Chapter 12 - The Art’s the Thing.

Brian wasn’t happy this morning. Actually, he hadn’t been happy for most of the past week. For the first time since he’d proposed that Justin move into his home for the summer, Brian was unhappy with the deal. Damned little blond twink, Brian kept thinking, why did he have to be so fucking stubborn. It had been a full week now since they’d argued about the confrontation with Brandon and Justin was still obviously angry. Just then the alarm went off and Brian rolled over to turn it off. Not that he’d gotten much sleep anyway since he’d been lying here awake most of the night trying to figure out what to do about Justin.  

Brian really missed Justin being there in bed with him when he woke up. It’s not that he couldn’t go out to the pool house and find the boy. If he did, Justin would compliantly lie there and let him do whatever he wanted - fuck him, suck him, whatever - but that was all Justin would do. He’d just lie there, waiting patiently for Brian to finish, and then the boy would clean himself up and completely ignore Brian from then on. Not exactly the fun little cabana boy that Brian had come to expect. The eagerness, the joy, the playfulness were all gone. So was the warm body in Brian’s bed - Justin hadn’t slept through the night with Brian since their argument and Brian was suffering because of it. He would NEVER admit it, but Brian wasn’t sleeping well at all without his warm little bedmate. And it was all because of that fucker Brandon and that damned stupid argument they’d had.  

Enough. Brian decided right then that things wouldn’t be allowed to go on like this. It was time to fix this - if he only knew how. But Brian was a smart man and he was going to figure this out. Today. Somehow. Brian rolled out of bed and started to pace - he always thought better when he was moving for some reason.  

Brian knew instinctively that it was going to take more than a fucking Hallmark card and flowers to appease Justin. But what did Justin like? What did the boy want or need that Brian could provide that would get him to forgive and forget? It wasn’t going to be ‘things’ - the young man wasn’t materialistic at all and even the fact that he’d lost almost all his possessions when he’d been kicked out of his house hadn’t phased him. Brian obviously couldn’t buy him back with presents.  

What else was there? Sex? Obviously not - that’s what got them into this fucking mess in the first place. What else? Food? Well, yeah, the kid did love to eat. But Brian didn’t think that alone would be enough. Brian kept pacing, racking his brain for something more. Something that would get to Justin. It was going to take something big too. That’s when Brian’s eyes landed on the stack of pencil sketches Justin had done of him and used for the little treasure hunt game last Sunday. Art? YES - That was IT!

An hour later, after a lot more pacing and a few phone calls, Brian thought his plan was ready. Just then he heard the doorbell ring - perfect timing, Brian thought. He quickly gathered up the stack of sketches, dashed down the stairs, gathered the two finished canvases that Justin had done earlier in the week as well, and gave the whole pile to the man from the courier service who was waiting for him at the door. Now, all he could do was wait for everyone else he’d tasked with helping him to do their parts and hope that it would be enough.

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“Brian. Mei Mei said you wanted to see me?” Justin was standing in the doorway to Brian’s home office, his tone neutral and his face empty of all emotion.  

“Yeah. We’re going out tonight. Wear something nice but casual,” Brian directed.

Justin sighed but didn’t bother to raise any objection. “What time do you want me to be ready?”

“Now. We’re leaving in thirty minutes.” Brian said, trying to keep his tone casual and unworried, even though his stomach was doing flip flops on him.  

“Fine. I’ll be ready.” Justin turned and left without displaying any emotion at all.

“This better work,” Brian muttered as he watched the perfect little bubble butt walking away.

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The elegantly tasteful lettering on the huge plate glass window on the front of the building said this was the ‘Sidney Bloom Gallery’. Justin could see several large pieces of art through the front windows - all modern pieces and quite good. When Brian came around to his side of the car and opened the door for him, Justin got out - avoiding the hand offered to assist him, though.  

As he followed Brian from the car into the gallery, he was actually starting to feel curious about what the other man had planned for this evening. Brian held the door to the shop open for him and then followed closely behind, his hand resting lightly at the small of Justin’s back as they walked. He saw Brian nod to a tall graceful blonde woman who hurried to meet them as they entered.

“Mr. Taylor? I’m Lindsey Peterson, the Gallery Manager. I’m so glad to meet you,” the woman said in greeting as she shook Justin’s hand. “If you’ll just follow me I’ll show you where we’ve decided to display the art. I hope you’ll approve of the display and the placement. I can, of course, make any changes you wish later.”

Justin didn’t move to follow at first. He looked over at Brian, chewing on his bottom lip in his confusion. Brian was trying to look detached and cool, but his darting eyes gave away his inner nervousness. Justin knew something was up, and that Brian was responsible, he just didn’t know what it was yet. But he followed along in Lindsey’s wake nonetheless.

In the rear corner of the Gallery, there was a large white display panel with raised gold lettering that read, ‘Emerging Artists Series’, with a list of sponsors below which included several wealthy Pittsburgh residents and businesses along with the Pittsburgh Institute of Fine Art. Justin followed the tall blonde woman as she rounded this panel and stood waiting for Brian and his companion in the delineated area beyond.  

Justin was floored by what he saw hanging on the walls of this space - It was HIS art. His drawings and his paintings too. All had been professionally mounted and framed and were masterfully displayed. Justin didn’t know what to think or say.

“I hope you like the placement?” Lindsey was saying, a little worried by the artist’s lack of comment. “We did have to rush a little to get this all together for tonight, but the placement isn’t final until you okay it all, so please just let me know if you want anything changed.”

“It’s . . . fine. Great actually,” Justin managed, trying to reassure the woman.

“I’m so glad. I have to say, Mr. Taylor, you have an amazing amount of talent, especially for someone your age. My boss, Mr. Bloom, was very impressed with your work and he’s excited to see what kind of response we get to this exhibit. So am I,” Lindsey said, genuinely affected by the young artist’s work. “The official opening for the exhibit is going to be in conjunction with our ‘First Thursday’ celebration later this week. I do hope you’ll be here to meet any critics or buyers who might be interested in your work. Pieces always sell better when the artist is here to meet the buyer in person.”

“Of course I’ll be here Thursday. Thank you so much, Ms. Peterson,” Justin finally said.

“Please, call me Lindsey. And, is it alright if I call you Justin? After all, Brian and I are old friends and I’m sure we’ll be seeing a lot of each other.” Lindsey winked at Brian as she said this - Brian shook his head and cleared his throat but didn’t respond.

“Thank you, Lindsey. I don’t know what to say. Just, thank you for giving me this opportunity. I’ve never had my art on display before except in school or at home. This is . . . awesome. Really.” Justin was still too shocked to verbalize everything that was going through his head at this moment.  

“We should thank you, Justin. I’m sure this is going to be a great exhibit.” Lindsey started to move away as she spoke, apparently getting her directions from Brian, who was standing behind Justin and passing on nonverbal cues to let his friend know it was time for her to make herself scarce. “I’ll just leave you two alone for a minute so you can . . .”

Justin continued to stand with his back to Brian for several more minutes, just staring at his artwork. When he finally did turn and look at the nervous older man, Justin’s expression was unreadable. He seemed to be trying to look into Brian, searching for something not apparent on the surface of the man.

“Why?” was all Justin said.

“Because, you deserve it. Your art is fantastic and when Lindsey saw it she flipped - it’s great and it’ll be good for the gallery as well.” Brian, as usual, tried to blow off any responsibility for his kind deed.

“Okay. But, why? Why did you do this Brian?” Justin pressed.

“Because . . . I want you to forgive me for being such a shit," Brian said so quietly that it was difficult to hear him, his eyes darting around, looking at anything except Justin. “I’m . . . *sigh* . . . I’m sorry, okay. I shouldn’t have told that asshole Brandon anything about you. I’m sorry about what he said to you and that he embarrassed you in front of your mother. I can’t do anything to take it all back, but I really, truly am sorry, Justin.”  

When Justin still didn’t say anything, Brian moved closer and put one hand on the young man’s shoulder and reached with the other to caress his cheek.  

“Justin, please. Can’t we . . . Could we please just start over?”

Justin closed his eyes and nodded - too unsure of his voice to say anything. Brian didn’t need words though. He happily enveloped the beautiful young man and squeezed him tightly in his arms, glad to have Justin back. Then Brian tilted Justin’s head up and let himself kiss those soft, full lips, feeling a tight knot of tension dissolve as Justin willingly kissed him back for the first time in days.  

“Bri? Oops. Sorry to, uh . . . I need to lock up and get out of here, Brian. Sorry, but Mel and Gus are waiting on me for dinner.” Lindsey interrupted.  

“Of course. We’re done here anyway.” Brian smiled at his friend and then grabbed Justin’s hand to lead him back out to the car, giving his friend a quick peck on her cheek as they left. “Thanks, Lindz.”

“Anytime, Brian. Nice to have met you Justin. I’ll see you on Thursday.”

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The dinner that Brian had taken Justin to after they left the gallery was fantastic. It was a lovely little Italian Bistro and had served the best penne with carbonara sauce that Justin had ever had. Brian had even waived his ‘no carbs after 7:00’ rule and had linguine with pesto. The gelato for dessert was equally delicious. The two men had talked amiably throughout the meal and now Brian was fairly confident that he was truly forgiven. However the true test was still to come.

He’d laid out logs in the fireplace before they’d left, so it was a simple matter, as soon as they got back to the house, to light a fire. It had been raining earlier and was cool enough this evening to make having the fire pleasant. Once that was set, Brian spread out a blanket that was left conveniently close by on the floor in front of the fire and pulled the coffee table closer so that they would have easy access to the bottle of Merlot he’d already decanted earlier. Add in a little soft jazz and the scene was set, Brian thought. Now he just had to add the naked young blond that he wanted to share all this with.

Brian went over to the couch where Justin had been sitting and watching all these preparations. He pulled the young man up to stand with him.

“This is only the second date I’ve ever been on in my life, Sunshine,” Brian started to explain. “The only other time . . . well, let’s just say it ended badly - I probably shouldn’t have been fucking the waiter in the men’s room between courses. Anyway, bear with me if I haven’t got this ridiculously romantic shit right, okay?”

“It looks like you’re doing okay to me,” Justin conceded, trying to keep the corners of his mouth from turning up and revealing the smile he was holding back.

“Great. All we need to do now, it seems, is for you to join me here on this blanket with a glass of wine and we’ll be all set.” Brian said. “Care to join me, Sunshine?”

“So, I didn’t think you were the type to do romantic, Brian, let alone dates” Justin commented as he moved to the blanket and took the glass of wine Brian was offering.

“Oh, I don’t. This isn’t me doing all this,” Brian said, his lips curling in over his teeth in amusement. “You’re imagining everything. And if you ever dare tell anyone, I’ll have to deny it and point out your unstable mental condition.”  

“Wow. I sure do have a pretty good imagination! I could swear that I just felt you unbuttoning my shirt. And there go my pants too.”

“That’s one hell of a great imagination, Sunshine. Do you always have such dirty little fantasies about me?” Brian asked as his hands began to roam over the creamy skin, lit now by the flames from the fireplace.

“Actually, yes. Quite frequently, too, I’m afraid.” Justin jumped a little and almost spilled his wine as Brian pinched his nipple a tad bit hard. “In fact, just the other day I had this one particular fantasy where . . . Oh, I shouldn’t really say. You wouldn’t be interested anyway.”

“Oh, do tell. *kiss* I’m sure I’d find it fascinating. *kiss* From a clinical point of view, of course. *kiss*,” Brian said as he worked his way up Justin’s torso, kissing and licking his way along from Justin’s navel up to his throat.  

“Well, I imagined that I was completely naked, and you were too, and you were lying on a pile of cushions right here in front of the fireplace on a rainy cool night. And then, after you spent twenty or thirty minutes kissing and biting me all over, you let me ride your beautiful dick for hours and hours until we were both all sweaty and dripping wet.” By this point, Justin had been pushed back onto his elbows as a result of Brian’s errant lips, travelling about in search of adventure without any certain course.  

“Go on. *kiss*  I’m finding this little fantasy *kiss* very interesting *kiss*,” Brian expressed his interest, punctuating each sentence with a particularly sharp little bite, causing Justin to squirm and yelp, and significantly disrupting the story.

“Ohhhh.  Um, well, after riding you for hours, you see, *sigh* I . . . I get these two fingers really, really wet, like this *slurping*.  Then, I . . Mmmmm. . .”  

At this point, while trying to demonstrate exactly where those two fingers were going to be used, Justin became a little too distracted to continue the story.  But it was okay, since Brian had pretty much already got the idea and was working to re-enact the fantasy for himself.

Brian had previously grabbed a couple of cushions off the nearby chair and was lying back on them.  He pulled Justin’s shoulders as he lay back, effectively swapping their positions so that Justin was now on top and straddling Brian’s thighs.  Brian opened the small drawer on the side of the coffee table and fished around inside then handed a condom and some lube to Justin, who laughed, once again amazed at the number and ingenuity of all of Brian’s many sex supply hiding places.  

“What’s so funny, huh, Sunshine,” Brian teased, poking the laughing blond in the ribs a little to encourage a few more giggles, loving the sound after having gone without for the past week.  

“You are, Mr. Kinney.  You and all your little hidey-holes.  I don’t think that you are ever more than five feet away from a condom anywhere in this entire house.”  

Brian thought about it for a minute or two and then answered, “Maybe in the basement - depending on where you’re fucking down there you might have to go five or six meters to get to my stash over by the washing machine.”

This comment elicited another peal of giggles from the amused young blond, and the brunet joined in as well.  But, the sight of Justin, lit up by the firelight giggling nakedly over him was irresistible, and Brian pulled Justin down onto his chest to kiss away the laughter.  

“God, I love that laugh, Sunshine,” Brian moaned into his boy’s mouth between kisses.  “I’m so glad it’s back.”

“Me too,” Justin whispered back, then sat back up to resume his work on the fantasy creation front.  

Justin briskly rolled the condom on the beautiful dick he’d been fantasizing about, then added a generous amount of lubricant.  Then he shimmied around so Brian would get a better view while he prepared himself with the lube left on his fingertips.  Brian was thoroughly enjoying the show, as the wanton boy worked two of his fingers into the beautiful tight little hole, stretching himself and exposing more of that rosy pucker to Brian’s lustful gaze.  Brian’s hands couldn’t resist kneading the gorgeous plump butt cheeks as Justin worked himself, and then, as Justin’s mewling got louder with the deeper his fingers went, Brian added his own thumb to make sure the lube was extra well distributed.  

When he felt himself to be adequately prepared, Justin scootched back around facing Brian and maneuvered until he was properly aligned.  Then, with a wicked smile on his beautiful pouty lips, he slowly lowered himself down onto the hot hard rod of his lover.  

“So, then, in my imagination, I start wiggling, like this,” Justin continued, gyrating his hips around just enough to drive Brian crazy. “And, then in my fantasy, you of course grab my hips in frustration and try to make me behave.  But, since I don’t, you usually have to spank me a few times. *smack*  Oh yeah.  Just like that.  Except, I think you keep spanking me for a lot longer in my imagination. *smack* Ooooh. *smack*.”

“When exactly does the riding part of this fantasy start, Sunshine?” Brian asked, still trying to get the squirming blond to settle down to business.

“After the spanking and then the oral sex, of course,” Justin was giggling again, but Brian had finally gotten a good grip on the boy’s hips and had managed to guide him into a much more effective rhythm, and the giggles rapidly turned into gasps.

Brian was altogether delighted by the sight of a wild and unrestrained Justin, glints of red and orange from the firelight sparking in his hair and eyes, riding his cock.  The man’s head was thrown back and his back arched with his hands braced against Brian’s chest and his strong thigh muscles tensing and flexing in rhythm.  This was exactly the sight he’d needed all week - the playful, energetic and frisky youth who was always inventive and who loved fucking as much as Brian did.  

“Yeee Haw!” Brian yelled as Justin began to increase his pace, both men getting closer and closer to the culmination of their passion.  

Justin was panting heavily now, his eyes half closed in ecstasy and droplets of sweat flying every time he shook his head.  With one hand, Justin reached out blindly and Brian reached up to grab it and steady his little cowboy, their fingers lacing together.  With his other hand, Brian began to stroke and caress one of Justin’s pumping thighs, squeezing to let the boy know that he was getting close.  

“Oh, Brian.  Fuck, yessss.  Are you ready?  I”m going to make you cum on command this time, Brian.  So tell me, are you ready for me?” Justin demanded.

“Fuck yeah, I’m ready.”  

Brian was spellbound by the stunning spectacle of the uninhibited crazy blond who was riding him so hard and so well.  Then, Justin got an mischievous look in his eye and, after impaling himself one last time on Brian’s rock hard cock, he paused and squeezed his ass muscles as tightly as he could, calling out Brian’s name at the same time.

“Now, Brian.  Cum for ME now.”

“Fuck!” Brian moaned and let go, loving the feel of the swarming tremors that rushed through his body and erupted through his cock.  

As soon as Justin saw his lover reach a climax, he let go as well, watching the sticky, warm strings of cum shoot out to coat the man he’d been riding.  Brian adored the triumphant smile this brought to the boy’s face as he crumpled into a heap, falling backward as he pulled off Brian and let himself sprawl over the other man’s legs.  

Brian pulled the tired blond around so he could get access to those wonderful popsicle pink lips again and the two men smooched quietly while they waited for their racing hearts to slow.  

“You know, Sunshine, that has to be the first time, ever, that I’ve had a wet dream based on someone else’s dreaming. You have one fucking fantastic imagination there!” Brian complemented the chuckling, contented young man who was just as glad as Brian was that they had finally made up.