Past Tense

Chapter 3

Brian trudged up the stairs to his loft. The fucking elevator seemed to be stuck on the second level. Some idiot must have left the gate up. It was easier to take the fucking stairs than wait for the elevator to arrive. Climbing the stairs gave Brian time to think about all that he and Ted had managed to uncover about his finances. His credit cards were indeed maxed out - two hundred thousand fucking dollars worth! He couldn't believe that this had somehow happened. How could that amount have been racked up without him knowing? He knew he hadn't got any bills from the credit card companies saying that he had such an astronomical balance. Had someone purchased that amount in one month? Brian frowned wondering what the fuck was going on - and more importantly who the hell had done this? Come to think of it, he couldn't even remember when he had last received a statement from any of his credit card companies. He'd have to look in his files.

Brian unlocked the door to the loft with a weary sigh. He wanted a shower and a joint. As he slid the door closed behind him, he could smell food.

"Hey," Justin said cheerfully from behind the counter. "I made us jambalaya."

"Fuck jambalaya!" Brian said nastily. He dropped his briefcase beside the computer desk and headed up to the bedroom.

"Brian?" Justin called after him.

"Leave me alone," Brian ordered as he stripped off his suit. He headed into the bathroom.

"What's wrong?" Justin called after him. He quickly turned off the jambalaya and followed Brian into the bathroom.

"Nothing."

“Well, you’re sure in a bad mood.”

“I have good reason,” Brian said as he started the shower.

"What caused this bad mood?"

"I don't want to talk about it," Brian said firmly as he opened the door and stepped inside the shower.

Justin frowned and watched Brian standing under the hot water. He was just standing there, letting the water sluice over him. Justin couldn't help but speculate about what might have caused this foul mood. Not coming up with any answers, he decided that maybe he could help Brian get rid of his bad mood, even if he couldn't figure out what was causing it. He quickly stripped off his clothes and stepped into the shower with Brian.

Brian seemed far away, lost in thought. Justin frowned as he took the soap and started lathering Brian's chest. When he got little response or recognition, Justin tweaked a nipple. Brian glared down at him. That was not the reaction that Justin had been hoping for. He decided to take a different course. Dropping to his knees, he began fondling Brian's balls. Brian tilted his head back. That was always a sign of pleasure with Brian. Encouraged, Justin put his hand around Brian's sleeping cock. He gave it a gentle tug and felt it start to fill. That was better.

Using his tongue to trace all the familiar bumps and veins, Justin started working his magic on Brian’s dick. He heard Brian groan and knew he was on the right track. He licked across Brian's slit and felt the man shudder. His tongue delved into the slit and Brian groaned again. Opening his mouth and relaxing his throat he sucked Brian's dick into the warm, dark depths of his mouth. He held it there for just a moment before allowing it to slide out, only locking his lips around the head and holding them there. After a moment Justin started sucking in earnest. He felt Brian's fingers grab a handful of his wet hair, as he urged Justin on.

Justin worked in earnest determined to give Brian one of the best orgasms ever. After a couple of minutes, Brian called out Justin's name and shot his load down Justin's throat. Justin swallowed as fast as he could. When Brian stopped shooting, Justin felt himself being pulled up into Brian's arms. Brian wrapped himself around his smaller lover and held on. Justin couldn't be sure, but he thought he heard a whispered, "Thank you," escape from Brian's lips. That made Justin wonder, and worry, even more. Brian rarely if ever said thank you for anything.

Justin wanted to ask what was wrong, but for the moment he was content to let Brian lean on him. He liked that feeling. He didn't get many opportunities to be the strong one. Justin waited.

"Are you ready to tell me what's going on?" Justin asked when Brian finally released him from the prolonged hug.

"No," Brian said abruptly. He stuck his head under the shower to rinse his hair. He opened the shower door and stepped out.

Justin sighed heavily. It was never easy dealing with Brian, but the silent Brian was the hardest of all. He followed his partner out of the shower.

Brian threw him a towel. That was something, a small concession to Justin's relief management techniques. They both toweled off in silence.

When they were done, Justin asked, "Want some jambalaya now?"

Brian shook his head. "I'm not hungry, and I have work to do."

"But ... it's already late," Justin advised. He could see that Brian was tired.

"I have work to do," Brian repeated as he threw on some jeans and a wifebeater.

"You should take a break," Justin said gently. He didn't like it when Brian spent so much time and energy on Kinnetik. There were other things in life. Everybody needed to take it easy now and then.

"And you should take your bubble butt over to Daphne's if you want some relaxation," Brian said curtly, heading for the computer desk.

Justin realized that he wasn't going to get anywhere with Brian in the mood he was in. He went over to the sofa, picked up his sketchbook and started to draw.

Brian ignored him and sat down in front of the computer. He turned it on, but also opened the file drawer while the computer was booting. He pulled out a file folder labeled Bills. Opening it, he flipped through the various pieces of paper. With a frown he pulled out the two sheets he was looking for. The last statement he had received from Visa was four months ago. It had been stamped Paid with no balance showing. There was nothing since then.

He turned it face down on the desk and looked at the other statement from American Express. This bill was a little over three months ago. It also had been paid in full. So were his other credit card bills, all several months old. Brian ran a hand across his face. How could he have not noticed that he wasn’t getting any statements from the credit card companies? He was usually so conscientious about his finances. He always paid in full, especially after running up those huge bills when he had tried to take down Stockwell single-handedly. This was a fucking nightmare.

Justin watched furtively from the sofa. He continued to move his pencil across the textured page of his sketchbook, but his focus was on Brian. Something was very wrong. Justin couldn’t remember when he had ever seen such … fear on Brian’s face.

Justin got up slowly while Brian was staring at the computer screen. He walked quietly over to Brian and gently placed his hands on his lover’s shoulders.

“Tell me,” he said gently.

There was a long silence. Justin waited, his hands resting lightly on Brian’s shoulders.

Finally, Justin felt Brian draw in a deep breath. “I…” Brian began, but then found that his voice wouldn’t work.

“Tell me, Brian. I want to help,” Justin urged.

Brian shook his head. Justin stayed where he was, not saying anything. After a moment Brian’s hand came up and clasped Justin’s where it rested on his shoulder.

“I’m in big trouble,” Brian managed to say.

“What kind of trouble?” Justin asked as he felt Brian hold onto his hand. He wanted to look into Brian’s eyes, but instinctively he knew that Brian would find it easier to speak if Justin stayed behind him, and Brian didn’t have to face him.

“I told you my credit card wouldn’t work.”

“Yes.”

“It’s because they’re all maxed out.”

“Maxed out? But…”

“Yeah, a shitload of money has been charged on them.”

“You didn’t…”

“No, I didn’t do it. Ted thinks someone has stolen my identity.”

“Your identity?” Justin realized he was starting to sound like a fucking parrot, repeating everything Brian said.

“We … we have meetings tomorrow with the credit card companies. I was trying to find statements, but the last ones I have are four months old.”

“Four months?”

“Yeah. You haven’t seen any around, have you?” Brian asked. He knew he was grasping at straws, but maybe, just maybe, the statements might have been thrown out. “You wouldn’t have trashed them … by mistake?”

“No, I’m sure I didn’t do that,” Justin said firmly. “I always check the mail carefully when I pick it up. I put your mail on the counter … every time.”

“I know you do,” Brian sighed. “I’m not trying to blame you. I just want to know how the fuck this could have happened.”

“I want to know too. I’m coming to those meetings with you tomorrow.”

“You don’t need to,” Brian said.

“I want to. You’re my partner. This is my problem too.”

Brian’s grasp on Justin’s hand grew stronger. Justin felt himself being pulled around from behind Brian. Brian’s other hand came around Justin’s waist and pulled him into his lap. A soft kiss was initiated by Brian. Justin felt his lips melt into Brian’s and he relaxed into the familiar body.

“Thank you for being here,” Brian whispered. “I may be broke by tomorrow afternoon.”

“Kinnetik?” Justin asked.

“Ted says it hasn’t been touched. It’s just my personal finances that have been … raped.”

“We’ll figure out what happened and make the fucker pay,” Justin said firmly as he wrapped his arms around Brian’s neck. “I think you’ve done enough for tonight. Let’s go to bed.”

“Is sex your answer to everything?” Brian asked his tongue in his cheek.

Justin smiled when he realized that Brian was joking. That was a good sign. He liked being able to talk to Brian like this, liked knowing that he was offering to help and Brian wasn’t turning him down. Brian seemed to be feeling better if his little joke was any indication. “Together we’ll straighten this out.”

“From your lips to…”

“God’s ears?” Justin said when Brian hesitated.

“To Melanie’s fists.”

“Melanie’s fists?”

“She’s the best ball breaker I know.”

Justin chuckled. “You are so bad.”

“Of course I am … but someone else has been beyond bad. I have to figure out who did this.”

“You will, we will, but right now our bed awaits.”

“And a mighty fine bed it is.”

“Then let’s go. Time is a-wasting.”

Brian shoved Justin off his lap and smacked him on the butt. Then they both ran up the steps to make use of their mighty fine bed.

 

*****
 

“They weren’t much help, were they?” Justin said as he, Brian and Ted left the meeting with the American Express people.

“There’s not much they can do,” Ted replied.

“The fuck there isn’t!” Brian said angrily. “They should have spotted something when my account got so out of control.”

“But everything was being sent to your new address,” Ted explained.

“I don’t have a new address, and I don’t see how the fuck someone could change all this without me knowing about it.”

“Brian, calm down,” Justin said laying his hand on Brian’s arm. “You’re going to blow an artery.”

“Might as well get it over with,” Brian said bitterly. “I’m probably worth more dead than alive. I’m fucking swimming in debt … and there’s not one fucking thing to be done about it.” He stopped on the sidewalk and ran his hand through his hair.”

“Brian,” Ted said gently.

“Don’t Brian me. I’m screwed … royally. I don’t understand how this could happen.”

“What I don’t understand is why they won’t help you find out who did this,” Justin stated adamantly. “That should be part of their … service.”

“They just want their fucking money, and as it stands now, I’m liable for it.”

“That’s just not fair.”

“There’s nothing fair about this whole mess,” Brian answered Justin curtly. “I might as well step in front of a fucking bus.”

“Stop saying things like that,” Justin said holding onto Brian’s arm.

“We do know more than we did when we went into the meeting,” Ted said thoughtfully.

“Like what?”

“Like where the mailbox is located that your statements have been sent to for the last few months. Someone in Philadelphia is responsible for this.”

“Yeah, and what good does that do us? There’s a couple of million people in Philadelphia.”

“True, but only one person out of those millions uses that mailbox,” Ted replied with a smirk worthy of Brian.

“What are you suggesting, Schmidt?” Brian asked with a frown.

“That we hire a private detective to stake out that mailbox and see who gets their mail there.”

“This isn’t The Rockford Files or … fucking Monk,” Brian retorted.

“No, it isn’t. This is real life and we need answers.”

Justin studied Ted’s face. “You really want to hire a private dick?” he asked.

Ted chuckled. “I do.”

“So I can go even further into debt,” Brian said heaving a sigh. “Just fucking great!”

“It shouldn’t take too long,” Ted suggested.

“Unless the asshole has figured out that we’re onto him.”

“He will soon enough when he tries to use your cards and they’re rejected,” Justin said.

“That’s why we need to get someone on this immediately,” Ted stated.

“Do you know someone?” Brian asked.

“I think so. I’ll look into it.”

“Let’s go home,” Brian said throwing his arm across Justin’s shoulders. “I’ve got the motherfucker of all headaches.”

They quickly made their way to Ted’s car.

 

*****
 

“Brian,” Justin said walking over to the sofa where Brian was sitting staring at the curtains that covered the loft windows. The curtains ruffled slightly in a gentle autumn breeze that came through an open window. Brian had been sitting there in silence since they had returned from their meetings with the credit card companies.

Brian didn’t answer, just kept staring out the window. He heard Justin call his name, but he didn’t have the energy to answer. He had to figure out what to do.

“Have this,” Justin said, holding out a beer towards his partner. Brian shook his head. “Take it. You need something. I’ll get you something stronger if you prefer.”

Brian took the bottle but didn’t drink. “Have you taken to feeding my vices now?” he asked sarcastically.

“No, I’ve taken to looking after my man. You’re not alone, Brian. We’ll get through this,” Justin said doing his best to sound upbeat.

“And just how do you think we’re going to do that?” Brian demanded. “I don’t understand how I can be responsible for two hundred thousand dollars of debt when I didn’t fucking spend any of it.”

“I know,” Justin said softly. “It’s not fair.”

Brian snorted. “When has our lovely world ever been fair?”

Justin sat down beside Brian and took a drink of his own beer. “Not often enough,” he said. “Ted seems to think he can get the money together to pay this off, so your credit won’t be ruined.”

“I can’t afford to have my credit downgraded. Nobody will deal with Kinnetik if they find that out.”

“Ted will work his magic,” Justin affirmed.

“When have the words Ted and magic ever been used in the same sentence?”

Justin chuckled. “There’s a first time for everything. I’ve been thinking that I could see about getting a job with one of the graphics companies. Maybe you could write me a reference.”

“You mean for the time you interned at Vangard. That would be some report.”

“Oh … yeah,” Justin replied sheepishly. “I’m sure I can find a job. I want to help.”

“There’s always that hustler bar. You were quite a hit there.”

“Thanks … I think,” Justin said in a whisper.

“I … I don’t mean to put you down. I just don’t know what the fuck to do.”

“When in doubt … fuck!”

Brian had to chuckle. That was certainly a better idea than anything he had been able to come up with.

Justin took that as a sign of agreement from his beleaguered partner. He set down his beer, and slid to the floor, his hand going between Brian’s legs, searching for his balls. Brian groaned when Justin’s hand found its mark.

“That’s right,” Justin whispered. “Let go, let me take care of you.”

And that’s just what Brian did.
 

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