New Campaign

Part 2

Dinner went well and despite his thoughts that it would be awkward or strained, Brian enjoyed the meal. He liked Keith's grandmother and liked hearing her stories about the history of the farm and the part it had played during the battle. He found out that there was a small cemetery on the property where some of the soldiers had been buried pretty much where they'd fallen because the Battle of Gettysburg had taken place in July back in 1863and the corpses didn't keep. There was a mass grave for a lot of horses that had been killed, too.

There were a couple of bullet holes in the outside walls and she was convinced that some of damage to one of the stonewalls in the cornfield was from cannon fire.

Gram-as she insisted he call her-told Brian that he was always welcomed here and she had been sorry that he and Keith hadn't been able to work out whatever had happened between them back when they were boys. She told them how happy she was to see that the two men were still friends and, with some hesitation, mentioned how worried she'd been about Brian after her son-Keith's father-had told her about his suspicions about Brian having been an abused child.

"Were you? Was it true?"

No one ever came out and asked. In his whole life, no one had. Sure, some people knew, but no one ever asked about it, not out loud like that. He was a little taken aback.

"Um, well, my father used to hit me sometimes."

She gave him a close look. "Sometimes everyday?"

He nodded just enough to see. He didn't like going there. Ever.

"…Well, that's over now. You've grown up just fine as far as I can see…all tall and handsome and Keith here tells me that you're one of the best at what you do. That right?"

"Well, I try."

"Just what is it that you do? He wasn't too clear about that."

"Gram…" Keith was trying to help.

"You weren't. So, what do you do, Brian?"

"I'm a partner in an ad agency."

"…And Keith hired you so you two could spend some time together. How lovely for you both. Of course if you mess up, he'll fire you. You do know that, don't you?"

"I don't think Brian's too worried about my firing him, are you Bri?"

"Not a whole lot, no. This chicken is really good, what did you do to it?" Dear God, let her change the subject.

"Killed it fresh this afternoon, it makes all the difference, don't you think?" Keith and Brian exchanged a smile. Gram was a hoot no matter how you sliced it. "So who was it you were telling that you're staying over was none of their damn business? You have someone waiting for you to come home to them?" She was staring at Brian.

"I'm single."

"That's not how it sounded to me. Are you two timing on someone with my grandson?"

"Gram let Brian have some privacy."

"When you two are planning a bit of mufky-fufky up over the garage later, I don't see why I should." The two men both actually blushed. "Well, you were, weren't you? We're all adults here."

"We hadn't really discussed it." Keith was clearing the table.

"You didn't have to, it's as plain as the noses on both your faces-just like that time you two came to visit me when you were both in high school."

Brian couldn't help it, he burst out laughing. "You knew?"

She gave him a long look. "Honey, it's nothing that hasn't been done before and nothing that won't be done again."

He finished his glass of iced tea, put it down and asked, "When did you know that Keith was gay?"

"Keith? Put the coffee on, if you don't mind. When did I know? When he was fifteen years old and I caught him out in the barn kissing the boy I hired to mow the lawn."

Keith almost dropped the coffee pot. "Why didn't you ever say anything?"

"What on earth would I say? I knew what you were doing and I knew that nothing I said would make you change or stop or any of that nonsense. I suppose you might as well know that I did tell your father, though."

"You told my father? Jesus, Gram-you could have said something to me first."

"Why would I do that? Besides, he already had figured it out. He never gave you any problems over it, did he? Your Mom knew about it, too, you know-they're not stupid, Keith. You did come by your brains honestly."

"Well, we never actually talked about it, it was just sort of assumed, I guess. It was just there without anyone having to mention it."

"That's why they never minded when Brian here stayed overnight at the house-they knew he was a sight safer with you than with his own family-excuse me, Brian, but that's the truth, you know."

He brought the coffee pot over to the table along with the mugs and cream and sugar. They all helped themselves to what they wanted.

"But-did my age bother you? I was fourteen that time we came here." This was getting weird, even for Brian.

"I knew you were young-you were only fourteen? Lord, I didn't realize that. I would have put my foot down if I'd known back then." She gave him a hard look. "You looked older, you know. I thought you were about Keith's age-which was still too young I might add, but I figured it was better that you two were safe over my garage than in some back alley or basement or someplace." She took a sip of her coffee, black and strong. "So you have someone at home, do you?"

Keith answered for him. "Brian lives with a young man. They've been together for a few years now."

"Single, are you? Then what the Hell are you doing here?"

"Keith asked if I'd like to see you again and I said that I would."

"And your young man doesn't mind?"

This was none of her business and was starting to piss Brian off. Christ. "Justin and I understand each other."

She gave him a hard look. "You do, huh? That's damn understanding of him." She saw the looks on the faces of the men. "Alright, I've said more than you wanted to hear but that doesn't change the fact that it needed to be said." She stood up. "Now if you gentlemen will excuse me, I think I'll take the air out on the porch."

Keith looked at Brian. "So do you want to go back to Pittsburgh tonight?" It was up to him. Keith would go along with whatever decision Brian made. He smiled. "I won't pull my account-sales are up twelve percent since we started running your ads."

"So you would have renewed the contracts anyway?" Actually, Brian had assumed as much. He could read a spreadsheet as well as anyone.

Keith was laughing. "How stupid do you think I am? Of course I would have signed it. I may not make any secret that I want your fine bottom in my bed, but I also want my bottom line in the black and you're helping to keep it there."

"So…"

"So whether we spend the night together-in the biblical sense-is up to you and will have no professional repercussions."

Brian had pretty much thought that he and Keith would probably end up screwing one another, at least physically. He also had never really thought that it would make all that much difference one way or the other if they did or not. What he had said to Keith's grandmother was the truth, as far as he'd told her. He and Justin did have an understanding and Justin did know that there were no locks on the door.

Of course that didn't mean that the boy wouldn't be upset, hurt and queen out like a pro.

The front door screen slammed as Gram came back inside. "Too many bugs for me. I think I may have to get that porch screened in of I'm going to be able to keep using it this time of year." She saw the two men still where she had left them. "Well if it's this hard a decision, you should just forget the whole thing, if you want to know what I think about it."

"Excuse me, Gram?" Keith was torn between amusement and annoyance.

"You two have been dancing around one another since you got here-and I'll bet it's been going on a sight longer than that. This all started almost twenty years ago and it looks to me like you're both still making up your minds. If I were you, I'd get the fence post out of my backside and make up my mind. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to bed. " She headed for the room converted on the main floor for her use. "One of us should."

They wished her a good night, Keith checking after a few minutes to see if she needed anything. She didn't, she was already asleep. He cleared the few dishes left on the table and turned back to Brian from the sink. "Well?"

What the hell. "That apartment still over the garage?"

"…You want to find out?"

"Can you think of any reason not to?" Other than having to deal with Justin's tantrums, Brian couldn't.

"Not if you can't." Keith held out his hand, not to hold, but to invite Brian out the back door. Turning off the kitchen light, the two of them walked across the yard and up the flight of stairs on the side of the three-car garage. The key was still over the light, the apartment hadn't seemed to have changed all that much and Brian wondered why the flying fuck he was doing this.

OK, there wasn't any real reason not to. Justin knew the score and so did he and Keith. He wasn't trying to recapture his youth-he knew that. He was, he was-he wanted to know- to know, he was trying to see if there really was anything left between them because God knew he had loved Keith with everything he'd had the first time around. If he hadn't, his heart wouldn't have been so badly broken that twenty years later he was still trying to deal with it.

The last year or so, with Keith hanging around the background-his e-mail on Brian's computer, his campaign on the light tables at work-had kept him in Brian's mind. Well, that was the point now, wasn't it? Fine, it had worked. Here they were, together.

And lets' not forget the trip Brian had been obligated to make to his headquarters in Silicon Valley, staying at Keith's house while being vetted by Keith's soon to be ex wife. That had been a surreal scene, even for Brian.

Christ, the man was nothing if not persistent and that was a damn fact.

Brian looked around the room where he had pretty much lost his virginity almost twenty years before. He'd been fourteen, scared to death but wanting it more than he's ever wanted anything in his life-well, other than maybe getting away from his family, of course.

He could still remember everything about that night, that whole weekend. What's the old saying? You never forget your first time?

It's true, you don't.

Good, bad or indifferent, you never forget your first time.

Keith had been his first love, his only love until Justin had come along and he had been the first person who had shown Brian kindness, made him believe that he might have some worth, that he wasn't a complete waste. He was also the first person who had let him believe that it was OK to be gay, that he wasn't a freak, that it wasn't something to be ashamed of and though it would be a while before he was ready to be open about it, Keith was the one who had taught him that he wasn't alone and that men could love each other.

And who hasn't wondered what it would be like to go back, to have their first love pursue them and still want them, want to turn the clock back and pick up the pieces again and start over…forget the mistakes and do it right this time?

Is there anyone who wouldn't like that if it was handed to them on a silver platter?

What was that other old saying? The one about how you can't go home again? Well, he'd never wanted to go home in the first place, but back to Keith, well, that was something he'd lulled himself to sleep with more times than he could count.

Every night he'd been in high school he had hugged his pillow, pretending it was Keith. Every trick he'd turned through high school and college there would be a flash of thinking, wishing, pretending that it was Keith's cock or Keith's mouth or Keith's hands. Finally that had faded, but it had only been the last year or so that had been true, maybe the last six months-maybe the last ten months or so- when he and Justin were finally really together. Even then there were times when his mind would wander, when he'd lose concentration and he'd have to think before using the wrong name.

Keith closed the door behind him, turning on the small light on the end table. Rummaging through the small fridge, he found a bottle of white wine and took a couple of glasses from the cabinet.

"Your grandmother always keeps chilled wine in this place?"

"I brought it up before we went for that walk. I was a boy scout, remember?"

"Be prepared?"

He smiled a small laugh, leaned forward just enough so that his mouth was on Brian's and kissed him the way they describe in the romance novels-tenderly, gently and with feeling. The kind of kiss that doesn't bother asking because the answer is a foregone conclusion.

The wine glasses were put down, the two men walked, holding hands, over to the queen sized bed along the wall. There was a skylight directly over it and almost twenty years ago Brian had looked at the stars while he and Keith had rested for a few minutes, when they were catching their breath and had seen a shooting star go by above them, flaming across the small square of sky.

"When you see a shooting star make a wish, if you do it will come true."

"I'd always heard that it means a witch has died."

"Did you wish a witch was dead?"

"…Only my mother." Keith had laughed, rolling back on top of him and kissed any thoughts of mothers or witches away.

That had been when Brian was fourteen. That had been his first full night really alone with a lover and it was probably the first time in his life, in fact it was one of the only times in his life he had felt safe and loved and wanted. It had been, with no exceptions, the best night of his life.

Now they stood by the side of the bed, the moonlight coming through the skylight just as it had the last time they had been standing in this same spot. They had both been young then, inexperienced and frightened. Now they were none of those things. They both knew what they wanted, what they liked and what they didn't. There were few mysteries that sex held for either of them at this point and they were old enough to know that a night together could be whatever they wanted-everything or nothing or just a pleasant was to pass the time.

Keith's fingers moved down from where they had settled on Brian's shoulders, around to the front of his blue work shirt and began to undo the buttons, starting at the top near his throat and slowly, slowly, ever so slowly moving down, undoing the button between his breasts then down to the shirt button just below his sternum. His finger tip traced a line down the center of Brian's chest as he went, down to the next, opening Brian's abdomen to the night air, down to the button over his waist. Fingertips still tracing light, feather light lines on the smooth skin. Keith's hands moved to gently lay flat on the skin over Brian's ribs and halfway around his sides, his thumbs tracing circles up to his nipples, the now unfastened shirt hanging loose.

Keith's mouth hadn't left Brian's while this was happening, his tongue lightly, carefully, gently slid against just the tip of Brian's, their bodies moving closer together.

Brian's hands were under Keith's long sleeved tee, moving up and down the muscles along his spine, holding, caressing as they went. Taking the hem in both hands, he lifted the shirt over Keith's head, the long series of long and deepening kisses broken for moments then resumed almost immediately as the shirt fell to the floor. Brian's own shirt joined it seconds later and the two men stood, arms wrapped around one another, feeling the warmth of skin against skin.

It wasn't just a fuck. There had been too much history together for that. They knew each other too well, they had meant far too much to one another for that and there were too many unresolved issues between them for this to simply be sex.

Keith kissed Brian's mouth, his cheeks, his jaw, his throat, his neck.

Brian let his hands roam over Keith's skin, up to his shoulders, to his neck, up into the thick blond hair and back down the long muscles to where the waistband of Keith's Levis got in the way. Sliding his hands around to the front, Brian's hands met Keith's as they unbuttoned and then unzipped one another's jeans. Pushing them down for one another, along with underwear, they stood less than a foot apart, naked, their hands resting lightly on one another's waists.

They moved back together, touching from knees to chests, taking the time to feel one another.

Keith's leaned forward, his face now against Brian's neck, kissing up to his ear and whispered almost inaudibly "Are you sure you want to do this?"

Brian's answer was to pull them both down to the mattress, Brian rolled on top of Keith. When they'd last been here, Brian had been frightened and unsure. Now he was confident and experienced. He knew what he wanted as well as Keith did. His hands framed, held Keith's face, bracketing it as the two men kissed with increasing passion.

They could feel the familiar desire, feel their cocks rub against one another, feel and hear their breathing get deeper.

Their hands stroked one another, Keith's legs slid apart, allowing Brian a safe haven-one he had dreamed about for over fifteen years. Even as he opened the tube of lube Keith had produced from the nightstand and performed the courtesy of preparing Keith for entry, Brian's mind noted the differences between Keith and Justin.

In his life there had only been two men who had mattered to him. With the thousands of men he'd had, only these two were of any importance.

He pressed inside; hearing Keith's moan of mixed pain and pleasure and paused to allow the moments it would take for him to adjust. Unconsciously he made the comparison. Keith was taller, thinner, his muscles harder than Justin's. He was tighter, probably not as active as he and Justin were. He seemed to almost be, what? He seemed to almost be grateful to have Brian alone, to have Brian inside of him. Justin had passed that phase at least a year ago when they had begun to relate to one another on a more equal footing.

He began moving, slowly, watching, almost in a detached way, the changing expressions on Keith's face-pain, joy, anticipation, a flicker of trepidation, a quick look of hope and longing.

Keith wanted this to be the beginning, a new beginning for them. Brian knew that and even as he used the movements that he knew would make Keith feel him and prologue what they were doing, he was mentally marking off the differences. Justin would be clenching his back by now, encouraging him with his hips and his mouth to move faster or slower, to push harder or at a different angle.

Keith seemed to just revel in the fact that they were there together.

Justin would be getting close to what Brian thought of as his frenzy, he would be calling out to Brian, wanting more. He would be kissing, licking Brian; he would sometimes scratch Brian's back when he got close, when he began to lose himself in what he was feeling.

Brian would always respond, matching his movements to what he knew Justin liked. Justin would come and then Brian would shift his attention to his own pleasure alone, letting the warmth and the need take control until he'd push over to those seconds when it all became pure selfish feeling, complete release.

He felt Keith's cum between them, felt himself moving into his own orgasm and vaguely noticed that after, as he lay collapsed on Keith's chest, their hearts pounding, that Keith was holding him in place and kissing the side of his neck, now slick with a sheen of sweat.

After a few minutes Brian started to move, he withdrew, removed the used condom and started to roll off to the side when Keith whispered, "No, stay." He settled back down, part of his weight taken by his arms as he propped himself up on his elbows and looked at the contentment on Keith's face. "I like to feel us against one another when we're both soft. It seems even closer than actual sex."

It was something Brian hadn't thought about before, but Keith was right. Justin always liked that, too. So did he, now that he thought about it.

He rolled off anyway and the two of them settled into a spoon, Keith behind and with his arm around Brian's waist, holding them together, occasionally kissing the back of his neck. It wasn't that late, only around eleven, but Brian made himself sleep.

The next morning he woke to Keith's mouth on his. "Do you remember the last time we were here? You woke me up in the middle of the night by kissing me." He smiled down at Brian. "I still think about that." He kissed Brian again. "Do you?"

"No."

"No, you wouldn't, after what happened. God, Bri, I've felt so badly about that, how I treated you. We're over it now though, aren't we?"

Hell, sure. "We're over it."

"Good." Problem seemingly resolved, Keith kissed Brian again then swung his feet over the side, headed for the bathroom.

This wasn't bad, Keith was a good man and Brian even liked him. They had been friends, lovers and Brian had no objections to their being friends again but he didn't want this to continue. OK, the sex had been decent, but if you're in the middle of screwing one person and thinking about another it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure it out.

Fine, alright, might as well just face facts. He got himself out of bed, dressing quickly while Keith finished in the small bathroom. Glancing at his watch, seven thirty. Keith came out, wearing just his boxers; Brian took his turn in the bathroom. Even as he heard the door latch it flashed through his mind to wonder why he had bothered. It wasn't as though he suffered from modesty or that they were strangers. After last night that thought could permanently put to rest. He realized that he just needed a minute to himself to recoup-half listening as Keith talked to him through the closed door.

"…I'll talk to Vance-there's no reason why you couldn't just open a West Coast office. You'd be great at that and then we could be together…I think we should get our own place, though, make a new start. You wouldn't want to just sort of fit in where Patty was-that wouldn't be right. I think a place that belongs to just us would be better…don't you agree, Bri?"

He opened the door, standing in the frame. "That's not going to happen. I think that this was a mistake."

Keith froze. "Bri?"

Shit, he didn't want to do this-Keith was a good guy, but this just wasn't going to happen. "This was a one shot deal. We tried it on for size, but I'm with Justin now. I want to stay with him."

"Then what the fuck was last night about?"

"Confirmation."

"The fuck you say."

"We were friends a long time ago. OK, we were lovers, but that was then and this is now."

Keith was a lot of things, but dumb wasn't one of them. It was over; this was just a one-night stand. He got it. "So what was this? Payback? Clinching the account? Assuring yourself of a fat bonus?"

"It was putting old ghosts to rest." Brian put his sneakers on, moved over to the door. "C'mon, you knew that this wasn't going to work." From the look on Keith's face, it was obvious that he knew no such thing-or if he did, he chose to ignore it. "What? Did you really think that one roll in the hay and we'd ride off into the sunset together? What fucking lesbian planet have you been living on?" It was working, Keith got it. Finally. Good. "I'm going across to the main house. I'll see you there."

Breakfast with Keith's grandmother was strained. They were polite with one another for her sake but it was obvious to the old lady that whatever had gone on over the garage last night wasn't what Keith had hoped for. Brian, on the other seemed fine, if slightly subdued. It also seemed that Keith's grandmother knew that whatever had gone on between the two men last night had broken Keith's heart. Brian, on the other hand seemed fine. Clearly he was the one who inflicted the break this time, not the other way around. She wondered if Brian had decided to twist the knife a bit.

They finished their food, packed what little they had into the trunk and, thanking her, kissing her cheek, they were gone headed back to Pittsburgh. Keith promised to call her soon, Brian was noncommittal.

The drive was silent, neither really having much to say. Keith wasn't about to beg like some slavering puppy and Brian knew whatever he might come up with wouldn't be what Keith wanted to hear. Brian spent most of the two plus hours looking out the window and mentally planning the new campaign for that British company that would be opening a string of overpriced hair salons and the attendant product line. Keith concentrated on the road. They didn't say much until Keith stopped the car at the Loft.

"This won't affect my account with Vanguard. You're doing a good job and there's no reason to be stupid about that side of things."

Brian just nodded and let himself out. Keith popped the trunk; Brian pulled his small bag out and slung it over his shoulder. He knew that what had happened wouldn't be a problem as far as the business side of things went. He was too damn good at what he did for Keith to jeopardize his company in any way and Brian's ads were working.

Keith drove on, sad but not distraught. He had half suspected that something like this might happen. He'd hoped-dreamed for more, but it was apparent that either Brian still harbored resentments about what had happened back in high school or he really was in love with the young blond. Either way, this wouldn't happen, not now, not any time soon.

He would keep his account with Vanguard, move with him if Brian changed agencies. He would stay in touch, but he knew there was no point in pushing.

The other two men seemed solid now and God knew that when Brian gave his loyalty it was something you could stake your life on, but the youngster-Justin-was so damn young. A lot could happen in the next few years.

In fact, a lot probably would happen in the next few years.

Last night had proved that they still had chemistry, that they still had feelings for one another. He would bide his time.

Brian let himself into the loft. It was empty, no note, but then he hadn't expected one, not with the way Justin had felt when he'd left.

He decided not to waste time hanging around, he knew there were no clients he'd have to deal with today so, fuck it, he'd get some work done. He went downtown to the office. No way in Hell was he going to let the twat think he'd been sitting around wondering where he was or any of that lesbianic shit.

In fact, he stayed at the office till past nine at night, stopping to pick up Chinese on the way back home. He hadn't heard from Keith, but then he hadn't really expected to-at least not yet.

By eleven he'd watched the late news with the sound off. By midnight he'd showered and gone through a quarter of a bottle of Beam. By one he was in bed not reading a book he'd propped up and by two he was damned if he was going to make a call. At five to three the door slid open. Justin was back and none too steady on his fairy feet. Daphne had brought him home, said nothing, gave Brian a dirty look and left.

Justin made his way up to the bed, stripped off with no ceremony and half fell and half crawled into his own side.

"You do what you had to?" He'd seen that Brian was awake, just hadn't said anything yet.

"Yes."

"You done now?"

"Yes."

Justin rolled over; kissed Brian's cheek and settled in against the larger man, in full snuggle position.

"About fucking time."

"…That's it?"

"What did you expect?"

"Tantrums, trauma, histrionics."

"Did you get it settled between you and Keith?"

"Yes."

Justin settled back down, shifting the pillow to a slightly more comfortable position for him. "Well…OK."

They both relaxed into sleep.

That was it.

For now.

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