Dinner For Eight

The guys had just settled themselves onto the floor of the loft facing their fake fireplace. The flames were already crackling away. Brian circled the twink with his right arm and then opened the evening’s discussion.

“Hey, Sweetheart,” he said. “Mark your calendar for October 13th. Dinner at Gino’s.”

“Consider it done, Mr. Kinney,” Justin grinned at him. “Just as you command – no questions asked - but – you know - it’s pretty early for you to decide that we’ll be going out to dinner on the 13th – so I suspect there may be more to the story than has already been revealed. Right?”

“On the nose, Baby,” Brian smiled in agreement. “I knew you’d figure that out – you being so perceptive and all. What happened was - it all started this morning when I got this telephone call from our billionaire friend, Dave….”

“You got the call, Brian?” Justin wondered. “Why you I wonder? Don’t you think maybe Dave should have called me?”

“Nope,” Brian informed him. “I think Dave would rather talk to me. Dave knows you pretty well. You would just think he was coming on to you and you probably would have told him ‘no’ and since I am more reasonable….”

“So I would have thought he was coming on to me when he told me that you and me should go out to dinner on the 13th, Bri?” Justin presumed. “And I would have refused to go to dinner with you because Dave suggested it Sounds a bit strange to me but if you say so….”

“Cut it out, Twink,” Brian grinned at him. “Dave is coming into town that day for a meeting with some folks here. He is maybe gonna buy two downtown skyscrapers and he likes to see where he’s throwing a hundred-million dollars or so – like – before he throws it….”

“And he can see said skyscrapers from Gino’s up on Mt. Washington,” Justin inferred. “So you are taking him to dinner and I’m getting to go along….”

“And you have the nerve to complain about how hard it is to tell me anything, Taylor,” Brian laughed.

“Maybe I’m just paying you back, Kinney,” Justin allowed as he snuggled a little closer to the guy next to him. “But go ahead and tell me what you want to….”

Actually there was a lengthy pause in the discussion at this point before Brian proceeded with his explanation. And Justin did not prompt him to continue sooner either – but Brian eventually did return to the conversation at hand.

“OK, Baby,” Brian went on, “Dave said he was planning to fly back to New York in the late afternoon that day – he’ll be here by himself - but if we were free – and it was OK with you of course - he’d stay over and have dinner with us – if you didn’t like - get paranoid….”

“He did not either say anything about my getting paranoid, Brian Kinney,” Justin interrupted. “You just made that part up….”

“Well maybe he didn’t exactly say anything about you getting paranoid, JT,” Brian conceded. “But that’s what he meant. I know Dave well enough….”

“But it doesn’t seem like you checked with me before you decided it was OK, Kinney – like Dave supposedly asked you to do,” Justin reminded him. “Seems like you just decided for yourself – and for me….”

“Yep, I did, Baby,” Brian told him. “I had Cynthia call up and reserve the private room at Gino’s – cause I knew I could persuade you to go. Then I called Mikey and he and Ben can come – in case anything comes up about Rage – and then I called Brandon – since he knows Dave – and I didn’t want to hear you complaining about Jason complaining that he wasn’t invited….”

“Can Brandon and Jason come?” Justin wanted to know.

“Now that has to be the dumbest question you’ve ever asked, Baby,” Brian had to laugh. “But the answer is ‘yes’ – they’ll be able to fit this dinner into their busy social schedule all right…. So it’ll be dinner for seven on the 13th. You can plan the menu if you want to….”

“Gee whiz, Kinney,” Justin replied. “Don’t you know that dinner for an odd number of people is bad luck?”

“Nope,” Brian admitted, “I knew about 13 but not about like – any odd number….”

“Well, it’s a good thing I remembered then, Bri,” Justin told him. “We better get somebody else to come and make it dinner for eight….”

“OK, Baby,” Brian agreed. “We can do that. We don’t want any bad luck. Maybe Ted would like to come – wait a minute, Justin Taylor – I’m getting the picture – Ted won’t be getting invited at all. You have somebody specific in mind for numero eighto. That’s why all the ‘bad luck’ bull in the first place…..”

“Gee whiz, Kinney,” Justin complained. “You always suspect me of something….”

“So who is this lucky guy that’s gonna bring us good luck, Sweetheart?” Brian was undeterred. “Do I even know him?”

“Well there is somebody I think would fit in well, Bri,” Justin admitted. “And I don’t think you know him. Wendell. Wendell Brown….”

“I think you know damn well I don’t know him, Baby mine,” Brian grinned. “But I also have the feeling that I’m gonna be hearing a lot about him like – right now….”

“Wendell is – like a new faculty member at the Institute, Bri,” Justin proved Brian correct. “He’s in music. The cello is his major instrument but he’s really good on the piano too – and he’s the assistant conductor of the student orchestra….”

“Dammit, Justin Taylor,” Brian got the complete picture all at once. “You’re match-making again. I oughta get Malcolm to put on Fiddler on the Roof and cast you as Yenta….”

“Gee whiz, Brian,” Justin protested.

“Is this Wendell a blond twink, Baby,” Brian continued. “Or don’t I need to ask?”

“He’s blond, Brian,” Justin admitted. “But he’s not a twink. He’s an older guy. He’s like – almost a year older than me….”

“And he’s cute?” Brian was laughing now.

“Yeah,” Justin told him, “in his own way….”

“So what makes him such a good match for David?” Brian wanted to know.

“Well, he’s a really nice guy – like Dave is, Brian,” Justin pointed out. “And he’s like – never had a steady boy-friend – like Dave hasn’t either – and I think he wants a steady boy-friend – like I think Dave does too….”

“But if you match up Dave and Wendell, Sweetheart,” Brian cautioned, “you won’t have Dave as a back-up when you finally decide I’m not worth the effort….”

“I’m willing to take that chance, Mr. Kinney,” Justin explained, rubbing his hair against Brian’s cheek. “That’s what people do when they fall in love.”

“And you think this Wendell guy could adjust to all the private jets and yachts and stuff?” Brian posed the question.

“I’m sure he could if he had to, Kinney,” Justin assured him. “That’s what people do when they fall in love – a little adjusting. Look at me….”

“Will you shut up, Taylor, and let me?” Brian asked the kid.

“Let you what, Brian?” the kid seemed puzzled.

“Look at you, JT,” Brian told him. “Just let me look at you….”

Justin figured he could do that. He could adjust. That’s what people do when they fall in love.
 

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