Chapter 48 - Safety Dance. (Sunday, July 31st & Monday, August 1st).

Stuffed full of Indian food and giddy after too much Indian Bollywood singing and dancing, Brian and Justin eventually made their way up to bed later that evening, leaving Paal and Campbell still noodling on the couch with Malik looking on disapprovingly. They both had their hands full of all the booty they’d garnered in the Sexavenger Hunt. Brian was more excited about having a phone now than all the sex toys he’d won. But the tantalized teen was still bubbling over with happiness and raving about his new toys.

"Where the hell am I going to put all this stuff," Justin asked as he threw down his arm load of fun onto the bed. "I mean, just how many dildos does a Gay Boy need?"

"That depends on who you ask, Sunshine," Brian replied. "If you ask Ted, then he'll tell you that you should have one dildo for every year of your life. At least that's what he does. It’s become his standard birthday gift."

"Really?" Justin started putting all the various toys away as best he could in the now rather full drawer of his bedside table. "That could end up being a lot of dildos."

"Well, yeah, but they never go bad," Brian teased as he gathered up his smaller pile of toys and started to put them away as well.

"So, you want to try a few of these out tonight," Justin offered holding up one particularly twisty and ridged Pyrex dildo.

Brian paused with his back still turned towards the playful blond boy. He took a deep breath, in through his nose and out through his mouth, but even that didn't really calm him much. He realized he was clenching his hands into fists at his sides and had been nervously chewing at the flesh on the inside of his bottom lip. He felt a bit ridiculous getting this freaked out over nothing, but, well . . . "No. Maybe another night." he answered eventually.

"Are you sure? I've never tried those beads. You could educate me a little." Justin's voice sounded very playful as he made this proposition.

"I was thinking maybe we might try just this instead," Brian offered, holding up a small foil condom packet in his right hand as he turned around and finally looked into Justin's bright blue eyes.

"OK. Not your usual crazy adventurous self, but if that's what you want . . . Just tell me where you want me," Justin said as he flopped down, sprawling out on top of the big bed.

Brian sank down till his knees hit the edge of the bed and then worked his way slowly, on hands and knees, crawling up to where Justin was waiting for him. As soon as he was close enough, Brian straddled Justin's legs, ran his hands up and over the lean pale ivory skin along Justin's flanks and arms, and didn't stop until his larger hands were locked around the boy's thin wrists. Then, sliding his own long legs downward, he draped himself over the entire length of the supple young body. With their heads now so close together, it was easy enough for Brian to whisper his next words directly into the small shell-like ear.

"What if I said I wanted you . . . inside me?"

At Brian's unexpected words, Justin's eyes got huge and round and his eyebrows shot up almost to his hairline, but he didn't SAY anything that might betray his surprise. The boy looked like he was going to try and say something, opening and then closing his mouth once, but apparently he couldn't figure out exactly what he wanted to say. The shock seemed to wear off pretty quickly though. Within a matter of just a few seconds, the look of confusion had changed to one of shy excitement. Eventually the pretty pink lips turned up at the corners and the sexy young man looked up at Brian from underneath his long dark blond lashes, desire now the primary emotion showing on his open and radiant face.

"You're sure about this?" Justin whispered his reply.

"Fuck no! But . . . better now than on Tuesday, right?" Brian forced a thin smile even though he could feel his heart beating so hard it was a miracle it hadn't pounded right out of his chest. "Besides, I figured I should probably check out this hot stud Twinkie that everyone else around here has been talking about. They all seem pretty impressed when they're being fucked by you. I don't want to miss out." Brian let go of one of Justin's wrists, grabbed the condom packet he'd left on the bed beside him and tentatively waved it about an inch away from the boy's face. "So, what do you say Mr. Taylor? Would you do me the honor of fucking my brains out?"

The lusty lad smirked up at the older man hovering above him, reached out, grabbed the condom and, at the same time, licked his lips seductively. "It would be my pleasure, Mr. Kinney."

With his signature sexy smirk in place, Brian secured his arms around the slender shoulders of his lover, and abruptly rolled them both over until Justin was the one on top. Justin didn't move right away, though. He merely lay there, stretched out, his body and Brian's touching all along their lengths, smiling down enigmatically at the handsome brunet.

Brian looked up and his eyes locked with Justin's. The older man who had carefully shielded his heart for so many years wasn't even really sure what he was seeing. The man he was looking up at wasn't just some inexperienced, eighteen-year-old, recently de-virginized twink. The look in those cerulean blue eyes showed something that Brian recognized instinctively but couldn't really name. There was an inherent maturity, far beyond this kid's physical years, along with an honest openness and trust that Brian had rarely seen in his life. And there was something else too. A light. A sparkle. A glint that betokened some emotion that Brian felt he should recognize. He hoped that maybe it was that love thing Justin had been whispering about the other night. The thing that Brian hadn't yet figured out, but was pretty sure he wanted.

Justin, meanwhile, was completely sure about what he was seeing. He knew he was gazing down at the biggest and best prize he'd won that day. He knew exactly what he felt for this incredibly complex and slightly damaged man. And he knew that he would do whatever it took to help Brian over this hurdle, or any other obstacle that dared to get in his man's way.

With an even bigger grin on his face than before, Justin gripped a corner of the condom packet between his teeth and quickly tore it open. Brian inhaled nervously and then made as if to push Justin off him so he could roll over into his stomach. Justin seized Brian's wrist, halting the movement, and shook his head.

"No. It'll be better if you can see me. I want you to be able to look in my eyes. So you'll know that I'm the one there," Justin whispered and Brian, after thinking briefly, nodded his acquiescence.

With a little gentle maneuvering, Justin had Brian's long, lusciously lean legs spread wide and was kneeling between them with the condom already rolled on. "I think this is where I'm supposed to say, 'It's going to be all right, kid. You'll see'. And then I'm pretty sure I add something like, 'Open your eyes, look at me and just relax'." Justin teased, trying to relieve the tension as he seized a lube bottle and dispensed a large dollop into his palm.

“No fair stealing my lines, Sunshine,” Brian joked half-heartedly and tried to make himself relax.

“At least I only steal from the best,” Justin replied as he delicately pushed one finger inside Brian’s tightly puckered little hole.

Justin thought about trying to go slow and take his time through the prep stage, but then changed his mind. This wasn’t the part that would cause problems. Brian had already worked through most of his fears about the physical act of penetration. Since that first night when they’d played with the big dildo, he and Brian had experimented several more times and it had always been fine. No, Brian’s issues weren’t with that. Brian’s only issue was still all about giving up control and trusting that the person he was letting in was someone that wasn’t going to hurt him again.

So, since there was no reason to delay things, Justin hurried on but was still careful as he stretched and readied Brian for the main event. Justin wanted to make Brian feel loved and cherished but didn't want him to feel like Justin was treating him like a fragile little flower. Not only would Brian hate that, but it would defeat the purpose of trying to establish a certain degree of trust. Brian wasn’t the type to tolerate coddling or overt sympathy. That would drive him away as fast as anything. It was best to just plow on, so Justin did.

Once Brian was a little more relaxed and stretched, Justin pulled the leanly muscled calves up, resting them on his shoulders. Brian looked a little spooked at this abrupt move, but didn’t resist. Justin was so unused to this passive Brian that he almost backtracked. Maybe he really was moving too fast? The bold, assertive Brian he’d grown used to was almost entirely missing right then and it was unsettling.

“I’m not going to break, Sunshine,” Brian prodded when Justin had hesitated a little too long. “If you’re planning on fucking me, you actually have to move . . . You know, insert prick ‘A’ into hole ‘B’? I could get you an instruction manual if you think you need one.”

The return of Brian’s sarcastic snark restored Justin’s confidence more than anything else. With a little snort of humor, Justin followed his lover’s excellent advice and promptly inserted his Prick A into the appropriate slot. Brian hissed quietly at the initial burn but that was all. And, while it HAD been Brian’s comment that moved them forward, he didn’t take any other action or respond to Justin in any other way. It was like he was just waiting to see what would happen. Like he was closed off or disconnected. And, while Justin realized that was simply another of Brian’s defense mechanisms, it wasn’t going to help Brian relax and enjoy this experience.

It was time to reconnect.

With one mammoth plunge, Justin sank the entire length of his shaft deep into Brian’s core. He wasn’t exactly gentle, but he knew he’d prepped his lover well enough that there wouldn’t be any damage. It should definitely wake him up a bit, though.

“Nope. Don’t think I need a manual,” Justin said, holding on tightly to Brian’s shoulders and pausing briefly as his partner took a sharp lungful of air, trying to adjust to the brusque entry. “I think I’ve got this part covered. You’re a good teacher, you know, and I’m a really fast learner. Don’t you think?” With the word ‘think’ Justin pulled out a few inches and then immediately slammed back in, firmly.

“Gahhh,” Brian replied, clearly no longer disconnected, as his fists tangled in the bedsheets and he gasped for breath.

Justin took Brian’s inarticulate response as tacit agreement that he was doing his part at least adequately. He quickly ramped up his pace, smoothly plowing into Brian’s tight ass over and over again. Without losing a beat, Justin managed to hoist Brian’s legs up a bit higher on his shoulders and almost instantly found that the new angle afforded him a direct shot at that deep-seated, sensitive, bundle of nerves that, if tapped just right, made being a gay man one of the most pleasurable experiences on earth.

Unfortunately, Justin was so focused on creating the sweetest love making experience he possibly could for his anxious lover, he wasn’t really paying attention to Brian’s reactions.

“Stop! Just . . . please . . .” Brian’s panicky voice cut through Justin’s preoccupation. “I . . . I can’t . . . Oh, oh, oh . . . Please stop.”

When he finally did become aware of what was happening, Justin immediately refocused on  Brian and was shocked by the change he found. By this point, Brian’s eyes had drifted closed and his head was thrown back against the pillows. His mouth was open and his breath was coming in short, shallow, irregular gasps with long unpredictable pauses in between bursts of rapid panting. Justin could see that Brian’s body had tensed up to an uncomfortable degree and he was sweating and trembling at the same time. This was clearly not a good sign. He’d wanted to goad Brian into feeling something, but he hadn’t meant to throw him into a full blown panic attack.

Justin froze. He let Brian’s legs fall to the sides and reached up to stroke the side of the man’s face, wiping away a heavy sheen of sweat. Bending forward, Justin kissed Brian’s face softly, over and over again, using the touch of his lips to connect and hopefully assuage the panic.

“Brian. Brian! Open your eyes, Brian. Look at me,” Justin insisted forcefully. When he finally managed to comply, the hazel eyes had turned a darker brown and the pupils were blown wide and black. Brian’s gaze was unfocused, darting around and looking past Justin’s shoulder rather than directly at him. “Look at me, Brian. It’s okay. It’s just me. It’s just me. It’s just me,” Justin spoke quietly, trying to calm his skittish lover. Slowly the vacant eyes centered on Justin’s face.  “Shhhhh. I’ve got you, Brian. I would never let you be hurt.”  

“Just . . . Justin?” Brian finally seemed to have recognized his surroundings and the man who was holding onto him - who was inside him - and who was now looking down into his face with such palpable concern.

“Yeah, It’s me. I’m here and you’re safe,” Justin replied trying to keep his voice steady even though his own heart was beating almost as hard as Brian’s was. “Do you need me to stop? We don’t have to do this, you know.”

“No! Don’t . . .” Brian blew out an agitated breath and blinked several times to clear his vision until he managed to zero in on the face that he wanted to see rather than the faces that were haunting him. “I want this, Justin. I want it . . . I want it with you.”  He shook his head as if to clear it and then succeeded in generating a weak smile. “Please. Don’t stop. Just give me a minute . . .”

Justin was awed by the show of strength he witnessed as Brian gathered himself together. The young man made sure he kept touching Brian’s face and kissing him on the lips, the neck, the cheek . . . anywhere he could reach, just so that Brian knew he was still there. His hands were threaded through the soft, baby-fine auburn hair, cupping Brian’s face and forcing his focus to stay in the moment. And it seemed to work. Slowly, gradually, heartbeat by heartbeat, Brian fought off the angry shades of a violent past and managed to calm himself using the loving concern in Justin’s eyes to ground him.

Justin’s right hand slid down the side of the stubble-rough cheek until his thumb could caress the slightly chapped, dark cherry lips. Brian’s left hand drifted upward, his larger hand covering and encompassing Justin’s slender, more nimble digits until their fingers threaded together. That strong grip was the most comforting thing Brian could imagine. It was the secure base he’d needed to finally move forward. It was the very catalyst he needed to propel him through the pain and fear and on into the blissful future that was awaiting him with this amazing, caring man . . . With Justin.

“Ready?” Justin asked, smiling down on him with renewed hope and a glint of pride.

“Yeah . . . I think . . . I think I AM.”

“Do you know that you are so fucking BEAUTIFUL you take my breath away, Brian?” Justin couldn’t stop himself from gushing just a little, no matter how much he tried to rein in his emotions in deference to his lover’s touchy sensibilities.

And for once Brian resisted the urge for a snarky comeback. He merely smiled with an embarrassed and bashful little curl to his lovely lips, which then folded inward as if to hide his pleasure at the compliment, as he squeezed Justin’s hand. Of course, the pressure applied to his hand was nothing compared to the squeeze Justin felt around his heart at that pivotal moment. If it was possible to fall even more in love with this enigmatic man, then Justin would have done it right then.

“Well, that being said, and even though you do make a very comfy couch, I can’t just lie here all night with my dick happily twitching away inside you, can I? What do you say I take a stab at demonstrating for you what an amazing teacher you really were?” Justin teased lightly, wiggling his hips a little to make his point. “Only . . . don’t close your eyes, okay? I want you to stay HERE with ME. You’re mine for tonight. I’m the only one here, remember?” Justin waited until Brian nodded and then once again began to move his hips in a gentle rhythm that quickly renewed their flagging libidos.

After that, Brian’s gaze didn’t drift even once from Justin’s face. It was as if he physically couldn’t look away. He simply fixed all his attention on the overwhelming trust and beauty he saw reflected in the bright sapphire eyes and his mind was able to stay in the present. With Justin. Enveloped in the protective cocoon of his protege’s arms, which he somehow knew would always keep him safe and secure.

And that was all Brian needed to finally let himself go. To let himself actually enjoy the fact that this beautiful blond boy was now pummelling his ass with a joyful abandon. He wasn’t wrong about the boy’s skills either - even he was impressed at the way the neophyte managed to wield the big spongy head of his cock so that it almost unerringly hit Brian’s prostate on every stroke. But, more than the vibrations in his ass, it was the sheer delight and passion that shown through in the big blue eyes that made Brian so hard he thought his dick would explode before he could come. In less time than it took to get them started, Brian found himself teetering on the edge of the most meteoric orgasm that he’d ever experienced.

Justin only had to barely touch the flaming hot skin on Brian’s dick once before he was shattered by the electrical storm wave that blasted out of his core and caused his whole body to convulse with pleasure. The groaning boy followed a heartbeat later, his dick pulsing so strongly inside Brian that he could feel the beat of Justin’s blood echoing his own. And then it was just a matter of white, hot streams of fluids, panting and sweating and hands and lips grappling to hold on through the gentle shock waves that slowly rocked them back to their senses.

“Sunshine?,” Brian whispered when they were lying, still entwined in each other’s arms a few minutes later, Brian’s head tucked up under Justin’s chin in a strange but somehow fitting reversal of their normal roles. “I might be an amazing teacher, but I don’t think you learned all that from me. I . . . I don’t even know what the fuck that was . . .” His arms clutched even tighter to Justin’s waist as he struggled to find words he could comprehend. “You’re the only one who ever made me feel . . . I feel . . .” Brian’s voice got even quieter, to the point that Justin felt the rest of his statement in the vibrations against his chest more than heard the words with his ears. “I feel safe here.”

Justin was too overwhelmed to reply. He had to blink hard to hold back the tears that would only embarrass the reticent man held in his embrace. There would be time for more eloquent declarations later. But the simple declaration that Brian had just offered him meant more to Justin than any grandiose, over-the-top declaration of romantic love he could ever hope for.

Brian was lounging on the patio Monday morning enjoying a bit of sun before the day got too hot to bear when Justin hopped out of the pool and came trotting up to join him.

"Hey, Beautiful," Justin greeted as he shook the water from his hair.

Brian felt the corners of his lips curling into a shy smile at the compliment and tried to stop himself. He couldn't do it though. He felt too happy. Actually happy - in a way that he didn't think he'd ever experienced before. And, yes, he probably WAS turning into a lesbian but didn't really care anymore.

Justin climbed onto the lounge chair with Brian and laid with his back against Brian's chest. Brian felt the cool dampness of the boy's just-out-of-the-pool skin against his own. He pulled the boy's hips tighter up against the V of his crotch, encircled the slighter frame with his arms, closed his eyes and just reveled in the feeling of this one happy moment.

"Hey, guys. You'll never guess what I just saw," Malik came jogging up right then, interrupting the peaceful moment and throwing himself down in the next lounger. "Paal and his Dom Daddy just snuck off around the corner towards that spot behind the big oak where the cameras don't reach. What do you think they've got planned?" Malik wagged his brows suggestively.

"The way those two have been acting, it's probably something really decadent, like holding hands and maybe even kissing," Brian teased, tickling Justin's bare flank just for the pleasure of hearing that contagious boyish giggle one more time.

"Stop, Brian. Stop!" Justin squirmed and laughed, trying to get out of Brian's grip and away from the tickling fingers.

"Come on, Cupcake. I’m bored," Mal interrupted, slightly peeved by the playfully petting pair. “Let’s go ‘accidentally’ find them so we can tease the crap out of Paal later!”

“You’re even a bigger brat than this one,” Brian shook his head at Mal but finally let Justin free himself from his entrapment.

“You love that I’m a brat, Brian,” Justin declared as he crawled off the lounger and rose to his feet. “It’s because I remind you of yourself when you were my age . . . back in the Stone Ages,” Justin joked and stuck his tongue out at Brian, running off before the butt of his joke could throw the bottle of sunscreen at him.

“Annoying little twat,” Brian muttered to himself as he tried, one more time, unsuccessfully, to wipe the silly grin off his face.

While the boys were off playing tricks on Paal, Brian thought he’d make use of the cell phone he found in yesterday’s Sexavenger Hunt. He really wanted to see if Gus was able to talk on the phone yet - or at least babble into the phone. He picked it up off the little glass table next to the lounge chair and dialed Lindsey’s number.

“Hello?” Lindsey obviously didn’t recognize the unfamiliar phone number.

“Hey, Lindz! Guess who?”

“Brian? Wow! I didn’t expect to be hearing from you for at least another month. How come you’re able to call? Are you still in the game?” Lindsey’s questions were shot off so rapidly Brian didn’t have a chance to answer until she had to pause for breath.

“Of course I’m still in the game. I’m not leaving without that money,” Brian reasserted. “I just got a phone as one of the rewards from yesterday’s Challenge. I thought I’d use my first phone call to call my Sonny Boy and see if Gus wanted to babble at his old man.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, Bri. I already dropped Gus off at the sitter’s for the day. I’m meeting with Emmett at the Diner to go over the menu for the party he’s planning at the Gallery next month,” Brian could hear a commotion going on in the background - it was loud enough to almost drown out Lindsey’s voice at times. “I could call you back this afternoon after I pick him up, though . . . Michael, stop . . .  Michael!”

“I said, Give Me That Phone! I NEED to talk to Brian,” Michael’s petulant voice overrode Lindsey’s and Brian groaned aloud at the prospect of having to talk to his, by now, very pissed off Best Friend. “Brian! What the fuck is going on! I’ve been trying to contact you for WEEKS now. Are you even getting my emails? Why haven’t you written back? And what the hell is going on at that place? I DON’T like what I’m seeing, Brian. I’ve been trying to tell Ted that he needs to get you out of there - that you’re not acting like yourself and that I was worried about you - but he’s been a total ass about things and said he wouldn’t even pass along my messages to you. What the FUCK is going on, Brian?”

“Calm the fuck down, Mikey,” Brian yelled into the phone, finally stopping the incessant tirade. “I’m just fine. I haven’t answered your emails because I didn’t want to. They were fucking annoying me - you’re annoying me - and so I simply chose to ignore them. There’s nothing ‘Going On’ here - or at least nothing out of the ordinary - so you can just unwad your panties and take a chill pill.”

“I will NOT just calm down, Brian. You can’t just blow me off like this. I’ve been watching the show and I KNOW what’s going on . . .” In the background Brian heard the ringing sound of the bell over the Diner’s front door and then all the background noises abruptly died down - meaning that Mikey must have gone outside to continue this conversation in ‘private’. “Brian, I saw what that kid’s been doing to you . . . I can’t believe you would let him . . .  I mean, maybe you didn’t have a choice or something, what with all the stupid rules of Ted’s stupid game, but . . . Brian, you’re a TOP! Why would you let him do all those things to you? I mean, last night and all . . .”

“Fuck, Mikey! Don’t you have anything better to do than watch me fucking all day and all night?” Brian vented his frustration into the cell phone. “Get a fucking life already! What I do, who I fuck . . . or who I let fuck ME . . . is none of your damned business!”

“Of course it’s my business, Brian,” Michael’s voice was so loud that Brian could hear it even when he held the phone a foot away from his ear. “You’re my Best Friend! I know you’ve got your reasons why you only Top - even though you’ve never told me exactly what they are - and just because you’re in this idiotic game, I don’t think you should let yourself be manipulated into doing shit that’s going to hurt you. I won’t just stand by and watch while some scheming, slutty Twink practically rapes you!”

“That’s NOT what happened, Mikey. Justin would never . . . You don’t understand . . . Mikey. Mikey! MICHAEL!” Brian tried to out yell the ceaselessly berating voice but it seemed that Michael was on a roll and not listening to anything but his own ranting. Finally, getting so fed up that he no longer cared about trying to explain rationally, Brian screamed into the phone, “Fuck you, Michael Novotny! You have no fucking idea what the hell you’re talking about!” Brian tossed the phone, without even disconnecting the call, onto the lounger and walked away, his shoulders slumped and his head drooping, the easy, upbeat mood of the morning ruined.

Justin, who’d come back from the foray to heckle Paal, had only witnessed the end of this scene. He was standing a good three meters behind Brian and, even at that distance, could hear the angry, derogatory tone of the words coming through the small cell phone’s speakers. He didn’t know what was going on or who was on that phone, but it was clear that whoever it was had caused Brian substantial distress. The sight of Brian virtually giving up like that, his wordless dejection as the man walked back towards the Residence, caused Justin an almost physical pain. His heart clenched. He felt an unreasoning fury wash over him and he wouldn’t have been able to stop himself even if he’d wanted to.

Picking up the cell phone, Justin lifted it to his ear. The squawking, derisive, yelling on the other end hadn’t let up at all - whoever it was probably hadn’t even paused long enough to realize that Brian was gone. “. . . You can’t just let him do this to you, Brian. He’s just a fucking snot-nosed twink. You don’t fucking need him harassing you like that. I don’t know what the fuck kind of lies he’s been telling you or how he’s manipulating you into doing all that shit, but you shouldn’t listen to him. Why don’t you tell him off already? You don’t need him screwing with your head. I don’t know why you entered Ted’s stupid game anyway - you already make great money. Is it really worth all this shit? And you should hear what people are saying. When you finally get back here your reputation’s going to be fucking ruined. I’ve been TRYING to get ahold of you to tell you what’s going on, you fucking Asshole, but since you’ve been ignoring my emails, I should just let them trash you. You’re really a fucking jerk sometimes, Brian. I’m only trying to look out for you. I mean, everyone thinks you’ve gone soft or something. They’re calling you a Chickenhawk and laughing at the big Stud who’s letting himself be topped by the jailbait . . .”

“WHO THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU ARE SPOUTING THIS SHIT TO BRIAN!” Justin screamed into the phone, either his tone, the volume or the unfamiliar voice finally getting the speaker’s attention.

“I’m Brian’s Best Friend. Who the fuck is this?”

“This is the snot-nosed twink,” Justin replied with icy coolness, his voice dropping down to a quiet but menacing hiss. “And after listening to the shit you’ve been spewing, I think YOU’RE the one who’s fucking around, manipulating and harassing Brian - not me. How dare you fucking talk to him like that? And you call yourself his ‘Best Friend’? No wonder he’s so fucked up if that’s the kind of friends he has.” Michael started to protest, but Justin simply kept right on talking over him, not letting the jackass get in a word edgewise. “If you were as concerned about Brian as you say you are, you wouldn’t be calling him an ‘Asshole’ or a ‘Jerk’. You’d be supporting his choices, not trying to talk him into quitting the game and giving up on his dreams. And you certainly wouldn’t be more worried about his fucking reputation as a stud than about listening to what he was trying to tell you. With friends like you, he doesn’t need enemies. And he doesn’t need your crap cutting him down and undermining him. Thank fuck you’re out there and not in here fucking with his mind.”

“Who do you think you are, you conniving little gold-digger . . .” Michael’s ranting managed to break in once again, but not for long.

“I think I’m the guy who’s got Brian’s back. I’m the one who’s listening to him, helping him get through a pile of shit that’s been dragging him down for years and who actually cares about what BRIAN wants. I’m not the one calling him names and talking shit at him,” Justin fumed, so irate now that he was having a hard time keeping his voice down, even though he’d been struggling to try and keep this conversation as private as possible. “Well, Brian’s got me now. And I’m not going to let you, or anyone else, drag him down. Best Friend or not. So, just you watch your ass, Mr. Best Friend, cause when I get out of here I’ll take you down if you ever - EVER - hurt Brian again the way you just did with this call. You hear me, Motherfucker?” And completely ignoring the ongoing screeching, Justin disconnected the call.

When the phone immediately rang again, Justin tapped at the phone screen a couple of times and then smiled with satisfaction when he managed to block the caller’s number. “That should take care of Mr. Best Friend for awhile. No wonder he doesn’t feel safe if that’s what his FRIENDS are like. Well, fuck them. You’re mine now, Brian, and I plan to keep you safe,” Justin muttered and switched the phone off before heading inside to try to find Brian. He wasn’t about to let this minor blip ruin their day off.

“What the fuck was all that about?” Mal intercepted him before Justin made it into the house. “I could hear you yelling all the way across the yard.”

“Nothing much. Just a little pest control problem - one of Brian’s friends giving him shit,” Justin didn’t want to get into the whole thing right then, but seeing Mal did give him an idea about just how he could restore the happy mood of the morning. “You wanna help me with something, though? I was thinking, I could go find that new bottle of massage oil I got yesterday and you could give me a lesson in Swedish Massage with Brian as our test subject?”

“What’s in it for me?” Mal asked teasingly.

“Well . . . How about, when we’re done, I let you blow Brian while I fuck you till you scream?” Justin offered.

Malik’s face broke out into a wide, toothy smile. “Sounds good to me. Lead me to your man, Man.” and the two twinks ran off to find the Man.