Friends and Lovers

Chapter 4

Justin wasn't yet fully awake when he realized he was alone in the bed. After glancing at the clock and seeing that it was too early for Brian to have left for the office, he laid there for a moment, listening for the sound of the shower. When nothing but silence greeted his waiting ears, he frowned slightly and rolled out of bed. He pulled on a pair of sweats and made his way toward the kitchen, thinking he'd find Brian having his morning coffee and reading the paper. Instead, he found him sitting in front of the computer.

"Morning," he murmured, slipping his arms around the other man's neck and planting a soft kiss on his cheek.

Brian tilted his head up to offer a small smile before claiming a more proper kiss. "Morning," he returned the greeting once they'd parted.

Justin looked over his shoulder and wasn't overly surprised to see the resume he'd been working on the previous night on the screen. "Well? Anything you think I need to add? Edit? Revise?"

Brian was silent for a moment before closing the document and getting to his feet. "It's fine," he said simply as he carried his empty cup to the kitchen.

Justin knew that tone. "But...," he prodded.

He refilled his coffee mug and took a sip before turning to face the younger man. "As an employer, I'd be more impressed if I could actually see a degree listed among those accomplishments."

He had to refrain from rolling his eyes. "By the time I'm considering a serious career move, I'll have one."

"Unless something better comes up in the meantime," Brian murmured, turning to dump the rest of his coffee down the sink.

"That's not going to happen, Brian," Justin tried to assure him. "I know how important school is." He noted the skeptical look Brian shot in his direction and amended his statement. "You're right, I resisted going back for a long time, but I know better now. I've had a taste of a career in something I enjoy and I know the best way to ensure I'll have that in the future is to get the proper education."

Brian was relieved to see nothing but sincerity in the blue eyes looking back at him. Justin had grown a lot in just the month he'd been away. Maybe he could stop worrying that something would again distract him from finishing school.

Or maybe he needed to worry all the more.

"You really think any job you can get without a degree and on a temporary basis, I might add, is going to be worthy of your talents?"

Justin couldn't hide a smile as he crossed the room to stand directly in front of his lover, his arms snaking around the trim waist. "That may be the most complimentary thing you've ever said to me," he murmured, reaching up to nuzzle the skin at Brian's neck.

Brian snorted, encircling Justin with his arms and pulling him closer. "I'm sure I've commented on your many talents once or twice before."

"Mmm," Justin replied in distraction. "I meant my art."

"Ahh," he teased. He allowed Justin a moment to continue placing soft kisses along his jaw before taking the smaller man's face between his hands and pulling him back enough so that they could look into one another's eyes. "I may not comment on it often, but I do realize that you have real talent." He smirked. "For art, among other things."

Justin smiled. "You wouldn't let me near a Kinnetik account otherwise; I know that."

Brian smiled and kissed him lightly. "Good. And speaking of Kinnetik, I need to go."

He nodded and backed reluctantly out of the other man's warm embrace. "You busy for lunch?"

"Afraid so," Brian replied, double-checking his briefcase. "I have an appointment with Henderson at noon."

"Mmm," Justin murmured with a smile. "I'm impressed, Mr. Kinney."

"Yeah, well," Brian sighed, closing the briefcase and kissing his lover once again. "You might want to save your awe and admiration until the contracts are actually signed."

"A mere formality," Justin assured him. "It's in the bag."

"Now I remember why I keep you around," Brian teased, picking up his keys and pocketing his cell phone. He cupped his hand behind Justin's neck and kissed him one final time before picking up his briefcase and heading for the door. "Later."

"Later." Justin watched him leave then headed for the shower to start his day.

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It was mid afternoon when Cynthia buzzed Brian's office for what seemed like millionth time.

"Yes," he said wearily into the intercom.

"There's a Mr. Gus Peterson here to see you," she replied in her most professional tone.

He smiled. "Send him in."

Seconds later, the door opened and Gus came barrelling through. "Daddy!"

"Hey, Sonny Boy," Brian greeted his son before acknowledging the child's mother. "Lindsay."

She smiled tightly and nodded. "Brian."

"What brings you here today?" he asked, directing his words at Gus even though they were meant more for Lindsay.

"I need to talk to you," she answered.

Brian could tell by her expression that something was bothering her. "Hey, Sonny Boy," he said to Gus, "do you think you could draw me a picture?"

Gus nodded, smiling, and Brian couldn't help offering one of his own in response. Reaching into his top desk drawer, he pulled out a pack of crayons and a pad of paper.

"I can draw like Justin?" Gus asked, obviously enthused.

"Just like Justin," Brian agreed. He placed the young boy in his chair and watched as he scrambled onto his knees to better reach the desk. Once he was satisfied that Gus would amuse himself for a while creating his masterpiece, he gestured for Lindsay to join him on the sofa.

"What's up?" he asked without preamble.

She sighed heavily. "I had a visit from my mother last week."

"My condolences," Brian offered.

She ignored the barb and continued. "She wasn't happy with the apartment we were in. She said she didn't want Gus growing up in that sort of environment."

"It wasn't exactly the Ritz," he pointed out in a wry tone.

She sighed wearily. "She wanted us to move back home."

"With Mel?" he asked, frowning in confusion.

"With my parents," she practically ground out.

"And you said …" he prodded, waiting to hear what her response had been.

She dropped her eyes to where her fingers were playing with a button on her cardigan. "I guess I thought they'd finally come around," she admitted. "That maybe they'd finally realized I'm still their daughter, regardless of the fact that I'm a lesbian."

Brian only nodded, knowing from her demeanour that things hadn't worked out like she'd hoped.

"The first night I was there, my mother was already playing matchmaker," she told him.

"That's what parents do," he intoned. "They're not happy until they have their children paired off for the rest of their natural lives."

"She invited a blind date to dinner … a male blind date."

Brian stared at her in surprise for a second before barking a harsh laugh. "Don't tell me, she knew about you and the infamous artiste."

"I'm glad I was able to provide you with your daily amusement," she said icily.

"So, what did you tell the misinformed young man?" he asked, trying to make up for his comment.

"That I was a lesbian, what else?" she answered, lifting her chin a fraction of an inch. "Of course, as it turned out, my mother had failed to tell him that little bit of information."

"Of course."

She was silent for a moment, the button once again holding her gaze. "I was such a fool. I really thought maybe they'd changed. Instead, I learn that they thought my ten year relationship with Melanie was merely a distasteful phase that I'd finally grown out of."

"That's fucked," he said simply, not knowing any appropriate words of comfort.

"Anyway," she said, taking a deep breath and straightening her posture. "I obviously couldn't stay there, so I moved back into the house with Mel."

The questioning expression he wore spoke volumes.

"It's not what you think," she informed him with a wry laugh. "We're not together."

"Just living together," he tried to clarify.

"It seemed like a viable solution at the time, but …"

"But.?" he prompted when her voice trailed off.

"She's dating," she said quietly. Looking up, she met his expectant expression with an angry one of her own. "I thought I'd be ok with it, but I'm not. I opened the door the other night and saw them kissing. I wanted to tear her face off."

"Mel's?"

"Mel's, Corrinne's it didn't really matter at the time."

He nodded once in comprehension. "So, now what?"

"I need to find another place to live. And I have, I think," she added quickly. "There's an apartment over on Lincoln that would be perfect."

"That's what you said about the last one," he reminded her.

"This is different. It's the lower half of a beautiful old house. We'd have a lot more room and Gus would have a real yard to play in."

"So what's the problem?" he asked.

"The rent is nearly twice what I was paying for the other apartment."

Realization dawned in the hazel eyes. "I see."

"You did offer to help with the last place," she reminded him quietly.

"And you turned me down flat," he replied.

"Well, now I'd like to take you up on it, if I can," she said, a slight hesitation in her voice.

He reached for a cheque book. "How much?"

"Don't you even want to see it first?"

He shrugged. "If you like it, that's good enough for me."

"I have an appointment to go see it this evening," she informed him cautiously. "I thought maybe you'd agree to come with me."

"Tonight?" he asked, his reluctance obvious.

"When you said you wanted to play a bigger role in Gus' life, I thought that might include showing an interest in where we live," she said, her tone once again icy. "Or was that all bullshit?"

He glanced over at where Gus was still drawing happily. With a sigh, he turned back to face the woman at his side. "What time?"

"Seven," she said with a smile. "Thank you, Brian. You don't know how much this means to me."

He just shrugged uncomfortably and got to his feet as she did the same. She retrieved Gus from his spot at the desk and bundled him into his jacket. "I just know you're going to love it," she was saying to Brian. "I'll have to pay first and last month's rent and the first month's utilities up front."

He nodded. "I'll bring the cheque book."

She finished with Gus' jacket and stood, leaning in to kiss Brian's cheek. "Thank you," she said with a smile. "I'm proud to have you as Gus' father, even though I don't say it often enough."

He nodded subtly. "I'll pick you up around 6:45."

She smiled and nodded.

"Bye, Daddy," Gus said, hugging his father.

"Bye, Sonny Boy," Brian returned with a soft smile.

Once they'd left the office, he sighed, running a hand through his hair and looking at the clock. He still had a few more hours work before he could leave for the day, the new Henderson contract being top priority. He'd promised old Mr. Henderson that he'd have two campaigns mocked up by the end of next week. He'd be lucky if he finished all he needed to do before it was time to go look at Lindsay's apartment. He lowered himself into the chair Gus had recently vacated and picked up the phone, dialing the loft number only to get the machine. Without leaving a message, he disconnected the call and hit the number for Justin's cell. Straight to voicemail. He sighed. "Hey. I won't be home 'till later. Lindsay needs my help with something. I don't know how long it will take, so go ahead and eat if you're hungry. If there's anything left, I'll eat when I get home. Later."

He hung up the phone and sat looking at it for a moment before turning his attention once again to the Henderson account.

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It was close to six by the time Justin returned to the empty loft. He'd hoped Brian would be there, but wasn't too surprised to find he wasn't. He wanted to know how things had gone with Henderson but he was also anxious to share his own news. While his wasn't at the celebratory stage yet, he was wholly expecting Brian to tell him he'd landed the account. Hopefully, that would be cause for a celebration dinner or at the very least, a celebration fuck. Either way, he'd be happy.

He was still wearing a smirk when the buzzer sounded. "Yeah," he said into the intercom.

"Hey," came a familiar voice.

"Come on up," he said with a smile. Releasing the intercom button, he slid the door open and waited for his best friend to show on the landing.

"You're not easy to track down these days, are you?" she teased. "I had more luck getting in touch with you when you were living in California."

"I was out today," he said, closing the door behind her.

"I left like three messages on your voicemail," she informed him with a pointed look.

"Shit," he muttered, reaching into his pocket to extract his cell phone. "I turned it off during the interview and forgot to turn it back on."

"Interview?" she repeated, making herself at home on the sofa. "What interview?"

He held up a finger while he retrieved his messages, rolling his eyes as his friend's voice got increasingly annoyed with each one she'd left. "Bitch," he teased.

She merely stuck out her tongue as he continued to monitor the remaining messages.

"Shit," he muttered as he retrieved the last one and hit the off button.

"Something wrong?"

"Brian's going to be late. He had to help Lindsay with something."

She shrugged and curled into the corner of the sofa, making herself comfortable. "It's not like it's the first time he's been late. At least he called."

"But I wanted to tell him my news," Justin said, his voice betraying his disappointment.

"Uh, hello? Best friend here," she said, waving her hand in the air to get his attention. "Tell me."

He smiled and sat down on the opposite end of the sofa facing her. "I was taking my resume around and I stumbled upon the greatest job."

"Do tell," she enthused, leaning forward, legs crossed on one of the expensive leather cushions.

"I didn't think I had a hope in Hell of getting anything good, you know? I mean, it would only be temporary and I don't actually have my degree or anything."

She raised her eyebrows disapprovingly on the off chance that he might have forgotten how she felt about that. She'd been trying to get him to go back to school almost as hard as Brian had.

He dismissed the look with a wave of his hand. "Anyway, I thought I might as well drop some resumes off at the major Graphic Design places in town, even though I wasn't expecting much of a response. Most of them told me exactly what I expected, that they didn't hire without a college degree in the arts and definitely not on such a short term basis."

She frowned. "So, then, why all the excitement?"

"Artex Designs," he beamed. "Seems one of their art guys just had a heart attack and will be off for a few months. I got a chance to speak to the owner himself and he agreed to give me an interview on the spot."

Her frown only deepened. "Even though you're not a college graduate?"

His responding look had a tinge of smugness to it. "He was impressed with my portfolio and said it's sometimes more advantageous to hire people who haven't been conditioned through the education system. That way, he can train them the way he wants without having to untrain them first."

Daphne's smile rivaled Justin's best. "In that case, I think it's great. Congratulations!"

"I don't actually have the job yet," he cautioned, "but he did say he was very impressed with me and that he'd let me know by the end of next week."

"Of course you'll get it," she assured him, pushing his shoulder with one hand. "I'm so proud of you."

"Thanks," he replied with a bright smile. "It's only for a few months, but it will be good experience to let me know if that's the kind of career I'm interested in. By the time the other guy gets back, it'll be time for me to start school anyway."

"Sounds like you lucked out," she laughed.

The buzzer sounded and Justin jumped up to answer. "Yeah?"

"It's me, Michael."

"Come on up," Justin said, rolling his eyes. As if he couldn't recognize Michael's voice after all this time.

"Brian won't be home for dinner," he said as he pulled open the heavy door. "What do you say we go out and grab some pizza or something?"

"Sounds great," Daphne agreed with a nod. Anything else she was going to say was postponed when Michael arrived on the landing.

"Hey," he said, glancing briefly in Daphne's direction. Focusing a cool gaze on Justin, he added, "Is Brian here?"

"No, he had to do something for Lindsay," Justin explained. "Anything I can help you with?"

Michael's snort of disbelief didn't go unnoticed by either of the other two people in the room, but they said nothing. "No. I just came to drop this off. He left it at my place last night."

Justin took the tie from Michael's outstretched hand and frowned slightly. "Ok, I'll make sure he gets it." He glanced at Daphne. "We were just going out for pizza; would you like to join us?"

"I don't think so," Michael replied with a bit of a scowl.

"Is something wrong, Michael?" Justin asked.

Michael looked like he was about to say something, but another quick glance at Daphne seemed to change his mind. "Nothing that's of any concern to you," he said instead. "Tell Brian I stopped by and that I need to talk to him."

Justin nodded. "I will."

"See ya." Without another word, Michael turned and left the loft.

"What was that all about?" Daphne asked, frowning.

Justin was looking at the tie in his hands. "I'm not sure," he said truthfully.

"Well," she exclaimed getting to her feet. "I'm starving and you promised me pizza so get that cute little ass of yours in gear, mister."

He was deep in thought as he placed the tie on the counter. "Yeah," he said, obviously distracted. "Let's go."

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Lindsay was practically beaming as they pulled up in front of the house she was once again, temporarily, sharing with Mel.

"It's going to be so perfect," she gushed. "Thank you so much, Brian."

He smiled indulgently. "I can't have my son growing up in a hovel, now, can I?"

"Do you want to come in?"

"Can I show Daddy my new truck?"

Brian turned around to where Gus was buckled in the back seat. "You have a new truck, Sonny Boy?"

"Yep," he replied with a happy nod. "It's red."

Brian looked at Lindsay.

"A gift from his grandfather when we moved back home," she said, tight-lipped.

"At least he didn't take it back when you refused to follow the script."

"Daddy?"

"Yeah, Gus, I'll come in and see your new truck."

He'd shown the appropriate admiration for the new toy and was sitting on the floor playing with it, much to the delight of his young son, when Lindsay reluctantly had to put an end to the quaint scene.

"Say good night to Daddy, Gus," she instructed him. "It's time to go brush your teeth and get ready for bed."

Gus pouted for a moment, but then did as he was told, putting the truck away before approaching Brian for a hug. "Night, Daddy."

"Night, Sonny Boy," Brian answered, hugging him close. "You be a good boy for Mommy, you hear?"

He nodded, a big grin on his face, before heading up the stairs.

"You're good with him," Lindsay commented with a smile.

He shrugged uncomfortably. "He's a good kid."

"Yeah, he is," she agreed with a nod as she walked him toward the door. "Thanks again, Brian, and be sure to give Justin our love. We'll have to have the two of you over for dinner once we move into the new place."

He nodded. "Let me know if you need anything else."

Kissing his cheek, she smiled. "I will. Thank you."

She was still smiling as she watched him get into the car and head off in the direction of the loft.