Part 4



“I think Gus likes you,” Brian said as Justin drove them to his place after the party.  Justin didn’t reply.  In fact he had been quiet for some time and Brian knew something was up.  “Justin!”  The blond jumped and Brian smirked.  “Okay, now that I have your attention, spill it.”



Justin looked a bit nervous as he glanced over at Brian before turning his eyes back to the road.  “Okay.  So the thing is I used to rent a place over in Squirrel Hill but then this spring, after I was sure that the sales from my paintings weren’t just a fluke, I decided to buy a place.”



“And this has you so nervous you haven’t said a word to me for the last hour?”  Brian asked.



“No. Well yes…” Justin said.  “See the thing is, just as I was looking for a place, my mom mentioned that your loft was back on the market.  And I know it sounds really stalker-creepy and all, but…”



“You bought my loft?” Brian asked with a laugh.  “Christ, I thought there was something seriously wrong.  I don’t give a fuck if you bought the loft.  In fact, I think it’s pretty cool that you did.  I mean, I like knowing that someone who can appreciate its unique charm is living there.”



“I got it for a song,” Justin told him.  “I felt kind of bad for the guy I bought it from.  I mean, he goes bankrupt and the real estate market bottoms out at the same time.  I financed about half the cost and used profits from my paintings for the rest.”



“Shit Sunshine,” Brian said.  “Even with the drop in the market, that’s a lot of money.”



Justin shrugged.  “I sold a lot of paintings last year.  Besides the shows here in Pittsburgh, two in Philadelphia and one in Boston, Carol set up a website and I get a lot of my sales from that.  And I haven’t had a painting sell for less than five grand since Carol took me on as a client.  I had enough to put fifty percent down and still have money set aside to fix a few things and do some upgrades.”



They had pulled up to the familiar building and they both climbed from the car.  “Fix what?”



“The guy who bought the loft didn’t like the open bedroom concept and had walls put in,” Justin explained as they took the elevator up to the fourth level.  “He also thought it would be a good idea to cover the hardwood floors with carpet, so they had to be removed and the floors refinished.”



“And upgrades?” Brian asked as they stepped from the elevator.



Justin smiled and unlocked the familiar heavy steel door.  Once the alarm was off, he let Brian enter.  The place looked amazingly similar to how it had when Brian was its sole occupant.  The sliding walls of frosted glass were a little different, but Brian figured that getting an exact replica of what had been removed would have been impossible since he’d had the partitions custom made the first time.  The bars of blue lights were gone from over the bed, though there was some sort of art piece of colored glass and stainless steel that was glowing in the dim light.  Brian really liked that change.  It was very Justin.  The furniture was obviously new.  It was of good quality—apparently Justin had learned something in his time with Brian—in warm brown tones balanced with cooler blues and greens.



“I don’t see any upgrades,” Brian said.



“Okay,” Justin said.  “First of all, did you know that you owned rights to the roof space outside the back window?”



For the first time, Brian noticed a set of French doors that were now a part of the wall of windows in the rear of the space.  He walked over and opened the doors.  There was now a deck which covered the entire twenty by thirty foot roof area.  Justin had outdoor furniture set up as well as a couple planters and a barbeque gas grill.



Brian walked back inside and noticed something else.  “This area is narrower.”



Justin grinned.  “That actually wasn’t me.  That was the other guy.  He gutted the bathroom and closet, bumped this wall out by two feet and you won’t believe what a huge difference it makes.  There is a walk in closet now that is actually large enough for two people, even if one of them is you.  And the bathroom hasn’t really lost anything.”



Brian checked it out and was surprised that he had never thought to do it himself.  It made a huge difference.  He walked back out to the living area and noticed that the kitchen had undergone some changes.  There were new cabinets, though they were still in the same basic configuration.  And the appliances were upgraded.  Then again, Justin cooked and Brian didn’t so he’d never cared much about the kitchen except that it looked good.



“There’s one other thing,” Justin said.
Brian looked around once more and finally noticed a doorway between the kitchen and back windows.  “You busted through to the storage area?”



Justin nodded.  “I never knew that it went all the way back to the end of the building.  There’s more than 1,200 square feet that wasn’t being used at all.  I had a guest room and bathroom put in for when Daphne comes to visit.  There’s another large storage closet.  But my favorite part is the studio space overlooking the roof deck.  I added French doors in there too.  Of course, I haven’t used it much yet.  They just finished the renovations last month and I haven’t had time to move out of my old studio until this week.”



“I like what you’ve done with the place,” Brian declared and Justin let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding.  “You really have made it yours.”



Justin shrugged.  “It is mine now.”



There was something wrong with that statement, but Brian couldn’t quite put his finger on what it was.  Did Justin mean the loft or something else?  Was he claiming something else as his own now?



The phone rang, interrupting their tour.  Justin looked at Brian intently for a moment before turning to pick up the receiver.  “Yeah?”  Justin looked annoyed suddenly.  “Todd, I told you. Not this weekend.  Brian is in town…. Yeah, he is more important…. Grow the fuck up.  I never lied to you…. That’s fine Todd.  You do that.  And just so you know, there are dozens of men waiting in line to take your place who won’t give me this shit…. Bye Todd!”  Justin hung up the phone.  “What a prick.”



“Who’s Todd?” Brian asked carefully.



“The latest fuck buddy,” Justin shrugged as he went to the kitchen and poured them each a glass of scotch.  He brought one to Brian and then led him to the living room to sit.  “Somehow they always end up thinking they mean more than they do.  He’s only been in the picture for a couple weeks.  We weren’t even exclusive but he thought he could dictate who can stay at my place.  Yeah right.”



“That’s why I always limit them to one time,” Brian said.  “The only times I ever broke that rule landed me in shit.”



“Okay, this I have to hear,” Justin said.  “I know about me, though I resent the sentiment.  And you were with Kip on two occasions.  Who else?”



Brian looked a little sorrowful.  “There was Mike Dunham in college.  We were fuck buddies.  He wanted more and I turned him down rather bluntly.  He threw himself off a bridge.  He was rescued and forced to get counseling, so it wasn’t a horrific end to the story, but I swore after that that once was more than enough.”



“I never knew that,” Justin said quietly.



“There was a lot you never knew,” Brian said, forcing a lighter tone into his voice.  “I didn’t give you enough time to poke and prod at me until you knew all of my deepest secrets.”



“I found out a lot in nine months,” Justin said.



Brian looked directly into his eyes.  “Yeah, you did.”



“What are we doing Brian?” Justin asked as he looked down into his drink.



Brian shook his head.  “I have no fucking clue.”



“I can’t…” Justin shook his head and stood up to pace.  “I can’t let myself get hurt like that again.  It nearly destroyed me.”



“I know,” Brian said mournfully.  “I can… I can get a hotel.”



“No!” Justin adamantly denied.  “No, you’re staying here.” He sat back down, this time much closer to Brian.  “I just need you to understand how things have to be.”



“Open doors,” Brian said.  “No strings.”



“Yeah,” Justin said.  “And no promises we can’t keep.”



“This is because of earlier, with Gus?” Brian asked.



“A little,” Justin shrugged.



Brian chuckled and kissed Justin deeply.  “That was a little boy’s game with a little boy’s rules.  We can make our own up as we go.  Okay?”



“Yeah,” Justin said with some relief.  He leaned into Brian’s embrace and kissed his neck.  “So, order Thai in first or try out my bed under the new lights?”



“Bed first,” Brian said as he ran his lips over Justin’s ear and nibbled on the lobe.  “Then we have two days to try out all the new furniture.  I’m especially interested in fucking you on that chaise out on the deck while it’s still warm during the day.”



BJBJBJBJBJ



Brian hired a limo and picked Justin up at the airport when he arrived in New York in November.  There would be no hotel this time.  For two weeks, Justin was staying at Brian’s Chelsea condo.  Brian vowed that this time he would get Justin into some of his favorite designers, even though Justin swore just as vehemently that he didn’t need labels to feel good about himself.  It was a debate they had been having over the phone and through emails for weeks.



As soon as Justin saw Brian waiting for him with the chauffeur’s cap and sign, he ran over and kissed him fiercely.  When he pulled away, Justin smiled and said sweetly, “I don’t need labels.”



Brian laughed and pinched Justin’s ass.  “Everyone needs labels.  How else do you know who and what you are?”



Justin followed Brian down to the luggage carousel.  “I know what I am by the paint stains on my clothes and hands.  I know who I am because you call me Justin all the time.  See, no labels required.”



“How was the flight?” Brian asked, letting the debate drop for the time.



“Bearable,” Justin shrugged.  “Better than driving.”  He had made the mistake of driving on the last trip.  “So, what’s on the agenda?  I’m all yours until Monday afternoon.”



“Let’s see,” Brian mused.  “Maybe a club or two… and shopping.”



Justin groaned.  “You better reward me with some pretty spectacular sex somewhere in there.”  He reached out to grab his suitcase and Brian soon took it from him.



“I think you’ll have as much sex as you can handle,” Brian smirked as he led the way to the waiting limo.  “Just as soon as I can get you in the back of the limo.”



Justin laughed and knew that they would soon be providing quite the show for their chauffeur.