Almost But Not Quite

Chapter 3





Late Fall 2000

Justin walked down the hall at St. James Academy. He saw the group of jocks up ahead and he hesitated in his stride. He was sure they all suspected he was gay. Just because he was didn't mean that he was ready to admit it to everyone. It was bad enough to be called a fag, but so much worse when he had never had any of the benefits of the name. If he had actually experienced gay sex, he might not have minded the name calling.

After his aborted trip to Liberty Avenue, Justin decided that he would wait before attempting to lose his virginity another time. He still felt that Brian had been the one for him. He had pondered the chances of going back to Liberty Avenue and finding his dream man once again. Some part of him knew that that was highly unlikely, and if truth be told, he was a little afraid to try. He wasn't sure why, but he had an overwhelming feeling that he wasn't supposed to find anyone else on Liberty Avenue. That was reserved for him and his Brian. If it never happened again, then so be it. He would find someone else in another place and time. But he wouldn't find the man for him on Liberty Avenue, unless it was Brian.

Justin often thought about Brian. He could easily picture those gold flecked eyes that had stared into his for an all too brief moment. He would get hard at the thought. He longed to be pulled into Brian's arms. He could almost taste those luscious lips. There were many nights that he jerked off to the memory of his fleeting encounter with Brian, and the imagined aftermath, as he conjured up their possible activities in his mind.

He had sketchbooks full of Brian's face and body and eyes and hands, and other parts. He had committed that moment under the streetlamp to memory. He would never forget it, and if it did start to fade, he had all his sketches to remind him of what he had seen and felt and experienced, and also lost that night.

Justin continued down the hall. He sucked in a deep breath and braced himself as he neared the jocks. They glanced at him and whispered something, but he hurried past, and they didn't interfere with him. He went through the front doors and outside. Daphne was sitting on their favorite ledge eating some kind of wrap. He went over and sat down beside her.

"Want some?" she asked.

He shook his head as he took out his sketchbook. He flipped to a new page and started to draw Brian's eyes. Daphne recognized the eyes immediately. She had seen Justin draw them so many times since his encounter with the infamous Brian on Liberty Avenue. She wished her friend would find someone his own age to have sex with and forget about this mystery man who had abandoned Justin and had gone away with his friends.

*****

Brian sat in a meeting with Tweedledum and Tweedledee, otherwise known as Bob and Brad at the Ryder Advertising Agency. They were about to show Brian their latest attempt at good advertising. They had been asked to come up with a concept for selling a butt ugly shoe that Brian had not wanted to deal with himself.

Brad, or Bob, one of them, did it matter, had been telling Brian that he would love their latest idea for selling Silverman's hideous shoes. That was when someone Brian had never seen before chose that moment to stick his head into Brian's office. Brian glanced up and saw a not unattractive young man. He felt his cock stir in his pants. His gaydar kicked in, as he noted the tasty morsel standing in front of him. Then common sense took hold. Better not to mix sex with work at the office. Besides, the guy wasn't that great, just fresh meat, which was becoming harder and harder for Brian to find. He had fucked most of gay Pittsburgh, and his no repeats policy, was seriously beginning to limit his choices.

"I'm looking for the Silverman Shoe meeting," the young man said.

"You found it."

"Mr. Ryder asked me to sit in. I'm Kip Thomas."

"Sit yourself down, Kip Thomas," Brian said, deciding that this guy could stay. It might prove interesting. Brad and Bob looked pissed. That made Brian all the more sure that he wanted to keep this Kip Thomas around.

Brad or Bob started their pitch. It was fucking awful. You couldn't even see the fucking shoe in their ad. How were you supposed to sell something that was invisible to the potential buyer?

"What do you think, Kip Thomas?" Brian asked, interrupting Brad or Bob's lame presentation. He wanted to see if this newcomer had a brain or was just another of Marty Ryder's useless acquisitions.

To Brian's total lack of surprise, this new guy thought the proposed ad was good. Kip Thomas was another ass kisser just like all the rest. With a sigh Brian was about to rip them all a new one, when Kip opened his mouth again and said something that actually made Brian sit up and take notice.

"I'd have a close-up of the shoe with a thought bubble saying 'I'm a classic'," Kip suggested.

Brian immediately liked the idea of calling the shoe a classic, and focusing totally on the shoe itself, even if it was a fucking ugly piece of craftsmanship. That was a far better idea than Brad and Bob's lame excuse for an ad.

"Draw up your ideas," Brian said decisively, as Brad and Bob scowled at Kip and looked thoroughly disgusted at this turn of events. Brian smiled to himself. Maybe this Kip Thomas had some talent after all.

*****

Justin was sitting in the bleachers at the school. The football team was practicing out on the field. He had his sketchbook open and was drawing Chris Hobbs. The guy had a great butt which filled his football uniform very nicely. Shading in that area, adding the lines that would make Chris' ass look round and firm, Justin felt himself grow hard. Maybe he and Chris…

"Heads up!" someone shouted.

Justin looked up just in time to see a football heading right at him. He stuck up his hands, and lo and behold, the ball landed right in his arms. He smiled as he realized he had made a pretty damn good catch.

"Nice catch," Chris Hobbs called as he trotted towards Justin to retrieve the ball. They stared at each other for just a fraction of a second.

Justin grinned. He tossed the ball somewhat awkwardly to Chris. "Thanks," he said.

Chris turned and ran back to his team. Justin adjusted his slacks and watched him go. He had felt something, although what it was, he wasn't exactly sure. He picked up his sketchbook and stared at his drawing of Chris.

*****

A Few Days Later

Brian was working on his latest idea for the Liberty Air campaign. Liberty Air was one of his biggest accounts and he wanted the ads to be perfect. They could get him national attention if he handled their account right. And he wanted that national attention. He wanted to go to New York City, to a bigtime ad agency, where he would make a real impact on the advertising world.

There was a tap on his door and a voice said, "Brian?"

Brian turned and saw Kip Thomas standing there. "You CEO of the company yet?" Brian joked. It was meant to be clever, but he knew there was more than one grain of truth in that statement. He had sensed Kip's ambition from the outset. Since he had allowed Kip to work on the Silverman Shoe ads, that ambition had become more and more obvious.

Kip smiled. "Give me a week or two," he chuckled. "So, Mr. Ryder told me you're going to use my ideas for the shoe ads."

"I'll steal anything good and put my name on it," Brian said flippantly. He was glad to use Kip's ideas and not have to come up with an idea for himself. God, he hated those hideous shoes.

"That's great … although Bob and Brad aren't too happy about it," Kip admitted.

Brian thought he heard just a trace of gloating in that statement. Kip Thomas definitely had aspirations for greater things, and he didn't seem to care who he walked over to get to them. Brian could identify with that.

"People with no talent usually aren't," Brian replied, "when someone with real talent comes along." And Brian meant that. Kip was the first person that Ryder had hired in quite a while who seemed to have some real talent for advertising. This guy could go a long way, but of course, Brian would be just that much farther ahead of good old Kip. He smiled to himself at the thought. A New York agency couldn't be far away for him when his Liberty Air campaign went national.

"Yeah, I hear you're pretty talented yourself," Kip was saying. There was a hint of something in his voice. Brian's eyebrows went up. "In fact, you have a reputation…" Kip let the words hang in the air.

Yes, there was definitely something there, Brian thought. "I do!" Brian said smugly.

"…for being the best account exec in the company," Kip clarified.

"That too," Brian said, intending the sexual double entendre that was clearly there. He wasn't ready to call a halt to this … yet.

"And that's why I asked if I could work with you."

Brian's eyebrow arched in surprise. "I thought Ryder assigned you."

"I lied." Kip didn't sound in the least remorseful about the lie, but why should he? It got him what he wanted. He was noticed and his career was advancing. Brian had to admire that.

Brian stood up, lifting the board he had been working on off his desk. "Come here for a second," he ordered. "Let me show you something." He held the board so Kip could look at it. He felt the man lean a bit too close against him, and then again, maybe it wasn't too close at all. "This is a new campaign we're starting for Liberty Air. I want you on the team," he added, making that decision as he stood there. Kip Thomas had a good eye and a clever brain. He could use his talent.

"Oh my God, that's fantastic!" Kip gushed. "Wow! How can I ever thank you?"

Brian looked into Kip's eyes. He could think of a good way that would involve a condom and a warm, tight place to put his dick. "By doing a good job," Brian replied, keeping his voice level.

"You can count on it," Kip said sincerely.

They looked in each other's eyes for a brief second before Kip headed toward the door. Brian swallowed. He knew Kip Thomas was ripe for the picking, but this was work. It was no place to be literally screwing around with his colleagues. He turned his back and studied the Liberty Air board on his desk. He waited to hear his office door shut behind Kip.

Instead he heard Kip say, "I just want you to know you can count on me for anything – day or night."

And there it was. The blatant offer. Brian turned to look at Kip. How long could he keep denying himself? The smell of fresh ass was heady and overpowering. "You really are going for the gold watch," he stated. Kip could interpret that however he chose.

"I mean it," Kip said moving closer to Brian, invading his personal space. "'Cause I think you're really, really amazing." His voice had grown soft and suggestive. He stepped even closer.

Brian knew Kip was no longer talking about ads. Kip's face got closer inch by inch. With hardly any movement Brian could have kissed him. And then he felt Kip's hand slide against his hardening cock.

"What are you doing?" Brian asked, staring into Kip's eyes.

"Shit! I'm sorry," Kip apologized taking a step back. Obviously he had made a big mistake. He had thought Kinney was up for this. He was a gorgeous hunk of a man. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean…" he stammered and then stopped unsure how to finish that sentence. Could he admit what he wanted? "Look, I don't know what I was thinking." Kip headed for the door, mortified, and eager to escape.

With a couple of long strides Brian reached the door first, blocking Kip's way. "Yeah, well, whatever you thought, you thought wrong," Brian stated. He made his voice sound pissed. Nobody made moves on him. "Because I'm the one who makes the first move." Brian snapped the lock on the door in place. He was the one in control. He would show this young upstart who ran the show, the hell with the consequences. He was going to fuck Kip Thomas' ass off.

With deft hands, Brian closed the Venetian blinds and ripped open the shirt of his young protégé. He swept his desk clear with his arm and continued to get rid of clothes, both Kip's and his own. With true showmanship he tossed a condom in the air and caught it in his teeth. He ripped it open and sheathed his dick. He was going to pound the living shit out of Kip Thomas.

And that's exactly what he did, right on his desk in his office at the Ryder Advertising Agency.