Chapter 6

"Hey guys? Anyone in there? Buzz me in!" John was standing outside with an armful. Ted came to the doors and propped them open to let John in.

"Need help?"

"Yeah, keep an eye on the truck, I'm doubled parked," John said quickly as he hurried in with his supplies. Ted waited as directed near the Navigator. John soon came back along with Brian. John loaded up Brian's arms then grabbed more cartons. They hurried back into the building. A few more trips and they were finished.

"I noticed a garage around the block. I'll park the truck and come back. We can all go back together later." John jumped back into the Navigator and sped off.

"Your brother sure knows his way around this city," Ted quipped.

"Yeah," Brian agreed. "For a man who spent most of his life in a hick town, he sure looks comfortable here." Brian arched a brow. Ted nodded in agreement.

"I bet he has some stories to tell," Ted replied. Brian leered.

"Maybe if we liquor him up, he'll spill." Ted and Brian laughed then went back into the office.

"What's all this?" Cynthia asked as John breezed back into the office.

"Sealer for the plaster, and paint, and something special for his majesty over there." John nodded toward Brian who had his nose buried in contracts. Brian looked up to sneer at his brother then he stuck his tongue out at him.

"Oh real mature," John snarked then opened a box. He pulled out a special air filter and plugged it into a socket in the corner. It silently worked to clear the air of dust particles. "This should help keep the dust and paint fumes down." Brian smiled broadly. It was nice to have a smart and generous big brother.

John dragged the rest of the boxes into the attached apartment, rolled up his sleeves and began to work.

*****

"Hello!" A handsome gentleman with an elegant British accent addressed Justin as he was contentedly sketching. Bree was happily dozing with her doll in her stroller. "It's beautiful; you've captured the spirit of the piece and yet made it your own."

Justin looked up. The man had a heart shaped face with dark hair and deep brown eyes. Justin almost felt himself drowning in those eyes. He smiled.

"May I join you?" Justin nodded, as he moved his stuff to one side. The gentleman sat. "You're an artist," the man stated the obvious then laughed warmly at his statement. Justin remained uncharacteristically silent. He knew the man was flirting with him. "My name is Henry Higgins." The gentleman extended his hand to shake Justin's.

"Henry Higgins?" Justin's eyes grew large at the man's name.

"I know. My parents met at a showing of that movie and I've been doomed ever since. Your style is familiar to me. You are an artist, aren't you?"

"Yes, I'm, um, Justin Taylor."

"Justin Taylor! I tried to bid on one of your paintings in a charity auction, but I was outbid. I didn't know you lived in New York."

"I don't. We, my partner and daughter," Justin nodded to the sleeping child, "live near Pittsburgh."

"On holiday, then?"

"Sort of."

"Then I'm a very lucky man. I've been living here for several years now, and I've been privileged to have gone to many of your shows. I adore your work. It speaks to me. But I didn't think you were so young. Some of your pieces, well, so full of pain. Too much pain for one so young."

"I'm not that young."

"Really, you look barely twenty." Henry moved closer. Justin could smell his soft spicy cologne. It was very intoxicating.

"You can add at least ten more years to that." The brown eyes appeared to be moving in closer. Justin found himself gripping his pencil tighter then a spasm shot up his arm. He dropped his pencil with a little gasp.

"Are you all right?" Henry asked as he retrieved the pencil from the floor and handed it to Justin.

"Yes." Justin took the pencil then shoved it into his bag. "We have to go." Justin's hand was shaking as he struggled to put his sketchpad into his bag.

"You're clearly in some sort of distress. Let me help or at the very least hail you a cab."

"No, no, I'm okay but we have to go." Justin got his stuff back into his messenger bag then began to steer the stroller through the crowd. Henry followed.

"When can I see you again?" Henry caught up and touched Justin's twitching arm.

"Tomorrow, um, I'll be back tomorrow." Justin rushed out, Bree still asleep in her stroller.

The cool Autumn air greeted Justin as he stepped outside the museum doors. He got himself under control, checked his watch and decided to go to Kinnetik instead of the hotel. Justin needed Brian.

*****

"Knock, knock!" Ken announced as he opened Kinnetik's door. "Anyone home?"

"Hi Ken," Ted answered, "we're all here."

"Good, I brought something. I thought Brian could take a look." Ken shuffled in with an easel and a large art board. Cynthia got up to help Kenny with his display.

"Is this what I think it is?" Cynthia asked. She knew that Brian had asked Ken to work on the computer game ad.

"Yes, is HE here?" Ken was a little nervous.

"Inside with John. May I look?" Cynthia flipped up the protective covering to look at the drawing. "Oh my!"

"You don't like it," Ken said with a touch of disappointment.

"I love it," Cynthia stated.

"It's different," Ted added.

"But not what he'd like." Ken was confident before, but not so sure now.

"He who?" Brian came into the office.

*****

"Daddy," Briana, mumbled softly as Justin unbuckled her seat belt. He held her in his arms as he collapsed the stroller. A taxi pulled up and Justin told the driver the address. Justin was trying to remain calm. He felt like his nerves were jumping under the skin of his right arm and he was feeling guilty at his reaction to Henry Higgins. Why now? Why would someone flirting with him get to him now? Especially after Gay Days. If there were tricks to be had it would have been at Gay Days.

"Sir? We're here." The driver's voice broke through Justin's thoughts. Justin paid the fare then struggled to get Bree and the stroller out of the cab. He breathed a little easier as he stepped up to the building's door.

Justin hesitated as he studied the buzzers. He wasn't sure which button to push.

"Mr. Taylor, is that you?" Jeffrey and Raymond were racing up the street. School had just let out.

"Yeah, hi guys. I just got here but I realized I don't know what button to push."

"It's this one. Dad hasn't gotten around to updating the pad yet but I have the key." Jeffrey took out his keys to let them all in. "Is this your first time here?"

"At the office? Yes, it is." Justin was still shaky. All he wanted was Brian.

"Mr. Taylor, you okay?" Raymond asked. He could tell Justin wasn't feeling right.

"I'm good, just need Brian." The pain in his arm was intensifying as well as his guilt. It was blinding him.

"Let us help." Jeff took Bree's stroller as Raymond took Bree from Justin's arms. They led Justin into the building and to the door to Kinnetik. "Mr.Taylor, we'll take Bree upstairs with us. Bree, Dad made us cookies. Would you like one?"

"Yes, please," Briana answered politely. Justin nodded at his daughter and the boys. He knew they'd take good care of her. As Raymond took Bree upstairs, Jeffrey showed Justin to the door of Kinnetik.

"Thank you, Jeff," Justin mumbled as he struggled to raise his hand to open the door.

"You're welcome." Jeff opened the door for Justin then turned to take Bree's stroller and bag up the stairs.

"Brian!" Justin cried out as he pushed open the door then became instantly embarrassed feeling very vulnerable.

"Justin?" They were all huddled around Ken's art board when Justin came in. "What's wrong? Where's Bree?" Brian was about to panic.

"Upstairs with the boys." Justin's voice wavered. "Brian," whispered Justin as he held out his hand. Brian looked down at Justin's quivering hand.

"Can you guys excuse us for a while?" Brian encircled Justin with his arms shielding him with his body.

"Sure Brian, we can use a break. We'll be upstairs if you need us." Ken invited Cynthia and Ted to join him upstairs for coffee. John was in the apartment sealing the walls.

Brian led Justin to the big new leather chair that had been delivered earlier that morning. Brian sat then slowly drew Justin onto his lap. Carefully Brian began to massage the spasming right hand.

"What happened?" Brian said low and calm. He could feel the tension in Justin begin to relax.

"I was sketching. I guess I was holding the pencil too tight." Justin didn't say anything about meeting Henry.

"You did right by coming to me."

"Hurts."

"I know, Jus. I'll make it better, I promise." Brian kept his voice low and soothing. His breathy sultry tone helped to relax Justin further. His steadfast massage of Justin's hand had the desired effect. John had finished his work for the day and came back into the main office. Brian indicated that everyone was upstairs. John walked slowly to their chair to kiss his brother's head then he gently caressed Justin's golden locks.



"I'll be upstairs. You take as long as you need."

Brian mouthed a 'thank you' as he hugged Justin closer and continued his massage.

*****

"How are they doing?" Cynthia asked as John walked into Ken and Simon's apartment. He washed up and Ken handed him a coffee.

"They'll be fine. Justin hasn't had a spasm like that in a very long time. Brian's working his magic as we speak."

"Um, I don't mean to pry but can I help in any way?" Ken was genuinely concerned.

"You're an artist, right?" John asked Ken.

"Yes."

"Do you know about Justin's history?"

"A little. When an up and coming artist takes the world by storm, most of us in the community stay apprised, especially in the gay community."

"Then you know about the bashing?"

"A little, but that was years ago."

"Yes, about fifteen years ago but Justin still suffers from residual side effects. His hand, the hand he uses to draw and paint has spasms. Painful ones at times. He can't take anything for them because he can never predict when a spasm may hit and Justin is allergic to just about everything."

"The poor dear." Ken let his mind wander. If he wasn't able to express himself artistically he wasn't sure what he'd do. "And Brian, you said he was working magic?"

"Brian has a way of massaging the kinks away. They just need a little time to get it under control." John's simple explanation sufficed and Ken passed around a plate of cookies. All they needed to do was sit back and wait.

*****

"Brian, I want to go home."

"We'll go back to the hotel in a few minutes. We're done for the day."

"No, I mean I want to go home, back to our home. I don't want to be here." Justin knew he was sounding irrational. The pain was all but gone in his arm but he was panicking. "I can't breathe here."

"Justin! Justin, listen to me, you're having a panic attack. Did something happen at the Met? Did Bree act up?"

"No, she was an angel. I did some real good work. I..." He couldn't explain it.

"Justin, you agreed to come with me. I can't do this without your support. I know that sounds selfish but today was the first day in three weeks that I felt like I'm accomplishing something and that's in part due to you and the Squirt being here. Please give it some time. I need you." Brian's plea went straight to Justin's heart.

"Okay, I'll stay. I did promise."

"Yes you did." Brian kissed Justin deeply with promises of a lot more kisses. When they broke apart they were breathless. "You're one hell of a kisser, Justin Taylor, you know that?"

"I know," Justin said smugly. Everything was back to normal, almost.

*****

Later on Brian put Cynthia in a cab to go back to the hotel. She and Matthew were going to a show. Allen surprised Ted. The symphony had a layover in New York for the night so they decided to spend the night together before Allen flew out in the morning. Simon and Ken insisted that Brian, Justin, John and Bree stay for dinner.

The boys had finished their homework and were amusing Briana in their room. The guys decided to enjoy the sunset from the rooftop terrace.

"This is beautiful, Simon," John commented. "I lived here for a while in the early 90's. I used to dream of being able to afford one of these brownstones."

"Keeping secrets from me, big brother?" Brian didn't know about this part of John's life.

"It's not a secret. I came here to learn more of my craft. I finished school, had my masters, but that can't take the place of practical experience. I worked on road crews as a kid, part time jobs in hardware stores to learn about building materials, but there's something about New York City. The skyscrapers, walking the high steel, maneuvering large cranes through these streets, there's something special here. Don't get me wrong. I love my home but there's only one New York."

John stared off at the surrounding tall buildings. Brian got up to stand next to his brother. He slowly snaked his arm around his brother's waist. John put his arm over Brian's shoulders then squeezed Brian's upper arm.

"You'll make it here, Brian. If anyone can, you will. I can feel it in my bones. A Kinney man will conquer New York." Brian leaned into his brother's embrace, strengthened by John's confidence in him.

"Thank you, big bro."

"Anytime, little bro, anytime." They stood at the edge of the terrace and watched the sun go down.

*****

"Ken, may I see your rendition of the ad? Brian's been agonizing about this presentation for months," Justin asked Ken. He had almost forgotten about it.

"Sure, I'd love your input. I have a copy in my office. Let's go." Ken brought Justin into his lair as he called it. "I hide in here, put on my music and paint or work on the computer."

"I do the same only in the sun porch. When I'm alone I turn up the music and let it take me away. Sometimes I can't paint if I don't have music."

"I know; it's like my ears are attached to my hand. Here, what do you think?" Ken set his copy of the ad on an easel.

The drawing was rather simple, not high tech or graphic. You saw the back of three teenage boys' heads. They were huddled around a TV monitor, each holding a controller and clearly having a blast. Off center was a parental figure looking at the boys. Upon further inspection, the three boys were Gus, Jeff and Raymond.

"So?"

"It's so different, almost to the point of retro. Simple basic colors, nothing flashy, I like it. If you pick up any game boxes, they're all the same; all busy. But this just says 'play me.' I really like it. What did the big guy say?"

"Almost the same thing. He wants me to tweak some of the colors and change the font but not the basic design. I didn't think he'd get it."

"This is Brian Kinney you're talking about. You'd be surprise what he gets."

"Do you think he can sell this to the software company?"

"Brian once convinced a homophobic wine cooler maker to repackage his god-awful drinks. He put a hot pool boy on the label and you couldn't find any of it in the stores. They sold out in minutes!"

"Ha!" Ken bellowed out a laugh. "I think I remember that stuff; it was awful. But the kid on the label was hot. I can't believe Brian did that."

"We later found out that Brian made the guy make a sizable donation to the Gay marriage movement in Pittsburgh. The guy made millions then sold off the company. But not before Brian got his cut."

"Your Brian is some advertising genius."

"Yes, he is and it's about time I took the genius and his daughter back to the hotel. Thank you so much for dinner and the talk. It's so nice to talk to another artist."

"Justin, Brian and John are both artists in their own ways. Brian makes art with his words and how he puts it all together. John makes art into architecture. They're both very special men. Very sensitive men. Especially Brian."

"Yes, he is. He feels things so deeply sometimes, but he tries to hide it."

"And he needs you to help him get it out." They were quiet for a few minutes.

"I think it's time for me to show him just how special I know he is. Thank you again for dinner. Bobby and Patrick are planning to come in for the weekend. Maybe we can get together, go back to the Met. I want to share that with Brian."

"Good idea, I'll pencil it in on the calendar."

Justin took his special men and daughter back to the hotel.