When Work Is a Pleasure (12 page)

When Work Is a Pleasure |
Alix Bekins

104

They walked a bit and then caught Muni to take them back uphill. Full stomachs and steep inclines did not go together, Justin pointed out, making Garrett laugh and say that he’d never fit in with the natives if he didn’t learn to love the hills.

“Give me a couple years,” Justin pleaded. “It took me forever to get used to L.A., and I still kind of hate it. S.F. is better, so far, in lots of ways. Even if the city planners should be shot.”

“City planners?” Garrett joked. “What city planners?”

Justin just shook his head. Squeezing Garrett’s hand, he pulled him off the bus and back onto the street. Garrett’s lips curved into a satisfied smile, squeezing back as they walked the last few blocks holding hands.

THE next morning Garrett woke up alone in bed. He heard the sounds of the coffee pot, and as he entered the bathroom saw that Justin had hung up the wet washcloth they’d thrown on the floor after using it to clean up last night.

When he wandered out into the rest of the apartment, though, he still couldn’t see his… boyfriend?

Maybe.

“Jus?”

“In here,” Justin said, sticking his head out of Garrett’s office space, cell phone held to his ear. “Morning,” he smiled, blowing a kiss to Garrett. “Be with you in a sec.”

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Nodding, Garrett headed to the coffee pot and poured two cups: one strong and black, one with nearly lethal amounts of sugar and caramel-flavored creamer. He was having a serious worshipful moment with his mug when Justin strolled into the kitchen, evidently finished with his phone call and holding a familiar-looking piece of paper. One which had migrated from the break room wall at the magazine to the wall of Garrett’s office at home.

The picture of Justin jerking him off at Folsom Street.

Without a word, Justin held out the photo, raising an eyebrow.

“Um. It’s hot?” Garrett offered, face turning red. “I mean, not me, but… you touching me like that. You. It’s just—”

Justin smirked as Garrett waved his arms around. “I don’t know, okay? It’s just sexy. I like looking at you touching me, instead of someone else.”

Justin licked his lips. “We can take all kinds of pictures of me touching you, whenever you want.”

Garrett shivered. “Uh. Coffee?” When in doubt, offer caffeine, he thought.

Justin snorted. “Subtle. But yeah, give it over.” He drained the mug and poured another. “So, I’m heading over to Steve’s in a little while—or ‘Carl’s’. Whatever. And then he’s going to drive into the studio with me for today’s shoot since he’s got some stills to do. We thought we might grab dinner after. Do you want to come?”

“To Steve’s? Or dinner?” He was confused.

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“Well, I meant dinner,” Justin said, looking a little uncomfortable. “But you can come along to Steve’s, too, if you want.”

Shrugging, Garrett said, “No, I’m good. Dinner might be nice, though. Unless you guys want some more time to hang out and just see how you get along and stuff?”

“Nah, I’m pretty sure it’s going to work out. This is just kind of a formality, seeing the place and talking about the money stuff before I hand over a deposit. I don’t have many concerns about Steve. Or Kris, who apparently is over there all the time even though he doesn’t officially live there.”

“Oh, is Kris his real name?” Garrett asked.

Justin shrugged. “I don’t know, but it’s what Steve calls him, so it’s good enough for me.”

“Point. So, when do you take off? Want breakfast first? I even bought you some granola and stuff,” Garrett said. “Or we could go out. There’s a pretty good diner nearby.”

They decided to go out, which Garrett suspected was just so Justin could make fun of him for what he ate. There wasn’t anything wrong with ordering cream-cheese-stuffed French toast with strawberries, turkey bacon, and a chocolate banana muffin. With a super large mocha latte. He had a sweet tooth; he went to the gym. It all balanced out.

“You are gonna be so huge when you get older,” Justin warned him. “I’ll have to drag your ass to the gym every damn day if you keep eating like that when you’re past thirty.”

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“Dick,” Garrett pouted. “I can totally see you as some cranky old gym teacher type.” He paused. “In a headband and those tight little shorts—”

Justin kicked him under the table. Garrett rubbed his shin and smiled.

After breakfast, Justin took off for Steve’s, armed with a Muni map and Steve’s cell phone number. When he hadn’t called after an hour, Garrett figured he’d made his trip without incident and started cleaning the apartment. It was baffling how quickly it went from tidy to utter chaos, but Garrett had grown used to spending his Sunday mornings tidying up for a few hours. Good music helped, and he put on a Mika album while he danced around his house, putting things away.

What? Mika was
awesome
. Shut up.

Following his usual Sunday routine mostly distracted him from wondering what Justin was up to during the day, aided by the fact that he had no idea when the two guys were going into the studio anyway. It kind of bothered him to think about Justin fucking someone else, but if he didn’t dwell on it, if he tried to ignore it, it felt okay. Well, not okay, but… it didn’t hurt. It
did
feel weird and confusing, but not achy. Garrett embraced his
que será, será
philosophy, turned the music up, and focused on getting some spilled syrup out of his carpet before the ants found it.

Garrett made a little pile of Justin’s things as he cleaned up and idly wondered if he should try to make some space in a drawer or on a shelf or something. That was probably moving too fast, though. The guy hadn’t even moved up here yet, and who knew whether he’d want to keep seeing Garrett When Work Is a Pleasure |
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anyway. For that matter, who knew if Garrett would want to keep seeing
him
? Maybe as he got to know Justin better, he’d turn out to be a jerk or have some hideous secret like being allergic to chocolate. Or not liking pasta carbonara.

By the time Garrett was sorting laundry and wondering whether he should go to the laundromat or the grocery store, Justin called.

“Hey, Garrett. I’m on a break, should be finished up here in an hour or so. Want to meet me and Steve for dinner around six? I know it’s early, but I’m starving.”

Garrett sighed. “You need to remember to eat lunch or take it with you or something. I should get you a lunchbox.”

The idea made him smile. “Hello Kitty? Or, uh,
Transformers
?”

Justin laughed. “Would the
Transformers
one have a picture of your Erecticon on it?”

“Probably not. I don’t think you’re allowed to put a huge cock on a kiddie lunch pail. In fact, no, I’m pretty positive that’s illegal,” Garrett pointed out.

“You are no fun at all. If a fag can’t have a lunchbox with a dick on it in San Francisco, where can he?”

They bantered a bit more, ending up with plans to meet at a little Caribbean place near Steve’s in a couple of hours.

Putting off the laundry until later, Garrett made a quick run to the market and then showered, shaved, and changed clothes. It was only once he was heading down the street that he realized he’d never asked Justin what he wanted to do after dinner. It was Sunday night, yeah, and on the one hand Justin had worked all day, but on the other hand maybe he’d want to go out anyway? Blow off some steam?

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Not that Garrett had to go clubbing, but it had been a while since he’d done anything very exciting. So maybe he should go back and change again?

Of course, then he’d be late. And possibly overdressed.

Not that he knew what to wear anyway. Taking a deep breath and squaring his shoulders, Garrett got on the bus and tried to fend off the sudden idiotic wave of nervousness.

Justin met him at the door to the restaurant, waiting outside. His grin set Garrett at ease, and his kiss hello totally eradicated any lingering tension, except maybe in Garrett’s balls. Steve was inside at a table with Kris and a guy who said his name was Mark and had evidently spent his afternoon sucking Justin’s cock. It was an odd way to be introduced to someone, but hey, Garrett was rolling with it.

After all, it gave him and Mark something in common, right?

Right.

The food was spicy and wonderful; the beer was fucking perfect. The guys were great, and agreed that they all kind of wanted to do
something
but were a little too tired for dancing or a party. Steve suggested a movie, so they ended up at the Kabuki Eight. Justin harassed Garrett for buying candy and a coke but then stole half of his M&Ms in the dark, snickering quietly to himself each time like a little kid doing something naughty.

The group separated a few hours later, and Garrett was amused when Justin took his hand on the bus again, as they sat side by side on the way home. “Are you courting me or something weird like that?” he asked.

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“‘Courting’? What is this,
Little House on the Prairie
?”

Justin laughed. “I just like holding your hand. Do you want me to stop?”

“No, no. I like it. I just… I guess I haven’t ever had my hand held so much by anyone before,” he considered out loud. “It’s nice, though.”

“You said ‘slow’, and I guess I thought I’d try to be a little romantic for once.”

Garrett stroked his thumb over Justin’s. “I like it. It’s sweet.”

“Well, I know how you like sweet things,” Justin said with a grin. “So, what did you think of Steve? I’m definitely moving in, wrote him a check for the deposit and everything.”

“Steve? I knew him before I knew you, remember? He’s cool. What’s the place like?” Justin described his room, the apartment, and the building. When he finished, Garrett laughed and asked, “So how’s your view?”

“View?”

“Of the Bay. I guess it’s a San Francisco thing, but whenever anyone asks how your place is, the main thing they want to know is what your view is like.”

“Ah. Well, it’s… actually, I think
my
view is of the brick wall on the neighboring building. But you can see a little slice of something bluish and foggy from the living room. I guess that explains why Steve pointed that out and Kris laughed when I just shrugged and asked about the utilities.”

“Dork,” Garrett said, bumping Justin with his shoulder.

“Ass,” Justin replied, bumping back and laughing.

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Alix Bekins

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“So when do you move in?” Garrett asked a little while later, unlocking the door to his building.

“Two weeks, if you can believe.” Justin walked in and sprawled out on the sofa. “I’ve got to go back to my place, pack up, cancel all the utilities, break my lease, and try to shove everything in my car. Actually, I might have to rent a U-Haul,” he mused.

Garrett bent down to give him a quick shoulder rub and then wrapped his arms around him from behind. “You’ll work it out. Bed time?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Justin smiled. “Bed sounds good. Bed with you sounds even better.”

Garrett kissed him. A hint of a smile was still teasing his mouth when they turned out the lights.

JUSTIN called every few days, almost always at the same time, having figured out when Garrett got home from work or the gym and when he’d be most likely to be relaxing after dinner. Justin was acting adorably careful with him, like he was paying attention to every detail Garrett told him and recording it for later. It was both charming and a little strange; no one had ever treated Garrett like that before, and he liked it, but…. It just seemed like Justin was acting weird for him, and Garrett didn’t want that. Not that he really knew Justin well enough to tell if he was acting weird, he supposed. But still.

When he’d mentioned it to Justin, all he’d gotten in reply was some swearing and laughter. “I’m kind of a When Work Is a Pleasure |
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romantic, actually,” Justin had admitted. “I know that sounds sort of unbelievable given my job history, but I am.

And I really like you. It’s been fun going slow with you, hanging out, rather than just fuck and flee. I haven’t dated in a while, I guess. It’s been… huh. Three years? Maybe a little longer.”

“Hmm. How long were you with the guy you split with three years ago?”

“Two years maybe? Before that was a lot of casual stuff, nothing that lasted more than a few months, and then my first boyfriend, which lasted a year or so. That was right after I moved to L.A. How about you?”

Garrett fiddled with his wristwatch. “I guess I did the casual sex thing at first, right after high school. Then started dating a guy I was with for most of college. We broke up when he moved away after graduation, and then I was single until I got together with Michael for about two years. We broke up five months ago and I’ve pretty much been single since.” He didn’t mention that he wasn’t sure whether he was single anymore or not.

“Lucky for me.” Garrett could hear the smile in Justin’s voice. “Not that I wouldn’t have flirted with you anyway.

Thank goodness I didn’t have to beat someone up for you.”

“Yeah, you could have bruised that pretty face, caveman.”

“Don’t want that. I’d have to take time off of work, and God only knows how horny I’d get then. My balls might explode,” Justin teased. “Of course, I could just call you to relieve some tension. Maybe try to convince you to fly down to L.A. for a booty call.”

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Garrett laughed and changed the subject, feeling a tingle in his pants at the suggestion. Damn, he was
so
easy for Justin. “So, uh, when’d you move to L.A. anyhow? Did you go there for college or what?”

“Not really. I mean, I eventually went to one of the community colleges here, but mostly I just had to move away from my folks. Couldn’t stay there once I finished high school.”