Net Friends

Chapter 4

Late Friday afternoon Brian worked at his desk in the loft. He was doing some freelance work for a taxi company that was trying to gain a bigger share of the Pittsburgh market. It wasn't great copy but he was pleased with the ideas he had come up with.

He wondered if he would see Justin before he went to the bus terminal to pick up this so-called friend. Ever since Justin had mentioned it, Brian had had a bad feeling about what would happen. He couldn't put his finger on it exactly, but he was uneasy, maybe because of his own experience so long ago.

The loft door slid back and Justin came in.

"Hey," Brian said startling the young man.

"You're home?"

"That's right."

"I … I thought you'd make yourself scarce so that I wouldn't be able to ask you to come to the bus terminal with me."

"I told you I'm not going."

"Right," Justin said disappointed. He had hoped for a fraction of a second that Brian had changed his mind. He should have known better.

"What are you doing here?"

"The outfit I want to wear is in the closet," Justin said.

"You're dressing up for this guy?"

"I guess you could call it that. I want to look nice."

Brian shook his head. He had tried to warn Justin but the boy was going to have to find out for himself. He watched as Justin went up the steps, rooted around in the closet and drawers and disappeared into the bathroom. He heard the shower go on.

Although he disagreed with Justin meeting this guy, he knew he wanted to help make the whole situation as palatable as he could, especially when it all went to shit. And he was sure that it would. He went over to the counter and picked up the keys to the Corvette. He ran them through his fingers and dropped them into his pocket. He went back to his copy.

Justin appeared awhile later in a grey sweater and pants. He looked sensational, all scrubbed and glowing. Brian felt his cock swell at the sight.

"Are you sure you have to go?" Brian asked.

"I'll be late if I don't leave now," Justin said having some idea of the effect he was having on the man across the room.

"Justin," Brian said seriously, "be careful."

"I will. I'm just meeting him and taking him to the motel. I thought we'd grab a bite to eat … maybe at the diner."

"That's a lot of bus rides, isn't it?" Brian asked knowingly.

"Yes, but we can do it."

"Don't bother," Brian said. "Here!" He threw the keys to the Corvette across the room and Justin caught them.

"But what about you?"

"I can get a ride to Woody's and take a cab home if nobody else can give me a ride."

"You're sure?" Justin asked in amazement. He hadn't expected these concessions from Brian, especially when he knew the man didn't approve of the whole thing.

"I'm sure."

"Thank you," Justin said coming over to give Brian a kiss.

"I'll expect you later tonight."

Justin grinned. Brian was making sure that he was going to spend the night. "Of course."

They kissed again and Justin headed out.

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Justin walked into the bus terminal. He had had trouble finding a parking space, but he finally got one not too far away. It was a little after 7:30, so he wondered if Rue's bus had already arrived. He looked around the waiting area and didn't see anybody with a portfolio.

He saw a good looking guy in a leather jacket. He wondered if Rue would look anything like that. It was probably better if he wasn't too good looking, especially where Brian was concerned.

He spotted a board listing buses that were arriving or departing. The one from Cleveland was listed as being fifteen minutes late. That wasn't bad. If they were right it should be arriving in less than five minutes. Justin found a seat and flopped down to wait.

He could see that another bus had just arrived and people were being greeted by those who had come to meet them. There were a lot of people who arrived to no family or friends. They would look around and then head to the taxi area outside, off to find a place to stay. Justin could see why Rue didn't want to arrive alone in a strange city. He was glad he had said he would meet him.

The sign flipped over indicating that the Cleveland bus had arrived. Justin sat up a little straighter and watched the new group of people start to come through the door from the bus area.

A young man with dirty blond hair walked through the door. Justin felt his dick respond immediately. The guy cruised the waiting room and his eyes fell on Justin where they stayed. He started walking towards Justin.

Justin wondered at his unexpected reaction to this guy. Usually that was reserved for Brian. This couldn't be Rue, because Rue had dark hair and would be carrying his portfolio, which this guy wasn't.

As he approached, the man grinned and Justin felt his dick harden. "Are you alone?" the dirty blond asked. Justin nodded. "Want to go somewhere?" the stranger asked.

Justin wasn't sure he could speak. Finally he managed to croak, "I'm waiting for someone."

"Too bad," the guy said and marched away with one backward glance that told Justin he had missed a good time.

Justin swallowed hard and took a breath. What the hell had happened? Jesus, if Rue was anything like that guy, he was in big trouble. He glanced at the door to see a short rather pudgy young man with dark hair try to pull his suitcase through without getting it trapped in the door. He wasn't having much luck, because whatever he had over his shoulder was already caught in the door. Justin groaned as he realized the object caught in the door was an artist's portfolio. This had to be Rue. He didn't know whether to be disappointed or relieved by the man he saw in front of him. He stood up.

"Rue?" he said moving towards the man to help him get his belongings into the terminal.

"Justin?" Rue replied a big grin covering his face.

"Yeah," Justin said as he helped Rue get his belongings into the terminal.

"I'm so glad you're here to meet me. Gosh, you're … gorgeous. I had no idea."

"Let me take your portfolio," Justin offered feeling a little embarrassed. He could hardly respond in the same way when he was truthfully a little disappointed in what he saw before him.

Rue handed Justin his portfolio. He went over to a chair and sat down. "Come sit for a minute," Rue said catching his breath. "It seems so strange to be here with you, after all the chats we've had."

Justin sat down beside him. "I thought maybe we could have some dinner and then I'll take you to the motel."

"That sounds great. It was a long ride on that bus."

"I bet."

"Do you want to go now? We could talk over dinner."

"Yeah," Justin said. He hoped he would feel more at ease when they had something to do together, like eat.

"My treat," Rue stated.

"You don't have to do that," Justin admonished.

"I want to. You came all this way to meet me."

"It wasn't so far. Let's go."

"Do we need to get a cab?" Rue asked as Justin headed for the main door carrying Rue's portfolio.

"No, Brian lent me his car."

"Wow, that's great. I noticed he didn't come with you."

"Um … Brian doesn't do bus stations," Justin said with a wry smile.

"He has money?"

"Um … that's kind of a long story," Justin said not ready to tell everything about his and Brian's situation. He continued walking to where he had parked the Corvette.

He unlocked the passenger door and stuffed Rue's portfolio behind the seat. He opened the trunk and managed to cram the suitcase in.

"This is some car!" Rue exclaimed looking inside and letting Justin fight with his suitcase.

"It's Brian's pride and joy."

"I bet."

"Climb in."

Rue slid awkwardly into the low seat. He buckled his seat belt and looked over at Justin with a grin. "Gosh, it's good to be here. I'm so happy to finally meet you."

Justin smiled back. Rue seemed so sincere. He gunned the 'Vette out of the parking space wanting to show off just a little for his new, old, net friend.

Debbie was working her shift when they arrived at the diner. Justin found them a booth and they sat across from each other.

"Hey, Sunshine!" Debbie said coming up to the booth, order pad at the ready. "What can I get you?"

"First," Justin said, "you can say hello to my friend Rue."

"Hey, Rue," she responded with a smile. "That's an unusual name."

"It's short for Ruben, but Rue is much more interesting."

"Riiiight," Debbie agreed drawing the word out and glancing questioningly at Justin.

"Rue's here for the weekend. I'm showing him around."

"Cool!" Debbie said giving Rue a closer look. "How did you two hook up?" she asked implying that she didn't see that they'd have anything in common.

"Rue's an artist like me. We met on an art website," Justin explained.

Debbie gave a disapproving look before she could stop herself. "Oh?" was all she said. "So what can I get you?"

"This is my treat, Justin, so order whatever you want. What do you suggest?"

"The burger and fries are great. That's what I'll have, Deb," Justin said.

"Make it two."

"Sure thing. Anything to drink?"

"I'll have a Coke," Justin said.

"Strawberry milkshake," Rue stated with a grin.

Justin thought Rue would do well to stay away from the milkshakes, but it wasn't his place to pass judgment on Rue's eating habits. He could see that Rue seemed pudgy and out of shape. Now that he got a look at the guy under the lights of the diner, he seemed a little older than Justin had thought he would be.

"So, do you hang out here a lot?" Rue asked looking around.

"Actually I work here."

"You do?"

"Yeah," Justin replied, "why do you seem surprised?"

"I thought the boyfriend had money … what with that car and all."

"He does … did. We're economizing right now," Justin said feeling uncomfortable about revealing any more. "Besides, I pay my own way."

"Oh," Rue said with a funny look on his face. "Am I going to get to see where you and the boyfriend live?"

"I guess we could do that. It's not far from here."

"Great!" Rue gushed as Debbie brought them their burgers.

They ate mostly in silence with Rue asking a bit about Liberty Avenue and where Babylon was located. He was really looking forward to going there tomorrow night. He mentioned again about finding a boyfriend like Brian. Justin thought that Rue would have to do a lot of work on himself to find any boyfriend, let alone one like Brian. He felt maybe he was being unkind to Rue in his mental criticism, but the guy didn't seem to be aware of the realities of the gay world; looks and a firm body mattered. Rue really had neither.

When they finished eating, Rue wanted dessert, so they asked Debbie for a couple of lemon bars. Rue thought they were so good he ordered a second one. Justin declined finally feeling full.

Debbie brought them the bill and Rue pulled out his wallet and grabbed the slip of paper that Debbie had set on the table. He rummaged through the wallet and frowned looking at Justin and shaking his head.

"Shit!" he exclaimed. "We made one stop on the way here and I bought you this," Rue said holding out a cheap keychain that he had probably bought at the counter of a snack bar.

"You didn't need to do that," Justin said looking at the key ring and wishing that Rue really hadn't bothered.

"The only problem is I didn't pick up my credit card. I must have left it there."

"Oh?" Justin responded. "That's too bad."

"I'll have to call the credit card company and tell them I've lost it. Hopefully they can send me a new one right away."

"They're usually pretty good about it."

"But …" Rue hesitated.

"What?" Justin asked.

"I … I didn't bring any cash with me. I was going to use my credit card for everything. I can't pay for dinner," he said looking forlorn.

"That's okay," Justin responded. "He took out his wallet and laid down twenty-five dollars to cover dinner and a tip for Debbie. "Let's go."

"Thanks, Justin. I'm really sorry about this. I don't know how I could have been so stupid. I'll pay you back, honestly I will."

"That's okay. We'll work it out later. Come on. Bye, Deb," Justin called as they exited the diner.

"Hey, Justin," Rue called trying to keep up with his friend. "If your loft is nearby, could we go see it before we go to the motel?"

"I … I guess so. Brian's out for the evening. Sure." What harm could it do showing Rue around. Brian was proud of the loft even though it didn't contain half the stuff it used to. They had made do, and it was still pretty impressive. "We could walk. It's not far."

"I'd rather ride," Rue said quickly.

"Sure." Justin unlocked the Corvette and they climbed in for the short ride.

Justin parked in the usual spot and they made their way up to the loft. Rue looked a little skeptical of the freight elevator, but he didn't want to take the stairs so he had no choice. Justin unlocked the door and slid it back hitting the alarm buttons. Rue followed him in gazing around apparently in awe.

"Wow!" he gasped. "What an amazing space! You live here?"

"Most of the time," Justin said without further explanation.

Rue wandered around looking at everything and touching more things than Justin was really comfortable with.

"I see why you said you didn't have room for me here," Rue conceded looking up into the bedroom.

"I need to use the bathroom," Justin said. He went inside and shut the door behind him. He did need to pee, but he also wanted to be away from Rue for a minute. The guy made him slightly uncomfortable. Justin peed, washed his hands and opened the door. He found Rue standing beside the bed. He looked slightly guilty that Justin had found him there.

"Neat bedroom," Rue said by way of explanation.

"Yeah. I think we should get you to the motel now."

"Right."

They walked out to the landing, Justin locking up behind them. Rue had called for the elevator by the time Justin was done. They rode down and got into the 'Vette.

"Justin," Rue began, "I hate to ask, but if I don't have my credit card, I can't pay for the motel. Could you use yours until I get in touch with Visa?"

"Um … sure," Justin agreed. What else could he do?

They drove to the motel with Justin using his credit card to secure the room. He went into the room with Rue. Justin carried Rue's portfolio and Rue dragged his suitcase.

"Home, sweet home," Rue said with a grimace. It really wasn't a very nice room, but the price had been right.

"You'll only be here to sleep," Justin said philosophically.

"I guess."

"I should be going," Justin said.

"Stay a bit," Rue requested.

"Okay," Justin reluctantly agreed. He sat down on the bed.

Rue took his suitcase and hauled it up onto the bed next to Justin. He opened it and brought out his computer. He plugged it into the phone jack and logged on.

"I've always wondered how you have so much time to be on the computer," Justin said. "You're almost always there when I try to find you."

Rue smiled. "I do my best." He seemed to be pleased that Justin had noticed. "I have quite an extensive group of contacts."

"Don't you work?" Justin had to ask.

"I do some computer work from home. I have an allowance from my parents' estate. It isn't much, but with the other work, I get by."

"Your parents are dead?"

"Yeah, a few years ago. It was a car accident."

"That's awful."

"Yeah, it was hard to get over, but I'm doing all right now."

"That's good." Justin wasn't sure what else to say. "So what time do you want to go to the Warhol tomorrow?"

"What time does it open?"

"Ten, I think."

"Can you pick me up?"

"I don't know if I can have Brian's car again, but I can come here on the bus if I don't. We could have breakfast and leave from here."

"That would be great. You've been great about everything, Justin, especially the stupid credit card."

"I don't mind. I know we'll settle up eventually."

"We will."

"So … I'll be here about nine o'clock and we can play it from there."

"Great. And we're definitely going to Babylon tomorrow night?"

"Definitely," Justin said again caught up in Rue's enthusiasm. "It's quite a place. Have you got any club clothes?"

"You need special clothes?" Rue asked with a look of horror.

"Some are better than others," Justin said thinking that Rue could use all the help he could get.

"I might need to buy some," Rue admitted.

"We can talk about it tomorrow."

"Okay," Rue agreed as Justin went out the door. Rue stood and watched him get into the Corvette. He waved as Justin drove away.

A little later Justin crawled into the bed next to Brian. He leaned over and kissed his man.

"So how was your little friend?"

"Okay," Justin said non-committally.

"Is that all?" Brian asked with a smirk.

Justin didn't really want to get into it right then. His hand around Brian's dick and his tongue down the man's throat made all talking irrelevant.