Chapter 19 - Disengagement.
“Excellent presentation, Marty. Really excellent! It’s so nice to hear a truly fresh idea for a change,” CEO Howie Somethingorother raved and clapped Ryder on the back as the rest of the team was busy packing up the display materials from this last big presentation.
“Glad you liked it! And, not that I’m adverse to stealing the occasional idea and passing it off as my own, but just this once I think I’ll give credit where it’s due,” Marty Ryder admitted, smiling at the client and waving with his free hand to Brian. “The driving force behind the idea you loved so much happens to be this young man right here. Brian Kinney - my newest junior Ad Exec. He’s only been with the agency a little over two years, but he’s already moving up. Now THIS is the guy to keep your eye on.”
Brian trotted over obediently to be shown off by Marty Ryder. He shook the hand that Howie - or was it Harry, or maybe Hermie . . . oh who the fuck cared really - extended to him and made nice with the client for another ten minutes before the big back-slapping breeder from Altoona finally excused himself. Brian made sure to lay on the Kinney charm extra thick. Marty was beaming with pleasure at Brian the whole time.
“Superior effort, Brian,” Marty congratulated him as soon as the client was gone. “That presentation was word perfect. I knew I was making the right decision when I promoted you to the executive floor. And you’re not bad at the client relations thing either. You seem to always go above and beyond to make the client happy - that’s a skill that you just can’t teach, but you’re a natural, Brian. You keep this up and you’ll be making partner before you know it.”
“Thank you, Mr. Ryder,” Brian replied respectfully, still too insecure in his new position to feel truly comfortable with so much praise. “The idea just came to me the other night . . . you know how inspiration can just hit you like that and you simply can’t fight it.” Brian didn’t feel it was necessary to elaborate on the fact that when the ‘inspiration’ for this campaign hit him he had been in the backroom at Babylon balls deep into this luscious dark-skinned beauty with a really phenomenal ass. “I’m just happy that the client liked it.”
“Liked it? That’s a definite understatement. He loved it. I could tell by that avaricious glint in his eye. And if we don’t have a signed commitment from him on my desk by five tonight, I’ll eat my desk blotter!” Marty seemed eminently confident, which was reassuring to Brian as well. “Which means, of course, that as the lead executive on this project you’ll be entitled to a substantial signing bonus, my boy. So, what have you got planned for all that glorious green?”
Brian allowed himself to relax a bit and gave Marty Ryder one of his rare uninhibited smiles. “Well, I was thinking of moving, maybe. I’ve outgrown the apartment I’m in now. So, maybe I’ll start looking around for something bigger.”
“Capital idea, Brian. Real estate is never a bad investment. In fact, I’ll have my secretary give you the number of the realtor I use. His name’s Skyler Knowlton. Great guy. I’m sure he’ll set you up with something perfect,” Marty stated as if it was already a done deal, patting Brian’s shoulder one more time with a congratulatory air as he made to move off towards his own large corner office.
“Real Estate?” Brian mumbled to Marty’s back as he stood there dumbstruck for a moment.
Brian hadn’t really been prepared for that particular suggestion. He was only twenty-five. He had been promoted to Junior Ad Exec less than two months ago. The idea of buying an apartment or a condo hadn’t even come up on his mental radar yet. But . . . the more he thought about it, the better the idea sounded. Brian liked the idea of owning his own place. The idea of his monthly housing payments going towards building up some equity in a place of his own rather than down some greedy landlord’s gullet was enticing. Maybe Marty wasn’t completely delusional after all?
~**~**~**~**~
Less than two months later, with the five figure bonus Brian had received courtesy of Howie/Harry/Hermie/Whoever signing on the dotted line for the campaign Brian had devised safely deposited in his bank account, the newest Ad Exec at Ryder Advertising was standing in front of a slightly rundown building just off Liberty Avenue with Marty’s realtor next to him and was seriously thinking about investing his hard earned money in this little bit of nirvana.
"Now, I know it doesn't look like much from the outside," Skyler Knowlton commented as he unlocked the front door of the building and ushered Brian inside. "But trust me on this, this neighborhood is ultra hot right now. It's got a downtown address that yuppies everywhere would kill for. And the price on these Lofts is ridiculously low. It's probably the best investment anywhere in the entire city right now."
Brian was actually having a hard time paying any attention whatsoever to the building's amenities that Skyler was trying to point out to him as he entered the lobby. He was far too busy admiring the amenities of the realtor himself. Brian didn't know about the neighborhood, but he could certainly confirm that the realtor was ultra hot.
The hip young realtor that Marty Ryder had hooked Brian up with was truly a beautiful man. Standing about six foot tall with dark hair, grey-green eyes, and an olive skin tone, Mr. Knowlton had a swarthy Mediterranean look to him. The well trimmed goatee sort of made him look a little piratical, in Brian's opinion. But the elegant and well-fitted Brooks Brothers suit easily countered that roguishness with a confident professionalism. Basically, from his stylish haircut to his manicured hands, and all the way down to his well polished Prada shoes, Brian approved of every little inch of this man.
"You're gonna love the space, Brian. I just know it," Skyler said again, pulling up the gate of the quaintly retro elevator with one hand while he casually rested his other on Brian's lower back to guide him into the small space.
Brian's skin tingled where the heat of that one large hand radiated through the thin cotton of his shirt. The fact that Skyler allowed that guiding hand to remain in place even after they were both safely inside the elevator was telling. So was the fact that the man stood just a shade too close, despite the fact that the elevator car was plenty large enough to accommodate the both of them. So close, that when the elevator jostled them a bit, Skyler's shoulder brushed tantalizingly against Brian's own.
Oh yeah! Brian definitely approved of Marty's taste in realtors.
As soon as they made it to the top floor of the building, Skyler escorted Brian out of the elevator and through the big metal sliding door of the unit that took up this entire floor. There really wasn't much to see. The room they were in had been completely gutted clear to the rafters. But Skyler was enthusiastic about showing Brian the features that did exist, including the big industrial sized windows, the high ceilings, the rustic metal beams and all the other trendy little details of the space. As he vividly painted a picture for Brian of what the loft would look like once it was fully remodeled, he was constantly accenting his words and gestures with a series of intimate little touches, smiles, and dark smoldering looks.
“The potential for this space is unlimited,” Skyler was saying as he paced off the area in front of the big floor to ceiling windows along the east wall. “Of course, if it were up to me, I’d leave it mostly open - no walls, except for maybe the bedroom and bathroom, and even then you could use sliding panels or something - but just keep it as unencumbered and airy as possible so you never have to feel like you’re being enclosed.” Then the handsome realtor made his way back to where Brian was standing, walking around his still body and, once he was behind Brian and not blocking the view of the apartment, moving closer and closer until he was standing well within the other man’s personal space. “So, what do you think? Can you see yourself living here . . . Playing here . . .” Skyler leaned forward so that his moist breath tickled against the taller man’s neck and whispered the last of his words into Brian’s ear, “. . . Fucking here?”
Oh, yeah! Brian could definitely see himself fucking here - in fact, unless he was very wrong, he would literally see himself fucking here in about thirty seconds.
“I don’t know. I think I’m having trouble visualizing all of that . . .” Brian replied as he spun around and trapped the sexy realtor in his arms. “Care to help me create an image of that last part at least, Mr. Knowlton?”
If the smile on that devilishly dark face could possibly get any more alluring, Brian didn’t know how. “I think I know just how to help you with that, Mr. Kinney,” the swarthy man smirked as he gracefully sank down to his knees right there in the middle of the wide open loft floor. His nimble fingers made quick work of Brian’s fly and, before Brian knew it, his slacks were puddling around his knees and the soft lips nestled within the short ticklish beard were nibbling at Brian’s already half-hard dick.
Without any hesitation at all, Skyler began to rub the shaft of Brian’s cock over his lips and chin. Brian reveled in the erotic sensation of a saliva slicked tongue as it flicked over his heated flesh, touching here and there and then concentrating on the little spot between the ridges of his head. Finally, with a happy little whimper, the kneeling man let the whole of Brian’s dick slide between his lips and into his welcoming mouth. The erotic moan of pleasure that followed surprisingly didn’t come from Brian but from Skyler, who seemed in ecstasy over the chance to get such a hearty helping of man meat into his mouth. No, Skyler didn’t just suck Brian’s cock, he was worshiping that cock. It was such a fucking turn on and so unexpected. With a grunt and a fist full of thick black hair, Brian found himself spilling down Skyler’s throat – succumbing to that worshipful petitioner and offering up a sacrament to the faithful.
“Yeah! *Whooooo* I think I can definitely see that now,” Brian offered, extending a hand down to help his newest supplicant up from his knees. “But maybe you can help me do a little more visualization over here by the windows so I can see how that will work with the view?”
“It would be a pleasure, Mr. Kinney,” the devout and worshipful estate broker replied with an impish grin as he towed Brian closer to the big bank of windows.
~**~**~**~**~
Three weeks later, Brian found himself standing in the exact same spot in the middle of the loft’s floor, now the owner of this wonderful space. He had so many ideas about what he wanted to do with it, that he didn’t know where to start. Mostly, though, he was just still so amazed that he - Brian Kinney, the kid from the wrong side of the tracks, whose own parents constantly told him that he’d never amount to anything - owned his own home at the tender age of twenty-five. He felt like it was all a dream. It was just too incredible. Too unbelievable. Too perfect.
“Well, here you go, Mr. Kinney,” Skyler jogged up to Brian, dangling the keys to the loft in front of Brian’s eyes. “Escrow is officially closed, everything is signed off and these are now yours, Brian. Congratulations!”
Brian held his palm open below the keys and watched as they dropped through the air, landing in his grasp. It felt so wonderful. It was like everything in his life was finally falling into place. He had the perfect job that was challenging and lucrative and now the perfect home that he could remodel and decorate to suit HIS tastes and needs. And, maybe, he’d even found the perfect someone to share all this perfection with?
Skyler was smiling at him with his usual rascally grin and Brian let himself echo the look. The darkly handsome man had been extremely attentive during this whole realty experience. Brian felt that there was a genuine connection between them - something beyond what he’d had before with the tricks he picked up or the relatively immature group of guys he and Mikey hung out with. Skyler was a real grown up - a professional with an intelligence that equaled Brian’s and interests that meshed well with those in Brian’s life. Brian was not only physically attracted to him but also intrigued, which was saying a lot.
They’d spent a lot of time together over the past few weeks. Starting with that first fuck the day Skyler had shown him the loft, they’d been hooking up repeatedly a couple times a week. They’d also met a few times for coffee or dinner when there was more paperwork to go over, ending up talking for hours, often without even getting around to fucking - a first for Brian. Skyler had really diverse interests; he could talk books, movies, cars, even art. Brian found himself intellectually challenged by the man and, strangely, that was one of the most attractive things about the realtor.
The bottom line was that Brian really enjoyed the man’s company and for once was looking forward to spending a lot more time together with just one man. He wanted to actually get to know someone for a change. It was the first time he’d even thought about the possibility of having some kind of serious long-term relationship with anyone since his disastrous affair back in high school with Lars. Maybe this time he’d found someone worth the effort? Someone he could trust?
The brand new homeowner stepped forward so that he could wrap his arms around the stylish and sexy realtor. “I still can’t really believe it’s mine.”
“Believe it! Now you just have to figure out what you’re going to do with it,” Skyler chuckled, his own hands straying around Brian’s waist and then lower so that they were resting right above the swell of Brian’s ass. “Did you talk to that contractor I gave your number to? He’s good and fast. You could be moving in before the end of March if you got going on this right away.”
“Yeah, I talked to the guy. He sounds competent. Thanks for sending him my way,” Brian replied, turning them both so that they could survey the bulk of the space behind them. “And I’m thinking that we should go with your ideas about keeping the space mostly open. I like the idea of leaving it as one large room with lots of uncluttered space. We could put the bathroom over in the back corner there,” Brian pointed to the northwest corner and then swept his wide open hand across the rest of that wall. “And then we could have the bedroom built here - maybe raised up a couple of steps or something to help set it off from the main living space but still open to the room. Your idea of sliding partitions would work with that too. What do you think?”
“I think it sounds perfect! With your excellent taste, It’ll end up being a showplace, Brian!” Skyler was seemingly almost as enthusiastic as Brian about the renovations.
Then Skyler broke out of the hold of Brian’s arms, walked over to where his briefcase waited near the door and pulled out a large stack of binder clipped papers. “Here are your copies of everything including the deed and mortgage and everything else under the sun,” the broker laid the pile in Brian’s hands. “That makes it all official. The place is yours, Brian. Congratulations, again.”
Brian weighed the stack in his hand, somehow pleased by how much paper there was, as if that substantiated the concept of him being a homeowner. This was all so unreal. He was on such a high at the moment and he hadn’t even needed drugs or alcohol to get there for once. If it wouldn’t peg him as a total dweeb, he’d be dancing around and singing at the top of his lungs right now.
“So, where should we go to celebrate?” Brian asked, excited to share not only this huge milestone in his life, but also the feeling of elation that was so rare for him.
Skyler looked up at Brian and seemed oddly confused. “Sorry, Brian. I’m afraid I’ve got plans already tonight,” he offered by way of explanation.
“Oh. Well, how about tomorrow then?” Brian proposed, still on such a natural high that he didn’t want to give up on his celebration even if it had to be a bit delayed. “That might be even better, you know. I’ll have talked to the contractor by then and we’ll have plans to go over. That should make the celebration even more celebratory.”
“I don’t know, Brian . . .” Skyler pulled his PDA out of the briefcase and started tapping at various icons as if he was checking his calendar, all without looking up or making any sort of eye contact with Brian.
Brian’s gut did a little flippy thing as bits of the happy elation he’d been feeling started evaporating away. Something just didn’t feel right anymore. Something about Skyler was suddenly different.
That’s when the buzzer from the main building entrance rang out a couple of times and finally distracted the realtor from his calendar. Brian was still standing there, frozen in place, and didn’t really relish the interruption. Without bothering to ask Brian’s okay, however, Skyler walked over to the intercom system, pressed the ‘talk’ button and asked who it was.
“Hey, honey. It’s me. Are you ready to go?” said a very perky female voice.
“Just finishing, Hon. Come on up,” Skyler replied, pushing the release button to open the front door and then finally turning to confront Brian.
“Sorry about that. My wife’s picking me up so we can head off to another appointment. But I think we were just about done here anyway. Right?”
Brian felt the instant freeze of Skyler’s now cold regard. It was like the entire happy ball of energy inside him had turned to a heavy weight of ice that enveloped his heart. The realtor was standing there, a meter or so away from Brian, arms crossed over his chest and his gaze pinned to Brian’s face.
“Your . . . WIFE?” was all that Brian could think to ask.
“Yeah. My wife. Her name’s Michelle. We’ve been married for five years.” Neither the tone nor the expression gave away anything as Skyler made this prodigious announcement.
Brian shook his head. He couldn’t believe that Skyler was still in the closet. The man seemed so confident and open. They’d fucked maybe a dozen times and the man had never given Brian the impression that he was at all reticent about the experience. He just couldn’t believe it.
“So, then, how exactly is this . . .” Brian waved his hand between the two of them, his gesture incorporating all that they’d been through together the past few weeks. “How is this supposed to work?”
“This? There is no THIS, Brian.” Skyler stated emphatically and without emotion. “Whatever happened between you and me over the past couple of weeks was just, you know, part of the deal. I figured you knew that. I mean, it was fine. We had an okay time and I don’t really mind a fuck or two now and then. But, I’m not a fag. I just . . . Well, I do what needs to be done to close a deal. I’m sure you understand. From what I hear, Marty says you do the same thing for him.”
Brian opened his mouth to respond but didn’t even get one word out before there was a knock on the large metal sliding door of the loft. Skyler quickly walked over and pulled it open. There, waiting on the landing outside Brian’s new loft was a pretty young brunette, nicely dressed with her hair perfectly coiffed and her makeup applied precisely - the perfect showcase wife for a busy, up-and-coming professional like Skyler Knowlton - rubbing her obviously pregnant belly.
“Hey, Honey! Perfect timing,” Skyler said with one of his bewitchingly alluring smiles as he bent over to kiss his wife in greeting. “We just finished up.”
“Wow! This place really is just as great as Sky said,” the woman exclaimed as she made her way into the space and spun around while she checked it all out. “I agree with my husband - you’ve got a wonderful deal here. Oh. Sorry to just barge in like that. I was just really excited to see this place. Sky has told me so much about it.” The personable young lady moved over toward Brian and extended her hand. “You must be Brian. I’m Michelle Knowlton. My husband has mentioned you quite a bit over the past few weeks. He was really excited to get this place sold and said you were the perfect person for this particular location. I’m really happy for you that you closed so quickly. Congratulations.”
“Um . . . Uh, yeah. Thanks,” Brian shook the proffered hand without any enthusiasm or warmth.
“Okay. Well, I think that’s all. You’ve got all the paperwork and the keys, Brian, so I’d say you’re all set,” Skyler stepped in before the ensuing silence got too awkward and took his wife by the arm, ready to guide her back towards the door. “It’s been a pleasure working with you, Brian. If you ever need anything more in the way of real estate, don’t hesitate to give me a call. You’ve got my card. Good luck with your renovations. See you around.”
“It was nice to meet you, Brian,” Michelle called over her shoulder as she was herded out of the apartment.
Brian just stood there mutely, too shocked after having been so totally blind-sided to manage to think of anything to say in reply. He didn’t even blink until Skyler and Michelle were out the door and down the stairs. How could things have gone from the heights to the dregs in such a miniscule period of time?
Who was that happy, elated man who’d been standing here making plans about his future including the gorgeous, successful professional who he’d been seeing for the past several weeks? It certainly wasn’t Brian Kinney. Brian Kinney would have known better than to open himself up to rejection and hurt like that. Brian Kinney wouldn’t let himself be duped. Used like a whore just so some wheeler-dealer could close a sale and make a few lousy bucks. Brian Kinney was too smart for that, right?
~**~**~**~**~
“Brian? Brian what the fuck are you doing? It’s only . . . It’s not even six o’clock and you’re already totally wasted?” Michael Novotny pulled up the bar stool next to his best friend and waved to the bartender for a beer while he surveyed the damage Brian had already done to several empty beers and most of a fifth of Jim Beam.
“Issss a CELEBRATION Mikey! We’re celebrating! And you’re jussss in time to join the party!” Brian slurred enthusiastically as he held up his shot glass in a toast to the new arrival.
“Uh huh . . . And what exactly are we celebrating, Brian?” Michael asked, trying to move the rest of the bottle away from Brian before he could refill his glass.
“We’re celebrating Brian Kinney’s education! He finally learned his lesson, Mikey. He finally wised up, you know. Isssss ‘bout time, don ya think?” Brian crowed before slamming back the rest of the shot he’d been waving around in the air.
“What lesson is that, Brian? You’re making no sense. Which isn’t really surprising because you’re so drunk you’re about to fall off the bar stool. When did you get here, anyway. I didn’t think we were supposed to meet until after I got off work?” Michael had to set his own beer down on the bar in order to prop Brian back up on his stool at the correct angle.
“Two things . . . Two things we learned today, Mikey. Two verrrrrrrryyy important sings . . .” Brian swivelled so that he was facing Michael, teetering on the verge of falling over for a few seconds but then catching himself at the last moment. “Firssssst, we learned AGAIN that straight people can NOT be trusted. They can’t. They’re bad, Mikey. They’re mean. We has to remember that though. We can’t forget . . .” Brian flailed around, looking for his missing bottle of bourbon while his audience was supposedly absorbing this first important lesson.
“Oh, Brian. Don’t you think that’s a little harsh? I mean, not all heteros are that bad . . .” Michael placed a light beer in Brian’s hand, hoping that would be an acceptable substitute for the hard liquor that his friend really didn’t need any more of.
“Not that bad, huh? Bullshit! Listen to me, Mikey. Are you lisssstening?” Brian focused on his friend’s face with an intent look.
“Yes, Brian. I’m listening.”
“Good, cause you need to learn this lesson too, Mikey. You need this. Or you’ll get fucked over jussssss like Brian Kinney . . . Cause it’s true, you know. There’s only two kinds of straight people in thissss world. The ones that hate you to your face . . . and the ones that hate you behind your back. You need to know that, Mikey. You do!”
“Okay, Brian. Whatever you say,” Michael put his arm around Brian’s shoulders, partly to keep him vertical but also partly to provide whatever comfort he could.
“Never trust ‘em. Never, Mikey. Never!” Brian kept repeating to himself and his audience.
“I got it, Brian. Never trust straight people,” Michael affirmed. Then, in the mistaken hope that he might be able to get Brian onto a different, and more cheerful track, Michael asked about the ‘second lesson’.
"Thassss Right! Thank you, Mikey. Almosssss forgot . . . Lesson number two! Lesson number two is easy. Isssss way easy. Just gotta ‘member NO REPEATS! Ever. No repeats. One guy, one night and thasss all. No boyfriends. No fuck buddies. No do overs. Nobody! Got it? That’s the on’y way not to get hurt, Mikey. No repeats. Don’t care how fucking hot they are or how they bat their big pretty eyes at you. Nobody gets to go back for secconsssss. Nobody. Hear me, Mikey? Nobody! Brian Kinney’s done with all of it. Done! Jusssss done.”
“I hear you, Brian. You’re done. And I think you’re also done drinking. Hopefully you won’t remember any of this tomorrow morning. Now, come on, big guy. Let’s get you home. You need to sleep this off and things will look a lot better afterwards.” Michael had already got Brian up onto his feet and was trying to edge the uncooperative drunk towards the door.
“No more. No MORE! You hear me, Mikey? No more. Not gonna even try. Not worth it. Nobody’s worth it. Can’t trust ‘em. Nobody. Rather be alone foreva . . .” Brian’s tirade continued all the way out the door of the bar.
Of course Brian Kinney wasn’t the first drunk to be led out of Woody’s spouting nonsense at the top of his lungs. Nobody really paid him any attention. It didn’t mean anything, right? Nobody noticed or even cared.
Except for the young blond man who’d been sitting on the stool next to Brian for the past few hours. The one who was now sobbing. The one who was devastated after watching yet another destructive emotional blow hit the man he cared about. The one who nobody saw and who didn’t have the power to do anything to stop the injustices he’d seen but nevertheless couldn’t stop caring. The one who loved Brian Kinney enough to defy even death in order to stay by Brian’s side and try to help him. And the one who couldn’t stop kicking himself for failing once again to protect the heart and mind of the man he loved more than anything else in the world.