Wyrd
Chapter 1: “You’re Gonna Want Me”

One fine day, you'll look at me,

And you will know our love was meant to be ~The Chiffons

Nautico Ebeso Hotel, Ibiza
March, 2000

The first year, the first time he saw him, Brian had stepped outside the sliding glass doors onto the balcony, puffing on a cigarette, as he took in the view of the Mediterranean Sea. He’d never admit it, but the beautiful scenery often captured his attention more than the beach or pool littered with available men. The sound of a sniffle brought Brian’s gaze away from the sunset and he turned toward the direction it came from and he saw him.

The kid was sitting in one of the recliners along the shared balcony beside his suite. Pale legs were spread on each side of the seat, back hunched over a large sketchpad, one hand clutching a thick piece of blue gray chalk. Brian couldn’t really see his profile, but the sunset was casting a pinkish glow on his neighbor’s hair.

He took a few steps toward him and saw the boy’s face. The Nautico Ebeso didn’t cater to the family crowd. It wasn’t exclusively gay, but in the four years that Brian had been coming to the resort each spring, he hadn’t seen anyone there who looked as young as the blond did. Brian wondered why, out of all the men he’d had and would have at the resort, this pasty-skinned, gangly blond would garner his interest. He supposed it was because the kid was unique amongst the crowd of beautifully built, tanned bodies and, after days of fucking men who, though beautiful, all looked the same, his libido thought it time to make him aware of his need for variety.

The blond turned toward him and gave Brian a thoughtful look, obviously unaware that he had tear tracks running down his face. “Do you want something?”

The pace of Brian’s heart quickened as he looked into shining blue eyes and his skin broke out in goosebumps. He forced himself to appear and sound nonchalant and said, “Just looking for a place to put this.” He held up the half-smoked cigarette between his fingers.

The kid smiled and brushed his blond strands away from his forehead, inadvertently smearing the rainbow of chalk colors from his fingers to across his nose and cheek. He pointed behind Brian at the small strip of wall between their patio doors and said, “There’s a cigarette outpost right there…”

Brian couldn’t believe how stupid he was acting. “Yeah, uh, thanks.”

“…as I’m sure you already know because you’ve used it every time you’ve come out here to smoke. If you wanted to talk or look at my drawing, all you have to do is say so.”

“Nope.” Brian was certain he’d gone insane. No man and definitely no boy had ever made him feel so rattled and idiotic. He headed back to his suite and just as he was about to close the glass door behind him he heard the kid laughing. He barely refrained himself from sticking his arm out the door and giving the little asshole the finger.

***

Later that night, just after shoving a trick who had given him a particularly satisfying blowjob out of his room, Brian saw him again. Technically, he heard him first; the nasal sound of his voice was hard to miss. Brian stepped out for a smoke and casually looked toward the kid’s side of the balcony but didn’t see him. He wasn’t that interested in what was going on in the blond’s room, but he couldn’t help himself from listening in on the conversation.

“It won’t happen again,” a voice, heavy with a thick Spanish accent spoke.

“Whatever,” the kid said and sniffled twice. “You can’t just use me and this resort to get laid.”

“You’re such a prude!”

“I am not, Nico. I just don’t want to get in trouble. I got you a job here, so the least you could do is not break the rules!”

“I’m not the first employee to get a blow job from a guest and I’m sure I won’t be the last.”

“Well those employees weren’t recommended by me.”

“Fine, will it make you feel better if I don’t tell you about it next time something happens?”

“No, it won’t!”

“Will it make you feel better if I ask you to join in? You know, I bet it would. I think you need a good orgasm.”

Brian laughed aloud.

“What the fuck?” the kid’s nasal voice exclaimed and a moment later he stepped out onto the patio. “Are you spying on me?” he asked angrily.

Brian rolled his eyes. “It really shouldn’t be a surprise that I can hear you two,” he said. “You have your fucking door open and it’s not my fault you were talking so loudly.”

The blond put his hands on his hips, looked back into his room and groaned. “Nico, go home.”

“Fine, I will.” A moment later, a tall, skinny, dark haired boy popped his head out of the kid’s suite and gave Brian the once over. “Well, hello, gorgeous.”

The blond smacked Nico on the back and growled, “Go home.”

“You really are too uptight,” Nico said. He smiled widely at Brian and told him, “Me on the other hand, I’m a different sort of tight. I bet you’d like to find out just how tight, wouldn’t you?”

“Oh, shut up Nico,” the blond exclaimed, stomping his foot and pushing Nico back into his suite. “Go.”

“I’m going, I’m going,” Nico assured disappearing from Brian’s view.

“You’re seriously going to get fired if you don’t stop flirting with the guests. I swear to God I’m going to kill you if my uncles find out about this and freak out on me because you won’t follow policy!”

Brian wondered why the kid was yelling so loudly if he didn’t want anyone to know what the other kid had been up to.

“They won’t find out, relax,” Nico said.

A moment later Brian heard the slam of what he guessed was the door to the kid’s room. Brian gave the kid an amused expression. “Boyfriend?”

“No way,” the blond huffed and glared at Brian. “He’s just my friend.”

“So, your uncles, they own this resort?” Brian asked.

“Yes,” the kid said.

“Then that explains it,” Brian said.

“What exactly does that explain?”

“It explains why they’ve got a little teeny bopper crashing the resort.”

The blond’s eyes widened and his face reddened. “From the way you were drooling over me earlier I don’t think you mind teeny boppers, not that I am one.”

“Yeah, right,” Brian drawled.

“I’m very mature for my age,” the kid insisted.

Brian smirked and said in a placating tone, “I bet you are.”

“Whatever,” the blond huffed, turned on his heel and marched back into his room.

Brian watched the kid walk away and his dick twitched in anticipation as his eyes caught sight of the blond’s luscious ass that stretched the material of his jean shorts with every step he took. To distract himself, he walked to edge of the balcony, looked down at the pool and found his next conquest.

***

March, 2001

The second year, Brian first noticed him at a distance. The kid’s hair was cut shorter, but his pale skin was like a beacon in the middle of the dark bodies scattered around the beach. He watched from the pool bar as the kid walked hand-in-hand with a tall, muscular dark-skinned man who looked to be in his early twenties. Brian watched them stop and face the water, the blond resting his head on the other man’s chest before looking up and sharing a kiss with the man that went on and on and on and... Brian turned away when his cock hardened, and glanced around the pool for his next conquest.

After fucking a bleached blond muscle stud in his room, Brian found the kid sitting on the same recliner as last year on their shared balcony once again. This time, the kid wasn’t drawing. His knees were drawn up to his chest and his head was bowed over them, his shoulders shaking as he sniffed loudly.

Brian smoked a full cigarette before he approached his neighbor. “Fancy seeing you here,” he drawled.

The kid jumped and scrambled off the chair, wiping his tears away as he stood up and faced Brian. “Not really a surprise since you booked the same suite as last year and I actually live here,” he spoke, his voice hoarse.

Brian wondered how an American teenager came to live in Ibiza. He recalled the kid saying that the resort was owned by his uncles and Brian had assumed that he worked there during spring break but hadn’t imagined he actually lived there. Brian smiled slightly and asked, “Trouble in paradise?”

“Like you care about me and my boyfriend’s problems,” the blond huffed.

“You’re right, I don’t care. Except all your sniffling is ruining the atmosphere.”

The kid glared and turned to look out at the sun setting on the Mediterranean. “Then maybe you should fuck off and find a better atmosphere somewhere else.”

The kid had some fight in him, Brian liked that. He walked over to stand beside him and said, “So, did he break up with you?”

“What? No!” The kid’s face paled more.

“So what’s the problem then?”

“Terence went over to the Calle de La Virgen with his friends.”

“So why aren’t you out at the clubs shaking your ass with them?”

“Because they didn’t invite me. He said he wanted some time alone to hang with some friends of his from college.”

Brian could only imagine one reason why Terence didn’t want his hot boyfriend tagging along. It had to be because he wanted to fuck other men without the kid around. Not that Brian did boyfriends, but if he did, he was pretty sure he’d make the most of a hot one like Justin and fuck him in every backroom Ibiza clubs had to offer. The kid was young, obviously, but Brian couldn’t imagine that he was so stupid that he wouldn’t realize his boyfriend’s reasons for not wanting him to go along. “So you two are monogamous?” he goaded.

“What kind of question is that?” the blond sputtered. “Of course we are!”

Brian rolled his eyes. “Does this Trevor know that?”

“His name is Terence.” The kid’s blue eyes clouded with tears. “And why are you asking me that, did you see him with someone else here?”

“I don’t even know what the fuck your boyfriend looks like,” Brian said.

“Oh,” Justin gave Brian a doubtful look, “you haven’t noticed us going in and out of my room?”

“Nope.” Brian lit another cigarette and offered one to the kid. “Look, there’s only one reason that I can imagine why Thomas…”

“Terence,” the kid corrected, leaning in to let Brian light his smoke.

“Right, Terence. There’s only one reason that Terence wouldn’t want to take his boyfriend with him to the clubs and that’s because he doesn’t want you around while he’s fucking other guys.”

“You don’t know him.”

“I know men, intimately.” Brian gave Justin a pointed look and asked, “Have you even had a conversation with him about monogamy?”

“Well no… but I mean… it’s a given because…”

“No, it’s not a given,” Brian interrupted and wondered how a kid living in a gay Mecca could be so naïve. “Have you been to the bars here?”

“A few times with my friend Nico, but I didn’t do stuff with any of the guys there. It’s not like you have to have sex with strangers to have fun, so why would Terence?”

“Because he’s a gay man and because you two haven’t had a talk about monotony.”

The kid glared. “Monogamy.”

“Whatever. Anyway, if I were you, I’d have that talk real soon because I’d bet my ass that Trevor is probably out fucking as we speak.” Brian turned toward his room and called over his shoulder, “Now go inside and stop your whimpering so I can get a few hours of sleep before I need to wake up in time to arrive fashionably late to Calle de La Virgen.”

“You’re an asshole!” the kid growled. “You tell me that you think my boyfriend is cheating on me and then you just want me to act like it doesn’t matter!”

Brian faced the kid again. “I didn’t say it didn’t matter. I said that you need to stop crying about it. If you care that much, then do something about it but don’t sit here throwing a pity party for yourself.”

***

Brian didn’t see him again until the morning of his last night at the resort. He’d been too busy sleeping during daylight hours and out fucking at night. He didn’t recognize the kid at first, because it was the first time Brian saw him wearing the resort employee uniform, or a variation of it. The blond had on a pair of white shorts that hit him mid thigh and a white and red striped low cut tank top. Brian thought that he looked hotter in this outfit than any of the other employees did wearing it.

“Hi.” The kid was standing beside the shelves of towels for the pool, the bright sun causing him to squint as he looked up at Brian.

Brian realized he was still referring to the kid as ‘the kid’ or ‘the blond’ or ‘his irritating neighbor’. He looked for a nametag but didn’t see one and it just wasn’t in him to care enough to get his name. He didn’t think the kid knew his name either. “So this is what you do here?”

“Yup, I’m a pool boy.” The kid laughed and his smile was brighter than the sun. “But just during spring break and the summer.”

“So what do you do here the rest of the year?” Brian asked.

A flash of something, possibly pain crossed the kid’s pretty face; his smile faltered for a moment and then appeared again. “I go to school. My uncles don’t want me to work while I’m studying because they say it’s too distracting.”

“I’d think living in a hotel with beautiful men at arm’s reach would be too distracting,” Brian commented.

“You have no idea.”

“So… did you talk to Tyler about…”

“Terence,” the kid corrected. “Yes, I did. You were right and we broke up.”

“You don’t seem too depressed about it,” Brian said.

The kid shrugged. “Like you said, there are lots of beautiful men here to distract me.” He gave Brian a sly pointed look. “Terence and I weren’t right for one another but I know what I want.”

Brian smiled. “Care to enlighten me?”

“I don’t know if I should tell you, it’s not like we’re friends.”

“Sharing secrets with strangers is always better than sharing them with people you know,” Brian said. “The people you know never keep the secrets and the people you don’t know will forget about them.”

“Well it’s not a secret, what I want,” the kid said, his voice husky. He abruptly turned away from Brian and went back to his cart of clean towels and began to stock the shelves.

“Let me guess,” Brian drawled, “monogamy, marriage, children.”

The kid shrugged again and continued putting the towels away. “The first one, yeah, the other two… who knows?”

“You’re American, aren’t you?” Brian asked, changing the subject. The kid was infuriatingly interesting and though Brian was loathed to admit it, he wanted to know more about him.

“Yeah, but me and my sister, Molly, have been living with my Uncle Matt and his partner Aaron for the last three and a half years.” He faced Brian again, his smile completely diminished. “My parents died in a car accident and my uncles are the only living relatives we have.”

Brian was sorry he asked. “That’s pretty rough.”

“It’s been worse for my sister because she didn’t have as much time with them as I did,” the kid said. “I wish they hadn’t died, but my dad, he was a homophobe and I was terrified of coming out, because I knew that he would hate me. The only reason my parents listed my Uncle Matt as our guardian was because they had no one else to put in their will who would take us if anything happened to them. I feel really guilty when I say this, but my dad dying made it a lot easier for me to come out. I think my mom might’ve known, she never said anything to me but she always stuck up for my uncles and would ridicule my dad for his small minded views whenever he’d say anything about them.”

Brian was getting into dangerous territory; things were much too personal for his liking, but still he wanted to know more and couldn’t stop himself from asking, “So, how old are you?”

“I turned eighteen last month,” the kid said, his mood shifting to happiness.

“So, do you, your uncles and sister all live in the suites then?”

Justin shook his head. “No, my sister lives with them in their apartment on the top floor above our suites. Matt and Aaron only had one extra bedroom and my sister was only eight when we moved in, so they let me have one of the suites down here. It sounds weird, me living alone, but I needed the privacy and really didn’t want to share my room with an eight year old girl. Plus, there are cameras around most of the resort, so they can have their security guys keep an eye on me whenever I leave my room if they want to.”

“They monitor who you hang out with?” Brian looked around, trying to spot the nearest camera.

“There aren’t any cameras facing the balconies,” Justin said. “They give me my freedom, they just want to be sure none of the guests hassle me.” He batted his eyes at Brian and bent down to grab towels from the bottom of the cart, deliberately giving Brian a good view of his ass in his shorts. “I get it though. I’m pretty tempting to the guests and they want to make sure I’m safe and not taken advantage of. They seem to think I’m a lot more innocent than I truly am.”

Brian liked how the kid went back and forth between being almost shy to being confident and flirty. He wasn’t as annoying as Brian had first thought he was. But he wouldn’t be tempted, it was clear that the kid was too young for him and also far too idealistic. He cleared his throat and said, “Gonna go for a swim. I’ll see you later?” He’d meant it as a general statement but it had come out as question.

“Sure. You know, I thought about asking you to have dinner with me before you leave, but I know you’re not really interested in that.” He cocked his head to the side and gave Brian a sly smile. “What you’re interested in… it’s not like I don’t want you… but I’m not allowed to sleep with any of our guests, because I’m an employee.”

Brian was surprised at the balls on the kid. “You’re assuming a lot.”

“Am I?” the kid laughed. “I doubt it.” He pointed behind Brian to the mass of gorgeous men lounging in and around the pool. “You can have any of them, but for some reason you’re over here, talking to me.”

Brian really hated how the kid managed to catch him off guard nearly each time they spoke. “Then I’ll have to remedy that,” he quipped and turned to walk toward the pool. No way was he going to let the kid think he was right.

***

March, 2002

The third year, Brian learned his name. Predictably, they met on the balcony once again. The kid looked different, hair grown out, clothes tight and flattering.

“Do you ask for this specific suite for a reason?” the kid asked, glancing at Brian before looking back toward the sea and taking a long deep pull from his cigarette.

“I like knowing where I’m going,” Brian said simply. “In case you haven’t noticed, the resort is huge.”

“But the other suites are just right there,” the kid assessed, indicating the ones further down from his own. “You could stay in any of them.”

“Is it a crime for me to like my room?” Brian asked, glaring.

The kid didn’t have time to answer, because a voice coming from inside his suite called out to him. “Baby, who are you talking to?”

“Just a guest,” the kid yelled back. He walked closer to Brian and held his hand out. “I don’t think we’ve ever introduced ourselves. I’m Justin. Justin Taylor.”

Brian grasped the thin pale hand in his own and wondered how the kid… no, Justin, he wondered how Justin managed to remain pale while living in a land of sun and beaches. He also realized that he’d never before mourned the loss of a quick handshake ever before because touching Justin had made his whole body thrum with excitement. He croaked out, “Brian Kinney.”

“I knew your name, even though I don’t deal with the reservations I did happen to notice when you were on the check-in list.” Justin motioned toward his suite. “Gotta get back in there.”

Brian was a bit envious of whoever it was that was in Justin’s room, not that he’d let on to that fact. “See ya.”

“Sure,” Justin said, walking toward his room.

***

Brian couldn’t sleep that day because his thoughts were filled with dirty images of what he imagined was going on in the room next door. Countless times he thought about going out on the balcony to see if Justin had mistakenly not pulled the drapes over the sliding doors to his room. It was ridiculous, because he could find a trick to take care of the perpetual hard on he sported any time he thought of Justin. But he couldn’t bring himself to do so, happier to just fantasize and use his right hand to bring him off.

His final day he was having lunch at the bar and grill at the resort. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end and he didn’t have to look around to know that Justin had come into the restaurant. The thought unsettled him.

“So,” Justin sat down on the bar stool beside him. “I’ve got a new boyfriend, we’ve been together for six months.”

Brian glanced at Justin and then went back to eating his sandwich.

“Eli is great. He’s an art student at Romero, too.”

“Why are you telling me this?” Brian grumbled.

“Because… I figured that if we’re going to see one another every year… we should be friends.”

Brian laughed. “You figured that, did you?”

“Yeah,” Justin said. “I know you’re checking out in a few hours but maybe next year you’ll take a night off from fucking and let me draw you.”

Brian was taken aback at the request. “Don’t you have enough models here for your enjoyment?”

Justin leaned closer, his lips brushed against Brian’s ear and he said, “Sure, but none of them are as enjoyable to look at as you.”

Shivers raced through Brian’s body and his cock ached. Before he regained control of his voice to say anything in reply, Justin spun off his stool and was halfway across the room. For half a second Brian considered extending his vacation for a day or two, but then he thought better of it. Justin had a boyfriend and he wanted monogamy, never mind the fact that he lived half a world away from him. If he stayed, Justin would take that to mean something more than what Brian was willing to allow it to mean.

TBC in Chapter 2