Small Town
Part 17
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“Hey, boys, quite a show out there. I feel like I should be paying you for it,” Emmett joked with Brian and Justin as they joined them at the bar.
“Well, you can buy us a beer and we’ll call it even,” Brian told the man with a smirk. He wasn’t happy that things hadn’t gone further, and his rock hard cock was still aching inside his jeans, but he knew that out on the dance floor was not the place that he wanted things to progress. And there was no way that he would take Justin to the backroom. The blond didn’t have any idea about such a place and he had every intention of keeping that part of his past a secret for the time being. He didn’t want to do anything that would scare the man off.
“Can do,” Emmett replied and turned, trying to flag down the bartender, then ordered five beers for the group. “Here you go, baby,” the flamboyant man said, handing Justin a beer, then he handed one to Brian, Michael and Ted. They all clinked their bottles together and said “Cheers,” before downing the cool liquid.
“What time is it?” Justin asked.
Looking at his watch, then back at Justin, Ted replied, “It’s ten-thirty.” He knew it wasn’t a witty comeback or pretty much anything more than a demonstration of his ability to tell the time correctly, but still, he was happy to have something to say to the blond. He was still completely taken with the man and wanted to be near him. He knew that he was taking his life in his hands, well aware of the fact that Brian would kick the shit out of him if he dared to get to close to Justin, but he couldn’t help himself.
“I have to be home soon. Is it okay if we go?” Justin said rather loudly, wanting to be heard over the music.
“Sure, why don’t we just finish our beers and head out?”
“Great,” the blond said with a sweet smile which grew even brighter after Brian kissed him softly on the lips then pulled back, leaning their foreheads together in a show of affection.
‘What the fuck?’ Michael thought and began to panic. He said the first thing that popped into his mind. “Brian, you can’t go yet. We haven’t even danced.”
Brian straightened and looked at his friend with furrowed brows. ‘Not again.’ He sighed quietly, wrapping his arm around Justin so that the man would clearly get the picture. “Michael, we have to go. It’s at least a half an hour drive home.”
Not wanting to stick around to see more of the same old whiny mess, Emmett took Ted’s hand and silently led him to the dance floor and away from the mess that Michael seemed to be getting himself deeper and deeper into.
“I know, but, well, we didn’t get to dance. We always dance together, Brian,” he continued to whine. He knew he sounded pathetic, God, he felt pathetic, but he couldn’t help himself. He couldn’t let the perfect blond walk away with HIS man.
“Michael,” Brian warned.
“No, Brian, it’s okay. Why don’t you go dance with him? I’ll wait right here for you. Go on, dance.” Justin turned to Michael and tried to give him his most genuine smile. He saw the man’s desperation and felt sorry for him. He also saw the incredible amount of patience that Brian was exhibiting and it made him proud. Proud to be with someone who cared so much.
“You sure? I’ll be back after one song. You’ll be okay?” Brian asked, his eyes telling his lover wordlessly how sorry he was for getting them into this mess with Michael.
“I’m sure. Go, have fun.” And the smile for Brian was genuine. He didn’t want the man to feel guilty for caring about the feelings of his friend.
“Well, alright, we’ll just…”
“We’ll be back soon. Just relax and enjoy yourself,” Michael said, cutting Brian off as he took hold of the taller man’s arm and dragged him onto the dance floor. He made sure to move far away from the bar and that Brian’s back was facing Justin so that he had his complete attention. “Isn’t this great, Brian?” Michael asked, letting his body move freely to the music.
“Yeah, great,” Brian said, still not happy about leaving Justin alone.
“I’ve missed this. Me and you, together. It’s the best, right?” he shouted loudly.
“Uh, sure, Mikey. It’s fine.”
Michael could tell that Brian wasn’t really with him and it made
him push even further. “I
couldn’t wait to come back here.
I came three weeks earlier than I was supposed to, just so I could
see you.” Michael knew he
was going to have no voice in the morning from all the yelling, but he
didn’t care. He was on the
dance floor, at
“Yeah, great, Mikey,” Brian said absently. His mind was focused elsewhere and it took only three guesses as to where, with the first two not counting.
“BRIAN!” Michael shouted, completely pissed off at being ignored. He realized that the man hadn’t even paid attention to what he was saying and he didn’t like it one little bit.
“What the fuck is the matter now?”
“You didn’t even hear what I said. About us.” Michael whined.
Brian cringed at the high pitch of his friends annoying voice and shook
his head, completely fed up with all the man’s
shit. “There is no
“Brrriiiiiannnnn.”
“That’s it, I’m outta here.” Brian turned around and headed off the dance floor, leaving Michael to trail behind him with a childish pout on his face. Brian pushed through the sea of men and finally made his way back to the bar, to find Justin face to face with a gorgeous man who seemed to be getting quite friendly with the blond.
“I said no thank you. What part of that didn’t you understand?” Justin said firmly. It was the third time he’d told the guy no and he still hadn’t moved away. He didn’t like the fact that the guy was much taller and much bigger than he was. It made him feel intimidated, but he wouldn’t let the stranger know that. He stood at his tallest and tried to be as hard-assed as he could. It just didn’t seem to be getting him very far.
“Come on, beautiful. You know you want to be with me. I’ll show you such a good time, you’ll never want to leave,” the guy said seductively, inching even closer to Justin.
“I’m sure I heard him tell you no. Now FUCK OFF.”
Justin had never been so happy to hear someone’s voice as he was to hear Brian’s.
“What the fuck business is it of yours?” the other guy asked, trying to intimidate Brian.
Moving in beside Justin and wrapping his arm possessively around the smaller man’s shoulder, he got right in the other guy’s face and said, “Because he’s MINE.”
Justin shuddered as a thrill ran down his spine at hearing his lover claim him so fiercely. Michael gasped at hearing the unmistakable ownership so clearly in Brian’s voice. And the stranger, well, he got the fuck out of there, not wanting to mess with the depth of fury he saw present in Brian’s glaring eyes.
“You okay, baby?” Brian asked Justin, pulling the boy protectively against his body.
“Yeah, I’m fine, but can we go now?”
“Sure,” Brian said, placing a kiss against his lover’s temple them moving him to his side but keeping his arm wrapped firmly around the younger man’s waist. “Bye, Mikey,” he called over his shoulder as they walked out of the club.
“Bye,” Michael whispered sadly as he watched his dream walk away.
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“I should never have left you. I know what kind of assholes hang out at that place,” Brian said in the jeep as they drove back home.
“Brian, I’m fine. It wasn’t a big deal. The guy wasn’t that bad. He was just hitting on me,” the blond said with a smile.
Hearing the lilt in his voice, Brian glanced sideways to find a smile playing across his boyfriend’s lips. “What the fuck are you smiling for?” he asked, not amused by the blond’s mood. Then suddenly it dawned on him and he turned again to glare at the other man. “You think it’s great that the guy hit on you. Don’t you?”
“Well, I, uh…” Justin looked at his lover and his smile slipped slightly, but quickly returned. “Yeah, I guess I do,” he said amusedly. “I mean, I was scared at the time. I didn’t know what the fuck the guy was going to do, but now, I think it’s kinda, I don’t know, flattering.”
“WHAT? You think that some guy, other than ME hitting on you in a club is flattering somehow?” Brian knew he was being ridiculous. He always had tons of guys hitting on him. But this was Justin, and he was with Brian. He couldn’t help it as his insecurities came thorough.
“Brian, relax. Oh, come
on. Here I am, this little gay
boy, going through life thinking that I’m the only one there is for
like, millions of miles around.
Then I find you,” he turned to look Brian and
smiled. “Well, I guess we
found each other. But I find
out that I’m not alone.
There’s someone else like me.
And now, you take me to
Brian pulled the jeep over to the side of the road and shifted the gear into park. He turned towards the blond, cupping the side of his face in his hand and running his thumb across the softness. “Of course I think you’re hot. You’re fucking gorgeous. I just don’t like the idea of anyone else hitting on you. Flattering or not. It made me…well…jealous.”
“Why,” the man asked so softly as he leaned into his lover’s touch.
“Because,” Brian started, not too sure where to go. He’d been honest with Justin about everything up until now and he didn’t think it was time to start lying. He took a deep breath and slowly released it, gaining the courage to continue. “Justin, I…I’m not really good at the emotional stuff,” he confessed.
“I think you’re great at it,” Justin said honestly. He’d found Brian to be very honest and open with him at all times. He loved that about the man.
Laughing, Brian shook his head and dropped his hands into his lap. “Yeah, well, I think it’s something that you do to me because trust me, I’ve NEVER been a talker or open with my feelings. It’s hard, you know, having grown up the way I did. Never wanting to let on how you really feel for fear of ridicule. Never letting anyone get too close, afraid that they’ll just leave when they see how I really am. Not wanting to let someone in because I don’t feel good enough to have them care about me, to love me.”
Brian couldn’t look at Justin. He kept his eyes cast downwards, trying so hard not to give in and look back at the warm and inviting pools of blue. He didn’t want the man to see the truth, that he didn’t deserve him and was terrified that soon he would be gone. That he’d find someone better and leave. He would be crushed if that happened.
“Brian. Look at me.”
Justin’s voice was so soft, so comforting. He wanted to give in, to look at him, but he was afraid. He felt a tear slip out from the corner of his eye and run down his cheek. He couldn’t believe he was fucking crying, but his emotions were running so close to the surface. He couldn’t believe the things that the blond did to him.
“Look at me, please.”
Brian couldn’t help it. His eyes traveled back up along the perfect torso, the pale column of his neck, the flawless chin, the full lips, the cute nose, finally resting on the intense and mesmerizing bright blue eyes. God, he fucking loved those eyes.
“It was nice that the guy hit on me, for about five seconds it made me feel hot. But what I feel with you, when I’m with you, no one and nothing can compare to that. You make me feel wanted and needed. You make me feel sexy and desired.” Justin saw another tear slip down Brian’s face and brushed it away with his fingers. “I see who you really are and I adore you. You’re good enough, more than good enough for me and I hope that I am deserving of you. I care about you and I promise that I’ll never leave you.”
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Justin.”
“You’re right. I can’t promise that, but I can promise to try to work things out so that it doesn’t get that far. Do you agree with that?”
“Yeah,” Brian said softly. He was so overwhelmed. He had longed his whole life to feel the way he did with Justin. To hear the things that the blond was telling him and it felt so good. Maybe he did deserve to be happy, to feel, well, love. He wasn’t ready to share that little bit of information with Justin just yet though. He could handle only so much emotional bloodletting for one night and he had just about reached his limit.
“So, I think that all in all it was a great evening. I had the best hamburger and got to meet your friends, enjoying some more than others,” Justin said with a laugh.
“I feel the same way myself right now,” Brian agreed, shaking his head, still floored by Michael’s blatant display of exactly what, he wasn’t quite sure.
“And I got to go to a real, gay dance club…and I had a beer.”
“Oh, big man now,” Brian teased.
“Okay, okay, well, at least we found out tonight that we are truly lucky people.”
Glancing questioningly at the younger man, Brian asked, “How do you figure that?”
“Because no one noticed the hickies. That would have opened a whole new can of worms.”
Laughing he nodded, realizing that Justin was right. That was all he’d needed. For Michael to have noticed and gone off about how the hell he’d gotten them and if he’d seen the same marks on the Justin’s neck? Holy shit. It would have been a whine-fest like never before.
Just then he felt Justin’s hand brush across his thigh softly and he looked down to see the man’s perfect hand resting on his leg.
Yep, he was definitely lucky. Lucky to have Justin and he hoped that his luck never ran out.