Brian flipped to the last page in the manuscript that Justin had given him the day before and read the last few paragraphs. He reached the end of the printed out words and sat stone still against his hotel pillows. He had always been a man who made decisions rapidly, but this young man threw him. He was in a bit of a quandary. He would be seeing Justin for lunch the next day and he honestly didn't know what he was going to say. He would have to think this out very carefully.

Justin was truly talented. There was no doubt about that in Brian's mind whatsoever. He had a way of turning a phrase and using words to paint a picture that was akin to a great artist painting a landscape. And yet there was something missing. It was probably no more than Justin's youth, but Brian felt like Justin was writing his story as an outsider looking in rather than as a participant in the events he unfolded. A truly great story made one feel as if they were right there in the scene with the characters and events, especially a love story which Justin was obviously trying to write. Brian got the strong sense that Justin was very much a romantic at heart...but a romantic who knew nothing of romance. Brian reminded himself that he didn't know a fucking thing about romance himself, but he did know what felt like romance and Justin's story didn't quite reach that level.

Brian's problem was that the story had the feeling of great potential. The two main characters were interesting, albeit a little unfocused. The situations Justin put them into showed promise too, but not all of them seemed that realistic. He had one of the men discovering he had a potentially life threatening disease and yet he kept it secret from his lover even though they were supposed to be so close. This seemed totally unrealistic to Brian. Wouldn't a sick man need his lover at such a time, and how in the hell could you keep something like that secret anyway. Now...one lover cheating on the other and keeping it secret...that was something Brian could relate to and Justin captured the feeling of that remarkably well. Brian didn't trust anybody enough to risk his heart like that. He knew you couldn't trust any man. Justin seemed to sense that too. This was Brian's problem. He didn't want to discourage the young man because he could see the great writer inside him just waiting to get out.

Brian had no idea how sensitive Justin would be to criticism. He had stated he wanted nothing but the full truth, but it was always easy for someone to claim that and then still get offended if they didn't like what they heard. It was actually very common, and Brian wanted nothing more than for Justin to continue working on the story until he could bring it to fruition. This kid had a future as a writer and not just in porn...that was something Brian felt for certain. Now all he had to do was convey that to the young man without squashing his spirit. For some reason Brian really wanted to see Justin succeed. It was odd for him since he barely knew the young man, but there was no denying it. Justin had inspired that feeling in Brian from the very beginning. Hopefully things would work out for the best with Justin when he saw him at lunch.

With that thought in mind, Brian set the manuscript down on the side table next to his bed. He was dead tired. He had been on his feet and taking meeting after meeting in order to make arrangements for spots on radio, television, and in print ads for the entire day, not including meeting with Dan and talking to a few more of his writers from other departments. Several of those writers had been interesting to Brian too, but none left an impression on the ad man the way young Justin did. He had actually been eager to get the day over with so he could settle down and continue reading the manuscript that he had started on that very night that Justin handed it to him. It was extremely late now and all he wanted was sleep, so he swallowed the last couple of sips of his Jim Beam and snuffed out his cigarette. He settled his naked body down under the soft sheets and warm blanket and buried his head deep into the pillow. He waited for sleep to come.

It took almost an hour for Brian's body to relax enough and his mind to stop spinning before he drifted off to slumberland. Brian tossed and turned all night. He hadn't had any physical relief from a good fuck since he'd arrived in New York and his body was feeling the tension. His dreams became more vivid as the night progressed. By the time the wake up call came from the hotel switchboard, Brian could clearly remember his final dream...the images were that intense. He had been making passionate love to a gorgeous creature whose face was shrouded in darkness. The only distinguishing feature about the man that he couldn't help noticing as he pounded his hard cock into him was the bright halo of blond hair the head was covered with. When Brian threw back the covers he was surprised to see that he had ejaculated onto his sheet. He was totally surprised. He hadn't had a wet dream since his teenage years. He always had more than enough real life sex. His body didn't have any to spare for night time dreams normally.

Brian got up quickly and made a bee line for the bathroom. He felt flushed and sticky and he needed nothing more than a good hot shower before starting another of his ultra busy days. It was a good thing that Dan was paying him so highly, he decided. He knew he had never worked so hard on a campaign before. He was earning every cent of his fees. Brian came out of the shower feeling ten times better. He ordered an egg white omelet with English Muffins and orange juice from room service and proceeded to dress. He was admiring his reflection in the full length mirror on the bathroom wall when the food arrived. He had never looked better in his Brooks Brothers Golden Fleece Two Button Herringbone Suit of deep navy blue with the light blue dress shirt under his jacket and the blue and gold broad striped tie. Brian was always careful in his appearance. He took pride in looking both hot and elegant at all times, but for some reason he took extra pains today. He checked out his hair one more time before answering the door. He ate his meal quickly and set off for his first appointment of the day. He tried hard to ignore his urgency in getting to the lunch time hour and his meeting with young Taylor, but he did keep checking his watch several times as he went from meeting to meeting waiting for one o'clock to finally arrive.

****************************************************************

Justin had spent the entire morning on pins and needles. He had been so anxious over his upcoming meeting with Brian Kinney that he hadn't even been able to finish his breakfast, something very rare for the young man who always had a healthy appetite. His stomach had been in knots since talking to Brian the day before and agreeing to meet at a nearby bar and grill that Justin frequented whenever he just wasn't in the mood to cook for himself. Justin wasn't much of a social animal and seldom got out, most often using the excuse that he was trying to save every cent he could, but there were times when he just needed to be around people. He hadn't really made any close friends at the bar, but they knew him when they saw him and he felt safe there. The long time employees even called him by his first name, plus the food was good so he figured Brian would enjoy it.

Justin wasn't as concerned about whether Brian liked the food as he was on whether he liked his manuscript. He had tried to get a clue as to where Brian's mind was on the subject when they talked on the phone the day before, but Brian was being cagey. He hadn't even hinted what he thought. It only served to make Justin even more edgy. He couldn't help wanting Brian to like it a lot, although he couldn't really say why. He had recognized that Brian was a truly intelligent and perceptive man right from their first meeting. He had been respectful of Justin's reticence over putting himself in the public eye. Justin appreciated that. He had enjoyed their dinner meeting too. There was just something about Brian that Justin found intriguing and non-threatening. For Justin, that was an important attribute. He didn't trust that easily.

Justin had told Brian that he wanted the man to be totally blunt about his assessment of the raw manuscript, but a part of him wasn't so sure he wanted total honesty. If Brian hated it, he was afraid he might not want to tackle the damned thing again. After all, he was making a decent living just writing the less than mainstream stuff he was putting out now. He could probably spend the rest of his life doing the same thing over and over again. He'd never be able to confront his dad about his choices in life, but he could live with that....maybe. Well, he could if he had to, anyway. But he didn't really want that for his future, so Brian's opinion really mattered. It was scary to care what someone else thought so much. But it was too late to back down now. He would go to lunch and hear what the older, more sophisticated man had to say. He would take things from there.

It was finally close to Noon so Justin jumped into the shower and tried to calm his nerves with the warm soothing water. It didn't help. He only felt cleaner. Justin checked his limited wardrobe. He finally settled on a really nice shirt that his mom had gotten him for his last birthday. He took the shiny mint green silk shirt off the hanger and buttoned it up over his white jeans. He checked his hair and smoothed down some of the more unruly blond tendrils around his neck. He knew he looked okay, but Justin seldom worried about appearances. However, today he wanted to look his best. He told himself he just wanted to look mature and businesslike. He refused to admit that he wanted to be attractive for the sake of his lunch time date. He dismissed that notion immediately when it popped into his head. A client...that was all he was to Mr. Kinney. That and nothing more.

Justin took one last look around his living room before stepping out the door. He had the eerie feeling that this meeting with Brian was going to change things somehow. He couldn't put his finger on it, but Justin walked towards the bar and grill feeling both anxious and excited at the same time. He was early. It was only a quarter to one. Chances are he'd have to order a drink before Brian showed up. That thought was on Justin's mind as he heard the tinkle over the door when he stepped into the cool interior of the bar. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Brian already seated at the bar and watching the door. The man waved Justin over with a big smile on his face. Justin felt that funny feeling in the pit of his stomach again as Brian grinned at him. What the hell...but of course he was just hungry. After all, he hadn't really had any breakfast.

Brian indicated the empty stool next to him as Justin approached. Brian was surprised by the way his breath caught in his throat when he first saw the kid walk in. Justin looked just plain beautiful. There was no other way to describe him. His shirt made the blue in his eyes even bluer and he had smiled in a way that made Brian feel a twitch in his groin. Shit, he thought, let's face it...the kid turned him on. He had noticed it the first day he met Justin in Dan's office, but the young man seemed to have some issues that Brian didn't feel like dealing with. Now he wasn't so sure. Would it really be such a big deal if he just indulged his desires a tiny bit? It's not like he would be moving in with the kid or something crazy like that. Maybe the two of them could just have a little fun. He knew the young man was openly gay, but that was about all Dan had told him. He would have to feel Justin out. He didn't want to rush it and maybe scare the kid silly. He was certain about one thing...despite Justin's work, the kid was not experienced personally. Even his sex scenes were written like an outsider quoting what he was observing, not an actual participant. Justin slid onto the stool and placed his order for his favorite beer with the bartender who knew him well enough by now not to card him.

"You did tell me that they know you here," Brian observed.

"What?"

"The beer. They didn't bother to ask for your ID. I know you're over twenty one but I'll bet most folks don't realize it."

There was nothing mocking in Brian's tone...just a statement of fact, so Justin didn't take any offense. He just waited for his beer and turned to join Brian in checking out the place. All the tables were full at the moment but Brian told him that he had already added his name to the seating list. All they had to do was wait. The two men spoke casually for about twenty minutes while nursing their drinks and then they heard the Kinney name right after a couple with their arms around each other exited their table. They quickly sat at the discarded table and waited for the new set up to be put in place. They placed their orders with the young waiter and settled in for a good chat.

Brian first let Justin in on the interviews he had lined up for the young writer on radio spots. He also had arranged for Justin to join in on a fan based blogging session that catered to his type of stories at some future dates. He had one interview lined up with a gay oriented magazine and had another tentative interview with a different magazine in the works. Justin was amazed at how quickly and thoroughly Brian had done his job. He was duly impressed and more than a little nervous. Brian must have seen that because he quickly assured Justin that he would be fine at his task. Brian then promised to be handy to help Justin work out the kinks and to troubleshoot for Justin if it was needed. The young man relaxed upon hearing that.

"I guess this means you'll have to make more trips to the Big Apple then," Justin remarked. "I mean, since some of these are not going to happen until after you return to Pittsburgh."

"I guess so, but it's not a problem. I go where I'm needed. I have plenty of bonus miles built up with the airlines by now."

Justin felt a little happier to know that he'd be seeing a lot more of Brian, maybe more than he should feel, but he couldn't help it. There was a pause in the conversation and Justin finally got up the courage to ask the question that he'd been avoiding since first entering the bar. The subdued noises of dozens of conversations at adjoining tables and clinking glasses and silverware on plates faded into the background as Justin took a deep breath and forged ahead.

"Brian, did you finish reading my manuscript?"

Justin would have sworn the room went deadly quiet with all ears waiting for the answer. Of course it was nothing more than the fact that all the blood had rushed to his head, deafening the poor guy for a moment. He stared at Brian anxiously. Brian smiled back.

"I certainly did Justin. You want total honesty, am I right?" He waited for Justin's nod. "Then I can tell you right up front...there is something really there kid. I mean, it is rough, but you have it...that little something that distinguishes a good story teller from a bad one. I have some theories on how the work can be improved, but there is a diamond in that rough."

"Do you mean it?"

Justin sounded just like a schoolboy begging his teacher to confirm that his school work was A material. There was something sad and yet endearing in the way he clearly needed reinforcement of his worth. Brian felt a brief moment of anger that something or someone had made this talented young man feel such an obvious lack of self-worth. In that moment Brian changed his mind and decided Justin Taylor was worth not only using in the campaign but also worth pursuing in other ways...daddy issues or no daddy issues. After all, if that was Justin's problem then who better to help the young writer out than Brian Kinney...king of the daddy issues.

"I never say anything I don't mean Justin. You'll learn that about me in time. And speaking of time, do you have plans for tonight?"

"No, not really," Justin answered cautiously. He hardly ever had plans for the evening.

"Then I suggest we table this discussion about your work and get back into it in a more relaxed setting. There's a club I've been wanting to check out since I got here. Would you mind joining me for the evening? We can combine business with pleasure. You do go out just for pleasure once in a while, don't you?"

Justin blushed slightly. His palms were beginning to sweat, but he quickly decided that he had come this far in trusting Brian's judgment. He might as well listen to the rest of what the man had to say about his work. Suddenly he found himself feeling an excitement at the prospect of spending the evening with Brian Kinney. Who knew...maybe he would learn some things that would really help in writing his story.

To be continued............................