Back at Square One

Brian leaned against his old familiar spot near the end of Babylon's main bar. From its central location he could clearly see the front entrance, the dance floor, as well as the path to Babylon's infamous backroom. Tonight was just like any other night. With the work week over, the club boys were out in full force to celebrate. For Brian it was only a matter of selecting his prey for the evening. Brian looked out over the sea of shirtless, cookie cutter bodies. They all looked pretty much the same. There's nothing like coming back to a place that has remained unchanged, only to find that you yourself have been altered. For Brian coming back to Babylon was like retuning to his old favorite fast food joint, after a year of gourmet dining.

It's good to have you back, honey. The backroom isn't the same without you." Emmett said. "OUCH!"

Michael ground his heel into Emmett's toe, and gave him the dirtiest look. This wasn't a call for celebration. Michael had gathered the old group together to support their friend who was obviously nursing a broken heart. Brian wasn't giving any specific information about his sudden breakup with Justin. The relationship had simply run its course was the flimsy excuse he had given his best friend, the night the bartender at Pittsburgh International Airport Bar & Grill had called Mr. Novotny to come drive his inebriated friend home.

"So how was Atlanta?" Emmett rubbed his sore foot.

"The future of Kinnetics is secure." Brian offered only a short answer.

"How about you, Em, how is the catering business going?" Ted changed the subject.

"Well, since you asked, I've been selected to cater the Drew Boyd engagement party," Emmett said.

"You mean Drew Boyd the football player?" Ted's eyes lit up.

"The same one. His fiancée, Sierra, was at the wedding I did for that banker chick who spilled wine on her gown just before the ceremony. Sierra was so impressed by my ability to handle an emergency situation that she hired me right there on the spot. It's amazing what a quick wit, and a little club soda can do?" Emmett nonchalantly sipped his Cosmopolitan.

While Emmett, and Ted proceeded to converse about the many benefits of club soda, Michael quietly turned to Brian. "So have you heard from Justin?" he asked.

"Why would I hear from him?" Brian eyed a dark haired prospect coming through the front door.

"I just thought that since it's been almost a month now, the two of you might have…"

"Well you thought wrong!" Brian interrupted him. "Justin and I are finished. It was a good run while it lasted, but now I'm back here where I belong. Now if you'll excuse me," Brian headed off toward his first trick of the night.

Emmett, Ted, and Michael watched him disappear into the thickening crowd. "It's just like old times." Emmett sighed. "Somehow I never pictured Brian settling down. Who could imagine Brian Kinney sucking one dick for the rest of his life?"

"Probably the same people who could imagine Emmett Honeycutt sucking Ted Schmidt's dick for the rest of HIS life." Michael frowned.

"Excuse me?"

"Sorry Ted." Michael quickly apologized. "I just wished Brian would tell me what happened. Everything seemed to be going so well when he left for Atlanta. Have you been able to talk to Justin?"

"I haven't seen Justin." Ted said. "He called in his resignation from Kinnetics effective immediately the Monday morning that Brian returned from Atlanta. What about Debbie?"

"Ma hasn't heard from him either. Jennifer knows something, but apparently she isn't talking." Michael said.

"It sounds like our little twink has run back to the suburbs where he belongs. Let's face it, boys, Justin was never really a match for Brian. Justin was looking for happily-ever-after, and that's something that Brian can't give him. It's just like my grandmother, (god rest her soul) used to say. Once a whore, always a whore, and everybody knows that the whores don't come much bigger than our own beloved Brian Kinney." Emmett took another sip of his Cosmo.

*************************************

"Don't open your eyes yet, Daph." Justin instructed his friend. Daphne held her arms out in front of her, and slowly put one foot in front of the other.

"Step down." Justin ordered her over a sunken slope. "Now open your eyes."

Daphne opened her eyes, and scanned Justin's new, near campus apartment. "Oh my, it's beautiful." she gasped.

"Do you really think so?" Justin grinned. "Come look over here, I got the sofa, and the matching chair from that Scandinavian store downtown. I have a walk-in shower, the breakfast bar is over there. Come and see the bedroom. I bought a king size platform bed." Justin eagerly gave his friend a quick tour.

"It looks just like Brian's place." Daphne noted.

"Well it's not Brian's place, it's MY place!" Justin snapped.

"Sorry." Daphne quickly apologized. Justin hadn't been in the best of moods lately to say the least, ever since his breakup with Brian, or was it Tony that he was really so upset about? At this point he wasn't giving any details about exactly what happened. All Daphne knew was that her best friend showed up at her apartment in tears following his return from Atlanta. "Have you talked to Brian or Tony yet?" she cautiously asked.

"No, I haven't, and I don't want to talk to either one of them ever again." Justin said in no uncertain terms.

"Justin, when are you going to tell me what happened?" Daphne asked yet again.

"There's nothing to tell, except both of those sluts are out of my life now. That's all you, or anyone else need to know."

"This is a really nice place." Daphne prudently changed the subject. "It looks expensive. How are you going to afford it now that you're no longer working at Kinnetics?"

"I rented the apartment, and paid cash for my furniture with the money that Tony gave me." Justin said.

"You mean your emergency fund? I thought you said Tony told you to keep it in case you ever need to get to him in a hurry." Daphne reminded him.

"It's mine, I earned every penny of it, and this is an emergency. Besides, when will I ever need to get to Tony? I already have everything that I've ever wanted from him, his money." Justin lied. "I should have done this a long time ago, gotten my own apartment instead of wasting my time with that whore Brian Kinney. He's never going to change, and I shouldn't expect him to. Brian was right all along, gay men don't love. We fuck." Justin walked over to the kitchen area, and retrieved a bottle of wine from the refrigerator. With a quick pop of its cork, he poured two glasses, and handed one to Daphne. "Tonight begins a new chapter in Justin Taylor's life." He proposed the toast.

Daphne took the glass of wine from her friend. While Justin sure talked a mean game, he wasn't fooling anyone. Ever since they were children all he, and Daphne had talked about was finding Prince Charming, falling in love, and living happily-ever-after. Brian was everything that Justin ever dreamed of. Their once rocky relationship had finally blossomed into love, and with Justin moving into Brian's loft it appeared that happily-ever-after was finally within his reach. Whatever Justin discovered in Atlanta had shattered that whole beautiful dream. Instead of a happy ending, Justin was now back at square one. "Here's to new beginnings." Daphne reluctantly clicked their glasses, and took a sip.

*************************************

Tony opened the door to the guest bedroom nearest the master bedroom at his Chicago estate. The brightly lit accommodations that overlooked the rose gardens, once known as "The White Room" for its shades of ivory, and white decor was about to undergo a major renovation. For the last time Tony looked at the white leather sofa, and matching oversized chair where Justin had spent countless hours cuddled up in his lap, and listening to music after making love. The video games, and horror movies that lined the shelf of the electronics wall were all Justin's favorites. Over on the bedside table was a photograph of the two of them dancing under the moonlight on a friend's boat. There were other pictures of Tony and Justin on a nearby writer's desk from the first time they visited the riding stables, and the walls still displayed numerous framed sketches that the talented young man had drawn of his lover while Tony slept. Tony turned to the decorator he had commissioned to gut the now painful memories from his immediate surroundings. "All of this has to go." he said.

"Everything?" The surprised man looked around the opulent room. "But Mr. Massey, sir, surely you would like to keep…"

"You heard what I said, I want everything out! Burn it, junk it, sell it, do whatever the fuck you want to do with it, but get it out of here as soon as possible!" Tony barked, then left the room in a huff. "Mary, are my bags ready? My flight leaves in two hours."

"They're in the car." Mary said as he breezed past her. Over the years Mary, and Tony's relationship had evolved far beyond that of boss, and employee. Indeed the streetwise older woman was the closest thing the orphaned at birth Anthony Massey ever had for a mother. While their personalities always clicked, their bond was sealed when Mary's own biological son was murdered in a senseless drive-by shooting. Now Tony was the only 'child' that Mary had. The worried mom watched as her surrogate son skimmed through his getaway papers one final time. Passport, identification, a one way ticket, and credit cards were everything the self-made millionaire needed to drown himself in work, and blot out what was really bothering him. "Tony, will you please tell me what happened in Atlanta?" she implored him.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Tony once again dismissed her inquiry.

"Like hell you don't." Mary insisted. "You've been as mean as a rattlesnake, biting at everything, and everybody that comes near you ever since you got back from Atlanta. You haven't slowed down, you're pushing yourself like a madman, and now you're having Justin's room gutted."

"Excuse me, but Justin DOES NOT live here! This is my house, and I can do whatever I want to it. You just make sure that all of that shit in The White Room is gone before I get back." Tony picked up his briefcase, and stormed out of the front door.

Over time the handsome millionaire had been building his castle of love in hopes of one day finding the princess of his dreams to occupy it with him. How overjoyed Tony was when he realized that he had found not one, but two princesses. At first the older man struggled with the unconventional idea of loving two men. Everyone said that it couldn't be done, but then again they weren't Anthony Massey. Tony had approached his dilemma much like a straight man would consider a single mother, and her child. There was no compromise, Brian and Justin were a package deal. How could he take one without the other? After weighing the pros & cons of the situation, Tony had decided that there was room in his heart for both of them. Brian certainly seemed to be receptive to the idea, and Tony was positive that Justin would have been elated to have both of the men that he adored. Never in a thousand years would Tony have anticipated such a betrayal from Brian, especially after the two of them had expressed their feelings for each other. At the very least Brian could have allowed Tony to offer his proposal before he shattered Justin's heart with a lie to save his own ass. All hope for a happy outcome was now lost. Instead of happily-ever-after, the search for his princess was beginning all over again. Tony was now back at square one. "Let's go." He ordered the limo driver.

*************************************

Brian followed the dark haired young man through the crowded dance floor. He was about to make his play when a tall green eyed blonde intercepted his catch. The blonde man briefly looked at Brian before whispering something in the dark haired beauty's ear. The couple immediately left the dance floor, and headed for the backroom. Intrigued by the handsome stranger, Brian was obliged to follow. "Hey, Brian!" A familiar voice called to him.

"Hey Todd." Brian continued to trail the blonde man who had stolen his trick to a remote corner of the backroom. There the stranger dropped his pants to his knees, and allow the dark haired man to go to work on his cock.

"Brian, it's good to see you. Where have you been keeping yourself? Is Justin with you, are you two still an item?" Todd rattled on as he zipped his pants from his previous encounter.

"Who is that?" Brian continued to eye the blonde stranger.

"His name is Brandon." Todd said.

"Brandon."

"Yeah, he's new in town, and totally hott. Don't you think so?" Todd grinned.

Brian exited the backroom, and returned to his spot at the bar. "That was fast." Michael noted.

"I changed my mind." Brian lied.

"Don't worry, honey. It's been over a year, no one expects you to just jump right in again." Emmett said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Brian took offense.

"Well you're older now, and you're just coming out of a bad relationship."

"What Emmett means is that you've matured, and no doubt your tastes in men are now more refined." Ted attempted to make the save.

"What do you know about him?" Brian motioned toward Brandon who was now coming out of the backroom.

"You mean Brandon, the walking dream?" Emmett swooned. "He's the new king in town. Not … not that you could ever be replaced of course."

Brian rolled his eyes at the insolent Emmett, then headed back into the crowd, this time with his sites fixed on Brandon. The new bull of the woods stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the old stud approaching.

"Congratulations. You've been voted the most beautiful guy in the room, and your grand prize is me." Brian leaned over, and whispered in Brandon's ear.

Brandon briefly sized up his competition. "I'll have to place you on my wait list. My book is full for tonight." He said, then turned, and walked away.

Brian felt the color drain from his face as Brandon sauntered off to another man, leaving him standing in the middle of the dance floor. Where was a cataclysmic earthquake when you needed one? If only the ground could have opened up, and swallowed him down. Even a well placed bomb would have sufficed. Anything would have been preferable than to be humiliated in front of his friends, shot down with the whole club watching. For the first time Brian felt awkward, dated, as if he didn't belong. With Justin, and Tony gone from his life forever, the only thing Brian had left was his reputation at Babylon. Now that was gone too. Indeed, Brian Kinney was back at square one.

*************************************

NEXT WEEK: The Bull Of The Woods, pt. 1

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