Chapter 2 - We May Be Better Strangers.

Over the course of the fifteen hour flight from Croatia to the US, Justin managed to go through the rest of the documents in the envelope he’d stolen. It wasn’t easy. It took forever to type all the words and phrases he didn’t understand into Google Translate so he could painstakingly decipher their meaning. In the end, though, he was glad he’d taken the time to figure it all out. 

It appeared that the younger woman he’d observed at the cafe had contracted herself out to be a mail order bride for some rich American. The translation wasn’t precise, so he didn’t understand all the nuances of the contract, but it seemed like someone named ‘Aleksi Kacmar’ - who might have been the woman’s boss back in Croatia, if Justin was reading the documents right - had brokered the deal and was responsible for paying the woman’s way to the states. She was obligated to stay with the man she was being sent to for a minimum of five years or else she’d owe this Aleksi guy some ridiculous amount of damages. No wonder the woman’s mother had been upset by what was going on. This woman had basically just sold herself into slavery in exchange for a chance to get to America.  

One thing that Justin was surprised to find when he’d first looked at the tickets in the envelope, was that the woman was being sent to his hometown of Pittsburgh, PA. It truly was a small world, right? Anyway, it looked like Justin really was going home after all, which worked for him. He didn’t really have anywhere better to go and he was looking forward to surprising his friend, Daphne, when he showed up at her door. 

He’d also come across a picture of the man that was the purported groom in this transaction; a man by the name of ‘Brian Kinney’. Justin had spent quite a while staring at that picture. Mr. Kinney really did look too pretty to be straight if Justin was any judge of the matter. No wonder the women he’d eavesdropped on had come to the same conclusion. And that line of thought had brought up interesting possibilities. Justin fell asleep laughing about the thought of taking the place of the young blond woman and landing himself a rich, sugar-daddy husband. 

At least that would solve all his financial problems. 

Back at the airport in Pittsburgh, Brian and Ted were trying once again to explain to the attendant at the concierge desk why they weren't completely clear on who it was that their client Aleksi was sending. Ted apologized to the confused woman who’d been trying to help them, pointing out that Aleksi’s command of English wasn’t very good on the best of days, and what he had gotten had come third-hand through an assistant. All Ted had been told was that Brian needed to meet someone who’s name Ted couldn’t pronounce - he’d tried to approximate the name when he wrote it down but apparently it didn’t match any of the names on the flight’s manifest - who was coming in on a particular flight. He didn’t even have the complete flight information, so he had no idea which airport the passenger’s trip had originated from or what other connections the traveler would have made to get to Pittsburgh. All he knew was the flight number for the last leg of the trip from New York to Pittsburgh. 

“Great, Theodore. So, how are we supposed to recognize this chick if we don’t know her name or have any idea what she looks like?” Brian complained, walking away so he could pace off his frustration while Ted and the concierge went on discussing the matter.

After a little further explanation, the airline rep promised to do her best to track down the arriving Croatian passenger for them. Ted went back to where he and Brian had been seated at the bar and ordered another drink. There was no use in getting too worked up about it all. There couldn’t be that many Croatian passengers on this flight, could there? He figured the airline people would work it out. And, in the meantime, he’d try and amuse himself by thinking up a few more ways to tease his flustered boss about his new bride.

The plane had already landed and was taxiing towards the airport terminal when, in the middle of the usual spiel about remaining seated until the aircraft had arrived at the gate and was completely stopped, a different voice interrupted the set speech to ask that the passenger from Split, Croatia, please push the flight attendant call button and wait until after all the other passengers deplaned before leaving. 

Justin immediately jumped to the conclusion that he was in deep shit. Had he been caught for stealing the ticket? Was he about to be arrested? And, when he didn’t hit the call button as directed, one of the flight attendants actually got up out of his seat and came over to talk to him. 

“Are you the passenger arriving from Croatia, Sir?” the sweet-faced young man asked. 

Justin didn’t know what to do or say. He was too fucking panicked to speak. So he just stared at the guy with a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.

The nice flight attendant didn’t seem fazed by his lack of a response, though. The man just patted Justin on the shoulder with a kind expression on his face. “Don’t worry. I’m sure we’ll figure this out.” Then, using gestures to indicate that Justin should stay put in his seat, the man added, “just stay here until all the other passengers have deplaned and someone will come to get you.”

What could he do after that? It's not like he could go anywhere or somehow escape the plane without being caught. He was trapped in a fucking metal tube on wings with only one exit. He spent the next fifteen minutes, while the plane rolled closer and closer to the terminal, just sitting there, panicking, practically paralyzed with fear. He briefly contemplated trying to sneak out with the other passengers when they all stood up and started to shuffle down the aisle with their carry-ons in hand, but he could see that one flight attendant who’d spoken to him standing right near the door, and knew he’d never make it. So he just sat there, waiting to find out what his doom would be, and wondering if he’d be sent back to Croatia or if he could do his prison sentence here in the states.

When all the other passengers were gone, and the flight attendant came to get him, Justin didn’t put up any fuss. He just grabbed his backpack out of the overhead bin and followed along, mutely, trying to mentally prepare himself for whatever was about to come. When his guide directed him to the VIP lounge instead of some airport jail cell, however, he started to wonder what the fuck was going on. Something here just didn’t feel right. Still, he didn’t want to give himself away if he didn’t have to, so he kept quiet and didn’t respond to any of the kindly flight attendant’s comments, waiting to see what would develop. 

As soon as Justin and his escort walked into the VIP lounge, he was surprised to see the same beautiful man whose picture he’d found in the envelope he stole back in Croatia. That was unexpected. Or maybe not. Maybe they were just waiting for this guy to point out that Justin obviously wasn’t the woman he’d been waiting for before the cops showed up to arrest him? However, after scanning the vicinity, he still didn’t see anyone that looked like a cop. So what the hell was going on? 

“Oh good. Here he is,” announced a woman who came out from behind the airline desk and approached the beautiful man who seemed to be waiting for Justin. “Good thing there was only one passenger on the flight who was arriving from Croatia.” The woman smiled at Justin. “Welcome to the United States, Sir.” 

Justin just stared at her as if he didn’t understand what she was saying. Actually, he did understand what she was saying, he just didn’t understand why she was saying it. Weren’t they going to arrest him? I mean, he HAD stolen the ticket, after all. It was pretty clear he wasn’t the woman they expected. So why were all these people standing around smiling at him? You would think they’d be angry or something, right? 

“But . . .” the gorgeous brunet turned to the airline woman, seeming like he was about to complain, then stopped and gave Justin the old elevator eyes thing. “You’re not a blonde bimbo with big tits.” The brunet turned to another man standing nearby and repeated himself. “He’s not a blonde bimbo with big tits, Theodore.”

“I noticed that myself, Boss.”

“I thought you said Aleksi was sending me a fucking ‘bride’, Theodore. Doesn’t that imply female? Or am I missing something here?” Brian questioned. 

“Not really sure what is going on right now,” Ted answered, pulling out his phone and sending a clarifying text to Aleksi’s assistant. “Let me try and get in touch with Kacmar’s secretary.” He typed away for a minute or so while Brian and Justin continued to stare at each other, both equally confused. “Okay. I sent her a text, but we may not get any response for a while since it’s the middle of the night there.”

“So what the fuck are we supposed to do with HIM in the meantime?” Brian asked. Addressing the new arrival directly, Brian questioned, “do you speak English? Do you know where you’re supposed to be?”

Justin, whose mind was still reeling as he tried to figure out the best way to deal with the situation, didn't know what to do or say. It seemed like, at least so far, nobody had cottoned on to the fact that he’d stolen the woman’s ticket. They just assumed there had been some kind of mistake. But, if he spoke up and revealed that he did indeed understand English, then they were sure to start with the interrogation and no doubt he’d be asked a bunch of questions he really didn’t want to answer. Maybe, if he continued to play dumb, though, he’d find a chance to escape? At the very least, he hoped to be able to delay the inevitable until he’d thought up some kind of excuse. So, obeying the old adage that silence was the better part of valor, Justin pretended he hadn’t a clue what they were all saying and just offered up his most angelically innocent smile. 

The pretty man’s friend smiled back, approached with one hand held out, and offered to shake Justin’s hand. “Hi. I’m Ted and this is Brian.” Ted introduced them both, gesturing emphatically towards first himself and then the pretty man next to him.

No one was really expecting Justin to answer anything, since they assumed that he didn’t even understand what they were asking. Justin took the man’s hand and stupidly nodded around at everyone looking at him without saying anything more. To anyone watching the odd exchange it probably would have looked like a bunch of people just smiling and nodding stupidly at each other, with the occasional word or two thrown in for effect. If Justin hadn’t been pretending ignorance, he would have been laughing his ass off at how ridiculous the whole situation must look to anyone who was paying attention. 

While Ted continued to try talking and gesturing to Justin, Brian was trying to think of anything other than what he wished he could do with the sexy blond who he was trying not to stare at like some horny frat boy. He didn’t usually react to blonds at all, especially blond twinks. He typically went for the more muscular, dark, smoldering type. Which is why he was so surprised by his reaction to this particular blond. There was just something about this kid; Brian didn’t understand it, but he didn’t want to fight it either. At the very least, this hot little blond twink was a definite upgrade on the bleached blonde wanna be ‘bride’ he had expected to find.

While Ted kept pantomiming at the kid, who clearly didn’t understand a word of what anyone was saying, Brian was busy imagining all the nasty things he’d like to do with his new ‘bride’. The first thing he’d do was to get the blond twink naked, then spread him out on Brian’s midnight blue sheets, where his pale skin would glow under the lighting in his bedroom like fresh fallen snow in the moonlight. Brian licked his lips, wanting to taste the nervous sweat that he was imagining on that slight little body. Glancing down quickly, he could see that the package inside the kid’s pants looked larger than it should be on someone his size. Not that he’d ever wanted any kind of ‘bride’, but if he had to have one, this kid looked like he’d fit the bill.

“Sorry, Brian, but I don’t think I’m getting anywhere here,” Ted apologized after about ten minutes of useless sputtering and gesturing. “I don’t think he understands anything I’m saying.”

Brian huffed with annoyance. “Great. So he doesn’t speak English and we can’t get a hold of anyone in Croatia to tell us what the hell is going on?” Ted shrugged, acknowledging the awkward situation they were in. “What the hell was Aleksi thinking, sending this kid here? And what the fuck are we supposed to do with him until we figure it out?”

“Well, it’s pretty clear he isn’t the ‘bride’ you were expecting,” Ted teased him.

“No shit, Theodore. That doesn’t answer what we’re supposed to do with him. Can’t we just return him or something? 

Seeing the frustrated look on Brian’s face, Ted pulled him aside, out of the hearing of the hovering airline concierge and their seemingly nonverbal guest. “I know this is a pain in the ass, but I don’t think we can just blow this off, Brian. Not without potentially pissing Aleksi off. You and I both know that, contract or no contract, if he wanted to he could still walk and there’s not much we could do about it. We don’t even have the first payment from Princess Mia Resorts yet; he’s not obligated to wire that installment until the preliminary boards are approved and that won’t be until at least the end of the month. So, I think we should just play along with this for now and see what happens, Boss. Unless you have a better idea?”

“Fuck . . . You’re right. I guess,” Brian conceded, pinching the bridge of his nose to fight off the headache this mess was causing. “But what do I DO with him?”

“Well, we can’t send him off by himself to a hotel,” Ted asserted. “He doesn’t speak a word of English. It would be cruel to just leave him on his own like that without any way for him to communicate.”  Then, with a sardonic snicker, he concluded, “And, since you just happen to have a fully-remodeled guest suite that’s never yet seen a real live guest, maybe this is fate telling you it’s finally time to put your guest room to use?”

“I don’t do guests,” Brian argued stubbornly. 

“It looks like you do now,” Ted corrected him, ignoring Brian’s frown. “Hopefully, it’ll only be for a few days. I promise to contact Aleksi first thing tomorrow so we can figure out exactly who the kid is and why he’s here. In the meantime, I’m sure it will impress Kacmar that you’re welcoming your new ‘bride’ into your home so graciously.” Brian scowled at Ted’s snickering. “Buck up, Bri. I’m sure any inconvenience will seem worth it as soon as that first wire payment hits Kinnetik’s bank account.”

“Fine,” Brian grumbled, turning back to face his new house guest. “I suppose I can put up with him for one night.” Gesturing to the young man who was still grinning stupidly at everyone around him, Brian led the way out to the concourse. “Welcome to the Pitts, Kid.”

After finding out that their visitor had no luggage other than the backpack he’d carried with him on the plane, Brian called the driver to bring the car around. They loaded their visitor in the back of the town car and Brian gave the driver his home address. Nobody said much on the drive because it felt weird to have a conversation in front of the guy they thought didn’t speak English and Justin was still reeling as he tried to figure out what, exactly, was going on. Luckily, the traffic was lighter than usual and they made it from the airport to Brian’s in under a half hour.

Brian had recently finished remodeling a former firehouse into a gorgeous townhome for himself. Ironically, if that particular firehouse had not been closed, he would probably still have his old loft. The previous winter, while he was away on business, some drunk broke the lock on the street door to the building, probably to get out of the cold. Then, they stupidly lit a fire in a trash can in the back hallway to keep warm. By the time someone in the neighborhood noticed and called the fire department - which took forever to arrive since they had to come from farther away - the building couldn’t be saved. After which, Brian had sued the city over the lack of coverage for the area and had received a tidy settlement. That money had allowed him to buy the old firehouse, which he got for almost nothing.

For now he was using the garages on the first floor for his cars, considering the lack of parking in the area and the fact that having a garage also meant he didn't have to go outside in the rain or have to clean the snow off his vehicles in the winter. The back section of the ground floor, where the firehouse’s administrative offices used to be, had been revamped to become a den, complete with a big screen television, a wet bar, and a pool table. Mikey had been thrilled when Brian had let his old friend help pick out the theater seating and advise on the sound system. He’d already had the guys over a couple of times to try out the facilities and they’d all loudly voiced their approval of his ‘man cave’. Nextdoor to the den, Brian put in a small but efficient gym. He figured that as long as he had the space, why pay for a membership and put up with the trolls hanging around just to stare at guys in the shower. And, just because he could, he also had a nice little home sauna professionally installed next to the gym. 

For the living space on the upper floors, he had hired the best contractor he could find. He wanted only the best for the place he designed for himself. An elevator was installed next to the stairs for the times he needed to move things in or bring in more than he could comfortably carry. He kept the open floorplan that he’d had in his old loft, except this time the bedrooms and bathroom were closed off. Wherever he could he left the open brickwork. Ceiling fans were placed from one end to the other which, along with the twenty-foot high ceilings, should help keep the place cool in the humid Pittsburgh summers. 

The living room was set up near the front windows, looking out on the street. For the design here, he’d gone with a more relaxed family style, complete with comfortable sofas, chairs, and a fireplace; for when you just wanted to relax and read. It was less fuckpad-modern than his old loft, but fit the more airy and informal atmosphere of the firehouse better.

At the other end of the main floor space was a dining area, in case he decided to have company over who didn’t want to sit on the rug with a pizza box and a bucket of chicken. Next to that was a gourmet kitchen, not that he could cook, but it looked perfect in case anyone ever did want to make a meal there and his contractor had convinced him it would add significantly to the resale value. The balcony outside the kitchen had a propane grill and a small table, allowing him to barbecue the occasional steak, which was more Brian’s speed. Off to the side, next to the longest span of uninterrupted wall space, he had a small office set up where he could work without distraction when things were crazy at the office.

Brian’s bedroom, located at the back of the house behind a hidden door next to the kitchen, was his sanctuary. It had a low, comfortable bed that didn’t move or bang against the wall when he rode someone hard. The bedroom was peaceful and comfortable, but it was still a showplace for the king stud. The closet was actually a small room all by itself, with rods, drawers, and a separate shoe closet. Best of all, for Brian, it held all brand new clothes, since his entire previous wardrobe had been lost in the fire at his old loft. The adjoining bathroom still had the utility-style sinks left over from the dormitory area of the old firehouse, but the newly installed shower was big enough for an orgy. And, unlike his old loft, this bathroom had an extra long claw-foot tub, where he could soak and relax after a hard workout.

The third floor interior area was smaller and only took up half the space of the lower floors. There was a small guest room that he’d only minimally decorated with a small queen bed and a table. Next to that was a room he’d set aside for his son, Gus, which he’d decided he would allow the boy to decorate however he wanted. That was something Brian had always wanted to do himself as a kid, but was never allowed to do; he thought Gus would get a kick out of creating his own space in his father’s house. There was also a small bathroom sandwiched between Gus’ room and the guest room that was still mostly undecorated. The next time Gus came for a visit they were going to sit down and design these spaces together. 

The front part of the third floor - which was basically the roof of the living room area below - Brian had turned into a rooftop deck area. This was where Brian spent most of his time when he was just relaxing. He’d equipped the area with comfortable seating arranged around an outdoor fireplace and he’d even splurged on a hot tub. 

Needless to say, Brian was rather proud of his new home and just a little excited to show it off to someone new, even if the person he was showing it to didn’t speak any English. 

Justin was thoroughly impressed with the place. It wasn’t much to look at from the outside, but the interior was luxurious as fuck. Now, this was the life! He supposed there were worse things in the world than being shipped off to be this guy’s mail order bride. No wonder that woman back in Split had been so eager to get over here to meet Mr. Kinney. For half a minute, he even felt a little bad for causing her trouble and maybe making her miss out on the opportunity to land a rich fish like Brian Kinney. 

“I gotta get going, Bri. Blake and I are supposed to be having dinner with his boss from the clinic, so I can’t be late,” Ted announced as soon as he’d deposited Justin’s backpack next to the door in the living room of Brian’s fabulous house. 

Brian looked a little panicked. “You’re just leaving?” He looked back and forth between Ted and his unwanted guest. “But, what am I supposed to do with him for the night?”

“I don’t know,” Ted replied with an evil little smile. “But, since it IS technically your wedding night, I’m sure you and the little missus will want to be alone . . .”

“Fuck you, Ted,” Brian growled. “No, seriously. What do I do with him?”

Ted finally got serious and offered the best solution he had on short notice. “It’s Friday night, right? So, just take him along with you and do whatever you’d normally do on a Friday night. Show him the town and buy him a beer. I’m sure you’ll figure it out, Boss.” When Brian still looked lost, Ted relented. “How about Blake and I meet you at Woody’s after we’re done with this dinner? Say about ten or so? That way you’ll only be on the hook for entertaining him for, like, four hours, okay?”

“I suppose I can do four hours . . .” Brian did not sound convinced of that fact but since he didn’t have any better ideas, it sounded like he’d be taking his new ‘Male Order’ bride out for drinks.