Better Friends and Lovers

Chapter 15

(Setting: The evening following the Rizzuteri Presentation; Babylon; POV/Ben)

"Well, here comes Babylon's latest couple, and if they don't have that happy ‘just fucked' look, I don't know my creme brulee` from a crepe suzette," Emmett announced gleefully. I certainly had to give him credit, he took as much pleasure from his friends finding happiness as he did when his own romances worked out. Given that his own latest foray into area had been an unmitigated disaster, one might expect him to be somewhat soured. I know Michael wouldn't look normally so happily upon his best friend's good fortune, and with the ill concealed crush Emmett had on Danny, it wouldn't be surprising if he were to be against the young man's relationship with such a player as Brian. Instead, however, Emmett was the new couple's staunchest fan and defender.

"Brian with Danny? You don't think that'll last, do you? It's been a couple of weeks now. It's bound to play itself out any day now" That last was interjected by Blair, one of our neighbors, and a definite non-fan of Brian's. He knew Danny from the GLC and the sentiment over there was that Brian was a bug that they hoped their darling Danny would soon get over.

"Well, Danny was quite a big help at Kinnetic, today; I wouldn't be surprised if Brian has talked him into taking a job there. It would be a much better place for him than piano bars," Ted couldn't resist adding. He'd already told the rest of us the story of the presentation Danny had saved, and it did certainly seem that the two men were getting very close, very fast. By this point they'd reached us so everyone stopped gossiping for the moment. At least about them.

"Hey boys, what's everyone drinking? Drinks are on me, I just got word that Vance has lost another one and Kinnetic has landed the Rizzuteri Jewelers' account, due in no small part to the musical genius of Mr. Daniel O'Keefe. Johnny, drinks for all my friends, and even the rest of these deadbeats, on the house," Brian smirked as he gave his instructions to the bartender, who nodded and started lining up fresh glasses. We were still congratulating the two of them when Danny suddenly jumped up on one of the bar stools, in order to peer towards the other side of the room.

"Is that who, how the hell did she ...? Allo, Aida! Aida! Regarder en cet direction! Over here, you crazy Frenchwoman!" His voice carried across the loud dance floor to where a group of men and women were dancing on the other side of the room. We all looked at him as though he were nuts, but just as he was getting ready to jump down and presumably head over, one of the women looked over and saw him. She screamed his name, and took off across the crowded floor, getting caught in the press of half naked male bodies in the middle.

Danny grinned at us. "Excuse me, I have a beautiful Frenchwoman to rescue." With that, he made his way down the catwalk and across the dance floor, smoothly navigating his way, to where he met up with ‘Aida,' and promptly swept her off her feet and into an impressive looking kiss. As a gay man, heterosexual interaction doesn't usually do much for me, but even I had to admit, it was a hell of a kiss. We all just stood there, slack jawed, watching as he clasped her tight to his body, hands on her firm ass, her long legs wrapped around his waist. He leisurely and thoroughly explored her mouth with his tongue, all while standing in the middle of Babylon's dance floor, oblivious to the attention he was drawing. As usual, it was Emmett who broke the silence.

"I think I could use another drink. And maybe a cum towel." We all laughed then; all of us except Brian. He just leaned against the bar, watching, his face impassive. "Uh oh," I thought, familiar with Kinney's demon of jealousy, "this is not a good thing." Danny eventually came out of his clinch and brought his friend over. Of course, it probably didn't help Brian's demon that Danny chose to do so with his friend still wrapped firmly around his waist, her legs not lowering until they reached us at the catwalk bar. I thought Michael's eyes would fall out. Brian reached over and gently closed his dropped jaw. I was glad he did it; Michael tended to get snippy when I did things that he took without complaint from Brian. And quite frankly, my gay husband looked rather foolish standing there with his mouth open. Staring at a scantily clad woman. Of course, Blake and Blair still had rather rapt expression on their faces, too. But at least I wasn't married to them.

"Guys, this is Aida, one of my dearest friends from my misspent youth. Aida, this is, let me see, are you ready, love? In order, Brian, you know about him, the sexiest man on the East Coast, Emmett, he's my new best friend, and Ben and Michael, they're good friends too, they're married, so keep those hands of yours off Ben, I know you and your fondness for muscle men. And then we have Ted, and Blake, more friends of mine, and this is Blair, Ben and Michael's neighbor, who is working with Ben and me on that project I emailed you about. Guys, Aida is an incredible singer, as well as brilliant and beautiful, and generous to a fault, so hopefully, she's going to hang around and help me put together the talent for the fund-raiser, if she can get some gigs in the area to keep herself busy and solvent."

We all said our hellos and shook hands. While Danny got Aida a drink, Ted asked her if Danny had known she would be at Babylon that night, a sensible question, given their greeting to each other. We all looked at her rather expectantly.

"Non, I received Daniel's email asking me if I could help him, and I thought to myself, instead of answering, why not just surprise him and arrive at Pittsburgh and then get to meet all his friends and see him all the sooner? I found myself bored in New York, can you imagine such a thing? But it is true, I was bored to tears. And he made everyone seem so nice in his emails that I wanted to meet you all, especially the handsome Brian and the sweet Emmett, who took such good care of him when he had the broken arm. Which I see if all better now, which is good because I am not so good at nursing. Anyway, it gave me such gladness, is that the right word, to surprise him and come down from New York unexpectedly. He asked me, but I don't think he expected me quite so soon, or maybe he asked me and didn't really want me to come see him, I am never sure with my Daniel."

The exotic looking woman leaned against Danny and peered up at him from under impossibly long dark lashes, pouting with her full lips. She had stylishly cut black hair, that swung about her chin as she spoke. She was tall, about five eight, with a lithe, dancer's build and they made a striking couple standing next to each other. I stole another look at Brian but he was at his most inscrutable. Danny was laughing at her gambit, seemingly unaware of any problem with Brian.

"Yes, I begged you to come save me from singing show tunes for twelve hours straight, but I didn't really want you to come. Since you're here now, however, I'll have to be polite and put up with you, I suppose," he mocked her. She smiled back at him, batting those long lashes, then launched into rapid French, which my schooldays skills couldn't possibly keep up with. From the look on Ted's face, he was at a similar disadvantage. Michael, God bless him, was at a complete loss on how to interact with such a glamorous creature, while Blake and Blair looked like they were seriously reconsidering their orientation. Brian continued to have his mask on, so there was no telling what he thought. Emmett just looked annoyed.

"So, Aida, sweetie, how did y'all meet Danny? You look so young, like you're barely out of school yourself, child, so it must have been fairly recently. And I must say, your English is so good, don't you be afraid to speak it; that way we can all talk together. That's friendlier, don't you think?"

Emmett gave her his friendliest southern smile. Aida returned it with an enigmatic one of her own, looking like the Mona Lisa, but saying nothing.

Danny, on the other hand, looked embarrassed at Emmett's gentle reprimand. He was quick to hug his tall friend, leaving Aida's side to do it. Once he finished the hug, however, Aida wrapped her arms back around him. But she smiled at Emmett in a friendly fashion.

"I'm so sorry," Danny apologized, "we shouldn't have been speaking in French! We just got carried away, catching up on old friends, which would've been boring for you guys. Aida is the little sister of an old, I guess you could call her a girlfriend of mine. Someone I danced with when I was in high school. Aida and I met through her and became friends. We met again some years later when I was in France and we performed together a couple of times. Since those days, we've stayed in touch." He looked over at Brian just then and understanding dawned in his face. He quickly untangled himself from Aida's arms and moved back over to Brian's side. He put an arm around Brian's waist but the embrace wasn't returned. Aida's eyes followed his move, and Brian's lack of response. As soon as Brian saw her making note of it, however, he acted, pulling Danny close to his body.

"Why don't you sing something for us now?" Brian spoke suddenly, breaking his silence, and addressing Aida directly. Danny looked at him searchingly, trying to gauge his mood.. He must have tightened his arm that was around Brian, as the taller man looked down at him finally then, and smiled. Brian placed his hand on top of Danny's, where it rested on his waist. It looked like trouble wasn't invading paradise after all.

Trouble was tapping her thigh high, stiletto boots, however, and looking back at Brian with a challenge in her eyes. "I would very much like to sing a song, if Daniel will sing, too. Could that be accomplished, Daniel? I will sing from a show perhaps, and then you can as well, so I do not feel so, what is the word I want, so out in the open, so ...."

"Exposed?" Blair suggested, looking at the gorgeous young woman, in her black leather miniskirt, the aforementioned thigh high boots, and black leather bustier.

"That is it!" Aida smiled warmly at him. "Daniel, you will sing also, oui? We will do that song from ‘Jekyl and Hyde,' I think, to warm this crowd up?"

Danny gave a short laugh. "I think that might do it, Aida, love. But I refuse to fight off any lesbians for you. Tonight, I shall leave you to your wicked ways if you get any so worked up they throw you over their shoulders like they did in Belgium that time."

"Those were Dutch lesbians, of course I wanted rescue. But tonight, I see some pretty American lesbians in this Babylon, not to mention all the pretty American men, so I won't be calling for rescue by my big, strong, almost brother-in-law, unless you want to throw me over your shoulder for your own reasons? You and your pretty Brian, maybe? Non? Not like old times then, with Etienne? Well, then, let's see where we can find some music to sing to ... for now." She smiled mischievously.

Danny laughed back at her while the rest of us looked at each other, trying to decipher her words. Almost brother-in-law? I knew Danny was somewhat bisexual but I didn't think he was that bisexual. Tonight had been quite an eye opening experience. I could just imagine Michael's questions, and how he was going to worry over Brian after these revelations. Nothing would ever convince him that Brian was more than capable of looking out for himself.

"Brian, can I get Sheba to loan us some music to sing to? I think she has a lot of the songs she uses in her contests and performances recorded without vocals, and I'm pretty sure she'll have the number Aida does from ‘Jekyll and Hyde,'" Danny asked, as he started to unbutton his shirt.

"You really going to sing for us, baby?" Emmett squealed and clapped his hands.

"Sure, I never turn Aida down. Well, I do," he smirked, "but not when it comes to singing with her, you'll love this, Em." The tall Frenchwoman pouted at his words but still moved to help him take off his shirt. He batted her hands away with a smile and put his arms around Brian instead.

"Sorry, Aida, only one person undresses me these days, and I'm still waiting to hear if he wants to hear me sing with you," Danny murmured . Brian's genuine smile flashed at that, and he pulled Danny in for a kiss to rival the one the green eyed man had shared with his old friend.

"I can't wait to hear and see your duet, stud, just remember where you're sleeping tonight," Brian growled low, making short work of the rest of the buttons, pocketing Danny's cufflinks. "Ted, go back with them and set things up with Sheba, you know how territorial she can get; Danny and Aida can sing and make a pitch for people to audition for the fund-raiser at the same time. Didn't you and Ben want to solicit as many acts as you could?"

"Great idea, Bri," Danny enthused. Blair and I agreed.

"Amateurs?" Aida asked, making a face.

"You'd be surprised what quality acts we can pull out of our asses around here when we put our minds to it," Brian told her. He grinned at me in acknowledgment of the incongruity as I coughed slightly at the expression. "Not that we don't appreciate the help of professionals such as yourself, but it will be a long day, and you're going to need some help from the masses to pull it off."

"He's right on both counts, love, so let's get up there and show our stuff and then, Ben, how about you make the pitch, announcing auditions for next week? Does that work for Blair and you?"

"Sounds good, Danny, but I suggest I say something first, and then you two get up there. No need to tell them you're professionals, let's see if we can make it seem like they too can just get up and sing like you," I grinned at him.

"You devious professor, I like it." Danny laughed. Then, grabbing Aida's hand, he headed back towards Sheba's lair, to charm some of her music from her. I followed at a more leisurely pace; I was dying to hear what reaction Brian gave the boys regarding the newcomer. Then again, knowing the king of Babylon, he probably didn't give any reaction at all. He probably insulted Blair and maybe Ted, and limited his comments to that. So on second thought, I was glad I had an excuse to leave the area, or I probably would have been in for a few comments myself.

With Sheba's blessing, and her humorous help getting everyone's attention, I walked up to the microphone.

"Gentlemen, and Ladies, Transvestites and Transgenders, as you just heard, we're going to have a special entertainment treat tonight, but first I want to announce an important event that Babylon will be hosting in a few short months, one for which we'll be asking all your help in order to make it a major success. As you all know, a terrible event occurred here last year, when Babylon was the site of a hate crime. But like the Phoenix, it arose out of the ashes to be bigger and better than ever. Sadly, however, there were losses that night, friends lost whom we will never recover. It's come to our attention that some of the families of those lost are still in need of help, and we know that all of you will want to join us in helping those families in any way possible. In cooperation with the GLC, Babylon will be hosting a benefit, a musical marathon telethon, to raise money for the families of the victims from that terrible night. To give you a taste of the type of act we can put together right from our very own dance floor, we're going to hear from Danny O'Keefe and Aida Seifert, shortly, as they perform a number from the musical, ‘Jekyl and Hyde.' What Danny, who is chairing this event, has told me to tell you is that everyone's talent is welcome. We will start holding auditions next week and you can sign up for an audition time at any of the bars here at Babylon, or at the reception desk at the GLC. And now, to introduce Danny and Aida, I give you again, our very own Sheba!" To gratifyingly loud applause, and a good deal of excited chatter, I made my escape.

Sheba made one of her typically grand entrances, riding in on the crossed arms of two husky young cage dancers.

"Lezzies and queers of all sizes and shapes, although I prefer ten and a half, uncut, and if you qualify, feel free to skip the auditions next week and report straight, wait, pardon that expression, just get yourself over to my dressing room right away and I'll check out your talents. Now that we have that cleared up, and without further ado, let me introduce our very own Danny Boy, and his French Wench, to sing, so "Bring on the Men."

The lights were lowered as the music started, a cabaret sounding tune that started out slow, but quickly built to a fast moving pace. Sheba's stage was washed in orange light. Danny and Aida appeared on opposite ends, he in a fedora, worn low over one eye, and his low cut jeans, nothing else, she in her boots, mini-skirt and bustier outfit. As she started singing, in the spotlight, he moved slinkily in the shadows, undulating his body in time to the music in increasingly suggestive moves. As she swung into the first chorus, he was suddenly at her side, joining in with her singing, and spinning her in a complicated pas de deux. After that, they alternated singing, with their moves becoming increasingly more suggestive, as they utilized whatever piece of stage equipment they could when singing and dancing alone. Both of them proved remarkably inventive in finding different items to hump on that stage. They always ended up together for the chorus, which they sang and danced together, and that is when they got really raunchy.

{Aida} There was a time

I don't know when

I didn't have much time for men

but this is now and that was then, I'm learning

A girl alone, all on her own

must try to have a heart of stone

So I try not to make it known my yearning

I try to show I have no needI really do, I don't succeed

(Chorus)

{both} so let's bring..on the men

and let the fun begin

a little touch of sin

why wait another minute

step this way its time for us to play

they say we may not pass this way again

so lets waste no more time

Bring on the men

{Aida} I always knew, I always said

a silk and lace in black and red

will drive a man right off his head, its easy

{Danny} So many men, so little time

I want them all, is that a crime (NO!)

I don't know why they say that I'm too easy

They make me laugh, they make me cry

they make me sick, so god knows why

(Chorus)

{Both} we say bring on the men

and let the fun begin

a little touch of sin

why wait another minute

step this way its time for us to play

they say we may not pass this way again

so lets waste no more time

bring on the men

{Danny} They break your heart

they steal your soul

take you apart

and yet they somehow make you whole

{Aida} so what's their game

I suppose a rose by any other name

the perfume and the pricks the same

{Danny} I like to have a man for breakfast each day

I'm very social and I like it that way

by late mid-morning I need something to munch

so I ask over 2 men for lunch

{Aida} And men are mad about my afternoon 'tease'.

they're quite informal I just do it to please

those triple sandwiches are my favorite ones

I'm also very partial to buns

{Danny} My healthy appetite gets strongest at night

My at home dinners are my men friends' delight

When I invite the fellas over to dine

they all come early, in bed by nine!

(Chorus)

{both} so let's bring on the men

and let the fun begin

a little touch of sin

why wait another minute

step this way it's time for us to play

they say we may not pass this way again

so lets waste no more time

bring on the men!

(big men, small men,

short men ,tall men

I guess that means almost all men,

I'm a player, 'long as they are men men men!)

(Lyrics by Leslie Bricusse, Bring on the Men , from the musical, Jekyll and Hyde, Music by Frank Wildhorn, Book and Lyrics by Leslie Bricusse)

As they moved through the song, their dancing became more and more erotic. Aida matched Danny with each suggestive move he made and then he upped the ante each time. His hair was whipping wildly as he spun his naked torso, at one point twirling her around his shoulders and through his legs. They played off each other as though they had done this together many times before, and yet at the same time, there was a freshness to their moves that was tremendously exciting. It almost seemed as though they were daring each other to match each thing they did. It was an incredibly arousing performance. The backroom would be jammed when this was done. As it was, the area near the stage was becoming increasingly crowded as men and women pressed closer, yelling and cheering them on. Early on, a few had tried climbing up onto the stage and Danny had incorporated moving them back into his dance moves. The closest bouncer moved the men further away.

Brian frowned upon seeing the close call and signaled for his head bouncer to come over, without once taking his eyes from the stage himself. To his credit, the man caught Brian's signal right away, and wasn't distracted by the show.

"Get some more guys in position down there right now. I want you to be able to get between them and the crowd if you need to; some of that crowd is tweaked and they're getting entirely too worked up. As soon as the song is over, you get those two out of there, no delays, got that?"

"You got it, boss," the man replied and headed off at a jog to do his job.

"They're hot," Blake commented.

"I don't like women, but you have to admit, she's something," Michael added.

Brian snorted. "He's choreographing the whole thing, she's just following where he leads. And women don't do anything for me, I don't care how much leather you dress it up in, it's still pussy."

"Ah, but you could be biased, couldn't you? And Danny has a taste for pussy, sometimes, doesn't he?" Emmett asked, standing next to Brian and sipping at his pink drink thoughtfully.

"He's singing ‘bring on the men,' as far as I hear it, or do you hear a different song?" Brian glared..

"Nope, I think our boy is still singing our song, and will be for a long time. And doesn't he look adorable doing it?" Emmett grinned back at him. To his credit, Emmett was never intimidated by Brian, who just tossed down his drink with a sharp laugh at being stood up to. The two of them went back to watching, the best of friends. Listening to the exchange, I almost choked on my own drink. Danny was many things up there on that stage, the sweat pouring off him as he took his bows for the song, Aida on his shoulders, legs around his neck, but "adorable" wasn't the adjective I would have chosen. The two of them received thunderous applause, then were escorted from the stage by the bouncers, with the promise that they would sing more later. Sign-ups for auditions were already being made so the night was a success.

Eventually, Aida dragged Emmett out to the dance floor, or possibly he dragged her, but in any event, that's where she was when Danny left with Brian, waving goodnight to everyone. Something told me we'd be seeing a lot more of the lovely Frenchwoman.

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

(Setting: Friday morning, a week after the Rizzuteri presentation; Brian's loft, POV/Justin)

I looked up and saw the shadow of a tall man in the loft's large window. I couldn't help grinning to myself as I paid off the cabdriver. Stopping by the loft on my way from the airport rather than going straight to Kinnetic's offices, had been a calculated risk, but I thought I'd take the chance of finding Brian still at home on a Friday morning. Sometimes, when he'd had a long week, he slept in on Fridays and went in late. This looked to be one of those days since I saw someone in the window and it certainly didn't look like the cleaning lady.

"Thanks, buddy!" The cabdriver was the recipient of an extra big tip, courtesy of my Kinney induced good mood. I couldn't wait to see Brian. It had been weeks, months even, since we'd been together. I hadn't been back to the Pitts since Christmas, and that had been a really short visit. Here it was May and I hadn't even seen Brian since early February. Or was it late January since he'd last visited New York? Before Daphne's birthday, that much I knew. I was pretty sure he was mad at me, but this surprise visit should fix all that.

I practically ran up the steps, my overnight bag banging against my back as it kept slipping from my shoulder. There was no need to bring much since I still had clothes here. I used my key since the door was locked. Throwing the heavy door up, I started to call out, when I saw the man by the window, a mug in his hand. He was standing at an electronic keyboard, set up where my easel used to stand. He'd looked over at the sound of the door closing behind me.

"Who the hell are you?" I asked the question but as soon as he turned, I recognized that perfect face, those green eyes, their vivid color visible even across that broad room, and the long, wavy, black hair falling onto his shoulders. What the fuck was Edward's Dark Angel doing in my Brian's loft? And looking damn at home in it too, in his low cut jeans and wearing nothing else but a smile, as the saying goes. I never got that saying before today, but with this man, it really made sense. He made wearing a pair of jeans seem obscenely underdressed. I swallowed. Those Internet pictures really didn't do him justice. The artist in me appreciated his musculature even as the somewhat short, underdeveloped guy who would never in a million years have a stomach like that if I did crunches until I puked, resented his six foot tall, perfect body. I also resented the hell out of the way he acted like he was welcoming me into Brian's loft, my fucking home. The Pittsburgh one at least.

"You must be Justin. Hi, I'm Danny O'Keefe, I'm ..." I cut off his introduction, ignoring the hand he stretched out towards me as he stepped briskly over in my direction.

"I've heard of you, ‘dark angel,' your reputation precedes you, but since when does Brian allow tricks to stay the night, much less stay in our place when he isn't around?"

O'Keefe's face looked startled for a moment, then his expression hardened. He dropped his hand slowly and had the nerve to then give me the once over. I really hate when men do that. And I especially hate it when his type does it, the tall muscle type, acting like that is the only type that looks good. All brawn and no brains types.

"Brian and I are friends, good friends, which you would know if you were around a bit more." His voice was low and melodic, still pleasant enough; clearly he was good at keeping his temper, better than me at any rate, as I felt the need to piss him off. I could see those green eyes flashing a bit, so the temper was there. I wanted to make it clear to him that this was my place and he wasn't wanted here. The keyboard in my easel's place annoyed me. Even if I had moved my easel. It wasn't rational, I knew, but it was the way I felt.

"Well, as Brian's partner, I'm familiar with all of his friends, and I don't know you, so while you might know my name, I'm afraid Brian hasn't mentioned you to me. I know you from other sources. Now Brian and I have a reasonably open relationship, it's a necessity, due to our separation right now, you aren't someone I'm willing to tolerate hanging around, so I suggest you pack up your shit and get out, O'Keefe."

"Pack up my shit? What the hell are you talking about?" He was beginning to get annoyed, and seeing those muscles flex a bit, I remembered what Edward said about him being a dangerous young man. I wondered whether I'd better call Brian and have him remove his fuck buddy, who'd clearly overstayed his welcome. I wonder if Brian even knew this guy hung around when he wasn't here? But then the fact of the keyboard being there kind of told me Brian knew. And I was annoyed all the more. This guy must be taking advantage of Brian's loneliness. Bastard.

"Isn't that your keyboard? I don't recall Brian playing piano, so that must be something you've left here, or brought here or ..."

"Or which Brian bought so I could work here. You're quite one for making assumptions, aren't you, blondie? You forgot to mention the dolls over there, they belong to my niece, but I have no intention of removing them for you, you presumptuous little brat! I suggest you talk to Brian, your partner, the one you haven't seen in how many months? You need to get things straightened out. In fact, let me call him for you." The green eyes were definitely flashing now. Shit, there were actually little girl toys in the loft. What the hell was Brian up to? It struck me that this must be the child Juan had mentioned. The dead sister's baby. I really did need to talk to Brian, right away. What in the world was the gang up to, allowing Brian to be taken in by this guy? The green eyed man had grabbed a cell phone from the coffee table and was talking.

"Hi, Cynthia, Danny. Yeah, just peachy. No, not now. I'll explain later. Just tell Brian I can't make lunch with him..... tell him he got a better offer....yeah tell him that exactly ... he did, not me .... He'll understand shortly ... his partner is here.... Well, he's short, blond and looks like he's seventeen. Yeah, I know he must be Justin. Okay? .... Yeah, I thought that would explain it. Yeah, as in right here.... Okay, love you too." He disconnected and looked over at me, suddenly calmer. Man, I hate when tall men think everyone else is short. And I no longer look seventeen.

"There, you have my lunch date with Brian. Go have a chat with your partner and tell him all about the big, bad trick you found in his loft. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to finish this program in time to get it over to Kinnetic by noon, so I have to get back to work."

With that, he turned his back on me and headed back to sit down at the keyboard. I stared at him for a few moments, nonplused. I didn't like the feeling of being dismissed, especially when I felt like I should be getting him to leave, but his conversation with Cynthia, assuming he really had been talking to her, left me with the sickening feeling that he might actually have the right to be that at home in the loft. He looked beautiful, sitting in the sunlight, and under any other circumstance I would be itching to sketch him. I was kind of dying to do it anyway. Putting that thought out of my head, I left to go to Kinnetic's. And Brian.

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

(Setting: Later that morning; Kinnetic's Offices; POV/Brian)

"What do you mean he said I got a better offer? What the fuck does that mean?" I'd just come out of a morning full of long meetings with clients who didn't seem to have a fucking clue what they wanted, and subordinates who had even less of one what I wanted, and I got met with the message that the person I'd been looking forward to seeing, and feeling, for the past two hours, was standing me up. This was not a good thing.

"That's just what he said, boss, because ..." Cynthia stood at the door to my office looking uncharacteristically nervous. I was about ready to ask her what the hell her problem was, since she usually did hold back on me, when another voice chimed in, almost causing me to drop my coffee mug in surprise.

"Because the love of your life is back and your day, not to mention your weekend, just got a whole lot better. I'll take over from here, Cyn." He gave her a quick hug before she slipped away, closing the door behind her.

Justin stood there, framed by the wood of the door behind him, like a picture. Blond hair longer than before, and lighter despite the harsh winter that had just passed. His eyes looked even more blue than I remembered them, if that could be possible. Maybe it was the sweater he wore, a beautiful cashmere, that brought out the color, no more Gap for my boy. He had on loose fitting, ivory colored wool slacks that hugged his ass, and he looked absolutely amazing. I couldn't help the slow grin that started to stretch across my face as I took him in. He saw it, and returned it with a full wattage "Sunshine" smile, then ran at me, jumping up into my arms.

"God, I missed you so much, Brian, you can't know how much," he mumbled against my chest as his arms tightened around neck.

"No, I can't begin to fathom it, as I barely thought of you at all, not more than one or twice every five minutes," I told him, before kissing him. The feelings rushed back, and it was like coming home from a long journey. It was as though he never left, never failed to return my phone calls, never slept with a man old enough to be his grandfather and moved in with him, never failed to come home for months.... As though there had never been a dark haired, green eyed man in my arms. I picked up my head. I needed to talk to him. Because it wasn't as though he never had left; he had.

I felt his hands at my belt.

"Justin, we need to talk."

"No, Brian, I need you first, I need to feel you inside me. It's been too long, we need this first. Talking has never been what we do best, let's make love, reconnect, then we can talk."

He was already on his knees. Blond hair brushing against my stomach as nimble artist's fingers made short work of my pants and moved my cock into his warm mouth. If kissing him felt like home, this felt like heaven. It wasn't long before I was cumming, crying out his name.

Justin was like one possessed, and I don't think I was even thinking. Sex without thinking, how unlike me. Yeah, right. Within minutes of the blowjob, we were both completely undressed, my desk was swept clear and I was pounding into that tight ass, as he moaned and pulled at me to get me closer. I had to prove he was still mine. I wasn't sure what he was proving, until the door opened. Fuck, Cynthia was the one who closed it and I didn't think to check to make sure it was locked. I looked up, still deep in Justin, and looked into the eyes of my lover. My friend. Fuck, fuck, fuck. I looked down at Justin and suddenly I knew what he was proving. Fuck.

Danny tried to be calm. "Sorry to interrupt, there was no one out front and I was dropping off the music for the ..., oh fuck, you know what it is, Brian, I'll leave it out front, get back to fucking your partner. Try locking the door next time." He slammed the door on his way out.

I looked back down at Justin. I pulled out of him and backed away, looking for my pants.

"We need to talk," I told him, my voice calm, emotionless.

"What's the matter, Brian, we can finish, it's not like we haven't been seen fucking before." Justin very carefully avoided meeting my eyes as he tried to pull me back to him. I had a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. Shit, this wasn't good. Partner, Danny had used that term in the message he left with Cynthia. I felt cold anger build inside me. I'd been set up. And by my "partner," no less. So much for the touching reunion.

"What the fuck was that about, Justin?"

"What do you mean, Brian? I came back to see you, and I was glad to see you and thought you were glad to see me. We get interrupted by that guy and now you're all cold," Justin started pulling on his pants.

"Cynthia!" I was at the door, yelling for the blond, who came running from the other side of the floor.

"What Brian?" She stared at my bare chest, she ignored the fact that my office was a shambles and Justin was similarly half naked..

"Which way did Danny go?"

"Danny was here? I didn't see him. I was helping Ted and the receptionist is at lunch."

"Fuck. Get on the phone, see if you can locate him, call the usual suspects, I'll try his cell but you try too, he may not be talking to me, I want someone to try to get to him. And see if he'll talk to me, I need to explain something."

"Okay, I think I understand." She shot a look at Justin. I noticed that she didn't welcome him back. Cynthia was more on the ball than I was. But then, she didn't think with her dick.

I walked back into my office and but kept the door half open.

"You want to explain when you met my friend Danny? And then tell me how much that played into the warmth of your welcome after four months of not having anything to do with me?"

Justin flushed. I knew that look, he looked guilty. I felt sick. God, the terrible thing was, a big part of me wanted to just rip my clothes back off and go back to fucking his brains out. Remind him of what we had, and why he needed it as much as I did, not just to play stupid power games, but because he ached for me like I ached for him.

"First, tell me something, Justin. Are you back in Pittsburgh to stay? Or is this a brief couple day visit. Now that I'm thinking with my head again, I seem to remember you mentioning the weekend. Are you just here for a weekend, Justin? Or have you come home to me, since you're apparently telling my lover that you're my partner, something you haven't been since you left me, practically at the alter last year and decided you didn't want to get married."

I thought I knew every color my beloved boy could turn when embarrassed, but this was a shade of red deeper than I'd ever seen before. I sighed. I grabbed a couple of waters from the refrigerator in the corner of my office and tossed one to him before sinking down onto the sofa. I would have to make peace with Danny later. Probably better to let him cool off anyway. This talk with Justin was too long delayed, and if my reaction to him today showed anything, it was that I was far from over him. I knew already the answer to my question, but needed to hear him say it, to stop myself from hoping the answer would be what I wanted to hear. Why, when I had an absolutely perfect man in my life, was I still pining for this little slip of a boy?

"I'm here for the weekend. Of course I'm not coming back, everything is going great in New York, and I know I don't call, but I email you. And you said that no matter what, you'd always love me, forever you said, didn't you mean that? I still love you." Justin looked at me, looking for all the world like a little boy who felt cheated because he'd been told that the cake he'd been eating all week had just run out. I should never have put off having this talk with Justin, but I kept thinking I wanted to tell him about Danny in person, and finding a time when he would agree to meet in person had proved so difficult that eventually I let it go, assuming that he would understand. I did still love him. I don't know what I'd do if he told me he was coming home today. Hell, who am I kidding, I'd do exactly what I just started to do. Fuck him. But he wasn't coming home, he was staying in New York, in the bed of Edward Simon. Which reminded me, that was something else I needed to discuss with him.

I rubbed the bridge of my nose. I hoped that I could make this as painless as possible for both of us, and that once I was done, that Danny would forgive me. I was hurting both of my boys today, but nowhere near as much, I suspected, as I was hurting.

"Justin, I do love you, I always will, that hasn't changed, but you and I seem to have a different idea of the status of our current relationship..." I began.

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

(Setting: O'Keefe House; later that day; POV/Danny)

"Mama, are you home? I'm warning you, I am going to need more than these paltry couple of pieces of chocolate cake, so come get your cake pans out, your angel boy needs cake, cake I say, and lots of it! Mama!" I grabbed a plate and cut myself a healthy size portion of chocolate cake before going in search of my mother. I'd let myself in the back door, hoping to avoid any of the rest of the clan, but thankfully, it seemed that no one else was home. I was glad that it was a Friday and Briana had a play date set up for my cousin's house. This was supposed to be a play date night for me with Brian as well but that plan was now shot to hell. Thanks to Justin Taylor, the little prick. So, I'll stuff myself with cake and then maybe get Emmett to take pity on me and have a movie night instead. So pathetic.

I wasn't really thinking about it yet, not really. If I did, I was afraid I would completely fall apart. I couldn't believe Brian had lied to me about his relationship with Justin, about it being over when obviously they were still together. Partners. Fuck. I felt like a damned "other woman." Well, "other man," at least. He treated me like a fucking whore, and worse, I felt like one. And what was all the dark angel shit, talking about my reputation. Who the hell did he think he was? And where was my mother, I needed comfort, damn it. I couldn't help laughing at myself. Pathetic, running home to mother at my age. But I knew she would make me feel better, either come up with some reasonable explanation that had escaped me, or convince me that somehow, I'd learn to love someone else. I hadn't in all these years, but it was possible.

It wasn't the sex in the office that bothered me the most, hey, anyone could slip up, the little brat probably stripped and wiggled that ass at him and Brian is only human. It's the partner thing that got me, and the guilty look on his face. And why the hell hasn't he called me yet?

"Mama?" By now she usually would have come running to me. She could always tell when things were wrong, even if my words were joking. I walked into the living room.

Oh my God, no. No.

I ran forward, dropping the cake plate, which shattered on the hardwood floor.

I crouched next to Mama, who was lying on the floor. She was breathing, but barely. Half of her face was all crumpled, and spit was falling from the side of her mouth. I swallowed hard and forced myself to think. Pulse, what was her pulse? I checked with one hand while I dialed 911 with the other on my cell.

"Hang on, mama, I'm getting you help mama, please mama," I could barely talk past the huge lump in my throat.

"Operator, yes, I have an emergency, please, help. I just found me mother, a seventy three year old woman, I think she's suffered a stroke ... yes .. 123 Mulberry, please yes, I can let them in, she's breathing, but it's weak ... yes, but, but, her pulse is only thirty six, please have them hurry, yes, thank you...I'd rather not stay on the line with you, thank you for the offer, but I need to call my brother, ma'am, he's a doctor on staff at Allegheney, yes I'll hold please hurry ... mama , mama, can you hear me? It's Danny, please, mama .... What's that? You can contact him at the hospital? Thank you, yes, Jamie, I mean Dr. James O'Keefe, please get word to him, he's on duty in the E.R right now, I don't want him just finding out as she's brought in by the ambulance, please get word to someone to tell him ... yes thank you ... yes, I'm staying on the line."

I brushed mama's hair back, then, not seeing any broken bones, I picked her up and held her as I waited for the ambulance, rocking her in my arms. Maybe I shouldn't have but I wasn't thinking too clearly right then, all I could think of was to keep talking to her the whole time I waited, as though that would keep her alive. It seemed like forever, waiting for the ambulance, but the phone timer said it was only eight minutes when the sound of the siren on our street could be heard. God, I hope they got word to Jamie. Please God, let mama be okay. She was so still. Her poor face so twisted, so unlike her beautiful face.

"Come on son, let us take her now."

The voice startled me. I'd heard the siren getting closer and knew it was coming here but didn't realize that it had stopped and that men and women had entered the house.

"I have to stay with her, she'll be scared without me, she knows my voice," I started babbling to the man.

"Danny, it's okay, we know your Uncle Frank, we'll take good care of you both, come with us, just let them get her on the stretcher then you hold her hand and walk next to them as we go out to the ambulance."

The woman pried my arms from around mama, and I watched as they gently moved her onto the stretcher. Ambulance. Right, they were a branch of the fire department. Mama would be taken care of, Uncle Frank would hear. I needed to call Matt, I had to call Matt. Mary Pat, shit. I couldn't think.

"Mama, it's okay, they're going to take care of you, mama, I'm right here, mama, I won't leave until you're better." Dear God, make everything okay again. I can face anything but this, God, please, don't take her away from me too.

I saw that the message light was blinking as I went to hit my brother Matt's speed dial number. There was no room for anything in my head now but mama. I cleared my messages then waited for Matt to pick up.

Return to Better Friends and Lovers