She emptied the four plates that were on her tray onto the table in front of her, placing one plate in front of each of the four men sitting at the table. "There you go, dahlings, enjoy!" she said, still trying to act pleasant even in her rushed state, then she hurried off. The four men shook their heads, grabbed their plates and switched them around until they each had the correct food that they'd ordered.
Kiki ran back behind the counter to pick up the next order. She paused for a second to catch her breath. She brushed her forehead with the back of her hand to wipe the sweat off and left a streak of pale skin as some of her make-up wiped off along with the sweat. Her hair-sprayed do was becoming limp, her false eyelashes coming unglued from the sweat on her eyelids and her eyeliner was smearing so badly that she was starting to look like a very large raccoon. As she blew a straggled hair off her face with a huge puff, she looked to the heavens for the answer to explain why all this was happening to her, on her shift. What had she done to deserve such torment?
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“He was not,” Justin claimed as they pulled up in front of the diner to get a late night bite to eat after they’d spent the evening at Gardner Vance’s house.
“Yes, he was,” Brian argued back, putting the car in park and turning off the engine.
“Brian, he wasn’t coming on to me. We were just talking. We work together for cryin’ out loud,” Justin said, staring right at Brian, trying to get a feel for what was really going on with Brian after his maniacal display at the office party.
“Yeah, well so do we. Don’t be such a twat, Justin,” Brian said, not looking at Justin and keeping his eyes focused on the windshield.
“I’m not being a twat. And we were together before I started working there. Jesus, I know when someone's coming onto me.”
Brian shook his head. “No, you don’t. You think everyone just wants to be nice and innocently flirt. When I know everyone just wants to get their dick in your ass.” He finally turned to Justin with a slight grin. “It’s your innate goodness. You can’t help it.”
“Uh huh,” Justin said rolling his eyes. “All I’m saying is that if and when he started to try to fuck me, I would’ve told him to fuck off. You didn’t have to do it for me.”
“Humph,” Brian huffed getting out of the car and walking up onto the sidewalk.
“You’re just jealous,” Justin stated as he too got out of the car and joined Brian next to the entrance.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"This woman couldn't organize a root in a brothel," Jason said to his friends with a chuckle while shaking his head.
"I reckon ay?" Matthew agreed.
"Woman?" Alexander asked. "If that's what you call a woman Jace, no wonder you're a fag!"
All three young men laughed in unison. Despite the fact that they had been waiting for what felt like an eternity, they were still in good spirits and having a good time watching the frazzled woman run about.
"Oi! Get your arse into gear! Can't you tell I'm fading away to a shadow over here?" Matthew yelled over the noise of the crowd.
Snickering, Alexander came to Kiki's defense, "Stop baggin' the poor woman Matt. Give her a chance."
"You know I'm just fuckin' around," Matthew laughed.
Kiki rolled her eyes at the ceiling, grabbed the two plates from the warming counter and turned around. Faking her best smile, she yelled back to the studly young men in the first table as she delivered the other order, "Don't get your panties in such a knot, dahlings, you three beautiful hunks of man flesh are next on my list." Then she blew them a kiss trying to calm them with a flirt.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“I could’ve had him if I wanted him.” Brian moved his tongue to the inside of his cheek and looked down the street then added smugly, “As it was, I didn’t want him.” He turned to Justin with a smirk.
Justin huffed a sarcastic chuckle. “Not jealous that he wanted me, jealous that I might’ve wanted him.”
"Wouldn't happen," Brian answered confidently. "You have me, why would you want anyone else?" Brian teased, pulling his lips in for effect.
"Hmmm, you never know, Brian. There could be this muscled athletic type with a perfectly tanned body and sandy blond hair that I just couldn't refuse." He moved close to Brian, put his hands on the sides of his suit jacket, playfully tugged back and forth and blinked his eyes slowly.
Brian knew that look and he wasn’t going to cave in. He swallowed the lump that was creeping up in the back of his throat. It had happened before and even though they understood each other now, there was always this aching feeling deep down inside that it could happen again. Was he jealous of that guy that had been talking to Justin all night at the party?
Nah. They were just talking, just like Justin said.
Maybe. Ethan talked a good game and Justin sure fell for it.
Probably. And this guy was better looking than Ethan had been. Much better looking.
Yeah, he was sure of it. He was jealous. Shit.
He looked away from the seductively teasing blinking blue eyes and admitted the only truth that he could. “I don’t do jealous, Justin.”
Justin took a step closer and they were close enough that every time they took a breath in, their chests rubbed against the other. “Uh huh,” he said softly. “Taking a piss on a bunch of comic book drawings ring a bell with you?”
Brian looked down at Justin and furrowed his brows; he didn’t like this game anymore. “Umm, no. You must be thinking of someone else.”
Knowing he’d just won, Justin stepped back, put his hand on the door to the diner and swung it open. “Right. You’re jealous,” he said with a laugh as he stepped inside.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"Hul-lo!" Alexander said as his mouth fell open. He reached under the table and swatted Jason's leg with the back of his hand to get his attention.
Jason followed his line of sight to the front door. "Holy fuck!" Jason gasped and swallowed hard.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“Am not,” Brian said to Justin’s back, following him through the door and getting Matthew's attention.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"Whoa! Never mind the blondie. Check out the piece of work behind him. I want some of that!" Matthew drooled out over Brian.
"You always go for the old farts, Matt," Jason quipped. "I'll stick with my own age group thanks."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“Are to…” Justin said, his voice trailing off as he saw the chaos inside the diner.
“JUSTIN!!” Kiki exclaimed when she saw him enter the diner. “Thank God, you’re here!”
“Sale on lemon bars?” Brian asked, trying to explain why it seemed that every fag in Pittsburgh was inside the diner at the same time and at this hour of the night, in the middle of the week.
Justin back handed Brian across the stomach and gave him a look. “What’s going on?” Justin turned and asked the despondent and very frazzled waitress.
“Oh my God! The new waiter called in sick, Debbie’s already worked a double today so I made her go home, and I can’t get a hold of the owner, and I’m doing the best I can but the orders aren’t coming out fast enough, everyone’s yelling at me to hurry up and I keep getting the orders mixed up, the dishwasher didn’t show up and I’m running out of clean dishes, so I’m having to bus tables, take orders, wash dishes, and…and…” Kiki trailed off. She was out of breath and trying to keep from breaking into a total sob fest.
“Annnnddd, you’d like me to help you?” Justin asked putting his hands on Kiki’s shoulders trying to calm her down.
“Oh, would you please?” Kiki sighed in appreciation.
“Fuck no, he won’t,” Brian interrupted.
Justin turned around to face Brian.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"So what's on the agenda tomorrow?" Matthew asked, looking at his friends.
Alexander shrugged. "Dunno. Didn't we give Jason the glorious job of finding stuff for us to do?" Two sets of eyes looked at Jason but the young man didn't respond. "Jace?" Alexander tried to get his attention.
Matthew laughed at him then looked back at Alexander, "He's off with the fairies." Matthew's eyes then lit up as a look of recognition came over his face, "Do they use that term here? Isn't a fairy to the American's just a gay guy?"
"I'm not sure if they use the term, but they do call gay guys fairies," Alexander looked back at Jason. "And considering that fact, you're right. Jace is off with the fairies. A blond fairy. A very sexy blond fairy, with a very sexy blond fairy arse." Alexander’s eyes were now glued to Justin too.
Matthew shook his head at both of them and snapped his fingers in front of their faces. "Snap out of it, dip shits!"
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“Brian, I can’t very well just not help,” Justin tried to explain.
“Yes, you can Justin. Tonight is your only night off. If the owner doesn’t know how to hire more reliable people it's his problem, not yours. And what about your suit? That’s a $1500.00 suit, Justin. You don’t sling hash in a $1500.00 suit.”
“You’re right, but it’s not the owner that will suffer if I don’t help, it’s Kiki…and…us. Look at this place, we’ll be here for hours trying to get service,” Justin gestured with his hand towards the crowded diner making Brian look all around. “If I help her get the orders out while our food is cooking then we’ll get out of here faster which means…” Justin leaned in close to Brian’s ear and whispered as he continued. “…you’ll be able to take me home and fuck me a lot sooner than if I don’t help.”
“Justin,” Brian whispered back in response, a little lost in the thought.
Justin took a step back and gestured toward the last booth on the other side of the diner. “Look, you won’t even know I’m gone. Michael, Ben and Hunter are here, you can sit with them while I help her out. And as far as the suit goes, I’ll take the jacket off and put on an apron. Commme onnnn," Justin drawled. "Don’t be such an ogre,” he added while softly pulling on his tie and blinking his eyes at him again in that way that drove Brian crazy.
Brian caught the first blink then quickly looked away. But when he did, his eyes ended up locked on Kiki who was looking at him in that same puppy dog way. Her look wasn’t sexy like Justin’s but with smeared make up and messed up hair adding to the scene, it made him feel like a shit for being a…a…fuck, an ogre.
“Fine,” he grumbled rolling his eyes. “But don’t forget what you promised me was gonna happen when we get home, Sunshine. I don’t want to hear about how tired you are.”
“Brian, really.”
“And if you get anything on that…”
“I won’t,” Justin answered before Brian could finish, running his hand over Brian's tie as if to straighten it out.
“Okay, I want a turkey…”
“I know, I know,” Justin interrupted, knowing full well what Brian ordered, what he always ordered. He turned to Kiki and put his arm around her shoulders. “Okay, why don’t you get the dishes caught up so Emanuel has something to put the food orders on, and I’ll start delivering the orders that are already ready and taking orders for those that just came in. Okay?”
“Oh, thank you, Justin. You’re a life saver.” Kiki leaned down and kissed Justin on the cheek before standing up on a stool behind the counter and yelling to the crowd. “Okay, everyone listen up…Justin’s here and he’s going to get your orders out in just a jiffy so everyone just hold on to your dicks.”
The crowd cheered and clapped, some even whistled. Justin blushed and rolled his eyes at all the attention. He was just going to deliver a few plates of food, no big deal. He pulled his jacket off his shoulders, which brought about some more whistles and catcalls. He stopped what he was doing and laughed, then got an idea. He started wiggling his hips and rolling his shoulders as he took the jacket off the rest of the way…slowly…and seductively…more whistles and cat calls and a few added hollers of “more, more” and “take it off” came from the table of young men seated in the front booth. This was one of those crowds. Justin just laughed and shook his head.
He folded the jacket neatly inside out and handed it to Brian. His smile immediately faded when he looked up and saw a big scowl on Brian’s face, then the smile returned when he realized what that meant. He stood up on his toes and gave Brian a quick kiss on the lips. Brian did not move his mouth; he did not return the kiss. Justin stood with his lips pressed against Brian’s, noses touching and eyes locked on each other. There was still no movement on Brian's part to return the kiss. Justin pulled away and grinned. “You big ogre.”
Justin grabbed an apron from behind the counter and put it on. He moved around behind Brian and placed his hands on Brian’s shoulders. “Go visit with Michael, Brian…and work on that foul mood of yours…I refuse to fuck an ogre…now go…I have work to do.” He pushed Brian down the length of the diner until they reached the booth where Michael, Ben and Hunter were sitting.
“Cheer him up, Michael, he’s pouting,” Justin said as he deposited Brian at the end of their table.
“Oh, yeah, sure. Hi, Brian,” Michael said.
“Hi, Justin,” Ben said. “It’s very nice of you to help Kiki out like this.”
“Hi, Ben. It's no big deal. I'm glad we came in so I could,” Justin answered looking at him with a smile. Then he turned to Hunter who was eyeballing Brian, looking hot in his Armani suit, and licking his lips. Justin narrowed his eyes. “Hunter,” he added as if to say hi. Hunter acknowledged him with just a jerk of his head but never took his eyes off of Brian. Justin rolled his eyes then jumped behind the counter and got to work.
Mikey and Ben were sitting together on one side, Hunter was by himself on the other sitting right in the middle of the booth and making no move to make room for Brian. If he were to sit down, he would be practically sitting in Hunter’s lap or pretty damn near to it. This was exactly what Hunter wanted. Brian stood at the end of the table and looked down at Michael. “Weeelll? Cheer me up.”
Michael thought about what Ben had said to Justin and thought he would play on that. “That's awfully nice of you to let Justin help and not make a big deal out of him dumping you to help Kiki,” Mikey said fully intending for it be a compliment. Ben smiled knowing it didn’t come out that way. Even Hunter knew better and let out a laugh.
“Fuck you, Mikey. I didn’t LET him and he didn’t DUMP me; we don’t owe each other anything, there’s no locks…”
“…On your doors,” Michael finished for him. “Yeah, yeah. I get that. You’re not straight, you’re not dykes, blah blah blah.”
“That was supposed to cheer me up? You’re so pathetic, Mikey,” Brian said looking down at Hunter with a look that told him to scoot over. He didn’t. Hunter looked up at him, smiled and turned sideways in the booth but still not making more room for Brian to sit down.
Brian swatted Hunter’s leg and swung him around in his seat. “Move it, kid,” he demanded as he sat down and pushed his body completely against Hunter’s, scooting him along until he squished into the wall.
“Ow,” Hunter said as he was lodged between Brian and the very hard wall.
“Oh, I’m sorry, did you need more room?” Brian replied with a surprised smirk then moved to his side of the booth giving Hunter is his own space.
Hunter huffed in defeat. Ben chuckled but didn’t say anything.
“Oh, grow up, you two!” Michael scolded.
“Well, that’s rich coming from you Mikey,” Brian argued. Hunter giggled and Brian quickly turned his head giving him a warning look. Hunter straightened his face immediately until Brian looked away then he smiled again looking at Ben. “So, what’s the Buckner Bunch doing out so late,” Brian asked, then turned his head back to Hunter and quickly added, “on a school night?”
Hunter furrowed his brows, twitched his upper lip and play-punched Brian in the arm. Brian playfully punched him back and winked at Ben who smirked in understanding and grinned again. Hunter punched him again, just a little harder.
“Would you two stop it?” Mikey hollered across the table.
“He started it,” Hunter defended.
“No, you started it,” Brian spat back, punching him again.
Michael had a look of horror on his face. He didn’t know how to handle the situation. “Uh…uh…” he stammered, not knowing what to say to make them stop.
Brian started laughing. “Jesus, Mikey, you look like you’re constipated. Relax before you pop a vein or something.”
Hunter started laughing. Michael looked around the table and realized that they'd been egging him on. “Oh, very funny guys. Ha, ha, real mature,” he said in a huff.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Justin hurried around the diner delivering plates of food to the hungry customers and taking orders from those that had waited so patiently. Brian's eyes followed him as he moved around the crowded room. Justin headed toward the front table. Brian noticed the three hot guys sitting there and paid particular attention to the one on the outside half of the booth. That one had been watching Justin almost as long as Brian had. He seemed vaguely familiar but Brian couldn't place where he knew him from. He had sandy blond hair, a toned and slightly muscled body with a tan that made Brian envious. He thought and thought about the hot guy watching Justin and as Justin breezed past him on his way there, he suddenly remembered and got a sick feeling in his stomach.
As Justin approached the front table he noticed the tanned firm body that was attached to a very hot-looking guy with light brown hair. He felt a little twinge and chuckled to himself as he thought about how much this guy resembled the exact description that he'd teased Brian about...the only guy that could tear him away from Brian. He shook off his thoughts, pulled an order pad and pen out of his apron pocket, clicked the pen open, took a deep breath and made his way to the end of the table.
All three men had watched him walk up but Jason had made it a little more obvious. His eyes roamed from below Justin’s waist up to his face and back down again, then a tilt of his head and a slight lean in an attempt to see what was around behind him.
Justin walked up to the edge of the table. It was just common practice for him to lean on the table as he took orders. It kind of steadied his body while he wrote on the order pad. So this was no different, but the height of the table hit him just below his groin area; pushing the apron tight and showing off the package underneath. Jason noticed.
“Sorry you’ve had to wait so long guys. It’s a little crazy in here. I’m sure you’ve decided what you want by now.” Justin said looking at his ‘dream guy’ and ready to take their order.
Jason’s eyes tore themselves off of the bulge sitting on the edge of the table then slowly and obviously made their way up Justin’s body until they locked on the sparkling blue eyes. “Um, yeah,” Jason spoke up first. Justin arched his eyebrows, waiting for the order. “You…on a plate.”
Justin laughed. “That’s really funny. A little corny, but funny. Now…do you know what you’d like to eat?”
Jason laughed and as he opened his mouth to give the exact same answer, Justin cut him off by putting his pen over Jason’s mouth. “Let me rephrase that…do you know what you’d like to order?”
Alexander looked at Jason and then at the handsome waiter and shook his head. He cleared his throat. “Quit trying to crack onto him, Jace. We’re going American this avo…hamburgers and chips, uh, fries…all ‘round thanks.”
Justin put his worker face back on and turned to Alexander. “Going American? Where are you guys from? I can tell by your accent, you’re not from around here. And that corny come-on was a dead give away.”
They all laughed. “We’re from Australia,” Matthew chimed in.
“And I got a ton of them ‘corny come-ons’ as you call them. Wanna to hear another one?” Jason flirted some more.
“Sure,” Justin answered really liking the way that they talked and wanting them to talk some more. He forgot all about how busy he was and that he had things he was suppose to be doing.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Brian had been watching the little scene intently. He thought Justin was taking a little too much time taking their order and he was laughing and putting his pen on the guy's mouth. What was going on? Brian didn’t like it…not one bit.
"So, Brian, where have you guys been tonight that you had to get all dressed up? Surely you're not wearing Armani to the baths now," Michael asked, trying to make conversation.
Brian turned his head to Michael and gave him a stern glare. He turned his attention back to Justin as he replied nonchalantly, "Some breeder office party at Gardner's house. Celebrate our five million plus year. Mingle with the little people. Show them we care. You know, the bullshit things I have to do now that I'm a partner."
Michael noticed that Brian was watching Justin and knew that Justin, too, was wearing his Armani suit. Sans the jacket now, of course. "And let me guess, you had to take the wife. Right?"
Knowing what kind of response that would get out of Brian, Ben shook his head.
Brian immediately turned back to Michael. "Fuck you, Mikey," he spat. "And no, I didn't have to take my wife. I'm not married. And if you're talking about Justin, he works there remember? I'll leave the Ozzy and Harriet image of gay life to you and Ben...and little Ricky, here," Brian added, patting Hunter's leg and earning a glare from the teen.
"Okay, fine. Sorry," Michael said raising his eyebrows and rolling his eyes.
"I know who Ozzy is, but who's Harriet and Ricky? I thought his wife's name was Sharon," Hunter asked the older men at the table.
Brian shot an eye-dagger in Hunter's direction then looked at Ben then at Michael. Michael looked at Brian and then at Ben. Ben looked at Brian and then at Michael. All three men simultaneously started laughing.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“Let’s see…how about this? Hey baby, is that a keg in your pants, ‘cause I’d like to tap into that arse,” Jason said as he tilted his head and leaned back again to get a look at Justin’s backside.
Justin turned his ass away and scrunched up his face, giggling. “Ewww, that was really bad. You actually get guys to fall for that one?”
Brian watched again, seeing Justin turn away as the hot guy looked at Justin’s ass…his ass. He might have to tell this guy to fuck off. He was just about to get up and put an end to the guy’s advances when the grill bell rang signaling that another food order was ready.
Justin heard the bell and turned towards it. “Well, I gotta get back to work. I’ll put your order in.” Justin started to walk away, then stopped and turned back around. “Oh, what did you want to drink?” he asked bringing his hand up to his forehead. He’d completely forgot to ask them earlier.
“Cokes?” Alexander said as a question, and the others agreed.
“Okay, three cokes. I’ll go get them.”
“And we’ll watch that arse as you go,” Jason added raising his eyebrows up and down.
Justin giggled in embarrassment and turned around blushing.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Brian saw the slight shade of pink on Justin’s cheeks and adjusted in his seat.
Michael watched Brian as Brian watched Justin. After Brian squirmed a little he knew that that little display at the front table was really bugging him. He glanced over at Ben, raised his eyebrows and flexed his jaw in a concerned way as if to say ‘eek’. Ben gave him a reassuring grin and squeezed his hand.
Hunter caught the looks that had passed between Ben and Michael, turned to Brian and followed his line of sight to the front table. “Fuck me,” he said out loud without thinking. “Those guys are fucking hot!”
Michael kicked him under the table, furrowed his brows, pursed his lips and silently told him to ‘shut up’.
“Ow!” Hunter exclaimed to Michael. “What’d you do that for?” Brian shot him a look as well. Hunter turned to Brian. “What?”
The question made Brian realize that he was being jealous and obviously so to Michael so he needed to regain his carefree attitude. “They’re alright,” he said to Hunter.
Ben and Michael chuckled under their breaths causing Brian to now shoot a look in their direction. “What?” he asked them.
“Nothing,” Michael answered.
Justin picked up the readied plates, poured the three cokes, put them all on his tray and made his way to Brian’s table. Putting Brian’s sandwich down in front of him and jerking his head in the direction of the front door, he said, “Did you see those guys?”
“What guys?” Brian asked acting indifferently.
“What guys?” Justin asked surprised that Brian hadn’t noticed. “They’re only like the hottest guys I’ve ever seen. How could you not notice them?”
“I noticed them,” Hunter said. “I also noticed the one who has an itch that he’d like you to scratch, even though for the world of me, I don’t know why.” Justin grimaced at Hunter’s put down. “So, you gonna go for it?” Hunter asked.
Justin huffed through a giggle. “Noooo! Of course not, they’re just being nice. They’re from Australia. But they sure are hot.”
“They’re alright,” Brian interjected sternly. “You about done here? I’m ready to go.”
Justin smiled knowing what ‘they’re alright’ really meant. Brian didn’t like anyone that anyone else thought was hot, especially if it was Justin doing the thinking. If he saw them first and was the first to comment then they’d be hot. But since Justin brought them up, they’d be just alright from that point on. “No, I still need to try to clear out some more of these orders. Besides, you haven’t eaten your sandwich yet. I’ll hurry, I promise.” And with that, he bent down to give Brian a kiss.
As he did, Brian glanced over at the front table. The one that had been flirting with Justin was still watching him. He grabbed Justin around the back of his neck and pulled him down the rest of the way for the kiss. He squeezed tight and really laid one on him. He covered Justin’s mouth completely and pushed his tongue all the way inside. The kiss grew so intense, so quickly that Justin was caught off guard. His tray holding the cokes wobbled in his hands and the sodas splashed and sloshed about. Brian pulled back from the kiss sharply leaving Justin a little breathless then turned to the hot guy upfront and grinned in satisfaction. Jason turned his attention back to his friends.
Justin gripped the tray tighter, regained his composure and stood up in shock. “Jesus, Brian. What’d you do that for? I almost spilled their drinks.”
Brian shrugged his shoulders. “I just felt like kissing you. You know, a little preview of later tonight so that maybe you’d hurry the fuck up and we could go home and finish it. You don’t mind do you?”
“No, definitely not. I liked it.” Justin bent down for another quick kiss. “I’m hurrying,” Justin promised and rushed off to deliver the cokes.
“I think I’m gonna puke,” Hunter complained. “Well, if he isn’t going for them, then I am.” Hunter started to get up.
Brian put his hand on his shoulder and pushed him back down in his seat as Michael said, “Sit down. You’re not going anywhere,” and Ben gave him a warning look.
“Christ! You guys really suck!” And all three older men laughed again.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Justin made his way back over to the front table. “Hey guys, here’s your cokes. Your food should be out in just a minute,” Justin said to no one in particular as he set the drinks on the table. As he went to put the third coke down in front of Jason, Jason met his hand half way to take the glass from him. He held his hand longer than necessary as he took the drink, rubbing his index finger over the back of Justin’s hand. They locked eyes for a few seconds. Justin smiled at him and pulled his hand away.
“So what’s the story on the swank outfit?” Jason asked, trying to make conversation so Justin would stay longer.
“Oh, we went to an office party earlier. We just stopped in for a bite to eat when I saw that Kiki, that’s the waitress from earlier, needed some help…” Justin explained.
“Awww. Your blood’s worth bottling, gorgeous.” Matthew interjected sarcastically. Jason shot him a stern look and Justin looked at him with confusion not understanding what he meant at all.
“So, you said, we,” Jason said, changing the subject, wanting to get to the bottom of who the guy was that seemed to think it was necessary to make a show out of kissing Justin. “You mean you and the spunk over there?” Jason gestured with his hand in Brian’s direction.
Brian saw Jason pointing his way. This was good. The kiss had worked. Jason was obviously asking Justin who he was. A look of confidence spread across his face.
Justin giggled. “Well, if you mean the handsome guy in the suit, then yes, that’s him,” he answered as he turned to look at Brian. He turned back around and continued, “But I have to tell you, I’ve heard him called a lot of things but no one has ever called him spunk before.” Justin laughed again.
Justin was laughing? Brian didn’t like that. The curiosity was too much. He got up immediately and headed their way.
Jason joined in Justin’s laughter but he wasn’t sure why. He assumed it was another one of those word differences so he thought maybe he should explain what he meant. “A spunk means a good-looker. Someone who’s attractive.”
Justin laughed again only harder this time. “Oh, right. Well that makes more sense. Yeah, he’s been called that a lot. Wait ‘til I tell him. Spunk. That’s so great.”
“Is he your boyfriend?” Jason asked still smiling from making Justin laugh.
‘Good timing,’ Brian thought as he strolled up behind Justin. He didn’t say anything, waiting to hear Justin’s answer.
“Um, well, yeah…”
Brian smiled like a Cheshire cat.
Then… “…no,” Justin stammered to answer. He knew the answer was ‘yes’, they were boyfriends, yes, they were in a relationship, but Brian didn’t like that and would never publicly acknowledge that. He hated this question with strangers, he never knew really how to answer.
Brian’s smile faded to a scowl. He thought he was the only one that answered hesitantly to that question. He never imagined that Justin did.
“Someone’s beating around the bush,” Alexander sing-songed with a chuckle as he looked at Brian standing over Justin’s shoulder.
“Well…” Justin started to explain but stopped when he noticed all three men were looking over his shoulder. Then he heard someone clear their throat right behind him. He knew who it was. Turning around, he found Brian standing there. Brian was only six inches taller than Justin, but at that moment, for some reason, the height difference felt more like two feet.
“Hi,” Brian said with a slight grin then went back to the scowl.
“Uh, hi,” Justin answered timidly, then cleared his throat and said it again more confidently. “Hi”
Brian licked his lips then pulled them inside his mouth. He peered down at Justin like he was thinking. His eyebrows wiggled in a funny little way. Justin was having a hard time figuring out the look. Brian grinned at Justin’s confused look then said, “So, you going to introduce me to your new friends?”
“Uh, sure,” Justin said twitching his head in confusion. He turned around, held his arms out to the table, “Guys…” then moved them in front of Brian, “…this, is Brian. Brian…” then moved them back to the table, “…this is…ummm…the guys.” He laughed when he realized that he'd never asked them their names, then laughed again when he realized he never asked his customers their names so why would he have done it this time.
“The guys, huh?” Brian asked sarcastically and sat down next to Matthew in the empty space in the booth. “So, what was the question again?”
Matthew spoke up first. “We were asking him about who the well-dressed, handsome man was that he came in with.” Matthew looked Brian up and down and stared right at him.
Brian had a trio of expressions run across his face in a matter of seconds. He furrowed his brows as his eyes locked with Matthew, trying to get a handle on the words that he’d said and quickly processing the look on his face. Then one eyebrow went up as the thought of Matthew attached to his dick ran across his mind. He shook off the image, huffed and smiled turning his attention back to Justin. He’d come over to their table to stake claim on Justin, not pick up Matthew, which if he did, meant that Justin was free to go with Jason. Fair is fair after all. No, he didn’t like that. Matthew was off limits. Unless of course…his head tilted slightly, his lips twisted to one side and his eyes got just a little bigger than usual as he thought.
Justin punched him lightly in the arm knowing full well where Brian’s mind had wandered. Brian’s face straightened immediately remembering the question at hand. Who was he? Good question. And even better…Justin’s answer. “Sooo…there seems to be some confusion, I see. You having trouble answering their question, Justin?” Brian asked.
Just then the grill bell went off again. “Ahh, saved by the bell,” Brian said sarcastically.
“Excuse me, I gotta get back to work,” Justin said to Brian with a grin, and he rushed off before Brian could stop him.
Brian turned back to Matthew. “Matthew,” Matthew said. Brian turned to Alexander and he introduced himself as well. Brian turned to Jason and Jason paused. Their eyes locked in a battle of wills. Finally Jason said. “I’m Jason.”
“Jason,” Brian answered nodding his head just slightly and drawing his lips in. “You from Down Under, huh?” Brian asked keeping his gaze locked with Jason’s.
“Yep,” Alexander answered.
“Under what? A rock,” Brian asked with a smirk.
Jason laughed. “That was good. Original too.” Brian nodded his head in agreement. He was pretty proud of himself. “I've got a lot of original phrases, myself. Your boyfriend seemed to like them.”
Brian started to answer with another of his originals when Justin arrived with their hamburgers and French fries so he didn’t say anything; he just kept looking at Jason.
Justin emptied his tray putting the plates down on the table. Brian looked at the plates and then at the three young men from Australia. “Going for an American delicacy, I see.”
Jason looked at Brian, moved his eyes to Justin, then back at Brian. “Good observation.”
Justin looked at Brian and then looked at Jason. ‘Uh-oh,’ he thought to himself. He grinned down at Brian.
Brian stood up abruptly and looked Justin in the eye. He turned to Jason and said, “Just make sure you stick to what’s on the menu.” Justin rolled his eyes and shook his head as Brian kissed him on the top of his head. “Hurry up,” Brian whispered as he pinched his ass then went back to his own table. Justin’s hips bucked at the pinch and he quickly swung his arm back just in time to swat Brian on the ass before he got out of reach. Brian mocked an “Ow” as he laughed then grabbed the ass cheek that Justin had just hit and kept walking away.
Justin turned back to the table and noticed that all three men had been watching them. He blushed and then said, “Enjoy your hamburgers guys. I’ll check back with you in a little bit.” None of them were able to say anything before he was gone. Justin continued to deliver the orders and bussing the tables that were slowly being vacated. The diner was getting less and less crowded with only a few tables still occupied by a few customers.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Brian plopped back down at Michael’s table with a thud causing the cushion to push all the air to Hunter’s side and slightly bouncing him out of the seat. “I’m so bored,” Brian whined as he leaned over onto Hunter’s shoulder and stuck his tongue out, wiggling it about and teasingly torturing the young boy.
Hunter, lost in the sight of Brian’s wiggling tongue, leaned his face down to kiss him. In a split second, Brian’s hand reached for Hunter’s face. With his fingers splayed across Hunter’s cheeks and his palm covering his mouth Brian pushed back on Hunter’s head, banging it against the wall.
“Ow.”
Brian laughed and sat up in his seat. “Quit teasing him,” Michael scolded. Michael was also concerned with Brian’s little display at the front table. He’d never seen Brian try to stake claim on Justin before…at least beyond the usual ‘fuck off’ inside Babylon. But this was different. “Brian, are you okay?”
Brian furrowed his brows knowing what Michael was asking. “You make him sound so helpless, Mikey. I’m fine. He can handle it. Can’t you Hunter?” Brian asked as he backhanded Hunter across the chest.
“No!” Hunter said sarcastically. “What I can handle, though, is your dick up my ass,” he added suggestively as he leaned in real close to Brian.
“Brian, are you sure?” Michael asked again.
“Mikey, I said I’m fine. Now drop it.” Again Brian covered Hunter’s face with his hand and pushed him back. Again, his head hit the wall.
Michael started to open his mouth again and Ben stopped him. “Michael, Brian said he’s fine. Now leave it alone.”
“Fuck!” Hunter exclaimed rubbing his head.
“What? I see what’s going on,” Michael said to Ben quietly as if Brian couldn’t hear him even though he could. “The little shit is flirting with those guys right in front of him. It’s rude.”
“Not a very quick learner, are you?” Brian asked snickering at Hunter then he turned to Michael asking him the same question with a raised eyebrow.
“No!” Hunter yelled with an angry look on his face.
Ben looked up at the ceiling and tried to keep from laughing. “Brian,” Michael said quietly with his hand over his mouth hiding his grin and forgetting all about Justin. Brian looked at Michael, covered his mouth too, then looked over at Hunter and raised his eyebrows. Hunter thought for a minute then started laughing when he realized what he’d just said. Brian removed his hand and laughed along with him. Hunter shoved him with his shoulder and Brian elbowed him back.
Justin walked by with a bus tub and Brian reached his arm out and grabbed him around the waist pulling him to him. He looked up and Justin returned the gaze. They stood like that for a few minutes, just staring at each other but not moving a muscle; Brian’s mouth resting against Justin’s belt. His arm around Justin’s waist lowered and when his hand reached Justin’s ass he gave it a squeeze. Justin’s dick responded, softly bumping against Brian’s chin. “I want to go home,” Brian said with a pouting sigh, lifting his head and letting his chin rest on Justin’s belt buckle.
“Ahhh, poor baby,” Justin responded sweetly. He leaned over and gave Brian a sensual kiss. Brian sighed again into Justin’s mouth. His hand squeezed again and their kiss deepened.
Michael’s eyes got big and he swallowed at their public display. This was so unlike Brian. Ben reached under the table and squeezed Michael’s leg.
Hunter’s jaw hit the floor but his face was all scrunched up. He didn’t know whether to be turned on that he was watching Brian kiss like that or be sick that he was watching Brian kiss Justin like that.
Justin pulled away and they both took a deep breath. “Five more minutes. I promise.”
Brian released his grip on Justin’s ass in defeat, slumped down in the booth, closed his eyes and laid his head on the back of the bench. “Asshole,” he mumbled.
Justin laughed and dragged his hand over Brian’s face. He tightened his grip on his bus tub and headed for the last dirty table.
