Kindred Love: Boys to Men

Unexpected Visitor

Brian ran his fingers through Justin's silky blond strands as his mouth and tongue moved with the younger man's.

"Mmm. You taste like chocolate fudge brownie," Brian murmured. "Yummy," he smiled, and swiped his tongue over Justin's bottom lip.

Justin giggled in between their kisses. "See? Aren't you glad I suggested that we stop for ice cream?"

"Mmm hmm," Brian answered. "Even if I did feel about 6 years old, eating cookies n' cream on a sugar cone," he chuckled.

"You were adorable," Justin grinned.

Brian pulled back a bit and frowned. "Adorable?" he asked. "That's so not sexy."

"Oh yes, it is. It was especially hot when you were licking the sides of the cone to catch the melted drips," Justin purred. His hand found its way down to Brian's semi-hard cock and started rubbing it through his clothes as he dipped in for another flavorful kiss. Brian moaned, and his member came more to life from the attention it was getting.

"Your mouth is still cold. It feels weird, but I like it," Justin whispered against Brian's mouth.

"I know what else you'll like," Brian said with a devilish grin. He suddenly flipped them over so that he was lying on top of Justin, and then started dragging his cold tongue down the blond's neck, the coldness sending shivers all through his body.

"Ohh, Brian," Justin moaned.

Brian pulled off Justin's shirt and sought out his sensitive nipple, and softly started sucking on it, making it fully erect.

"Mmmm," Justin moaned once again. Brian's cold tongue swirled around the small nub, sending shock waves straight to Justin's dick. He was about to start licking his way down Justin's torso, when Justin's bedroom door suddenly opened.

"Oopsie..." Emmett stammered, as he was mid step into Justin's room and realized what he had just walked in on.

Justin and Brian looked over at Emmett, both their faces flushed with embarrassment. Justin grabbed his shirt Brian had just removed and placed it over his obvious erection.

"Jesus, Em, ever hear of knocking?" Brian said, rolling his eyes.

Emmett gave them an apologetic look. "Sorry, boys. I didn't know you two were here. I just came to borrow some of Justin's vanilla scented lotion. I'm all out," he explained.

"Oh, um, it's on the dresser," Justin said, pointing at said object, as he sat up in his bed.

"Thanks, sweetie," Emmett smiled.

"Go ahead and take the bottle with you. I bought an extra one," Justin told him.

"You're an angel," he said, and hastily grabbed the bottle so he could let them get back to... whatever it was they were doing. "Sorry for interrupting," he told them again, and shut the door behind him before they could reply.

"We really need to start remembering to lock your door," Brian said.

"Yeah. It's one of the perks of having a roommate," Justin said with a small smile and shrug.

Brian smiled back at him and then pushed Justin back onto the bed once again and towered over his body. He tossed away the shirt that covered the younger man's hard-on and rubbed the straining organ through his cargo pants. "Did you say perk or prick?" he teased.

"At this point I'll say anything you want," Justin panted, and accepted Brian's tongue in his mouth once again. He lifted Brian's T-shirt up and over his head and tossed it to the side, needing to feel Brian's soft flesh under his hands as they kissed.

Brian eventually pulled away from the kiss and dragged his tongue down Justin's chest and continued to go lower until he reached his belly button. He made eye contact with Justin as he darted his tongue out and then dipped it into the shallow hole.

Justin gasped and Brian smiled at the reaction he was receiving.

"You want me to suck you off?" Brian said in a low, seductive voice.

"Yes," Justin groaned, the thought of what was to come causing the head of his cock to ooze. He suddenly flashed back to that first time, years ago, when Brian had given him a blow job, and he grew impossibly harder.

Brian unfastened Justin's pants and slid them and his underwear down his hips and pulled them off. He licked his lips as he saw his glistening prize eagerly awaiting for him to possess it. He wrapped his right hand around the base of Justin's thick cock and then started lightly sucking on the head, enjoying the taste of the salty sweet fluid as he heard Justin cry out in pleasure. He then started to slowly slide his mouth up and down the rod, once in a while, flicking his tongue on the underside of the cap.

"Brian," Justin sighed.

Brian looked up to see Justin's expression. His eyes were heavy-lidded and dilated, and his tongue was just barely peeking out between his lips as he enjoyed the pleasure his boyfriend was giving to him. The sight of Justin's teasing tongue made Brian want to suck on it, and he let the cock in his mouth fall from his lips. He crawled up Justin's body and attacked his mouth, claiming the tongue he was craving just moments before.

"You taste so good," Brian moaned in between their kisses. "I want you so much. I can't wait until we finally... God, I want to..." Brian trailed off and continued his assault on Justin's mouth.

"I know... me too. But... we agreed not to rush into this," Justin reminded Brian, even though he, himself, was quickly feeling a change of heart on that decision.

He wanted Brian just as much as Brian wanted him. He wanted them to be together in every sense of the word. To share their love with each other in every possible way. But they had decided after their first date as a couple that they weren't going to fuck up their relationship before it even started by rushing into sex. They wanted to build up their relationship a little first before they gave themselves to each other fully, so that when that day came when they finally made love for the first time, it would be that much more powerful and special, and they would appreciate their love for each other even more.

Problem was, Justin was beginning to wonder how much longer they could wait. Their feelings for each other were so strong, and they were sometimes instantly aroused by the smallest contact, such as holding hands or even just sitting next to each other on the sofa. Their make out sessions and foreplay had become more intense each time, and during those heated moments, he'd had to stop himself at least a few times crying out to Brian, "Fuck the agreement, I want you inside of me!"

"Why do you have to be logical at a time like this?" Brian whined, as he sucked on the side of Justin's neck.

"Trust me; I don't want to be," Justin moaned.

Brian stopped his task and looked into Justin's eyes, while running his fingers through his hair.

"I know you're right," he told him. "It's just that when I'm near you - it's like my body has a mind of its own. It's getting more difficult to control the more time I spend with you," Brian admitted.

Justin frowned a bit, and when Brian noticed his worried look he leaned in to kiss him on the lips softly. "Not that I won't be able to control it. I'd never force you to do anything, Justin, you know that," he said softly.

"Yeah, I know," Justin answered with a nod. "Honestly, I don't know how much longer I can wait either. I want to be with you so much," Justin told him.

Brian smiled. He was glad that he wasn't the only one feeling like a lion in heat. "Well, in the meantime we've had a lot of fun finding other ways to satisfy our needs," he said, sticking his tongue in his cheek.

Justin giggled at Brian's expression, and nodded in agreement. He then kissed Brian, and started working on unbuttoning his boyfriend's jeans. Once those and his underwear were off and they were both completely naked, Justin reached into his nightstand drawer and pulled out a small, plastic bottle.

Brian raised a brow at the object in Justin's hand.

"Emmett brought home a bunch of free samples from work. I've got like 10 bottles of flavored lube. This one is just regular though," Justin said, holding it up.

Brian laughed. "I guess having a roommate who works at an Adult store has its advantages," he said.

"Uh huh," Justin smiled, and then straddled Brian's hips.

He poured a generous amount of lube into his palm and then took hold of the other man's fully hard dick. Brian moaned when he felt the slick wetness from Justin's hand, and gasped when the blond started moving his lubed hand up and down the shaft easily, varying the pressure with each stroke.

"Put out your hand," Justin instructed.

Brian obliged, and watched as Justin tipped the lube bottle and poured some of its cold substance into his hand. He needed no further instruction now, and immediately started fisting Justin's cock, expertly.

Brian came first, and Justin followed just seconds later. Justin leaned forward and was now laying on top of Brian, contently kissing him, their sticky essence on their bodies mixing together.

"It wasn't you inside me, but it still felt incredible," Justin whispered.

Brian smiled back at him, and then hugged him closer. "You're incredible," he told him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Brian and Justin entered the diner, hand-in-hand, and spotted Michael, Josh and Todd sitting at their usual booth in the back, and walked over to join them.

"Well if it isn't our newest happy couple," Todd smirked.

Justin smiled, while Brian shot his friend a look that said he better behave himself.

"Don't mind him, he's just jealous because he doesn't have a hot boyfriend like everyone else at this table does," Josh chuckled.

Todd made a face at Josh and let out a sarcastic laugh. "Yeah right. The only thing that I'm jealous about is the fact that Justin's ass is officially off the market," Todd told them and then looked over at Justin, who was blushing at the comment. Brian put his arm around Justin's shoulder and pulled him a little closer to him in the booth.

"Oh, come on. We all know you secretly want a boyfriend," Michael said, only half joking.

Todd frowned and shook his head. "I don't want a fucking boyfriend. Monogamy is for suckers. Besides, the guys in the back room at Babylon would go on strike if I wasn't there to offer my hot, willing, tight, ass," Todd smirked.

They all chuckled at the comment. Despite Todd's claim of not ever wanting a boyfriend, his friends had suspected that it was only a front. He'd had a brief relationship with a guy a few years ago, and though no one was exactly sure what had happened between the two young men, the relationship had ended badly. Todd had been flying solo ever since.

In the 5 years that Brian had been Todd's friend, he had gotten to know him pretty well - physically and emotionally. Todd was a complex guy, and though Brian cared about him, and the sex was good, he had decided that the whole "friends with benefits" thing was a bad idea. It made things too complicated within their friendship. Despite their sexual chemistry, neither man had ever really felt more than friendship for the other, so other than occasionally missing the random and convenient "release" they would provide each other from time to time, they had both been fine with just remaining strictly friends. Brian found he wasn't really interested in having a fuck buddy, and even though he knew he could practically have anyone he wanted, he wasn't really interested in tricking all the time, like a lot of his other friends.

The five friends were all making light conversation as they ate their lunch, when Michael's eyes almost popped out of their sockets as he watched who strolled through the door.

"Oh, shit," Michael said.

Confused by Michael's reaction, they all turned to see what he was looking at, and with the exception of Justin, they all stared, speechless and in shock. Brian's face suddenly went pale, and then a heavy tension filled the air.

"What? What's going on?" Justin asked obliviously.

"Brian's old flame, that's what," Todd said.

Brian glared back at his friend, while Justin questioningly looked over at Brian, unsure about how to react. "That guy?" Justin asked, watching the handsome older man take a seat in an empty stool at the counter.

Brian sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, and then nodded, wishing he could just disappear.

"Are you going to go over there and talk to him?" Michael asked.

"Why the fuck would I do that?" Brian asked.

Before anyone else could say anything, the man in question made eye contact with Brian, and abruptly stood up and headed for their table.

"Shit, he's coming over here," Josh said.

"How perceptive," Todd said dryly.

Brian swallowed hard, and tried to remain calm and act casual. He didn't want the man to see how much his presence still effected him after all this time.

"Hey guys. It's been a while," the man said.

"I'm jumping out of my skin, it's Liberty Avenue's former super stud, Carter Stephens," Todd said with false enthusiasm. It was obvious he didn't care for the man.

The gorgeous man ignored Todd, and stared at Brian. "Hey, Brian, how are you?" he asked.

"Great," Brian answered.

Carter nodded, and then noticed the attractive blond sitting next to Brian. "Is this Justin?" he asked.

Justin looked up at the stranger, surprised that he would know who he was. "Hi," he answered.

"Brian told me a lot about you," Carter smiled. Justin nodded, not sure whether he should feel glad or upset that Brian had talked about him to this man whom he knew nothing about.

"So, word of mouth is you're doing really well in the legal field," Michael said, trying to clear some of the tension in the air.

Carter smiled confidently at him. "You heard right. I've been working at one of the best law firms in New York. They wouldn't have hired me if I hadn't impressed the shit out of them," Carter said, shamelessly.

"Still cocky as ever," Todd muttered.

Carter looked at him and only smiled. "Still jealous as ever," he retorted.

Todd glared at the man. "I've never been jealous of an old queer like you," he spat.

Carter laughed. "Right. As for your claim about me being cocky, call it whatever you want; I call it confidence," Carter answered simply. "I know I'm good. I've never been the modest type. Confidence is what helps you get ahead in the world. Maybe you'll learn that one day, Todd, when some random guy's dick is out of your ass long enough for you to actually go out do something challenging or worthwhile in your life," Carter told him.

"Fuck you, asshole! You don't know shit about me," Todd said angrily.

"I know enough," Carter said, and then turned his attention back to Brian. "I'll be in town a couple weeks. We should really get together and catch up, Brian. Here's my card," Carter said, handing him his business card with all his contact numbers.

Brian stared at the card for a moment like he didn't know what to do with it.

"I hope to hear from you," Carter smiled. "See you boys around," he told the rest of them, and turned around and walked out of the diner.

There was an awkward silence at the table, and Justin looked at Michael and Josh who were trying their hardest to only focus on their lunch. Todd just sat there, fuming.

"Brian?" Justin asked softly, as his boyfriend stared towards the door where Carter had exited. Brian turned to look at Justin when he called him.

"Yeah, um, I'm not really that hungry anymore. Do you mind if we box the rest of our lunch and go back to your place?" Brian asked.

"Sure," Justin said, giving him a small smile. Brian called the waiter over to them for a couple of boxes and the check, and soon after they left.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Brian and Justin had been laying together in complete silence for the last 20 minutes on Justin's bed, lightly stroking one another's body. Justin wanted to give Brian some time to gather his thoughts before he started to ask questions.

"Brian, can I ask you something?" Justin finally asked.

"Yeah," he answered quietly.

"Why didn't you ever tell me about this guy, Carter?" he asked.

"I don't know," Brian answered. "Carter - he - well, it's a long story," Brian sighed.

"Well, it was obvious from your reaction to seeing him that he has an effect on you. I had hoped that if there was something or someone important in your life that you would have told me about it. I mean, before this relationship started we were best friends who told each other everything. I was honest with you about John..."

"I know."

"You should have told me," Justin said.

Brian turned to face Justin, and stroked his cheek lightly with the backs of his fingers. "You're right; I should have. I'm sorry," he said, his eyes staring into Justin's, apologetically. "It was two years ago, Justin. After everything with him happened I just wanted to try to forget him and move on," Brian admitted.

"What happened?" Justin asked.

Brian looked away, and it was obvious this was something he didn't like talking about.

"I'm sorry, Brian, I didn't mean to push. You don't have to tell me right now," Justin reassured him, taking his boyfriend's hand and interlacing his fingers with his.

Brian shook his head. "No, you deserve to know the truth, and I might as well tell you the whole story while it's all out in the open," he said.

"Okay," Justin agreed. He was feeling a little nervous about what Brian would tell him about this man, Carter Stephens.

"Well, I met him back when I first came to the Pitts," Brian started.

"But... that means that you were only 14 when you met him. He's got to be in his 30s," Justin pointed out.

"Actually, he's 29," Brian said, with a hint of a smile.

"So you had a relationship with this man when you were just 14?" Justin asked.

Brian shook his head. "No. I met him when I was 14. He was my first kiss, though. I was attracted to him, but he made it clear that he wasn't going to mess around with a kid. So, he just kind of became like a mentor to me, and taught me a lot about the gay lifestyle. He gave me a lot of advice, and kind of looked out for me. We became good friends," Brian explained.

"But then something happened," Justin stated.

Brian nodded. "On the night of my high school graduation, he took me out to Babylon for the first time, to celebrate. All the bouncers and bartenders either knew him or were personal friends of his, so I got in easily. It was one of the funnest nights of my life. We danced, we drank. And we danced some more... and drank some more... I ended up getting pretty wasted," Brian said. Justin nodded at him, having a feeling where this was going.

"So, we were on the dance floor, and there were all of these incredibly hot guys dancing all around us, cruising us, occasionally groping us. We both ignored all their advances though. We were having a good time just with each other. We were dancing so close. He looked so beautiful, and I just melted every time he touched me or pulled me closer to him. Then, I just... kissed him. He kissed me back, and the next thing I knew, we were back at his place having sex," Brian said.

"Did you...?"

Brian nodded. "He was the first guy to ever top me," Brian said, knowing what Justin was trying to ask.

"And it wasn't just a one time thing?" Justin asked.

Brian shook his head. "No. We had a hot summer together. We slept together for the next two months, and it was... God. It was amazing. He was an incredible lover, and I found out first hand that the rumors of him being great in bed were true."

"Wow, he must have really been something," Justin said, trying not to sound too jealous.

Brian saw Justin's expression and gently tipped Justin's face up towards him, and kissed him softly on the lips. He then smiled at him, hoping that the gesture would make Justin feel more secure.

"I really cared about him, and even though I knew he still fucked around with other guys, I also knew that I was the only one he slept with more than once. The more time we spent together, the stronger my feelings for him became, and it started to feel more and more like a relationship was happening between us," Brian said.

"So what happened?" Justin asked.

"Then... one day he abruptly ended it, and left for New York," Brian sighed. He looked away, not wanting Justin to see the pain that was evident in his eyes. "I was devastated," Brian admitted.

"What did he say?"

"He said he was offered a job at a prestigious law firm in New York and he was taking the job and didn't plan to look back. He said he wanted me to understand that what had been going on between us was just for fun, and not a relationship. That once he left, he fully intended to move on to bigger and better things and expected me to do the same. So he left, and I haven't seen or talked to him until today, when he walked into the diner."

"But... why would he do that? I thought you guys were good friends? Why would he just leave and cut you off like that?" Justin asked with a frown.

"Fuck if I know. I gave up trying to figure that one out a long time ago. I had to; it was driving me insane," Brian said.

"I'm sorry, Brian," Justin whispered, and soothingly ran his hands up and down Brian's back lightly.

"Don't be. It was two years ago, and I have indeed moved on to bigger and better things, and I'm really happy," Brian said with a smile. Justin beamed back up at his boyfriend, and they came together in a long leisurely kiss that went on for some time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Justin lightly knocked on his roommate's closed door. When he heard no response, he continued knocking. He would have walked in, but he wasn't sure if Emmett had brought someone home with him.

"Hey Em?" he called out. A few moments later a very tire-looking Emmett opened his bedroom door, his eyes squinted, his sleeping mask was pulled up to his forehead.

"Hey, sweetie. What is it, is something wrong?" he asked in a hoarse voice.

"I'm sorry to wake you. It's just... I can't sleep," Justin told him. Emmett look at him for a moment, seemingly waiting for further explanation. "Um, do you know anything about Carter Stephens?" he asked.

Emmett's expression immediately softened, and he leaned in and kissed Justin's cheek. "I'll go start a pot of coffee," he said, and walked past Justin to go to into the kitchen. Justin smiled back at him gratefully. Maybe Emmett could help him dissipate this nagging feeling about this older man who had just entered his life.

Once the two friends were on the sofa sipping their coffee, and Emmett was more awake, Justin explained to him what had happened at the diner, and then what Brian had told him about Carter's flee from Pittsburgh and abruptly ending his friendship and everything else with him.

"So are you feeling threatened by Carter? Is that what this is about?" Emmett asked.

"Well - he was kind of Brian's first... you know, everything. He broke Brian's heart, and now he's back, hotter than ever, more intelligent, more successful..." Justin trailed off.

"Honey, Brian might have been a bit stunned when he saw Carter, but trust me, you have nothing to worry about. Carter is part of Brian's past. You are fully in his life now and are part of his future. He is happy with you. He loves you," Emmett reassured Justin.

"I know how he feels about me, but I can't help but feel intimidated. Carter is in town and he came right over to Brian and talked to him as if nothing had ever happened. He said he wanted to get together and catch up -- whatever the fuck he means by that. What if he tries to fuck Brian?" Justin asked, his face filled with worry.

"Justin, you need to give Brian a little credit. He's not going to throw what he has with you away just so he can have a one-night stand with a guy who has fucked him over in the past," Emmett pointed out.

"I don't want to think that he would do that, but you should have seen the look on Brian's face when Carter was talking to him. I could tell he was trying to appear calm, but he was really freaking out. It wouldn't be hard for him to get caught up in old feelings again, Emmett. It happens to people all the time," Justin said.

Emmett nodded. He knew Justin had a point. "Well, honey, the only thing I can really tell you is that you should trust Brian and trust in his love for you," Emmett told his friend.

Justin smiled and nodded. "You're right. Thanks, Em," he said, appreciatively. He knew that Emmett would put things in perspective for him and make him feel better about the situation.

"And another thing; Carter may be handsome, intelligent and successful, but one thing he doesn't have is Brian's heart. And that is just one of several things that you have that he doesn't," Emmett told him with a wink.

Justin beamed at Emmett, and gave him a big hug. "Love you, Em," he whispered.

"Love you too, baby," Emmett said, a bit misty-eyed. Justin was the little brother that he never had but always wanted. He was so happy that they were roommates and such great friends.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Brian lay awake in his bed restlessly, staring up at his bedroom ceiling. He couldn't believe that Carter was back in town. When he saw him again, he swore his heart actually stopped beating for a full two seconds.

The older man was still as beautiful as ever. He was still the same sexy, smart, confident Carter Stephens. He hadn't seemed to have changed much.

He certainly hadn't expected the man to stroll over to his table and talk to him as if he'd only been gone on vacation. He'd said he wanted them to "catch up". Brian wondered why the older man wanted to talk to him at all when he had said that he never planned on looking back. He'd cut off all ties with him, and now he wanted to get together and catch up?

Brian let out a frustrated sigh and sat up in his bed. Who the fuck did Carter think he was just showing back up in his life and just expecting Brian to be okay with it?

He looked over at the business card Carter had given to him at the diner. Suddenly he felt the urge to call up the fucker and yell at him to stay the fuck out of his life. He picked up his cell phone and dialed a number. After 3 rings, Carter's voice answered. Brian froze, and then hung up. What was he thinking?

A moment later, his cell started ringing. He looked at the Caller ID and saw the number that he had just dialed displayed in the window, and sighed. He hesitated, and then finally answered the phone before it went to his voice mail.

"Hello."

"Brian?"

"Yeah, it's me."

"What were you going to say to me?"

"Nothing. I have nothing to say to you."

"Yeah, that's why you're calling my cell phone at 3:46a.m."

"I... changed my mind."

"We should talk."

"No."

"Brian, stop being a twat. I just want to talk."

"About what?"

"About anything you want. It's been two years. I've been curious as to how you've been and what you've been up to."

"Could have fooled the fuck out of me. If you cared at all about how I was, you would have called and asked. Or e-mailed... something. But not a fucking word from you. You left everything in Pittsburgh behind you, including me. Even if we weren't boyfriends, we were at least friends."

Brian was getting angrier the more he spoke. He was finally saying what he had been wanting to say to Carter since he had left. He never thought he'd get the chance to tell him how much of an asshole he was.

"Brian..."

"No - you know what? I'm done," Brian said, and hung up.

He'd wanted to say so much more, but what was the point? It was all over and done with. He had moved on, and now he just wanted to go on with this life. Things had been going well for him as of late, and he didn't need all this shit to bring him down.

Brian felt a tear escape his eye and roll down his cheek and he grew even more upset. The worst part about it was that he did want to talk to Carter. He wanted to tell him what had been going on with his life, and he wanted to find out what the older man had been up to as well. He missed him. Seeing him again had brought up all of these mixed feelings, and he hadn't been able to stop thinking of him since.

Maybe he should see Carter again... just to get it all out of his system? He wasn't sure what to do, and he groaned thinking about how he hadn't slept a wink and had to be up to go to work in 3 hours.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Brian had just clocked out for lunch, and was about to head out to the diner, when he saw Carter standing in the lobby, smiling, as if he had been waiting for him.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Brian asked.

"A little birdie told me that this is where you work. Forrester Inc. is an excellent place for you to be, you made a very smart decision. Not that I'm surprised," Carter said.

Brian slightly blushed at the compliment. "Actually, it's not that big of a deal. I'm not an actual ad man yet or anything," he answered.

"Doesn't matter. You've got your foot in the door," Carter told him.

Brian nodded and then moved to walk past the man. Carter immediately started following him. "So where are you off to for lunch?" he asked.

"The diner."

"How about some real food? I'll take you to that Thai Restaurant that you love so much. What do you say?" Carter said with an irresistible smile.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Brian said.

"Come on, it's only lunch."

Brian hesitated, but then figured that it probably wouldn't do any good to turn the man down. He'd just follow him wherever he ended up going anyway.

"Fine," Brian agreed. At least he'd get a free lunch out of this.

"Great. My BMW is parked out front," he said, and opened the lobby door for Brian to walk out.

Once they had been seated in the restaurant, Brian sipped on his ice water awkwardly.

"So about what you said last night..." Carter started.

"I really don't want to talk about that," Brian cut him off.

"Okay... So is it safe to ask what you've been doing for the last two years?" he asked.

"I'm attending Carnegie Mellon," Brian said.

"Still majoring in Advertising, I presume?"

"Yeah."

Their food finally arrived, and they ate mostly in silence.

"And Justin?" Carter asked.

"What about Justin?" Brian frowned.

"He's living here now?"

"Yes."

"And the two of you..."

"We're together," Brian answered.

"I never could get you to see your irrationality of wanting to be in a serious relationship at such a young age," Carter smirked.

Brian felt his anger rise. "I'm not you. Look, I know you always kind of wanted to train and mold me so I'd be a younger version of you, but I'm not, and I never will be. I'm not like you. I actually want to be with one person. I want to love someone and be loved in return," Brian told him.

"And when this silly school-boy romance dissolves and you end up getting hurt, you think it will be worth it?"

"It wouldn't be the first time," Brian said with accusing eyes. "And yes, it fucking hurts, but you know, that's life. I wasn't going to just become Liberty Avenue's biggest slut just because Carter Stephens broke my heart."

"Right, Todd's already taken on that title," Carter muttered.

Brian rolled his eyes and ignored the comment. "You know, just because something works for you, doesn't mean it works for everyone else. I may have been hurt in the past, but you know, I've learned from it. I now know what it is that I don't want in a person I'm with," Brian said pointedly.

Carter put his hands up in defeat. "Hey, all I wanted to do was take you out to lunch, maybe catch up and have a nice conversation. This is going downhill fast," Carter said.

"Kind of like our relationship."

"We were never in a relationship."

"Are you telling me that I imagined it all?"

"I'm saying that we were never together, in the sense of being 'together'."

"You're so full of shit."

"And you're still as hot as ever when you're angry."

"Fuck you."

"I'd love to."

Brian was speechless for a moment, and then stood up. "Lunch is over."

"Brian, I was only teasing. Sit down."

"No. And stay the fuck away from me," Brian spat, and made a hastily exit out of the restaurant.

Brian was fuming and cursed himself for agreeing to go to lunch with Carter in the first place. He should have known things would have gone about the way they did. Even though he had managed put it all behind him, he found he was still angry with the man, and really wasn't up to having a nice buddy-buddy conversation with him.

He hoped he wouldn't run into Carter again. He wanted him to get the Hell out of his life again as soon as possible. He wasn't sure how long he could resist those haunting gray eyes and charming smile...