A New Twist

The fire was lit. Justin was positioned in front of it. Yes he surely was. But Brian was dawdling over something in the bedroom while Justin waited patiently – or as patiently as Justin was ever likely to wait. This was something special.

“Hurry up, Brian,” he called just as Brian appeared, then stopped, looked at the kid and began to laugh.

“OK, Sunshine,” Brian chortled. “Let me guess. Malcolm is putting on some production and you’re going to play a pretzel. You’ll make a really good pretzel, I’m sure.”

“See, Brian,” Justin grouched. “Every time I try to do something new or something to improve myself, you have to make fun of me.”

“Well it does present a problem for me, Baby,” Brian was still laughing. “If I try to put my arm around your neck tonight, I’ll also have my arm around your foot. And I don’t have any idea how to get you unwound either so I hope you can do it yourself. I guess there’s no point in my asking what the hell is going on.”

“It’s yoga, Brian,” Justin told him, “And I bet you knew that without my telling you. You just always like to pick on me – and pretend everything I do is crazy.”

“Pretend, eh? Well I bet if I tried to pick on you by tying you up in a knot like that, Mr. Yogi, you’d call the police,” Brian replied. “Not that I could even do it. Geez, I hope you can unwind yourself.”

“I can ‘unwind’ whenever I want to. And I don’t think people who do yoga are called yogis either, Mr. Kinney,” Justin argued. “Yogis are funny bears that like to steal picnic baskets in national parks. I saw that on TV when I was a kid.”

“Yeah,” Brian agreed, “Or like maybe they catch for the Yankees – but I don’t think they tie themselves up in knots they can’t get out of.”

“I can too get out of this, Brian,” Justin assured him. “I’m very lithe and Jennifer showed me how to do it – and I think it’s pretty neat too.”

“Well I’m going to sit down next to you – and I guess I’m going to hear some pretty long story,” Brian concluded. “But I’m not putting my arm around you till you get yourself all unrolled. I’m afraid I might break your leg.”

“You are no fun at all, Kinney,” Justin smiled at him, and, true to his boast, extricated himself from his position with relative ease – to Brian’s hidden astonishment. “Now get down here and put your arm around me and I’ll tell you everything you want to know.”

“Actually,” Brian allowed as he positioned himself and did encircle the kid with his arm, “I don’t need to know anything at all – unless it’s important for you to tell me.”

“There’s this girl at the Institute, Bri,” Justin began as if he had been encouraged to do so. “Her name’s Jennifer. She’s into all this oriental stuff – yoga and martial arts too. She’s been showing us some things. I thought maybe you’d like to get into the yoga too. I could show you….”

“Forget it, Baby,” Brian told him quickly. “If I’m gonna break my leg, I’m gonna do it skiing or something like that. I have no intention of breaking my leg by trying to wrap it around my neck.”

“Not agile enough?” Justin teased him.

“Nope,” Brian came back. “Just too smart. You know what else, Baby, I think I’ve told you to stay away from those girls over at the Institute. They must all be crazy – or at least the ones you get mixed up with are – that weird one who knows all about everybody’s love life and now this one who gets you all tied up in knots.”

“Bet you’d rather I hung out with the girls than with the good-looking guys,” Justin grinned. “The girls aren’t any competition.”

“Neither are the guys, Sweetheart,” Brian grinned back at him. “Never saw you sitting here in front of the fireplace with any of them. I guess I’m pretty safe.”

“You’re no fun at all, Kinney,” Justin whispered in his ear as he pushed in closer to the guy next to him. “No fun at all.”

The discussion hit pause mode at this point and an observer would have concluded that Justin really thought that Brian was at least some fun. It was quite a while before the conversation resumed.

“Bet you were surprised that I was doing yoga, Bri?” Justin continued where the discussion had left off.

“Yep,” Brian answered. “But then I never ought to be surprised at whatever you do, I guess. You are a man of a hundred surprises. And talents. I bet you’re a lot better at yoga than Jason is.”

“Wait a minute, Kinney,” Justin seemed somewhat confused. “What about Jason? Jason doesn’t even go to the Institute. He goes to Pitt. Why would you think he was into yoga too? Maybe you have something to explain. BK. This inquiring mind wants to know.”

“Just a slip of the tongue, I guess,” Brian postulated. “I think I must have meant Malcolm.”

“No, you didn’t either, Brian Kinney,” Justin insisted. “You only get names mixed up when you do it deliberately. You said Jason and you meant Jason.”

“But like you said, Sweetheart,” Brian reasoned. “Jason doesn’t even go to the Institute.”

“Yeah but he was over visiting with us the day we met Jennifer,” Justin remembered. “And he is trying the yoga out. And you knew it. Talk, Kinney – or maybe I’ll have to resort to some of the martial arts Jennifer was showing us.”

“OK, Baby,” Brian gave in. “Jason didn’t wait as long as you did to spring his surprise on Brandon. He tried it last night over there and he couldn’t untangle himself. Brandon had to do it for him and Brandon said he was afraid he’d break something – and he doesn’t want anything on Jason broken either. So maybe he did call me and warn me that….”

“Darn it, Kinney,” Justin objected. “That’s like spying on me. That’s what it is. Using Brandon as an informant. It’s not fair to get help like that. Not fair at all, I don’t think. I should be mad.”

“Like you and Jason don’t plot together against me and Brandon, Baby,” Brian made his point. “Are you saying that you and Jason never hatch any little plots between you? Eh?”

“Well it’s not the same thing at all,” Justin grouched mildly.

“No it isn’t,” Brian laughed. “It’s a kind of a new twist on things, I’d say, Baby. But I hope you’re not really mad.”

“Well maybe I am a little bit mad, Bri,” Justin decided, without sounding mad, “Maybe I am. But you’re pretty good at changing my mind when I’m mad – if you try, that is.”

“Well maybe I do want to try, Honey,” Brian told him. “And maybe I’ll try something new too.”

“I don’t think you need to try any new twists at all, Sweetheart,” Justin replied. “The old stuff always works.”

So there was another pause in the discussion while Brian eschewed any new twists, relying on the old proven techniques – which were very successful this time too.

It was a while later when Justin broke the silence. “I think I’m going to give up yoga, Brian,” he told the big guy. “It’s fun but I only have so much time….”

“But I bet you’ll still work on the martial arts though,” Brian teased him. “So you can force me to do whatever you want me to.”

“Nope,” Justin smiled coyly, rubbing his hair against Brian’s face. “No need for new twists when the old methods work so well.”
 

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