oh_amelia

Title: I Do What I Want
Author:

hsbfc
Chapter: 2/?
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: language, sex
Summary: Justin moves to Pittsburgh after ending a four year relationship. What happens when he meets Brian and his past and present collide?
Disclaimer: All QAF characters are property of Showtime and Cowlip

PREVIOUS CHAPTER
CHAPTER 1

Justin woke up early and took a long shower. He opted for comfort over professionalism figuring that if the Sidney Bloom Gallery really wanted his art they wouldn’t give a flying fuck how he was dressed. In his well-worn jeans, sneakers and polo shirt he looked younger than his 23 years. He grabbed a pair of shades at the last minute, before heading out the door.

~~~~~

“David asked me to move in with him,” Michael said as he took a bite of his pancakes.

“Already? Man, that leash just keeps getting shorter and shorter,” Brian said, sipping his coffee.

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” Michael asked.

“It is a bit soon, Michael,” Emmett interjected. “It has only been what, two months?”

“Yeah, and that is what worries me. I’m not ready, but how do I tell David that without making him feel like I’m rejecting him?”

“You’re not rejecting him, Michael,” Ted offered. “You’re rejecting the notion of moving in with someone after only knowing each other two months.”

“I guess so. What do you think, Brian?” Michael asked, turning to his best friend.

“Listen to me, Michael. Are you listening?” Brian said as he got up, finishing his coffee and throwing a $10 bill on the table. “You do what you want to do. If you tell the Dr. no and he gets mad at you for it, then you’re better off without him. Now, I’ve got to get to the office. My art department can’t seem to do anything right lately so I have to go in and fix their fuck ups before the meeting with Remson on Friday.”

The three friends watched Brian make a hasty retreat out the diner door before resuming their conversation.

“So Michael, where is David? He’s usually here with you.” Emmett asked.

“He went to see his son, Hank, in Portland. Apparently, his ex is getting divorced again and Hank isn’t taking it too well.”

“So, wait. He asks you to move in with him and then he leaves for the other side of the country?” Ted asked, surprised.

“Well, he said that he wanted to give me time to think about it,” Michael defended.

“So, how long is he going to be gone?” Emmett asked.

“A week, two? I don’t know. He said that he’d call tonight so I guess I’ll ask then.”

The three friends talked through the rest of breakfast before they all left for their jobs.

~~~~~

Justin went by the Sidney Bloom Gallery at 9:30 but saw that they didn’t open for another half hour, so he decided to head over to Liberty Avenue. He left his car parked near the gallery and decided to walk. He checked out the different shops and found some bars and clubs that he made a note to check out later that night.

When he made it back to the gallery it was 10:30. There were a few people already looking around inside. He made his way to the counter where a tall blonde woman was standing. He took off his sunglasses and put them on his collar.

“Excuse me,” Justin said, clearing his throat.

“May I help you?” the blonde woman asked.

“Yes. I am looking for Lindsay Peterson.”

“I’m Lindsay. How can I help you?”

“Justin Taylor,” he introduced himself, extending his hand. “I hear you want me for a show.”

“Oh, yes, of course. You are Justin Taylor,” Lindsay said, a little embarrassed she didn’t recognize him sooner.

“Is now a bad time? I could come back later,” Justin offered, noticing that no other employees seemed to be around.

“No,” Lindsay said quickly. “Now’s a perfect time. Let me just get Rena up here and then we can go to my office and talk.”

Justin leaned against the counter and watched Lindsay disappear into the back, returning moments later with a petite brunette beside her.

“Okay Mr. Taylor, if you’ll follow me.” Lindsay smiled as she walked back through the door her and Rena had previously exited.

“Please, call me Justin. Mr. Taylor makes me feel old,” Justin joked.

“Well, then by all means, please call me Lindsay,” she joked back as she sat behind her desk. “Now, lets talk about your art.”

Justin sat in the chair in front of the desk and started talking. “Okay, first things first. I don’t have any new artwork done at the moment and I don’t know when I’ll have any done.”

“That’s fine. Art can’t be rushed. It’s something that comes from deep inside and not something that can be done on command.”

“Also, as you know, I work in different mediums. Do you want to feature one style in particular? Or do you want a variety?”

“I think that Sidney mentioned wanting to do a solo show, so I am assuming that he would want a variety of pieces,” Lindsay said as she wrote some notes down. “You know, I was in New York just last week looking for you. When they told me that you were out of town and didn’t know when you would be returning, I was a little nervous. Thankfully, your friend was there.”

“Yeah, Nate has a knack for being in the right place at the right time. I think it has to do with him never having a real job,” Justin joked.

“Oh,” Lindsay said, not sure what to make of the last comment. “Well, it was great of you to come in to talk with me about this. I know that Pittsburgh might not be the most glamorous place for some. So, are you on your way back to New York?”

“No, actually, I’m not. I relocated here about a month ago. I just asked that people not broadcast it. I know that I don’t have screaming fans knocking down my door, but I still value my privacy,” Justin explained.

“Of course, I’m sorry,” Lindsay apologized.

“No, I didn’t mean you,” Justin said as he took a business card out of his wallet. He took a pen and wrote on the back of it. “Here is my card. I put my new home and cell number on the back.”

“You have business cards?” Lindsay asked surprised.

“Very few. I am pretty particular about who I give them to. Mostly it is just clients who want me for large commissions. I’m also known to do some freelance every now and then.”

“I’ll have to keep that in mind,” Lindsay said as she handed Justin her own business card.

They talked a little while longer until Rena came back needing Lindsay’s help with a customer. Justin excused himself with promises to be in touch.

~~~~~

Brian leaned back in his leather desk chair and massaged his temples. Starting his own ad agency, Kinnetik, was one of the smartest moves he ever made, but when days like today came along he just wanted to say ‘to hell with it all’. He was only 32—he didn’t need this kind of stress. Unfortunately, he couldn’t do that so he sat up straight and started making notes and corrections on the Remson boards.

Two hours later he had practically obliterated the boards with notes and rough drawings of what he wanted the new boards to resemble. He buzzed the intercom for his personal assistant.

“Cynthia, can you come in here?”

“Yes, boss,” Cynthia said as she entered Brian’s office.

“Can you take these boards to the art department and tell them to have them ready no later than Wednesday afternoon.”

“Sure thing, boss,” Cynthia said, taking the boards off Brian’s desk. “Anything else?”

“That’s all for now,” Brian said as he picked up his phone.

“Red Cape Comics.”

“Mikey. Are you coming to Babylon tonight?”

“I don’t know. David’s supposed to call tonight.”

“Well, come out after he calls. Doc probably goes to bed early, anyway.”

“Brian,” Michael whined. “Will you cut it out with the age jokes? You know, it wont be long before you’re there.”

“Michael, why would you say such things?” Brian asked in mock horror. “So are you coming or not?”

“I’ll try, but I’m not promising anything,” Michael relented.

“See ya tonight, Mikey,” Brian said and he hung up the phone before Michael could say anything else.

~~~~~

After talking with Lindsay, Justin decided to familiarize himself with Pittsburgh driving any and everywhere. Even though he had been back a month, he really hadn’t took the time to look around. He eventually ended up at his mother’s. They spent a couple hours catching up on each other’s lives. Justin even got around to talking about Derek. He had put off telling her long enough, and was relieved when she didn’t press for more details. He wasn’t so relieved when she insisted that he stay for dinner. She really wasn’t the best cook.

Justin arrived home a little after 7:00. Even though he’d had a long day he needed to unwind. He decided to check out the dance club he discovered earlier that day.

Since he didn’t eat much at his mom’s he decided to order from his favorite Thai restaurant. While he waited for his food to be delivered, he decided to take a quick shower before going out. He ate his food, caught up on e-mails and even managed to make up a budget for the next month. Before he realized it, it was 9:00. He decided on a pair of too tight jeans, blue sleeveless T-shirt and black boots. He gave himself a once over before heading out to Babylon.

~~~~~

Brian exited the backroom after receiving a less than stellar blowjob. What was it with tricks nowadays? He headed to the bar and was surprised to see Michael waiting for him. He ordered his usual, Jim Beam, before turning to his friend.

“Michael, the doc let you out already?”

“He doesn’t let me do anything. I do what I want,” Michael said, slightly irritated.

“So what’d the doc have to say?”

“He doesn’t know how long he’ll be,” Michael sulked as he drank his beer.

“Well, no point on dwelling on it,” Brian said as he finished off his JB. “Let’s dance.”

Michael sighed heavily and followed Brian into the mass of half-naked bodies.

~~~~~

Justin had his eyes closed and his shirt tucked into his back pocket. He threw his head back and let the music wash over him. He could feel hands roaming over his torso and a hard-on pressed against his ass. Their bodies melded together and they swayed to the music. Justin wrapped his right arm around his dance partner’s neck and his left hand on his thigh. Once his dancing partner realized that he wouldn’t be accompanying the blonde to the backroom, he moved on to the next willing body.

Justin realized that it was getting late so he put his shirt back on and headed out the door. It was late August, but the temperature was still fairly comfortable. He breathed in the fresh night air before stopping under a lamppost to light a cigarette.

~~~~~

Michael followed Brian out of Babylon and to his Jeep. He was just about to put him in the passenger side when Brian pulled away.

“Brian, come on,” Michael said. “You need to get home!”

“In a minute, Mikey,” Brian said as he made his way over to the blonde standing under the lamppost. “Hey.”

The blonde put out his cigarette and looked up at him. “Hey.”

“How’s it going?”

CHAPTER THREE