Justin tucked his sketchpad into a portfolio, which he then slipped into the large carrying bag his mother had bought him for his first day at PIFA.  He felt relieved that this was his last class for the day.  It was only Monday, but he was already wishing the week was over so he might have the chance of spending another weekend with Brian.  The ad man hadn’t actually set any kind of specific date for the two of them to get together again, but Justin had high hopes it would happen soon.  He based this thought on their goodbyes Sunday night.

After spending an enjoyable afternoon with Mel, Lindsay, and Gus, Brian drove Justin and himself over to Woody’s.  There was no planned meeting with anyone in particular, but neither was surprised to find Michael, Ted, and Emmett sitting at a table, engrossed in an animated conversation.  As they approached, they clearly heard Dr. Dave’s name being mentioned.  Brian knew nothing about the man outside of the stories he had heard, mainly from Michael.  At first, Michael seemed to praise the good doctor highly, but in recent weeks he spoke far less about him.  When the name did come up, Michael seemed reticent to say much about the doc or his future with him.  Brian’s interest was immediately piqued.  He took the empty seat directly across from Michael without asking permission, which he knew was unnecessary.  Justin found a nearby seat and pulled it up to sit next to Brian. 

“Hello, boys.  Anything on the menu for tonight, before we have to turn in early, to be fresh and ready for the coming week?” Brian inquired.

“Since when do you have to turn in early on Sunday?  We all know that no matter how late you are going home or how many men you fucked for the evening’s entertainment, you always wake up fresh and ready to tackle the advertising world on Monday morning.  We’ve been asking your secret for years, but you always just shrug and give us a knowing wink,” Ted remarked.

“True,” Brian laughed.  “But, although I don’t remember it happening, apparently I turned thirty and maybe I need to slow down a little.”

“Yeah, right!” Michael shot back.  “I told you then, and I’ll repeat it… no matter how old you get, you’ll always be young and beautiful.”

“Ah, Mikey, I didn’t know you cared.”

It was Emmett’s turn to speak up.  “Yeah, right!  You know he does, and you love it.”

“Anyway, enough about me.  So, what were you hens talking about before Justin and I arrived.  I thought I heard Dr. Dave’s name mentioned.”

Michael answered for the group.  “They were pestering me, wanting to know when I was flying back to join David again.”

“And?  So when are you, Mikey?  What’s holding you back?  I’m fit as a fiddle and don’t need you looking out for my welfare anymore.  Which reminds me, I’m still waiting for the return of those drawings we were talking about earlier.”

“Yes, Michael, I’d like to see them again too.  I can’t remember which ones I left behind,” Justin told him.

“Okay, I just forgot about the drawings, but I’ll get them to you tonight if you’ll stop by before going home.  Secondly, I don’t know if I’ll fly back to join David.  He’s gotten more and more unreasonable and demanding since he learned you were out of the hospital.  And the truth is, he wasn’t very understanding even when you were still in a coma.  I don’t particularly like that side of him, and it’s made me think twice about whether I want to make a life with him or not.  I know you don’t remember this, but you warned me that he wasn’t the right kind of guy for me from the very beginning, and I think now that you were right.  After our last conversation, I’m not so sure he wants me back anyway.”

“I don’t think Deb will be too happy to hear you say that.  From what I’ve heard, she was looking forward to having a doctor for a ‘son-in-law’.

“She’ll get over it.  She always does.”

The men continued their banter for a while longer while sipping drinks and playing a couple of rounds of pool.  Eventually they decided to have dinner at the Liberty Diner before calling it a night.  All, except for Michael, had jobs or school to get to early the next morning.  Michael was still in limbo while trying to make a final decision on whether to fly out to return to Dr. Dave or remain in Pittsburgh.  Dinner was a pleasant enough affair, because they all talked about the future, rather than trying to bring up the past.  It felt like old times, even for Brian.  Once they were finished eating, they went their separate ways… Michael tagging along with Emmett and Ted, Brian leaving with Justin.  Just before separating, Michael reminded Brian to stop by Emmett’s place, so that he could return the purloined drawings, although that wasn’t quite the way he referred to them.  His comment was more on the line of… ‘now that you are ready to see them, I can give them back to you.’

Rather than driving Justin directly home before heading for Emmett’s, Brian asked him if he’d like to stop by Emmett’s place with him.  He reminded Justin that he had said he’d like to see the drawings that were taken too.  It wasn’t necessary for him to bring that up.  Justin was eager to see which ones he had left behind when leaving the loft.  He honestly couldn’t remember all of them, although he did recall the majority of sketches he had forgotten to pack when he had hurriedly prepared to leave the loft after the break-in.  He knew that quite a few of the drawings featured Brian, but certainly not all of them.  He doubted if the sketches would shake loose any memories since nothing else had worked, but it was worth a try to find out.  If they did, Justin wanted to be there when it happened. 

Brian and Justin pulled up to Emmett’s apartment house only minutes after Ted dropped Emmett and Michael at the front door, and left for his own place not far away.  They took the stairs to Emmett’s floor, anticipation making their movements hurried.  The door was answered immediately by Michael.  He ushered the couple into the living area, where Emmett was picking up pieces of clothing that had been carelessly discarded before they went out for the evening.  Michael knew exactly what Brian was there for, so he excused himself and quickly left the room.  He returned a few minutes later with a large brown folder with its flap secured by a rubber band.  He handed it to Brian, then sat on the couch in the space just cleared off by Emmett, who had judiciously removed himself from the scene by heading for his bedroom. 

“Are all of the sketches inside the folder, Mikey?”

“Of course,” he answered, his tone sounding slightly hurt at the suggestion that he would hold anything back.

“Good!  And thanks for taking such good care of them, although I’m not quite sure why you thought it was necessary to remove them from the loft.  You know, it’s always possible that seeing them when I first returned home would have helped my recovery, rather than caused me any emotional stress.  But I guess you hadn’t thought it through when you ‘borrowed’ them.”

Michael had the decency to look embarrassed.  He knew when Brian was chastising him, even when he was trying to make it sound like he was only showing his appreciation.

“You’re right… of course, you’re right.  Like I told you earlier, I had every intention of returning them once you got to know who Justin was, and would appreciate why you had the drawings.  I just didn’t realize how quickly you two would connect, and start to get to know each other again, or I would have said something earlier.”

“That’s okay, Michael.  We have them now,” Justin interjected. 

“Yes, and now we have to go.  Tomorrow’s going to be a busy day.  We’ll see you and the boys later.”

For the first time Michael felt relieved that Brian wanted to leave so quickly.  He walked Brian and Justin to the door and locked it behind them.  He breathed a sigh of relief.  Even at the time that he took the sketches, he had developed second thoughts but then gave in to his first impulse.  Now he wished he had listened to his conscience and left them untouched.  He knew Brian wouldn’t hold taking them against him, but he wouldn’t forget either.  Brian never forgot.  As long as Brian forgave him for his misguided decision, Michael would have to be satisfied.  Now he found himself wondering just what kind of effect seeing all the sketches would have on Brian, especially the most intimate one. 

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

Brian pulled to the front of Jennifer’s house, put his jeep in park, and turned to Justin.  He reached for the folder that held all the sketches that Michael had taken from the loft, which Justin held in his lap.  When they first settled in the jeep, Brian told Justin he could open the folder and check what was inside while he was driven to his mom’s place, but he said he wanted to wait for Brian.  Now he handed them over.  A shadow crossed his face as he did so.  Justin felt a slight trepidation as to how Brian would feel about his work.  Last year’s Brian had nothing but praise for his work, but that didn’t necessarily mean that he would still feel the same way.  Justin wondered if he would find it too amateurish.  Maybe he would wonder why in the world he had kept the sketches around after Justin moved out of the loft. 

Brian interrupted his train of thought.  “Shall we have a look at what you forgot to take with you when you left me to move in with Debbie?”

“I didn’t leave you to move in with Debbie,” Justin shot back defensively.  “You kicked me out because I was forgetful and let your place get robbed.”

“Oh yes, I remember the story,” he replied, sounding amused at Justin’s reaction.  “Anyway, why don’t we take a look before you go in and see if anything hints at a memory?”

Justin nodded and watched as Brian slipped the rubber band off, and opened the flap to expose a large sheaf of papers inside.  He slid them out and set the folder aside.  Justin leaned in closer so he could see each sketch as Brian looked them over under the overhead light.  There were far more sketches than Justin remembered working on while at Brian’s place.  Most of them were still-lifes of different areas in Brian’s loft.  Brian was extremely impressed by the detailed work of even the simplest of subjects.  He immediately knew why everyone had been telling him that Justin had a great future in the art world if he continued to pursue it.  Justin smiled as Brian gave out sounds of obvious approval with each new sketch.  Finally, he reached a sketch of himself where he was sitting at the table in his robe, eating breakfast.  The drawing was so realistic that Brian could almost smell the toast and coffee in the picture. 

Brian looked up.  “Damn, Justin, you really ARE talented.  They weren’t shitting me.” 

Justin’s smile grew broader.  This was even better than he had hoped for.  He watched Brian’s face as he flipped to the next page.  He heard Brian gasp.  A look of surprise filled his face.  Justin looked down at the page in Brian’s hands to see what had caused such a reaction.  And there it was!  The one sketch Justin had loved creating the most, but thought was lost to him when it sold at the Gay and Lesbian Center Art Show.  Brian had never confessed to buying the sketch.  Justin couldn’t recall ever seeing it again after leaving the Center. 

Brian looked up at Justin again.  “When did you draw this one?”

Justin blushed.  “Early on.  I woke up long before you one morning when you let me stay over and you looked so… so…”

“Sexy?”

“Beautiful!  I couldn’t resist.  But I didn’t leave that one behind.  I didn’t even know you had it.  I used it in my display at the art show they had at the Gay and Lesbian Center, and they told me later that someone bought it anonymously.  I never imagined it was you.”

Brian looked thoughtful, his brows furrowed as he tried to imagine what possessed him to buy the sketch secretly.  But the more he stared at it, the more he realized that it wasn’t narcissism that drove him to make the purchase.  It was the quality of the drawing.  He must have been just as impressed by Justin’s talent then as he was now.  Whether he bought the sketch as an investment for the future, or simply as a souvenir of his time with Justin… it didn’t matter.  He was just glad he had done so.  He ran his fingers through his hair as he contemplated what to do next.  Then he made his decision.

“Look, Justin, in all fairness these are your sketches and you should have them back.  That is, of course, except for this one (holding up the sketch of himself naked).  I bought it so I must have had a good reason and I think I’ll keep it.”

“I appreciate it, Brian.”

“No, wait!  I have a better idea.  Why don’t we get together again at my place, and together we can comb the loft from top to bottom to see if Michael missed any of them?  That way we can keep them all together, at least for now.”

“I uhhh, yeah, I’d like that,” Justin agreed. 

“Then it’s a date.  I’ll call you later and we’ll set up a time that works for both of us.”

Justin’s smile could have lit up the interior of the jeep.  As if by habit, he leaned over and gave Brian a quick kiss before exiting the vehicle.  With the door shut, he poked his head in the window.  “Later,” he grinned.

“Later,” Brian shot back.

As Brian drove away, Justin prayed it wouldn’t be too much later before he saw Brian again.  It was going to be a long week otherwise.

To be continued……………