Together

Justin’s phone rang when he was in the cab on the way to Pratt. He really needed a new phone. His was a second hand Startack, and the screen no longer worked.

“Justin Taylor.”

“Justin, it’s Brandon.” Justin was truly pleased. His contacts with Brandon had slowed down to almost nothing once he moved back in with Brian.

“Brandon! It’s so good to hear your voice. I’ve missed you! How are you?”

“I am really well, and that’s why I’m calling. I’m in New York for three days, and I was hoping to see you.”

“Sounds great. Why don’t you and Todd come over to the loft around nine?”

“Todd doesn’t know I’m here, yet. I… I really want to talk to you. Can you meet me at my dance studio? I’m going to be working there for hours. Come after Pratt?”

When in New York, Brandon could rehearse at the studio where they had filmed the commercial. They had three classrooms, and very rarely did all three get used. They had gotten a huge boost in business from the commercials, and allowed Brandon the use of ‘his’ studio, in exchange for using his name. Once in a while, he’d have to stop to sign a few autographs, but it was worth it.

Todd’s apartment was a typical New York place, with the ‘bedroom’ barely big enough for his king size bed, and his living room/kitchen only large enough for a recliner and a loveseat. There certainly was no possible dancing there. Justin had used the loveseat when Brandon visited his boyfriend. The rest of the time, he and Todd shared the king size bed. It had been completely platonic, and they had grown to be really good friends.

“All right. I’ll be there around 5:30, OK?”

“Great. Can’t wait to see you.”

Justin loved Brandon. Not like he loved Brian, obviously, but there was definitely a special place for Brandon in his heart. Had it not been for the fact that Brian was in his life, he thought his love for Brandon would have easily grown to something really serious. Things being as they were, he just had a soft spot for the beautiful man who never hid his deep feelings for him all that well.

Todd was funny. He really didn’t seem to mind that the man who shared his bed, and whom he considered his boyfriend was so deeply in love with Justin. His and Brandon’s relationship was based on friendship and really good sex, and Todd seem to find that satisfying enough. He spoke with Brandon on the phone almost daily, laughing at the ‘Stud of Babylon’s escapades, apparently not caring how much Brandon tricked when they were not together. When they were together, Brandon was totally monogamous, and very affectionate, and Todd was happy with the situation.

Justin wondered what Brandon wanted to talk to him about. After his last class, he took a cab to the studio. Not taking the subway was a luxury he was getting addicted too, and he rarely rode the underground any more, even when Plexus was not paying for his cab fare. It was one of the few luxuries he allowed himself.

When he got to the studio, Brandon was in the middle of a piece. He sat down on the floor and just enjoyed the show. This had nothing to do with the traditional Nutcracker. It was amazing, obviously technically difficult, and not using the male dancer solely as a carrier and support to the ballerina. It showcased Brandon’s abilities, his grace and strength. He was magnificent.

As he was still dancing, Brandon said, “Stand up, Justin, take off your shoes and walk to the middle of the room.”

Intrigued, Justin did as he was told. Brandon was dancing around him.

“Keep you body rigid. I need a ballerina for the final lift, and you’re it.”

How he could talk and dance at the same time was a mystery. Suddenly, Justin was off the ground. Brandon was holding him overhead as if he was a feather, one hand on his solar plexus, one on his tight stomach, perfectly balanced. Justin’s arms had gone out automatically and he could see in the mirror Brandon spinning and leaping as if he held nothing.

Finally, he was sliding down Brandon’s body, amazingly easily and gracefully, and landed safe and sound in front of him. Brandon fell to his knees and held him around the waist as the last note of the piece played. That was the finale.

Looking up from his position, Brandon grinned at him. “A bit heavy, but otherwise you make a fine ballerina.”

He was amazing. Such strength, such grace, such beauty. Justin was looking at his gorgeous upraised face, the turquoise eyes, the fine features, the beautiful smile. He would not kiss him. He would not. Brandon’s arms were still loosely around his waist. Then his hands were on Justin’s back pressing him closer, then going down over his ass, to his thighs and back to his ass again and it felt really good.

Brandon stood up holding Justin close, one hand on his ass, the other on the back of his head, Justin’s face in his neck. Justin’s arms went around the perfect body, hands flat against the muscular back, returning the hug. Brandon smelled wonderful, of clean sweat and jasmine, probably from his soap. Another minute. Another minute and he would step back.

“Fuck, Justin. Am I ever going to stop loving you?” Brandon’s voice was calm and matter of fact. Then he chuckled. “For a second there I actually thought you were going to kiss me. The power of self-delusion never ceases to amaze… Just give me another minute of this heaven. Just another minute and I’ll let you go, please…”

Justin felt so guilty. He had almost kissed him, and he enjoyed the hug just as much as Brandon did. But saying it would only make things worse for Brandon. He felt like a total hypocrite when Brandon stepped back and said, ”Thank you, Justin. I’m sorry.”

Justin smiled. “I thought that was still part of the choreography,” he quipped.

“It was,” replied Brandon grinning. “Of course it was. Obviously.”

They both laughed, the tension dissipating.

“So,” said Justin. “What did you want to talk to me about?”

“Let’s go sit and have coffee at the corner Starbucks, OK?”

They were sitting across from each other at a small table, Justin with his usual latte, Brandon with a double shot of decaf espresso.

“I’ve been offered a spot in the lineup of the New York City Ballet,” Brandon announced.

“Tell me what that means,” asked Justin, who really had no clue.

“Well, it’s the most prestigious ballet in the whole United States. It’s where we all dream to go. You have to get an invitation just to audition. It’s … impossible to get in. And they cold called me and offered me a spot. It was the commercial. The woman said they were very impressed by my control and technique. They loved what I said about always striving for perfection. And they loved my fake ballet teacher. They thought she was a hoot.”

“So this is really good, then.” Somehow Justin could tell there was a ‘but’ somewhere.

“It’s better than good. But… in Pittsburgh I am first dancer. I have the juiciest parts; I dance alone a lot of the time. Here I would be in the chorus line, not even second dancer. And the competition to get the lead position is fierce. Often the first dancers are not even picked in house. They snag the best out there from the Bolshoi, or the French Opera or whatever.”

“So you go from being the biggest fish in a medium size pond to being a little fish in the ocean.”

“Exactly. The good thing is, I have reached the top in Pittsburgh. If I want a challenge, I need to move to Chicago, or LA as second dancer and work my way up again. And this is the New York City Ballet…”

“What did Daphne say?”

Brandon laughed that Justin would know he’d already talked to Daphne about this. “She said to toss a coin. That regardless of the coin toss result, it would tell me what I really wanted, and to go with that.”

“She is so wise,” joked Justin. “She told me the same thing about going to Pratt or coming home and going back to PIFA, and of course she was totally right.”

“Yes. She was right. It helped clarify what I want. So I contacted the woman back, thanked her for her offer, and told her that rather than a free spot in the chorus line, I would like an audition for Second Dancer. She was totally shocked that I hadn’t just jumped on the opportunity, and said it was out of the question. She was pretty pissed of, and the conversation ended rather abruptly.

“But she called back yesterday. The next auditions for second dancer are the day after tomorrow. Do I have a piece ready?” He smiled. “It’s like telling you out of nowhere you can put a piece at the museum of modern art, do you have a painting of a swamp? The answer is practically insured to be no. But I surprised her. I said yes. What the fuck? This is the chance of a lifetime. We have been rehearsing this piece in Pittsburgh for four months, with a hiatus for The Nutcracker. I only interact with the ballerina four times. I have changed the choreography to get rid of that. I even have a finale, but since you were available… So I’m doing it. I’m auditioning for second dancer in the New York City Ballet tomorrow. I’m nuts and I’m scared shitless.”

Justin put his right hand on Brandon's face, cupping his cheek. Brandon looked up at him. Justin caressed his face, tracing the eyebrow, the cheekbone, the angular jaw. “Brandon, win or lose, I am so proud of you. You saw a possible chance, you created it and you took it. You are amazing.” Justin pressed his lips to Brandon’s just for a second.

Brandon put his hand on Justin’s, closed his eyes and smiled. “It was already worth it.” A few seconds later, he kissed Justin’s palm and let go. “So tomorrow, after the audition, I am going to call Todd and surprise him. Could we come to the loft in the evening? And maybe go out later?”

“I’ll talk to Brian, but I don’t see why not. Call me and tell me how it went, please?”

“As if you could stop me.”

Coming out of Starbucks, Justin hailed a cab. Brandon went back to the studio to rehearse again. In the cab, Justin called Brian.

“Hey”

“Where are you?”

“At the office. About to leave and call you.”

Just hearing Brian’s voice Justin felt much better. “I’ll pick you up in a cab in fifteen minutes. I need to be in your arms,” he said.

“See you in fifteen.”

Justin had given Brandon a hug, had touched his face, and had brushed his lips with his. He had not broken any of their rules. But he would have felt a lot better if instead he had fucked some stranger up the ass at Essengy. He would not see Brandon alone again. It would be better for all concerned.

Brian was waiting on the sidewalk as he got to Plexus, and Justin felt like laughing with relief. He was gorgeous. Justin’s cock was hard, his heart was beating in his chest in excitement, his whole body singing in anticipation. Reality check. This was the love of his life, his destiny.

Brian hopped in and smiled at Justin, opening his arms. Justin leaned into his embrace and kissed him. Brian took control of the kiss, one hand behind Justin’s neck, the other on his cock. The kiss felt so good, Brian’s tongue meeting his own, caressing it, submitting to it, Justin’s arousal increasing every second. His mouth was Brian’s playground, the knowing and forceful kiss driving Justin insane with lust. Why did Brian’s kiss have such power over him? His heartbeat was pumping blood into his already turgid cock, the arousal raising the hair on the back of his neck, covering his skin in goosebumps. He let it gather threads of pleasure from his whole body, and he started trembling. Brian sucked lightly on his tongue and Justin came, pulsing under Brian’s hand, moaning in pleasure.

Brian whispered in his ear, “You are mine, Sunshine.” And Justin could not have agreed more. Brian’s arm held him tightly now. He rested the back of his head on his chest.

“I want to tell you something,” they said together and laughed.

“You have the messy pants. You go first,” said Brian.

“I don’t see the relevance, but I’ll go with it…” answered Justin chuckling. “I was just having coffee with Brandon. He is in town because he has an audition with the New York Ballet for a second dancer position. That’s really big. He needed some moral support. I watched him dance. He is so fucking amazing. He pretended I was his ballerina and lifted me like I weigh nothing…”

“You weigh nothing…”

“Not compared to a ninety pound woman. It was really wild. Then he hugged me, and I hugged him back. He is so open about being in love with me. It’s hard to resist. While we were drinking coffee, he told me how scared he was about tomorrow. I touched his face. He is so damn good looking. I brushed his lips with mine, hardly a touch. It meant a lot to him, to know that I care. And I do care about him, a lot.”

“It freaked you out?”

“… Yes, it did. I didn’t get hard or anything. But he is… special to me.”

“He should be. You are not just friends. You two fucked, once upon a time. And it was not completely casual, at least not to him.”

“You don’t care that Brandon and I fucked?”

“I used to. But not anymore.”

“Why?”

“He is an amazing man. Truly beautiful, kind, funny, intelligent, educated, great in bed, and passionately in love with you.”

“Shouldn’t that make things worse, not better?”

“No. Because you see, even with someone like him around, you chose me. And every time I see him, every time I catch his eye lingering on you, every time I see how much he loves you, I am reminded that you chose me. That you choose me everyday that we are together, and that is about a million times better than if you’d never fucked with him…”

Justin turned to look at Brian. “I love you. I do choose you. My heart does, my body does. I am yours Brian. Never doubt that.”

Brian smiled. “I never do, Sunshine. I understood something a while back. No matter what, we belong to each other. Body and soul.”

That was such an amazing thing for Brian to think, for him to say. In the back of a cab, no less. Justin’s heart was so full it wanted to burst out of his chest. Brian gave his upturned face a little kiss. “We’re here, Sunshine.”

They got out and Justin paid, getting a receipt for the trip from Plexus to the loft. In the elevator, Brian asked, “You were derailed in what you were saying. Was there anything else about Brandon?”

Who? Oh yes. Brandon. “Yes. He was wondering if after his audition he and Todd could drop by so we could go out together.”

“Ha. Well I guess it’s my turn then,” said Brian, opening the loft’s door.

They took off and hung their coats, and Brian went to get them some water as Justin went to the bedroom to take off his shoes and change from his nice pants and shirt into jeans and t-shirt, after quickly washing the spunk off his pubic area . He smiled to himself. He was turning into Brian, acquiring a professional skin different from his everyday one.

Brian joined him, and changed as well, hanging his grey Armani and light blue tie, (so like his son’s), putting his white shirt in the dry cleaning bag, and putting on some jeans.

“I need more shirts,” said Justin.

“You do. You should have gotten the orange one, with the orange and green striped tie. It looked great.”

They went and sat on the couch with their bottles of Evian water.

“This client is arriving tomorrow. His name is Oliver Stokes. He is the rep for Axel Air.”

“I saw Julie’s stuff for them. It’s really good.”

“Yes. She has designed their campaign for the past three years. Sam did the first one. We have done fabulous work for them. Oliver was a client of mine in Pittsburgh. He followed me to New York.”

“A few did, right?”

“Yes. He was my biggest one, though. $100 000 a year’s worth then, about 150 now. I talked to my partners today, telling them there was a 50/50 chance we would lose the account this year. They were cool about it. I bring large accounts to the company all the time. It would be a loss, for sure, but a not a grievous one.”

“Why would you lose the account?”

“Because of the way I got it in the first place ten years ago, in the Pitts… When Oliver came to shop around for an ad agency, I wasn’t even a partner, just one of a few of us supplying support to our boss while he made the pitch. Oliver took a bathroom break. I thought I'd seen the signs. I followed him, shoved him in a stall, and fucked him.

“As we were leaving, he looked kind of smug, so I bent him over the sink and did it again, holding his hands behind his back. I fucked him hard, as hard as I could. It felt like there was an element of risk because it was a public bathroom, and supposedly someone could have walked in at anytime. He didn’t know I had signaled Cynthia before following him, and that no one could have gotten through her. We didn’t exchange a word. When we went back, he told the boss our agency had the account if I was directly in charge of it. I’ve never done this with any other client since, but he was my first one and got the ball rolling.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah, well. Not my proudest moment, for sure. But I’ve done a bang up job for his company, so I feel I’ve redeemed my youthful indiscretion. Except I haven’t really. Every year, he comes to town for three days, and we have a fuck fest. I’ve told myself it’s not for business anymore, that it’s independent of his signing the contract, and it’s been a lot of fun.

“He really is a fine fuck. I do him over lunch, and then in the evening, we go to the orgy room at Gillian’s together. He loves for me to whore him out. I’ve seen him get fucked by six or seven guys in one night, and suck just as many cocks. He loves it.”

“I’ve no intention of doing that this year. It would break all our rules, and they are worth more to me than the account. That’s what I told my partners today. They know about the fuck fest. Everybody does. Julie despises it. He never comes to Plexus. She brings the stuff to the hotel, and Oliver is not discreet. She actually caught us fucking, once. He loved that too.”

“Cynthia gave me my usual three hour lunch break.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m not sure how I’m going to handle it. And I’m not sure about the evening either. I guess I’ll deal with it when I get there, but I can’t tell you for sure I’ll be home to enjoy Brandon and Todd’s company.”

Justin thought about it for a second. He would not be thrilled if Brian fucked someone else for three days, someone he knew, someone he’d fucked before, but it wouldn’t change the way they felt about each other. It might be awkward between them for a while but they could handle it…“Brian, if you do…”

“No, Justin.” Brian was dead serious. “It’s completely out of the question. I will not break our rules. Not for Oliver, not for the account, not for anything. It’s time this ends, anyway, but my word to you is immutable. That’s just the way it is.”

Justin couldn’t deny he felt really happy about that.

“I’ll tell Brandon. It won’t be the same without you. It never was, when we were apart. We all missed you. But I can see you have your hands full.”

Brian was looking out the window, thinking. Justin figured it was just as good a time as any to call Brandon and let him know.

“Fuck. Too bad, I was really looking forward to seeing Brian, and you know… Fucking together. There is something really special about it, that’s just the four of us, yeah? It’s intimate in a way all of us fucking with each other wouldn’t be. It’s about friendship, and fun. Oh, well. What’s he got going?”

Justin gave him a quick synopsis. Brian was right there and could hear him, so Justin knew he didn’t object to his telling Brandon.

Brandon was quiet for a moment. “Is the guy attractive?”

“Why?”

“Just ask.”

“Brian, is Oliver attractive?” asked Justin.

“Very.”

“I heard,” said Brandon. “I haven’t called Todd yet. Tell Brian I’ll fuck him.”

“What?”

“Tell him.”

“Uh… Brian, Brandon says he’ll fuck Oliver.”

Brian looked at him blankly, and then smiled slowly. “Pass me the phone.”

Justin did, a bit confused.

“Hey. Yeah… I’ll tell him at lunch, and if he takes away the account, too bad. I don’t want any part of it, anymore… Yeah… I feel bad, he’s been a good friend of sorts, so if it’s not for the account… I bet you can… Dream on, lover boy… Yeah… The loft, and then this place called Gillian’s… You’ll love it… Three days. Can you stay that long? Just one extra? Fine. He’ll have a two-day fuck fest instead of three… All day, eh?... Yeah, yeah, you’re a stud, I’ve heard… I’ll call you at lunch. If he dumps Plexus, you and Todd are on… Next week?... Sounds good. Hey, break a leg or whatever, tomorrow… Of course he told me… Oh, for fuck sake Brandon, it doesn’t matter. I know how you feel, and that you need that from him sometimes. You have my blessing. He loves you too, you know.” Brian laughed. “Maybe you’ll get lucky and I’ll get hit by a bus… That’s… that actually means a lot. Thanks. See you tomorrow.”

Brian smiled at Justin. “Sometimes I forget who Brandon is,” he said.

“What do you mean?” asked Justin, confused.

“He is the stud of Babylon, that’s what I mean. He loves you, and really likes Todd, but he also loves to fuck. An attractive bottom with sub tendencies? He is all over it.” Brian laughed. “So. This is how it’s going to go. I’m going to keep my appointment with Oliver, play racquetball with him…”

“You play racquetball?”

“Yes, occasionally. I’m not too shabby, either. So anyway. Then I will tell him our fuck fest is not on this year, and give him the contract. If he doesn’t sign, it’s goodbye Oliver, goodbye Axel, and good bye $150 000. That will be that. If he signs, I’ll invite him for drinks here after work, around seven, and Brandon will drop by. Our stud thinks he will be fucking him on the back of the couch before his first drink is empty, and that five minutes into it, Oliver will think ‘Brian? Brian who?’” Brian laughed, shaking his head. “Anyway, then we’ll go to Gillian’s, where you and I will make love in the extremely arousing environment of the orgy room, and Brandon will have fun with Oliver… Brandon can only stay an extra day, so Oliver will only have a two-day fuck fest extravaganza, but Brandon proposes to fuck him all day long, and says Oliver will hardly be able to walk when he gets back on the plane. Then Brandon will come back next week to surprise Todd.”

“And if Oliver doesn’t sign, he’ll call Todd and the original plan is back on?”

“Exactly.”

“Did you really used to think like that? Sex as just fucking, absolutely no strings attached?”

“I still do, Justin.” Brian caressed his face. “You’re the only one with whom it feels different, with whom sex as an expression of something else makes sense. With you, I make love. Even when we fuck, it’s love. I’ve never loved anyone else…” He kissed Justin’s lips, and rested their forehead together. “I love you, Justin Taylor. I love you.”

Said like that, outside of the bedroom, outside of the heat of passion, or of the special time of their lovemaking’s afterglow, it was almost overwhelming to hear. Justin closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. His love for Brian was present in every fiber of his being, somehow vibrating in response to his declaration.

Brian took him in his arms, and held him. “I can feel it, Justin. I feel you loving me. I feel your love all around me, like a physical thing, and it feels so good. I never again want to be without it. I like the man I’m becoming, loved by you.”

They stayed on the couch for a long time, holding each other. Then they kissed, and the quality of the embrace changed. They went to their bed, and made love to each other for a long time before going to sleep.

Tuesday turned out to be a very good day.

Justin fucked Brian in the shower, not a small feat with their height difference, but Brian had bent down and was washing his feet, and Justin could not resist his anus and balls. Grabbing the lube, he started finger fucking him, and then just slid in. Brian had moved his feet far apart, and he was just the right height. Justin held his hips to help him keep his balance, and it was truly amazing, Brian’s prostate was right there to hit with every stroke, his body wet and steamy, his ass so fucking tight.

“Fuck, Justin, this is really good…”

Apparently not good enough. Justin accelerated his thrusting, and leaned over Brian, grabbing his almost vertical cock and jerking him off really fast. The only thing out of Brian’s mouth after that was his cry of pleasure as he shot his come almost directly at the drain. Justin stopped moving, pushed deep inside and let the rhythmic contractions of Brian’s climax bring him off, and it was a fantastic orgasm.

Brian stood back up, a bit wobbly at first, and said, “Well, my feet are really clean.” And they both laughed for a while.

They were running a bit late, so Justin skipped breakfast and Brian ordered a muffin for him from LaShaun. He was nineteen, and functionally illiterate, so Justin had convinced him to go to the adult reading classes at the WMCA three afternoons a week, when his ‘duties’ were over. Now he spent his time at the corner reading comics. Brian had made fun of Justin at first, for getting involved beyond the “Here’s your coffee” that had worked well for him for years, but not anymore, not since seeing the smile on LaShaun’s face the first time he’d said, “Hey, Justin. I got an A on my test, man. I am kicking ass!”

They talked about Brandon’s audition. It was at 10:00, and Brian had a presentation from 9:00 to 11:00, so he would call Justin afterward, before heading to Oliver’s hotel. It was snowing again, so neither of them walked. No one was loitering in front of the building to see them arrive together with weather like that anyway. They had a chance at a quick kiss goodbye because they were alone in the elevator.

When Justin got to his desk, the one he’d occupied as an intern because it felt comfortable there, there was a note from Sam, and a file from “The Professor.”

This would be the first time Justin did a project for him. It was for a man’s fragrance.

There was a baggy attached with a bunch of paper tags in it. Justin opened it. They were sprayed with the new scent. It was wild. They smelled like Brandon had, yesterday, masculine clean sweat, and something floral. He closed the bag again, and read the file.

This was a new kind of fragrance, for men who did not have much of a natural scent, sedentary guys who did not sweat much, and did not have a ‘sexy’ smell. It was fabricated with, at its base, some synthetic pheromones that had tested as ‘really sexy’ man smell from a large sample of women, with a ’clean’ soap scent added, and a floral note, hibiscus, also synthetically recreated. It was the first fragrance entirely synthetically produced. It would react with the individual’s own pheromones to give each user a unique scent. It was really cool.

He looked at the clock. Brandon should have started dancing by now… He wished he could be there. He wished he could see him dance.

Justin smelled the samples again. Definitely Brandon. He guessed if you were going to smell like someone else, it might as well be a living god.

Living god.

The scent of Living Gods. Hum…

Justin opened his computer and started a new file. The ancient Greeks had living gods. He found a picture of a white-pillared Greek temple and cleaned it up, so it looked almost new, the white of the columns really white. The rocky ground he changed to beautiful grass, and then changed it again to tan colored desert sand. That was better. The sky was blue, but not blue enough. He changed it to a pollution free, high mountain blue sky. That inspired him to add snow covered mountains in the background, and he changed those to a chain that contained a volcano, a perfect cone which would stand as Mt Olympus in people’s psyches.

Then he went through stock photos looking for a god like guy. An extremely peasant task, really… So many gorgeous men, so little time… He chuckled.

The poor guys had hard obstacles to overcome, because Justin was measuring their attractiveness against Brian and Brandon. Brandon. Plexus had a whole file of stills taken of Brandon by Phil. Justin went through the file. Here was a view of Brandon from the back, wearing jeans and a red wife beater. He looked hot.

Brandon should be just about done with the audition by now. Justin hoped he’d danced as well as he could, that he would not be disappointed in his performance.

Justin removed the background, removed the color of the clothes so they were perfectly white. He gave Brandon a tan the blond man had no chance in hell of ever achieving and darkened his hair to a rich chestnut color. Then he dropped him on the wall of the temple, against the bright blue sky. Oh, yeah… That was good.

His phone rang.

“Justin Taylor”

“Hi, Justin. God, I nailed it. I danced better than I ever have in my life. I feel fantastic.”

“I’m so glad. I was thinking about you the whole time.”

“So was I… . Anyway. It’s over. I did my best. There were three other guys; I got to watch two of them. One not so hot, the other really good. So who knows? I’m going to hit the shower. I’ll see you tonight.”

“Yes. See you tonight. You’ll have to tell me more than this.”

“Will do.”

Justin sniffed the fragrance again. Yes. The man in the poster would smell just like that. Just like Brandon. A living god. Then it came to him. He added a sentence. “Living Gods have a fragrance.” He thought the name would have to have a Greek sound to it. The Professor would have to do what he did best and find out which the public most liked. Justin gave him three choices. Nissyros, Naxos, and Kythira. They were Greek islands, but he was sure there were a million other choices.

It was eleven. His phone rang again.

“Justin Taylor”

“Hey.”

“Brandon said he nailed it. He was up against three other guys. He’ll tell us more tonight.”

“That’s great. I'm sure the competition was great, but if he feels he danced his best he’ll have no regrets.”

“That’s pretty much what he said.”

“Well, I’m off. I’m not looking forward to this.”

“I bet. He’ll sign though. You have done beautiful ads for his company. The rest was just… icing on the cake.”

“Thanks, Justin.”

“Later.”

“Later.”

He produced three full-page ads, similar except for the sentence at the bottom.

Living Gods have a fragrance. Nissyros

Living Gods have a fragrance. Naxos

Living Gods have a fragrance. Kythira

He personally liked Naxos best, but who knew which word the public would associate a good smell to? Then he added two more.

Living Gods have a fragrance. Choreftis

Living Gods have a fragrance. Evodia

The first one meant Dancer, the second Fragrance. He was done. It was also almost time for him to leave for Pratt. The prelims were not even due for two days. He set them on Sam’s desk and was about to leave when Julie stopped him.

“Justin, could you do me a big favor? On your way, could you drop these and this contract at The Carlysle Hotel, suite…” She checked a piece of paper, “1209? It’s for an Oliver Stokes. He is a client of Kinney’s, and he cannot be bothered to actually come here.”

“Uh… Jules, I’m running a bit late…”

“It’s only a quarter past, Justin. Please? Pretty please? I really don’t want to go. I… Well. Kinney’s there, and they have sex. Every fucking year for three days, they have a little fuck fest at this hotel, and two years ago the door was open, believe it or not, and I walked in and they were right there, on the floor, doing it…” She shivered. “I will never get that image out of my mind. You’re gay. Even if they are, you know… At least you won’t be scared for life…”

Justin laughed. “Who was on top?” he asked, as if he didn’t know…

“JUUUUSTIIIIIN! Don’t even go there! I’ve been trying to forget for two bloody years!” Then she smiled sweetly. “You can volunteer, or I can pull rank… Either way, you’re doing it.”

Fuck. That’s all he needed. Well, he didn’t have much of a choice. He made a face. “You are going to have to pull rank. I don’t want to go.”

“Fine. Taylor, stop at The Carlysle and drop this off, in hand to an Oliver Stokes, suite 1209. Now. Bye.”

Justin sighed and picked up the file. Why hadn’t Brian taken it with him? Why did Julie have to go very year? He would ask. It didn’t make much sense. He got in a cab, gave the address, and called Brian. It went to voicemail.

“Brian, Julie send me to bring the Axel file to Mr. Stokes. I made excuses, said no, but she pulled rank. I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

He wondered if they were still playing racquetball, but it was 12:30. They really should be done by now. He tried to call again from the elevator, but it went to voicemail again. Oh, well. He made his way to the suite, and knocked on the door.

“Come in.” Masculine voice, not Brian.

He stepped in the room. A very hot looking guy was sitting leisurely on a chair, a towel around his waist. Great body, great tan, dark and handsome. There were racquetball clothes all over the floor.

“Well, hello, there. You’re not Julie.”

“No. I work with her. She asked me to bring this file to you.”

He was trying not to look at the man who had crossed his legs in his seat so that the towel was now showing more than it was hiding. He was keeping his eyes on the floor and suddenly noticed. There, on the floor, next to the sofa, among the discarded clothing was a wrapper he knew well. A condom wrapper. Brian’s favorite brand.

“Did you need to talk to Kinney? He’s in the shower, but he should be out any minute. We have some unfinished business.” Oliver laughed at his own innuendo.

He was running late for class. And he didn’t need to talk to Brian. “No, Julie said to give the file to you, so I’m done, here. Have a good day, sir.” There, next to the door, another wrapper.

“Kid, what’s your name?”

Justin thought about lying, but remembered the messages he’d left on Brian’s phone. There was no point. “Justin. Justin Taylor.”

“It was nice meeting you, Justin.”

Justin walked to the elevator and pressed the down button. He walked out of the elevator, and sat in one of the comfortable chairs in the lobby, looking at the huge bouquet on the center table, watching the hotel clients walk by.