck-Yourself.”

We left Mel in the kitchen, and were only supposed to have a quickie in the shower like we always used to do before going to Babylon in the pre-Ian days. I kept thinking that this whole monogamy thing never gets dull with Justin around as he held onto the tops of the shower doors as those boa constrictors he calls legs wrapped around me. I couldn’t help but pound into his ass fast, hard, and deep, as his deceptively long legs squeezed my flanks on every thrust. After my vision nearly blacked out from the force of my orgasm, we took extra special care lazily soaping and massaging each other. His moans as I washed his hair triggered another amazing round of sex, only this time it was slow and sensual. Instead of emerging from the shower exhausted, we were energized.

Seeing Emmett, Ted, and Dale at the bar, we make our way over. “Greetings boys and old man,” I say, signaling the bartender to order mine and Justin’s drinks.

“Someday Brian, you’re going to be the same age I am now,” Ted huffs.

“Yes, but you’ll still be older,” I snicker as does Ted. It’s good to see him feeling more confident in himself these days. “So what, or more accurately who, are you boys getting into tonight?”

“Well you’re sure in a good mood, Mr. Kinney,” Emmett says. “Might Baby have something to do with that?”

I look down into Justin’s sparkling blue eyes, reading that his satiated look is once again revving up into one of lust personified. “He has everything to do with it,” I say, just before I kiss his plush lips.

“Whoo-hoo! Well I’m sure going to enjoy the floorshow if you two don’t stop that. In fact, I think the rest of these queers would pay an extra admission just to see that.” Emmett fans himself, which makes me laugh against Justin’s smiling lips.

“Sorry to have deprived the public of The Kinney and Sunshine Show these past few months. We’ve been just a little busy.”

“Speaking of shows, have you heard of the latest episode from World’s Dumbest Criminals?” Both Justin and I shake our heads, while Emmett, Ted, and Dale roll their eyes.

“My immediate guess is that he played victim?” Justin asks.

“You are CORRECT, but it was more than that,” Emmett confirmed. “The ass actually pleaded with the judge to release his funds so that he can hire his own attorney instead of the Legal Aid lawyer they provided to him free of charge. Then he points to Ted and says ‘There’s my accountant. If you put him in charge, I’m sure he’ll be happy to hire me the best attorney my money can buy.’ So the judge decided to humor the dumbass and called Ted up to the stand.”

Ted snickers before taking up the tale. “He asks me,  “Mr. Schmidt, is what he says true?”

“Not exactly, your honor. Although it is true that Mr. Novotny has the money within his account to hire an attorney, those assets are frozen in connection to this case, and others.”

“So what you are saying is that none of it is his?”

“Not much of it.”

“'Out of curiosity, how much of it is?' The judge asked and smirked at me.”

“I had to stop myself from laughing aloud,” he tells us. “Exactly two dollars and seventy-six cents, Your honor.”

“So let me get this straight… out of an account containing over a million dollars, only a little under three dollars belong to the defendant?”

“Yes, your honor. The rest were received and belong to other sources, and were obtained through nefarious means and for even shadier purposes, Sir.”

“Well then there is no question, Mr. Novotny that your request is denied post-haste. As for the request for a change in attorney status, it is also denied at this time. The lawyer assigned to you, Mr. Jonas Sharpe, is more than qualified to take on your case. The fact that he works for the Legal Aid office, which provides a valuable constitutional right to the client, whether their client of the moment is innocent or guilty should be of no consequence to you at this juncture. So could we get to the business of entering your plea so you can get your obviously entitled behind back to your cell?”

“Wait! What do you mean about going back to my cell? I thought this was a bail hearing!” Michael whines.

“Ordinarily, it would be, Mr. Novotny. But since it’s more than obvious that even if we granted you bail, which for the record we won’t be doing, you couldn’t afford to pay it anyway, the court is making an executive decision and bypassing the option as a viable solution for you. So that said, how do you plead?”

“Not guilty!”

“Why am I not surprised that you wouldn't be willing to do the public a favor and just go to jail quietly?" the judge sighs. "Not guilty what, Mr. Novotny?”

“What more is there to say? You asked how I plead, and I told you. That’s all, end of story!”

Judge Jonas Matthews shook his head. “In all my years on the bench, I have never seen or heard of a more arrogant puppy. Even the murderers, without a lick of remorse in them, have the decency to address me in a manner befitting this bench! You know, it doesn't even matter as long as it gets you out of my sight sooner. Please note that the defendant, Michael Charles Novotny has pleaded not guilty. Bail is denied, and the idi… I mean defendant, is to be remanded immediately to the Pennsylvania Men’s State Correctional Facility where he will await his pending trial. Next case!”

“As Judge Matthews ranted and sealed his orders with the bang of his gavel, I could feel Michael’s beady little eyes looking at me, probably wishing he had Marvin the Martian’s disintegrating gun, knowing the asshole,” Ted laughs.

“I would have thought he’d chosen Superman’s eye-beaming powers,” Justin joins in.

“Nope! This Looney Tunes reference is definitely called for in this instance,” Dale tells us. “Have you ever noticed just how violent that cartoon actually is? I still watch it. It’s always a hoot watching the Road Runner beat the hell out of Wile E. Coyote without lifting a finger.”

“Kind of reminds me of Baby and Michael since the second night of Justin’s foray onto Liberty Avenue,” Emmett says, and I look at him strangely. “Come on, Brian. You couldn’t have been that oblivious to Michael’s continued attempts to trip Justin up and send him packing. And just like that blasted coyote, nothing worked until...”

“It still didn’t work, Em,” Justin says. “I’m here, whereas Michael is once again flattened by a boulder of his own making.” He shrugs, and then they all laugh like the wayward children they can be sometimes.

I know I have to stop this or they will continue with the comic and cartoon references all night. So grasping Justin by the belt loop, I lead him out to the dancefloor. I can feel all of the eyes caressing us in both envy and lust as I pull Justin close. Crouching down to his height, I align my crotch with his and start grinding into him. The short gasp I am always wanting to hear wasn’t long in coming as I hold onto his hips as he sets the pace. Giving me a long, slow kiss, Justin wraps his arms around my neck pulling me closer for a moment.

Just as I’m getting ready to lose myself in the kiss, he turns away from me. I release a groan as he places his luscious ass against my crotch and sensually starts gyrating his hips. He bends forward from the waist, pressing even further into my dick which is hardening more and more by the second. Fuck! He’s on fire, and I want to set him off even further while everyone stops to watch us. Raising my hand high above my head, I bring it down applying a firm smack to his ass, which is still moving in small circles against me. The moan he releases as my hand connects and squeezes is everything I have ever, and continue to long to hear from him.

I do it again, and again as he places one hand on his knee to steady himself while the other slips beneath his shirt to caress one of his taut nipples. My right hand joins his beneath the fabric while he continues to fuck himself with his clothes on against my hot hard cock. I don’t even have to see him to know that he is biting his lower lip to keep from creaming himself as I twist the barbell adorning his right piercing. I didn’t think I would like the new earring as much as I did the loop, but it’s surprised me how much I actually do. He told me once that when I play with it, it reminds him of when I pull the nipple clamps off just as he’s cumming. So with that memory to the fore of my mind, I make it my mission to give him the best orgasm he’s he's ever had with his clothes on.

After one more stinging slap to his ass, which I am more than sure he felt as if it was his bare skin, I reach around to the front of his body. Grabbing his fully erect cock, I begin to stroke in earnest as he leans back into me. By now he doesn't give a fuck who’s watching, and neither do I. His fingers are still squeezing his left nipple beneath his shirt, as I’m working on his right. Justin shimmies his hips hard against me as he gets closer and closer to the edge where I want him. From the back I continue to grind on him, even as he humps forward into my waiting hand. It’s times like this I’m especially glad that I am in advertising since it enables me to paint to most dirtiest, filthiest images of suggestion within Justin’s mind at times while I’m servicing his cock in the only way I can on this dancefloor that won’t get us arrested. I take a surreptitious look around at the crowd and describe what is happening. Without a doubt, even behind his tightly-closed eyelids, Justin is picturing what I am seeing. Is breath is sawing through his lungs in short burst as he moans his pleasure for all to hear.

The men around us are either gyrating and grinding against each other or against the palms of their own hands. It’s almost as gorgeous a sight as it is seeing the parted pink lips of my lover, so close to his completion. I redouble my efforts to get Justin off, causing a faster, tighter rotation of his hips against me. What started out as just dancing has become fully-clothed sex and I’m not mad at this at all. I’m as hard as he is, and just as close.

“Let it go, Justin. Show these assholes just what I have that they never will,” I whisper in his ear, and that was all it took.

He releases absolutely the sexiest growl I have ever heard emit from him while his cock twitches against my palm. The sound alone has me following right behind him, but when Justin reaches back and recklessly undoes my zipper, I spurt directly into his hand. Smiling, he turns around to face me, his hand still jerking me off. Looking directly into my eyes, he withdraws his coated fingers, and places them into his mouth, then grabs me by the scruff of my neck to share my taste with me. As he releases my lips, I feel claimed completely, but also powerful, as Justin just sent a declaration and a dare to all of the onlookers. I am HIS, and I think the majority of the patrons received the message loud and clear. Of course, there will always be some idiot that tries to test the theory, but I think they will meet more opposition from everyone here than they will directly from Justin or me.

“Well boys, I can honestly say that I need a cold ocean, fuck the shower!” Emmett declares as he joins us on the dancefloor.

“I hope you still feel that way in the morning,” a new voice interrupts my retort. I look over to see Babylon’s newest Stud, practically eye-fucking Emmett. He nods my way without taking his eyes from my friend.

“Nice to see the King and his Prince have returned. You were both missed, Brian and Justin.”

“Brandon…” I say, and he finally looks at me. “Hurt him and I’ll have you murdered.”

“You do realize you just threatened a cop,” he laughs.

“Cop or not, hurt Em in any form or fashion, and they will never find your body.”

He turns smiling to Justin, who is staring at him directly. “You’ll actually help him hide me?”

“No…” Justin says, smiling his bright Sunshine smile. “He's warning you for me.”

“Ah, looks innocent, but deadly?”

“Hurt Em, and you’ll regret finding out. I promise.”

“Now Baby…” Emmett tries to interrupt but is silenced by the look within those steel blue eyes.

“Brandon and I understand each other perfectly well, Em. Now go have fun, and do everything I would do,” Justin says and smacks Em playfully on the ass.

“Well, Officer Brandon, I do believe I am due for a thorough frisking,” Em siddles up next to him.

“Oh? Have you been a bad boy?”

Emmett smiles that wide smile of his. “Not yet, but I intend to be. Later Boys!”

As they head off, Justin turns to me. “I do believe we won’t have anything to worry about.”

“What makes you so sure?” I ask, still genuinely concerned for Emmett. For all his toughness, he has a soft heart. Whereas I’m usually cynical, Emmett is always hopeful.

Justin chuckles softly, still looking after the twosome as they leave the club. “He has the same look you did the night we met.”

“Yeah, lust, I know.”

“No. It was the look of a man searching for something he thought was impossible… until he met me.”

I grab him and hold him close to me. “Yeah, Sunshine. When you’re right, you’re right. Let’s just hope that Emmett doesn’t go through all of the bullshit we did.”

“He won’t.”

We leave the club and make our way home. Ironically, we don’t have sex but just hold each other as we fall asleep. As we arrive at the office the next morning, both Cynthia and Daphne corner us.

“So, a few little birdies have been chirping loudly about the return of Liberty Avenue royalty to their vaunted throne within Babylon,” Cynthia says as she hands me my coffee.

“Did you guys have fun?” Daphne asks as she hands Justin his.

He and I smile at each other, both remembering our visit to our kingdom. “More than you could possibly imagine,” Justin says, a tell-tale blush staining his cheeks.

“Yes, well I heard there was a very public spanking involved…” Cyn raises her eyebrow, and taps her foot waiting for confirmation.

“Don’t worry, Cyn, we kept it clean.”

“Really? Somehow I doubt that.”

“Well our clothes were still on so…”

She laughs. “Call me next time. I want to watch!”

“Pervs!” Justin exclaims and laughs. “What’s on the agenda today, you horny hags?”

Before either of them could answer, Tremaine buzzes the intercom. “Mr. Taylor-Kinney, you have a visitor.” The way she sneers my name tells me that it’s probably someone that’s bound to piss me off.

“Who…” I begin as the person pushes into my office. “Nevermind, Tremaine. I’ll take care of it.” I close my eyes, and ask. “What the hell do you want, Joan?”