Image Is Everything

Chapter Sixteen

Justin awoke with Brian's body pressed against his back. That was the way they usually slept. Justin sighed contentedly. He could feel Brian's morning wood jabbing against his ass. He would take advantage of that in a minute, but first he wanted to think.

Last night had been awesome. He had been so nervous about his first real photo shoot, but Brian had come to him in the bedroom. He had fucked all the fear and nerves right out of him. He had been so relaxed and free during the shoot. He could hardly believe it. Mark had said that Justin looked great and couldn't wait to see what he looked like on film dressed in his clothing line. Even Karen, the makeup artist, had said he looked wonderful. It had been just about the best night of his life.

And then Brian had taken him back to his bedroom, their bedroom. He had given him what Brian called a victory fuck. It was great. With all the worry gone, knowing that he could handle the shoot, Justin had performed with an openness and freedom that he never knew he possessed. They had both been left sated and satisfied and slightly thrown off kilter by what transpired. And something more. It was like they had gone beyond some line. Justin wasn't sure what that line was or what it meant, but he knew they had crossed it. That was what he needed to think about, what all that had happened to him since he came to Mexico really meant. What it meant to him, to Ethan, to Brian, to them, if there was a them.

"Morning, Sunshine," Justin heard Brian whisper.

"Morning," Justin replied as he smiled and turned to fall into Brian's embrace. He leaned in to kiss the red lips. He had the sudden desire to say, "I love you." But he stopped himself and enjoyed the kiss. Is that what he needed to think about - the fact that he had somewhere along the line fallen in love with this beautiful man who made him feel unbelievable things and boosted his confidence and helped him and cared about him. He blinked back a tear.

"What's wrong?" Brian asked sensing the change in the kiss and in Justin.

"Nothing," Justin said quickly. "I better grab a shower. We have a lot to do today." He pushed away from Brian and started to get out of bed.

Brian grabbed his hand. "What just happened?"

"Can we talk about it later … after the shoot?"

"All right," Brian conceded releasing Justin's hand, "but we will talk."

"Yeah," Justin thought as he closed the bathroom door, "but neither one of us may like the outcome of that talk."

Brian searched through the clothes for the shoot. He selected the pieces in the order he wanted to shoot them. He had decided that the shoot would take the format of a day in the life of a young business person. They would start with Justin at breakfast and then work through the clothes as Justin was photographed performing the things young men would do during the course of a day. They would work on the beach for a bit with the casual wear. Then they would do the business stuff at the office complex in the evening. It would be quite a long day for both of them, but he was sure they could handle it.

When he had everything laid out, he glanced at the closed bathroom door. He wondered if Justin was all right. He would have liked to join him in the shower, but something about Justin's attitude and the clearly closed door told him to stay away.

He thought about this talk that was to come later. It sounded ominous. Something had happened between them this week. They had both felt the irresistible attraction and they both wanted the fuck. And they had had their fuck many times over. But there was more to it than that. Justin was interesting and stimulating in oh so many ways. Brian was hard pressed to remember another man who had affected him the way Justin did. Most models were self absorbed vacuous clothes horses and little more. Justin on the other hand was much more.

Brian had never wanted to settle down, be in a relationship, have a partner. His own parents' marriage had taught him how bad that kind of commitment could be. The world outside the Kinney house had done little to change his mind. Debbie kept telling him he needed to find someone and settle down. Maybe he and Justin… He let the thought trail off. Just the fact that he had thought it scared the shit out of him. He had only known this kid for a little over two weeks. What the fuck was he doing thinking any such thing? But the fact that he had thought it at all gave him pause.

The door to the bathroom opened and Justin came out wrapped in a towel. His whole demeanor said, "Hands off". Brian decided that might be the best thing to do right now.

"The first outfit is hanging on the door, but you probably shouldn't put it on till after breakfast," Brian stated and headed for the bathroom to have his own shower.

"You implying I'm a messy eater?" Justin asked.

Brian stopped mid-step. Was Justin serious? It sounded like he was kidding. Brian turned to see the mischievous grin plastered across Justin's face. He breathed a sigh of relief. "Knowing the copious amounts of fat and carbohydrates that you constantly ingest it only stands to reason that the likelihood of a stain on Mark's perfect clothes is extremely high."

"Shut up," Justin said as he moved forward to capture Brian's lips in a soft kiss.

"What's going on, Justin?" Brian asked when the kiss ended. "Which Justin will be here when I come out of the shower?"

"A well fucked one hopefully," Justin said pulling Brian towards the bed. He tumbled them onto the sheet fully intending to be very well fucked when he walked into today's photo shoot. Brian was happy to assist him in his quest.

When they appeared for breakfast each of them had trouble keeping a satisfied grin off his face. Mark had already eaten so they sat with the makeup girl, Karen. She had arrived from the condo in time for breakfast. She was eager to get started talking about the makeup she would use during the day. Justin and Brian let her jabber away stealing longing looks and little smirks when she wasn't watching.

Breakfast finished they went back to their rooms. Justin claimed his outfit and wanted to claim Brian once again.

"We're working, Justin," Brian said firmly. "Karen is waiting for you. We need to be professional."

Justin didn't like to be turned down, but he knew Brian was right. He took his outfit and went to his room to dress. H e had decided in the shower that he should back off a bit, not press Brian. They both had to go back to their old lives when they left Mexico. However, when he walked out of the bathroom full of resolve to keep his distance from Brian, he knew he couldn't do it.

He had come to rely on Brian over the few weeks he had known the man. He relied on his expertise about modeling. He relied on Brian's advice and encouragement to help him through his self doubt. He relied on Brian to play his body like a violin, no a grand piano, a baby grand, and make him feel things he never thought he would feel. That was when he made that stupid comment about being a messy eater. It had been enough to break the ice and they had had great sex.

They always had great sex. Justin felt goose bumps on the back of his neck and a tightening in his groin as he thought about it. He could never get enough. And what really worried him was the thought that he would have to give it up at the end of the week. He didn't want to. He wasn't sure he could.

He finished dressing and went out to the kitchen where Karen had set up her makeup supplies and a mirror. She told Justin to sit down and she began cleansing his face.

"You have great skin," she said to make conversation. "I wish I did."

"Thanks," Justin replied. "Um … Have you known Brian and Mark long?" He wanted to find out more about Brian and his life.

"Brian longer than Mark," she said as she continued to cleanse his face. "I worked a lot of times with Brian when he was still modeling. God, he's gorgeous."

"Yeah."

"He usually asks for me when he's doing a shoot. A trip to Mexico is a nice added bonus though."

"Why did he quit modeling?" Justin asked innocently wanting to hear what she'd say.

"He's vain, you know," she whispered in a conspiratorial fashion. "Thought he was getting past it and wanted to stay young and beautiful in the public's memory."

"He still looks great."

"Yeah, he does, but I have to admit I was surprised to hear that he had agreed to be part of this shoot … as a model."

"I think we look good together," Justin said a little shyly.

"Honey, the two of you are a knockout together!"

"Thanks," Justin said with a grin. That's exactly what he thought. "Do you know Jon Holstrom?" Justin asked referring to the other photographer who would be arriving soon to take the pictures of him and Brian together.

"Oh, yeah. He's a real slave driver as a photographer. A perfectionist."

"I thought that was Brian."

"I think he learned it from Jon. Jon did Brian's first fashion shoot. He has an eye for making Brian look fabulous. They had quite a little fling that first time they worked together."

"They did?" Justin felt his stomach roll over.

"It was very intense for those few days we were together. I'm sure they thought they were being discreet, but we all knew what was going on."

Justin wondered if they all knew what was going on between him and Brian. He had thought they were being discreet. "What happened when the shoot was over?" Justin had to ask, but already pretty sure he knew the answer.

"They each went their own way, but always seemed to remain friends."

"Did they ever … you know … get together again?"

"You mean fuck?" Karen asked bluntly. "I can't say for sure, but I don't think so. Brian has never seemed to want to get involved with anyone. He's the love 'em and leave 'em type. Can't see him in a relationship."

Justin's heart fell. That was exactly what he had been dreading. His mythical "relationship" with Brian that he had begun fantasizing about was just that - a fantasy. It would all end when they got back to Pittsburgh. He better start coming to terms with that, and soon.

Karen continued to work on his face leaving Justin to his thoughts. Before he knew it she squeezed his shoulders and said, "There. All done. You look great, hon."

Justin surveyed her work in the mirror. He didn't look much different, but he could see that she had somehow accentuated his eyes and his mouth. He smiled in spite of himself.

"Someone's pleased with how they look," Brian said as he came into the kitchen. "And well he should be," Brian added as he got a closer look at the new and improved Justin. "You do work miracles," Brian said to Karen giving her a peck on the cheek. "I need you in the dining room first," Brian said to Justin.

Justin got up and walked slowly to the dining room. He hadn't liked Brian's last comment. It sounded like he had needed a miracle to make him look this good. He glowered at Brian as he came into the room.

"What's wrong with you?" Brian asked seeing the look on his face.

"Nothing."

"Then perk up. You look fantastic."

"With the help of a miracle."

"What?" Brian asked with a frown.

"Nothing."

"Something's eating your ass … and not in a positive way."

"You said Karen had worked a miracle on me. I didn't know I needed one," Justin said sullenly.

"For Christ sake, stop being such a drama princess. I was merely complimenting her. You look great. You always look great … with or without makeup."

"You think so?" Justin asked perking up at the compliment. Brian nodded. Justin gave him one of his medium wattage smiles.

"So can we get started now?" Brian asked. Justin nodded.

The day went by in a blur of poses in the dining room, on the terrace, down on the beach and back in the living room. Justin quickly realized that modeling was a lot harder than it looked. They broke for an hour for lunch, but otherwise he had to be on all the time. He felt his smile frozen on his face in a kind of numb lassitude. That's when Brian would make a crack or a sexual innuendo that would make him blush and smile and start again momentarily refreshed.

As the late afternoon approached Justin was very tired. Brian wanted a few more shots in the living room and he was trying his best. Suddenly there was a change in the room and all eyes turned to see a handsome mid-fortyish man standing in the doorway.

"Jon!" Brian said enthusiastically.

"Hi, Brian," Jon responded stepping into the room.

Brian set down his camera and quickly had Jon in a bear hug. He kissed the photographer on the lips and Justin's heart sank.

"How are you?" Brian asked, a certain softness in his voice that Justin had never heard before.

"Fine, just fine," Jon said with a captivating smile. Justin wondered if he had been a model once too. He still had the looks. Jon's hand rested against Brian's back. He seemed unwilling to break the contact.

"Jon," Brian said tearing his eyes away from Jon and finally remembering that Justin was in the room, "this is Justin Taylor, the other model who you'll be shooting with me."

Jon held out his hand. Justin shook it carefully.

"Brian," Justin said, "I need to lie down for a bit. I'm exhausted." He had begun walking out of the room as he said the words. He was tired but he needed to get away from Brian's former lover and the easy intimacy they seemed to have. He walked down the hall and entered his own room. He couldn't bear to be in "their" bed, when it seemed altogether too likely that Brian might have someone else there later tonight.

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