You'll Never Dance Alone

The fireplace was lit and the twink was already seated on the floor of the loft as the other guy gingerly lowered himself into his accustomed position – pretty much expecting just what happened next,

“Darn it, Kinney,” Justin told him. “You must have the weakest ankles in the world. You’re always spraining them ….”

”Well, weak ankles or not, Kiddo, my mind is sound enough to remember that this is only the second sprained ankle I’ve had in the hundred or so years since we’ve been together,” Brian responded. “And it’s also only the second sprained ankle I’ve ever had in my whole life – but am I blaming you? Not at all.”

“We have not either been together for a hundred years, Brian Kinney,” Justin responded back. “Not yet. And if you’re planning to say that it seems like a hundred years to you, I bet we won’t ever be together for a hundred years – not even in a hundred years.”

“You think I was gonna say that, with all your nagging, it seems like a hundred years to me, Baby,” Brian laughed aloud. “Well I wasn’t. I was just using – like - a metaphor ….”

”Hyperbole, Brian,” Justin corrected him. “That was hyperbole ….”

“Bet you don’t know what I was using any more than I do,” Brian was still laughing. “But you always have to have the last word …..”

“Well that’s just about as bad as saying my nagging makes you think we’ve been together for a hundred years, Mr. Kinney,” Justin complained. “And anyhow, I think you sprained your ankle deliberately ….”

“You think I made that elevator door malfunction and close on my ankle, Taylor?” Brian wondered. “Now if I had sprained my ankle kicking the desk – like I sometimes do when things don’t go right at Kinnetics – then you might have a point ….”

“That’d be just too obvious, Bri,” Justin found himself smiling. “You wouldn’t be that dumb.”

“Well Brandon says I should sue the elevator maintenance company, JT,” Brian informed him. “But I said I didn’t want to do that - but if I did, I could prove it was an accident right there in a court of law, so I guess that would prove that ….”

“You were talking to Brandon?” Justin asked him. “Like – since the accident?”

“Well he wasn’t gonna advise me to sue before I had the accident, Sweetheart,” Brian reasoned. “But I was indeed talking to Brandon – about something else though. Like – shouldn’t I talk to Brandon? Something wrong with that?”

“Guess not,” Justin agreed – still sounding suspicious.

The conversation tailed off at this point for a short while – giving the guys some time to think. But it did resume a little later - pretty much where it left off.

“Why would you think I’d sprain my ankle on purpose, Twink?” Brian resumed the debate. “You think I’m masochistic or something?”

“Nope,” Justin replied, “not exactly masochistic. But remember last night when us guys were eating at the diner – and we were talking about the benefit event at the Gay and Lesbian Center that we’re all going to on Friday ….”

”Yeah,” Brian seemed puzzled, “but I was willing to go to that – and I just told you a little while ago that we can still go. I’ll just be hobbling a little ….”

“But Emmett also told us that they had arranged for this great line dance teacher to be there,” Justin reminded him. “And both you and Brandon had funny looks on your faces …..”

“But me and Brandon don’t know how to do any line dances like you and Jason do, Honey,” Brian pointed out while grinning broadly. “And we’re like – too old to learn. We just watch – and maybe laugh a little. We’ll still be able to watch ….

“And I bet you thought that Jason and me were maybe gonna try to get you two old wall-flowers to learn how to have a little fun at the party, BK,” Justin countered. “And you decided just to make sure ….”

“Well were you, Baby?” Brian laughed. “That does sound like you two. Not that the thought ever crossed my mind till you just mentioned it.”

“I don’t think I’ll even answer that mean question, Brian Kinney,” Justin seemed affronted. “But I guess if that was our intention, there will be other times and other opportunities ….”

“But you do know what weak ankles I have, Sweetheart,” Brian reminded him. “And ….”

And the discussion suddenly hit “pause” mode right there – and it did not seem that the guys were thinking over and reviewing their arguments either.

“You can still have your fun on Friday, Honey,” Brian resumed the conversation after a while. “You’ll be able to do all those dances if you want to. You won’t have to dance alone. There’s always forty or fifty jackasses who want to do the ‘Chicken Dance’ and ‘YMCA’….”

“Yeah, thanks, Kinney,” Justin had to smile – against his better judgment. “I guess I’ll just be one of the jackasses …..”

“Now you’re putting words in my mouth, Taylor,” Brian had to smile back. “What I said was that maybe it’ll be you and the forty or fifty jackasses dancing in unison - trying to pull your backs out of place ….”

“Which is so much different than spraining your ankle all the time?” Justin wanted to know while expanding the smile.

“Well people don’t go around deliberately trying to sprain their ankle,” Brian differentiated.

“That’s what you’ve been saying anyhow,” Justin laughed at him. “But maybe I’m still not so sure ….”

“You know damn well I didn’t sprain my ankle on purpose, Baby,” Brian pointed out. “And you’re just trying to have some fun with it – probably to make up for not being able to browbeat me into learning those awful line dances next Friday. But you know what else, Sweetheart, Jason won’t be able to get on Brandon to learn them either – or I’ll know that’s what you guys had in mind all along ….”

“You know what, Brian?” Justin grinned back at him. “You’re getting better – a lot better. Like if I didn’t already know you knew ….”

“Like you already know I knew something, Baby?” Brian wondered. “Besides what you and Jason had planned for me and Brandon at the charity party – or is that what you meant?”

“Gee whiz, Brian,” Justin exclaimed. “You’re not that good. It’s hard to believe but maybe you really don’t know ….”

”Don’t know what, Baby?” Brian insisted.

“Don’t know that Brandon sprained his ankle getting out of the car this afternoon, Honey,” Justin smiled. “Stepped on a rock ….”

“You are kidding, JT,” Brian said unbelievingly. “I did not know that. I swear I didn’t. It’s kind of funny though. Isn’t it? I know how they like to copy everything we do but ….”

“You’re just gonna have to quit spraining your ankle then, Bri,” Justin advised him. “Or Brandon just might decide to sue you for giving bad example ….”

”Like – you think he’d sue me if I didn’t sue him first, Kiddo?” Brian asked the kid.

“Gee whiz, Brian,” Justin cuddled himself closer to the injured but still very much alive body next to him. “I don’t know about that – but it’s a real good question.”

But Justin got no reply - and it seemed at that point like both of them were past dealing with any further questions – good or otherwise.

Return to Fireside Chats