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Author's Chapter Notes:

So, you wanted a little more insight into Justin's past . . . Enjoy! J.S.T.

 

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Chapter 6 - In Bloom

 

After the jackoff interruptus of the night before, Brian made sure that the bathroom door was securely closed and locked when he showered the next morning. He was feeling a bit horny after not only going to bed unsatisfied but also spending a restless night with his little blond dynamo alternately curled up asleep at his side or sprawled all over the top of him. Once he’d even woken up to find Justin’s warm small hand unconsciously resting on his lower abdomen only centimeters from his half-hard dick. Needless to say it hadn’t been the most tranquil night he’d ever spent. No wonder Brian was tired and randy as all get out when he’d finally woken up this morning.  

 

On top of all that, Justin had slept fitfully most of the night. It had taken Brian quite a while to get Justin calmed down enough to get to sleep in the first place. The tipsy little sprite had been dancing all over their room and giggling for a good half hour before Brian finally coaxed him to the bed. However, even Justin, with all his seemingly bottomless energy, finally gave in to the nearly 36 hours of constant activity they’d experienced since they’d met. Unfortunately, that exhaustion didn’t equate to a calm night of sleep for the kid. He had woken Brian at least twice, thrashing through some nightmare and crying out inarticulately in his sleep. Both times Brian had managed to quiet him without Justin even waking. It was incredibly disconcerting to Brian, though. And it made him wonder just what horrors a sheltered kid like Justin might have suffered through in order to engender those kind of nightmares.

 

It wasn’t at all reassuring to find Justin missing when Brian did finally wake up. The bed next to him was already cold, so the boy had to have been gone for a while, too. But, because of his continued concern for Justin, all Brian had time for this morning was a very quick and ultimately unsatisfying whack off in the shower. Then he was determined to go hunt down his wayward blond.

 

Brian was still dressed in nothing but a towel though, when there was an insistent knock on the guest room door and, without waiting for an answer, it was pushed open a crack. 

“Sorry to bother you, Brian,” Simone Dennison apologized as she openly ogled the acres of golden skin that weren’t covered by Brian’s towel. “But, I thought maybe you could come and have a little heart to heart with Justin. According to my cleaning staff, he’s been up since dawn cleaning the bathrooms.”

 

“The bathrooms?”

 

“To be specific, right now he’s in MY bathroom . . .” Simone clarified with a small but affectionate  smile.

 

“I’ll be right there,” Brian replied as he grabbed the first pair of pants he could find. Brian seemed to be on autopilot unconsciously sliding the rough material over his slim hips. Unfortunately for the irritated brunet, he didn't notice that the trousers he currently sported were Justin's. They were too short and way too tight, but Brian didn’t have time to find his own so he just dealt with it as he scurried down the hall after Simone Dennison.

 

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Brian followed Simone to the other wing of the huge house and into the master bedroom suite. She indicated the way to the bathroom and then, giving him a sympathetic smile, she excused herself. Brian was thankful that he wouldn’t have to do this - whatever it would entail - with an audience watching. He padded up to the bathroom quietly and leaned around the edge of the doorframe without saying anything, trying to get an idea of what he’d have to deal with before he made himself known.

 

Inside the opulent marble and chrome furnished bathroom, Brian found Justin on his knees in front of the sink, dressed in a pair of Brian’s jeans and one of his tee shirts, with a scrub brush in one hand and a bottle of all-purpose cleaning spray in the other. The boy seemed intently focused on the section of the marble topped countertop that he was wiping at furiously. The boy’s usual sunshine bright smile was conspicuously absent this morning - replaced by worry lines where his brows were furrowed and the corners of his mouth drooped.

 

“Justin?” Brian finally spoke up after watching for several long moments.

 

“Just Brian! Good morning,” the blond iterated, his brilliant smile returning as soon as he looked Brian’s way.

 

“Justin, you know you don’t have to do that, right? I’m pretty sure the Dennison’s have a whole staff of cleaning people to scrub their toilets and shit for them,” Brian said as he stepped into the room and then sank down to one knee so he’d be on the young man’s level while they spoke.

 

The boy simply shrugged and once again concentrated on his self-appointed task, “It's what I do. I did all the cooking and cleaning for my mom. I’m used to it.”

 

“Yeah, well, even so, you don’t have to do that here. We’re guests. You’re not expected to clean anything all weekend.”

 

“My mother said this is how you earn love . . .” Justin admitted in a pained little voice, avoiding making eye contact with Brian while he spoke.

 

Brian was literally floored by that little maternal tidbit - he rocked back onto his heels as he grappled with the instant surge of rage he felt as a result. “Well, your mother didn't know what she was talking about, Justin. You just love people ‘cause you love them. And anyone who says you have to act a certain way - or fucking clean their toilets - in order for you to EARN their love is just full of shit! That’s not love - that’s indentured servitude.”

 

Justin’s already hunched shoulders sagged a little more but he was still frantically scrubbing at the same spot on the edge of the marble counter. Brian gently reached out, curling his fingers around the thin wrist and tugging carefully until the boy’s arm relaxed and the hand holding the scrub brush flopped down into his lap. Justin’s gaze remained lowered, locked on that brush, as if it were the only anchor holding him to this place and time.

 

He couldn’t bring himself to meet Brian’s eyes, but after a few silent moments, the boy did finally speak again. “I don’t deserve love, Just Brian . . . I . . . I . . . My mother is dead . . . because I killed her.”

 

“Justin, what are you talking about? What do you mean you killed her?”

 

Brian didn't believe what he was hearing. Justin, a murderer? How could this sweet innocent young man ever do something like that? He must be mistaken. Maybe Brian heard him wrong. How could Justin believe that he was a murderer?

 

“My mother . . . I-I-I think it was because of the voices . . .” Justin's reply was so hushed that Brian found himself having to lean forward to hear - and even then he wasn't sure he'd heard correctly.

 

“Voices . . . So, there were voices? Is that the reason why…” Brian let the rest of the question remain unspoken, not sure he really wanted to know any more.

 

While Justin continued to simply sit there lost in his memories, Brian’s mind was reeling. There had to be more to the story and he knew he shouldn’t let his mind jump to conclusions - especially conclusions that he didn't really want to reach - without giving Justin a chance to explain further. But he also knew that he didn't want to have this discussion here; there was no telling who might be listening in. And Brian still had a mission to complete and a client to win, damn it. Justin's confession - if that's what it was - would have to wait.

 

“Come on, Justin. Let's . . . Let's go back to our room, okay?” Brian gathered the trembling young man into his arms and guided him to his feet. “It'll be okay, Justin. Somehow, it'll be okay.”

Justin seemed almost back to his normal self - well, normal for Justin at least - by the time they muddled their way through the large buffet brunch their hosts had laid out in one of the smaller dining rooms. At least, judging by the humongous quantities of food that Justin managed to shovel into his face, his appetite wasn’t being affected by his restless night and early morning house cleaning drama. He actually seemed to be enjoying himself - sampling pretty much everything on offer and ecstatically exclaiming over all the new foods that he’d never tried before.

 

Brian was actually a little grossed out by the way the kid was piling all sorts of odd taste combinations together. He could sort of see the mango and papaya relish that the boy slathered on the popovers. He could even stomach the eggs benedict served with lobster, crabmeat and asparagus spears. And, while Brian would never touch the gooey cheese encrusted baked breakfast casserole himself, he didn’t think Justin was completely out of his mind when the boy ladled an extra couple of spoonfuls of sour cream on the top of his hearty serving. But, why in the world the kid who refused to eat pate thought it was a good idea to garnish his scrambled eggs with the smelliest green cheese Brian had ever encountered and top the whole thing off with a healthy dolop of black caviar, he had no clue.

 

When Justin finally made it over the the table where Brian was waiting with his dry wheat toast and egg white omelet, he was juggling three large plates of food. Brian winced at the mere thought of ingesting that many calories in a single meal. Justin didn’t seem to notice. He just dug right in. However, when the kid got to the caviar garnished eggs, he made a rather unpleasant face as soon as he tasted the salty delicacy.

 

*Bllllaaaaahhhh* Justin shuddered as he stuck his caviar-coated tongue all the way out and let the half-masticated mess drip back onto his plate. “I think they added too much salt to these eggs, Just Brian. They’re icky. Somebody should tell Simone’s cook. Maybe the salt and the sugar got mixed up - I did that one time and put salt on my bowl of strawberries and it was horrible. Of course, my mother made me eat it anyway because it’s bad to waste food. But somebody should tell them before they do it again!”

 

“It’s not the eggs, Justin. It’s the caviar you put on top,” Brian explained, using the tines of his fork to point out the little black roe.

 

“Caviar? Really? I heard about caviar in a movie my mother let me watch once. I’ve never had it before though. Hmmm. I’m not sure that I want to eat little fish babies,” Justin commented and then immediately set about carefully scooping every single tiny black egg off into a separate little dish. “If we throw them back into the ocean will they still hatch and become fish? That would be neat. I read a book about sturgeon one time - those are the fish they get caviar from. They’re really big fish. And endangered. Do you think we can save these babies?”

 

“I don’t think so, Justin. I think once they’re processed for eating that’s it.” Brian explained, noting the momentarily crestfallen look on his breakfast companion’s face.

 

“Oh, well. At least I can say I’ve eaten caviar now. Even though I didn’t really like it. But I think I’ll skip the fish babies next time I have eggs.” Justin grinned sunnily at Brian, already over the sadness of the demise of all those baby sturgeon, and went back to sampling everything on his various plates.

 

Brian picked at his own breakfast aimlessly. He was was still ruminating on the shocking disclosures of the morning. Looking at Justin now, though, he just couldn’t wrap his mind around the idea that his radiant, guileless, golden boy, whose smile was almost more blinding than the rays of sun streaming through the windows of the dining room where they were seated, was responsible for someone’s death - let alone the death of his own mother. The kid looked more like a beam of sunshine than a heartless killer. It just didn’t make any sense. But there had to be something in his past that would account for the disturbing nightmares and the occasional bout of depression. There had to be more to the story. Brian found, to his surprise, that he was now invested enough to want to investigate further and, if necessary, help in any way he could.

 

“Are you going to eat all of that, Sunshine?” Brian asked when he noticed through the haze of his personal musings that the boy was finally slowing down.

 

“I have to clean my plate, Just Brian. It’s not polite to waste food,” Justin said, although he was eying the remainder of the bounty on his plates with a doubtful expression.

 

“Bullshit! That’s another of those fucked up rules your mother told you that you should completely disregard. If you’re full, you don’t have to eat any more. Period,” Brian announced and immediately stood up, removing the plate Justin had been pushing his food around on. “It’s not healthy to stuff yourself just because you don’t want to waste food. But, in the future, if you’re concerned about wasting food even when there’s a large variety of foods you would like to try, just put a little of each thing on your plate. You can always go back for more.” Brian lectured, mentally berating himself for sounding more like Justin’s father at the moment than his date for the weekend.

 

“That’s a great idea, Just Brian!” Justin looked so innocent and appealing right at that moment that Brian simply had to lean over and kiss those soft coral pink lips once again - so much for feeling fatherly.

 

“You do know, Sunshine, that my name isn’t really ‘JUST Brian’, right? You could simply call me ‘Brian’ . . .”

 

“I thought that was a funny name, but since you never said otherwise . . .” Justin’s cheeks had turned a delicate shade of crimson in embarrassment, “Brian it is then!”

 

Brian pulled the beaming boy up out of his chair and wrapped his arms around the slim waist. As the bashful smile got even bigger, Brian felt his own lips succumbing to a similar silly smile and, for once, he didn’t even mind. Yeah, if he were home and knew that his friends or acquaintances were watching, he would probably feel ridiculous. But here, now, with this intriguing and enigmatic young man in his arms, it seemed perfectly natural to be standing there smiling at each other like a couple of lovestruck dorks. Oh, how the mighty Stud had fallen . . . but what the fuck! He was expected to play the role of the happy, tolerant, patient boyfriend for his hosts until he officially won the Accelerate Corporation account. Right? And wasn’t this how boyfriends acted?

 

Brian figured that was as good an excuse as any for why he was acting so completely out of character.

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“Damn it! There’s a fucking stain on this tie,” Brian tore off the necktie and threw it down on the bed in a fit of pique. “I really liked that tie and I was planning on wearing it on Sunday when I pitch the campaign to Dennison . . .”

 

“Wow! How many ties do you have, Brian?” Justin was peeking into the tie travel case that Brian had brought which contained about six ties. “And why are they all black?”

 

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“That’s NOTHING, Sunshine. You should see my closet at home. I probably have about fifty ties total. Of course most of them I don’t wear much because they’re out of season or last year’s style. And I only brought black with me because that way they would all go with any of the suits I usually travel with.”

 

“Do you think any of them would go with THIS?” Justin asked with evident doubt as he held up an atrocious black and white, sequin studded jacket that was decorated with bright red cuffs and collar and appliques representing the four suits of a deck of cards on the left breast pocket. That jacket was only marginally worse though than his second option which was a shimmering gray lame jacket that looked more like a used garbage bag than a dinner jacket. Neither would be helped much by the addition of a necktie, no matter how elegant that tie might be!

 

 

 

“Shit . . . Sorry about that, Sunshine. Those were the only suit jackets any of the guys at Babylon had on hand. “Look, I have to go do this cocktails thing with Dennison and his cronies, but I’ll try to get back up here and help you figure out what to wear before the wedding. Okay?” Brian unthinkingly left a quick peck on Justin’s cheek before he zoomed out the door, still in the process of tying on the replacement tie, before Justin had even had a chance to reply.

 

Justin was still sitting there on the bed staring blankly at his wedding garb options, his hand covering the cheek where Brian had left his last kiss, when Simone Dennison tapped at the open guest room door. Justin looked up at her with a confused and dazed glance that went right to the older woman’s heart. This young man was certainly endearing even though he was sometimes a bit odd . . .

 

“Justin, dear, how are you getting along? I was just passing by and I saw you looking so lost . . . Is there anything I can help you with?” the motherly woman asked, stepping a few feet into the guest suite.

 

“Oh, I’m fine, Simone. Thank you.” Justin responded politely and gave her that winsome smile of his.

 

“What DO you have there?” Simone couldn’t contain her curiosity over the clothing she saw strewn across the bed next to where Justin was sitting.

 

“Brian said he’d come up and help me figure out what to wear to the wedding after he has cocks and tails with Adam. But I don’t think either of these is going to be right.” Justin looked up at Simone and shrugged a little helplessly. “Brian borrowed these for me from some of his friends . . .”

 

“Goodness . . . who exactly are these friends of Brian’s? Card Sharps, Strippers or Drag Queens? Maybe all three?” Simone asked as she picked up the black, white, and red clown suit and scowled at it. “Never mind. I don’t think I want to know.” She added and tossed the jacket back where she’d found it. “I think you’re right, though, dear. These will NOT work. Not for you, at least. Now, let me think . . .” Simone pulled Justin up to his feet and then walked around so she could look at him from several angles. “Hmmmm. Yes . . . Yes. I think you’re about the same size Marvin was back in college. And, if I’m not mistaken, we should still have several of his old suits around somewhere. Yes! I think this will work. You just come with me, dear, and we’ll have you all spiffed up in no time!”

 

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“Excuse me, Alfred. Have you seen Justin around? He was supposed to be waiting for me to help him get ready for the wedding, but I was a bit late getting back to the room and now I can’t find him anywhere.” Brian had been searching frantically for his lost little blond boy for over a quarter of an hour now and was starting to get a little frantic since there wasn’t a lot of time to get ready for the wedding.

 

“I believe he’s with Mrs. Dennison, sir. They should be down shortly,” the unflappable butler announced and immediately scurried away on whatever errand he’d been on when Brian interrupted him.

 

Brian was partially relieved to know that Justin wasn’t completely lost, but he also didn’t know what to think about his slightly crazy date hanging out with Mrs. Dennison for long periods of time. Justin WAS prone to saying things . . . Oh, well. There was no helping it now. All Brian could do was hope for the best.

 

Luckily, Brian didn’t have too long to stew over the ramifications of Justin and Simone bonding. Just as he was about to turn and head back up the stairs to his room to freshen up and recheck his own clothing, Adam Dennison came down the stairs and waved him over. Since Dennison was sporting a large happy grin, Brian assumed that Justin hadn’t done anything to embarrass him too badly.

 

“If you’re looking for your boyfriend, I’m afraid that my wife got hold of him and they’ve been having some ‘Girl Time’ together. Better prepare yourself, Kinney,” Dennison teased, pulling Brian around so that they were both standing together at the foot of the massive staircase and looking upwards.

 

Within seconds, Simone Dennison came into view. She was wearing a beautiful peacock blue evening gown with a tasteful spray of rhinestones sprinkled down the split seam that showed off a slim, well-toned left leg and a low-cut decolletage. She was a very handsome woman for someone in her mid-sixties and looked quite nice even in the rather revealing gown.

 

“Good evening, Gentlemen,” Simone demurred as she regally descended the stairs and assumed a place by her husband’s side. “I’m sorry if we kept you waiting, but we had a lot of primping that needed to be done this afternoon. I think you’ll be very pleased with the result, though.” Simone tittered and actually batted her eyelashes at Brian in a coy manner that would have annoyed him if he thought for even a second she was being anything other than friendly. “Now, may I present to you my very dear friend and my personal ‘Ken’ doll for the day, the new and improved, Justin Taylor.” She raised her arm and pointed to the landing above.

 

All eyes swooped upward to the top of the stairs and Brian held his breath, nervously anticipating what was to come. Only a heartbeat later, though, all his breath left him in a huge whoosh as he got his first glimpse of Justin. The boy - the man, Brian mentally corrected himself, since THIS was no mere boy anymore - had moved out of the shadows of the hallway and was now posed at the top of the stairs looking down on them and waiting for Simone’s signal before he descended. Of course his hostess hesitated, giving the two waiting men time to admire her creation in full.  

 

And there was a LOT to admire. Instead of the mussy and borderline kooky kid that Brian had known for the past two days, he saw a beautiful, graceful and very stylish young man. Justin was wearing an elegant cobalt black suit with narrow-cut trousers, a ludlow fit jacket with a narrow satin shawl collar. Beneath the jacket was a matching, crisply starched black shirt. There was a stunning dark lapis blue satin tie and matching pocket square that pulled the whole ensemble together. Oh, and Justin was even wearing shoes for once - a pair of highly shined black dress shoes that almost made the shoe diva in Brian go into shoegasms.

 

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Even beyond the suit, the youth looked spectacular. Brian thought that he’d had his hair trimmed and a maybe even a facial. He looked radiantly happy and so fucking beautiful that Brian couldn’t take his eyes off of him. Brian wasn’t sure how it was possible for that dazzling sunshine smile to have gotten any brighter, but somehow Justin had managed it. And the sparkling blue eyes, accentuated by the dark blue tie, seemed to strike a reciprocal glint in Brian’s own usually somber hazel eyes.

 

Brian knew he was going to be the envy of every fag at this shindig.

 

“Sunshine . . . wow. . . You’re going to outshine the grooms! You’re absolutely gorgeous!” Brian gushed, moving so that he was closer to the foot of the stairs.

 

“It was Simone’s idea . . .” Justin blushed and tried to deflect the praise he was so unaccustomed to receiving.

 

“Well, young man. Get down here so I can show you off properly,” Simone ordered, with a glowing smile of her own at how well her surprise was being received. “Come along!”

 

Justin, in his need to please Simone, hurried to accommodate her request. Unfortunately, he still wasn’t really used to wearing shoes, and between that and moving so fast to meet her demand, he missed a step. He stumbled, almost falling, except that Brian had already been on his way up the stairs at the time and was able to steady Justin with an outstretched hand, preventing the youth from making another undignified deja vu tumble down the stairs. The only thing injured this time was his dignity - which was quickly healed by the approving look in Brian’s eyes.

 

And, without any further mishaps, the young couple was heading out the door behind their hosts on the way to the wedding.

 

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Chapter End Notes:

11/7/15 - Next up, the wedding! 

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