Chapter 4 - Heart Shaped Box

The limo service arranged by Adam Dennison to pick Brian and Justin up at the airport pulled into a gated driveway some 50 minutes later. Justin had spent the entire drive fiddling with every gadget in the back including the television, the stereo, the refrigerator, all the light switches and the built-in tablet-style computer console. The driver alighted from the car and was at the side opening the door for them before they’d even had time to reach for the door handle. As soon as they exited the limo, they were greeted by a stylishly dressed middle aged man, who promptly gathered up the meager belongings the twosome had in their possession.

“This way if you please, sirs . . .” intoned the butler in a polite but crisply stuffy voice.

The way that Justin was looking around at the grounds and now inside the mansion, you would think his head was attached with a ball-joint swivel. Justin had never seen such beautiful flowers before, and all the glass furnishings looked to him like a sea of diamonds. The house looked like something from that show ‘Dallas’ that his mom always liked to watch - although she had never allowed him to watch it with her. He was so busy looking up and down and all around him that he tripped over his own bare feet. Twice he almost fell. Thankfully Brian’s strong arm around his waist kept him from landing on his ass.

Once inside the impressive mahogany and glass front doors, the butler handed off their bags to a young chambermaid, and then gestured for them to follow him down a long, marble-floored hallway. If Brian hadn’t kept hold of Justin’s elbow, the boy would have long since wandered off to examine some detail of the extravagant furnishings more closely. After pulling open another set of double doors, the butler ushered them into a large room furnished with wall to wall bookcases, large comfortable leather chairs and couches and small desks around the perimeter. In the middle of the room, Adam Dennison and his wife were both lounging on one of the butter soft leather sofas enjoying a snifter of brandy while Adam puffed at a large cigar and Mrs. Dennison paged through what appeared to be some fashion magazine.

“Mr. Brian Kinney and Mr. Justin Taylor,” announced the butler in a very self-important voice before he backed out of the room, closing the doors in his wake.

Both of their hosts stood up and started to walk towards Brian and Justin with polite smiles of greeting on their patrician faces.

“I’m an Artist!” Justin announced enthusiastically, completely out of the blue. “I work at Brian’s company. As an Artist. I draw. And paint. And . . . draw.” Justin proclaimed with a nervous smile while bouncing on the balls of his bare feet.

“Well, that’s very . . . nice. Isn’t it?” Mrs. Dennison responded with a confused look on her face as she looked over at her husband for guidance before extending her hand to shake Justin’s. “I’m Simone Dennison. You must be Justin. And you, of course, are Brian. It’s so nice to meet you. We’re thrilled you two could come join us in the celebration of our son’s wedding.”

Meanwhile, the man of the house stuck out his own hand towards Brian. “Kinney? Nice to meet you in person - although I’ve already heard a lot about you by reputation alone,” Dennison put on his business hat and motioned for them to be seated “Good of you to come all this way. I was very impressed speaking to your assistant. She sounds like a woman who knows what she’s talking about and she told me that your advertising could do wonders for my company. I certainly hope she’s right, young man.”

Never one to be outdone, Brian let his own business persona take over and extolled what he and his company could do.

“I’m confident that you’re going to love what we propose. My company is an agile boutique agency, with fresh ideas, which means we can cater to your specific needs better than any of the more established advertising firms out there. We have created what I believe will be the perfect advertising campaign that will increase your national market share.” Brian patted the large art portfolio that was slung over his shoulder where he had all the materials he would be showing the man when he finally got a chance to do his presentation.

“I look forward to what you have to show us,” Dennison nodded stiffly. “However, I’ve been warned by my wife that I’m not allowed to talk business at all until Sunday afternoon or she’ll take the pruning shears from her rose garden and castrate me with them.” Dennison laughed heartily at his little joke while Justin cringed away from Simone Dennison, backing up until he couldn’t go any further and was actually standing on Brian’s shoe clad feet, holding both his hands in front of his own crotch protectively.

“Are you alright dear? Do you need to avail yourself of the facilities?” Simone asked with obvious concern.

Justin shook his head violently from side to side and scooted around Brian’s body so that the larger man was between the dame with the purportedly bloody shears and his own very delicate anatomy.

*Ahem* “Yes. Well . . .” Clearing his throat, Dennison wasn’t sure what to make of the strange little blond’s behavior, but he supposed that since the boy was an artist, some eccentricities had to be allowed for - wasn’t that true about all artists? “Anyway . . . Simone and I won’t keep you down here yapping all morning. I’m sure you two are exhausted after taking the red eye from Pittsburgh.”

“My eyes aren’t red. They’re still blue. I checked in that mirror on the door when we got in the limo at the airport,” Justin piped up from his hiding place behind Brian’s shoulder. “Just Brian’s eyes were a little red, but then he put these drops in them. Now they look just like always - a pretty brown with gold and green and little speckles of black. He’s got the prettiest eyes I think I’ve ever even imagined. If I still had my colored pencils I could draw them. But I had to leave my colored pencils at the house when they took me to the hospital . . .”

“Well, isn’t that just special, and how wonderful of you to bring it to our attention.” Brian interrupted before Justin could blurt out anything more about hospitals or his mother. “I think we DO need to freshen up and rest a bit before all the festivities start tonight.”

“Of course. Please forgive us for keeping you standing here,” Simone graciously apologized. “Alfred. Would you please show our guests to their room.”

With all the niceties seen to, they took leave of their hosts and followed Alfred up a huge curving staircase that looked like it could be right out of ‘Gone With The Wind’. Justin’s eyes looked like they were about to pop out of his head at the sight of such opulence. Brian was almost as impressed, but he was better able to contain his awe. And, mostly, when Brian looked around him he just saw the huge dollar signs that winning this guy as a new client would mean to him and his fledgling agency. Everything was riding on this weekend. Shit! He hoped that coming here for this wedding - and bringing a crazy little blond mental patient as his date - wasn’t the worst possible way to go about everything.

“You’ll be in the Sunset Suite, gentlemen,” Alfred announced when they reached the end of the long hallway that led into the west wing of the house. “Everything should be prepared for you, but if you need anything, simply pick up the house phone on the desk and press ‘0’ to reach the housekeeping staff. Enjoy your stay.”

Alfred wasn’t even all the way out of the room, though, before Justin was tugging at Brian’s shirt sleeve and hissing at him in a loud stage whisper. “Just Brian, we can’t share a room. We’re not married. My mother always said . . .” Justin was in high anxiety mode over the single room and bed they were given.

“Justin, I don’t care what your mother said. We don’t need to be married to share a room. Trust me, there is nothing wrong with it.” Brian tried to calm the anxious boy.

“. . . it’s not proper and you can get pregnant sharing a room and there’s only one bed.” Justin continued on in a breathy panic as if Brian had said nothing at all and was really working himself into a tizzy. The distraught boy was twisting his fingers together and bouncing again as well.

Brian just closed his eyes for a moment in aggravation and tried to remain patient. He so did not want to get into a discussion about the birds and the bees.

“Justin! JUSTIN!” An exasperated Brian walked up to the agitated blond and gently grabbed him by the shoulders and looked into the stormy blue eyes. “Listen to me . . . Are you listening? It’s okay for us to share a room and a bed. Remember, for this weekend we’re boyfriends. There’s nothing improper about boyfriends sharing a room or a bed, and neither of us is going to get pregnant.” Brian didn’t want to go into all kind of details . . .

“Are you sure that it’s okay for boyfriends, Just Brian?” Justin sounded relieved but still uncertain.

“Yes, I’m sure. I share beds with other guys all the time. Besides you’re too old to be listening to everything your mother tells you,” Brian stated in a tone evidencing much expertise. “By the way, how old ARE you, Justin?”

“I turned nineteen a few weeks ago. My mother made my favorite cake - chocolate chocolate chip! It’s the only time we ever have cake.” Justin seemed wistful, as if he was looking inside at some singular memory that Brian didn’t think he should intrude on.

“Well, that’s good. At least you’re legal. I mean, it’s bad enough that I basically kidnapped a mental patient, at least it wasn’t an underaged mental patient,” Brian muttered to himself, shaking his head. Lifting up his arm and taking a whiff of his pit, Brian recoiled at the stench. “Shit, I fucking stink. I’m taking a shower first and then I think we BOTH need to get a nap in before tonight.” Brian shucked off his shirt and tossed it on the bed next to where Justin was already seated staring at Brian with eyes as big as dinner plates.

“Ummmm….I-I think I should leave, Just Brian.” Justin stammered nervously then whispered conspiratorially “You . . . You’re taking off your clothes out here?”

“Duh. If I shower with my clothes on they’ll fucking get wet! And I think you should stay put here in the room where I know you won’t be getting into any more trouble, Justin.” Brian ordered, giving the boy a menacing look to enforce his directive. “I promise I’ll only be a few minutes. Then you can shower, too.”

Brian took Justin’s lack of response as tacit agreement with his plan and immediately started unfastening the pair of slacks he’d worn on the airplane. The moment Brian shucked his slacks down below his hips, however, Justin let out an ear-splitting shriek and dived under the pile of decorative throw pillows that had been displayed artistically on the bed. He even pulled one large purple and green striped cushion over his head so that he couldn’t see out from underneath at all.

“Justin! For fuck’s sake, what’s the matter with you now?” Brian asked, his patience with the kid’s endless stream of odd behavior finally running out.

“You don’t have any clothes on, Just Brian! You . . . You’re naked! And your . . . your thingy is just . . . it’s just dangling  there . . .” Justin’s voice, although muffled by the pillow, sounded mortified.

“Fuck! Justin. What the hell am I going to do with you? Damn it! Come out from under that pillow before you suffocate.”

Brian stalked over to the huddled shape cowering under the pile of pillows, grabbed hold of one ankle and pulled the boy out from under his makeshift shield. Although he’d managed to get the blond innocent up into a standing position, Justin continued to shield his eyes from Brian’s naked body with the big purple and green pillow. Brian tried to grab it, but Justin fought him, and jerked the pillow back again, this time wrapping his arms around the cushion as tightly as he could.

“Put the fucking pillow down, Justin, and look at me. Look at me! There’s absolutely nothing wrong with being naked. Shit. I don’t have anything you don’t have yourself.” Brian admonished.

“But . . . But, I’ve never seen anyone naked before, Just Brian. I mean, other than myself. And well, that was only when I took a bath or something. Because my mother always said it wasn’t right to . . .”

“Fuck what your screwed up mother said, Justin!” Brian was totally losing it now, disgusted once again by the fucked up teachings Justin’s mother had filled his head with. “You know what? As soon as we get back to Pittsburgh, I’m going to go find your mother and give her a piece of my mind. I can’t believe she told you all this crazy ass shit. No wonder you’re so confused by stuff out here in the real world. Didn’t she realize how much she was fucking you up with all this nonsense?”

“She’s dead.” Justin replied in a small, sad voice from behind his pillow.

“What?”

“You can’t give her a piece of your mind. She’s dead.”

In his haze of anger and impatience, Brian wasn’t sure he’d heard Justin correctly. Did the kid just say his mother was dead? Brian’s frustration immediately drained away and he was left feeling guilty for haranguing the kid.

“Justin . . . I didn’t know . . . I didn’t mean to . . .  Shit.” Brian ran a hand through his already tousled hair and took a deep breath. “Hey, please, put the fucking pillow down, Justin. It’s okay. There’s nothing to be scared or ashamed of. Okay?”

Reluctantly, Justin let the pillow slide down far enough so that his eyes were clear but he couldn’t look any lower than Brian’s chin. Brian couldn’t see the rest of his face, so he didn’t know if the boy was upset by his unthinkingly unkind words about his mother or what. But, shit, those big blue eyes were so full of pain and grief, it fucking melted Brian’s heart.

“Justin. I promise you. There’s absolutely NOTHING wrong with seeing other men naked. Men see each other naked all the time - like when I go to the gym and change clothes in the locker room or take a shower. It’s considered completely normal. You shouldn’t be ashamed of being naked around other men either. You’re beautiful. You’ve got a beautiful body - well, at least what I can see of it. So, please, just put the pillow down, okay?”

Slowly, Justin lowered the pillow from his face but kept his eyes closed for a split second more before looking up at Brian.

“Good boy. Now, look at me, Justin. See. There’s nothing to be scared of, right? I’m just another guy,” and Brian did a slow pirouette so that Justin could look at all of him. He might have imagined it, but he thought he saw a spark of attraction in those expressive blue orbs. “Nothing scary, right?” Justin shook his head and smiled a little even. Brian decided to press his luck a little, hoping that Justin wouldn’t go into total meltdown mode. “Now, let’s compare.” And he reached out, grabbed hold of the hem of Justin’s shirt and, before the boy could voice a protest, pulled it off over the golden mop top. “See? We’ve got the same parts up top at least. Nothing scary at all?”

With a shyness that was totally innocent but also somehow totally erotic as far as Brian was concerned, Justin looked down at his own chest and then at Brian’s. He took a slightly tremulous hand and rubbed it along his own pec and across the nipple, making it instantly pop into a delectable bud. He giggled a bit since the erect nipple was sensitive and tickled a bit. With his other hand, he reached out tentatively and rubbed a finger along Brian’s nipple too. Brian sucked in an aroused breath as his nipple stiffened at the untutored touch. He must have moaned too, because Justin looked up, seemingly shocked or worried by the sound.

“I didn’t mean to hurt you, Just Brian . . . I just wanted to see if you were ticklish, too.”

“You didn’t hurt me, Justin. I like when you touch me. In fact, I wouldn’t mind in the least if you touched me again.” Brian moved cautiously closer to Justin as though he were a skittish colt, picking up Justin’s hand and laying it back against his own chest right over his heart.

Justin smiled up at Brian so openly and brightly he practically glowed. His small soft hand trailed lightly over Brian’s pec, teasing at the nipple again, and then slowly trailed lower down to Brian’s abdomen. The hand stopped well above his navel though - clearly Justin wasn’t quite ready for THAT. But that didn’t mean Brian was ready for this explorative little interlude to stop yet, either.

“Would you mind if I touched you too, Justin?” Brian whispered, his voice dropping an octave due to the waves of desire that were sweeping over him.

Justin didn’t answer with words, instead he mirrored Brian’s motions, reaching out for his hand and placing it on his own chest in answer. At that moment Brian knew that no matter what happened after their game of make believe, he wanted to be a part of so many of the firsts that Justin was sure to experience. Without thinking, Brian leaned in and gently brushed his lips against Justin’s. Those soft, tender lips. Brian didn’t know if he’d ever kissed lips that were that soft and warm and so very sweet. And he would have gone on kissing them, too, if Justin hadn’t abruptly pulled back, looking up with concern into Brian’s eyes.

“I suppose that my mother was wrong when she told me that kissing would lead to pregnancy too?” Justin asked with a hint of mischief in his stance.

“I’m pretty sure that YOU don’t have to worry about getting pregnant any time soon, Justin.” Brian replied and then leaned in for yet another taste of those velveteen lips.

Before the kiss could really develop into anything more, though, Brian felt Justin’s hand pushing against his chest. He relented easily. No sense in pushing things too far too fast with this neophyte. They had all weekend, right? With a knowing smile, Brian stepped back and let his hand drop from where it had been caressing Justin’s slightly muscled pecs. Shit! He didn’t have to look down to know that he was already half hard. And if just seeing a naked man had spooked the kid, Brian knew seeing him in all his horny glory would probably not be good. Brian now needed that shower more than ever - although it looked like it would have to be a cold shower.

As Brian disappeared into the bathroom, Justin watched his retreating form with a smile, touching his lips lightly and wondering when they could do that again. Maybe Brian was right and his mother had been wrong about everything she’d ever told him. He knew he had a lot of learning to do.