Coming Out

Chapter 40

More than three years later…


Brian was standing outside the restaurant, looking out at the setting sun when he felt a strong pair of arms wrap around him.

“Be careful, my boyfriend’s inside and he tends to be the jealous type,” Brian warned without turning around.

“Very funny, asshole,” Justin replied with a chuckle. “What are you doing out here?”

“I’m just thinking about what happens next,” Brian told him.

“Brian, it’s our graduation party. There’s plenty of time later to worry about our future,” Justin explained in exasperation. Brian had been moody for the last month, allowing his fear over the future to get the better of him.

“I can’t help it and you’re not making it any easier by refusing to take the opportunity you’re being offered,” Brian spat back in anger.

Justin sighed, tired of the same old argument. “I told you before, I’m not going to go to New York and leave you behind. I don’t care what opportunity I’ve been given. It’s not even an option. You’ve got to stay here at Ryder and that means that I’m staying, too.”

“But you can’t pass up an opportunity to work in New York. As an artist, you have an obligation to yourself to follow whatever path your talent takes you to. It’s not every day that a college graduate is offered his own showing a few weeks before his actual graduation,” Brian pointed out.

“I know and if there was any way I could accept, I would. But they’re insisting that I sign a one year contract and move there so that I can be close by and I won’t do it. We’ve been over this a hundred times already and my answer is still the same. I’m not going.” Justin’s tone left no room for argument.

“I just want…”

“For me to be happy, right? Well I am happy. I’m happy being here with you. I’m not going to let you talk me into something I don’t want to do again. You did it with Brooks and look how that turned out? Now can we please just drop it and go back inside with our friends and family and enjoy our party?” Justin pleaded.

“Fine, lets go,” Brian relented, knowing it was useless to argue anymore. He’d never met anyone as stubborn as Justin before.

“Thank you,” Justin mumbled as he led his boyfriend inside.

The party was still in full swing and Justin was enjoying every minute of it. His parents had rented out a local restaurant and invited everyone they knew. Even Jeff and Shane flew in for the big event. Brian and Justin had kept in touch with them over the years and now that they were officially a couple, Justin never saw one without the other. He watched them dance around the room before turning his attention to Brian, who was in deep conversation with Cynthia and her newest boyfriend David. Deciding that it was time, Justin made his way to the front of the room where the band was playing. He gave a signal to the singer and waited patiently until they finished the song before getting up on stage and taking the microphone.

“Can I have everyone’s attention, please?” he asked, and then waited for the room to quiet down. He was a little nervous standing up in front of everyone, but he’d been planning it for weeks and refused to chicken out.

“First off, I want to say thank you to my parents for helping Brian and me through the last four years. Without their love and support, college life wouldn’t have been the wonderful experience that it was. I also want to thank all of you for coming here tonight and sharing in our celebration. But most importantly, I want to thank Brian. If it wasn’t for him I don’t know where I’d be right now. I’m not sure if he remembers, but it was five years ago today that I walked into Ryder and fell in love. I remember the first time I laid eyes on him. I was still very much in the closet, but looking into those hazel eyes of his just took my breath away. I was convinced that I’d never seen anyone as beautiful as he was and even after five years, I still feel the same way. He’s everything I could ever ask for in a partner and I hope to spend the rest of my life with him by my side.”

The crowd erupted in a round of applause, but the sound barely registered to Brian as he made his way towards the love of his life. He had no idea that Justin was planning his little announcement, but hearing the blond say the words that Brian had been thinking brought tears to his eyes. By the time Brian reached the stage, Justin had stepped down and was standing there waiting for him.

“I love you,” Brian managed to choke out through his emotions. “I’m sorry I’ve been such a pain in the ass lately.”

“I love you, too. And it’s okay. I know you just want what’s best for me. You just need to understand that what’s best for me is to be with you. My life, my art, my future means nothing to me without you,” Justin replied, feeling a single tear run down his face.

Brian nodded his head in understanding, unable to reply.

“So what do you say, Stud? Wanna dance?”

“Lead the way, Sunshine,” Brian whispered.

The next thing Brian knew, he and Justin were in each other’s arms, twirling around on the dance floor, oblivious to everyone around them watching in awe. It didn’t matter; nothing mattered at that moment but the two of them and the love they had for each other. No matter what happened in the future, as long as Justin was by his side he knew that it would all be okay.

A few hours later, Brian and Justin entered their apartment hand in hand. Even though they were making more money and financially able to move to a bigger place, neither one of them felt the need to give up the small space they’d been sharing for over three years. They had talked about buying a home together one day, but there was no rush. They would be perfectly content living in a cardboard box as long as they were together.

“The party was great, wasn’t it?” Justin finally said as he made his way to the kitchen.

“Yeah, your Mom did a good job putting the whole thing together. I think she missed her calling. She should’ve been a party planner,” Brian joked.

“I think your right,” Justin laughed before turning serious. “Brian, I meant what I said earlier. My life is with you, no matter where that is. If you decided you wanted to move to Alaska and live with the Eskimo’s, I’d pack my things immediately. I can work on my art anywhere, and as long as we’re together I’m happy. So no more pushing me, alright?”

“Alright, no more pushing. But, if you get an opportunity that you don’t want to turn down, promise that you’ll come to me so that we can work something out.”

“But…”

“Shhh…promise me. I need to know that you’re willing to at least talk to me about it with an open mind. You can’t just turn down everything that comes your way because of me.”

“I wouldn’t be turning them down because of you. I’d be turning them down because of me and my love for you.” Justin looked up into Brian’s eyes and saw another argument brewing there. He decided to stop it in its track. “But I promise to talk to you before I do anything, alright?”

Brian was skeptical, but decided to let it go for the time being. “Okay, now how about if we go to bed. It’s been over twelve hours since I’ve been inside of you and I’m going through withdrawal.”

“Well we can’t have that, now can we?” Justin replied as he grabbed Brian’s hand and pulled him towards the bedroom.

He had a feeling that there were going to be a lot more arguments where his career was concerned; especially when Brian found out about the offer he received from LA that morning. One that he had every intention of refusing. But it didn’t matter. Overall, it was his life and he was able to live it however he saw fit. Who knew, maybe one day he would take one of the opportunities that were presented to him, but he needed to do what was best for him. And what was best for him at that moment was being with Brian, spending his life with the man he loved.


The End
03/13/05

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