Small Town
Part 22
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Justin snuggled closer to Brian and sleepily asked, “Are you going to stay?”
Running his hand up and down the soft skin of the blond’s back, Brian replied, “I can’t. I don’t want you to get in trouble.”
Yawning loudly, Justin opened his eyes and looked up, meeting the brunet’s gaze. “Stay.”
Smiling at the sweetness in his lover’s voice, Brian said, “I’ll stay for a while, but I’m leaving before morning.”
“’Kay,” Justin said, giving into his body’s need as he happily drifted off to sleep, safe in the arms of the man he loved.
Brian sighed contentedly and closed his eyes, promising himself that he’d just rest them for a few minutes. That promise was broken as he slipped into a peaceful sleep.
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Brian couldn’t believe that he’d fallen asleep for so
long. He woke with a start as
the sun began to creep into Justin’s room,
then looked at the clock and was shocked to find that it was
Shit.
He quickly but carefully disentangled himself from Justin’s arms and got off the bed. Picking up his clothes, he dressed then leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to his lover’s forehead before climbing out the window and down the trellis.
He checked that the street was clear before he dashed out from the cover of the house and ran to the jeep parked a few houses over. He was really glad that he hadn’t left it closer. He didn’t want to raise any suspicions with Justin’s parents if they happened to look outside last night. He hopped inside and headed for home.
He couldn’t keep the huge smile off his face at the thought of the previous night. It was amazing. Justin was amazing and no matter what, he didn’t think that he’d ever feel anything different.
He was thrilled that the blond had been so open to his solution with
his school problem for September.
He felt his stomach tighten at the thought that maybe Justin
wouldn’t get into the school in
Just the thought of having to play nice and take the girl out made his blood boil. Fucking Jack. He shook his head, still feeling defeated by his father’s actions. “One day,” he said quietly. One day he’d get even. He had no doubt.
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Justin woke up before the sound of the alarm and stretched leisurely with his eyes still closed. Instantly he remembered the events of the night before and reached beside him for the firm body of his lover. His hand landed on the cool sheets and he quickly turned, opening his eyes to find the spot empty.
Sighing at Brian’s absence, Justin’s eyes cast upwards, finding something on the now vacant pillow. He reached for it and was surprised to find a piece of white paper fashioned into the shape of a heart. Its edges were ragged, having been ripped into form and he recognized the paper from the sheets that lay on his desk. Clutching the heart to his chest, he smiled.
Suddenly the room was enveloped in a loud, irritating buzzing noise and
Justin’s hand lashed out, slamming the button on the clock radio and
ending the incessant noise.
Reluctantly he got up then stood,
dreading the thought of another boring day at
school. He thought about the
plan that Brian had shared with him last night and
smiled.
Walking over to his nightstand, he opened the top drawer and placed the heart-shaped paper inside. He looked down at the token and felt his heart swell with the thought of his romantic boyfriend. Closing the drawer, he patted it gently, knowing that it held a piece of Brian within.
When Justin went down for breakfast, he felt the mood of the night before still present. His mother watched him warily as he took his seat at the kitchen table. She smiled weakly as she placed a plate of eggs and bacon in front of him, then walked back to the counter and sipped her coffee.
“So, Justin, do you have any plans for this evening?” Jennifer asked, trying her best to sweep everything under the rug and start the day fresh.
Realizing that his mother just wanted to act as if nothing had happened, Justin kept his eyes downwards, focusing on his plate and said, “Yeah, I’m going out with Daphne. Actually, I wanted to stay over at her house, if that’s okay,” the blond asked as he lifted his eyes to meet his mother’s.
Seeing the pain and sadness still evident in her son’s eyes, Jennifer swallowed hard around the lump in her throat and said, “Sure, honey,” then she smiled, trying to let her son know wordlessly that she was sorry for what had happened.
“Thanks,” Justin replied, understanding the look in his mother’s eyes.
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“So, we all set for tonight, Sonny Boy?”
“We? Why, are YOU coming on the date now?” Brian asked his father with distain.
Huffing, the older man said, “Yeah, I wish I had a date with a beautiful young blonde.”
Laughing at the irony of his father’s words, Brian said under his breath, “Yeah, me too,” then frowned, thinking about the evening he’d had planned with Justin and what he had to do now.
“What’s that?” Jack asked.
“Nothing,” Brian said shaking his head
“So, where are you taking the girl?”
Raising one eyebrow questioningly at his father, Brian said, “Making sure I don’t screw things up for you?”
“No, I know that you wouldn’t be stupid enough to try that,” the older man said, giving his son a warning look, then he continued. “Why don’t you take her to Vinnie’s?”
“Yeah, I guess I could,” Brian said noncommittally.
“Good, so it’s settled. Have a good time and be on your best behavior, and for God’s sake, DON’T try to fuck her,” Jack advised his son.
“Don’t worry about that. I definitely won’t try to fuck her,” Brian said, trying his best to keep his face from cringing at the thought as he headed out of the store.
Getting into his car, Brian took out his cell phone and pushed memory one, smiling when he heard the voice on the other end of the line.
“Hey.”
“Hey, baby.”
“How was your day?” Justin asked, happy to hear his lover’s voice.
“Busy, like always. I just wanted to check that everything was still set for tonight.”
“Of course, just like we
planned. I’ll be waiting
for you outside Daphne’s at
“Don’t worry, I won’t.”
“Oh, and Brian.”
“Yeah?”
“Don’t have too good a time,” the blond said quietly.
“You’re the only one I have a good time with, Sunshine. Only you,” Brian purred and felt the warmth of his lover’s perfect smile wash over him from across the line.
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Brian pulled up in front of Tom Granger’s house and was once again floored at the beauty of it. It was a large home, much larger than most of the homes in town. The pristine white of the porch and large pillars stood out sharply against the dark wood siding that covered the house. It was amazing and Brian hoped that one day he owned something as impressive.
He headed up the porch steps and rang the bell, then waited patiently for the door to open.
“I’ll get it,” he heard from inside and plastered the most genuine smile he could muster across his face as the door opened and he came face to face with a pretty, blonde woman.
“Hi, you must be Brian. I’m Lindsay,” the warm voice said with a smile that made her blue eyes sparkle.
Instantly, Brian was reminded of another blond whose bright, blue eyes and perfect smile had captured his heart. He instantly felt comfortable with the woman in front of him because she made him think of Justin.
“Yeah, I’m Brian. Are you ready to go?”
“Yep, just let me get my purse,” Lindsay said and disappeared into the house for a second. “Bye, Uncle Tom,” she called out as she made her way back to Brian and stepped outside, closing the door behind her.
“Um, let me get the door for you,” Brian said, not really sure of how he was supposed to act on a date, having never really gone on one before. Well, he figured that wasn’t really true anymore since he’d been out with Justin a few times in the past week. Still, he didn’t want to look stupid or make any mistakes. He knew his father would not be happy if the evening didn’t go well.
“Thank you,” the woman said with a smile as she climbed into the jeep and fastened her seat belt.
Brian went around to his side and got in. “I hope you like Italian food. I thought we’d go to Vinnie’s. They have great pasta.”
“That sounds wonderful, Brian.”
The brunet stilled for a moment after hearing Lindsay say his name. He wanted to see if it had any affect on him, the way it did when Justin said it, but he felt nothing. No tingles at all. He smiled, happy knowing that his lover was the right one, the only one for him. Not that he ever doubted it, but he was glad to have a little bit of extra proof.
Once they arrived at the restaurant, they were seated right away. The place wasn’t that busy yet so it wasn’t a problem that Brian hadn’t bothered to make reservations.
Lindsay looked over the place and smiled, happy with her date’s choice. “So, tell me something about yourself, Brian.”
“Um, okay, I’m, uh, I’m working through the summer at my family’s store then going to NYU.” He didn’t know exactly what to say and was a little stunned by the woman’s desire to get to know him.
“Oh, that sounds great.
I’m heading to
”You mean The New York Academy Of Art?”
Brian asked, feeling a little uneasy that if Justin got accepted there and
their plan to live together worked out, he might actually bump into Lindsay,
and that could prove to be a problem.
“Yes, how did you know?”
“Oh, uh, my friend, Justin applied there too. He’s just waiting to see if he got accepted. How do you know that you got in already?”
“Oh, my mother’s on the board so I got an early acceptance.”
“Oh, I guess it pays to have connections,” Brian said, thinking
of what Justin had told him about his father’s connections and his early
“Yeah, it does. So,
maybe we can get together in
Not exactly sure why it bugged him that Lindsay had just ASSUMED that
he hadn’t been to
After chatting about nothing of importance and eating as much as he could, Brian looked at his watch and sighed quietly, realizing that FINALLY it was time to go. He looked up at the blonde that was coming back to the table from the washroom and smiled. “So, are you ready to go?” he asked, standing up, not giving her much of a choice.
“Oh, you want to go? Um, okay, I guess I’m ready,” the woman said meekly. She was hoping to spend some more time with Brian, to get to know him better, but obviously that wasn’t his plan. She followed him out of the restaurant and smiled politely as he held the door open to the jeep then closed it behind her.
“So, did you like the restaurant?” Brian asked as they drove towards Lindsay’s uncle’s house. He didn’t want to end the date on a bad note and he could tell that the woman wasn’t exactly thrilled at being taken home so early. The thing was, he really didn’t care. He’d done his duty, just like his father expected him to. No more, no less. He didn’t want to lead the blonde on, thinking that she was going to get more than he was willing to give. He wasn’t interested in her, but he didn’t want to be cruel.
“Yeah, I had a great time. I, um, I hope that we can do this again sometime,” Lindsay said eagerly.
“Uh, well…oh, we’re here,” Brian said as they pulled up to the house, just in the nick of time. He got out and gentlemanly opened the door for the woman and walked her up to the house.
“Well, bye, Brian.”
“Yeah, bye,” the man said with an uncomfortable smile, then turned and walked back to the jeep.
Lindsay stood on the porch, watching her date walk away and wondered why he hadn’t even tried to kiss her. Maybe he was being polite? Maybe he isn’t interested in me? Well, she’d just have to talk to her uncle and see what he could do about getting her another chance with the gorgeous man. She wasn’t about to give up that easy.
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Brian pulled up outside Daphne’s house at exactly
“So, how was your date?” Justin asked, his smile falling slightly, but not too much.
“Okay, I guess. I’ve never been on a date with a woman before, so I don’t have anything to compare it to,” the older man said honestly.
“Oh, well, as long as you didn’t end up fucking on top of the table, I guess it must have gone alright.”
Laughing, Brian turned and smiled at his lover, seeing the slight amount of doubt in his blue eyes and said, “The thought never even crossed my mind, Sunshine.”
“Good,” the blond said, settling back in his seat. He was relieved. “So, where are we going?” he asked excitedly.
“I thought we’d go to the motel again. Try to relive some of the highlights of our first night together,” the brunet said with a wicked grin.
“Sounds perfect to me,” Justin answered, thrilled at getting to spend a whole night with his boyfriend without any interruptions or curfews or parents.
“I was hoping you’d say that,” Brian said, giving the
hand beneath his a squeeze as they headed towards