Little White Lies

There seemed to be a mild and friendly debate going on as the guys entered the loft one evening. Justin immediately headed over to light the fake fireplace and Brian settled himself onto the floor as the flames began to flicker. Justin soon joined him in what certainly looked like a scene of complete domestic bliss – and it probably was. The debate did not resume immediately – but eventually it did.

“You lied to me,” Brian was still insisting.

“No I did not,” Justin insisted back. “What I did was just to surprise you. That’s what I did and that’s all that I did.”

“Well it seems to me that keeping information that I should know away from me is the moral equivalent of lying, Baby.” Brian continued. “That is my opinion and I’m sticking to it too.”

“Hey, Kinney,” Justin stated his case. “Last week I said I wanted to take you out to dinner tonight – if you remember – and you said that it sounded good to you.”

“But you did not happen to mention where, did you?” Brian grinned at him. “Vital information that you withheld deliberately, Sweetheart. And you didn’t want me to know either.”

“Well I must admit that the element of surprise would be ruined if I told you,” Justin had to concede, “But I seem to remember you saying that anyplace I picked would be OK. Am I wrong?”

“I might have said that, Kiddo,” Brian remembered, “But I only said it because I thought you had Gino’s in mind.”

“And I guess I was supposed to read your mind?” Justin reasoned. “Like magic maybe?”

“Well you don’t seem to have any trouble reading my mind when I don’t want you to, Baby,” Brian grouched mildly. “You seem to only read minds when it suits you.”

“Brian, Honey,” Justin pointed out patiently. “You enjoyed the meal. You said it was maybe the best spaghetti you ever had. And you’ve done nothing but complain ever since…..”

“Because you never told me we were going to a church supper at Reverend Tom’s church – or that my mother would be one of the waitresses – or that Clare and the kids would be there – and even Jason and Brandon, for cripes sake,” Brian defended himself.

“All part of the surprise, Bri,” Justin replied. “Except for the Brandon and Jason part. I didn’t know they were going to be there either. Anyhow, you enjoyed yourself so I don’t see what all this is about. Unless you’re just complaining about me even wanting to go to the church supper at all. You would have gone with me anyhow if I wanted to go - and you know it.”

“Yeah, I probably would have, Baby,” Brian admitted, “But I also probably would have complained a little if I knew where you were taking me.”

“No doubt at all about that,” Justin laughed. “But you’re getting to complain now and that should satisfy you, shouldn’t it?”

“Well I just don’t think we should be lying about stuff, that’s all,” Brian explained. “That’s all I’m really saying.”

“In that case,” Justin smiled archly, “Maybe we ought to go back to that quick trip to Boston you took last month, Mr. Kinney.”

“That was entirely different, Baby,” Brian posited. “I had to go and there was no point in your coming along. I left in the morning and took a damn red-eye back so I could get home by midnight.”

“But you knew about the trip the night before and you didn’t say a word to me about it,” Justin came back. “You called me from the airport at 10 in the morning to tell me your flight was getting ready to board – and that you hoped you’d be back that night but you weren’t sure. Was that a lie, Bri? What about that?”

“I guess I thought it was worth it to save you the trouble of campaigning to come along – which you would have, I bet,” Brian reasoned. “It was just a quick trip. I was doing it for your own benefit, Sweetheart, so I don’t think that was a lie.”

“Well you could have condemned me to a lonely evening all by myself here in this lonely loft…,” Justin conjectured. “And maybe a long lonely night too….”

“But I didn’t though,” Brian defended himself. “You told me you went out to dinner with Jason and Brandon and had a good time – without me - and you still had a good time – but I wasn’t even mad about that either.”

“Actually, Honey,” Justin laughed. “We went to Tom’s church that night. The spaghetti dinner is like a monthly affair. Johnny had been wanting me to bring you for the last couple of months but I was kind of afraid – knowing how you are. So your sneaky trip to Boston gave me a chance to try it out myself without you. Brandon and Jason aren’t as hard to please as you are so I asked them to come along. We all liked the meal so much I figured it was safe to ask you this month. That’s how Brandon and Jason knew about it and that’s why they were there tonight. And I was gonna tell you where I wanted to go tonight till you said anywhere I picked would be all right and so I decided to surprise you. And you were surprised too.”

“Yeah,” Brian agreed, “I was surprised all right.”

“But no more surprised than I was when I got that call from the airport the day you snuck off to Boston without me,” Justin countered. “So I guess if I was lying to you tonight, you were lying to me then.”

Brian didn’t respond immediately so there was a lull in the conversation at this point while the guys thought things over. Actually the lull might have ended the conversation altogether as they got somewhat distracted – but it didn’t.”

“Well I guess if they were lies,” Brian resumed, “They were little white lies. I guess they don’t count. Do you think it’s OK for us to tell each other little white lies?”

“You know what, Bri,” Justin laughed. “If I thought it was OK, I could still answer that question either way because if I said ‘no’ it would just be a little white lie.”

“And you know what, Kiddo,” Brian laughed back. “There is absolutely no point in trying to reason with you tonight – or even talk to you so….”

There was yet another lull in the discussion at this point – longer than the first one too. Now that should have killed off the entire conversation – but actually, it didn’t.”

“So there’s gonna be another spaghetti dinner next month?” Brian asked a while later.

Yep,” Justin affirmed. “Wanna go? It’s completely up to you.”

“Yeah,” Brian replied. “It was really pretty good. I guess I was just complaining to make sure you don’t pull something like that again. Maybe we should go. Wonder if maybe Mikey and Ben….”

“I think they’re already planning to be there next month, Brian,” Justin informed him. “And Malcolm and Hunter – and Ted and Blake….. There just wasn’t enough time for them to arrange to get there this month….Of course Brandon and Jason will probably be there….”

“OK, Twink,” Brian told him with a tighter embrace and a look that was half-laugh and half-leer. “This conversation is officially over – finally and officially over. Got it?”

“Whatever you say, BK,” Justin replied contentedly, snuggling up closer to Brian. “Just like always.” Which may or may not have been a little white lie.

 

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