Inverted
Inverted 9/10
Denial is a River
A 17 year old Brian meets a 29 year old Justin and sparks fly.
Inverted
Chapter 9
I keep my eyes on the pool as Cynthia looks at me through her oversized Gucci sunglasses. Expensive tastes. “So, what’s going on with you two?”
I take a sip of my swiped beer as I decide how to answer that. Maybe I can just play dumb. “What?”
“Don’t be cute.” Yeah, didn’t think that’d work. “You and Justin. You guys have been doing whatever it is you’re doing for almost a month now.” I watch her think about it for a second. “What ''are'' you guys doing?”
I raise my sunglasses and lift an eyebrow. “Wouldn’t you like to know?” I’d like to know too. I’ve been spending three to four nights a week at Justin’s apartment. We eat, fuck, talk a little. I usually spend the night and he drops me off at school. I don’t know what to call whatever it is we’re doing, but I’ve been enjoying it.
“Wipe the smirk off your face and just answer the question, Brian. Is Justin Taylor your boyfriend?”
I immediately frown at the idea. The term just makes me think of the dumb cheerleaders at school who get pissed off when their dumber jock boyfriends bang the rest of the cheerleading squad. “No, definitely not.”
“Okay…so if you’re not boyfriends, then what are you?”
“We’re just two guys that like fucking each other. No promises. No commitments.”
Cynthia nods. “Right. So, if you two are so casual, why haven’t you fucked that guy in our English class? I know you think he’s hot, and he’s been practically begging you for it.”
“I’ve been busy. School, work, internship, Justin. No time.”
“Is Justin making time to fuck other guys?”
I’m not going to think about Justin with someone else. “Don’t know. Don’t care.”
“Yeah you do.”
“No. I don’t. Justin is free to do whatever he likes. We’re not in a relationship. We just fuck.”
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I sit in the chair with Becca on my lap, trying to keep her occupied as I watch Justin and Lindsay talk. I gave up on me and Justin getting any time alone tonight about four hours ago. Everyone we know seems bent on making sure we don’t have a moment’s peace.
I had called Justin right after school. He told me he might be a little busy, but he wanted me to come over anyway and to use the spare key to let myself in. Justin had told me about the infamous spare key a week or so ago. He used to hide it on a window sill outside. When he told me about it, I must’ve looked at him like he was crazy. Justin is way too trusting. He has all of this valuable shit, and if he’s not careful one day he’s going to get robbed blind, which is what I’ve been telling him for the past week.
Last night as I was leaving, when I asked him if he wanted me to replace the spare on the window sill outside, he told me to keep it. So, now I have a key to Justin’s apartment and I have no idea what that means. I was hoping to figure it out tonight, but with all the visitors, it doesn’t look like that’ll be happening anytime soon.
I watch him as he talks to Lindsay and pulls out his checkbook. It is obvious Justin’s a good dad. Besides footing the bill for a lot of her expenses, I know for a fact he spends as much time with Becca as he can.
Justin had been working in his mini-studio when I got to his apartment. He has rental loft space downtown where he has an office and studio for his animation work and the few benefit art shows he does. But he has the mini-studio in his apartment for when wants to do something for himself.
There’s a small desk in there that he never uses. When I come over and he’s busy, I usually work on a little homework there. Since we’ve been doing whatever it is we’re doing, he’s been keeping the desk stocked with office supplies, which is kind of cute if I think about it too much.
Within an hour or so I was done with my homework and in the living room watching television and waiting for Justin to get done. He came out a few minutes later, and half an hour later we were in an intense make out session. Justin’s hand was down my pants and I was so close…so fucking close, when the doorbell rang. And Justin, with his fucking manners, actually got up to answer it. I’m going to have to help him get rid of those.
The person at the door wasn’t even important. It was Mikey of all people. Apparently he just had a brilliant idea and had to tell Justin right away, even though I’d already told him earlier today that Justin and I were spending tonight together. “Creativity doesn’t punch a time clock, Brian.” Well, creativity can kiss my ass. I was trying to have sex with my… Justin.
Mikey and Justin talked for two fucking hours about that comic book idea. After two hours I had to kick Mikey out. Once you get him going about something he never shuts up, and the last thing I needed was for him to hang out here all night. Justin was too nice to tell him to leave so I did it for him. Debbie was probably making dinner anyway, and she always gets angry when her baby boy doesn’t show up.
Justin had barely started making us our own dinner when Alex showed up out of nowhere. Literally out of nowhere. The guy didn’t knock. By the way Justin tensed and frowned, I had a feeling he didn’t approve. That’s something I’ll have to talk to him about later.
Alex had won a new account and wanted Justin to do the creative on it. The client wanted an animated ad, and animation was a weak point at the agency. They usually outsourced it. He’d brought over a contract for Justin to look over and sign. He didn’t want to put off until tomorrow what he could do today or some bullshit like that. And apparently he and Justin haven’t been spending as much time together, for what reason I have no idea. Alex came over to catch up. Turns out it takes an hour and a half to catch up. He invited himself over for dinner.
He wasn’t gone for more than ten minutes when Lindsay came over to talk about how Becca needed this and that, and I don’t know. I tend to tune her out sometimes. She’s a nice lady and all, but she likes to talk around things without ever saying what she means. Half of what she says isn’t worth listening to.
Justin plops down next to me on the sofa. It’s obvious Becca adores her dad. She reaches for him as soon as he sits down. Justin takes her off my lap and plants sloppy kisses all over her face, making her laugh. I look up and see that Lindsay is getting ready to leave. She packs up all her things and then picks Becca up. For a second I think she’s about to cry, but Lindsay distracts her with a toy. You got to love a kid’s short attention span. Lindsay finally leaves, and we’re alone. Justin slumps into the sofa. After a few seconds of silence, he looks at me. “I think I’m done for the night. I’m kind of tired.” Justin-speak for “no sex.”
I stand up to get my things. “I just have to grab my stuff, and I can get out of here.” Justin grabs my hand, and for a second I think he’s changed his mind about the sex thing.
But he hasn’t. “You don’t have go…if you don’t want to, Brian. You can just spend the night.”
Just spend the night…actually sleep with Justin. This seems like a step toward something big and I should really think about it or be worried about it, but what the hell, it’s not like I’m going to say no. “Sure.”
“Good.”
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Author's Notes: Thanks to vanna12 for doing her beta thing.