What a Difference A Year Makes 2
Chapter 8
Brian and Justin were about halfway back to
"Brian, where are we going?"
"It's a surprise, Sunshine." For the most part, Justin loved Brian's surprises so he leaned back in his seat and waited until Brian drove the Cherokee to a stop.
The Cherokee came to a halt in front of a beautiful cottage that reminded Justin of paintings done during Victorian times. There was a picket fence that disappeared into hedges. It was early Spring so the shrubs were not at their fullest but Justin could imagine how lush they would grow.
"Brian, whose house is this?"
Brian answered silently with a kiss to Justin's temple then unbuckled Justin's seat belt. Brian quickly got out of the Jeep and sprinted to Justin's door to open it. Justin's eyes grew wide as he gazed with curiosity at Brian. Brian just put a finger to his lips then taking Justin's hand in his, he led his lover up the graveled path to the front door. The path was lined with solar lamps, offering a soft warm glow as they lit the path to the door. When they reached the door, Brian handed Justin the keys and beckoned to the lock. Justin slipped the key into the lock and gave it a turn. John had the cottage wired with motion detecting lights that Brian could later customize and adjust. But for now, it made viewing the cottage at night a lot easier. When Justin pushed the door open the lights came on.
The cottage was empty, with the walls whitewashed; it was a blank canvas for Brian and Justin to paint.
"Brian?" Justin took a quick look around then rooted his gaze on his partner.
Brian shrugged, "Surprise. Welcome home, Sunshine."
"Home? You bought this?"
"For us." All of a sudden Brian got a sinking feeling that he may have made a big mistake not getting Justin's input from the start. "Is it all right?"
"All right?! Brian, it's beautiful!" Justin thrust himself into Brian's arms. Brian let out an 'oomph' and then a sigh of relief. "Show me around, Bri."
"I have a confession to make. The place was a wreck. John was working on it for a couple of months now. This is the first time I've seen it restored."
"Then we will see it together for the first time," Justin beamed. He and Brian would explore their new home together.
"This place reminds me of John and Bobby's cottage."
"I know. It was one of the things I liked about it. The kitchen is huge. John thinks this may have been the kitchen for a larger house just like his cottage. There's also a fireplace."
Justin was taking in all that Brian was saying as they explored the empty rooms.
"Brian, how many bedrooms do we have?" Justin sighed as he asked the question. He could hardly believe how romantic Brian was, surprising him with this wonderful new home.
"Three. The master bedroom, big enough for a very big bed," Brian said then stuck his tongue in his cheek. "A small one for Gus and a third that will double as a home office for me. Since Ted and Cynthia have both expanded their job descriptions, I can work from home a couple of days a week. There's one more room I want you to see."
Brian led Justin to a set of sliding glass doors. When he slid them open, a light came on.
"It's a...a..."
"A studio, Sunshine. Your studio and a sun porch."
"My studio." Justin stood dumbstruck at the door. Even with the darkness outside, Justin could see. See himself working here, see his lover lounging in a wicker settee, see all the love and thought Brian put into the renovations, see his life as spouse to the wonderful man standing in the doorway. Justin couldn't help the tears that began to well up in his eyes.
In a whisper Brian began, "Justin, I probably should have told you about the cottage from the beginning but I wanted to surprise you."
Justin started to reply then stopped when he realized that Brian had more to say.
"I want this cottage to be our home, not like my loft. I purposely didn't have it furnished so we could do it together. I want it to reflect both of us."
Justin's tears of joy began to flow unchecked. His happiness made his heart swell. Unable to speak, Justin let his kisses speak for him. Taking Brian's hand they walked deeper into the studio. At the far end was a large poster board sitting on an easel. Tacked to the poster board were the photos Brian took of the house as he first found it. And then more pictures during its amazing transformation. Both gasped out loud.
"John did this?"
"Yeah. Not by himself but he picked out the men and supervised each step. My big brother is a miracle worker."
"Brian, it's Saturday night, can we stay here tonight so we can see the place in the day time tomorrow?"
"I don't know, Sunshine. We don't have a bed, not even a sleeping bag."
"Yes we do."
"Huh?"
"Read this." Justin handed Brian a note that was stuck to the photo of the fireplace. All it said was 'check the hall closet.'
"Justin?" Brian turned around and found he was alone in the studio.
"In the living room," Justin called out.
When Brian joined Justin in the living room, he was inflating an air mattress and there were two rolled up sleeping bags on the floor. As Justin was setting up their makeshift bed, Brian prepared the fireplace. Soon they were naked, snuggled in the sleeping bag with the fire crackling away. Justin was spooned into Brian as they were facing the fire. The flames flickering light reflected off of Justin's smiling, contented face.
"Thank you, Brian. This house, our home, is perfect."
"Just like you." Brian kissed the back of Justin's head and held him a little tighter. Within minutes, the lovers were fast asleep.
Brian awoke to the dying embers of the fire. He gently slid out of the sleeping bag and threw on another log. He rooted around in the embers making them flare up and catch on the new log. He allowed his half frozen backside a few minutes to the fire. He watched Justin turn gently and reach out towards where Brian had just been in the sleeping bag. With a soft smile of pleasure at the sight, he turned back to the fire to warm his front side.
"Toasting your testicles?" Justin giggled from behind him.
"It was fucking freezing in here before I added some wood."
"Come back to bed and I'll keep you warm."
"Is that a promise?"
"It's the least I can do after all this," Justin replied and waved his arm around at the cottage.
"What time is it anyway?" Brian asked as he slid back into the warmth of the sleeping bag and of his lover.
Justin looked at his watch. "Five-thirty. Did that log last all night?"
"No, I got up a couple of times and added some wood."
"Thank you for taking care of me. I must have been deep asleep because I usually feel it as soon as you move out of my reach."
"I think I wore you out," Brian smirked.
"Braggart!"
"Well, it's true, isn't it?" Justin nodded. "So it's not bragging."
"We should watch the sun come up," Justin said with a smile.
"We can see it right out that window," Brian said pointing at the large picture window in front of them.
"Then that means that my studio faces west."
"Yes, why?"
"Afternoon light. It's the best."
Brian chuckled. "And I didn't even know."
"I bet you did … intuitively."
Brian smiled and tweaked Justin's nose. The kid had such faith in him. "I love you, Justin Taylor."
Justin almost gasped when that came out of the blue. Instead his smile rivaled the soon to be risen sun. "I love you so much."
As the sun began to dawn the two lovers were locked together in the primal force that drove mankind. They used every device they had learned to pleasure each other and express their love and loyalty. When they were spent, the sun shone palely through the picture window and another day had begun.
"Think we should try out the shower?" Brian asked.
"Might be a good idea. These sleeping bags could use a run through the washing machine too," Justin said as he stood up. They were pretty ripe from all the activity of the previous night.
"We'll have to go on a search and find the washing machine," Brian said folding the sleeping bags into a big lump.
"Washing machines are pretty big. It shouldn't be too hard to find them," Justin laughed.
"Pull on some clothes. It's freezing once you get away from the fire."
"But I'm covered in cum and I have to wear these clothes home."
Brian dropped the sleeping bags, threw Justin over his shoulder and raced down the hall to the bathroom where he turned on the water very hot to warm up the room. Finally they were able to climb in and enjoy a little more pleasurable activity in their new home.
Once they were done and dressed they explored the house. They found the washing machine and threw the sleeping bags in. John had left them a little bottle of laundry detergent. They found some bagels on the counter and that was breakfast. John had thought of everything. Justin munched on his bagel as he roamed his new studio. Brian could see the wheels turning about where he wanted things and what he was going to do.
"Are you ready to see the rest of the house?" Brian asked after a while.
"Um … sure," Justin said sheepishly. He had been so lost in his plans he had forgotten everything else.
They had seen the kitchen and the living room already. Brian led Justin down the hall. They looked at what would become Gus' room. Brian explained that the other bedroom would be his office.
"And here's the master bedroom," Brian said flinging open the last door. It faced west also and would get great light in the evenings.
"I love it," Justin smiled.
"Can you picture our new brass bed in here?"
"Um … no."
"No?"
"Surely you don't want the platform bed," Brian said with a frown.
"Fuck no," Justin replied wrinkling his nose. "I think you should auction it off. With its history you'd probably make a mint."
Brian groaned. "Then what do you want for a bed?"
"I think we should have a big wooden four poster."
"You do?" Brian asked beginning to picture it himself. It would look great in the rustic cottage. "I bet we could get one custom made that would be … magnificent."
"Haven't you spent enough on this already?"
"I don't care. We'll talk to some artisans and design exactly what we want. I bet John knows where we can get just what we want."
"You are … incredible," Justin whispered walking into Brian's embrace and giving his lover a long hug.
Brian felt himself grow hard. "Hey, none of that. We have to go look at the landscaping."
"Let's go," Justin said holding out his hand. Brian's hand slid easily into it and they made their way outside.
Instead of going out through the opposing sliding glass doors at the other end of the studio, the lovers tried out the side door in the kitchen. It had a small mud room and a screen door. They walked around to the front of the cottage to get the full picture. Justin noted the rose bushes. They were of the climbing variety; the landscaper had tied them to the trellis on each side of the front door. When in full bloom they would be magnificent.
Hand in hand the lovers went around the back. The studio jutted out on one side and there was a patio that spanned the whole back end of the house. For now it was bare but they could see possibilities for an awning or even a gazebo.
"Brian, how much land do we have?"
"A total of 15 acres. The nearest neighbor is about three miles away. I have a copy of the survey map that denotes the property line. John says there is a little stone wall that goes around the actual property on each side but wait till you see the best part."
"The best part?! What can be better than this?" Justin waved at the cottage and studio.
"Follow me, Grasshopper," Brian smirked as he led his young lover toward the stream and their own big rock.
Justin's grin grew wider as he began to hear the trickle of the stream get louder and louder as they walked to the tree line.
"Look!" Brian stopped and gestured toward the stream.
There was the boulder, similar to one they found on Claire's property. A large boulder where one could sit, reflect, dream and give thanks for the life they've shared and for the life they were about to embark on together.
"Brian, it's like the one at the farm. The one in Kinney's painting."
"I know. When I saw it I knew I had made the right decision. It didn't matter what this place looked like before. I knew we had to live here."
"Oh, Brian." Justin threw himself again into Brian's arms and sniffled.
"Hey, what's with the waterworks?"
"You said 'we.' Everything you've done has been for the two of us. I love you for that." The lovers kissed then walked back to the cottage.
When they were back inside and getting ready to close it up so they could
head back to
"Uh, Bri. You do know we may have a very serious problem here, don't you?"
"You mean another problem besides the workout my credit card is about to have?"
"Yes."
Bracing himself against the front door, Brian closed his eyes and prepared for the worst.
"Lay it on me, Sunshine."
"We have a cottage similar to John and Bobby's."
"Yeah."
"And a stream with a big rock, like Claire's."
"Yes."
"You do realize what that means?"
"Ah, I'm more like my brother than I care to admit?"
"Perhaps. But something more serious than that."
"What?" Brian opened his eyes and stared at Justin.
"Bullfrogs," Justin said with a grin then walked to the Cherokee.
"Bullfrogs? Holy fucking shit!"